Planet EN - Teacher Feature Amy Mallory

Planet EN - Teacher Feature Amy Mallory
Here is a link to a Teacher Feature from Promethean Planet. Amy Mallory uses the ActivExpressions throughout her lesson to check for understanding and at the end of the lesson to provide formative assessment and immediate feedback to her students. I really like that she checks for understanding during the lesson and doesn't just save the use of the Expressions for the end of the lesson. This is a good example of providing student interactivity during the lesson. Check out the video and then take a look at her flipchart as well. I will be offering refresher training on Expressions and Votes when we return after the holidays. Sorry for not being more available this semester. My New Year's resolution is to create a better schedule and stick to it. The admin stuff will just have to wait this next semester.

Del-icio-us

Word just came out  that Yahoo is discontinuing Del-icio-us.  Those of you have an account can switch over to Diigo, there is a tool to import from Del-icio-us. 

Learning Science

Just found another great site, this time science related.  There are links to many interactive lesson sites and virtual labs, divided by grade levels.  The site is divided into different areas of science; science inquiry, physical science, life science, earth science, science and technology, science and society, and history and nature of science.   There are some really useful tools that can be found here, from a virtual microscope, to building electrical circuits, to short videos from NOAA on tidal movement or the water cycle.  You can find Learning Science by clicking here . Check it out.

Cobblestone Online

     Nathan has provided us with a great resource of online articles for our classrooms.  We now have a subscription to Cobblestone Online, a database of archived articles from the magazines Appleseeds, CAChronicles, Calliope, Classical Calliope, Cobblestone, Dig, Face, Footsteps, and Odyssey.  These are entertaining and educational, ad-free kids' magazines.  There are great articles and stories that are available for you to pull up on your computer, which you can print out.  If you are really enamored with any of the articles, you can order the issue of the magazine it first appeared in (one or a class set).  Students can also submit their own work, to be published if chosen.  This is a fine resource for expanding your social studies or science curriculum with literature.  Or even to give you more reading material for reading class, fiction and non-fiction.
   There will be a introduction to Cobblestone Online during our January inservice meeting.  You will get account information and user name and password at that time.
     If you are interested in learning more about the magazines offered by Cobblestone Publishing, you can find info at http://www.cobblestonepub.com/index.html

Technology to Motivate and Differentiate

     Another webcast from Scholastic will be presented in  computer lab B this Thursday at 3:00pm.  David Rose, Ed.D., who is the founder of CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology) is the speaker. He is a proponent of UDL (Universal Design for Learning). 
Taken from the CAST website:
"Universal Design for Learning (UDL) recognizes that every learner is unique and processes information differently. UDL provides a framework to create and implement lessons with flexible goals, methods, materials, and assessments that support learning for all students."  This link will take you to a short video explaining briefly what UDL is
      Dr. Rose is new to me, so I don't have a lot of info on him, but you can check out the CAST website at http://cast.org/ . 

Siemens Science Site

     Just came across a site that I have an account for, but have not visited in a while.  It is from Discovery Education, called Siemens Science Day.  There are great activities, videos, and lessons to be found here. You must register, but it is free.  I'm all about free! 
    The site has a lots of useful "stuff".  What's nice about the activities is that they are rated by difficulty.  In the videos, the teacher talks about the experiment and results, but the students add to the discussion, too.  I think you'll find some very useable resources here. 

http://siemensscienceday.com/ 

Reading Fluency

     Looking for something to do after the New Year?  There will be a webinar broadcast in computer lab B on Thursday, January 13, 2011 at 3:00pm.  The "Teacher Talk" from Scholastic will be given by Tim Rasinksi, a professor of literacy education at Kent State University.  He is the author of over 150 articles and over 15 books or curriculum programs on reading education.  You can read his bio here. 
     When I asked Dorothy whether or not she had heard of him, she said, " He's a guru of reading!", and she has a number of his books. Her reaction to who he was, led me to believe this webinar would be useful.  If you'd like further information about Dr. Rasinksi, he has a website with presentation materials, resources, and of course his books. Check it out prior to the webinar, then please join us on Thursday, January 13, 2011, at 3:00pm.  If you have a conflict with duty, please talk to Nathan.
     I think we will be able to ask questions  at the end of the presentation, but they are also taking questions prior to the presentation.  If you have any questions you'd like answered, send them to me and I will pass them along.

