Intel Thinking Tools

The visual ranking projects that are available through the Intel site are very interesting. I enjoyed exploring the samples...my mind started racing with ideas of how I could use it in my classroom. How fun! I am wondering if it is possible to insert pictures and have students organize that way. I will be looking into this idea...more to come on that. The 21st Century Skills ranking activity was neat to think about. The fun think about this tool is that it allows for re-aranging (many times if necessary) until the board looks they way you like. Try it... Intel Thinking Tools, Visual Ranking

Here is the link and our list to our rational for the order of 21st Century Skills. Listed by importance with 1 being the highest.

21st Century Skills

1.Life and career skills

2.Critical thinking

3.Creativity

4.Communication

5.Information literacy

6.ICT literacy

7.Media literacy

*Our Rational

Carpe Diem vs. St Marys Learning

This presentation states that software plus mobile is the transformation of K-12 education. My elementary school has taken this to heart for better learning by allowing 5th and 6th graders to bring smartphones(byod) to class as a means of using good resources and apps as a way of teaching and learning. I think this is a great idea and good way of staying in touch with reality. If the world is moving forward with technology there is no reason for us to ignore the benefits for learning. Our students today are so technology savvy, they are are capable of navigating the apps and enjoy using them for learning. I do not think that technology should ever replace education as we know it, but it certainly can enhance it. 
Carpe Diem vs. St. Marys:
The Carpe Diem model of educating students in cubes for half the day seems to minimize thinking and rather masters the skills of memorizing. The St. Marys model of learn by doing gives children an opportunity to work together and problem solve where they master those skills as well as learn the content. As mentioned in the video, a combination of the two is ideal for learning, as our school is trying to accomplish.
In my classroom I am more prepared to teach by the St. Marys learning style, learn by doing. I see such a value in teamwork and problem solving skills that it is hard for me to see myself teaching in a Carpe Diem style all the time. In my classroom we use ipads, laptops and smartboards when possible. I would ideally like to have ipads or tablets available to my students everyday, but our school shares 16 and it is on a sign up system. We visit the computer lab and students learn to use reading, math and science programs for learning. I am prepared to incorporate more software and devices into my teaching, but am not prepared to give up my St. Marys model.
By 2015 will all kids have a mobile device for learning? They absolutely will, but I hope it will be in a learn by doing model where we don't loose sight of the importance of peer interaction and peer learning.

Khan

I am so happy we are discussing Salman Khan, the creator of Khan Academy, and the use video has on education. Well, education as we knew it 10 years ago is gone. I mean really, Khan Academy and other online videos, now allow us to educate ourselves on the areas we need support with without criticism or embarrassment. I think Sal Khan took his ideas and education and implemented them in the most amazing way...he is sharing his knowledge with all of us as we need it.

Sal Khan told us that his academy helps people learn by showing"100-200 videos a day"as a means of people educating themselves, at their own pace, on individualized topics. Wow, incredible! I am a real support of this site. My husband discovered the khan academy site a while ago and he uses it all the time. He loves the idea of going to the site and exploring topics he needs practice with on his own. We also love that the lectures are specific to one topic which keeps them short and sweet. It is amazing to be able to pause and rewind or re-watch if needed and then practice until the topic is mastered.

Check it out: Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education

Creativity

I found Dr. Robinsons Ted Talk to be very intriguing. He makes the point that people are born creative people and as a society we teach people out of being creative, or rather using their creative minds. As I was listening to him talk I found myself thinking so much of my three children, all 4 years and younger. They are so creative in the way they think and play, and I love watching them explore. Their creative solutions to problem solving and putting things together amazes me daily.
Dr. Robinson also talks about the people being afraid to "be wrong" by the time they enter collage and they have already stopped pushing themselves to try new ideas in fear of being wrong. In my classroom of first graders I am constantly trying to get my students to use their imaginations. Some of them are wonderful at this task, but others are already afraid of what might happen if they are "wrong". I am in disbelief that they have already been pushed to only do things one way that they no longer are using their creative minds. In my class it is very difficult to be wrong, because we are learning new strategies and exploring new ways to see math and science. I encourage my students to try and if they are unable to find the solution then try something else. They are rewarded for sharing ideas and trying them out to see if it lead them to success.
I am thinking of sharing Dr. Roninsons Ted Talk with my colleagues as a reminder of how important creative thinking is for us as people, learners and successful individuals. I also love his example of the difference in the way men and women cook...so true! And isn't it really true in life as a whole.

Self Introduction

Click here to view my self introduction in google documents.

