Tool # 6 Wikis

Prior to taking this course I'd never heard of a Wiki. Then, since I began there have been several references to Wiki's. I've been like, "What is a Wiki!?" I told myself to be patient and the day has finally come. I know what a Wiki is! :)

Every year, during our dinosaurs unit, we create a class encyclopedia where students draw a dinosaur of their choice and write some basic information about it such as: name, size, what it eats, etc. After each student creates their info sheet on their dinosaur we could use a Wiki to create our encyclopedia and maybe even share with the rest of the Kinder classrooms. This would help reinforce what they know about their dinosaur, expand their resource base to learn about other dinosaurs, give them valuable experience publishing and enhance their computer and digital learning skills. Sweet!

One of the Wiki's I looked at from the 11tools blog was directed a teachers. There where lists of books by category: early readers, picture books,... That spawned the following idea:
During the first 9 weeks take time after a read aloud to record reflections about a book on a Wiki. eg. 1. The Very Hungary Caterpillar by Eric Carl. I liked this book because... Karlene.
Use TEKS that the class is working on to make comments about the books.
During the second 9 weeks show students how to acess the Wiki and browse for books they might like to read during their library time. Continue adding books as a whole class and provide support to students as they dictate what they wrote in their journal. (I have students keep a journal in the library center where they record what books they've read) In the 3rd 9 weeks release more control to the students and by the 4th 9weeks they should be inputing their own reading information independently.

I'm sure we'll all have more ideas as we go along. Way to go everybody! I love the things I'm reading. :)

Tool #5 - Tagging and Social Bookmarking

I have to say that every day I enjoy this class more. I feel so enriched by the experience! :)

1. Delicious

I really enjoyed exploring the delicious website using the tags. Simply typing in Kindergarten produced tons of resources. I saved 3 websites for now and tagged them with more specific tag so I can find them later. Yey! No more, "Uh, what was that website where we found...?"

Of the websites I browsed I want to share the following: http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=75 It will pop up to a 10 frame activity, which is great, but click on the activities tab and you can search by gradelevel. The site has plenty of interactive math games from counting, to problem-solving, to geometry... Enjoy.

2. Diigo

I'm still waiting to activate my account. :( It's taking them forever to send me a confirmation email. I'll update this post again when I've gotten to explore the site, join some groups... :)

Tool #4 - Google Tools

1. Google Docs.
I really enjoyed watching the video where teacher's shared the ways they used it. I think it will be wonderful for students in the upper grades as they learn to edit and publish! :) In Kinder I think I'll use it the most as a way of working out documents with my team. I created a document where we can keep our team planning minutes. We are among those who send emails back and forth making changes as we share ideas and plan for the next weeks learning. Google Docs will definitely simplify things. :)
2. Google Reader
Google Reader also seems like it will be a very convenient tool for communication with the staff and the growth of my PLN. I'm sure I said this in tool #2 but this blog is something I know I can benefit from all year and not only for the duration of this class. One cool thing I noticed is that you don't necessarily have to past the URL into the share space. You can just click on "Follow" when reading someones blog and find it in Google Reader later. Amazing how it's all connected.

Tool #3 - Image Generators and Mashups

1. I used Big Huge Labs (website) first and created a motivational poster. The photo I used came from Wayne on Flikr.
I'm pretty exited because I think this would be a good tool for exploring what classroom behavior looks like. Generally, as we begin the school year, we review classroom agreements, act them out and draw a picture, but this tool would incorporate MORE visuals, practice collaborating and integration into writing and drum roll please... technology.

I would like to create a gallery on Fliker as a whole class with student input on what sharing, respecting, listening, collaborating, etc. look like. Also, students could take pictures of themselves acting out wanted behavior. As an extension we will create motivational posters (using both class pictures taken and the Flikr gallery), first together, so that they learn the process of creating a poster and titling it, and then in groups of 2 or 3. When posters are complete we can vote on our favorites, print them and hang them in the classroom as reminders of what we expect and want our classroom to look and feel like.

2. I used the comic strip generator on http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/

I chose Abraham Lincoln because we study his life in our Presidents Unit (second semester). This tool could be a good extension or reflection piece to a lesson. Have students think about something that the president might say and write it down. Edit with students for letter sound correspondence, capitals, lower cases and periods. Transfer sentence to comic strip. Print. An extension to that could be to paste comic strip in upper left hand corner of page and write a paragraph telling what you know about Abe Lincoln's life.
Those are just a few ideas I'll have to explore this site some more and see what other characters it has. Also I was wondering if you could sequence these strips into a story. Has anyone done that? Are there any strips in groups, or are they all individual?

Tool # 2: Leaving Coments

1. What are your thoughts about building an online education community and participating in a PLN?
This is a lot of fun. I really enjoyed perusing my coworkers blogs this morning. They are so creative, and have a lot to share. I feel like this blogging community (PLN) will benefit us all as we learn to use it. It seems like a really efficient way to give and recieve information quickly. Here's to more learning!
2. What point stood out to you from the commenting advice?
We as teachers always continue learning and must learn to facilitate student learning including 21st century technology which takes us out of the classroom. I'm just impressed at the vastness of this technology. It's a little scary.
3. What five blogs did you select for your comments? (you may need to come back and add this information later by editing this post.)
Ale and Bloging 101
Teaching to Read
Mrs. Green's Blog Spot
The Rewards for Teaching
Teaching K
Mary's Art Spot

Tool #1: Getting Started in the Classroom

Whew! That was intense! OK. So I've never made an Avitar before and I think it was pretty cool. I really liked being able to change the colors, clothing, hair, body-style etc. I wanted more options, but it was fun. I think that Kinder students would have a blast creating Avitars. We could use them in the begining of school as a way to introduce ourselves. Students create self portrait and write about themselves and then transfer it to an Avitar, record a voice message and present it to the class on the projector. I'm sure after that experience we could use them throught the year to discuss different content areas. As for the blog itself I'm still thinking of an appropriate way to introduce it on a kindergarten level. Any ideas?