Ms. Taylor's Thoughts

AudioPal

2009-09-15T21:49:00.002-06:00

I discovered a new website: http://audiopal.com/index.html for using AudioPal. It seems like an easy and free way to record your voice and embed your recording to web applications. I am going to try it out with my students for our first collaborative project. Has anyone used it before? What do you think?

Happy New School Year!

2009-08-31T20:56:00.006-06:00

The beginning of the school year always seems to fill my mind up so much that I walk around in a haze. The haze is slowly dissipating and my mind is starting to work again! I am excited to challenge myself this year to keep using technology in my classroom. So far I have been using the Smartboard to help teach and practice math concepts and have set up reading listening centers on ipods. I also created a film with my class where each student set a goal for the year. It was a fun project which we did together on the Smartboard. It introduced my students to film-making and got them excited to be making films this year. As always I am inspired by my colleagues and other Global Learners and am looking forward to another great year!

cross-posted at: http://principianteglobal.blogspot.com/

End of Year Reflection

2009-06-05T08:26:00.002-06:00

When I told my students yesterday that we would be reflecting on our experiences from the past year they collectively groaned. A few whined, "I don't want to reflect." Perhaps we "reflected" too much over the school year! But once we got into it, they couldn't stop thinking about our year together and all of the things they had experienced together. One thought led to another and to another and to another.

The last thing we did before they left for summer break was share one thing that they would never forget about third grade, something they will take with them. The two things that came up consistently for my students was going on field trips and using technology. Those experiences will stay with them and held the most meaning for them. I'm reflecting on that!

cross posted at: http://principianteglobal.blogspot.com/

Collaborating with Ms. Hughes

2009-05-27T20:30:00.003-06:00

Working with Kathy Hughes has been an honor this year! Although I am her "mentor" I have learned so much from working with her. Thank you Kathy! I am impressed with Kathy's positive attitude, sense of adventure and willingness to try new things and stick with it until she fulfills the goals she sets for herself. Her students are lucky to have her.

Our final collaboration project went well for my class. I had my students work with a partner to publish two poems that they wrote. They chose one to type on their glogster and another to record and put their audio file on the glogster. We used ipods and italks to create digital voice memos. It was easy to download them to Glogster for the students to use. They also included the avitar images they created on http://www.buildyourwildself.com/. We saved those as pictures and downloaded them to glogster.

Check out our poetry glogs on our classroom blog.

Lesson Plan

Cross posted at: http://principianteglobal.blogspot.com/

Glogster Craze Hits Third Grade

2009-05-13T20:45:00.002-06:00

My class has also started to use glogster! Thanks Liz for showing it to us at the Global Learners UNITE session. Today we used the Smart Board and Glogster to create a classroom glogster about our responsibility to share the world with other animals. Each student got to put an idea onto the glog. It was a fun and engaging way for students to collaborate on a project together and to incorporate ideas from a poster they created and a writing assignment they did independently for previous assignments. We kept it simple and just have photos and words on it. What do you think of our finished project?

cross posted at:
http://principianteglobal.blogspot.com/

lesson plan at:
http://schoolweb.acsd14.k12.co.us/ectaylor/globallearnerlessonplans-IBUnitsofInquiry.htm

Research Writing with Podcasts

2009-05-10T17:03:00.004-06:00

At the end of the year my students have been growing a little too comfortable with each other, me, and everything we do regularly in the classroom. The best thing to do seems to spice things up and add a little more variety to our learning! That's why I decided to have my students publish their expository paragraphs in a new way. They wrote about a topic they researched on the internet and with books. They created podcasts to publish their work. This motivated them to complete their paragraphs in a timely fashion and to do a good job with them. They loved recording their voices, even if most of them were a bit nervous at first. We used iPods with iTalks to create some voice memos. I then posted them on my website. Next we are going to listen to each podcast and the students are going to help assess each others' work using a rubric from Write Source for expository writing. I found this was an easy and fun way for students to publish their writing. Check them out on our classroom website. Does anyone have any other ideas on fun ways for students to publish writing?

lesson plan

Collaborative Book Reviews

2008-11-06T15:11:00.005-07:00

Fourth graders at Central and third graders at Alsup created book reviews, posted them on blogs and read book reviews written by other students. They left comments for each other, read comments left to them, and left comments to respond to those left for them.

This was my first collaborative Global Learners project with Kathy Hughes who teaches fourth grade at Central. We kept it relatively simple for our first project. We decided to focus on reading and student blogging.

