Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Scratching, Itching, Blogging, Singing and Dancing OH MY!

Scratching?  Itching?  In technology class?  No, we didn't walk through some poison ivy!  We have been coding!  So, what IS coding?  Coding is learning how to speak and think like a computer.  Coding provides an opportunity for students to improve problem-solving and thinking skills at a digital level.  Instead of being passive consumers of technology, students are transformed into active producers.  
Right now grades 4-6 are coding, younger students will be starting in a few weeks.  For several years, students have participated in activities developed by Code.org®.
Code.org® has a vision of every student in every school having the opportunity to explore computer science.  Each year new activities have been added, and students have learned new skills in the coding world.  As students are creating with Scratch or Itch they learn to think creatively, work collaboratively, and reason systematically. 
For a more in-depth article, please take a look at Why Teaching and Learning How to Code in Schools by EdTech Review.

Third Grade Students are blogging about the role that music plays in their life.  Blogging and social networking have become huge forums for discussions and the sharing of knowledge. As I work to prepare your child for their future, I want to give them as many authentic writing experiences as possible.






Each classroom blog is totally private to the students and teachers in that particular classroom.  These blogs are NOT public.  Their classroom teachers, Miss Amie, and myself are the only people who can see the blog besides the students themselves.
Kidblog (at kidblog.org) is designed specifically for teachers and students, and is completely secure.  I have set up a class network of blogs, where each child has their own, and they are all connected through me. In this way, we can communicate amongst each other, but our work will not be visible or accessible to the public at large. Your child has their own specific password, which will give them access to edit their own blog, as well as the ability to comment on other studentsʼ blogs. However, each and every post and comment will come to me first for approval. In this way I can monitor the conversations and ensure that everything is positive and appropriate. Ask your student to show you our classroom blog!  They can access it simply by going to my webpage.

First and Second grade students are working on typing skills using TTL4 as well as online games.  Using the Home Row is a must for whichever activity we are doing, ad well as awesome posture!  Kindergarten students have JUST learned what the Home Row is, and we have practiced finding it and placing our fingers there.  We are also continuing to work on navigation on the computer and mouse control.
Featured today are Kindergarteners!  We have been studying dance in the ABC Music and Me program.  We have learned about Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop and the jig too!  We've learned about the Treble Clef, how a violin sounds (we pretended with rhythm sticks we were playing violin), and most interesting of all, the fact that a male ballet dancer is a ballerino! 





Younger classes are working on rhythm reading readiness.  All classes will be exploring tempo and the Italian musical words associated with the different tempo.  A favorite new echo song, especially for Kindergarten and First Grade is "No More Pie!"  Here's a favorite video with Ella Jenkins singing.  We also use this song to differentiate between speaking and singing voices.  Our classroom version is a little different, and we'll soon be making up our own verses!
Even though temps have been in the freezer, we are thinking, "SPRING CONCERT" in the music room (as you can see in the graphic above!)  K-3 have a performance on March 16, which might seem a long ways away, especially in 0 degree weather!  Since March in Music In Our Schools Month, we are preparing fun songs and activities to share with our friends and families to celebrate MUSIC!

Monday, January 20, 2014

We are BLOGGING at MGS!


Grades 3-4-5 have begun learning the ins and outs of blogging this semester.  This is an exciting time for them!  They are learning about blogging etiquette and applying it to their own classroom blog.  Grade 6 was blogging last year, so they are continuing on the journey of being even better bloggers!

Blogging and social networking have become huge forums for discussions and the sharing of knowledge. As I work to prepare your child for their future, I want to give them as many authentic writing experiences as possible.

Each classroom blog is totally private to the students and teachers in that particular classroom.  These blogs are NOT public.  Their classroom teachers, Miss Amie, and myself are the only people who can see the blog besides the students themselves.

Kidblog (at kidblog.org) is designed specifically for teachers and students, and is completely secure.  I have set up a class network of blogs, where each child has their own, and they are all connected through me. In this way, we can communicate amongst each other, but our work will not be visible or accessible to the public at large. Your child has their own specific password, which will give them access to edit their own blog, as well as the ability to comment on other studentsʼ blogs. However, each and every post and comment will come to me first for approval. In this way I can monitor the conversations and ensure that everything is positive and appropriate.

Ask your student to show you our classroom blog!  They can access it simply by going to www.kidblog.org or you can also find it through my wiki page at http://mgslyon.wikispaces.com/.  Students really LOVE to blog!!  



Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Fifth Grade Bloggers!!!

This year we started a pilot program with out 5th grade classes - BLOGGING! Both Fifth Grade Teachers and I are collaborating on this adventure with our students! A blog is a special type of online journal, in the form of a web site, that can be created and easily updated using a web browser. The exciting thing about a blog is that students can take full advantage of the wealth of resources available on the Internet by actually publishing their own work online. Students can also read and comment on other children’s blogs within their MGS grade level.

So far, we each 5th grade tech class has posted a group post, and are now practicing "commenting" on either those blogs or one of the posts from myself or one of the 5th grade teachers. We have talked about the qualities of EXCELLENT commenting - positive, adding to the conversation, correct punctuation and grammar, about a paragraph in length. Even our principal and band instructor have commented on our posts!!! The students are VERY excited to share their comments through blogging!

We will be using a variety of subject matter to guide the students in their blogging, as well as incorporating excellent writing techniques! Our goal is to have 3 EXCELLENT comments before being given permission to blog an original post to our classroom blog. Many of the students are well on the way to earning this privilege! Below are the conditions that students have agreed to in order to participate in our blogging project.


Blogging Terms and Conditions
1. Students using blogs are expected to act safely by keeping personal information out of their posts. You agree to not post or give out your family name, password, user name, email address, home address, school name, city, country or other information that could help someone locate or contact you in person. You may share your interests, ideas and preferences.
2. Students using blogs agree to not share their user name or password with anyone besides their teachers and parents. You agree to never log in as another student.
3. Students using blogs are expected to treat blog spaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for your blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of this school.
4. Student blogs are to be a forum for student expression. However, they are first and foremost a tool for learning, and as such will sometimes be constrained by the various requirements and rules of classroom teachers. Students are welcome to post on any school-appropriate subject.
5. Students blogs are to be a vehicle for sharing student writing with real audiences. All blogs are proofread by the classroom teacher before being posted on the MGS student blog
6. Students using blogs take good care of the computers by not downloading or installing any software without permission, and not clicking on ads or competitions.
7. Students who do not abide by these terms and conditions may lose their opportunity to take part in this project.