Technology, Art and Fun!

Wow! What a use of technology for a summer project!  Our daughters designed, sketched, scanned, skitched, and digitized their entries (using Acorn) for a recent contest.  They were super excited to find out that one of their entries made it to the finals!!  I was so proud of their hard work.  

To see Ellie's entry, log on to Facebook and and "like" USA Gymnastics.  Then, you select her contest entry.  Her design is shown on the right.  She would love positive feedback.  It is always exciting for them to read comments.  I have noticed that you can't leave a comment without "liking" USA Gymnastics first.  Sorry about that! Thanks for your support!!

Technology, Homeschooling and Alternative Assessment

Looking for ways to integrate technology in your teaching in a meaningful way?  Interested in alternative forms of assessment?  Join the discussion here today!  The session starts promptly at 1PM (CST) and will continue for one hour.  All sessions are recorded and can be downloaded at a later time.

 Download pdf of the slides and the links.

Technology Tools That Have Enhanced Our Homeschooling

The following is a reflection on our fall semester regarding ways we have successfully used technology to add diversity to our curriculum as well as enhance our children's learning.  I have a passion for creating and developing interactive unit studies  and lessons that integrate technology in meaningful and exciting ways.  I have been inspired by many classroom teachers through my PLN and value the varied discussions that have evolved over the last few months.  Even though I know many people are familiar with the different programs and sites mentioned here, I still find value in sharing what has worked for us.   Hopefully, you can find some ideas that will prove useful to you.

*************************************************************************************** Language Arts

• Wordle: A great site devoted to creating word clouds and making learning fun.  It is very user-friendly and so much fun.  We have been integrating wordles in a variety of ways to enhance our learning.  Even our three year old has been given wordles to explore the alphabet.  Wow!  Cyber-preschool!  Check out the list below to see what we have done.  Click on the links to see examples.
  • created wordles of weekly spelling lists 
  • explored vowels vs. consonants 
  • identified the letters and sounds of the alphabet
  • color coded parts of speech and identified types of pronouns
  • created examples of figurative language
  • created character studies of novels like Bridge to Terabithia, Owl Moon, and Frindle.
  • highlight weekly bible verses and favorite passages
  • mind maps for creative writing topics
    

• Spell With Flickr: Create a visual masterpiece of your weekly spelling words!  Check out one activity I used with our 1st and 2nd grader.

• Spelling City:  A tried and true site by many parents and teachers, spellingcity.com provides an alternative to the usual "drill and kill" method of learning spelling words.  Through online games and activities, children can explore not only the spelling of a word, but also its meaning.  If you are one who still clings to handouts, printables are available for most activities.  You can even take weekly tests online and record student progress.

• Glogster:  Interactive learning at its best!  This has been a big hit with our children and a great way to revitalize our novel studies.  Our oldest daughter routinely creates digital posters as final projects for the novels she has read, special unit studies, and even as an outlet for displaying writing assignments.  As a fourth grader, she taught herself how to include videos, wordles, images, summaries, and many other treats to make this task truly a multi-sensory experience.  In addition, her enthusiasm inspired her younger brother and sister, who are in 1st and 2nd grades.  Don't forget to take a chance on the younger students, you just might be surprised how much they can accomplish!  Check out some of their posters:
  • Going Batty
  • Nastia Luikin: My Inspiration
  • Bridge to Terabithia

• StoryBird:  These are short, visual stories that students (and teachers) create online.  It is intended to be a collaboration of ideas.  We have found it to be a way to spark enthusiasm into our creative writing.  Again, this site is user-friendly and free.  Not only can you create your own story-bird, you can read others creations. Check out the one I made for our three year old called Chasing Butterflies.  Around Halloween, everyone wanted to write their own "Trick or Treat" stories.  Check out their creations!

• ToonDoo:  This is a simple, creative, online comic book creator that makes writing fun for our second grader. After journaling about a superhero this morning, he was inspired to create a comic strip version of his story. Once your account is created, you are able to choose from existing backgrounds, characters and props or you can create or upload your own.  It is a great way to bring out the artistic side of a reluctant writer.

