Enrichment Day

Each year, our Horizon's teacher (our new PC term for Gifted and Talented), organizes a fun filled afternoon of mini-enrichment courses for the kids in our elementary schools to choose from. Teachers, middle school and high school students, and community members come into our school and offer their expertise and lead a group of elementary students for an hour and a half in their interest areas. This year we had courses that ranged from cooking dog biscuits for your favorite four legged friend, to playing the drums and guitar, to hiking techniques and science experiments at home. There were gardeners, fly fish tiers, golfers, and scrap bookers too. The students got to pick their top 5 choices and were divided into their respective groups for the afternoon.

I can't say enough about events like this one. To see children in a different setting other than in class is truly a special occasion and one that should be shared by all teaching staff all over the world. As a technology integrator, I miss the opportunities that I had had as a classroom teacher to connect with students on a one-to-one level and discuss their social lives as well as just their educational career within the confines of the classroom walls. I miss heading out to the ballpark to watch a student clobber a fastball into the outfield, or play their favorite concerto at their piano recital. A day like enrichment day, although it's only an hour and a half long, offers a quick insight into the true character of each and every child.

There were 20 kids that came out to learn about a golf swing with myself and our school custodian that moonlights at a local golf and ski sports shop. We taught them the basic grip and mechanics of the golf swing, and even let them use the back playground as a driving range. The students then divided up into groups and played a short 9-hole course that I had set up around the back field and even kept score on score cards that were designed in the computer lab. (We had to tie math into the event some how!)

All of the students loved the activity. Some were disappointed, and even frustrated at times, over their lack of confidence and ability to strike the ball with mastery, but that is the actual point of the day. Students that excel in the classroom didn't always master the activity for enrichment day and learned a hard lesson that sometimes extra practice is required to master a skill. Other students, and in my class in particular, that do not always excel in the classroom realized they could succeed in something new and unrelated to typical school activities and found a new love for a hobby that they hadn't tried before.

Learning can come from any where and every where! As educators we need to realize this and strive to think outside of the box and teach from all different angles in order to reach each and every child. I sure learned a lot from the enrichment day and I didn't even get a chance to attend a course. I can only imagine what the rest of the group learned in their choices.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches as AT in the Classroom

This is my first published article in Tech&Learning Magazine.

iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches as AT in the Classroom

April eNewsletter

In this month's eNewsletter, I offer some advice on building your very own Professional Learning Network (PLN). Much like PLCs, a PLN allows you to create, collaborated and gain feedback any time and any where. Instead of meeting with your department, team, or grade level locally, a global education team is formed online so that you can enhance your lessons, projects and units. I have also attached some great articles on creating lessons and builiding PLN's with technology. Below are some great links to help you get started as well.

• Twitter Commands Blog
• http://cantondog.com/128/top-7-twitter-commands-everyone-should-know/
• 
  
• How Web-based Tools Change Teaching and Learning
• Free ebook at http://newbay.ebookhost.net/dle/hpintel/3/index.php
• 
  
• Classroom Video: Tools and Strategies to Engage Students in Learning
• Free ebook at http://newbay.ebookhost.net/tl/sony/1/index.php
• 
  
• Web 2.0 Tools Website
• http://sdst.libguides.com/newtools
• 
  
• Privately Share Videos for Portfolios
• http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/03/3-ways-to-privately-share-videos.html

Cloud Computing

The latest edition of the eNewsletter is out. In this month, cloud computing is the hot topic. What are the pros and cons of creating, publishing, and backing up to web accounts?

eNewsletter February

In the latest edition of the eNewsletter, I have included National Education Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S), Teachers (NETS-T) and Administrators (NETS-A) to discuss the importance of these standards in moving our district forward with technology integration. Included are some great resources and web links to sites that offer projects, lessons and ideas to integrate technology and promote 21st century skills and future problem solvers.

iPads, iTouches, and iPhones as AT

Introduction

The recent release of Apple’s iPad has opened up some great new ideas and creative paths for teachers looking for assistive technologies (AT) for their classroom. Tactile learners, and digital natives alike, love the opportunity to use these handheld devices to learn about core curriculum standards within the classroom. “iPod touch and iPhone use a high-resolution Multi-Touch screen, ideal for those who have difficulty using a traditional keyboard and mouse.” (http://www.apple.com/education/special-education/) The iTunes app. store has even showcased a special tab for special education apps. available as AT for students with learning disabilities. The app store often offers these same apps for the iPod Touch and iPhone. These tablets and handheld devices can be used in many different ways, and even offer communication tools for students with autism.  

Applications (apps)

Applications for handheld devices are becoming more and more popular in education. Many teachers are starting to use these apps. on handheld devices to promote reading fluency and comprehension, communication skills, and other core curriculum concepts. There are so many apps to choose from, it sometimes gets overwhelming when searching for one that best fits the lesson or the individual learner. I have a few recommendations for apps that can be used as AT within the classroom on all three devices.

TapToTalk is a free app. that uses symbols to help students form sentences. Students with verbal issues, or who cannot speak at all, can use this app. to communicate with their teacher and peers. The free gallery offers phrases about feelings and every day statements such as, “I feel happy” or, “I need to go to the bathroom.” Additional galleries for forming sentences can be downloaded from the company’s website as well including manipulating symbols or pictures to reflect the student’s, individual teacher’s or daily routines. This has been a great feature for one of our students with autism in fifth grade. He used to use a Vantage Vanguard touch box and is very familiar with touching symbols to form sentences. Having the ability to import pictures of his teachers and peers in his class has been a huge advantage in his communications, as he used to have to type in the names of these people before with his touch box.  

