WOOT!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, I'm DONE!

Tool #11

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Prezi. I think I've mentioned that. Edmodo has opened my eyes to new ways to use social networking in a safer, educational setting. I see myself using that more for online discussion groups -- sometimes you're not ready to talk about a concept during class. Sometimes you need time to percolate on that concept. An online discussion allows for that. Plus, you can do school work in your pajamas...

I don't know that my vision for using technology in the classroom has changed, but it has evolved. Two years ago, we created book trailers with the Flip cameras and iMovie. Last year, with iBooks and mics, we created and posted podcasts of Fairy Tale adaptions. This year, I think I'm going to give students a choice for a media product in the spring based on all the many sites and technologies that they've used all year. (Green screen!!!)

I've always found it difficult to LET GO in the classroom; to just let the kids make mistakes and learn from them. Now I find myself telling them to figure it out and come to me only if they've tried three different things and haven't succeeded yet -- clicking refresh three times TOTALLY doesn't count. I think the technology will allow me greater freedom in working with smaller groups and letting students work more independently...

Tool #10

Before embarking on any internet or technology-based lessons, I make sure that my students (and their parents, through contact on Skyward and postings on my website) have clear guidelines: things they MUST do, things they MAY do, and things they MAY NOT do. The "digital citizenship musts" are to keep things academic (language, topic, behavior) for an academic purpose, to stay safe (don't click randomly -- in fact, don't do ANYTHING randomly!), and to analyze their purpose and sources. The Digital Citizenship's Nine Elements would be a great resource to share with them to better outline my requirements. 

Tool #9

If you don't tie technology to the objective, it's the same as not making students responsible for their stations: there's no accountability and nothing to tie the concepts you learn together. 

Since there aren't many sites that address middle school language arts, I'd have to say that the sites that focus on basic grammar skills would be a good "center" for students who are struggling with a concept. A sort of way to re-teach them without the poor kids having to hear me repeat the same ideas. Because I'm lucky enough to have 90 minutes a day with the kids, I can budget time at centers easily. (online-stopwatch.com is perfect for helping keep me honest when timing the kids!) I like Karen's rule of having each kids always use the same computer (or device in this case), since you can narrow down the culprits if someone doesn't use the technology appropriately.

I found this blog: Apps in Education, a site that chunks iTunes apps by subject and price. Found a few great ones that would work well in English "centers," where students could sign in to log the amount of time spent on computers, netbooks, iPads, or even iTouches:

•          StoryKit: FREE: "Create an electronic storybook. Create the text, add photos or drawings and then add sounds or music."
•          Free Audiobooks: FREE: We take 2,947 of the greatest classic books in human history, package up their audiobooks, and make them available to download and listen to anytime, anywhere. 
•         Wordflick: FREE: A fast-paced, arcade-style, word game for the Touch devices. Wordflick is truly addictive, because it is so intuitive; it is easy to play, yet a challenge to master. The goal of the game is to score points in the allowed time. Flick or drag game tiles to the bottom of the screen to spell words. The longer the word, the more points. (This would be a reward-based center, one that would help dyslexic and ESL students gain fluency with sounds and spelling.)

Tool #7

EDMODO: The Face(book) of Education

So the sixth grade language arts team worked together to create an online Edmodo "book club". (Thanks to Michelle and Kathi for chatting with me about their experiences first!)

Here's how it came together:

We wanted to give kids a forum -- Edmodo -- to communicate with other students in other classes about the books they read -- to create a real academic book talk. This was put together during the first six weeks with our "dog book" clubs (students chose from a selection of dog-themed books...Where the Red Fern Grows was too much sad for some kids!)

I set up an Edmodo account with groups for all the books. The other teachers joined the groups and I set them up as "cooperating teachers" so they could grade their own students without needing extra permissions from me. We posted polls, questions, and comments, and so did the students. 

The only glitches seemed to be students who couldn't use academic language -- there was some know-it-all-ness and snarky comments and bizarre little shout-outs to each other, but we addressed them individually. Overall, I think the students liked it and more kids who are reluctant to speak out in class were given a voice online.