Tech Tool Tuesday - Blendspace

If you were unable to attend the Tech Tool Tuesday on the 21st, here is a quick overview of the tool Blendspace.
Essentially, Blendspace is a place to curate all the items you need for teaching about a particular unit. You can include pictures, video, quizzes, documents, web links, PDF's and so much more. What makes this a wonderful tool is that little effort is needed adding content as it's very user friendly. Another great aspect is that when students are completing their work, everything they need is in one place; there is no flipping between websites.

As you can see in this screen shot below, the user can add content to each block by simply clicking in the box or dragging and dropping content. On the far right side you can see all the platforms compatible with Blendspace allowing you to bring in content. 

When you are ready to share your content, just hit the share button and there you will find a link or embed codes for various social media sites. You can even change the privacy settings so only people with the link can view your content. If you and a fellow teammate are using the same board, you can add your teammate as a collaborate so two or more people can add content.

If you need help using Blendspace please let me know as I am happy to help! If you do end up using this site, please send me how you used it!

Happy curating!

Tech Tool Tuesday - Writing

To continue with the writing theme for October, I have found a great app for student blogging. I have always loved kidblog.org but unfortunately Kidblog has decided to make money off their website so now it is no longer free. Boo! A free and reliable replacement is SeeSaw. The site is technically for student digital portfolios, but there is also a blogging area. You can find more information at http://web.seesaw.me/blogs/

This site is teacher moderated and easy to use by students. You can share the student work with other students and families or keep it private. You can even find other classrooms to blog with! Seesaw works on a computer as well as an iPad. There is a paid version, but I would stick with the free version as this has many features. One of the great free features is students can scan a QR code to sign in, instead of remembering a username and password!

Tech Tool Tuesday - October 18th - Writing

To keep with the writing theme for October, I presented 2 resources during the October 18th Tech Tool Tuesday presentation.

Boom Writer

Students can use this online writing tool to develop their creative writing skills and understanding of literacy elements. When a teacher sets up a Boom Writer account, s/he then creates accounts for his/her students as well. The teacher can choose from 3 different activities - Story Writer, Word Writer, and Project writer. The activity presented on Tuesday was the Story Writer. The first step is to present a writing prompt to the class. A teacher can create his/her own or use the multitude of examples available on the website. Then, students write a response to their teacher's prompt using the Boomwriter website. Once all prompts are submitted, the class will choose which response is the best; this will be chapter one of their class story. Next, the students use the winning response as a catapult to write the next chapter of the story and submit it via the Boomwriter website. Another winner is chosen and the process continues until the story is completed. When voting, the students are not able to see the name of the author, making the decision process more authentic.

Storybird

Teachers will sign up on the Storybird website and provide their students with a class code. When I had 5th graders sign up for accounts, I had them use their district provided username and password to keep things simple. Once in your class account, students will choose a set of drawings from the website. These drawings were created by artists. There is a plethora of options available, so it may take students time to decide on the set they would like to use.

 Once a set is chosen, students are taken to a the builder area of the website where they can drag and drop the pictures onto a page. 

This is also where they add text and dialogue. The challenge for the students to write a story utilizing the pictures as guide. The text should make sense with the pictures on the page. The end result is an online book with beautiful pictures and a story crafted by the student. Teachers can also order their student's books for $2.99 each.

Tech Tool Tuesday - October 4th - Writing

Scholastic Story Starter: This month I am focusing on tools which aid students in increasing their writing abilities. The first tool is Story Starts from Scholastic. There is no login needed - just go to the link. This site can be used whole class or by individual students. I like this website because the story starters are fairly interesting and it's geared toward different level of writers. You can choose from four different themes, then your grade level of PreK-1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th-6th. Students can use the website to type their response or it can be transcribed on a piece of paper. Please see my screen-cast for further information.

Edublogs: Blogging is a wonderful way to include authentic writing. If you publish student blogs online for others to view outside the school or even make them available for peer review, you may be more likely to get students to write with enthusiasm and care. Blogs can also be a way to teach positive feedback if you allow students to comment on each other's work. I recommend Kidblog because of it's ease of use and ability to keep blogs private to just people in your classroom. The downfall is that if you don't already have an account, you will need to pay $44 per year after the free 30 day trial. If you created an account last year when it was still completely free, you don't have to worry about the price. Another place for free blogging is edublogs.org. It is less user-friendly for the students, but still manageable. If blogging is something you would like to include in your curriculum, please let me know and I can help you get set up.

Tech Tool Tuesday - Digital Book Resources - September 20th

This week's session focused on enabling students to read from online textbooks or with book audio. There are various ways your students can read or listen to books and below I have listed four different resources with accompanying screen-casts.

Epic - an app and a website that is great for all students Prek-5. My internet is slow at home, so you couldn't see how amazing the books look since it takes a while to load.

Overdrive - an app and a website provided by the public libraries. You need a library card to sign in and borrow books. Students can read or listen to the books, a lot like a Kindle.

Playaway - checked out from AEA267

MackinVia - Students log in with the same username and password they use for their email addresses. Since only 2nd-5th have accounts, teachers will need to log into their own accounts for Kindergarten and first grade students.