Want to make your flipchart sparkle?

     Just came across some fun sites that allow you to create some great graphics for your flipcharts (or any other project you're working on), thanks to Lisa Dubernard of Promethean Planet.
     Sometimes you find a really cool font, but it is not universal and doesn't show up the way you expect if that font is not available on the computer you're working on. Here are some fun sites that allow you to create your own graphics to be added to your flipchart.  You can create these and then put them in your resource library for use in future flipcharts as well.  They do take a little time, so you probably want to use them for titles, headings, and the like.  I wouldn't create an entire page of text this way.
     You can animate your text at the Create Glitter Text site or create 3-D text at Background City. There is also a site called Cool Text that has some pretty interesting options.  Don't forget about Word Art, too. 

I'll present a coaching session in the coming weeks on how to create these to add to your flipchart.

Spelling City and new handwriting and writing activities

     Looking for a way to get some handwriting lessons into your curriculum?  Use your spelling or vocabulary words and www.Spellingcity.com . Spelling City has a handwriting worksheet that you can create. Start with a list, then choose handwriting and print worksheet. There are options for type size and style.  Two birds with one stone, handwriting and spelling.
     There are also new writing features on Spelling City.  You can have your students write sentences using a list of words.  Or, you can require that they write a paragraph using all the words from a list.  You can also write your own directions; ie: have students write definitions for each word in the list.  These can be printed out or emailed to the teacher.  If you have the premium ($) version you can save and score student work online.  Here are links to two short videos demonstrating the possibilities. 

	Handwriting Worksheets for younger students
	Writing Practice Activities for older students

Brain Bashers

Where have you been, you may ask.  Well..... I don't have a good excuse, except I'm busy?????

     Anyway.... I've found another good site.  Since we're all about differentiating instruction this year, I thought I'd share a fun website and classroom tip.  We're all about differentiating instruction for those students who struggle and lag behind, but what about those who "get it" and finish classroom work quickly.  You can create what I call sponge activities. They don't have to be graded, but they should be engaging (absorbing) so that students will want to do them. It also "soaks up" some of that down time when students finish early.
     I have found a website that you can use as a sponge activity.  There are lots of puzzles, games, and logic activities that are good for stimulating their little brains and promoting problem solving and higher order thinking.  The site is BrainBashers .  You could easily add one or more of the puzzle links to your webpage or link the homepage and let students choose their challenge.  You could also print out some of the puzzles and have a sponge folder for students to turn to.
(And yes, I know I have to get more student computers into the classrooms for this to work. It's the reason that I am so busy and don't have time to add to this blog.  I am working on it.)

Spelling City

Everyone ready to start back up? One week and counting. Here is a helpful link to get you started this year.
If you teach spelling, you'll want to check out Spelling City. It is a free (there is a premium version for minimal cost) site that lets you post your spelling words and allows your students to test themselves, play games, and more. I have posted a link to some short "how to" videos that will help you get started. Even if you used Spelling City last year, check out the videos, as they have added some new features.

http://www.spellingcity.com/how-to-videos.html?utm_source=SpellingCity&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=SC%20NL%2009Aug10

National Archives search

Here is an interesting site that allows you to search the National Archives in a cool format.  It is a flash program that allows you to see a thumbnails of many documents that are collected together depending on your search.  If you search the Supreme  Court, you could go the route of D.C. buildings, the court itself, individual cases, justices, the nomination process, etc.  There are primary documents and photos from the archives, all digitized, at your service.  The flash format makes it fun to search and the fact that you can see thumbnails of each document makes searching easier, or at least easier to dig deeper.  Try it out.

Mitt and Minn's Illinois Adventure

Our classes have been busy learning about Illinois as they read Mitt and Minn's Illinois Adventure.  Our One School, One Book adventure has been a real learning experience.  Check out some of the additions to our wiki at http://www.whiteside115.wikispaces.com/  Please comment if you'd like.