This was the first time I have used Voki. It is a neat program that can be dangerous...I spent so much time "playing" around and creating people. It is like a video game and could be very addicting. I see this as a great tool for the students of today. The way that kids are ALWAYS texting, and using technology for communication, they would surely enjoy creating an animated self and having the animation do the talking. :)
This could be a fun and new way to compare and contrast characters from books or create a book report told by a character from the story. I could go on and on about possibilities for use of Voki in the classroom, but I will allow you to see what you think and come up with.

After much time spent playing around, here is the character for myself I came up with. This was my first exploration with Voki, so I am not to sure if there are additional ways to alter the features aside from the few options on the main screen. I did my best at creating me, and I promise I did not enhance any features to make me more beautiful. (haha, another plus to the program...look how you want)

This program clearly allows students to use their creativity through technology as indicated necessary in the 2000 NETS. It also allows students to use technology as a means of collaboration and communication as described in standard five. It is quit possible that students could have so much fun they could get side tracked and loose sight of the goal. This is where teacher management would be crucial for student success. The program itself is fairly self explanatory and allows for creativity.

Excel

Today we learned how to do some new things in Excel. I use Excel fairly often when I want to compare my students scores against one another or if I want to group them by similarities in their answer choices. By downloading the analysis toolpac it was simple to run the analysis and rearrange the data. The add in allows for customization of analysis breakdown and creates a new spreadsheet within the existing file.
Below is my scatter plot for the data that shows how each state performed in 4th grade reading for 2011. You will notice that 7 states scores above my state, Virginia. My state, Virginia, is doing quit well considering they are performing above the average by 1 standard deviation, or 6 points. With only 7 states scoring higher that puts Virginia in the top third of the country.

Self Grading Form

Today I watched the YouTube video on self grading forms and it was so easy to understand and create on my own. I wrote down the formulas, because that would be the thing I may forget when creating these in the future. Here is the link to the self grading form "how to" video. I have also created a quick link in my Favorite Links section on this page.

For my self grading form I created a quick quiz for my class about sentence writing. It contains three multiple choice questions. Take my quiz and see how you measure up!


This is the link for my spreadsheet that shows the grades for each person who has taken the quiz. The first row contains the correct answers or the "key" for the test. Then I used the formulas from the video to create the grading portion of the test. The final grade is in the column furthest to the right.

Google Forms

I created a survey to see what some of my students know about the winter holidays. Here is the survey I created and my link for the spreadsheet with my data.

Google Forms are incredibly easy to create. I like that you can make questions required by simply clicking the box. The quiz/survey can not be submitted until all required questions are complete. I also like that the form puts all the answers into a spreadsheet for you. This makes things easier for the teacher because he/she can look at one question at a time and compare all the classes answers to look for similarities and differences. I can absolutely see myself using this program in the classroom if I had older students.

Prezi

So here is my first attempt at a real Prezi presentation with numerous slides. I took my powerpoint presentation and inserted the slides and then played with them to enhance the presentation. I also added a YouTube video that fits nicely with the content. This is my Amazing Animals Prezi presentation. Enjoy!
I like using powerpoint for a quick and simple presentation of slides. Prezi was nice to take my original presentation and tweak it a bit to make it more fun and exciting for the viewer. I like how you can create a path between slides by dragging the path route from slide to slide as you decide on the path. This is user friendly when wanting to focus back out on to the big picture between topics. I can see where Prezi allows for some great creativity.

Drop Box

We recently created a presentation and needed to share it with the class. I had no idea about Drop Box, until it was presented to me in this class. It is very simple to use once downloaded. I can't believe that I was able to literally drag and drop my file into the box icon and it would then be saved online and create a URL. The URL makes it very user friendly to share with others, without emailing yet another attachment. I can see how this program would be useful for large files or presentations that can be accessed from any computer problem free.

Presentation 1

This is my updated power point presentation. I revamped this animal presentation for my first grade class. It has very little text and great visuals. The only text included are the key terms my students will need to know. Each term is highlighted with a visual to explain the meaning. Check it out!
Amazing Animals, by Kelly Mitchell

Jeopardy

We are always looking for new ways to teach, reteach and test knowledge in the classroom. This Jeopardy game template allows the user to create their own version of the game with a chosen topic and questions. I noticed they also have games others have made that you can view and access as well. This is helpful if you want to use the program, but do not have the time to create the game.  

I like the idea of the program and the fact that I could create a game and save the link to use in class, without having to design any background or fancy page layouts. I think a teacher in an upper grade could use the program to have students make the game as part of a review to any subject.  This would relate well to NETS standard 1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity. 

