April 10, 2015
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 16
TIS AND THAT
Apps for Students with Autism By: Luke Swiney
Au#sm Awareness Day was April 2, 2015. Students with au#sm can be some of the most teachable and reachable children in our school systems. Technology is one of the best ways to educate these children through various modes of ac#vi#es. Most teachers now have iPads, so this brief summary of really cool apps for students with au#sm will help generate ideas for interac#ng with these students. Of course there are always the apps that help create social stories, and comic strips. However, it is very important to help the high func#oning students with au#sm con#nue to learn the relevant informa#on for life aFer school. Talking Larry $0.99. This app helps students with their speech and pronuncia#on of words. Talking Larry is a goofy looking bird that will repeat the words spoken by the student. This will help develop language skills as the student can hear the way they said a word, except in a different voice. Tiny Frac2ons $5.00. This program helps students understand the difficult skill of frac#on recogni#on and solving. It has various levels in which the student can work toward. It starts out simple and eases the student into more advanced levels of solving frac#ons. What’s the Word FREE. Vocabulary is a very important part of English and reading development. This app gives the student four different pictures, and then the students choose one word that describes all four pictures. This app ins#lls good cri#cal thinking skills as well as a fun way for students with au#sm to further their vocabulary knowledge. TapToTalk FREE. Nonverbal students with au#sm need ways to communicate with the people around them. This app gives that nonverbal student a voice. It has different categories such as ‘emo#ons,’ ‘needs,’ ‘wants,’ and the so important ‘bathroom’. The student simply selects what they want to say, and the device will speak for them, allowing them to convey their needs/wants. USMapPuzzle FREE. Geography and history may be difficult subjects for students with au#sm. This app can help students understand where the states are located on a map. It is as simple as placing the state in the correct area on the map. Each state is already outlined, so it will help with shape correla#on, as well as names of states.
1:1 iPads…Now What? By: Audrey Long
My love for teaching and technology hit a whole new level when every student was assigned a school issued iPad here in Raleigh County. We are approaching the end of our second school year with the new
technology, and it has changed the way we teach. I am a third grade teacher and I would have never believed the projects my students were capable of crea#ng if I had not seen it for myself. The purpose of the iPads is to provide teachers and students with the tools necessary to provide a high quality educa#on. Trainings were given throughout the first year from an Apple professional. In the beginning, it was hard to wrap my head around exactly how to u#lize the new tool to its full capability. This is one of the best addi#ons I have seen in educa#on, but with much trial and error and to tech savvy students the ini#a#ve has been very successful. Honestly, the sky is the limit. If you dream it there is some way to do it. I have found that students know a lot more than they are given credit for. Even the PreK and Kindergarten students can do some pre\y incredible things. Learning Management Systems (LMS) are great for discussions, turning in assignments, and quizzes. It helps them stay organized, since three different binders and four different notebooks are no longer necessary. My class has partnered with several younger grades we like to call our Learning Buddies. The way it works is, twice a week for 15-‐30 minutes we partner up for ac#vi#es with younger students. Our latest project was for the students to create a digital story. Check out their story, ABC’s of Winter.
Some of our Favorite Apps 1. Google Earth 2. BrainPop Featured Movie 3. Pocket Body Lite 4. Video Science 5. Evernote 6. See.Touch.Learn 7. Edmodo 8. Tap to Talk 9. iBooks 10. Khan Academy
If your county is moving to ini#a#ves like ours has, embrace it with an open mind. Change can be hard, but with an open mind and a posi#ve abtude the transi#on will be smooth.
11. Showbie
5 Alternatives to Traditional Book Reports
13. PBS Kids
By Brian K. Moats
Book reports have long been a staple of Language Arts classes. Here are 5 technology-‐based alterna#ves to the tradi#onal book report.
12. iTunes U
14. Too Noisy 15. TED Talk
Book Trailer: A book trailer is like a movie trailer. Have students record and edit a short trailer for a book using a program like iMovie or Windows Movie Maker.
16. Spelling City
Trading Cards: Have students create a trading cards for characters in the book using ReadWriteThink’s Trading Card Generator.
