FINAL REFLECTION

This is my third year taking this class and I have learned so much and had fun along the way.  I have learned so many things from this class that I  incorporate in my lessons its hard to know where to start.  Today, I was using jeopardy with second graders. For grade levels 2, 3 and 4, at least once I year I take what the students generate from a topic from researching using Pebble Go and make it into a jeopardy board.  I add a caveat, they have to get the answer right and get a basket in the garbage can to earn a point for their team.  If they don't know an answer they can call on someone from their team, but forfeit the right to take a shot at the basket.  This game keeps all of the kids engaged and it is very loud and they love it.

I am currently paying for ADOBE spark and I will use it to present material at NYSCATE, ISTE and as for my annual report.  This week, I used NEARPOD, not sure if that is on your list and came up with this book and activity for a lesson for K tech next week:  https://share.nearpod.com/K5lhmuqQKV. 

I hope to take your class again next year!

Thank you.

Thing 30 Maker Spaces

The middle school librarian has a very successful makerspace program that has been going on for at least five years.  We have collaborated and for a couple of years once a month we would have a program in the elementary school and she and some of her students would come over and help facilitate them.  This collaboration was successful but it wasn't part of my schedule and I didn't like how I had to change people around to make it happen.  It also was purely by project and there was not a designated area or materials for a makerspace. 

We have something at our school called an IDEA grant.  The art teacher and I put in for money for a makerspace.  We received $8000.00 and a commitment from the PTO to donate $500.00 a year towards the program.   Unfortunately, the art teacher's schedule did not allow for her to participate.  I forged ahead mainly because I finally figured out a way that I could do a makerspace with  my schedule of 34 classes per week and no aid.  I participated in our summer PD on Schoology and designed a class in Schoology that is, for the most part, student managed.  Frankly, what I wanted to avoid the most was managing more STUFF.  So, with that priority in mind, I designed the class by belts and each belt is a kind of activity and is organized with the belt on it for a student to clearly see.  

Each belt represents a different activity that students do.  For example, the white belt represents a desire to begin the study of STEM.  Students must familiarize themselves with the STEM process through a variety of activities and learn how to post a video of him/herself.  To earn each belt, students must submit a video that shows what they did and how they applied the STEM process. The video submission prompts the teacher/facilitator to review the video and award that belt color.  Other belts are: yellow belt = puzzles; orange belt = building fundamentals; green = sewing, origami and more; blue = circuits; purple = 3d pens; red = coding; and black is make your own project/activity to add to a belt OR go into a class and teach one of the STEM activities to younger children.

Linda and I have spent a great deal of time discussing how do you assess STEM? I feel that you have to have something and finally came up with the video where kids talk about what they did and how they applied the STEM process. I have a little guide to help them form their thoughts about it before they do the video.

I had all of the fourth grade students participate in the white belt during a library class and I have some core students who come weekly. I am still working on the best way for kids to access the materials and the class. Right now I have fourth grade teachers sending 5 kids per class once a week at a certain time. I usually only have two teachers participate, which is fine. I know that if I offered to take the whole class (without the teacher, of course) I would have more participation but I am not willing to do that. I want students who are interested in being there. I have one student who has progressed to the purple belt and will be done with all of them by the end of the year. I plan to have an award for this at the fourth grade awards ceremony in June.

The nice thing about Schoology is it is easy to revise and improve each year or time you use that activity. I have joined a couple of maker space facebook groups and they have been excellent in terms of suggestions of what to buy. I also submitted this program to ISTE and it was accepted as a poster project. I hope to have this makerspace in the shape I want it to be by the time I retire, which is not that far away!

On Note Taking Thing 27

For the past ten years or so, I have been doing a common core research project with fourth graders.  The project has taken different forms and each year I try to improve it. The last couple of years I have used Schoology as  the platform. Students choose from a list of people that was created by myself and a fourth grade teacher. The famous person has to have entries in a book, Pebble Go and an encyclopedia.  Each card that goes with the source is a different color and they are guided notes. Fourth graders need guided notes. Next year, I will tweak the cards so that pebble go is just one side of a note and then they will find quotes by the famous person from the general internet. I will also have them work in teams from the beginning as the project dragged on longer than necessary.

I looked at the information on note taking.  I especially liked the first article, Note Taking A Research Roundup by Jennifer Gonzalez.  It reinforced what I have noticed, that kids, especially young ones who are new to typing and writing, are more efficient note takers on paper.  I looked at the other articles and may refer back to them at another time, but in the elementary school, on-line note taking is not practical.

 I always meet with the fourth grade teachers and we discuss what worked and what did not from the previous year.  This year’s conversation resulted in a change of the famous people and the teachers shared how difficult it is to get the kids to write.  Consequently, I added to my Schoology page and made a five paragraph essay writing template with notes from me in text as well as a Screencastfy they can access by clicking on the title. I also gave them a sample writing piece and rubric. Hopefully, they will use the material. Frankly, I couldn't do this project without using Schoology as otherwise it is just too many students to manage, but so far I have not been able to entice the fourth grade teachers to use it.

First students took a quiz to find out who they knew about and who they selected. Next they made a google slide with three pictures and three clues about their famous person. They then watched a brainpop about note taking and responded to me in the discussion forum of Schoology telling me one thing they learned about note taking from they video. They then took notes from a book, a database, and an encyclopedia. They then graded themselves and did a video in the discussion part of Schoology answering the question of who cares? I added the who cares part this year because I had found in previous years that after taking all of the notes, some kids still had no idea about what was so great about what their famous person did.

