Time to Take an Official "First Bite!"

I'm SUPER excited to share this mouth watering, makes-your-tummy-rumble, lip smacking-ly good digital story!  Just a forewarning: the dessert I concocted might just land you in a baking frenzy!  Nope, I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, especially considering that this is the first video I've ever made.  To say I was slightly intimidated at the thought of creating one of these digital stories is the understatement of the century ;)

And, then there came Photo Story 3.  I rejoiced.  This platform may lack some of the bells and whistles that Windows Movie Maker or iMovie has to offer (namely, video!), but it was just fine for this video-making novice.  I appreciate it's user-friendly, step-by-step design that took all of the guesswork out of editing.  I'm a practical kind of gal with a limited amount of time, so I am absolutely thrilled with how the final product turned out.  Thank you for all of the helpful feedback -- I did add written words to accompany the audio!

I plan on using this with my littles as we tackle the next Common Core math unit.  You guessed it, fractions!  As I'm sure many of you can attest, CCSS are all about applying, analyzing, and reasoning with mathematics.  Memorizing and regurgitating computations is no longer sufficient, so I have to ensure that my kiddos develop a strong conceptual understanding of fractions.  One of our upcoming in-class projects will challenge students to compare the size of two fractions with different denominators.

It almost seems intuitive that the larger the denominator, the greater the fractional piece....right?  It certainly makes sense with what they've learned thus far.  To help students understand that the the larger the denominator, the smaller each piece is (When comparing "wholes" of the same size, that is!) I whipped up this digital story.

First, I described my culinary techniques.  Next, I introduced a problem courtesy of Buddy -- the owner of Carlos' Bakery and the host of the Next Great Baker!  Lucky for us, Buddy serves his treats in fractions, so my kiddos will have to decide which fraction is larger: 2/4 or 2/8.  For the sake of this activity, we'll have to assume that the baking dish, or the whole, is the same size for each.  Afterwards, my kiddos will be invited to use a variety of baking tools, such as measuring cups, butter, or muffins,  OR our collection of hands-on fraction manipulatives, to visually justify their selection.  West Hartford curriculum specialists recommended that we try out this type of exercise to provide our students with a tangible representation of fraction.  I absolutely love inquiry learning, so I'm hopeful that this digital story will be the perfect way to set the scene!

Some Precious Keepsakes: Class Books!

Last year, my TK'ers published a class book at least monthly, if not bi-monthly.  Each of my littles had his/her own page, complete with his/her writing (You have to love the phonetic spelling :) and some darling illustrations. We authored books for the holidays, re-created some of our most cherished story books, and structured our writing around a variety of thematic learning topics. For each book, I laminated the pages and bound them with spiral rings.

My kiddos each had a turn to take the books home, and families shared comments in an accompanying journal.  Their little hearts swelled with pride as soon as they hopped on board the teacher chair and read their mom's/dad's/grandparent's/sibling's comments to their peers.  On many occasions, students forgot to bring their books back on-time which frustrated the other students who were eagerly awaiting their turn.  Suffice it to say, these class books were quite an undertaking, not to mention pricey. Yep, you guessed it...I had another light bulb moment from none other than Troy Hicks!  This brings me to Wikis...a collaborative platform that I never thought I'd attempt in my own classroom.

I'm going to be blunt, I think that many of the Wikis I've seen to date are highly disorganized, often over-stuffed with text, links, and pictures.  For this organized gal, I'd much rather have a few tried and true resources than a hodge podge of random information that may or may not be applicable.  If it's not visually appealing to the eyes, I tend to stray away... But, I've now noted a practical use for Wikis: class anthologies!