17. iMovie
Comic Strip: Students can recreate an important part of the story using an online comic strip maker like Pixton. Draw a Mind Map: Text2Mindmap creates a visual mind map from an outline of text. Have students organize the story’s elements like characteriza#on, sebng, or plot. When they are done, they can download and save a PDF of the map. The free version does not let them save a work in progress, so the students may want to organize their text in a word processing program in advance and then copy and paste it into the website. Bookcas2ng: Bookcas#ng is podcas#ng about a book. Use a sound recorder like Audacity to tell your listeners about your book. Shortcuts to the websites above can be found at h\p://bit.ly/moats1 Shortcuts to the sources for this ar#cle can be found at h\p://bit.ly/moats2
18. Pages 19. Stack the States 20. Math Bingo 21. Remind 22. Accelerated Reader 23. NASA App 24. Educrea#on 25. Numbers
Electronic Kite Flying By: Luke Swiney
As spring is finally rolling around, the outdoor class ac#vi#es can commence! When warm weather starts appearing for the first #me in several months, the first thing that comes to mind for some people is kite flying. If you are looking for an engaging and exci#ng lesson to do outside, flying a kite isn’t just fun, it’s educa#onal too. There are several new kites out that can record wind speed and direc#on, as well as take photos from high in the sky. They are very similar to drones, except with a totally different interface. The huge Electric Remote Control Robo#c Kite is available in many designs such as planes, dragons and birds. They are decorated with bright and stylish LED lights that can be seen in late evening kite flights. The robo#c kites can reach stunning heights, even up to 500 feet! One of the major concerns may be allowing a student to take control of such a device; however they are designed and created for school age children. They are built with crash resistant and shock absorbent fiberglass materials that make even the nas#est of crashes manageable. The RC kites can be used for about any subject area. Naturally, science is one of the first things a teacher might think. Using this robo#c kite to record wind speeds, wind direc#on, and temperature changes by eleva#on are just a few ideas. The RC kites could also be used in an English class. The students may observe, and write a paper using their senses to describe the experience. The op#ons are endless when it comes to connec#ng to curriculum. When your think tank is going dry and you’re running out of ideas, think about giving one of these a try. They aren’t outrageously expensive; the prices may range from $100 to $300 depending on the features you want for your robo#c kite. Enjoy the weather and have a fun #me experimen#ng this spring!
Redefining Student Learning through Technology Integration By Brian K. Moats
What do your students do with the technology in your school? Do they prac#ce mul#plica#on facts online? Do they write and publish newsle\ers? Do they video conference with professional musicians across the country? As educators, we have an opportunity to use technology to provide educa#onal experiences for our students that were previously unimaginable. But how? The SAMR model of technology integra#on provides one framework for thinking about technology integra#on in the classroom. Created by Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura, it consists of a hierarchy of four levels of technology use: Subs#tu#on, Augmenta#on, Modifica#on, and Redefini#on. At the first two levels, technology is an enhancement of tradi#onal assignments. The last two levels describe a transforma#on of the way students work and learn in class. Subs#tu#on: At this level, computer technology is used to perform the same tasks students do without the technology. For example, they may type a paragraph in a word processing program instead of handwri#ng it on paper. The basic assignment of wri#ng a paragraph has not changed. Augmenta#on: At this level, the technology provides some enhancement of func#onality. For example, instead of taking a quiz on paper, the students could take a quiz online that provides immediate feedback.
Modifica#on: At this level, we start to see significant changes in the task. For example, students could compose an essay, then post it on a class blog and have students provide feedback. Redefini#on: At this level, classroom ac#vi#es use technology to complete tasks that otherwise would be impossible. For example, the students could collaborate to create a video explaining a topic, add music, and share it with classmates through OneDrive. Each of the levels of the SAMR model have their place in the classroom. As teachers and students become more comfortable with technology in the classroom, ac#vi#es at the transforma#on levels of Modifica#on and Redefini#on should become more common. These ac#vi#es promote collabora#on and higher-‐level thinking skills while increasing student engagement. Shortcuts to the sources for this ar#cle can be found at h\p://bit.ly/moats3
Test Season from a Third Grade Teacher By: Audrey Long As the statewide assessment quickly approaches teachers are scrambling to prepare. The weather has
not been on our side this year, so let me share with you some ways I am preparing my students for the big day. The first thing I assessed was the environment in which my students were learning. I replaced desks with tables, and chairs with fitness balls. The balls are my top secret way to keep students moving and their minds engaged. This research based strategy of ball chairs is not new to my classroom, but the tables are. The tables give students the best opportunity at working in collabora#ve groups and discussing topics with their neighbor much more effec#vely than having to include transi#on #me. Non-‐fic#on text is playing a leading role in my classroom. Great resources are available (and the best part is they are free!) from NewsELA. The great thing about this site is for every ar#cle the reading level can be adjusted to meet the needs of all students. Some other great resources are readworks.org, chemed.org, and an app called Thinglink. Cornell Notes is a great way for students to take notes on different sources before wri#ng essays. It has taken some prac#ce but with this method young students are able to successfully take notes. My favorite subject to teach is Math. The best resource for my students has been EngageNY.org. Engage NY is common core curriculum and includes curriculum maps, lessons, videos and much more for teachers to use absolutely free. The hands on ac#vi#es and engaging lessons keep students at task while developing higher level thinking skills. We are so fortunate to be teaching in an age where so many resources are available to us to u#lize, and it is only a click away. My advice is to go in your classroom everyday and teach the common core standards for your grade level. All the pieces will all come together, just teach.
About the Authors of this issue… Mark Your Calendar…
July 21 – 23, 2015 AUDREY LONG hRp://conference.wvnet.edu ARLONG@K12.WV.US SHADY SPRING ELEM. THIRD GRADE
BRIAN MOATS BMOATS@K12.WV.US PRESTON COUNTY SCHOOLS
LUKE SWINEY CSWINEY@K12.WV.US RAVENSWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL