Techonolgy in the Classroom: A Students View Four Years From Now

When I think of where classrooms began I think of little one room school houses. Students of every age and grade in one room and only one teacher with a black board! Moving on to today's classrooms, with SMART boards and mobile computer labs. Students of all ages using all types of computers and to think there is still more to improve when it comes to technology.

I came across a student description of what they think a classroom will look like in four years I was blown away. When I was in school I was happy if we got to the computer lab once a week! Now to think that every student could have their own computer is a wonderful thought!

Here is a link to what these students had to say.

Smart Boards

Wow who knew that a white board could do so much! Just when I thought I had seen and heard of it all I found a new way to adapt the "white board" in my classroom.

At first I thought what is the big deal! It's just a white board. Then I look at some of the sample programs you can use in your classroom. You can do almost anything from art and music to English, math and science! I found myself pulled into the different applications and loved that I could experiment with the programs. As I explored more I played the games and was having fun but at the same time I found myself seeing how these programs could help all different types of learners in my classroom!

My next thought was, yes this technology is great but how am I going to get it into my classroom. Budgets are tight and there is no way this technology is "cheap". Then I found a link on SMART website for grants and funding! I love that they have thought of everything!

Look here for a short explaination and demonstration of a SMART board.

Tony Vincent's Learning in Hand

As I explore and learn more about how to use technology in my classroom I become more amazed on what is out there. I can remember being in school and using the very first Mac computers that came out. The were big, with simple graphics and were still the coolest thing we had very seen. In my search for ideas on how to integrate new "cool" technology into my classroom I have found Tony Vincent's web site on hand held personal computers.

The first thing I thought of was how I could use something like that for me, as a teacher. I could take notes on a students progression in a certain curricular area, keep track of all my meetings, and well in general just be more together.

Then as I read more I began to see how each of my students, most in a different way from the others, would benefit from this technology! The possibilities are endless!

To see all Tony Vincent't ideas you can go to his web site!

A Shape Counting Adventure

Make A Video in Your Classroom:

As a part of the shape unit we are working on in my kindergarten classroom, I needed a video to help the children with counting shapes. I looked on different internet video sites and through the local Area Education Agency video library and could not find one that I liked. So I turned to option "B", making a video myself. This was a scary thought at first but then, with the help of the school technology staff, I found out just how easy this would be. I used Movie Maker, which is free software that comes with your computer,to create my movie. I chose to shoot my own video with just my digital camera but you can also use images you find on the internet, as long as you follow the copy right laws.

The video that I created has the students helping the narrator in the movie to count of different sets of shapes. It is this active inquiry that is hard to find in videos and one of the best parts of making your own! I designed the video to support the overall unit objective Given different amounts of set shapes (C) kindergarten students (A) will be able to form the correct number without a model (B) with 95% accuracy. To see the video I created just click the play button!


A Shape Counting Adventure

There are many different ways that you can use videos in your classroom. As a teacher you can create a video to teacher the student something, making patterns, about fruits, or names of farm animals. You can also have your students create their own videos as a part of a project.

Video can also be used to support special education students. Here is an article talking about how videos can be used to support students who use English as a second language.

Image Above from clipart.com (C) 2003-2009

Spread Sheet

Spread Sheet: Counting Shapes



As I was reading about using spread sheets in a classroom, I thought "No way that will never work for Kindergarten students!" Well I was wrong. Spread sheets can be as simple or as complex as you make them. When I thought more about it we use spread sheets all the time in the classroom, graphing hair color, how we got to school, how many boys or girls their are, etc., but these spread sheets are not on the computer.

When I started to create my spread sheet for our Shape Exploration unit I began simple. I "played" with the options on the Microsoft Excel program. Then I got brave and that's when I came up with my final product. What I created was a spread sheet to go along with classroom learning experience.

The students will first have a bag of shapes they must sort out by geometric shape, which connects to my overall unit objective Given a set of eight shapes (C) kindergarten students (A) will be able to identify basic geometric shapes (B) with 95% accuracy. The students will then count out the number of each shape and enter those numbers into the spread sheet. This step addresses two of my overall unit objectives, Given five different numbers (C) kindergarten students (A) will match them with corresponding set of objects (B) with 95% accuracy and Given different amounts of set shapes (C) kindergarten students (A) will be able to form the correct number without a model (B) with 95% accuracy. Upon completion of these steps that student will work collaboratively with another student to enter another set of numbers into a different column on the spread sheet. While the students is working on entering numbers into the correct cells, on the right a bar graph is building to visually show the students the difference between the numbers.

There are oodles of different ways that a spread sheet can be used in the class room. A spread sheet can not only be used as a lay out for a student experience but also to make the teacher's life a little eaiser. This web site show both sides to a spread sheet and gives examples on how both teachers and students can use spread sheets.

Web Quest

Web Quest: A Shape Expedition


I set out on an adventure to find new technology tools to use in my kindergarten class room. When I heard about a Web Quest I had no idea what it was, how to make one, or even how I would use it in my class room. Now having dug through some web quest that teachers have used or are currently using I understand that a Web Quest is a tool of inquiry that a teacher can create or find a use in their classroom. A Web Quest is based on seven basic parts. Introduction, task, process, resources, evaluation, conclusion, and teacher page. A Web Quest gives your students a task that they must work collaboratively at to reach a tangible goal. It also gives the students link and resources to find information. Allowing the teacher to control what information the students find.

The Web Quest that I created is called A Shape Expedition! My Web Quest is designed to guide Kindergarten students through finding different shapes in the "world". The Web Quest allows students to be in control of thier search but at the same time gives the teacher the control of where the students are guided too to search. During the project the students are required to work as individuals but also to come together collabrativly for the culmiating project. For my Web Quest the students meet to create a collage of the pictures and shapes they have found in their research.

A Web Quest is a great tool for teachers to use. One you take the time to create a Web Quest the teacher can then reuse the same Web Quest many times. Also you can return to the site to edit to keep the Web Quest current.

There are tons of websites out there that talk about Web Quest as well as many collections of Web Quests. Some Thoughts About Web Quests, is one page that defines the what a Web Quest is and gives information on parts of a We Quest. WebQuest.org is one of many pages that has collections of Web Quests!

Kidspiration

Kidspiration: Patterns

We have recently started to find new software to support teachers and students in learning. One of the programs we are trying is Kidspriation.

Kidspiration is mainly used in K through 5th grade classrooms. It is a concept mapping program that the teacher can use as part of teaching a new lesson or they can set up as a project for their students.

I decided to start by creating a project for my students. The worksheet that I created is designed to support a kindergarten students learning in developing patterns. In this worksheet the student can move different shapes around to create many different patterns. If the student is having trouble identifying a pattern they can click on the center link which takes them to a video about pattern making.

Kidspiration is a tool that can be used in a variety of ways in all types of classrooms. Shown here are several ways that Kidspiration can be used in English as a Second Language or Foreign Language classrooms. Lessons are shown in both Spanish and English for different types of learners.