Wolfram Alphra

Here is an awesome research tool I found called Wolfram Alpha.  http://www.wolframalpha.com/   It is a search engine, but not quite.  They call it a computational knowledge engine.  You can ask  a question and the info that comes up is pretty amazing.   It will give you the answer to your questions, plus other pertainent info.  The site does give you a few links to other sites, but not like google.  For math, it's pretty cool.  You can type in an equation, and it graphs it for you and shows the steps to solve.  (alternative to the graphing calculator)  They have an educators site which is worth looking at too.  http://www.wolframalpha.com/educators/  The educator's site has lesson plans, a video gallery with ideas on how to use it in the classroom, as well as other resources.  Watch the video from Stephen Wolfram on the homepage.  It's pretty amazing.  It's a very "smart" interface.  Check it out.

Thinkfinity and Earth Day

I've written about Thinkfinity before, but wanted to share some more.  They have an Earth Day page, with many lessons that pertain to the topic.  Ecosystems, Energy, What can you do to save the planet?, Polar regions, Earth Day and the Arts, Earth Day and poetry are just some of the lesson plans.
BTW, I will be attending a workshop on the ins and outs of Thinkfinity next week.  So I'll bring back lots of "how tos".
http://www.thinkfinity.org/EarthDayResources.aspx   

Graphic Organizers

I have come across a couple of great sites for online graphic organizers.  These sites are very similar to Kidspiration or Inspiration, if you have used that software.  This is online, though, so you don't have to load any software onto your computer.  The sites are collaborative, which means that you can invite others to work with you on your project.  They can be saved, printed, imported, exported, and embedded.  Bubbl,  Webspiration,  and Mind Meister are the three sites that I have found.  They do  require you to register as a user, but they are free.  Check them out.
Bubbl   http://bubbl.us/
Webspiration  http://www.mywebspiration.com/
Mind Meister  http://www.mindmeister.com/

Wordle

Okay, just one more post today.  In the last posting I said I loved the word disaggregate .  To prove it, I used it over and over in the post.  Well, now, to show you another way, here is a link to a Wordle of that posting.  http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1871258/Disaggregate_your_Data 
A wordle is a picture of words, with the word used most often showing up larger and bolder.  The next most often used words are just a little smaller and so on.  It's a great way to see the main idea of a paragraph or piece of writing.  Try it yourself.  http://www.wordle.net/

Disaggregating Data

Did you know that you have the tools to disaggregate your own data that you have been collecting on your students?  And it's not that hard.  RTI requires that data be collected on students to determine what their needs are and whether or not they move into another tier.  The benchmark and progress monitoring tests are given by the reading lab folks, but you have more data than that at your disposal.  Before students are sent to the lab for higher level interventions you can collect your own data to help establish the need for intervention.  Your gradebook is chock full of data.  To help you determine what areas of weakness need addressing, you can, with just a little tweaking, use your gradebook and Excel to disaggregate that information.  By using the 5 areas of reading instruction in the title of your activities you can easily reorganize a student's comprehensive progress report to easily see where his/her weaknesses are.  If you are interested in learning how to work with your gradebook in Excel to disaggregate data, come to the training sessions this week and next and we can streamline the disaggregation process.  (I love that word!)

Collaborative Learning

If you are looking to drop the walls of your classroom and expand your students' learning experience, think about collaborating with another classroom across the state, country, or even around the world.  There are a number of sites that promote connecting classrooms around the world and expanding students' horizons.  Two that I have come across are http://www.epals.com/  and www.flatclassroomproject.org/  
     The first one is like a penpal program, the feature teacher this month is an English teacher in Japan looking for English language experiences for her students.  Her project is called "Hot Pot Party".  The students are sharing a part of their Japanese culture and practicing their English through the production of a video.  With Epals, you can use snail mail, email, video, or even Skype to connect with other classrooms. 
     The other site is The Flat Classroom Project which is geared more towards middle and highschool students, but they are striving to include younger students in some of their projects.  The projects are quite organized and global.  Learning is collaborative, creative, and constructivist; they are very engaging.  The projects use Web 2.0 tools to make communication and interaction between classrooms easier.  Ideas for  projects come from Thomas Friedman's book The World is Flat and are based on real-world scenarios. 
     If anyone is interested in doing this now or in the future, let me know and I will work with you to get you connected.