Grade Yourself - I respond using the same rubric in schoology

Book Note Cards

Writing Rubric

Writing Template

Thing 16: Digital Portfolios for Students

I started using Seesaw last year with a kindergarten tech class that I co-teach with kindergarten teachers.  Last year there was not too much in the library that you could use.  This year, there is so much to choose from it is overwhelming.  For example, last year there was a hodgepodge collection.  This year you can choose by grade level and topic. 

I did not get too fancy last year.  I used it for Valentine's Day, What did you do over vacation and sight words and practicing nursery rhymes that they were doing for music.  This year I expanded my use.  I had always wanted to participate in the Global Read Aloud.  There are SEESAW face book sites for connecting.  I found another librarian with five second grade classes in Madison, Indiana.  We read the books and blogged back and forth.  It was not as successful as I had hoped.  Part of the problem is I only see the kids once a week and half days and other things conflict so the project dragged on longer than I would have liked and the kids grew tired of it.  Also, there was not enough time to respond fully to the other school. I would have liked to have used an older grade for this project but it just wouldn't work out.  Second graders still have trouble signing in with their login and password which you have to do to use seesaw.   On the plus side, the books are already chosen, the kids learn about something they would not have and the lesson plans and activities are mostly done for you.

My other problem is that there are only 10 free accounts and I typically have 6 of each grade level so I have to rotate a level off before I can take another one on.  Hopefully, we will be purchasing SEESAW for our district and this problem will be resolved.  I see a great deal of potential for SEESAW.  I am waiting for someone to come up with demonstrable grade level competencies/assessments in writing and/or library and/or ELA assessments that could be used and saved as standardized portfolios. 

This year I did get a bit fancier using SEESAW and my kindergarten classes.  I looked at the library for ideas and found one I liked about Abe Lincoln's Hat and  Valentine's day.   I used other peoples activity templates.  Initially, I then paired up Lincoln's hat  with "Looking at Lincoln" but the first kindergarten class I used it with did not like the book.  So, I found another one "Do You Have a Hat."  I scanned it in using my copier, dropped it into slides, then screencastified it, downloaded and then uploaded it to SEESAW.  I think that there are probably copyright issues with this so I do not share my stuff with the SEESAW library.  I also did another one like this with "Guess How Much I Love You" and a valentine's card.  What prompted me to do it this way was I looked at youtube videos but I didn't like the quality of what is available in terms of read alouds.  Moreover, the kids get a kick out of knowing it is me reading the book to them.

Here is an  example:
https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_activity?share_token=1t0_gBUeTNu3m_jLHXy5QQ&prompt_id=prompt.93087c31-1cab-4964-9a8e-9f734a58a78b


I have the Lincoln one too.  I just can't seem to find it in my library although I did share it with my classes.  I'll have to figure out how I do that so I have it for next year. 

THING 2 Student Blogging and Writing

I like to use what I do for this class.  After looking at what I am going to do with my classes in March, I decided I would try a padlet for the purposes of showing students how to use SORA.   I also had run across a post from someone of my librarian face book feeds that PADLET was something that they could not live without. I already had a padlet account and I looked at some youtube videos on ideas on how to use it and just how to use it.  I ended up creating an instructional padlet that I added to our technology page that shows how to sign into SORA.  Here it is:


HOW TO USE

THING 26 Media Skills

I have been using video much more this year in my library classes.  My third and fourth graders have made use of the discussion feature of schoology where they can video tape themselves responding to prompts and comment on their classmates' entries.  I also use SEESAW with kindergarten and I used it for the Global Read Aloud with second graders.

I looked at the information in this entry and I have used CANVA before.  I know how to take screenshots.  I didn't really have any projects in mind for resources such as Pixlr.  It also wants you to sign up with a credit card that you cancel once the free time is up which I was not interested in doing that.

I have used word art before so I didn't really have an interest in that but I was intrigued with the Camscanner and after reading the tips from Joyce Valenza, I downloaded camscanner on my IPAD and my phone.   Last year my phone died so I ended up scanning things off of my phone that I didn't want to lose again and downloading them into my IPAD photos.  I could have done this with my camera but I was interested in seeing the quality of the scans.  They are quite good and I used the multiple scan feature too and was pleasantly surprised.  I will use this helpful too frequently in the future.  Thanks for the information.

Thing 25 Green Screen Fun

I read the information posted and decided I would try the idea described by Nicole Rosen with one difference, I would use teachers' faces superimposed on their favorite book.  So far I have about three done and hope to have more for Read Across America on March 2nd.  I have noticed that a teacher's book recommendation goes a long way.  I was hoping this activity would not only provide a laugh and be a community builder at our school but also inspire some reading.

I ended up going back and forth between by IPAD and google drawings on my laptop.  I didn't have much luck with the free green screen sites.  The two I tried wanted payment before you could download something.  Since I just had my bank card suspended for such a purchase, I didn't want to take that route. 

I ended up getting the background to blend in by using the format color option.  Here are my efforts so far:

Amelia Bedelia

I Really Like Slop

When Randolph(s) Turned Rotten