Digital Learning | Reflections on the Teche

Archive for the ‘Digital Learning’ Category

Be Amazed

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Poetry Friday, Teaching, tagged A Maze Me, acrostic, Eye of the Storm, Kate Messner, Naomi Shihab Nye on December 19, 2014| 9 Comments »

Find more Poetry Friday at Buffy’s Blog.

My students have been working on book talks this week. Some of them wrote poems about their books. Tyler reviewed Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner. He wrote the following poem as an acrostic with the word storm. One student’s response, “I like how you included the theme in your poem.”

Saving lives from disaster
Taking risks
Only to see a surprising face
Revenge is never the answer
More and more problems appearing

–Tyler

Kielan reviewed Naomi Shihab Nye’s poetry book A Maze Me. Kielan said she selected the background and theme of her Animoto because it reflected the dreamy tone of the poem “Necklace.” This is the kind of poem that stays with you. “Can Monday be a porch?”

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Origami Gift

Posted in Digital Learning, tagged Christmas gift, origami on December 14, 2014| 5 Comments »

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For the past several years, my students and I have made origami poppers out of wrapping paper, stuffed them with Hershey’s kisses, and delivered to the teachers for a holiday treat. I wanted to teach my nephew how to make them over Thanksgiving, but I had a brain freeze. So I asked Matthew to give the instructions on video. Now we can share it with the world.

Please join in the Digital Literacy discussion by linking with Mr. Linky.

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New Student, New Blog

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, tagged Kidblog, NCTE on December 7, 2014| 6 Comments »

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Julianne Harmatz, Fran McVeigh, me, and Mark Flannery (Kidblog President)

I have been a devoted Kidblog user for three years. My students love blogging. When I was at NCTE, I had the privilege of meeting Mark Flannery, Kidblog president. He invited me to try out the new Kidblog interface. I was thrilled, and so are my students.

I teach elementary gifted academics, and twice a year when testing is completed, I may receive new students. This week Jacob, 1st grade, started coming to my class for his morning ELA block. Jacob knows a little bit about my class because I taught his older sister, and his mother teaches across the hall from me. What a joy to have him officially be my student. After his first day, his mother texted me a picture saying “Look who just finished his first chapter book.”

But she told me he writes like a first grader. Well, she couldn’t have been more wrong. On Monday, I asked my other older and more experienced students to read some of their slices to him. I told him he should write about himself for his first slice to help everyone get to know him. He came in on Tuesday with a whole paragraph. When I asked him to add another paragraph with one detail about each person in his family, he did not hesitate. (He has three sisters, so he had to add 5 more sentences.) Then on Tuesday he told his mom he had to write another blog post. She gave him the topic of pets. And on Friday, I taught him how to write a haiku poem. Whew! First week and he already has 3 blog posts.

I continue to believe strongly in the power of blogging to inspire student writing. I also believe by this daily writing practice, skills improve. When we were talking to Jacob about blogging, Tyler, a 6th grader, said, “It’s a way for us to connect to each other.” I love it when students have discussions and say exactly what you want them to say.

The connections we make, the stories we write, and the support we give each other makes blogging top priority in my gifted classroom. Thanks, Mark and Kidblogs, for giving us the opportunity to connect in such a meaningful new way. I hope the new interface will be available for everyone soon. Take a look at our site here.

Add your own DigiLit Sunday post here with Mr. Linky:

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Chalkabration Inside

Posted in Chalk-a-bration, Digital Learning, Poetry, Writing, tagged chalku on November 30, 2014| 5 Comments »

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Join the Chalk-a-bration over at Teaching Young Writers.

I can’t spend time with a 9-year old and not get him to write poetry. So while having frozen yogurt with my nephew, I told him about Chalkabration. We wrote the above poem together. I’m not sure what happened to the time, but by the time we made it back to my parents’ house, it was dark. We also discovered that their driveway was rocky, not smooth concrete.

My mother has an Ipad and this cool app called Tayasui Sketches. With her paintbrush stylus I wrote our poem and made a poor illustration of the frozen yogurt cup.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. Are you ready for the whirlwind of December? If you happen to be thinking about digital literacy, please join the round up.

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When it comes to technology, balance.