Just as Hicks (2009) suggests, Wikis allow students to share and comment on their work, along with parents, educators, and special friends, too!  In this case, Wikis can be re-purposed as digital class books.  I would also recommend easy-to-use platforms like LittleBirdTales, StoryJumper  or Kerpoof for the younger guys who may struggle navigating the Wiki interface, but I want to stress the benefit of a discussion tab which is unique to Wikis.  Even if my littles aren't able to physically upload their written/digital work to Wikispaces, it might be the ideal "gallery" for parents to view their children's work and maintain a timeless token of their learning experience.

Did I mention that I had to hold a class book "lottery" at the conclusion of the school year, such that each child randomly received one of our class books? Might it be a little nicer if parents could have access to all of their children's work!?  I think Wikis may be the answer ;)  



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Take a Bite Out of Fractions: One "Sweet" Digital Story!

Please take a peak at the above draft of my digital story!  I took some inspiration from TLC's The Next Great Baker, and designed a mock entry video to submit for this one-of-a-kind baking competition.  I whipped up a delicious batch of 7 Layer Mint Chocolate Chip Bars (Yes, they are divine!), and set the stage for an upcoming problem set that my third graders will have to tackle...comparing fractions with different denominators!  I need to help my littles understand that the larger the denominator, the  smaller each piece of the "pie" is!  I figured that this video might set the stage for a tasty and engaging exploration...

 Please use the following form to share your feedback.  Thank you in advance!

 

How Audacious are YOU?

Sorry, I couldn't resist!  I've been busy researching up on this handy tool called Audacity, a free audio-editor and recorder.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be drafting a blog post on podcasting.  Heck, I didn't even know what it was until a few weeks ago, so this a "I'm just getting my feet wet" kind of day. As with many other platforms I've come across recently, I'm giving some careful consideration as to how I can imbed said tools with meaningful instruction in order to (1) bring my pedagogy into the 21st century and (2) instill the fundamentals of digital literacy.

Hicks (2009) is just chock full of innovative ways to better contextualize these digital platforms within the classroom.  How about some "book talks," podcast style?  Ingenious, I know!  Consider the old fashioned, we've all done it a million times, book report.  Sure, we need to have our kiddos reading, comprehending, and reflecting, but might it be more engaging for them to verbalize their thoughts using a tool like Audacity? I'm thinking book reviews for same-age or younger peers.  Trust me when I say podcasts take just as much (if not more...) preparation than a hand-written book report or dare I say, diorama.

You see, students will still be doing plenty of writing because time/storage space is limited.  In order for these podcasts to be effective, students need to hook their audience, maybe add music to the intro, vary the tone, pacing, and pitch of their voices, all while delivering a clear, compelling message!  See, our students really are digital composers!

I found this helpful how-to video on YouTube, targeting Audacity's fundamental features.  First, make sure to download this *FREE* program.  Then, this tutorial will visually walk you through each step.



For another neat take on how podcasts have surfaced in the classroom, I recommend reading and listening to Dawn Reed's students' responses to their This I Believe assignment here.  Each student identified one of his/her key beliefs and included personal stories and reflections to bolster his/her position.  While it looks like the project has not been updated since 2008, I found many of the writing samples and accompanying "speeches" to be highly moving.  I really liked this response, A Walk in her Shoes, sharing just how crucial it is to lend a helping hand to those in need.

Personally, I think there's an interesting sense of reciprocity between the written word and speech. The way in which one writes a formal paper might be drastically different from how/she speaks in everyday conversations.  So, when students are given the task of designing a podcast, they will have to give some real thought on how to appropriately structure their writing and delivery to make a compelling argument.

Am I off my rocker here, or do you see the potential for podcasting in the classroom?

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Digitizing Student Portfolios

I don't know about you, but when I was a youngster [just a few years back, that is...] I absolutely relished in the the annual time-to-make-your-writing-portfolio, middle school assignment.  I really shouldn't divulge what I'm about to, given that I am a professional who genuinely loves to learn, but my affinity for said portfolios might have been less than sincere.  OK, I liked them because they were a joke easy.

