Techie Jeopardy!

Today in technology we are reviewing some of the terms and concepts that we have learned about this year.  I created a Jeopardy game using Jeopardy Rocks.  It's easy to create your own game, with complete freedom to choose categories and create questions.  The students worked in pairs or groups of 3 to play the game.  Some of the concepts we haven't discussed since first quarter, so this was a great time to test their memory!  I heard great conversations as students discussed with each other the possible answers.  Within our 30-minute class, most of the students either completed the game or came very close.  This is a great self-assessment tool for students, AND a lot of fun!

LEGO MUSIC MAKER!

True play is creativity.

John Lasseter

We tried out a new app in technology today - The Lego Music Maker!  The students LOVED creating their own music mixes!  Four characters - Emmet, Wyldstyle, Benny, and Batman - are available to dance to the style you create.  You can also choose from three different songs, and four types of sound blocks (legos)....percussion, guitar, synth, and voices.  One of the favorite voices to use was "I Am Freaking Out!"  The song loops in the background as the sound effects are layered on top.  The characters will do a dance moves that correspond to the type of effect chosen.  When a composition has been created, you can choose to save it and work on it later or even send to a friend to view.  Go to The Lego Music Maker and give it a try!!

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!!  

Blue Moon

There are a lot of Halloween videos to explore...lots of light shows!  I ran across this cute rendition of Blue Moon.  Have you heard any singing pumpkins lately?  If not, here you go!

Edmodo - Where Learning Happens!

Last year I was introduced to a new learning tool called Edmodo. Edmodo is a free social learning
platform that provides a safe way for students and teachers to connect and collaborate.  During the TIE Conference in April, we used Edmodo to connect and learn during our sessions.  Later this summer, I used Edmodo whlie facilitating a class I taught during the Arts Education Institute.

My goal is to introduce Edmodo to students in Grades 3-6 before the end of the year.  This week was the beginning.  Sixth graders logged in and began a combination Technology/Science assignment.

Each student took home a letter of explanation to their parents as well as a special code that will enable their parents to log into their child's Edmodo page.  One o the cool things about Edmodo is the ability for both students and teachers to communicate and complete assignments online during times outside of the school day.  I'm hoping that parents will frequently check in on their child's page!

Edmodo is designed to get students excited about learning in a familiar environment.  We can continue classroom discussions online.  Learning is personalized and engaging for students.  Special apps help teachers to supplement what is learned in class.  Edmodo also makes it simple to track student progress. Grades and badges can be assigned or awarded.  Through student discussion posts, understanding can be clarified, and frustration or confusion can be minimized.

I'm looking forward to working with Edmodo this year, and hope to learn lots along with the students!

Let's Move Those Fingers!!

Was developed by gunmakers E. Remington & Sons in Ilion, NY from 1874-1878.  It was named  the "Sholes & Glidden Type Writer," and it was produced by the gunmakers E. Remington & Sons in Ilion, NY from 1874-1878.  Read more about how the design came about here.

A major emphasis of technology at the elementary level has always been improving our keyboarding skills.  Even though we don't normally type on "regular" typewriters any more, keyboarding is an integral part of our life.  Most occupations have a technological component and technology is integrated into your child's education from Day #1.  Throughout the year we will also cover such topics as Internet Safety, Digital Communication, using appropriate digital tools and resources and use of computer applications.

South Dakota is now part of The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, a state-led consortium working to develop assessments to measure student progress toward college- and career-readiness. This assessment system is aligned to the  Common Core State Standards (CCSS) .  One major difference we see in these tests is that they are all given online (vs. paper and pencil) and that the test itself is more rigorous, requiring deeper thinking with extended explanations in more of an essay-type format (vs. multiple choice).  Of course, students need to be proficient in their keyboarding skills for this type of assessment!

Kindergarteners are just learning where the keys on the keyboard are located.  We play a variety of online games as to develop this skill.  Mouse control is also a new skill for many Kindergarteners.  We are also learning the correct terminology used for different parts of the computer hardware  (monitor, keyboard etc.) as well as vocabulary for things located on the desktop of the computer (icon, dock, cursor etc.)