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Teaching, tagged Cambodia, digital literacy, Nanci Atwell, Travel, Vietnam on November 16, 2014| 4 Comments »

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Last week there were posts in response to a well-known and respected educator, Nanci Atwell, about the question of using technology in the lower grades. I have long admired Nanci Atwell as the author of In the Middle. Her theories and ideas have guided my teaching for many years. The comment that garnered so much attention was this:

I do think classrooms in grades four or five and up should have computers, so kids can experience and experiment with word processing, but I have concerns about them in the younger grades. In fact, I think the trend of iPads in the primary classroom is a mistake. –Nancie Atwell

I understand her thinking. When children are young, their brains are still growing and developing. I tell my students often that video games are OK in moderation, but hours can harm their brains. I offer them choices in the classroom for writing and composing. Personally, I do not want to take time from actual writing to teach handwriting, so I would rather their final drafts be typed. I think this is real world application. My students have balance. The right balance is important in many aspects of life, eating, exercise, and technology use.

Cutting a papaya, fruit from Vietnam.

This week, my mother-in-law visited my classes to teach about Vietnam. She recently went on a trip there and brought back many pictures and ideas for teaching my young students. She was worried about what they would and would not understand. I put together an Emaze presentation with some of her pictures. She did not think it included enough. I told her the Emaze was background to her presence. The kids would pay more attention to her. And I was right about that! She brought in fruits and vegetables from the Asian market. She bought them all bamboo hats. They each had a taste of peanut candy. And they touched an actual silk worm cocoon. There is nothing better than the real thing.

Technology, however, allowed some of my students to process her visit even further as they wrote a Slice of Life story. You can read Tyler’s, Vannisa’s , and Kielan’s. As she wrote, I watched Kielan refer back to the Emaze presentation. It helped her remember everything that she saw.

I believe this process is the best for teaching. I will continually advocate for hands on experience through guest speakers and field trips. The technology serves as a means for processing and communicating that is here to stay and is a necessary part of the balance in education.

Children are fascinated by money from other countries.

**Note: Due to NCTE and Thanksgiving holiday, there will be a two week break from DigiLit Sunday posts.

Link up your Digital Literacy posts.

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Creative Expression

Posted in Digital Learning, Writing, tagged Kidblog, PowToon, Sci-Port, YouTube on November 9, 2014| 9 Comments »

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This week my students continued to work on their PowToon presentations. Each one selected a topic from something they had learned on a field trip to Sci-Port a few weeks ago. I taught my students how to put a YouTube video into their Kidblog post. This way they are able to share their work with other students at other schools.

One thing I am struggling with is the varied amount of time each student takes to create their presentation. I have some stragglers who are working but aren’t finished. This keeps them glued to a computer, and I am not able to move on with the other students. I want everyone to feel successful and have the time he or she needs to complete their work, but it is also frustrating. Do any of you experience this problem? What works or helps?

I asked my students to write about their experience in creating the presentation in addition to sharing the video on Kidblogs. Tyler is making his presentation about lemurs into a fundraiser. Vannisa enjoyed sharing the video with her other teachers and their classes.

I am not big on giving a lot of instructions on creative projects. I like to see where my students will go with it. I watched as they researched their topics. They would get excited when they learned something new. Vannisa interviewed me and her classmates about what questions we had about gravity that she could research. Erin wants to learn about Newton’s laws of motion and is taking notes. Like a true scientist, she is the only one who could decipher her notes. Emily was fascinated by the many species of lemurs and wanted to show what each one looked like. Her video is very visual. Using a basic rubric, I was able to allow for freedom of expression. I am pleased that PowToon motivated my students. They were proud of their videos.

Link up your digital literacy posts:

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PowToon has Power

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Teaching, tagged lemurs, PowToon, World Wildlife Fund on November 2, 2014| 5 Comments »

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Last week I read Holly Mueller’s Digital Literacy post about her students’ social justice PSA’s. Some of her students used an app called PowToon. I introduced it to my students on Monday while discussing presentation options. I wanted them to further research an area of interest sparked by our field trip to a science museum. After they watched the short PowToon introduction video, I could hear an echo in the classroom, “I’m using PowToon!”