Math sites

Annmarie, I thought of you when I found this site.  This is a geometry site that would be a great challenge for your classes.  It is a game where you have to solve geometry problems to advance through the pyramid and avoid Ammit and other creatures.  Check it out, it's fun!   http://www.mangahigh.com/en_us/games/pyramidpanic

Another great resource for math is Illuminations. http://illuminations.nctm.org/  If you have not seen this site, you should really take a look.  There are activities galore from simple to advanced math, as well as  lessons, and other weblinks.  This is a partner site to Thinkfinity. (see Feb 4 blog post) 

Another partner of Thinkfinity is NLVM which is chock full of activities, divided up by age level and math topic.  I have used this often in the computer lab.  http://nlvm.usu.edu/ 

These are just a few really good math sites, all FULL of wonderful interactives that you can demonstrate at your board, or have the kids work on in the lab or classroom computer center.

More History sites

Okay, I'm on a history kick.  I have found even more social studies related sites.  These might be good for your own background info, lesson planning, or primary resources.  The first one is a Virginia history site, but isn't a lot of Virginia's history also our nations history?  (I used to teach in Virginia and we tend to think the history of the U.S. begins and ends in Virginia.)  http://chnm.gmu.edu/loudountah/about/
This other one is another good source of bunches of "stuff".  It is the National History Education Clearinghouse.  There are lessons and other teaching materials, PD, research, etc.  I found the Virginia history site while perusing this one. 
http://teachinghistory.org/ 
Check them out, I'm sure there is something you can use, especially the links to primary sources.

Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg has updated and improved their site since I last visited.  It is awesome.  There are some great links to videos, audio, slideshows, and many more things.  If you are teaching about colonial times, I would recommend visiting this site and sharing it with your students.  Having lived not far from here and taking many classes to the historical town for field trips, I can't say enough about the experience.  The website does a pretty good job of displaying the historic town online.
http://www.history.org/history/ 

IWB ala Marzano

The IWB is a great tool  and it has really created some excitement among students and teachers.  Be sure, as you use your board, that you take advantage of all the interactivity that it offers.  It is so much more than a projection tool.  Even with all of our new technology remember that good teaching is key. We need to be sure to avoid the trap of  using technology just for its own sake, and ignoring good teaching practices. It's important to remember that you are teaching students, not just content.  The technology helps present the content in  meaningful ways so that students will be engaged.  You have to reach the kids to teach the kids.  Just my two cents worth.  Here is an expert's point of view:

This is from the online publication Digital Directions, Feb 2, 2010 edition and written by Kathleen Kennedy Manzo.


Robert J. Marzano, a prominent researcher who is co-founder and chief executive officer of Marzano Research Laboratory in Englewood, Colo., studied teaching and student outcomes in some 200 classes where teachers conducted lessons with and without interactive whiteboards. He found significant benefits when teachers used the boards, particularly among those who had been using the devices for more than two years, were confident in their skill with the boards’ features, and used them for at least 75 percent of class time. The greatest benefits appeared to be in boosting student motivation and participation.


In Marzano's study, the Promethean boards were most effective when they gave students multiple opportunities to use the boards and the interactive features.  Nearly one-fourth of the teachers, though, were more effective without the whiteboards.

     That finding highlights one of Marzano's key conclusions from the study.  The teachers who were most effective using the whiteboards displayed many of the characteristics of good teaching in general:  They paced the lesson appropriately and built on what students already know; they used multiple media, such as text, pictures, and graphics, for delivering information; they gave students opportunities to participate; and they focused mainly on the content, not the technology.

     "These are things good teachers would do without technology," Marzano says.  "Technically, you don't need to use the technology, but it's just so hard to do all these things without it."

     The technology, he says, is a tool for making it easier to incorporate the elements of good teaching across content areas and among students with a range of academic knowledge and skills.

Science (and more) to Music

http://www.iamlodge.com/beans//?p=70

Here's a fun little site that enhances standards based learning with music.  It's based on the idea that students will learn and retain more with innovative practices.   This blog is meant to be a free resource for teachers and provide the following:

- Standards-based songs about elementary, middle, and high school topics

- Worksheets/activities to enhance the songs

- Discussion around the use of this curriculum

Dr. Lodge McCammon, the site's developer,  is a Specialist in Curriculum and Contemporary Media at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation (www.fi.ncsu.edu).  He developed a teaching and professional development process called FIZZ which encourages and models best practices in implementing user-generated video in the classroom to enhance standards-based lessons.

