6... which was supposed to be 5

I said that I'd just present 5 technology tools for the classroom tomorrow, but it's going to be 6 ideas for technology in the classroom. Let me know your thoughts. Have you used any of these tools? 

Snow Day Ideas: Google Drive App, Documents by Readdle and Socrative

As school was called off last night, I invited the neighborhood girls over for a crafting morning. I love getting the girls together in the summer, but at the dining room table is an entirely different story. This morning just reminds me all too much how much I respect elementary teachers and everything you do everyday. Wow! Elementary teachers are amazing! The noise.... my goodness.

Here are some snow day ideas:
1) Did you know you can Skype with a Yellowstone Ranger? https://education.skype.com/projects/2237-yellowstone-national-park-rangers-can-skype-with-classrooms I can help you set Skype up on your iPad or your computer if you are interested in having your students chat with a Yellowstone Park Ranger or explore the Skype in Education page to check out the other chatting opportunities that you may want to use.

2) Padlet/ Wallwisher is a blank page for upper elementary, middle school or high school students that allows you to collaborate and compose. Students could create a bulletin board for a presentation, share ideas with other students, project for a presentation or have an online question and answer session during literature circles or a reading activity.

3) Socrative online and the Socrative App for iDevices or Android Devices (Kindles, too)  has made me feel incredibly guilty. This has been on my iPad for over a year and until last weekend when I saw the Instructors at STI using them, I always thought it looked not very user-friendly. Was I ever wrong! As a teacher, you sign up and are given a room number.

Step a) You can create short answer or multiple choice quizzes using the online program or Excel/ Sheets templates.
Step b) The students tap the app or go to Socrative.com and type in the teacher's room number.
Step c) Teacher is online with teacher app or Socrative.com teacher login using computer and assigns quiz.
Step d) Students take quiz.

There are so many options with this program! Teachers can let students go at their own pace or only let them go question by question (so you can review as you progress through lesson). Teachers can also combine quizzes as a review and have students separated into teams (as assigned by Socrative) to see which team can get the most questions correct the fastest! Tomorrow morning I'm putting this on the iPads and I'm very excited to use it! I am guilty as charged though, I downloaded it last year and never realized how great this is!

4) If you like Google Drive and you like your iPad, here is the tutorial for you. You can download this to your iPad and save in iBooks or Documents by Readdle App. The new Google Drive App has impressed me. And, for all iPad users, if you haven't downloaded the Documents by Readdle App yet, do it soon! There is no way this one will stay free forever. It is just a great document reading application.

5) TypingWeb is a free place for students to work on their typing abilities. There are games and tutorials for the home row. It reminds me a lot of the typing exercises I did in my typing class once upon a time... and it is free! I don't think it is something you would want to spend a lot of class time on, but maybe something to integrate or show students that want to learn to type quicker.

I hope you have a great day in the snow! Remember, we are so tough in South Dakota we don't name our storms we call them "Winter."

Also, this and all Tech Integration Idea emails are archived at teachertechweekly.blogspot.com

10 Apps for Tuesday

I found some great free apps that I had to share! 1) Click on the link below 2) Click on View in iTunes and iTunes will open for you 3) Click on Purchase and put in your password. If you have any questions about downloading, please let me know and I will stop down and help.

1) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/endless-alphabet/id591626572?mt=8 The Endless Alphabet App is an interactive 'monster app' that has almost like alphabet flashcards and upon selecting a flashcard a word starting with that letter comes up. Students have to plug in the letter and as they drag the letter it makes it's sound. So cute! It is updated on a regular basis with new words. 

2) https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/hudsonalpha-icell/id364882015?mt=8 HudsonAlpha iCell App is an interactive app to travel through plant, bacteria, and animal cells. It is color coded and I wish I would have had this when I was in science classes! 

3) https://itunes.apple.com/app/powers-of-minus-ten-bone/id591722396?mt=8 Power of Minus Ten- Bones is an app to show you the inside of bones, a broken hand bone and how it heals. You can zoom in both ways and has scientific names with explanations. 

4) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/disney-fish-hooks/id550005327?mt=8 Disney Fish Hooks App looks a lot like just a game, but it cleverly disguises critical thinking and process skills as learners have to get the fish out of the bubble at the top of the screen to the aquarium tube by carefully angling series after series of logs with the correct angle. I thought it looked easy until we got to the higher levels and then, it got really fun. It reminded me of a Rube Goldberg machine. 

5) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gesundheit!/id591696651?mt=8 Gesundheit! is the app of the week on iTunes and, again, at first looks like a game, but to get your "guy" from place to place, you have step on levers, get fruit, and... okay, fine. It's more of a game, but fun to learn how to use the multitasking gestures on the iPad with short tutorials coming up when needed. Not to mention, it has fun flute music. 

6) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wheels-on-bus-all-in-one-educational/id543545550?l=es&mt=8 The Wheels on the Bus Activity Center has counting, racing games with spelling, puzzles, and other fun activities centered around transportation. The full version has more, but this is free and has quite a lot. 

7) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toontastic-free/id404693282?mt=8 Toontastic was mentioned in a past email, but it keeps getting better with updates. You can have students create their own cartoon based on many fun characters, backgrounds, record their own narration, and it even coincides with the traditional plot diagram with a story arc. I can see a lot of possibilities for Elementary all the way up to Middle School. Even if you do not have an iPad right now, stop in and use one for a day or so to check it out and use them in class. The iPad checkout is located here: http://tinyurl.com/deuelipad

8) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/language-development-preschool/id554622105?mt=8 iLearn with Boing has multiple apps, but you can only do the "words" portion of each app for free. The words portion allows you to take the seals (in the ocean app) and move the letters in the order of the word. There are many other iLearn with Boing apps too.

9) https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/geodash-wild-animal-adventure/id573679651?mt=8 GeoDash combines a Mario World type game with learning animal characteristics and specific animals in different biomes. As it is a National Geographic sponsored app, it has a lot of great information read aloud to the students as they go through the game. 

10) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/where-do-i-go-group-match-words/id499190609?mt=8 The Where Do I Go? App is a fun way for students to learn how to group and classify animals, food, geography, climate, and home. It is fun to watch as they are given a theme and have to choose all of the applicable items in that category. 

I'll stop at 10 for today, but had to share some of the latest. Also, a new update is available for iPads as of yesterday. Go to your Systems App, General, Software update and tap install. You cannot install software using the school's wireless, but you can at home. I can also do this install when I hook iPads up to the MacBook Pro in my office that does not use the wireless. If you need help with this process, let me know. 

Have a great day! 

Thanksgiving Ham

Fun tools for this week and a story about Ham:  

1) Primary Wall (http://primarywall.com/) and PiratePad (http://piratepad.net/) are two places that students can collaborate online for journal prompts, writing openers, opinion questions, and reviews of recent information. Check them out!

2) Perfect Pitch (http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/interactives/perfectpitch/) teaches the 'player' about either Modern, Romantic, Baroque or Classical instruments through a baseball game. It's a really fun way to combine music and baseball.

3) XtraMath (https://www.xtramath.org ) is a free place to sign up teachers, parents and students to your class to learn math through short videos and tutorials. You can go to the 'About Us' to learn how to sign up and sign up as a teacher, set up a class and assign lessons. There is a place to print out a parent flyer so that parents can follow along to see how their student is doing as well. 

4) In a Nutshell (http://www.planetnutshell.com/videos) is an idiom we have probably all heard and these on the page linked above are some In a Nutshell videos for you to use in the classroom to teach about Internet Safety. They are on the lower right hand column of the page. A range of topics from Distracted Driving and Say no to Sexting for teens and What is the Internet? for elementary students are covered "in a nutshell." These would be great Write to Win starters, if you want to integrate it at the start or end of a unit.

5) SkoolBo (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skoolbo-core-skills-hd/id534555129?mt=8) is an app for the iPad that targets map and reading skills with a lot of games for students up to age 10. I will have this on the 25 iPads you can check out next week, but if you have an iPad and are reading this email from the iPad, Click on the link in this summary which will take you to the AppStore so you can download it on your iPad. 

6) Postcards then and Now Blog ( http://postcardsthenandnow.blogspot.com) is just a fun blog that shows you old postcards and then goes to Google Street view using Google Maps to see what it looks like now. I'm a big fan of anything comparing history to modern day, so this is just for fun to show you what Google Maps can do. 

7) One last thing to check out: Google Drive (https://www.google.com/intl/en_US/drive/start/index.html?authuser=0 ) or Google Docs is something that many of you have heard me refer to over the past few emails. Check this video out and explore this site. Google Drive can change the way you store files and will allow you access from any computer or mobile computing device anywhere in the world. Seriously, cool stuff. Let me know if you have any questions about integrating Google Drive (Docs, Spreadsheets, Draw, Forms, Presentations) into your classroom or ask your colleagues that are already using it. 

8) How to Cook a Ham 

My brother-in-law, Gary, told my family a story a few Thanksgivings ago that seems applicable this semester. He said that his niece was hosting Thanksgiving for the first time so his sister went over to help cook the meal. His sister proceeded to cut the ends of of the ham to put it in the oven to bake. His niece inquired, "Mom, why do you cut the ends off the ham before we bake it? Wouldn't it make more sense to keep the ends on the ham so it stays moist? Then I wouldn't have to cook gravy. I'm trying to go low carb, you know." 

Gary's sister replied, "My Mother always did it this way, so it must be the way to get her famous honey glaze to soak through the ham, but let's ask Grandma when she gets here." 

That evening at Thanksgiving supper, Gary's niece and sister asked his Mother why she cut the ends off the ham. She explained that was the way that her Mom showed her how to do it. After a few questions, Gary's Grandmother adjusted her hearing aid and said, rather disgusted, "I cut the ends of the ham off because I never had a pan big enough to cook a whole ham at once and Grandpa worked for the elevator in town and always got a big ham for a Thanksgiving bonus. I cut the ends off to make soup otherwise I would have never been able to cook the ham whole." 

So, for three generations, everybody cut the ends off the ham and either ate dry ham or adapted the recipe with a glaze or gravy. One generation was making due with what they had to fit the ham in the pan. The next generation concocted a famous honey glaze and the next just cut the ends off, made a dry ham and learned how to make good gravy and finally somebody asked why. They all cooked ham, but amended the recipe to fit their cooking style, family's taste or cooking tools available. 

Moral of the story: My brother-in-law Gary embellishes stories to fit our conversation at dinner... yes, I mean, No. Not the point...err... Anyways... Did they all still get ham at Thanksgiving? Yes. Did they have to use the same recipe? No. 

My attempt at an analogy is to remember no matter what we are doing to "re" map our curriculum to the Common Core vernacular, that it is still your classroom. Adapt it the way that works for you. We do not all have to get there the exact same way with identical lesson plans, but we all still have to get there. And, this year more than ever, I've learned that everything we need to know about curriculum and teaching strategies to help our students get to the "Common Core Standards" is in this building, all we need to do is share and have those conversations. Overall, I just encourage you to have an open mind and share what you know with the rest of us that are still learning to be better teachers.

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Have a great week and let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Except if it's cooking ham... It's best you consult Pinterest or your most recent Thanksgiving hosts. 

Samantha Walder
Deuel School District
Career Counselor
Technology Integrationist
https://sites.google.com/site/samanthawalder/ 

Sites, Apps, Ideas and A Message from Santa

Good morning! This Friday I will be meeting with the HS in the morning and going through some testing data, but I will be available afterwards. Please let me know how I can help! 

For those that are interested, the iPad Applications (for the classroom set) will be reviewed again on January 3rd. If you are planning on applying, make sure these are turned in prior to January 3rd. I have reattached the application form for you. 

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1) https://www.zooniverse.org/projects Zoo Universe is a really great place to explore the surface of the moon through pictures, check out historical cyclones, and even classify wildlife on the Serengeti! Check out this page of projects to see what else is there. You can also Experiment in the laboratory to see if there is life on another planet or help libraries identify digitized music! 

2) http://www.youtube.com/user/CGPGrey?feature=watch CGP Grey is a YouTube Channel with a lot of short explanations that would be great to integrate into class or put together to create your own Performance Task. You can listen to a short video on the difference between the UK and Englad to another about Is Pluto a Planet? 

3) https://sites.google.com/site/kernkelley/forms Google Forms Template by Kern Kelly gives links to great self-grading quizzes you can embed on your website or email out, word find maker, miscellaneous documents and also administrative docs you can use. Click on the link, click on the 'make a copy' link and (you may need to sign into your Google Account at this time, if you haven't already today) the template will be saved for you in your Google Docs account. To reuse the document multiple times, make sure to go to "file" --> "make a copy" each time you need to use the document again. 

4) 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/word-mover/id572997152?mt=8 Word Mover is a new app from ReadWriteThink that I have on the check out iPads that will acts a lot like the "magnet words" you can get and create poetry from. The reason that I like this app is that you can choose famous speeches or texts (like MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech) and only use those words to create a speech. It is a fun way to teach literary devices like diction and even syntax. 

5) http://mp3cut.net/ Online Audio Cutter is a place to upload audio files from your computer, SoundCloud or YouTube and cut the audio and save it. It also links to an Audio Joiner and Audio Converter at the top of the page that I haven't got to check out yet, but sound promising. 

6) https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/spacecraft-3d/id541089908?mt=8 Spacecraft 3D is a cool new NASA app that will allow students to explore 3D models of spacecraft. So cool!

