TPACK and Acvitities

How can educators take advantage of these items to better improve instruction?

Easy! Its a recipe!
A quality lesson can only be made using 3 ingredients:

1 idea of content
1-2 ideas of pedagogy
 1 or more tools of technology.

Start with content and decide what your students need to know. Then add the pedagogy; How are you gonna teach it? Then last, add the technology that will HELP the implementation of the lesson. If teachers follow these easy steps of the recipe, they will have success and create a "delicious" lesson for their students!

My Favorite Tech Tools

 We are sure that you have some favorite tech tools and gadgets. In this month's blog post, choose your favorite (or two) and tell us about it. Don't forget to include ideas of how it can be used as a teacher or as an instructional tool. 

I absolutely LOVE my Ipads in my classroom! I use them all day everyday and my kindergarten students really enjoy using them. I use them for reading centers by having students play phonics games on apps we downloaded. I use Biguniverse for leveled reading groups during guided reading. I use them as a behavior incentive during reading workshop and allow my "super silent readers of the day" read their books on the Ipads on Biguniverse instead of the plain paper leveled books. I use them during STEM as a math review center using math games and apps or for science looking up weather and other activities.  Lastly I use them as interventions for my low performers on Tier Plans to review letter sounds or sight words during my pull out time for some extra guided practice. They are wonderful tools in a classroom and we have 5 but that is plenty as long as you think in a small group setting.  

Top 10 Reasons I Became a Pinnacle Leader

10. To make my classroom technology rich.
9. To experiment with new technologies.
8. To learn more about programs on the web.
7. To prove kindergarteners are capable of using technology purposefully.
6. To become a leader in my county.
5. To become a leader in my school.
4. To add something awesome to my resume.
3. To meet others who could give me ideas.
2. Because I am getting my masters in Instructional Technology.
1. To become a better teacher!

School year, part 2!

The first part of this year was overall the best I have ever had. I love the new common core curriculum and the teaching style and I like the new additions like the writing units and phonics lessons. Figuring out testing was the biggest obstacle but nothing too bad to stress over. I love having the laptops and Ipads, even though it has taken a while to get my little ones able to independently use them and stay on task. I compared my first semester to Elf since I was always smiling. :-)
Second semester, I am so excited for because my students now understand the procedures and are finally becoming more able to use the technology independently. They know my expectations and some of them are now able to navigate to certain websites all by themselves! We are even typing sentences now at this point and next week we will be "publishing" our how to books on the computers using powerpoint to make books. I will soon add them to google and let them make books on google presentation but I want to get some more typing practice in.
I am just going to keep on smiling like Elf and keep up the positive attitude and faith my students can do anything they set their little minds to. Witten's Kittens are gonna have some fun this semester!

Pinnacle Reflection Fall 2012

Pinnacle

• Learner-centered Teaching: Make sure to spotlight ways in which you have been able to focus instruction on the students and in small-group or centers. What has worked well and what pitfalls could you share for the rest of us? I have used my laptop centers twice a day everyday for both literacy centers as well as STEM centers. The students use the center independently mostly on websites that allow practice of the literacy skills being taught that week or as a math review game. Each day I rotate the group that goes to the center so each day different children get to use them and everyone gets to go to the laptop centers twice a week. The students are engaged and it allows for me to do my independent reading and math groups without being interrupted.I also am lucky to have Ipads to use with my small guided groups which I have used Big Universe, a website that has leveled nonfiction guided reading books. My students have really enjoyed these books and I have figured out ways to use it best and for differentiation. The Ipads are funny sometimes though and when I download a new app, sometimes the old ones disappear which has been troubling.
• Relation to Common Core & Essential Standard: How were you able to use technology while adhering closely to the new curriculum? The new common core standards are all about learning through hands on interactions and through play. The use of the laptop center allows students to learn through interactive online games. It allows students to think deeper and learn through experience and also keeps them engaged and on task. I love using the laptop center for STEM time because it is a great tool to integrate science. I use unitedstreaming.org a lot for students to watch a clip on the laptops about a science concept or to expose them to a culture through video clips. I have found that having this visual tool has also helped inspire the students in writing which is now with common core very self directed with topics of their choice. The Ipads are similar in the fact that the students can play learning games and I love the nonfiction guided reading books on the Ipads to help integrate across the subject area.
• 21st Century Skills: Perhaps the opposite of the prior question, how were you able to use technology and learner-centered instruction to promote the acquisition of 21st century skills? I am using the laptops to make my students more independent. Also we sometimes use them to practice typing and writing. My students read on the Ipads and they have become so good at using them. At this point they can already independently open the Ipads and get to Big Universe and choose a book to read for Independent Reading Time.

Student Work Samples: see videos

Laptop Center

I rearranged my room over the workday to set up a permanent laptop center for my students. It was a pain to pull them out and put them back each day and I figured if they are a part of our room, they will be more visible and more protected if they are stationary. We use the center each day for a literacy station and then again in the afternoons for a STEM station. The students are able to sit there and complete a task without interrupting my guided reading groups and they are actively engaged. I did post on the wall some Laptop Procedures as well as the daily task. I love having the laptop center and it adds so much to making my classroom a 21st century class!

Fall Fun

I love the fall in kindergarten! My students are doing so well adapting to school and catching on to procedures. This week we did our leaf hunt with the digital cameras, its one of my favorite things to do with my kids. I love having the laptops in my class since I have 24 kids, I didnt have enough desktops to use for centers with my larger center groups. Also I have been using them for STEM for students to look at science clips or go to websites that have science games. I love the new common core because there is no down time but my challenge is getting ahead!