First Graders are about to begin a program called Dance Mat Typing, an introduction to touch typing for ages 7-11.  There are 4 levels that will gradually build keyboarding skills. Dance Mat Typing is a fun program with some singing and dancing of their characters built into the program.  Kids love the British accent as well!

Third-Sixth graders use a program called Type To Learn.  This is a cumulative touch typing program which retains students' information from year to year.  Review, demonstration, practice and assessment are all included in this program.  Accuracy AND words per minute (speed) are analyzed and assessed. Since this program is in a game format, it is engaging for the students.

• KEYBOARDING TIPS!

• Use the correct fingers
• There's no need to rush!
• Always rest your wrists on the desk
• You should take a rest, and shake your hands and arms to relax your muscles if you get tired
• It's important not to look at your hands when you are learning to type. The best way to ensure that you don't look at your hands is to cover them up - you can make a simple box out of cardboard or wood to cover both the keys and your hands
• Sit comfortably with your back up straight and your feet on the ground!

UP UP UP

On May 20, 2013, cancer took the life of Zach Sobiech but his legacy will live on through the beacon of love and hope he delivered through infectious lyrics and memorable tunes have imprinted on the minds and hearts of millions around the world.  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDC97j6lfyc&list=HL1370032967)
Love this.  



Also, check out this video, Fix Me Up. Zach and Sammy Brown are life-long friends, since toddlerhood.  They began playing music together when they were 12.  Since Zach's diagnosis, in 2009 they have remained together, and formed the band A Firm Handshake with another friend, Reed Redmond.  Such strength.

The MOST expensive iOS apps!

If you're like me, one of my criteria for an iPad or iPhone app is, "Is it free??"  Or VERY cheap!  Well, here's a compilation from Make Use Of for the more "sophisticated" techie....

The 10 Most Expensive iOS App Store Downloads

Didn't see anything there I needed :)  Guess I'll spend my extra $1,000 elsewhere...

Our Brain....on wifi!

How often during your day do you check email?  Face Book?   Text?  For many of us, the answer is OFTEN!  Will a beep on your phone take you away from what you are doing to check out what's going on?  Do you take time during your day to chill.  Turn off the electronics?  Chat with your family and friends and really look into their eyes and listen?  I am as guilty as anyone about "multi-tasking."  Sometimes I will be checking email and realize that I don't even remember what my husband just said!  I myself need to daily stop, slow down, immerse my energy into a specific project/person/thought/prayer.

This video by Epipheo  is an interview with Nicholas Carr, the author of "The Shallows:  What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains".  Learn about how our long-term memory is affected when we are constantly absorbing small bits of information and not digging deeper.  Our creativity, our ideas, our thought process is all affected.  What do you think about his theory?

"Ground Control to Major Tom"

The first Canadian to command the International Space Station, Chris Hadfield was scheduled to make his return trip to Earth late Monday after five months aboard the International Space Station.  He came back in a Russian capsule, unlike his previous missions in 1995 and 2001 when he traveled aboard one of the now retired space shuttles.

He decided to commemorate his final hours in space with a spectacular music video. Hadfield covers David Bowie's classic (and incredibly appropriate) song "Space Oddity." In the video, he sings a "revised version" of the song and plays the guitar solo while floating through the hulls of the ship.

Check out his YouTube Page for more!

Media and Children

Change the beginning and you change the whole story!

The typical child, before the age of 5, is watching an average of 4.5 hours of television per week, approximately half of their waking hours!  How does this influence our childrens' brain development?  Does it affect attention problems later in life?  How does cognitive stimulation affect our children?  (reading, talking etc.)

This TEDxRainier - Dimitri Christakis video discusses this subject.   Mr. Christaskis is a professor of pediatrics at the Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development in Seattle, WA.   Below is a snapshot summary of his talk.  

Watch the video below for more insight!

A Little Old, a Little New

We have been having fun these last weeks of school!  Students have been reviewing some musical terms and symbols lately.  As you all know, I'm quite the techie, but rest assured,  there is variety in my instruction!  Students had fun using both "new" technology (ipads) and "old" technology (chalk) this past week!  Take a look.