• Grammar Ninja:    We just checked this out today.  This is an interactive game with three levels of play: beginner, skilled, and master ninja.  Throughout the game, you are asked to identify various parts of speech by choosing the correct word(s) from the given sentences.  It moves quickly and is a great alternative to handouts.  There is also a Grammar Ninja Sentence Creator available for download.

• Writing Fix:  This site provides a wealth of resources to enhance any writing curriculum.  Centered around the 6+1 Traits method, writing fix provides many writing prompt generators, lesson plans, and strategies for improving writing instruction.  We have used the right-brain writing prompt generator this week to kick-start our daily journaling.  The kids have really enjoyed writing and are actually excited to see what tomorrow might bring (for journaling, that is).

• Google Docs:  This is another way I have tried to make writing fun!  I created gmail accounts for each child and showed them how to access the word processor.  Basically, we have established a writer-editor relationship.  As a paper is created, they share it with me.  Then, I am able to make critiques and/or suggestions and send it back to them.  Eco-friendly and fun!
  

• Bubble.us: This is a fun, interactive mind mapping tool.  Use this for brainstorming, organizing research, and stimulating the writing process. Check out our Going Batty With Web 2.0 to view an example of how to use this resource.

• Animoto: This is a great slideshow tool.  Educators have the added benefit of requesting a free account.  Definitely worth checking out! We used this as a way to highlight the different species of bats after completing a unit study.  Like everything presented on this sight, it was created by our children.  Amazing what children are able to accomplish!

• Visuwords: Take dictionary skills into the 21st-century! This is an amazing online graphical dictionary and is a great vocabulary development tool.
  

Science

We are studying physical science this semester and are having so much fun.  It does help that their daddy is a physicist.  As a result, we have a wealth of resources available at our fingertips.  Using the ESET curriculum developed by San Diego State University, our students have been focusing on energy this week.  To supplement our discussion, we have used the following resources:

• BrainPOP:  I can't say enough about BrainPOP.  We love it!  There are many free movies available, but it id definitely worth the monthly fee to make the full repertoire available to you.  Each topic is complete with vocabulary explorations, graphic organizers, activities, and suggestions for further exploration.  Everyone loves when we learn with Moby and Tim.

• Wordles: If you haven't figured this out by now, this is one of my favorite tools!  In science, wordles can be used to create a study guide or to highlight key concepts.  For example, our 4th grader created a wordle to highlight the different ways bats are helpful.
  

• Motion Sensors: We have also used motion sensors and corresponding software to create speed-time graphs.  Being a math person, this has been really fun.  I am so excited to be able to provide opportunities for our children to lay a foundation in interpreting graphs and understanding relationships between data.  Modeling is essential in science and math.

• Google Docs: This has been an invaluable tool!  I plan to introduce spreadsheets as a means to further explore the relationships between data through graphical representations.  This can be so much fun and yummy too!  Here's one idea: Take a bag of Skittles and chart the amount of each color or what about a blind taste-test between who prefers milk or dark chocolate?  Oh the possibilities!
  

• Web Search: I have really pushed our oldest daughter this semester.  One of her favorite activities focused on kinetic energy calculations.  Using her background knowledge of order of operations, exponents, multiplication and division, I asked her to investigate which animal would release more kinetic energy: a cheetah or an elephant.  In doing this activity, she had to use the internet to research the average mass and velocity of each animal and then take this information to compute the amount of kinetic energy released.  Check out the activity if you're interested.

• Glogster: Yes, you can use glogster in science class!  All three students collaborated on this magnetism project.
  

History

We are studying the Middle Ages throughout this school year using The Story of the World as well as History Odyssey Level 2.  We are so lucky to be living in the age of technology!  Here are a few things we have been doing to make history come alive.

