Christmas Around the World

It’s that time again.  During the weeks leading up to Christmas/Winter Break many elementary classrooms learn about different traditions from other countries.  Have you made your passport?  Are your students boarding your flight around the world? Here are some technology ideas to add to your journey.

1.  Thinglink:  I admit that I have been hearing great things about Thinglink but I just didn't spend the time to learn about it.  While searching for an intro to my unit I ran across a map on Thinglink and it made my wheels turn.  Why couldn’t I use it to house a preview of all of the stops on our journey.  When I began, I saw how simple this website could be.  I found my background picture, a map.  Then I just clicked on a country, added a link to a photo and a short description.  It took just a few minutes to create.  The idea behind Thinglink is that every picture has a story to tell and this will help you tell the story.  They’ve recently added an app. Here is my Christmas Around the World Thinglink.

2.  NearPod:  Nearpod is as easy as making a PowerPoint.  I use Nearpod to review content and give a quick quiz, or formative assessment.  My students always enjoy the drawing feature.  With teacher control all students are participating in active learning.  They stay on the same page because the teacher is the only one that can turn the pages.  Instead of the usual PowerPoint for each country, I create a Nearpod , borrow the ipad cart and let the learning begin. 

3.  Pic Collage.  This is one of my favorite go to apps.  Students can create a collage for the customs of each country.  They can save pictures that are related to their assigned country.  Place the photos in the collage, decorate,  and you have a finished project.  In the latest update, Holiday backgrounds and stickers have been added.  This is a simple app to teach and it is free.  Here is an example from one of my second graders.

4.  Google Earth:  This is a must to help identify the countries on your journey.  Google Earth offers the traditional Google greatness with this site.  It can be downloaded or you can add a plugin and use it web-based.  Google also offers a Santa Tracker site.  As Christmas approaches, the clock will countdown.  Until then there are games and fun on the site.

5.   Hour of Code:  Next week is Computer Science Education Week.  What is Hour of Code?  According to the website, it's a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code" and show that anyone can learn the basics to be a maker, a creator, an innovator. Students 6-106 are encouraged to learn code. The CSEDWeek website has lessons and tutorials.  The hope is that over 10 million will participate in the Hour of Code between December 9-15.  If you register and participate, you will be eligible for prizes.

Have a great weekend!

Dear Santa

 Oprah has her Favorite Things, Ellen has her Twelve Days of Giving, and I have my Santa Wish List.  Ok, Ok I know that they actually give you things, so, this list isn’t nearly as cool as Oprah and Ellen.  Here are five things I wish Santa would leave under my school tree or someone could shop for them during the busiest shopping season of the year. A girl can dream!

1.     Cellulon Magic Cube:  This is magic in a box.  With the increased implementation of ipads in the classroom this is a super cool addition.  It is a full projection keyboard and multi touch mouse.  It pairs wirelessly with your device and projects the keyboard on the table so that you can type away.  When it is in stock, this cool tool can be you’re for $150.00.

2.     Livescribe Sky Wi-Fi:  This is the next generation of the Livescribe smart pen.  It holds many hours of recorded notes and automatically and wirelessly sends your notes to your evernote account. I have used my livescribe echo pen in the past to be a “test reader” as a classroom accommodation.  It is also great for students to retell or share information that they are writing, retelling, or drawing.  If you are thinking about flipping a classroom integrating a livescribe pen is a great start.  The Livescribe  Sky is $199.

3.     Leap Motion:  Turn your computer into a device that recognizes your hand motions. It works similar to the Xbox technology with just a wave of your hand. This would be a great tool to have when using a drawing or painting program.  Drawing in the air seems much easier than trying to manipulate the mouse.  Another use…think about being a hand pilot on Google Earth.  There are a limited number of apps available, but the number is growing.  Leap motion is $80.00.

4.     Ion Audio Guitar: This one is personal.  I am musically challenged.  I took piano for years but I never learned to read music and my left hand doesn’t seem to listen to my brain when it says move.  I played flute all through middle and high school but my non-ability to read music had me writing the names of the notes on my sheet music for years.  Here’s my chance to find my instrument.  You pop your iPad into the guitar and the frets light up to teach you to play. It works with the All Star app and with Garage Band. At the current price of $56.69 it is the one thing that might make it under my Christmas tree. 

5.     Chrome book:  One day I hope that I am in a 1:1 classroom.  I have always been and continue to be an Apple girl.  I love my MacBook, iPad, and iPhone but for the first time something with android has peaked my interest. The reasonable price and the simplicity of use have put this near the top of my wish list.  It would be amazing to have the space made available by not having 18 kids fighting over 5 desktop computers.   