GeoGebra- Math software

Another site that I came across for math: 

GeoGebra

GeoGebra is dynamic mathematics software for all levels of education that joins arithmetic, geometry, algebra and calculus. It offers multiple representations of objects in its graphics, algebra, and spreadsheet views that are all dynamically linked.


http://www.geogebra.org/ 
 
You can type in a function and it will plot it for you on a graph, or plot the graph and the software generates the equation. 
 

On This Day

Here is an interesting site that features events that occured in history on each day.  It goes beyond just listing the event and gives some historical perspective.

 On This Day: Beyond the Headlines

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news.topic__ss_categories_ss_on-this-day.html

...features one historical event each day; includes what happened, what led up to it, what has happened since, and places the event in today's context including links to the best research on the subject

Scholastic.com

http://teacher.scholastic.com/whiteboards/languagearts.htm
From Scholastic, I found a site with IWB activities.  This link will take you to the Language Arts tab.  Click on the other tabs to see activities for other subjects.  It looks like a great resource.

Primary Pad

Found a very easy site for collaborative work. "It is a web-based word processor designed for schools that allow pupils and teachers to work together in real-time. " It's called Primary Pad and it is soooo easy to use. http://www.primarypad.com/ There's no log in or registration, you just share the URL and you can create a document together. This might be a fun, new way for students to work on a project together. One person starts a new pad, then shares that URL with someone else. Type your name in the sidebar where it says "type your name here" and all participants are listed. They both have control of the document and can add and edit together. There is also a spot to chat about what they are doing in the sidebar. The site allows saving, as well as import/export capabilities. Once saved, all you have to do is put in the original URL and it will pull up the last save. There is also a timeline that allows you to see the changes made. You can also download the page as a Word doc., Open doc., pdf, html, or plain text.
When I taught in the computer lab we did an activity that I called progressive stories. Just like a progressive dinner, everyone added something to the final product. This would be a great way to let the kids share in a writing activity like this (without having to move from seat to seat).
Here are a few ideas I found online:
•For collaborative research
•brainstorming a topic
•for sharing links in a topic study
•Study Guide for students in 1:1, ipod touch, connected device.
•You can also assess gaps in your instruction or student perception by seeing what students miss in filling study guide in.
•meetings
•essay tool for teacher and student to use as an editing tool
•in maths - how many sums can make that equal ??? i.e. using only the number 4 how can you make 100?
•help assess pupils' prior knowledge before starting a lesson
•vocab development how many words can you think of instead of "said"

What other ideas can you think of to use a tool like this? Please share.

Actiview

Some of you may be wondering, "What is that bag hanging out in the room with the Activotes?" We have two Activiews in each building now. They are document cameras for use in your classrooms. "Why and how would I use that?", you may ask.
Well....

• One of the easiest ways is to project a picture book (when there is only one copy). Everyone can see the pictures
• or you can annotate over the pages when you pick out things like similes, personification, etc.
• You can use the document camera for handwriting modeling as well as showing student work to the whole class.
• You can show real live critters like crickets up close. Put the critter in a ziplock batg and put the bag under the camera. You can zoom in and observe, take a picture and annotate over it to identify and label body parts.
• You can perform science experiments that the whole class can see. You can capture video of the experiment and make it possible for student who were absent to view the experiment without having to recreate it on another day.
• If you have artifacts to share with the kids (say you have a guest speaker), you can show those artifacts with the camera instead of passing itmes around the room -which can distract the students. Take a quick jgp of the item and plasce it in a flipchart so you have it even when the item is long gone. The items can be handled by the kids after the presentation has concluded.
• Demonstrate how to fold origami
• Project your calculator as you use it in front of the class.
• Show student writing to the whole class
• Usemath manipulatives
• Use it for spatial visualization: put a 3D figure under the camera and either move the object or move the camera to show all different sides
• Show items that may be hard to see, such as crystals embedded in a rock

These are just a few ideas. If you have more, add them to the comments and we will grow our list.

Can you hear me now???