• Scratch: This is a computer programming language developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten program at MIT.  All I can say is, it's amazing!  After being assigned a writing project on William the Conqueror, our 4th grader blew me away by creating an interactive report in Scratch.

• Google Forms: I have been using this to create self-grading quizzes.  This serves as a review and a way to stimulate discussion.

• Wordles: These word clouds are a great way to highlight central themes and review historical events for a particular region or time period.  Here are some of our examples:
  • Normans and Saxons
    • Created to highlight the differences between these two groups
      
  • The First Kings of England
    • Created to use as a study guide
      

• Dipity: This is an interactive timeline where students can upload links, videos, and images to highlight each individual entry.  Check out our timeline of medieval history.

• Google Earth: Develop your map skills and explore the earth in 21st century style!  Besides the obvious explorations you can do with a globe, I enjoy creating virtual field trips.  Two of our favorites have been:
  • Columbus Day Adventures: Click on the thumbnail to download a file that allows you to relive Columbus' maiden voyage to the New World.  This link includes suggestions for activities and lesson extensions.
  • Exploring History With Google Earth: The Diaspora of the Jews
    

• Walk Through Time:  This is an interactive history site created by the BBC for 7-9 year olds.  Lots of fun!

• Glogster:  Again, digital posters are a great way to summarize information and encourage research and develop organization skills. We have created glogs showcasing various topics:
  • Christmas Traditions Around the World
  • The Life of Charlemagne
  • The First Thanksgiving
    

• History for Kids:  This is another wonderful site created by the BBC with a wealth of information and activities.

•  Eyeplorer: This is a great research tool where you search the web by topic and a wealth of information becomes available to you at a click of a button. 
  

Computer Programming

We use Scratch to introduce our children to computer programming.  As mentioned earlier, this is an amazing program developed by MIT to encourage students to imagine, program, and share.  As a graphical programming language, students are able to explore the world of computer programming without getting bogged down in syntax.  I am amazed at the possibilities.  Our oldest daughter, uses her Bamboo drawing tablet to create her own animations in Scratch.  They have created basic video games, as well as, tutorials.  Last year, Abby made a interactive tutorial about poetry.  After selecting a type of poetry, you would be directed to a page with a definition, example, and an original creation.  Wow!  She proceeded to tell me this was more fun than simply writing it on paper.  This year she continues to find new and exciting ways to use Scratch.  Here are my favorite examples:

• Just Scratching the Surface of Fractions
• Interactive Report on William the Conqueror
• Rainbow Cat: This was created by our first grader entirely by herself!  Not bad for her first intro into programming.

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This is just a glimpse into some of the things we have done over the fall semester.  Everyday is an adventure and I am thankful to be able to let our children have such wonderful opportunities.  It's funny!  I slowly find myself letting go of the rigors of traditional learning and embracing new ways of thinking about teaching and education.  I am amazed at the mind of a child and what it can accomplish if simply given the chance to imagine, discover and grow.  I wish everyone a blessed new year!



Out With the Old, In With the New

I've spent the better part of the last three days cleaning out eight years worth of stuff.  It is amazing what one family can accumulate in that amount of time.  After four children, we have pretty much owned every cool early learning toy that has hit the market.  From Fisher Price to Leap Frog, we've pretty much experienced it all.  As a result, there was a lot to go through.  In the middle of cleaning, however, I had an epiphany.  Why do we need these things in this day and age?  Online educational programs and games accomplish the same things these toys set out to do.  Best of all, most of these programs are free!  Who needs a Story Reader when mommy can load an ebook on her ipod touch.  It takes up less room and again, most of these are free.  Okay, you do need to buy the ipod touch, iphone or computer.  However, at least this way, the parents get to have some of the fun in the process.  So, I would like to highlight some of our personal favorites and iphone apps we use on a regular basis.

Online Learning:

Starfall- This is a great early literacy site.  All of our children used Starfall to develop their comprehension, phonics and early reading skills.  Simply wonderful!  Also, they have started a Kindergarten site for a small fee.  We hope to check this out next summer with our youngest.