I think the downfall for me with the program is how 1 dimensional it seems. I would not use it with my first graders very often, because it is too much text and there are too many steps for each question. For example, after you flip over a question it does not change color or show it has been used. you have to click 2 more things before it clears off the board. Too many steps! It would also be nice to have picture options for the boxes or a read aloud feature for younger players.

Overall, it is a neat program and could be a useful way of using technology as a study tool for older kids or classes.

Pictochart

After exploring this program I was able to find some layouts I really liked. I think this would be very useful to use in a business or to represent data. I chose to use it for some data my students have been compiling.  It was easy to create a very visually appealing display for our material. I was quit happy with the results. See how I used it below.

Word Cloud

I have heard about using word cloud and the fun of using it in the classroom. I have to admit it was on my teaching "to do" list, but sadly until now I had not explored the fun. It is a creative way to brainstorm or express a topic. Part of the fun is looking at the art piece and thinking about each word individually and its relation to the topic. My students enjoyed finding the words and highlighting them. The completed word cloud continued topic discussion in our class when one student questioned the use of one of our words. It is a fresh look at brainstorming and is simple to use...even my first graders can do it!

If I look at the two word clouds I created for NETS they both show the emphasis and connection to technology. The 2008 standards reveal a more student centered focus, while the 2000 standards reflect the inclusion of technology for student learning.

Below are the links for both of my NETS Wordles and my classroom Wordle on the constitution, which we created today for Constitution Day.

The Constitution, by Mrs. Mitchell's First Graders

The Constitution

NETS 2000

NETS 2008

Jing Screencast

It took me a while to figure out what to screencast. I am gearing up for Back to School Night and I will be sharing some at home learning options with my student's parents. I decided to create a screen cast to teach them how to navigate through the online reading web site our students use. This way they can use it at home as well. Here is my screencast for Tumble Books.

It was fairly simple to create and share a screencast once I became a little familiar with Jing. The "sun" or Jing icon in the top corner of the web screen allows the user to pull down a box to capture the screen. Once I captured the area, I pressed the record option in the bottom left of the screen. Once it begins recording, then everything you do on screen is recorded for the future viewer. Simply click the stop button when done.
Once you stop there are save options. Saving can be done by uploading it to a file on your computer. It saves as a SWF video. It also provides a URL that can be pasted and shared as a link. It can also be found in your Jing history.

Jing Image

Jing Image is a neat source where one can capture a screenshot and annotate directly on the spot. After the project is done saving and sending are both options. This can be useful to capture an image quickly, add a note and email to a friend or coworker all in one swoop without downloading or saving prior to editing. I see how this can be a fun tool to use with friends, useful for work or school projects and easy to manage.

I took a snapshot of a poem my class will learn how to write. The students will need to refer back to this sample when writing new acrostic poems throughout the year.

Jing Image for Acrostic Poem

Here is the link for this Acrostic Poem Sample.

DIIGO

After exploring DIIGO I am beyond excited to begin using it. I have already stored a few frequently used sites to my page along with a useful YouTube video.  I shared some of the capabilities with my team of teachers and we may share a login as a place to house some useful sites we need to share. When I first started exploring DIIGO, downloaded the add on and created an account, I was using Google Chrome. It was extremely user friendly, easy to navigate and everything was one click away. However, the following day I went back to my page and experienced much more trouble when working in Safari. The DIIGO browser add on in Chrome was much better. Now I only use it when I am in that browser.

I feel the use of DIIGO relates best to NETS standards 5, Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership, and 3d, Model Digital-Age Working and Learning where teachers evaluate and use information resources to support research and learning.
NETS standard 5, Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers can use this resource as a means to grow their team knowledge and work collaboratively with other teachers in their community to better store resources for learning and teaching. This is one way I have begun to incorporate the tool into my professional development.
NETS standard 3d, Model Digital-Age Working and Learning where teachers evaluate and use information resources to support research and learning
Teachers can teach students how to use this add on to better their performance on papers, reserch and learning of all types. I see this happening in an older grade where students are already familiar with computers, browsing and researching. In my 1st grade class this may not be a realistic tool for my students, but in time they will learn it.