A Boy and His Atom

IBM research has created this movie that holds the Guinness World Record for the World's Smallest Stopp-Motion Film.  They used a scanning tunneling microscope to move thousands of carbon monoxide molecules into a movie!  The first video shows the movie.  The one below will take you behind the scenes to the lab.  The scientists will talk about how they made the movie with atoms as well as their research in the field of atomic memory an data storage.

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Google Glass

You have probably heard about Google Glass.  Do you think it will become commonplace?  What apps do you think would be useful to have in Glass?  Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Nike, Shopping?

To engage the headset you will speak, "OK Glass".   From there you can take video, connect with friends, find directions, google a topic....LOTS of things.  It even comes in a variety of stylin' colors!  Glass currently markets around the $1500 price range.  Some say in mass production the price should come down to about $500-$600.  The possibility (eventuality?) is that it will also be integrated with eyeglass prescriptions.  Will you be the first in your neighborhood to own one????

Here's a basic tutorial on how to operated Glass:

New iPad app from the Black Hills of South Dakota!

Living Puzzles, is a new iPad app, just released on April 25.  A new company, Puzzleroo, developed the game.  It features various levels of jigsaw puzzles....with MOVING VIDEO!  Puzzleroo is a company in the Black Hills area, and many puzzle scenes are from our beloved Black Hills as well!

There are 4 difficulty levels, and a variety of categories of puzzles including African Animals, At the Beach, and Autumn Beauty.  More categories can be unlocked by earning stars with fast completion of puzzles.

Any puzzle can be played in either "Puzzle Stretch" or "Living Jigsaw" mode.  Both modes contain pieces that are themselves an ongoing movie!  Makes for a challenge in placing the pieces!

Right now, it is being offered at a special introductory price of .99!  I downloaded it on my iPad to check it out.  It is WAY cool!   Here's a new article from KOTA featuring the product:

KOTA Territory News

They are on WHAT????

QR codes are found on shirts, McDonalds wrappers, DQ cups, Ketchup bottles,  bank windows, and magazine ads and some even have them tattooed on their body!  An article from the NY Times in September of 2011 contained some interesting QR photos, some of which were from the "Talk to Me" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.  Take a look! My favorite is the building in Tokyo!  For more information on each of the photos, refer to the NY Times article.

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A smartphone user can scan the QR code on a Skanz bracelet and see select personal information.

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Alexander Reeder

A still photo from a video of a code on a Tokyo building, part of the “Talk to Me” exhibition at MoMA (scanning the code at the building provided information and allowed interaction with occupants).

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Miquel Benitez/WireImage

A Frans Baviera dress with a code on the bodice.

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A code used to facilitate donations to the Red Cross in Japan.

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A cookie with a QR code in frosting was given out during a Fashion's Night Out event at the Tiffany & Company store.

QR Codes, Barcodes, and RFID. OH MY!!!!

The students and I have explored QR codes quite a bit this year.  They have used the QR scanner on their iPads to scan everything from a website, to a listening selection for a composer, to a quiz.  We have discovered that QR codes are EVERYWHERE!

QR codes, bar codes, and radio frequency identification (RFID) codes are all unique and all serve different purposes. All convey large amounts of information in a small physical space.   They might link to a website, a text document, a photo, someone's business card, or even your voice!!  Basically it connects the online world to the physical world.

QR codes were created in Japan in the 1990s, although they didn't get much attention until very recently.  A QR code always has a filled-in box in every corner.  QR codes can easily be read by any free QR scanner on a smart phone, notebook or iPad. There are also a variety of free QR code generators if you want to create your own QR code.  The QR code below will take you to this blog!

Barcodes have been around for decades.  We are used to seeing them on packaging for things that we purchase.  They are not only handy for the point of sale (linking to the cost), but also for managing inventory.  Here's an example of a bar code, also easy to scan from any free scanner app.

RFID has similar uses to that of the barcode, but are especially useful in situations where vast quantities of goods are moved or tracked.  Large chains such as Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense us this to track the vast quantities of items required for their situations.  RFID tags are applied to items or boxes or pallets.  They vary in size, shape and capability.  The tag has a small antenna that emits a radio frequency signal, picked up by a special wireless RFID reader.  Here is an example of one.

