IMovie or WeVideo??

I asked the question several blogs ago which was better to use?  Which was easier?  Well I have to say after spend a ton of time working on IMovie with Jen, I did not find it to be as user friendly as everyone had suggested.  I found it easier to navigate WeVideo.  In WeVideo there were easy ways to get to text, pictures, and movies.  IMovie took a lot more time.  Has anyone else had this experience?  Or have you found other programs that are easier?  When I do my literacy project, I will go back to WeVideo!

Digital Story-Idioms

Jen and I created this video for students to learn more about idioms.  We want these students to use figurative language in their writing and understand it in their reading.  We had students learn what an idiom is, define the idiom, and then use the idiom in a sentence.  They had a great time illustrating the literal meaning, defining the real meaning, and using it in a sentence.  Check out our rough draft and tell us what you think.

Brain Gym- Check out these great activities that will keep your students going!

Brain Gym is a program that that you can do with your students to help them with reading comprehension, writing, spelling, and listening by coordinating the left and right sides of the brain.  Check out these great activities that will have your students ready for learning!  We do these activities before testing, writing, and reading.  It helps to get our students ready to learn. 

 

Brain Gym

Once you have started using it, do you see a difference in student performance?

IMovie or WeVideo

While thinking about making my Digital Story, I am considering WeVideo and IMovie.  I have gone through a number of different tools to create my digital story and have narrowed it down to these two.

My questions are:

Which is more user friendly?
If I make my digital story on the IPad is there a way to transfer it to the PC so I can let kids view it on my Smart board?
Is there a different program you are using that you feel is better?

Open House Animoto

My third grade team is using this Animoto for our Open House as a means to explain and show parents our third grade curriculum. We used power point in the past but felt that this was a more creative way to show parents what we teach. What have you used at Open House to show parents what you teach?

More info on kids blogging!

For those of you who are still nervous to get your class up and blogging the following is a must read!

   Online Collaborative Inquiry
Classroom Blogging Ventures and Multiple Literacies

There is great information and some very informative links.

For those of you who are still skeptical about blogging
check these out!


A great way to get you started!

Paper Blogs!


Online safety.

Blogging Promotes Literacy!

5 ways blogging promotes literacy!

How does blogging promote literacy in our students?

To begin, blogging is a very powerful tool! For students the potential audience is an incredibly motivating feature of the blog. They can have a global audience!  Students have greater purpose and a real audience to whom they can write. 

Secondly, the blog allows students to connect and collaborate with others outside the classroom.  They can work with students in different states on projects that they find motivating.

 Third, the blog helps to archive information which promotes greater reflection. This is a critical piece in learning!

 Fourth, blogging allows students with different learning styles to have a voice and perhaps increase participation in projects. Students with different strengths and weakness can excel using this forum.

Fifth, the blog promotes greater knowledge in the area they are blogging about.  Students become an expert in the area. 

And finally, blogs promote the learning of newer functional literacies within society. 

What are other benefits you have found in using blogging to promote literacy? 

Author Alan November in Empowering Students with Technology states “A lot of the information on the web never really dies.  For example, what a student posts now in high school could be the information that will keep him from getting his dream job in the future…

See Alan November.




We need to make our young students understand these critical issues.
Is anyone using a particular internet safety curriculum with your students?

More Great Resources!

Another great blog - Sharing Technology

I found some great activities on this blog on spelling, cyber safety, google books,  and creating Avatars!

Check it out!

The Avatars allow our students to post animated pictures of themselves for their own safety-Absolutely love it!

Has anyone used anything else so that students don't use their pictures?

Great Resource!!!

Check out this blog for great books!  This blog gives you great information, summaries on stories, and common core connections! Great source!

Great Kids Books

Animoto!

In our third grade co-taught class we have found using visual imagery as a strategy to learn and retain vocabulary is a very successful.  This is especially helpful for the special education students in the class.  In the past we have not utilized Animoto as a source for this visual imagery.  Animoto is incredibly easy to use and the finished product is very motivating for the kids! Our students are working hard to complete work accurately so that we can capture it in a picture and put it into an Animoto presentation!  Animoto is a great source to link vocabulary words to pictures to create visual imagery for your students!

Check it out!

What types of technology do you use for visual imagery?

Is it worth having an educator's account or should I upgrade?

Perseverance!

 

This is a must watch!  We watched this in our opening meeting and there was not a dry eye in the house.

I Believe...Do You?

           Watch this amazing, motivating, young speaker!

 

He will truly inspire you!

Technology

Some programs we will be exploring are:

www.storybird.com

www.animoto.com

What have you found to be useful to spur on your students' creativity?

 

School Starts!!

Back to School!!


We are off to a great start in third grade!  In addition to this Blog, my co-teacher and I will be beginning a third grade Blog!