My students were really excited about blogging! They loved using the laptops, reading book reviews, reading comments, and leaving comments for each other. They also learned a lot about blog etiquette. Students wrote interesting, thoughtful comments to each other and responded well to comments left for them. It was a good project to start with, not being too complex, and incorporating reading and writing skills. It took longer than we planned and because the third graders were not able to leave comments for the fourth graders until the blog was adjusted and it took students a long time when using the computers for the first time for a project like this. Throughout the rest of this school year students will be completing more book reviews to be posted online. The classes can continue to read each other’s book reviews and leave each other comments.

Please visit our blogs and leave us comments, or visit with your students! We'd love to get more comments about our book reviews!

Alsup Third Grade Book Groups

Central Elementary Book Reviews

Lesson Plan

Confessions of a Digital Film-Maker

2008-10-29T14:47:00.005-06:00

cross posted at~http://principianteglobal.blogspot.com/

I have been making films with my students for over three years. Last year, six films were submitted to the film fest (check them out on my class website). I've developed a process to use with the students that connects making films with the writing process and draws on their love of film and their background knowledge. I have the students learn how to use Photo Story 3 for windows and Windows Movie Maker. We use the Smart board to make a film with each of the programs before students are given the freedom to plan and make their own films.

Some confessions:

I enjoy making films as much as my students do (or more)
Film making is easy for students to learn how to do (even third graders)
I always have students make a plan for their film first (they don't like that part very much)
I'd like to focus more on digital storytelling (versus film making)
I'd like to know how other teachers are using digital film making and storytelling with their students (I need more ideas)
Sometimes I have technical difficulties (like taping over parts of a student's film before it has been downloaded...oops!)
I haven't started making films with my students yet this year (so there is a small tear in my heart slowly growing larger)

How have you used digital film making with your students? Who is making films for the film fest this year? I'd love to hear your ideas!

teachers using technology

2008-09-23T11:33:00.003-06:00

~cross-posted at: http://principianteglobal.blogspot.com/~

I am honored to work not only with fellow Global Learners but many other teachers who make 21st century learning a priority in their classrooms. As teachers in my school get introduced to new forms of technology they are impressed, inspired, and motivated to incorporate it into their classrooms and professional practices.
At Alsup, my team of fellow third grade teachers uses many forms of technology on a regular basis; the laptop carts, Discovery Education Streaming, websites, clickers, and document cameras. They are curious about wikis and blogs and would love their own websites. They find out more about these on their own and even try them out.

Laurie Arnold has created a student blog called Third Grade Bloggers that her students used last year and she plans to use it again this year. Brianna Sealy is always using video clips to support her teaching and she utilizes clickers with ease. Katie Coggin has started using the laptop cart during Writing and utilizes many math web based activities with her class. These are just a few of the many ways these teachers and others at my school have been proactively teaching with techonolgy.

Do teachers you work with utilize technology in their classrooms?

a new year!!!

2008-09-02T13:08:00.002-06:00

I can't believe a new school year has begun! I've been busy learning how to use new teaching materials, getting to know my students and getting back into the routine. It is challenging being able to balance all of the different tasks for the week. I now feel ready to add using technology into the framework. I have so many ideas:

smart board use during writing and math
using the document camera instead of the overhead projector
using vokis to liven up student writing
using the classroom blog for my reading group
using voicethread to compel student to think more critically about many topics we're learning about
using a classroom wiki to collaborate with others

This is just a start! I hope to start out slowly and keep doing more and more as the students and I are able to integrate technological tools into our everyday learning.

My goals for integrating technology into my teaching this year include working more to master some tools I am already familiar with (like digital storytelling) and challenging myself to be more of a risk-taker and to try some new things (like voicethread).

Well...I better get started!

book groups blog

2008-04-13T21:23:00.003-06:00

~cross-posted at: http://principianteglobal.blogspot.com/ ~

My reading group created book reviews after reading a chapter book with a book group. The goal of the assignment was for them to enjoy reading fiction, discuss the book with others, and create a book review after reading so they could synthesize the experience and bring closure to the 10-week long project. In order to make it more meaningful and exciting, they published their book reviews online on a book group blog, and some also created podcasts which I posted on my classroom website. The students loved it! They put a lot of time and effort into their book reviews and enjoyed putting them online. They also enjoyed leaving comments for other students in the class on the blog. Please visit our book groups blog and read some book reviews. There is also a quiz to take. Also you can listen to some podcasts on my classroom website. We'd love for other students to leave us comments on the blog and take the poll also!

Poetry Wiki

2008-03-07T13:20:00.001-07:00

I've been having some technology blues lately-I start a project and then don't finish it, or encounter some issues that I didn't expect, and spend too much time on something ridiculous. Does this happen to anyone else?