All I had to do was select a few of my best writing pieces, whip up a short reflection on the "process" I undertook, and stash everything in a neatly organized binder.  Sure, I attached a professional looking table of contents and snazzied up my cover with some sparkly embellishments.  Tada!  Unfortunately, this isn't the sort of scholarly approach I'd like my own kiddos to take, which brings me to Hicks (2009) recommendation of using a blog as a digital portfolio.  Hold the presses...presenting the blogfolio!

Blogs afford a certain sense of permanency, longevity, and continuity that just can't be replicated by the common binder.  As you can imagine, the previously aforementioned portfolios ended up in the far corner of my closet to be forgotten (I haven't always been clutter free!).  Blogfolios, on the other hand, take up no physical space and provide quite an impressive looking, customized, and carefully sequenced compilation of writing pieces.  These writing pieces can and should encompass more than students' routine blog posts.  How about lengthier writing samples, videos, podcasts, or photo compilations?

I found this YouTube video on how to create a portfolio using Blogger to be especially informative.  Yes, it is rather lengthy, but it provides a thorough review of blogging basics, including how to import GoogleDocs into Blogger and how to create additional pages to serve as dividers within the portfolio.  Personally, I like the ease of Blogger more so than Wordpress, which is the platform Hicks details in his book.



For additional insight on how to structure the portfolio process, this is a link to how one teacher facilitates digital portfolios with her six year-old students.  She shares an example, discusses the contents of the portfolio, and reiterates how crucial it is for students to have a say in which work samples are included.

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Attention: Time to Nab Some Incredible Math and Literacy FREEBIES!

I'm pretty confident that all of you can relate to the following scenario:  It's far past your bedtime on a school night (try 10pm!) and you're still up tweaking a lesson, finalizing an upcoming unit, or *GASP* tackling a mounting pile of those pesky "need-to-be-graded" papers.  Cue the crickets!

Well, I just stumbled upon a new favorite blog of mine late last evening, Welcome to the Teacher Trap! Ramblings of a Third Grade Teacher, and she gave me THE golden ticket to language arts planning and instruction.  I know there's plenty of elementary teachers out there, so I urge you to stop by the Austin Independent School District Language Arts Instructional Resources.  Here, you'll find topics ranging from author's purpose to trusted reading intervention lessons, text structure and Daily 5 Management.  Trust me, the list goes on!  I was thrilled to pieces to find a very comprehensive poetry unit, chock full of writing samples, explanations, sample student portfolios, and a healthy dose of lesson inspiration.  I've been scouring TeachersPayTeachers for resources, but this site gave me exactly what I envisioned without the price tag :)

For any teachers getting ready to tackle the Common Core's spin on fractions (it's my next unit with my 3rd graders!), I also thought I'd share these handy resources that I plan on using to introduce and reinforce the topic in a fun and tangible way:

• Fraction War Cards
• Fraction FlipChart for the SmartBoard
• Fraction Flower "Craftivity"...What a fabulous intro lesson, especially considering that my little guys will still be taking the CMTs next week and will need to execute some creativity!
• Fraction Avenue: Try your hand at designing a street with different fractions...

These are FREE lessons from TpT that simply require a quick download.  If you're interested in exploring even more resources that I've found, please feel free to check out my Diigo account with some recent additions. Hope to have saved you some precious minutes of sleep tonight :)

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Ready to Get Crafty?

All I need is an assortment of glitter, some freshly sharpened pencils, a stash of sweet smelling markers, and a few sheets of glossy paper (maybe some embellishments too...) and I'm ready to get crafty!  Our students, though, are more than just your typical "crafters;" try authors and composers, too!  Hicks (2009) encourages educators to view students as multimedia authors who must consider how text, images, audio, and video  come together to leave a lasting impression.  And, yes, students are creating said digital products for genuine audiences!