My students are familiar with PowerPoint. PowToon uses a similar interface with an add slide button and graphics that are easily added with a drag and drop motion. My students were able to use this app independently. I watched over their heads as they created fun animated slides. Tyler ran into trouble when he tried to add music. He lost the whole presentation he had created, so we started the mantra of “Hit Save” after every added slide. Tyler was able to quickly recreate what he had done and even enjoyed trying new things, so it was not a huge loss.

After I viewed Tyler’s PowToon, I discussed ways he could raise money for lemurs. We found the World Wildlife Fund that has a lemur adoption kit. The cost is $55. I told him if he presents his PowToon to all the 5th and 6th grade classes and asks them to donate $1 for the cause, he is likely to raise the money. He agreed. I’m excited to watch this 6th grader move from an interest sparked to a social action.

Add your digital literacy posts in Mr. Linky. Follow on Twitter with #k6digilit.

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Chill-a-bration

Posted in Chalk-a-bration, Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged chalk poetry, choka, Emaze, Halloween poems, zeno poems on October 31, 2014| 11 Comments »

Find more Poetry Friday at Teacher Dance with Linda.

Join the Chalk-a-bration at Betsy Hubbard’s site Teaching Young Writers.

It’s Chill-a-bration Time! That’s Halloween language for Chalk-a-bration. Halloween language for Poetry Friday is “Poetry Freakday!” I hope you enjoy our Freaky chalk poems. My students chalked up the sidewalks and chilled up an Emaze presentation. It was a sunny day, so we added some spooky shadows to our chalk poems.

http://app.emaze.com/1012993/chill-a-bration

A chilling chalk zeno by Emily

Candy chalk choka by Nigel and Tobie.

Shadow poem by Reed.

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Sci-Port Field Trip

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Creativity, Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Teaching, Writing, tagged #celebratelu, 21st Century Learning, candy chemistry, Sci-Port on October 26, 2014| 3 Comments »

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Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

There is a tiredness that comes when you know you have done something good, even if it made you terribly tired. That’s what my Friday and Saturday were like. So I am making a combination post for Celebration Saturday and DigiLit Sunday.

On Friday, my colleagues and I woke up really early to board a chartered bus at 5:30 AM with about 40 young gifted students to drive four hours north to Shreveport, LA. We visited Sci-Port. This field trip is a long tradition in our gifted program and happens every two years. I honestly don’t look forward to the long ride. But after it is all said and done, I feel good. It is worth it. The kids not only have a blast, but they also participate in 21st Century skills of Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking. You just can’t do this much in a classroom or with digital learning. I am a believer in field trips. My students may find a way to express their learning this week digitally, through blogging and perhaps a presentation of ideas. I’ll let them decide how they want to process their experience.

Today I celebrate a successful field trip.

We lucked into Chemistry week. Our students learned about the chemistry of candy through hands-on experiments.

Marble mania is a challenge for small groups to create and collaborate.

Add your Digital Literacy posts with Mr. Linky.

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DigiLit Sunday: Poem Movies

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged Animoto, autumn leaves, Nature poems, student writing on October 19, 2014| 8 Comments »

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Autumn is a wonderful season for writing poems. Donna Smith shared her Fall Poetry Zeno on her blog, Mainly Write, for Poetry Friday. Holly Mueller shared an autumn poem by Bliss Carmen along with her original poem and students’ poems.

On Thursday, I presented the poem Autumn Grasses by Margaret Gibson. My students paraphrased it and talked about the imagery and metaphor. Then they wrote their own poems about autumn. Tyler went back to a picture postcard of Georgia O’Keefe’s Autumn Leaves that he had written about before. I love that he knew where the picture was and felt comfortable enough to grab it again for inspiration.

Autumn Leaves by Georgia O’Keefe

On Friday, I showed my students how I had made a poem movie with my poem This Peace. I suggested they might want to try to make their own poem movie using Animoto. I think this was Tyler’s first time to use Animoto. He found the perfect background, and after he finished putting in his images and words and the movie was produced, I overheard a gasp. He was totally enthralled and impressed with his own creation. This is what creativity in the classroom is all about, that Wow feeling.

I encourage you to teach an autumn poem and make poem movies in Animoto. You may use Tyler’s as a model. Please let me know if you do. I love to know when I have inspired creativity in others.