What’s on your wish list?

Have a great weekend and Thanksgiving Holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving

This week is all about my favorite Thanksgiving apps for school. Some of them are silly and some are stories but they are all entertaining.  You can make anything a learning opportunity if you just give it some thought.

 1.  A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving:  This is an expensive app at $5.99 but I am such a fan of the Peanuts apps that it was worth it to me.  It is filled with Charlie Brown’s antics and the usual troubles that the Peanut’s Gang encounters while sharing the true meaning of Thanksgiving.  There are hidden treasures that can be clicked on in each page.  It has the graphics and wording from the original   1973 TV special.  I use this app in a center.  When I assign an app as a center, I usually have a directions sheet that requires some type of accountability.  Click for the  document I’m using with this app. I also do something similar with the Berenstain Bears GiveThanks App.  It is another pricey app at  $3.99.

2.  Dress a Turkey:  In this free app students choose a turkey, add a shirt, pants, shoes, headgear, and accessories, and add frames and effects.  Students can save their pictures.  The picture can be the prompt for a writing activity.  They could write about their turkey and what the turkey is doing dressed in its outfit.  This is a fun activity for a reluctant writer. Although this is a free app, there are in app purchases available.

3.  Turkey Painting:  This free app is a coloring book for Thanksgiving.  It has preset colors and a chance to pick many other colors.  The brush size can change to fit the area you are coloring.  It has a puzzle feature that lets you turn your picture into a slider puzzle.  This can also turn into a fun writing prompt.  After students paint their picture they can save it and complete a writing piece to match their picture.

4.  Hand Turkey:  This is a fun free app for the younger crowd.  You place your hand on the ipad and it turns your hand into a turkey.  You can customize your turkey by changing its feathers and clothing.  You can also have your turkey rake a pile of leaves that you make or stampede the screen with other hand turkeys.  This is a great alternative to the Turkey in Disguise that many teachers do this time of year. I’ve seen several of the disguised turkey description forms that would be great to go with this app.(It’s even fun for the grown ups.)

5.  Just for Fun:  Here are two stress relief apps that can be for students or the teacher.  Turkey Talk is similar to the Talking Tom App that many have seen and used before.  It can be used to practice sight words and vocabulary or just to be silly.  Another stress reliever is the Turkey Rescue app.  You have to put the turkeys on the road to save them from the farmer, butcher, or bulldog.  How many Turkeys can you save?

Have a great week!

Primary Programming

I’ve asked myself many times if teaching programming or coding to my elementary age students was actually worth it.  When I stepped back and looked at what it taught, I knew I could continue teaching coding because of the opportunity to gives students to problem solve, create, think, and plan. 

1.                     Scratch:  I fell in love with Scratch 6 years ago when I fist saw it.  I’ve made no secret through the years of writing this newsletter that I’m a fan! I remember the first time I used it in the classroom had students just complete simple codes that made a cat dance.  It was almost as amazing as the first time I had to write a program in a BASIC computer class that made a countdown clock.  (It doesn’t take much to impress me.) That first introduction to Scratch evolved into 4^th graders completing a computer generated retell of a story. Because of the resources available Scratch is still my favorite site to use for programming.  If you want to start slow, like I did, check out the Scratch Teachers Resources page.  My favorites are the Scratch Cards. When I first started using Scratch it was a download now it is web-based.  It looks like Lego bricks that you put together.  The bricks trigger different actions and the combinations of the bricks can create some amazing projects.

2.                     Kodable:  This is a free app that students can use to learn to program.  Kids can learn computer logic, sequence, loops, functions and debugging with the Kodable app.  They claim that this is great for beginners and it designed for younger students.   The skills gained in Kodable help students become better prepared for coding with more options like Scratch. 

3.                     Daisy the Dinosaur:  This is a free app where kids can learn the basics of programming.  Like many of the other programming sites for kids, it is a drag and drop block interface.  Solve the app’s challenges, and Daisy will dance across the screen.

4.                     Hopscotch:  This is the same company that made the Daisy the Dinosaur app.  This is another free app. Hopscotch allows you use characters to complete the tasks that you write in your code. The characters leave a trail behind as they move, so you can have them create shapes, letters, or numbers.

5.                     Why Teach Coding??- “Learning to write programs stretches your mind, and helps you think better, creates a way of thinking about things that I think is helpful in all domains.“-Bill Gates

Have a great weekend!