7) http://www.portablenorthpole.com/home The Portable North Pole is the COOLEST place to send a message from Santa to your children, students (as a class even, it would be cool) or even another adult that needs a message from Santa to brighten their day! (Here is the example I made for Leah: http://www.portablenorthpole.com/watch/gQVvQZhcPP3pRRbS4NZ9vuA/p) I made one last year and it was not nearly as fun, so I was excited to see how it had changed. Can you tell? I just love Christmas!

8) https://bingobaker.com/ Bingo Baker is a place to create your own BINGO cards! I think this may be a fun way to review during the last few days before Christmas. You can create an account to save your cards, get a 'full screen' bingo card (which is easier to print) and also peruse other bingo cards people have created via the ink in the upper right hand corner of the screen. 

Have a great week!

Elementary iPad Presentation

Last week I was able to do a presentation for the Elementary Staff. Here is the copy of some of the things we visited about and some great apps for the iPad too!

Common Core Resources

Good morning! South Dakota is part of the Smarter Balanced Consortium and there are multiple resources here below from the Smarter Balanced Consortium as well as other state's education agencies. I am with the Student Council tomorrow, but please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you this upcoming week. 

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The set of 15 iPads will be in Lisa Brandt's Room until January 3rd. All teachers in all grades have the option of turning in an application, including teachers that have already submitted applications. You may turn them in at any time prior to January 3rd. 

There are 25 iPads in my office that you can use at any time. Check them out at: tinyurl.com/deuelipad The checkout is an online excel spreadsheet. On the bottom of the page are sheets labeled with the date. You click on the sheet and then add your name to the time and day you want to check out the iPads. Please email me or stop in if there is anything specific you want on the iPads. Right now there are many elementary level interactive books, math flashcards, math story problems, telling time/ clock apps, edmodo, and also many productivity apps for all levels. There are hundreds of apps that we can rotate on an off the iPads for your students! 

The email app on all the iPads has a "Deuel Student" gmail on it. You can send students' documents or links to this email address and they can be opened on any of the 25 iPads. 

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Smarter Balance Consortium Sample Tasks and Exemplars: 

 http://www.smarterbalanced.org/smarter-balanced-assessments/  

http://www.smarterbalanced.org/sample-items-and-performance-tasks/ 

Sample Performance Tasks and Text Exemplars from other resources: 

http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/ela/ccssspt.html 

http://www.parcconline.org/samples/item-task-prototypes#6 

http://readingandwritingproject.com/resources/assessments/performance-assessments.html (Click on the year to expand the links and download.)

http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/CommonCoreLibrary/TasksUnitsStudentWork/newtasks.htm 

Presentation on Creating Your Own Performance Task

Article: What are the components of a common core lesson? 

Article: What Special Education Educators Need to Know

Video: http://vimeo.com/39784324 This video is somewhat an overview for California educators, but it is a good place to start. As California is one of the governing states for the Smarter Balanced consortium, this video has more relevance to the history of common core.

Also, if you are an iPad user, I'd recommend downloading the Common Core App as an easy to read/ find/ manage the somewhat cumbersome inch-think printout of your Math or Reading standards. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/common-core-standards/id439424555?mt=8 

Tutorial: http://myboe.org/portal/default/Content/Viewer/Content?action=2&scId=306588

If you want to really explore Common Core, the CA DOE set up an online course the teachers' took as part of their training. I really think it helps to explain the differences of the standards and also some of the basics of how they are set up. 

Have an awesome weekend! 

Happy Rainy Morning in South Dakota

Happy Rainy Morning! 

The 15 iPads are about ready to go. If anybody wants to submit an application and has not done so or is in the process of writing one, please let me know. Applications are accepted on a cyclical basis, so whichever is the best in the lot will get the iPads for up to 9 weeks at a time. Once they are given to a teacher, we will let you know how long the application was approved for so you know. 

The 25 iPads are about ready to go too. There are a set of apps I have on them now that include some interactive books, science apps and basic program apps. You can check them out to just see how they work OR let me know what apps you want on them and I can help put them on if they are free. We do not have a PD session anytime soon, but I will gladly help anybody that wants some help to work with them after school, during your study hall or planning period. Once we have time on a Friday, I will use it to review some of the options during a session time. 

Here is the link to the iPad checkout cart: 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsEay089cnsBdExSY0tORS1naTlSOTBDTVFwVU9qOFE 

Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can help in any way. 

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Reminder: 

Google Search Session on Site Specific Searches from 3:45- 4:00 in Ms. Eggers' Room. 

Bring your computer.

Hope to see you there!