January+News+08

** Elementary Tech News **
If you’re like me, you have probably heard the term Web2.0 and wondered, “What does it mean?” Well, at the NYSCATE conference I spent a whole day learning about some of the Web 2.0 tools and trying them out. I’ve had fun learning about these new tools and it is a little addicting! A few of the tools are called blogs, wikis, and social bookmarks. A blog is like a website. Generally one person writes about what ever is on his/her mind. Other people can read the blog and leave a comment. I have posted some good educational blogs on my school [|webpage]. You will have to look at these from home since our school filtering system blocks blogs. You can set up a blog on your class webpage for your students. This blog you can access and you could use it as a reflection piece for the students. If you need help just let me know. A wiki is more collaborative than a blog. Two or more people can work on a wiki at the same time. One example is a teacher that is preparing to be a presenter at a conference. She is looking for ways that other teachers are using technology in the primary grades. She set up a wiki and then posted a link to her wiki on a tech site Technospuds. She also gave out a password so when teachers visit her wiki they can log on and add their ideas to it. [|Delicious] is one example of a social bookmarking site. I started using it last year after my laptop crashed and I lost all my websites. However, at the conference I learned it’s more than just a place to store websites. When you save a site on Delicious it lets you add tags. For example if you found an interactive math site you could tag it as, math, addition, subtraction, interactive, teaching etc. Then later when you’re looking for that site again you can search by just entering one or more of the tags, say interactive and math and then you’ll see all the sites you’ve listed that way. You can also go to the Delicious homepage and search the tag name there as well. Then you’ll see what other people are tagging with the same name(s), For example you could enter second grade, addition, interactive and you’d see what all the other people using Delicious have tagged and it will also tell you how many people have tagged it that way as well. So if you see a site that has been tagged (and saved) by 863 people it’s probably a site you might want to take a look at. Unfortunately, our filtering system will not let you use this at school but be sure to check it out at home. David Jakes was the presenter of the Web2.0 workshop. His site, [|jakesonline.org] is a good place to begin learning about these new tools. He has all his presentation materials right on line. You can get to his site from school but not to all of his links. He suggests that people start out reading a variety of blogs. The next step is to begin leaving comments and then eventually begin your own blog. A blog and wiki can be set up easily on a number of different sites. Blogger.com, pbwiki.com, wordpress.com are just a few. I’ve started a blog and when I get it to a point I’m happy with it I’ll share it with you. In December, I introduced the 3rd-5th grade students to a blog done by a 9-year-old girl and her mother. Laura and her mom are from the Buffalo area and her mom is an in-service teacher with the Erie BOCES. The blog is called 25 Days to Make a Difference. It's all about simple ways for all of us to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, due to our filtering system, I could not actually show my classes the blog but I could show them some screen shots and tell them what Laura was doing. I feel her blog is an exemplary example of what's good about the web for children. I invited the students to respond to Laura on the blog on my web page. Many students did respond and if you take a look at their answers, you'll see that Laura responded to their answers. You'll know it's Laura because her last name is posted. When our student's respond I don't include their last name. Laura plans to continue her site throughout the upcoming year. Feel free to take a look at her site and even leave a message. I also plan on leaving a blog on my school homepage where the children or families can continue to share how they make a difference. In December, the kindergartners and first graders were busy making class books. The kindergartners made a class-counting book in Kidspiration. They had to copy a sentence and then add the correct number of objects. They were introduced to how to change the font, color, and size. The first graders made a Christmas version of //Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?