Coming tomorrow.....some VERY unique uses of the QR code!!!!!

Earth Chorus

"The Earth has music for those who listen" 

--George Santayana

I read about this on Mashable yesterday.  In October, 2012, radio waves emanating from Earth were recorded by satellites investigating the Van Allen belts.  There are intense radiation zones that surround our planet. This recording was given the name "Chorus".   Here is the original recording:



What does it remind you of?

 Now, here is a remix of that "earthly" sounds, using interpretive dance.  The music was composed by Kerry Muzzey.  His song Looking Back was featured in Glee.  He has written other TV and movie themes as well. The dance is performed by DS2DIO (D-studio).  Check out their YouTube Channel.

Ed who??

During the TIE Conference, we have been using Edmodo to connect with each other, as well as a place for presenters to store their presentation material and other information to share.  I had heard of Edmodo before, but never really explored it very much.  I'm learning how to use it this week, as well as contemplating ways that I might use it in my classroom.

The format of Edmodo is very similar to that of Facebook.  This alone makes it appealing to students!  It's like Facebook for education in a way.  Besides communication between students and educators, Edmodo can be used for assessments, assignments, alerts, and polls to name a few.  Edmodo also has apps.  Some of these are free, others are purchased.  There are LOTS of apps.  These are great ways to engage your students with games and interactives, content creation tools as well as classroom management tools.  They are easy to install.  One thing I noticed yesterday, was that some of them seemed to not work on the iPad.  That is something I'll have to check out further.

I will be spending some time this summer exploring how to use Edmodo.  I think it is worth a try!  Here are a few sites to look at to get an idea of what Edmodo can do for your classroom:

http://help.edmodo.com/teachers/teacher-rollout-resources/twenty-ways-to-use-edmodo/
http://blog.edmodo.com/2010/11/23/we-asked-you-answered-15-more-brilliant-ways-to-use-edmodo/
http://blog.edmodo.com/2010/11/17/7-brilliant-ways-to-use-edmodo-that-will-blow-your-mind/
http://www.slideshare.net/seyfert6/20-ways-to-use-edmodo

Got Coffee??

Today I'm attending the TIE Conference in Rapid City.  It's always fun for me to attend conferences, see people who I don't get to see in person except for these conferences, and to make new connections! Networking is amazing!  Sometimes I am overwhelmed at the amount of information...how do I try all of these new things???  

When I feel overwhelmed with new information, a strategy that I've used is to pick one or two goals say for the next school year.  I will incorporate them into my classroom, personal life, wherever it applies.  I focus on these goals daily, striving to learn, explore, share.  If I try to do too many "new" things, especially in my classroom, I find that I don't have time to do any of them very well.  When I focus on one or two "new" things for a period of time, I tend to do a better job of going "deeper".  I find this is true in my personal life as well.  Focusing on creating one or two new habits, or creating one or two new things, will probably result in feelings of accomplishment - not feelings of failure! 

In technology this year, I focused on blogging with several classes (new), and it has been a WONDERFUL experience!  We have also focused on creating with the iPad.  These are in addition to other items already in place in our curriculum.  I hope to get some ideas (already have some!) of what I'll be trying out next year!  I have also maintained my goal this school year of blogging each and every day!

Yesterday I presented an in-depth session entitled, "Pinterest IS for Educators!".  I had a great time exploring and gathering information for the session.  Pinterest isn't JUST for recipes and clothes! Educators can use Pinterest to collaborate with each other, create student projects, even to publish their online curriculum vitae, commonly referred to as CV.  It is a longer (two or more pages), more detailed synopsis than a resume. While you can use the social networking site to showcase your work, why not take it one step further and get into details about your skills, your education, where you went to university, what special skills you possess, what languages you speak, where your online profiles are, and more. You can create a visually interesting professional profile that, if you’re applying for a creative job, will definitely help you stand out in the crowd.

If you are not an educator, use your imagination with Pinterest.  Think outside the box.  Incorporate Pinterest in the decision-making, creative, or assessment areas of business or other professions.

The nuts and bolts of my presentation can be found here if you are interested!  (the cup represents my coffee cup, which is usually beside me as I pin away!)