Friday, July 12, 2013
Blogging...third grade
I've taught third grade for three years, and I am just starting to understand the importance of using technology in the classroom. I have been thinking about how I can use technology during my reading class. I have one iPad and four laptops to share between 34 students. With limited resources I think group projects are the way to go. I've seen a few colleagues use computers to record response to literature writing. The student will write to a prompt and record themselves to see whether the writing makes sense. I would like to do something different. I think that computers can be used to make commercials using editing software found on the laptops. Mini-movies can also be created as a reenactment of the story. For some reason this never dawned on me. Has anyone used iMovie on laptops? What have you created?
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Are they Apple laptops? Because I could be wrong, but imovie is a Mac only program. You can convert it to MOV format to watch it on a PC. I don't think you can run imovie on a PC. I have used imovie on ipads, it's a pretty simple program. It only took me a little while to figure out the nuances of the program, of course most of my sixth graders had already used it, which helped. The version of imovie on the ipad is very watered down compare to the full version program. If your laptops are older, you may run into some problems. Definitely, check out all the specs if you need to install on the laptops, unless it's already installed. Mary may have some knowledge on this.
ReplyDeleteI love making movies with my kids. I make them do a good amount of prepwork before they actually record. They love it! I have made movies with sixth and seventh grade. We do commercials, inventions, they rewrite the end of books they read, or they act out the thoughts of characters in the book, also parodies of movies or tv shows, "how to" videos, skits on curriculum content, and movie trailers, the topics are endless. Good Luck!
Yes, I have four Apple laptops and one iPad for my class. My son and I create little movies before school so I am somewhat familiar with the iMovie application.
DeleteMy laptops are fairly new, but I think my main issue is that I have different students for reading, and my homeroom for math. I think trying to keep the laptops organized would be a difficult task. How do you keep track of your sixth and seventh graders work? Do they have access to an e-portfolio? My school doesn't have e-portfolios, so I'm trying to figure our the logistics.
You're brave, I almost kept my black background, but chickened out. Zombies are all "the rage", very 21st century of you. Love your sense of humor, I'm sure your students appreciate it too.
ReplyDeleteI know it's a different blog, but one of the things a blog is supposed to have is individualization. My students enjoy the rants of their strange teacher, and they think I'm funny. My classroom environment is one where every individual has a voice, and we aren't afraid to be who we are. That's why I am sometimes compared to Mrs. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus (but my taste in fashion is much better :)).
DeleteElizabeth, with the limited resources of only a few laptops could you set up workstations, where the kids are in smaller groups or even just pairs and they rotate through? That way you could have only a few students using the laptops at a time. You wouldn't have to try to get all 34 of your students using them at one time, and if they need time to finish a project, maybe they could stay on that station for a couple of days or a week? Do you think that might be a way for more students to have direct access to the laptops?
ReplyDeleteI absolutely think the idea of having workstations is wonderful. I could see a rotation working during my reading block, especially when I am working with a small group. I think that students would feel as if they had a more individualized experience, instead of sharing a computer with five others in a group. Thanks for the idea!
DeleteElizabeth, do you have a computer lab or library with computer resources at your school? Is any kind of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) scenario feasible?
ReplyDeleteDo you think you could rotate the use of devices and have all your 30+ students complete a blog entry at some point between Date A and Date B, and then maybe also allow an extended time frame for them to respond to each other? (I am trying to brainstorm on how you could avoid needing to do group projects if possible.)
What is the situation with your kids' home internet avilability? I think that factors in as well. If they have a reliable connection and devices at home, they could work on a portion of it there after a tutorial in class.
I take an inventory at the beginning of each year to see how many of my students have access to a computer and the internet. Almost every year, only a third have access to a computer and even less have access to the internet. This is always a big issue for me. I like to send personal e-mails to parents about their child. I don't send negative messages, but I like to keep in contact with my parents to keep the lines of communication open. When we visit different websites, most of my students only access them during school hours. This makes it difficult to send an assignment that has to be turned in via the internet.
DeleteOur school has a computer lab, but teachers are instructed to have students use a reading application to practice skills.
I don't agree with this, but our school is a low SES school, and is deemed a "failing" school. I hope that I can access some extra materials for the upcoming year, and use them in my class.
Workstations sounds like the way to go. Assign 7 students to each of the computers. Each of my sixth graders has a folder for my class on their computer. We use a website called ebackpack, where students can backup their work and access it from any computer. I can also post assignments and tests that they can access, complete and send back to me. I'm under the impression it's not that expensive. We're almost paperless in my lab. What about Google Docs? I haven't used it, has anyone else? I know there is "google drive", too complicated for third graders? Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth (AKA Ms. Frizzle),
ReplyDeleteI have workstations in my reading block and love it! I have 3 macBooks at one station. The students use them to get on Grammar games, mostly from http://mrnussbaum.com/third-grade-language-arts/. Sometimes the tech station is for listen to reading from http://www.wegivebooks.org and then they blog about it from a prompt I post on our class blog page. Another station I do with technology is reading for fluency, where the students use Noteability on the iPad to voice record themselves reading a passage and then listen to themselves read.
The iMovie idea is awesome and I am going to try it this year!
I would love to hear more ideas of incorporating technology into literacy.
Best of luck!
-Jessie