BrainPop- This is an amazing, online multimedia site.  From movie clips to activities, BrainPOP provides kids a fun, safe environment in which they can learn so many amazing things.  There is a monthly fee, but so worth it! 

I Know That- This is another great online, multimedia site that in which kids learn through playing educational games.  As an added feature, you can create your own quizzes online for an easy alternative assessment method.  One feature our children love is the Beehive.  This is a multi-player, virtual world where kids can safely interact with other "bees."  Lots of fun!  You can upgrade to the premium account for a small fee.

Time4Learning- In addition, to their regular "classroom" work, our children also are enrolled in this online school.  If you are looking for a way to supplement your curriculum or to use as a "stand alone," Time4Learning is exceptional.  Our children love the interactive learning activities as well as the printable resources.  In addition, their are quizzes and chapter tests for parents to assess how children are doing. Because this is an online school, there is a monthly fee.  It is very reasonable for all that is offered.

Headsprout: Our three older children used this program to develop reading fluency and to solidify their phonics skills.  They loved doing the online games and then were excited to sit with us and read the accompanying books.  Great place for developing confidence in early readers.

These are our core learning sites.  There are so many other personal favorites we use to supplement our classsroom learning.  Check these out too!

• Story Bird
• Math Apprentice
• Switch Zoo
• Game Classroom
• Doink
• Read*Write*Think 
• Wordle
• PBS Kids
• Scratch
• National Geographic Kids
• Fun Brain

iPhone/iPod Touch Apps:

I have to say, I love my iPod Touch and so do our children.  I have found there are so many wonderful applications that truly engage and enhance learning.  Many of the apps are free and others cost as little as $.99.  This is amazing to me after spending a small fortune on cartridges for various learning devices.  There are so many from which to choose.  I am just going to highlight a few of our favorites.

• ABC Animals by Critical Matter: This is a set of interactive flashcards teach young children to recognize, say and print English alphabet letters. Each flashcard has accompanying audio. 

• AniMatch- Animal Sounds Memory Match and ABC Memory Match by Lima Sky:  These are great memory matching games for young children.  ABC Memory Match also serves to develop letter recognition and sounds.  

• First Words Apps by Learning Touch: Three great games that introduces preschoolers to animals, vehicles and things commonly found around your home.  Great interactive game!

• Giraffe's Preschool Playground by Tomato Interactive:  This is another hit with our preschooler.  What makes this fun is the colorful, musical environment in which they learn their ABC's, identify numbers, and chase after funny animals.

• Kid Art by GP Apps:  A simple, but engaging app where kids use their fingers to draw write on the screen.  You can save their creations and download them into iPhoto.  So cool!

• Shapebuilder by TouchScreen Preschool Games:  Our preschooler loves this!  You have to use your finger to drag shapes into corresponding spots to build pictures.  Upon completion, they are rewarded with an audio to explain the image.  Super fun!

• iWriteWords:  This interactive game teaches handwriting basics while playing.  What fun!

Now, to compete with the Story Readers and Leap Pads of old, check these out!

• Wheels on the Bus: This is an colorful, electronic pop-up book, where users drive the action by touching and tapping their way through the familiar preschool song.  So much fun!

• Bumblebee Touchbook: Choose to have the book read to you or touch and watch the words animate and be read to you.  This also include interactive learning games.

There are lots of fun, educational games for older kids too!

• Oregon Trail:  This is a new twist on an old classic.

• PopMath:  As a math teacher, I find this is a great twist on the hum-drum flashcard method of reviewing basic facts.

• Touch Physics: My husband is a physicist and he loves this game for our kids.  It encourages critical thinking while having loads of fun!

• Scoops: Honestly, this is just a fun game.  I'm not sure it contains lots of educational value, but our kids love to play it.

• Bookworm:  This is a Scrabble-like game that makes spelling words lots of fun.

