The BEST PD (aside from EDCAMP)

Well it's been a while. This time of year is busy with deadlines, end of semester assessments, and of course the Holidays.

We recently had a district PLC Day. The morning was devoted to some district things and the afternoon  agendas varied by school while still keeping a focus on district initiatives. One thing that our staff did was something that our principal created and called an "Instructional Potluck." Each staff member was responsible for bringing one strategy that they use or had used in their own classroom. The only rule is that it couldn't be a Pinterest or TeachersPayTeachers party. It could come from those resources BUT it had to be something that we all HAD tried in OUR classrooms.

This was the best PD session I have ever been apart of (aside from Edcamp ha!).  So often we are so busy in our own classroom worlds that we don't get to "step" into others. This gave us a chance to see all of the neat ideas and strategies that other teachers across all grade levels are using with students. Not to mention that we walked away with about 20+ resources from EACH OTHER. There was such a variety of strategies shared and it was awesome to see people want to visit each other's classroom as a result.

I am a firm believer that "WE" are our best resource. No one out there has all the answers like our neighbors that teach next door to us.

I would highly suggest trying an Instructional Potluck with your staff!

IETC 2013

Today was my first time presenting at IETC. I attended for the first time last year and was able to co-represent with one of the awesome teachers at my school. QR codes have become very popular during our 1:1 journey with iPads. I was a little nervous as I just got over a 2 week bout with the flu, stomach flu, and sinus infection. I just wanted to get through without falling over.

As we planned our session, we thought about the typical "sit and get." We did not want to give our attendees that type of experience. We wanted to motivate discussion and idea sharing, so that's exactly what we did or at least tried to do.

What was so awesome as presenters was to be able to make connections with others and hear other ideas and resources out there being used by others.

QR codes are fun but they have to serve a meaningful purpose and not just for the sake of using technology.

Big Takeaways:

• Dynamic vs. Static
• Work Flow w/QR Codes: Google Drive, DropBox
• Web Based Resources & Apps
• Tablet vs. Laptop Environment
• Flipped learning opportunities: www.virtualnerd.com, www.learnzillion.com, Khan Academy
• Professional Use, School Use, Classroom Use
• Single Device Classrooms vs. 1:1 Environment

If all else fails, just get a QR code tattoo linking to your contact info so you don't ever get lost :)

Below is the link to our presentation powerpoint.

Feel free to contact

us for more information: @msellis61   @katemckearn

IETC 2013: Crazy for QR Codes Presentation

The Power of the Pause Button

I've been working in a classroom in the area of math. I have utilized a few instructional videos made by using Educreations and ShowMe. The one thing that I really had to spend time talking to them about was the "power of the pause button." I would see them listening and watching, trying to write, looking for their pencil, and needing a tissue. In the midst of that, I saw pure panic. I finally stopped the class and told them that it was ok to stop the video. It's ok to rewind if you think you missed something or need to hear it again. It's ok to watch the video more than once. This made a real difference the second day of them interacting with the videos. Less hands were being raised just to tell me "I missed a part and I think I'm supposed to write something!". I saw them pausing, rewinding, watching it more than one, and becoming independent. I have seen such growth in the week of us working with the iTunesU course which I will tell you all about when we get deeper into my project with an awesome teacher who was willing to be brave and try something. Her goal was to create a self-paced, differentiated atmosphere where kids could work at their pace, get exactly what they needed, check in, and she can work with kids one on one and in small groups.

Goal=ALL STUDENTS participating in meaningful work

I have made instructional videos for the iTunesU course and I have used some that I found online. I asked the kids if they liked it, and so far so good. The pause button is just as important as the eraser tool in most apps. Without it, panic can rise. 

Take the time to teach students the power of the pause button.

Totally Worth It!..

So as I've started to utilize Twitter more this year in my own learning, something wonderful happened as a result of my Twitter obsession. I saw tons of tweets about Edcamp and had no clue what it was all about. My instructional technology coach told me more about it so we registered to go. All we knew was that it an "unconference." We didn't know what to expect. We were so intrigued that we found  one that was happening the soonest and registered. It was in Missouri and we thought "oh, 2 hours away is perfect." Yeah, total geography fail. It was actually in Springfield, MO which happens to be 6 hours away but we didn't let that stop us.