// They worked on the same skills as the kindergartners plus they were introduced to changing the page layout from portrait to landscape and how to center the text. They wrote in Microsoft Word and illustrated in Kidspiration. I walked them through the process of copying a picture in Kidspiration and pasting it in Word. Both books turned out great. Each teacher was given a class book. An example of each book can be found on my webpage. The second graders at HPE filled out a graphic organizer on what they’d like to tell Santa. They had to include the one thing they’d like most of all for Christmas, one thing someone else in their family would like, one good deed they had done recently and what they would leave for Santa and his reindeer. Once the organizers were completed in Kidspiration, they opened Word and began their letter. They worked on the skill of going between two open documents-we didn’t print the organizer. They also worked on proper spacing as well as finding and using punctuation keys. When everyone was finished, the letters were sent off to Santa. At GWF, the second graders worked on copying 5W poems about animals in winter. They worked on the skill of centering text and inserting an animal picture. The third graders began a poster project depicting a specific character trait. First, they filled out a graphic organizer with the name of the trait, a definition and three ways to show the trait at school. Next, the students began to work on the poster as a PowerPoint slide. They are working on many skills such as word art, inserting text boxes, formatting text boxes, and making the slide look appealing. They will continue to work on the project through January. When they are complete, they will share them on the interactive whiteboard with the class. We’ll vote on the best ones and I’ll have them made into posters to hang in the school. The fourth graders at GWF spent December researching information on a planet and then typing up a report. The students at HPE worked on designing and filling in a graphic organizer showing what they have learned about the different vertebrate animal groups. I will be posting a few of these on my webpage. The fifth graders have been busy researching and typing up reports on presidents. They worked on a variety of searching, keyboarding, and formatting skills. I’m hoping to have a trial version of a paint program and writing program called [|Pixie] installed in the computer labs next month. I’ll let you know the exact dates later. I’d love for you to try out the programs and let me know what you think. Also, check out their site. They have 6 different programs. If you see something you think would be useful for your grade level let me know. The first and second grades will be using the program to write and illustrate stories. The first graders are going to write an autobiography, after designing an organizer in Kidspiration, and the second graders are going to write a biography about Dr. Seuss. Freerice.com The fourth and fifth graders have been on a fun site called freerice.com. It’s a great site. The kids have fun playing a game; they improve their vocabulary and earn rice that is donated to the United Nations to help end world hunger. The kids get competitive trying to earn the most rice. The level starts out difficult but as the kids get incorrect answers the level decreases until it is just right. Most students are at level 2-3 but others have been at 17. It would probably work for those top second and third graders, as well, that may finish work early. They have to be able to read the words-it doesn’t read the words for them. They are given a word and then four choices to find the word that means the same. [|Storyline] This would be great for the primary grades. There are 20 stories to select from and each one is read aloud by a celebrity. Not being a movie/TV person the only celebrity I recognized was Al Gore. He read Brave Irene. That one took about 15 minutes. Feel free to bring your class to the lab when I’m not there and watch it on the big screen. [|National Geographic For Kids] This is a fun site and right now, they are trying to set a world record for the number of sneakers collected. When they’re done, they’ll donate them to the Nike sneaker-recycling program. [|WCNY] WCNY has a book-writing contest for grades K-3. I was going to try to submit some of the first/second grade stories for my class but they don’t accept computer drawn pictures. But check it out for a classroom project.
 * WEB 2.0**
 * Tech Class Happenings**
 * New Programs**
 * Web Sites**

Well, I’ve had dates selected on two occasions but I would get busy and forget to share them with you! So, before I do that again here are my next mini lessons: Jan 15-HPE-How to use the SMART Board-Basics and How to set up a Photostory Slide Show 16-GWF-Email-How to add attachments and how to organize your inbox 22- HPE-Email-How to add attachments and how to organize your inbox
 * After School Mini Lessons**

In each building we now have 4 laptops from the middle school. HPE teachers; they have Microsoft Publisher on them if you’ve been looking for that program. You may sign them out from the lab. I plan to sign the GWF ones out for the end of Jan. and beginning of Feb to use at HPE so students can use Publisher to design a brochure. We also have thumb drives available for sign out at GWF. I think the HPE ones are being used for the 2nd grade survival guide. Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions just let me know. Nedra
 * Available Tools**