One thing I am excited about is the poetry wiki I created. So far my students have published their acrostic name poems there. Soon they will comment on them on the wiki. Please visit and leave your comments if you are so inclined! I decided to use wet paint, which Kelly S. recommended to me. I like how it looks visually, but discovered it doesn't allow for Voki widgets. Oh well, I guess I will keep searching for my favorite wiki site. Any suggestions?

Poetry Unit

2008-02-10T21:38:00.001-07:00

This post is cross-posted at the Global Learners Blog.

One subject I love to delve into with my students is poetry. I believe that poetry helps them love language and see more possibilities in what language has the power to do.

My students will become poets through a poetry unit that I have designed. Students will create many poems as they learn different styles of poetry and then they will bring them together by creating a podcast of their poems, or a Photo Story. Also students will post a poem they write on a classroom poetry blog. This blog will provide the structure for students and others to respond to their poems and offer feedback.

I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions or recommendations in regards to this poetry unit. Have you tried anything with your students to teach poetry using 21st century learning strategies or technologies? What worked? What other ideas would you suggest that I incorporate into this unit of study? I would appreciate any suggestions or feedback!

Please take a look at the lesson plan and a film about poetry I made on my website.

Classroom Website Uses

2008-01-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

I love my classroom website! It has so many uses and helps me plan, instruct and communicate. My website has these main uses:

Communicate with parents and community members
A tool for instruction in the classroom for all academic areas
A way for students to share their work with the world
A way for me to plan my instruction and get organized

Do you use a classroom website? What do you use your website for? Do you love it as much as I do?

I see my website as an investment. The more I add to it, the more useful it will be to me now and in the future.

What do you think of my website?

Digital Storytelling with a Smartboard

2007-10-31T11:43:00.000-06:00

My filmmaking group is ready to begin planning their own films. So far they have learned how to use digital still and video cameras, a tripod, and two software programs: Photo Story 3 for Windows and Movie Maker. I felt it was important for them to understand all of the tools of filmmaking/digital storytelling before deciding what kind of story they would like to tell through film. Using a Smartboard was a great way for me to teach my students how to use all the tools of filmmaking in an interactive way. Here is a digital film made with Photo Story called, Filmmaking is Fabulous! Check it out:

What do you think?

Online Resource Extravaganza

2007-10-14T21:26:00.000-06:00

So many online teaching resources...so little time to explore them all! Do you ever feel like that? I sure do. But what a wonderful problem to have. When I find one I like and that I think will work for my students I try it out with them. Then I assess how beneficial it was to use with them. Many times I will use that resource again and share it with my colleagues. Here are some of my favorite online activities that I have used with my third graders so far this year:

Writing: Online Letter Generator allows students to write a letter and learn about the parts of a letter

Reading: Starfall is a site designed for pre-school through second grade students who are learning how to read. I use it with some of my third graders with special needs-they love it! Teachers can even order reading and writing journals that go along with the online stories (for free).

Math: Learning Planet is a great place for pre-school through 6th graders to work on basic math facts and skip counting skills. My students can easily play the games on this site and enjoy coming back to them again, and again.

Do you know of any wonderful online teaching resources? What are they?

Bringing Yourself Into the Classroom

2007-10-04T10:22:00.000-06:00

Wow...Is it really October? What happened to August and September? I feel like the last two months have passed by as quickly as a hummingbird in flight. Now that the school year is off to a crazy and lovely start and my students are getting used to me and I am getting used to them, I feel ready for the real learning and fun to launch into the next level!

I believe all teachers bring themselves into the classroom. I know I do. I share the things I love and enjoy with my students! I love reading, writing, poetry, and filmmaking! I love when my students ask questions about the world around them in critical ways, and I love allowing them the freedom and structure to answer those questions, or at least attempt to. I hope to bring my interest in technology into my classroom much more, starting NOW!

As a Global Learner in Adams County School District 14, I am given many resources and the support I need to teach my students with technology and to allow them to learn through technology. I feel very lucky to have that opportunity. I also feel that I have been so busy with the start of the school year so I haven't taken extra time and effort to utilize technology in my classroom as much as I would have liked, to take advantage of that opportunity.

As I write this blog post, I am writing to reaffirm my commitment to 21st Century Learning and to being a Global Learner. I am writing to remind myself that it is easy to feel overwhelmed, but I need to take small steps as I grow in my comfort level in teaching with technology. As I try out teaching with technology in new ways with my students it is scary and exciting. But the more I do it, the easier it will be. Overtime my students and I will be able to do more as we learn about 21st Century Learning tools together.

2007-09-10T12:55:00.000-06:00

Get a Voki now!

Check out our classes Vokis! Can you guess who is who? Check them out on our website. We created them at voki.com. How could you use Vokis with your students? Do you want to make a Voki?

