Digital Toolbox

Digital Toolboxes can be a very useful tool.  A digital toolbox is a collection of all the "tools" a person may use in one place.  It should contain a link to the "tool" and a short description and/or evaluation of the tool.  This evaluation should include information that is valuable to the user when making decisions on which tool to use in a project.

My Digitsl Toolbox includes tools/sites that I have not had the chance to investigate yet.  During this course, I tried to jot down any tool or site that was mentioned in discussions.  I included these in my toolbox in hopes of being able to investigate them at some point.  I felt it was important to include what kind of product they provided so that if I was looking for something to incorporate in a lessons (TPACK) I would know ones to look at.  This also gives me an idea on where the link would be used on the SAMR model.  I could narrow them down to a few to look at.  I also took the time to find out if there was a iPad app for the site.  I use my iPad for most everything and know that if it has an iPad app, it would be more useful to me.  I also felt it was important to identify if they we're free and suitable for use by elementary students (ISTE Standards).

This proved to be a useful project to me.  I like having all the sites and information in one site.  I started this project using Delicious but when it came time to evaluate, I switched to a Google Drive document.  I find it easier to sort and manipulate the data on Google Drive and I always have access to Google Drive on all my devices.  In the future, I would encourage students to keep record of any site recommended by others in their Digital Toolbox and investigate and evaluate when time permits.

Eportfolios

Digital portfolios or eportfolios is an excellent way to digitally organize artifacts provided by students   Artifacts can include individual, partner or groups work.  The artifacts can include projects, research, demonstrations and accomplishments of an individual.  These artifacts could be used as an office ail record of a student's work of various learnig experiments.  In an online learning environment, eportfolios are useful in organizing digital works to share with instructors.

Eportfolios can also be used as a tool for teachers.  With accountability more and more prevalent, eportfolios could be used to digitally plan and organize lessons, units of study, sites, presentations and more to document and share.  When administrators have access, they can quickly review a teacher's plans, use them for oberservations purposes and answer questions that may arise from parents or others.  Eportfolios can also be shared with colleagues for ideas, critique or others use.  They can also be used to compile work shared be students in an online learning environments and share with others.

Challenges in eportfolios include choosing a tool that will accept any form or program that work is produced with.  Other challenges may include technology availability of student and lack of knowledge in various programs, and files loss in cyber world through the transfer to eportfolios.

In my elementary school, students can sign in as themselves thus having a file on the server to keep work.  The student has access to this work but I do not readily have access which proves to be difficult to provide feedback without the student printing the work.   Emails are through Google but at this time only 5th grade and up have student email accounts.  If Google accounts are created in lower grades, I envision using Google Drive and Google Sites with my students.  Feedback can be given by me as well as other students on a student's work produced on Gooogle Docs.  Writing, research, comprehension questions, processes and explanations on the process to finding an answer could all be created on a Google Doc and shared with others.  Students could also collborate on a project using Google Docs.

Online Community Building

Click on this link to explore Online Community Building

http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=vEDgFyy  

Learning Objects and Authoring Tools

http://www.thinglink.com/scene/584703899395424260

Learning objects can be a fun and easy way to provide an interactive tool for students.  To make math relavent for students, real life events or situations should be used if possible.

Caldwell County is a rather small, close knit district.  The students at my school will attend South Caldwell High School.  They have parents and siblings that attend or attended South Caldwell. The community isupports baseball, especially the San Fransico Giants.  After all, the Giant's star pitcher, MVP of the World Series, Madison Bumgarner, is a graduate of South Caldwell and a member of the community during the off season.  With the excitement of the World Series win, what better way to bring real life math to my students.  

The next unit of study in math is 3.MD.3 which pertains to creating graphs and solving problems using the graphs.  In order to find real life data, I sent a survey out to the staff on a Google Form.  The survey included several pictures from the World Series and staff members were asked to pick their favorite.  It was short, one question, in the hopes of most of the staff participating.  This will provide the data needed for the graphs.  

Using Thinklink.com, I chose a image of a baseball diamond and the World Series.  I search on Discovery Education for videos about bar graphs and pictographs.  These links were inserted along the first baseline and first base.  Along the second baseline I inserted the link to the survey.  The link to the Google Doc with the responses was inserted at second base as well as directions to create a tally chart using the information.  Along the third baseline and third base, links were inserted to create an online bar graph and pictograph. To make it home, the students were directed to create questions and share their questions and graphs with the class.