So Saturday morning after a long drive on Friday night, we headed to Willard High School for our first Edcamp experience.When we arrived, we made name tags with our name and twitter handle. We then received tickets. The tickets were used to enter into drawings for prizes. What I really liked about this was the choice aspect. Chrissie (follow her @techiechrissie) and I saw that one of the prizes was a Nearpod Gold Membership. We were stoked! Our teachers use Nearpod and we have been toying with the idea of purchasing a membership. I put every ticket into Nearpod with no hopes of winning because I never win anything. We then had breakfast (Panera, my fav). We heard announcements encouraging people to facilitate a session on a topic. Chrissie and I decided to #bebrave and facilitate a discussion about 1:1 development and implementation focusing on instruction and technology. After all of the sign-ups we were all able to choose sessions we were interested in attending. My first session was awesome with @kdgteach_123. It was about using Google Drive to track progress monitoring data in the primary grades. It was just what I needed and an answer to a teacher need at my school. The next session was facilitated by Chrissie and I. It was a great discussion. It really provided the opportunity to connect with other schools on the 1:1 journey and see the difference in PD, procedures, tech, etc. We attended lunch, an app shootout, one last session, and a Super Session.

They always say save the best for last. Well the best was prize time. Not only did I win the Nearpod Membership I wanted so badly, but I won the biggest prize, a Samsung Chromebook! Not only was #edcampsgf one of the best professional development opportunities I experienced, it was totally worth the 6 hour drive to come back with awesome prizes. Everyone was so welcoming and I made tons of new twitter friends.

I encourage everyone to attend one of if you can. Google it to find more info. We are already looking into how can we use this and where's the next (closest) edcamp. Maybe we will head on over to #edcampstl.

6 hour drive....new twitter friends...wonderful experience...new ideas..tons of learning...great prizes

It was totally worth it!

Going Digital with Grandparents

This past week I headed a "Going Digital with Grandparents" event to celebrate Grandparents Day at school. I really wanted to find a way to better include our parents, grandparents, and families in our 1:1 quest. The kids read a book with their grandparents to start things off. That was the easy part. Once I gave the task of making a Book Commercial on the iPads, some of the grandparents got a little nervous. I heard a lot of "I can't even work my cell phone; how does this thing work." I had many giggles in our 2 hours together. An awesome moment occurred, I was able to say with great confidence, "Grandpa and Grandpas, if the iPads make you nervous and you aren't sure what to do, have no fear. The kids know exactly what to do." They were amazed that the little ones knew exactly what to do. By the end of their time together, some students created iMovies with their grandparents, showed them their projects and some of the apps that they use in their classroom, and many pictures were taken of grandmas and grandpas for students to see everyday on their iPads.

It's great to use the technology every day with the students. The magical moments occur when they are able to teach others and are excited to share what they do with the technology. Nothing's
better than combining family involvement, technology, literacy, fun, and snacks. It was wonderful!

How do you involve your family in your 1:1 environment or technology transformation?

"Ms. Ellis, It's Just Like the Show Catfish!"

This week has been so busy! I just hate 4-day weeks because there's so much to do with so little time. Well one of our poor teachers was sick this week. I felt so bad, but she's back to feeling better. She had a sub and I was asked to help the sub at the end of the day. I tried to think of an activity that would keep the students engaged for the rest of the day (2 hours!). I had been looking into the 1:1 digital citizenship lessons from www.commonsensemedia.org.  The first lesson for 6th grade was taking a look at the Acceptable Use Policy. So I hurried downstairs to grab some copies and headed into a 6th grade class that looked like they were ready to eat me alive with a paper full of small words with major meaning. I explained to them the purpose of the lesson and the desired outcome. The desired outcome was that each student or group of students would create a kid friendly iMovie explaining the guidelines of our district's AUP.

I expected to get through the AUP in 30 minutes. OMG! The students were so engaged and couldn't believe the guidelines that were in the AUP. They were in shock. They were making some major connections. Then we reached the rule of not falsely representing yourself. The students talked about being able to "hide" behind a screen on Facebook which leads to internet bullying and fights, pretending to be a different age, and one student took it to that unexpected high in any lesson. "Ms. Ellis, it's just like the show catfish on MTV." That's when I knew they understood! She talked about how that show can ruin peoples lives and they told me to watch it that night. Ummm, weird show and it's kind of scary!

