Peers Blogs

Some of my peers had really awesome projects they did with their students! I was impressed when I saw the end product. Please check out the following.


http://educationwithvictoria.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-voice-thread.html#comments

http://amandahegnersfield-basingblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/kindergarten-rhyming.html#comments

http://brookemyrick.blogspot.com/

Final Voicethread

I added my fifth grade students voices to their favorite book. The process was challenging and at times I wanted to give up, but the end product was worth it! I orignially thought of having the students come to the computer station to add their voices but the microphones that are built in the computer were not working and I only had two microphones that I purchased. My CT then came to the rescue and had all the class go to the library and use the computers there. I still had to use my personal microphones and they had to share between the ten of them. Not all the students finished their book talk so I chose ten that did and have them discuss their book and the rest of the class would comment. The microphone was connected correctly, however for some reason the student's voice was not playing back? I had a few students re do theirs a few times til finally it worked.

I would use voicethread in my own classroom. It is hard to take time out of another person's instruction time because they have their own schedule and things they need to teach. It is also hard to get fifth graders excited to talk about their favorite book because they are self consious and it isn't "cool" to share your favorite book. We ran out of time to have all the students comment on their peers work. Time was wasted getting all the students logged on to voicethread and they were not following directions or typing in the wrong email address to sign in. Overall I am proud of the end product. This activity was good for the students to learn what others are reading and get interested in books from another genre. After they heard about other books they were wanting to go to the library and check them out.

http://voicethread.com/share/1942913/

Voicethread Story board

Here is my voicethread story board. I have my HOTS questions for each student to answer while they discuss their favorite book. I will add students voices on Monday. I can't wait to see how they will react to this wonderful tool:)


http://voicethread.com/share/1942913/

Book Talk Lesson

I see my fifth grade class choose books because they are easy and want to pass the AR test. I wanted to do a book talk so they can get interested in reading again. A handful of the students are really into series books, such as, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Lightning Thief. I hope this activity will get them interested in reading again. I started off the lesson by sharing my personal favorite story. Then I had them practice writing summaries of the book I gave them to get a feel of what they would be expected to do during their own book talk. I gave them a list of questions to answer which could be found in my TIE plan. I hope this lesson is the start to something wonderful! Here is my lesson plan https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TslIL6nHX6hSPCnNqjQdS_3RUkVXlodyOxx14kq9-u0/edit?hl=en#

My TIE Plan Activity

I want to do an activity that will enage my fifth grade class into reading. Many of them choose the same books over and over, or they get the easy books because they want to read a long boring story. I thought a book talk would be perfect for them and allow them to see what their peers are reading and maybe this activity will get them out of their box and choose a book they might have never chosen before. I am going to have my students choose a favorite book and give them a list of questions for them to answer and share with the class. Many of the students don't have experience in discussing a book so I have provided them with a list of questions so the assignment will be easy for them, since this is their first time ever doing a book talk. I will record them talking about their book and upload it to Voicethread. Each classmate must ask two higher level questions they may have about the student's book choice. I will provide a list of sample questions they can choose from, since this is their first time ever doing an assignment like this. Here is my updated TIE Plan https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rhXCKCjNyS0LdwVBxIdhsjry_Jw8dMaKDpRLjLM8TCI/edit?hl=en#

HOTS

Incorporating HOTS into these different technology tools is important. First because these tools are great to play with and make fun and while you have the students engaged then you can make them learn while they are playing. The cool thing about using these tools is they don't even know that your hidden objective is to get them to do work to meet their objectives.

The blooms taxonomy is easy to include while using these tools because you can have them start at the lower tier level and work their way up everytime they get on the google doc, voice thread, or, blog. You can give them a simple assignment and have them work their way up everyday to extend that assignment and enhance their knowledge on the topic.

Here is one voicethread example I found that shows how the teacher implemented HOTS into a technology tool. http://voicethread.com/community/library/1st_grade__Reading_Analysis_from_Leanne_Windsor/

Google Docs

This tool is good for us college students. You can upload a document and share with your group members. Many times it is difficult to meet in person with your group and this tool can make it easier for us to work on together in our homes.

After watching http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYPjJK6LZdM&feature=related I saw how the older students may use this tool in the classroom. I like that the students can work on their paper on google docs and then save it and work on it at home. They don't have to email it to a friend and have the friend email to them back, nor do they have to purchase a flash drive to save on it.

Also the teacher and peers can add on to the document to enhance their writing and add suggestions on where they may need improvement. This is great for a teacher because the teacher can comment on specific parts of the writing and the student can see directly what needs to be changed.