Consider the sweet "MAPS" heuristic that Hicks shares with his readers -- mode/media, audience, purpose, and situation.  These are the elements that our kiddos must reflect upon as they navigate new texts, select a presentation form, identify the needs/ characteristics of their audience, determine the underlying purpose of their piece, and examine the needs/strengths/weaknesses of the writer (themselves!) and any demands necessitated by the digital platform.  Gets a little tricky, huh?

How I wish I could call this art closet mine...

Now, let's move onto the real goodies of this little post: Photo-Essays!  Remember, I'm an aspiring scrapbooker, so I can't help but get giddy at the thought of using photographs to depict stories :)  With the modern convenience of smartphones, tablets, screenshots, and affordable digital cameras, students can begin to ponder over how meaning is derived from images.  Consider the function of light, angle, focus, staging, and movement.  Sometimes it's all about capturing the small moments that have the potential to elicit a very strong emotional response.  Didn't I hear somewhere that a picture is often worth a 1,000 words?

I had such fun exploring Flickr's Tell a Story in 5 Frames, in which participants are instructed to depict a story in 5 frames with only a title to aid in the interpretation.  Group members might respond with poetry, suggestions on how to improve the ordering of photos, tips to support stylistic choices, or any other sort of constructive feedback.  I got a good giggle out of this one, "The Daily Grind," with 5 different beverages documenting the course of one's day.  A must see for any adult!

I'd imagine that our kiddos would have a blast creating said projects, but I think we'd really have to emphasize the underlying purpose.  After all, it's not about choosing any random picture and tacking it up onto a story board for future publication.  And just like other forms of online publication, the conversation only begins once the story is published.  As authors, we can only seek to improve our craft by engaging in some peer feedback and self-reflection.  Speaking of commentary, I highly recommend that anyone interested in annotating photos via recorded messages, heads on over to VoiceThread.  For a helpful tutorial, make sure to read Judy Arzt's post on what makes  VoiceThread unique!  She has some fabulous examples of how this tool can be implemented in the classroom...

Here's the million dollar question: Can you see yourself making time in the classroom for a project of this nature?  Or, is there even any extra time to be had?

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photo credit: AForestFrolic via photopin cc

Google Docs in the Classroom

Are you swooning yet?  I'm simply envisioning the potential of GoogleDocs in my future (soon-to-be) classroom.  Some of you may already be GoogleDoc experts, so I welcome any suggestions, please!  I've used this collaborative, auto-saving, commenting enabled, eliminates-the-need-for-a-flash-drive platform, when tackling graduate level projects with peers who head from all areas of CT.  I *heart* working from the comfort from my own home and relish not having to send email revisions back and fourth.  No email clutter = one very happy girl!

Yet again, Hicks (2009) has brought me to a startling, but crucial realization...Google Docs can transform the way in which I manage, respond to, and create an audience for students' writing.  I'd like to take a moment to consider how just how powerful this tool can be:

A) I won't have to hear, "But I left my paper at home."  Or how about, "Miss Rosenfield, I can't find my journal."  And, an oldie but a goody, "I forgot to save my last draft on the computer.  It's gone!"  Yep, Google Docs eliminates any of these common problems because everything is auto-saved, accessible from any computer, and revision history can be tracked in the event kiddos need a look back at their work.

B) Peer editing can be taken to the next level.  Students can leave comments (or even participate in a chat), regarding their peer's work.  Obviously, plenty of modeling will be necessary for students to understand what sort of feedback is the most constructive.  Check out this blog post on using Google Docs to facilitate writer's workshop, where you'll find a variety of  editing-related skills that might become the basis for small group instruction.  How about "word smiths," "description detectives," "big picture person," or "tense tracker?" All of the specifics are outlined if you follow the above link.