Their ability to make connections to those guidelines and see all of the expectations of them even though they have their own iPad really opened their eyes to their connection to the world right at their fingertips. What really hit home is when they truly understood that they have no privacy. Once you put it out there on the internet, blog, Edmodo for people to see, you can't always take it back. They were blow away that even I, as a district employee, have to follow the guidelines just like them.

I can't wait to keep working with this class on digital citizenship. One student told me "Ms. Ellis, you should send our iMovies somewhere." So my district's Director of IT has no idea, but I will soon be blowing up his email with AUP iMovies (guess, I will warn him by sending him this blog post ha!).

We have to take a different approach then telling students what they shouldn't do on their iPad and they have no idea why it important or for their safety. That only makes them want to "test the waters."  I really think that one lesson went a long way with those 6th graders. Many people think that digital citizenship shouldn't be taught and that you address is as it comes up but sometimes when it comes up, it's too late and being too late can bring you to a bad episode of Catfish! Check out an episode below.

http://bit.ly/MTVsCatfish

Making Time with Educreations!

A teacher's number one phrase = "There's never enough time." When I was in the classroom, I always felt there was never enough time. As a coach, I KNOW there is never enough time, but I sympathize with teacher's in my building as they try to get through everything and time gets in the way.

Two weeks ago, I had a teacher come to me with a math concern. Her students needed to get started with double-digit multiplication, but after giving the pre-test, she realized that they didn't even know how to add double-digit numbers. The concern was not only the fact that her students weren't where they should be, but the time crunch of getting everything in that needs to be done by the end of the first quarter.

There's so much to get through in one day! If only we could add a few more hours. So after some brainstorming, we decided that maybe we could "flip" math. Out of about 20 students, only 4-5 had an understanding of double-digit addition with regrouping. I think this caused the "time crunch" panic of "I have so much to get to and its going to take forever to get to where we need to be." So I made a goal that it would take no more than a week for the students to gain mastery and I started to plan.

Because its the beginning of the year, I did consider the "summer loss." So I decided to use Educreations to create a re-teaching instructional video to use as morning work. It was my first experience of actually creating a video myself. Tip: make sure your kids are asleep! I definitely had to stop numerous times because of my son talking. Thank goodness for Educreations' updates and the undo button. I tried to make the video personal and talk to the students. I started with a good morning and shared our objectives.  Check out my video here.  The students also had a quick check sheet to work out their problems along with me. We did the sample together in the video and then they tried 2 problems on their own as a pre-test for me. I wanted to analyze the common mistakes and misunderstandings.

Common mistakes and misunderstanding: place value understanding, what to do when the answer in the tens column is more than 9, regrouping in general, lining up of numbers

I entered the class first thing in the morning. I gave a short intro to what we would be doing and why. My video was about 7 minutes long. Let me tell you....that was the most quiet 7  minutes I've ever experienced. The students were engaged in the video. The end of the video told them what to do next so I never had to personally tell the students what to do next. I could just see them going through the steps and it was awesome. I thought of how beneficial that would be to overall time as a teacher. I thought about how it could allow a teacher to pull intervention groups as students worked. I was never interrupted while that instructional video was playing. It was just plain awesome!

If you would like to see how the lesson played out and next steps (small group instruction involving QR codes), feel free to make a comment! I also made my goal of mastery within a week. It only took 3 days and ended with the students making their own instructional videos on Educreations to show double- digit addition with regrouping. They even created a success criteria list for themselves to assess their own Educreations instructional video. It created time during the math block for small group instruction to meet the needs of all students. The re-teaching and pretesting was already done as morning work so we were able to use that data to guide small group time during the math block.

Here are some tips on creating instructional videos that I think helped with the success of mine with students:

1. Be personal
2. Encourage the students
3. Have them complete tasks along with you on the video (it helps with engagement)
4. Share objectives, expectations, and goals
5. Be clear in your explanations
6. Leave time for students to practice and self check during the video (the students loved hearing whether they got the answer right and were allowed to give themselves a smiley face)
7. Talk clearly with good volume
8. Let the students explore Educreations themselves
9. Have fun and be creative!

My video was very simple and the kids watched my video over and over when they were creating their own. Beginning of the year success story #1.

Educreations = Just Plain Awesome!

P.S. Because we are a 1:1 iPad school, we used the app. Educreations is also a web-based tool. It can work in any classroom.