• PopGeo USA:  I found this game in the spring when we were studying the fifty states and their capitals.  This made practicing them much less painful for our daughter and she could do it on the car on the way to gym.

Okay, my list is getting rather long.  Let me just say that this is only a few.  On my ipod Touch, I have an awesome graphing calculator, vocabulary building games, and brain boosters like Brain Tuner and Brain Toot.  Also, you can load your ipod with video podcasts with anything from PBS Kids to Discovery Channel clips. Finally, there are lots of complete novels you can download for free and read on the go.  I have a program that loads children's classics where you can get anything form Alice in Wonderland to 1001 Arabian Nights.  Talk about hours of entertainment.

I do want to emphasize that my teaching philosophy revolves around meaningful, integrated learning.  I am an absolute technology geek, however, I feel it should be used to enhance learning not take the place of learning.  We love to play around on the computer and with mommy's ipod, however, I feel nothing replaces the one-on-one learning a child receives from their parent or teacher.  As with everything, there needs to be a balance.  I am constantly seeking the best way to stimulate curiosity and encourage critical thinking in our children.  I think we are living in an exciting time!  There is so much information available to our children.  As their parents and educators, we need to provide them with meaningful, learning opportunites and watch them soar!

"The Secret Key" to Learning

"Good Afternoon, Alderbash School! ..... I am here today to give a talk.  The title of my talk is My Secret Key to the Universe."

What is the "secret key?"  According to George it is.... PHYSICS!  I can just see my husband doing backflips in his office right now!!  Physics is a word that comes from the Greek, physis, and means nature.  Quite simply, physics is the analysis of nature in an attempt to make sense of the world, or more correctly, the universe in which we all live.  Being one of the oldest disciplines, physics is often intertwined with an understanding of mathematics, chemistry and even philosophy.  Advances in physics often serve to benefit other disciplines and technologies.  In other words, it appears that George was right!  Physics is a secret key to the universe explained through our models and fostered by an atmosphere of inquiry.

While most of us can safely say we lack the ability to space travel via a supercomputer named Cosmos, we do have other opportunities in which we can challenge our students, our children, and ourselves.  His mentor, Eric, actively engages George and Annie in his research.  He is not afraid to tackle the big issues and finds no need to "dumb down" the material.  He provides them opportunities to have real discussions, real experiences, and construct real models.  In other words, Eric facilities their learning by allowing them to actually "do" science.  

This is exactly the situation our brave hero, George, finds himself.  Throughout the book, George is presented opportunities to experience science.  He is doing more than just reading about it in a textbook.  He is actually living it, feeling it, and actively engaged.  He hurls through space on the head of a comet.  He touches the origins of our solar system as he drifts through the rings of Saturn.  He feels the gravitational pull as he and Annie fly past Jupiter.  He feels the bombardment of the asteroids as he passes through the asteroid belt heading home towards earth.  His experiences not only inspire but provide a foundation upon which he is able to construct knowledge.  

As teachers, we need to breathe life into our teaching so that students can have similar opportunities.  Think about it!  How can you make math come alive?  How can students relive the Middle Ages or explore New Worlds?  What can you do to stimulate interest and create an atmosphere of inquiry?  There are those who are already striving to break through the barriers and revolutionize teaching.  Check out dy/dan and his method of WCYDWT.  There are more resources available to us now than ever before and it is truly exciting!  

In the beginning of the book, Eric sparks George's curiosity in science by performing a simple experiment in which he uses static electricity to bend water.  It was not expensive and the materials were right in his own kitchen.  He just took the time to cease a learning opportunity.  Carpe Diem!  Whether you choose to stream live podcasts into the classroom (or home in our case) or perform a simple experiment in your kitchen, educators must find a way to stimulate creative thinking and get kids excited about learning.  How exciting it would be to create a "living classroom" where teaching and learning are organic and always evolving.  The "secret key" to the universe may be physics, but I think the "secret key" to learning is curiosity.