This learning object could be adapted using team stats, player stats or other types of baseball data.  Thinklink is an easy tool to manipulate and edit.  I plan to use this tool to create other learning objects as the school year proceeds.

Digital Story Telling

Digital Storytelling

Storytelling is used as an educational medium.  Stories provide information, knowledge, content and emotions. Students learn through stories. In an elementary school setting, digital storytelling would be an extension of the storytelling already taking place.  Some examples include: 

as a teacher directed flipped lesson

share lessons 

students explain a math concept,

show a science experiment

create a “how to” video 

character study

history of community 

text feature presentation

produce and publish writing 

sequencing

research

organization of ideas

assessments

In an online learning environment, digital storytelling can be used in the same ways as in a traditional classroom.  The online learning environment will be more dependent on digital storytelling lessons.  Digital stories can capture learners’ attention and overcome the lack of personal connection with the online learner.  The learner can connect with the instructor through the “stories” that are told.  Digital stories also allow the learners to creative and innovative in projects and assessments.  

Sarah Plain and Tall is a novel we read in third grade.  Several of the the projects we have used in the past can be adapted to digital storytelling. The suitcase project would be one.  Sarah travels by train from Maine to the prairies.  She can only take one suitcase.  Students are to make a paper suitcase and choose 5 items for the suitcase that they feel is important for Sarah to take, illustrate these items and explain why they chose it.  Instead of a paper suitcase, a digital suitcase could be created.  The students would use several creative commons and copyright friendly image sites like Flickr, Pics4Learning and WPClipart to find images of items that Sarah would place in her suitcase.  These images are saved to the student's personal folders and then uploaded them to Showme  or Moviemaker, arranged their images, add relevant captions using BubbleR, voicethread or selected music and created a moving picture show depicting items Sarah would take on her trip.

Resources

Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/groups/creative_commons-_free_pictures/ 

Pics4Learning - http://pics4learning.com 

WPClipart - http://wpclipart.com 

Showme- http://showme.com 

Showme video - http://vimeo.com/38003641   

BubblR - http://www.pimpampum.net/bubblr/index.php  

Compfight - http://compfight.com  

Flickr Storm -  http://www.zoo-m.com/flickr-storm/    

Learning Network

At a workshop several years ago, I created a Twitter account.  This account laid dormant until last winter.  We had many snow days, delays and early dismissals due to the weather.  As teachers, we would receive a telephone call and/or email from the district when these occurred.  Many times, parents knew before us.  This becomes frustrating when they would ask us about it and we are clueless.  By chance, I stumbled across the district's Twitter account and found that this was the first place where weather related issues were issued.  I started looking at my Twitter account  more often, especially when the weather was in doubt.

In the spring, I attended a conference in which several speakers made reference to their "hashtag".  Still clueless, I tried finding some of these speakers on Twitter.  I found @PrincipalKafele, who I began to follow.  I slowly started adding more to follow but these were more on the line of sports and friends.  I was hesitant to click on anything with a link.

When beginning this project, I approached my principal in hopes of creating a school Twitter account.  He was hesitant, indicating he wasn't ready for that.  He suggested I contact the PTO.  This is a busy time for our PTO so I decided to update my Twitter account.

When I began, I was following 87.  I typed in key words, followed links, "peeked" at who others were following and began following many different educational links.  I investigated some of the sites suggested by another class.

I updated my profile picture, location and description.  I now have 132 that I am following.  In scrolling through some of these site, I found and shared some things.  One was a spotlight on Snapchat, which my daughter who is a teacher, uses all the time with her friends.  Another was "Social Media Rules for Educators" when I plan to share with my school's staff. 

  

I also found "Ways a Parent Can Help with Math".  I am beginning parents conferences this week and think this will be useful to share with the parents.  I plan to share it with the staff too.

Now that I have "clicked" on some links on Twitter, I am more comfortable investigating some of the posts and plan to continue sharing with the staff and/or parents.  I hope to eventually create a school PLC that will be accessible to the staff at anytime.

BLOG - created 8/28/14