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Why I Started Blogging

In December of last year I was in desperate search of winter break. I was exhausted and had no clue what I had done from August up to that point. I knew I did some good things but I was so busy that it was hard to remember EVERYTHING. To get back in the groove of things after winter break, I began letting teachers make goals for the second half of the year that I could support them with. Then I thought, I need to make a goal for myself to keep pushing myself as a coach and learner. I knew that I needed some kind of outlet to track my thoughts, things that I had done, and the awesome things that teachers had let me work with them on.

I decided to make my goal to start my own blog. I had no intentions of making my blog public domain (ha). Then one day my tech coach tweeted one of my posts for the world to see! Let's just say I went from 12 views to 412 overnight! If that wasn't motivation to keep posting, I don't know what is!

So here I am some months later with a back to school goal of blogging at least once a week. I've been able to keep up with it so far (only by putting it on my calendar). Many times before I make a new post, I read through what I wrote in the past.

It has been a wonderful experience. Of course I will make another goal in regards to my blog during Christmas break. I'm so excited to see where my blog goes over the next few months.

Working in a tech school, blogging is taking off. We have students who are beginning to blog. Their voices can be shared around the world. That is so inspirational. I'm not quite sure if they know how big that is quite yet, but I can't wait to see where they go with their blogs and share them with the world.

It all started with a need to release my thoughts, a computer, a tech coach who loves Twitter and here I am, an official blogger!

Students as School Leaders #leadershipday13

      Happy Leadership Day! Leadership is so important. Often we look to the teachers and administrators, but there are other leaders in the school that make a huge difference. These other leaders can come in big or small sizes….they are OUR STUDENTS.  So many times WE as educators talk about how wonderful our schools are, but what if our students could take our “talk” away and represent our “talk” daily?  I work in a 1:1 environment at a technology magnet school as an instructional coach. Often times, my work is way bigger than me. Let me share an experience that was way bigger than me.

       Last February, I hosted some of our fifth grade students at a technology conference for students and by students. The teacher and I practiced with them but they made their own handouts, samples, and instructions for their attendees. I had no idea what to expect and neither did the students. We were all extremely nervous. We hopped on a bus on a Saturday and headed to the S.I.T. (Student in Technology) Conference in Bloomington-Normal, IL. The kids got all set up and in walked educators, students, and parents ready to see what our students had to say about creating with iPADS. I so wanted to walk around and give these people background information on our school and these students, but then the unthinkable happened! The students “spoke” for the school. They answered all questions and taught people who had never touched an iPad before how to create a quality iMovie. The teacher, principal, and I didn’t have to say a word. We all looked at each other, smiled, and started snapping as many pictures as possible.

      The moment that I will never forget is when a technology coordinator from another district said, “These kids are wonderful. You need to take them out more. To the school board, to your community, everywhere! They are such good representatives of your school. I can’t believe they are 5^th graders!” That moment gave me chills. I couldn’t be more proud. This wasn’t about taking kids to present at some technology conference; it was much bigger than that. It was about letting students shine as leaders of the school.  Allowing them to show their greatness.

      Those 5^th grade students have presented to their classmates and other classrooms and to our district coordinators and instructional coaches. Every time the message is very clear, students CAN BE and ARE leaders in our schools. We have to let them be. We are growing as our district’s premier technology school. As we grow, we can never forget to grow our students with us. It’s all about them. Let them be the voice of our schools. Let them lead.

Are your students leaders? 

Back to School Goal Making

Today is the big day! It's the first day of school. Today was extra hard for me because my son started Kindergarten. So excited for my little guy's educational journey. I have set goals for him such as bedtime, homework, and dinner time. As I think of him and all of the goals that I have set for him to have a successful school year, I have taken the time to make some goals for myself. I need to do more with my blog, so my goal is to blog at least once a week. I need to keep up with my professional learning, so my goal is to block out some time during the week (we will see how long this one lasts). The BIGGEST goal I have for myself is to be respectful of my OWN time. This year made me really reflect on last year, my first year as an instructional coach. I find it very odd that I really don't remember anything that I did before Christmas break. It was probably because I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to keep up and figure out the world of coaching. So here I am making a goal for better time management. I want to be an effective coach but overworking is just not healthy. Many nights I would crash at 8pm and then wake up 3am to work until it was time to get ready for the day. That was ridiculous! So on the first night before school, I went to bed before 11pm and I didn't wake up!  I know more goals will come along, but for now I'm just shooting for hard work, better blogging, great time management, memories, more time with  my little guy

, success stories, and 8 hours of sleep! What's your goal?