Prezi

I explored Prezi a bit and was actually more satisfied than I originally thought I would be. At first glance it looked like a lot of work and I wasn't sold on the functionality as a first grade teacher. After downloading the free version and "playing" I found it to be quit fun. I quickly created an addition strategies presentation for my students that we can add to together, share on our class web page and print as a PDF. Prezi offers a fresh face for presentations and projects. For this experience I used the a template that was clean and simple. I like that they give the option of using a blank slate so the user can add as much or little as possible. I plan to explore it more, but I am not sure yet if Prezi offers as many tricks and tools as Power Point or a SMART Notebook which I am used to. Stay tuned for more ideas and discoveries. :)

Millennials

As I set out to explore what a Millennial was, I was curious to find how I would compare to the generation. Surprisingly, I was not as close in mindset as I may have expected. Millennials are those in the generation now approaching 30 (I just missed this by a year) and as young as teens. They are very technology savvy and can't remember when texting wasn't a part of their life. :) Hard to believe for some of us!
Here is How I Measure Up
After taking the Millennial Quiz, I scored right between the two generations of Generation X and Millennial. My profile score of a 48 puts me in and out of the information age. When I took the test there were areas I could clearly identify the areas that separate my score from the Millennial generation, such as having a land line telephone and no Facebook page...yeah you read that correctly.
What Does This Mean As a Teacher Today
Although I am not 100 percent in the mind set of the Millennial age, I do not feel like this puts me OUT or unable to teach my students better than the next teacher. Some of the things that brought my Millennial score down are the very things that keep me grounded and able to relate to a broad range of generations. Although technology is our way of life and will continue to be, it is important to be able to relate to the parents of our students as well. I see myself as being technology capable and informed, yet able to bridge the gap between my students and their parents.
Frand's Construct of the Information Age
This quote really makes me laugh and is a great visual of what a millennial is. Frand states,
"Many young people today are accustomed to watching TV, talking on the phone, doing homework, eating, and interacting with their parents all at the same time."Read more.
His construct of the millennial age is outlined by these 10 characteristics. They describe a change, how people do things, and subliminal needs. All of these characteristics contribute to an advanced technology based culture.
1. Computers Aren’t Technology
2. Internet Better Than TV
3. Reality No Longer Real
4. Doing Rather Than Knowing
5. Nintendo over Logic
6. Multitasking Way of Life
7. Typing Rather Than Handwriting
8. Staying Connected,
9. Zero Tolerance for Delays
10. Consumer/Creator Blurring

Google Docs

Today's experience is all about cloud computing and the advantages or disadvantages that this type of programing can pose. It is quite easy to see the benefits of using a system like Google Docs when sharing information. It is convenient-say you are working with a group of people to create something. Simply posting and sharing on the cloud allows all parties to view and edit minus numerous phone calls, texts or emails about ideas. It can all be done and shared instantly. Awesome! In the classroom students can use this technology to collaborate and expand their knowledge through technology. NETS standard 1 refers to teachers as a facilitator to inspire student learning and creativity through technology and collaboration. Cloud computing, such as Google Docs is  one tool that can make those goals possible.
It can also be useful to share and make available something like a resume. Companies can keep the email with the link to your resume, rather than downloading(and wasting server space) or printing(wasting paper...yikes). This environmentally and efficient solution is to simply click and view at your convenience. Here is an example of doing so with my resume. I see one of the disadvantages of cloud computing could be privacy. Although the "share" options are private or public, one mis-click can make your content public to everyone. This can be a problem for highly sensitive information and private knowledge. I can see how some individuals or companies may not favor this as an option.
Overall, I found this sharing of documents through cloud computing to be useful, easy and beneficial. Hope you all find it to be useful as well.

I SEE, you SEE we all SEE each other

Today I downloaded and explored a new online video program called VSEE. I have been familiar with Skype for years, but this seems to have many more options that can be useful. I especially can't wait to try the file sharing...click and drag a file to the other persons screen...can you say convenient and cool! To answer Dr. Pierces question...YES, I am having fun! So far, so good. Downloading VSEE was very easy-the site walked me through it quickly. This left some good time for exploring the "test" feature and getting excited to actually use it with a friend or colleague.

Introduction

This is where my experience as a blogger begins, right now with my first post! I am a graduate student at Shenandoah University studying to earn my Masters of Science in Education. I am also working at an amazing elementary school in Fairfax, VA. This will be my third year as a First Grade teacher at Greenbriar West Elementary School. I am excited and nervous about this course, EDU 585, due to the challenges I am sure to face as we move through the technology world and explore new avenues for technology in the classroom. 

Stay tuned to experience useful ways of incorporating technology into our world of education. I can't wait to take you on my journey and share some tips (hopefully useful ones) along the way. I will blog about my experiences of using the various types of digital literacies, share my resources and address the International Society for Technology Education's National Technology Standards (NETS). Wow, that was a mouth full!  Well, here we go...