School Starts!

Another year another new batch of little ones! Our rosters have been changing nonstop and its finally slowed a little and I have 24 kindergartners in my class! I love every one of them, I just wish I had more space for them and another me to go around! I started them on using the desktops this week during guided reading centers and STEM and they are doing pretty well with it! They cant log in yet since they are not in the system but they can complete tasks at websites I put them on. I look forward to getting out the Ipads soon and the laptops and really get them into it. I love having STEM time at the end of the day because its a PERFECT time to play with our technology. I am really enjoying the new math and reading programs and there is never a dull moment!

21 Century Teacher

A 21st century teacher does have to be connected. PLC's are in place because of the importance of being connected and networking to improve planning and instruction. We are no longer lonely isolated classrooms, and we shouldn't be! Our students do not belong to us alone, they need to have connections with other teachers and other content and experiences. This is why it is so important to work with your grade level to be on the same page with content. Once those students leave our classes, they are all mixed up in the next grade and it is important for them to have similar experiences. A 21st century teacher also does have to know technology well because we have to keep up with our new generation of students. We have to be able to relate to them if we want to engage and connect with them. Reflection is important because we need to constantly improve and stay sharp on new ways to teach old material so we ourselves are engaged like our students. It is best practice. Being a young teacher, I consider myself a 21st century learner and I think that is why as an educator I have a passion for technology and want to use it in my class since I grew up being comfortable with it.

facebook summary

easel.ly

2nd semester Pinnacle Project

Click here to view my Pinnacle Project!!

Click here to score it.

Changes

Lots of changes in my class this year. It has been challenging losing and gaining so many different students, its hard to get them in a routine. Also my 2nd assistant since August has now quit for a new job so I do not currently have an assistant. It has been challenging but it has made me stronger as a teacher. Also I was supposed to help create smartboard Investigations units with a group of people for the county next week, but sadly the professional development day falls on the same day as our field trip to lazy 5 ranch. Since I dont have an assistant I cant send my students alone with a sub. So I have to miss the day. :-( But I am going to help this summer. 36 days left!

End of 3rd 9 weeks

As I begin report card testing for 3rd 9 weeks, I am really seeing how my little ones have grown. I love hearing them begin to read knowing most of them came to me without knowing the letters of the alphabet. It is so rewarding to hear them reading those words and making those connections with books. I also am amazed well they have been doing with GoogleDocs. At first I didn't even want to try it with them and although it was challenging and time consuming getting them to log on and teaching them not to type or erase other peoples work, they have really surprised me. They love adding their names into graphs and I like it too because it is an easy way to let them use technologly and it really helps them understand our math standard of graphing. It really has helped them understand how to add information to a graph and how to read the data. The books they made as Google presentations have progressively gotten easier to read (for those non-Kinder teachers who aren't use to reading without spaces and missing letters) haha. I just love to see growth.

2nd Pinnacle Project

I have ventured into the world of googledocs with my students. This has been more than just a challenge but they are starting to get it. We are making books using google presentations where I make the title page and they each are assigned a numbered slide to type in. The hardest part was getting them to stay in their slide and not type in others! This will be a project that lasts over a few days and the final one I do for my project should be great. We are doing a Dr. Seuss unit and they are each making a slide typing what they do NOT like as a making connections lesson from Green Eggs and Ham. We will also be doing a graphing activity on google where they have to tell me their favorite Dr. Seuss character to go with our graphing unit. Once I get them used to logging in it should be great. It has taken months of typing practice to get them ready but they can type successful sentences now. Can't wait to see the final project!

My first pinnacle project!

Click here to view my first semester pinnacle project!

I used Sliderocket just to be a little different! I really liked it except for the fact it didn't let me load as much video as I wanted without paying. I would have added more student samples if it allowed. The program was pretty easy to use after you played around on it and made a really neat finished project. There were TONS of effects and options to add to every slide. I will definitely use it again, I like it a lot better than prezi. Enjoy!!

Thanksgiving Time

Witten's Kittens are growing growing fast. First report cards went well and my students are able to do so much more than my students last year at this time. I think it is because I have started introducing things earlier like typing and logging in the computers independently. I have begged for an extra computer in my room so now my students are all able to be on a separate computer at the same time when in their center for typing or an activity on a website. My goal is to have them typing in a center each week for their writing instead of on paper. They don't even realize its a technology integration but they are still writing sentences we are just saving trees and making them 21st century ready!

Fall Fun in Kindergarten

Well we have finished our first full month of kindergarten and it has been so much fun. I love my babies, they are so unique and full of love. They are working so well and getting into their routine. I am getting into my routine as well getting adjusted to a new school and a new assistant, then this week my old assistant left and I have a newer assistant that just started. It is going well though shes super nice and the kids like her. I am so proud of my kids and how well they have been using the smartboard and the flip video camera. They LOVE taping each other, and my students have trouble public speaking so it has really helped them come out of their shell. Also we just went to the pumpkin patch and they had a blast. I am excited for Halloween fun next week!

First Days of School

I had 8 children on Thursday, 5 more on Friday, and 6 more tomorrow. Tuesday is the first full day and I am praying the day will go smoothly. I so far am a little sad I don't have as many computers in my new class as I did last year but hopefully it will increase. I also have been frantic because I do not have the proper cords for my SMART board and have to wait for a work order. I am having to re-think how to teach without it until those cords come in! Mostly though I love the people I work with, and I seem to have a fabulous group of kids and parents.