Summer Splash 2013

Howdy everyone...I'm back! I've taken a break as my grandmother passed away at the end of the June. That little lady had a special place in my heart and I just needed time to let reality set in. No better way than with planning 3 professional development sessions for my school district! Let's just say I'm a walking zombie because the work sessions until 3:00am the last 3  days along with working summer camp everyday have finally caught up with me.

Back to Summer Splash 2013. Today our district's instructional coaching team hosted Summer Splash. It was an all day professional development day for our district employees. I loved the title because everyone could get a "splash" of different topics. We had one hour sessions on all kinds of topics: writing, reading, differentiation, technology, etc. The timing was perfect. It wasn't to close to end of the school year when teachers are burnt out but also not to close to the beginning of the school year when teachers aren't able to reflect in enough time.

I facilitated a session on Assessing Digital Work. Many of our schools have iPads and are diving into a lot more technology based products. In working in a 1:1 environment, it takes instruction to a whole new level. My group was wonderful! They were so thoughtful and really connected well with one another. We discussed rubrics, checklists, and storyboards. We've heard about rubrics for years but with the increase of technology it is important to really consider rubrics. A great discussion that came about was allowing students to peer review one another using rubrics and how a teacher can build a safe classroom environment that can be honest and offer critical criticism. It was wonderful to see that many of the people in my session were interested in allowing their students to peer review one another.

I couldn't have been more pleased with Summer Splash. I really things its somethings we should do more often in the school year. It also provides teachers a great opportunity for collaboration with other teachers they may not normally see or work with during the school year. It was great to see a variety of grade levels bouncing ideas off one another when normally teachers are divided by grade levels for professional development.

 

Summer Splash 2013=Success!

Last day of School = Tech Fair Report Out!

I can't believe that today is the last day of school! I've been missing a few weeks as I told you that we were preparing for our first annual technology fair. It was a blast but boy did it keep me busy for most of May. Because this was our first experience with pulling off a technology fair, the instructional technology coach and I thought about the best ways to support the students and teachers. We came up with what we called "Media Time." Media Time was 30-45 minutes times periods where we both (along with the teacher) went into all classrooms and taught the "media" or in this case "app." Some teachers wanted us to work with their students on research skills, searching for appropriate images while following copyright rules, putting the project together, and using a rubric/checklist to create projects. I had a blast. It really helped me look at ways to better support the technology instructionally. I had a blast in all of the classrooms. It was extremely interesting seeing all of the finished projects. We had visitors complete a feedback form using a Google form and we got great feedback. Visitors (district administration, other coaches, families) were able to visit each classroom and check out projects and technology in action in all classrooms. We were extremely pleased by the family turn out. I couldn't be more proud of the students and teachers. They worked extremely hard on such a short notice. I would highly suggest trying a some kind of fair that is out of the norm of the science fair. I have heard of reading fairs in the last couple of years.

I told you that I would show you my oversized bulletin board. We are obsessed with QR codes. It was awesome to see our visitors whipping out their phones and iPads during the technology fair to check out QR codes. They linked to student work, summer reading programs, family resources, blogs, and so much more. I loved that it could link to Google Drive where we can always drop new things. This makes it easy to use the same QR code all year long and just add or change student work. I am actually presenting on QR codes in the classroom at the IETC in November. Come check me out!

I hope that you have had a wonderful school year. I can't believe that it has gone by so fast! I have officially completed my first year as an instructional coach and I absolutely loved all of the stress, fun, professional learning, moments of panic, moments of confusion, and celebrations. Keep checking in over the summer!

Happy Summer Blogging,
     Rida

Instruction + Technology = Awesome!