C) Can you say "clutter free classroom?"  Well, maybe this won't drastically cut-down on all things paper, but I'm confident that it will make a difference.  And, I won't have to fret when my literacy block ends and I haven't had a chance to confer with all of my students.  Instead,  I can jump aboard their Google Doc and leave some comments to get the juices moving.  While I don't think written comments can replace the beauty of face-to-face conferring, it at least gives me an option to deliver more immediate feedback.  Just as Hicks emphasizes, it's not about grabbing the trusted red pen -- err font --- and conducting surgery on students' work.  Instead, the goal is to be strategic and focus on one or two areas/skills for the student(s) to really focus in on.

Want some more Google Docs inspiration?  You MUST look at this fabulous, interactive Glogster (almost like a virtual poster board) with some pretty spectacular uses for Google Docs in the classroom.  I'll wet your palette just a little bit :) You'll learn about designing templates, utilizing Google Form to create an "assignment tracker," creating mind maps with Google Draw and so much more!  I'm off to do some exploring of my own :)


photo credit: NedraI via photopin cc

My Teacher Tool Box...Is Your's Chock Full 'O Goodies?

I've already professed my obsession passion for school supplies, including my admitted Staples snobbery, but I also have amassed quite a collection of  Web 2.0 applications/digital platforms/online-collaborative learning spaces, all neatly filed away by "genre," in my LiveBinder.  Sure, my organizational tactics infiltrate my web presence as well ;)

It wasn't until I started reading Troy Hicks' The Digital Writing Workshop, did I realize how I'd become a bit of a "tool hoarder," if you will.  I seem to always be on the prowl for said tools that will make learning more engaging, digitize the traditional paper-and-pencil tasks, and afford my students the opportunity to extend their Web 2.0 repertoire.  Luckily, I received a welcome reminder: successful implementation of any digital application requires instruction purposefully suited for these tools, where learning is transformed into a reciprocal and relevant process.  Contrary to popular opinion, we do a disservice to our students if technology is simply used to re-package those "old school" teaching methods.

Case in point: A teacher establishes a classroom blog (*Applause*), but uses it strictly with the intention of posting questions for students to then respond to (So yesterday...).  While blogs can and should be used as a platform to inspire conversation, connection, and publication among educators and students, the previously aforementioned scenario fails to give students genuine opportunities for self-directed authorship.  As a newbie teacher, Hicks has forced me to re-examine several of my assumptions about blogging, namely their potential as "living" writing journals.

Just as many of my colleagues will attest, I have read Lucky Calkin's...I know she is the guru when it comes to writer's workshop.  She espouses choice in student writing, recognizes that students may be at different points in the writing process, and reminds us that "seeds," those little idea nuggets, can (and often, should) become the basis of a published piece.  Hicks (2009) takes Calkin's vision and brings it into a 21st century classroom where writing must be a living, dynamic, and collaborative progress.

Student blogs, in fact, seem to be the ideal strategy for jotting down ideas and generating drafts, all while receiving suggestions/comments/reflections from teachers and peers.  This seeks to extend and bolster students' writing as they create with an audience in mind.  Blogging as one entry point to writer's workshop.....now, that's innovative!  Another good point Hicks makes, and I have to adopt, is that not everything we post to a blog needs to be a beautifully polished, finalized product.  In fact, students who may be less comfortable posting their initial ideas can be invited to save their work to their blog, prior to publishing for a wider audience. And keep in mind, RSS feeds and Diigo work in tandem with blogging, helping students pull-in potential writing topics and organizing them by topic, respectfully.  Pretty effective implementation, huh?

Another resource I highly recommend peaking at is Youth Voices.  Hicks (2009) makes mention of this incredible website in his book, but I decided to do some further investigation.  In a nutshell, this is a platform for students to share their opinions/arguments/book reviews/gaming experiences through writing and audio. There are different virtual spaces for elementary, middle, and high school students, and a variety of student-generated guides can be found here, to help budding bloggers identify their voice, topic, and perspective, with respect to the "genre" they've selected.

I apologize for the length of this post...I just got so darn excited about this digital writer's workshop!  Do you think this is something you can realistically implement in the classroom?  What are your biggest concerns?

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