A more robust program for communicating for students with autism is Proloquo2Go. This app. costs $189.99, however, compared to the cost of paying for software and equipment such as a text-to-speech touch box, the money could be well worth it. The application uses SymbolStix Symbols to help students communicate. Sentences are formed and the tablet or handheld device will read the text out loud. “Proloquo2Go has been helping individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy, down syndrome, developmental disabilities, ALS, traumatic brain injury, aphasia, apraxia, and more.” (http://www.proloquo2go.com/About/article/ipad)   

Text-to-speech, and speech-to-text apps. are also available on the iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone. Dragon Dictation is a tool used to dictate speech and format the spoken word into text. Students who have trouble with gross and/or fine motor skills can use this app. to communicate effectively in text, without having to write or type. These text notes can then be easily shared via Facebook, Twitter and email. The copy/paste feature allows the user to transform the text into any other application they may need to add to as well.  Personally, I have only used this a few times with students, but I have found that this app is a wonderful alternative to texting. I can speak into the iPhone using this app and convert it to a text message faster then typing on the smaller keyboard. 

Text-to-speech options are available for many apps. including iBooks. A student can pick out a book from the shelf and simply hold their finger on a word, and the word will be read out loud to the student. A dictionary feature also allows students to look up the meaning of the word, and they may also wish to add a note to review later that bookmarks the word on the page. Audio options are available for all of these features. I worked with a second grader who was struggling with reading, and the text-to-speech feature and dictionary option helped him?? get through the struggles of not understanding a sentence enough to comprehend the key elements of the story. Two months into the school year, this same student was leaving sticky notes for the teacher within the application connecting the story to personal experiences. Clearly this student had grown leaps and bounds due to this technology.      

There are many apps. from the iTunes store geared towards English Language Learners (ELL) as well. Apps. are available for translation between languages, and ELL students can benefit from apps. that offer language building skills and promote reading and speaking fluency as well. I have seen an emerging English reader use iTalk Lite, a free voice recorder app. in a first grade classroom. The student read into the microphone on the teacher’s iPhone to record his voice. A synchronization program, also free from the developer’s website, allowed the teacher to grab a copy of the recording onto the laptop as well. A CD was burned for the student to take home, after his best recorded reading, to listen to and practice with fluency. This is also a great way for the student to showcase their successes, or model inflection and fluency to future struggling students. This opens up all kinds of opportunities for teachers to create audio directions, alternative text books, and fluency practice lessons for students that require it.

Apple’s iPhone 3GS now comes standard with accessible navigation software to help people with disabilities experience everything it has to offer. “The iPods and iPhone also feature spoken menu technology that blind and low-vision students can use to easily find a song or playlist.” Apple is truly making an effort to allow everyone to fully access all of these handheld devices’ features. “With iPod touch and iPhone, students can easily activate Mono Audio and access useful applications developed especially to enhance these media players for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.” (http://www.apple.com/education/special-education/) 

Conclusion

Our school district has placed 20 iPod Touches and 15 iPads into next year’s budget as a way to pilot some programs within our school and develop strong AT programs. These devices can definitely provide learning for everyone, but are certainly great resources when it comes to assistive technologies.

Tech New Year's Resolutions

As an elementary educator in the 21st century, it is becoming more and more important to embed technology into lesson plans, activities, units, and every day tasks for both myself and my students. Technology is constantly evolving, and if I ignore it even for a little bit, I may be left behind. It can certainly be overwhelming, but I vow to keep my head above water and be the life preserver for anyone feeling like they cannot keep up. Whether this be students (not likely) or staff members that need a little help in moving forward and to not just feel comfortable treading water any more.

Taking a leap of faith can be overwhelming, so taking a few smaller steps can be very rewarding. This year I have made a list of some things that we can all do to help incorporate more technology into our own environment and into our classrooms. Everybody loves lists so I created my top ten ideas for increased technology use in education, but do not feel like you have to check off each item in the new year. These are merely suggestions for enhancing your classroom lessons and student motivation. Try one step at a time, and in no particular order.

1. Subscribe to an educators blog and vow to read it at least once per week. I have built into my schedule now a time to read my subscription blogs and time to write a blog as well. Here are a couple of great blogs to read for education. (www.speedofcreativity.org, www.ilearntechnology.com, and www.freetech4teachers.com)

2. Download Skype and connect with another classroom somewhere on Earth. I highly recommend joining Skype in the Classroom to help in making connections with other classrooms.

3. Create a Twitter or Facebook account and start your professional learning network (PLN) and start collaborating with educators around the world.

4. Attend a free webinar and learn something new for free and from the comfort of your own home.

5. Investigate a new handheld device and find a few ways to use them in the classroom. Allow your students to become the investigators and evaluators for the apps too!

6. Start a blog, wiki, threaded discussion or a web page that is interactive with your students. You'd be surprised how much students will participate in classroom discussions away from the regular classroom.

7. Publish a video, podcast or photo set to an Internet site to share. Don't forget to comment on somebody else's published work while you are there too!

8. Enroll in an online class, or start your own online class with your students.

9. Design a unit with project based learning with multimedia for your classroom. This sounds like a lot, and I won't lie, it is a big step. It is truly worth it though if the time to plan and setup is used effectively. In the first year, don't be afraid to have students come up with the project, help in planning and creating a rubric for a finished product. It's your first year, take baby steps, and then as a whole class (students included) tweak the steps along the way.

10. Read a book about technology in education. Better yet, download an ebook to your favorite mobile device and incorporate two ideas from the book into your classroom. Don't forget to reflect on this with your peers, PLN, or on your web page or blog!