I'm back! It's been a while and I can't believe that we are in the last month of school. Hello May! The coaching world has been pretty hectic lately preparing for our school's first annual technology fair. I am so proud of all of the teachers and students for all of their hard work. The instructional technology coach and I have devoted 30 to 45 minutes to "media time" in each classroom where we are able to help "teach the tech". Teachers are responsible for content and providing time for students to work on their projects. Our "media time" has been so diverse and fun! We have co-taught lessons on digital citizenship, app features, researching, presentation skills, searching and using Creative Commons images, and summarizing research. Working with all grade levels every day, all day has been so refreshing. One thing that I have really tried to focus on with teachers is instruction and assessing digital work. It is extremely important that students know their expectations and not all about making something cool on the IPAD. I have really stressed that they have to show what they are learning through their projects. I offered professional development on creating rubrics and checklists for teachers. It was the perfect amount of collaboration and work time. Most teachers left with a rubric or checklist ready for their students. We have spent a lot of time working on storyboarding. This has been very beneficial to our students. This is actually a great tool for teachers to use. With big projects like the ones that we are working on, it is so important that the students have a plan in mind. Some teachers required the storyboards to be completed before the students could actually begin working on their iPads. Some teachers had certain students who were struggling with ideas to use storyboards.  So often, technology takes over and there truly has to be a balance between instruction and technology. This tech fair preparation has really opened our eyes to this importance.

Check back in soon to hear all about our QR code bulletin board that links to awesome student work. I will even include a pic!

Happy Blogging,
                        Rida

QR Code Crazy!

Working in a 1:1 ipad building has been so eye opening. Something that has come along and become the current craze is QR codes. As many teachers dive into using QR codes for centers, scavenger hunts, "I'm Done" activities, interactice word walls, and self-checks, we are finding innovative and new ways to use QR codes in the classroom and around the school. As the instructional coach, I find it important to model things that teachers use or are interested in using.  With all the
professional development opportunities that coaches provide in our district, I was
looking into a way to more effectivity take attendance.  So this week, I am going to try out a QR code that links to a Google Doc form where teachers enter their name. So instead of passing around a sign-in sheet, or seeing a long line at the sign in sheet, I will have the QR code shown on a row of computers for teachers to walk in and scan. I think that QR codes are a great way to enhance independence when the teacher can't always be with every student. I thought it would be neat to have QR codes that link to voice recording of instructions, especially for early primary students.  Have you ever used QR codes? Please share!

Happy Blogging,
  Rida

Google Girl!

Oh how I love GOOGLE! Honestly, my best friend and I live by Google. Whether we just need  a quick answer to one of our most random questions or I'm trying to receive feedback from a survey in a quick and organized fashion.  I am a big fan of Google Drive. I have used it with teachers and students. What I love about Google Drive is how I can create a form with questions and use a link to email or drop into Edmodo with students. I have used it to differentiate literature circle questions instead of typing up 4-5 sets of questions and printing them out. I have also used it to create daily math problems. I came across an online journal and found a daily math problem for 4th grade and turned it into a google doc. Of course students will need to show work, but I thought it was a neat way to be paperless.  Here is the link to the daily math problems on elapsed time:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19obasE6eF4msCHIOa1bM6PajMiCU8h-P8Qzg6sTTz7c/viewform

Google Drive is not difficult at all. It was something I taught myself to do within minutes in the summer when I was thinking of a way to get to know my new staff without sending out 20+ emails asking the same questions.

Let me know of any other cool ways that you've used Google Drive with your students or staff!

Google Drive is great in the paperless initiative!

Educreations in Math!

I'm back and  meeting my goal of blogging at least once a week. Our district has fully implemented the Common Core standards in math. We are in the process of working on ELA. As a part of the district math development team, I have worked very hard to truly understand what the standards are asking of our students. Trust me, I think I will forever be trying to understand all of them.

I've started to focus my weekly newsletters to my staff on Math, specifically the 8 mathematical practices. This week I am focusing on mathematical practice #1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.  "When presented with a problem, I can make a plan, carry out my plan, and evaluate its sucess."

Because my school is a 1:1 device school. I really started thinking about how I could turn my normal "math journal" notebook digital! It just so happens that I was also thinking of a way to use Educreations in the classroom in the area of math. (FYI: Educreatiosn is a free app and web based tool).  I've been dying to get back to my old stomping grounds.....1st grade.

So I am working with a 1st grade teacher in my building to accomplish my "thought". We are presenting at our annual district technology conference in April and wanted to be able to share some student samples using Educreations.

What I did today was pull out a 1st graders and explain how to use Educreations. I then gave him a math problem verbally to solve using Educreations to see how he would do. He did great. Our students often have a hard time explaining why they solved a problem the way they did. So I did have to prompt him at times. I didn't pose a problem that was too difficult but often not asked of 1st graders. My goal was to get him used to Educreations and talking loud enough for the IPAD to catch his voice.

