Web 2.0 Tool - My First Voki!

I have learned so much in this class about technology.  I remember after the first night I already felt overwhelmed and the class had only first started!  I really like how in this class I learned about so many different technology tools that I didn't even know existed like Animoto, Voki, and different blogging websites or tools like Blogger and Kidblog.  Before this class, I thought I had an understanding of what a wiki was but was wrong.  Now, I have helped put together a class wiki which I think is awesome!  Another tool I think is cool that I learned about is the Diigo library.  I have always used "my favorites" but I think that Diigo library is better because all of your online resources can be together in one place and can organized into lists.  Although this class has been a little frustrating at times, overall I think that it was good.  I have learned a lot of technology tools that I can incorporate into my classroom and make learning more engaging for my students.  I am super excited to continue to explore these technology tools in my classroom. :)

AHH! Sharks! Final Literacy Project

I am very excited to share my literacy project with you!  Courtney and I worked together on our literacy project and I think that it came out so cute!  Our kindergarten and first grade students have been working on an animal research project.  The kindergarten students decided to complete their research project on sharks.  For our project, we decided to have the students write one fact they have learned using the books they have read and online resources they have viewed.  The kindergarten students did an awesome job writing their fact.  We then used the online technology tool VoiceThread to have the students read their fact and have their illustration visable.  The students were super excited to read their fact and hear their voice played back.  Courtney and I really enjoyed working with the students in completing this project.  I love seeing the students get excited about their work and knowing that they are helping us as well.  I hope that you enjoy viewing our project!

The Adventure of Digital Storytelling!

Courtney and I have been working on our digital story.  Since the theme of our school is character education, we decided to do our digital story story based on a character book we enjoy reading with our students.  The book is called The Peace Book by Todd Parr.  We had the students write what they think peace is.  They really did an awesome job!  However, putting the digital story actually together has been an adventure.  We decided to use the tool iMovie which wasn't easy at first.  However, once we got the hang of it, it all came together.  I'm sure that there are still some adjustments that could be made.  I am looking forward to showing it to the class on Thursday and getting any feedback to improve it in any way!  

Fantastic Flickr!

My husband and I started a Flickr account when our son was born two years ago.  Since our family and close friends live in other states, we use it to save pictures to and have it set so that just those that are invited to can access the account so that they can see pictures of our family.  It is a great technology tool and we love it!  I never really thought about how it could be used in the classroom, however.  I found a website on ways to use Flickr in the classroom.  Check it out...I especially like the idea of creating virtual field trips...AWESOME!!

I DID IT! My first Animoto project!

This is my first Animoto project! I decided to create an Animoto for our next district read aloud titled The Shoemaker and the Elves.  Before we read each story, we teach the kindergarten and first grade students vocabulary words that will be found in the story.  Providing a visual with the vocabulary word is always helpful, especially for our ELL students.  They are able to make connections between the word and the picture.  I decided to create a separate slide for the vocabulary word, visual, and the definition so the presentation would be broken down into small pieces for them.  This Animoto does not include all of the vocabulary words for the story.  I chose vocabulary words that I felt the students would not know.  I also decided to repeat the slides since my students are so young and need to have things presented  to them more than once in order to understand.  The first time they see the slideshow, they will just want to watch it and be amazed.  The second time they view the slideshow, they will be more focused to read the vocabulary word and start to understand the definitions.  I am super excited to share this project with my class!  I know they are going to love it!  I am also looking forward to creating more Animoto slideshows to use within my class.  I feel it is very engaging and is a great learning tool!  Let me know what you think!   

(images provided by Google Images)