Okay,
I've been putting this out for a few weeks, but I'm not sure anyone is reading this. If you are, post a comment so I can tell whether or not this is worth my time and yours. Awaiting your responses.

Gotta love the Brits

I just rediscovered a great website. I have used some of the interactives before when I was in the computer lab, but I came across the home page and found that this site has a lot of interactives for math (numeracy) and literacy, along with other subjects. What really makes it great this year is the interactives will coordinate so well with the Promethean boards. As a matter of fact they have some free Promethean flipcharts that you can download, with the interactives embedded. The site is call Crickweb and can be found at http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ Check it out. Remember, it's a British site, so the money sites won't work for your classroom.

Widgets

I'm experimenting with widgets. Check out the Promethean Planet Widget on the right. You can click on a newly posted flipchart and preview it.

Thinkfinity

I was just reminded of a really cool site. It's called Thinkfinity, which is the new version of Marco Polo, if any of you knew that site. It's sponsored by Verizon Foundation and affiliated with NEA, ISTE, and Partnership for 21st Century Skills. The site is partnered with ReadWriteThink, Illuminations, Xpeditions, and Science Netlinks, to name a few.
http://Thinkfinity.org makes it easy for educators to enhance their classroom instruction with lesson plans, interactive activities, and other online resources. There are free teacher training tutorials and webinars covering topics such as how to use the site and integrating resources into the curriculum to support content specific objectives as well as skills needed to succeed in the 21st century.
I used the site quite a bit when I taught in the computer lab. I especially liked the partner site ReadWriteThink. Start by checking out this partner site http://www.readwritethink.org . Or you could search for resources by a specific subject and grade level. You will find TONS of resources. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Found a fun site that uses google maps for spelling fun. It's called, Geo Greeter. I created a message that you can view. They have found buildings and structures around the world that look like letters. Check it out.

http://www.geogreeting.com/view.html?yGrsDoCsnoUGkBBsyBC

Actiview

We have a new tool in our technology arsenal. We have acquired new document cameras for each building. These are from Promethean and have familiar software. I will be coming around to each teacher computer (eventually, please be patient with me) to install the software. It is very easy to use, I will type up some basic directions and they will be stored in the bag that the camera comes in. I am trying to collect some ideas for enhancing your curriculum with this new tool. Remember, it's not about the cool "toys", its about students learning. If those tools can enhance learning, great! To quote a blog I read, 'It is not what happens on the IWB that matters, it is what happens because of what happens on the IWB that counts'. (IWB = interactive white board, by the way)

I belong to a number of list servs and this week's S.O.S., Help for Busy Teachers caught my eye. Kathy Schrock, director of technology for Nauset Public Schools in MA posts "Sites of the School Days" weekly and this week she had an interesting website named "Museum of Online Museums". http://www.coudal.com/moom/ It is a hot list of a huge variety of museums and collections, some brick and mortar places like The Smithsonian, and others, online collections. There are some of your standard museums like the The National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and then some very odd collections like "The Art of Shivs" or "The LP Lover". She states: " I'm not sure these are all appropriate for students of all ages since I did not visit every one, but there are some very interesting and fun collections highlighted here"
Check it out. There may be a site of interest you can use in your class. Nothing like a field trip to spark some enthusiasm, and an online field trip is so much easier to do.

ISAT practice

ISAT is going to be here before you know it and I'm sure many of you are sloggin your way through reviewing all of the objectives and goals. I have put together a few sites that will allow you to take practice tests (from IL and other states) together with your students. If you go to my website http://mrspirmann.net/ and click on the 4th grade button, I have listing a few sites that are available for standardized testing practice. These are in standardized format, multiple choice questions. Under the "testing" section on the 4th grade page, you will see links to VA state testing site, Jefferson Labs practice test, and ISAT practice tests. You can pull these up and review with the whole class. Choose your grade level and subject. (other state standardized tests should be similar for math and reading. Social studies and science goals may differ though)

One way to "spice it up" a bit for your students could be to use the Activotes or Activexpressions with these practice questions. If you use the Express Poll button you can have the students respond to the questions with the Votes or Expressions and then see the results immediately. What a great way to assess their readiness. If you click on this link it will take you to the directions on how to use Express Poll with Activotes/Expressions. http://mrspirmann.net/learnerresponsesystem.pdf .