We are thinking of using it in small groups or during math centers. We are struggling with room noise being picked up in the student recordings.

Let me know if you have any suggestions! This is always an issue when numerous kids are trying to record anything in the classroom.

Check out our final product here:
 http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/math-problem-with-a-1st-grader/5921893/?s=0n9eQx&ref=app

All that and a bag of chips!

Today was one of those  days where I had so much on my to do list. As soon as I finished one thing, something else was added to the list. It probably makes things worse that we are testing so I feel like I'm tip-toing around. I've been able to get a lot of paperwork and tasks done that I've neglected the last couple of weeks. Our kiddos have worked so hard on their ISATS. As a PBIS school, we thought it would be awesome to celebrate the completion of their first week of testing with an "Out of the Blue" celebration. So why not celebrate with food! Have you heard of the  LAYS chips flavor contest going on? The three flavors are: cheesy garlic bread, Srircha, and Chicken and Waffles.  Our students who earned the reward were able to try all the chips. We then had them vote on Edmodo for their favorite chip. As a technology magnet school, we thought that we would follow the contest, compare it to our results, and try to Skype with the winner when he/she is announced in May. Of course with kids, the hot chip is in the lead!

Have a great weekend!

Pinterest + Teaching = Awesome!

Here's a great resource on using Pinterest as a teacher. It gives the run down on what Pinterest is, how to use it, and how it can be beneficial to teachers. Just a warning, it can quickly become an addiction.

"My name is Rida and I'm addicted to Pinterest!"

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/06/educators-guide-to-use-of-pinterest-in.html

Wanted: More Informational Text!

With the sweep of Common Core State Standards, there has been plenty of talk about an increase in the amount of informational text that teachers should be exposing students to. One of the major misunderstanding that I see is the assumption that informational text just means more non-fiction. According to Scholastic, a big difference between the two.  What do you think?

As teachers are searching for more resources and not just books, I have started the hunt. 
Of course, I have to give credit where credit is due and say that some of my fellow colleagues have shared some of these resources. Thank you!

Here are a few resources that I've started to look into. 

Feel free to share any other resources that you have come across! I would love to
 share the and of course, I will give where credit is due.

• Tween Tribune: www.tweentribune.com
• current event articles for kids
• Newspapers for kids: www.teachkidsnews.com
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  Timely, relevant news articles for kids, educators in the classroom and parents at home. >>

• Time for Kids: www.timeforkids.com
• online articles for students on all different topics
• options to participate in voting polls and surveys
• Library of Congress: 
• primary source documents, photographs, ads, etc.
• Great resource for Social Studies

I used Time for Kids in a 4th grade classroom as I was modeling a lesson.  The article was about the recent ban of large, sugary drinks in New York. I dropped the article into Edmodo (a safe networking tool for teachers and students--much like facebook) where all students could access the article link.  Paper copies are fine! I did use paper copies of the article for highlighting purposes. The students read the article and took a position on whether they agreed or disagreed with the government being able to decide what we can eat and drink. In a Common Core world where evidence is important when defending an argument, the kids did an awesome job with providing evidence from the text to defend their choice. It led to great discussion. You almost would have thought there was a debate of politicians going on if you walked in the classroom! I don't give credit to myself at all. I give credit to a great article choice :) The kids just couldn't believe that New York had made that decision for their citizens. The kids were involved and could relate to the article and it was very kid-friendly.  Best comment of the lesson: "So Ms. Ellis, you mean to tell me that if I drive all the way to New York right now, I can't buy me a large sweet tea? That just won't work for my life!" Ha! My thoughts exactly!

Don't forget to share any resources that you have come across!

Happy Blogging!

Officially blogging!

Hello all! My name is Rida and I am in my first year as an instructional coach. I'm an all around rookie! I taught 1st grade for 5 years before taking the leap out of the classroom to take on my dream job of being an instructional coach. I never thought that the opportunity would come so soon after completing my Master's degree but here I am...Rida Ellis, Instructional Coach. I work at an awesome technology magnet school in Illinois. We have iPads for every students, Promethean boards, responders, and a state of the art Broadcast Studio. I always follow bloggers out there and thought it would be a neat experience to blog myself. Can't wait to share my first year experiences with you!