Ms. Taylor's Classroom Website

2007-07-31T14:52:00.001-06:00

cross-posted on the Global Learners Blog

My classroom website is now active on the web! Please check it out and let me know what you think. My goal in creating this website for my classroom was to have it serve as a tool for communication and collaboration. I also see it being a space to share our classroom's educational experiences with the world, and a place for my students to access learning resources and activities. The website features:

pages for each academic area with related website links
links to google calendars for Alsup IB school, each academic area, and homework
a clustr map to track visitors
a page where Global Learner lesson plans will be posted
photo gallery that utilizes embedded Picasa slide shows
and more!

I used ideas from Jeff's website and many great links that Andrew has posted on Central's website. Thank you both! And thanks to Dave for helping me edit Html on my site to allow me to embed the clustr map and Picasa slide show!

Any ideas on how I could improve the site?

21st Century Learning Tools

2007-07-18T12:01:00.000-06:00

I am a second language learner. I am not studying a spoken language of the world, but the fascinating world of technology. This summer I have been becoming familiar with new vocabulary words and concepts. Web 3.o, voki, technorati, wikis, blogs, clustrmaps, and more! What is more, I have been joining in and participating in this technologically minded world. Three months ago I didn't know what a wiki or blog was and now I have both! My classroom website will be up and running within the month! Then the journey with my students will begin! I am excited to start the next school year with so many new 21st century learning tools at my disposal. What will happen? Will my teaching improve? Will student participation, motivation and achievement improve? I think so... What do you think?

Website Development

2007-07-09T17:22:00.000-06:00

I am currently creating a website for my classroom. This has been both a challenging and delightful experience. It has also been very useful, acting as a tool to help me share my vision of teaching with a potentially global audience. I plan to use my website for many purposes: a source of information for students and parents, a place to share students work, a place to post lesson plans I create so that they can be utilized by other educators, a place to post links to other online educational resources, and a way to communicate with people connected to our classroom community. Developing this website has started first with a framework which details are being added to. I am excited about what will happen in the near future when my website is launched and hopefully useful!

Thoughts about younger students and digital storytelling

2007-06-22T09:21:00.000-06:00

During Summer Learning Camp here at Alsup IB World School I have been pushed to work outside my comfort zone, teaching Kindergarten through fifth graders. I am used to teaching third and fourth graders. When I was designing my lessons for the three weeks of filmmaking workshop I struggled with what I should do in order to make films with the youngest students. I knew the second-fifth graders who had more advanced reading and writing skills would be more prepared to tell their stories digitally. But how could I make digital storytelling engaging for the youngest students? Would they enjoy the process or be bored? How much could they do on their own, and what would I have to help them with?

The Kindergarten/first grade group has made two films so far and has started a third. Each film has been posted to youtube.com. Their second film was about animals. For each part of the digital storytelling process I have guided the group in an interactive way using the Smartboard. Each student selected pictures that we downloaded from Microsoft Office Clipart online. After importing the photos into Photo Story 3 for Windows the students each edited their two photos, typed the names of the animals on them, and recorded their voice on their photos. We selected music as a group, built our story and then watched it on "the big screen." I have been happy with how this group has been able to focus on the digital storytelling process when guided through each part, one step at a time. Another thing that has helped is only working on our film for a short ammount of time each day before doing other activities. The students have a lot of fun making films together and then watching them! Any ideas how to improve this process of digital storytelling with younger students?

Using a Smartboard for Group Filmmaking

2007-06-15T20:02:00.001-06:00

I have found that using a Smartboard is a wonderful way to teach elementary aged students digital story telling. I've been working with students in Kindergarten through sixth grade, teaching them how to take digital photos and tell a story using them. We are using Photo Story 3 for Windows, a software program that allows you to make films with digital photos. Using the Smartboard, all students are allowed to be an integral part of the process. They can see and learn how to use the features of the program while participating in making a group film. You can watch one of their films here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3FGoDj_hqw I see using the Smartboard is a way for my students to interact more while they are learning something new. Keeping them actively engaged helps them enjoy the learning process and stay focused on what they are learning. Have you tried using a Smartboard to engage your students? How have you used it?

My Mind is Full of Technology!

2007-06-12T15:23:00.000-06:00

I have completed five days of Global Learner professional development training. My mind feels like a lettuce spinner that is in full spin. I am somewhat exhausted after learning about so many technology tools that have amazing capabilities. Under my exhausted layer there is a thicker layer of excitement. I am changed. The way I think about education has changed. Have you ever had an experience that has lefted your way of thinking about something completely different?

2007-06-11T11:15:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Room 21 at Alsup IB World School! This year we will be collaborating and communicating on this Blog! What would you like to learn about in third grade? What do you hope our classroom community is like? What questions do you have about Alsup IB World School?