Simplemind and Time to Explore

I always knew that students need time to explore that includes the classroom the first week of school, the new books on the shelves, the writing workshop toolbox that I have in my classroom, and of course new apps on the iPods.  After adding five new apps this past week, all week I had students come to me and say, Mrs. Caplin did you know.......?  I love those moments.  It is even more fun when I observe the students teaching each other about the apps.

But this week, I was really impressed with some of my students.  We are getting ready to start Story Kit on Tuesday and they are in the middle of the writing process.  I had some students that wanted to use Simplemind app which is a mind mapping tool that is a brainstorming, idea collection and thought structuring device. I was really impressed with their map when they shared it with the class.  I was not sure how to show their web, but I took a snapshot of the map and saved it to my desktop. I then showed the webs on the Smartboard.  It was amazing to hear them explain how this app really helped them organize their writing.  First they liked the color options for putting similar ideas together.  Next they liked being able to move the ideas around and also duplicate ideas if it fit into two categories. The best part for me was that one of the students told me he worked on the app on the way to soccer and another worked on it at their brother's football game.  Learning is everywhere!

Rethinking Final Assessments

Since getting the iPods and working towards my goals of allowing the tool to extend students learning as well as using iPods in productivity I have really struggled with
final products.  The teacher in me wants to have the piece of paper to assess and
attach to the final rubric, but my learning curve is pushing me towards allowing the tool to house the final product. This has been hard for me to let go of.


I tried this for the first time in word study/Poetry Friday.  Our focus has been on figurative language-defining, searching, describing and writing it.  We finished our unit, and I had the students take their final assessment in notebook on their iPods. They were so excited, and I was able to see quickly who got the concepts and who I needed to pull for some small group instruction.  I just looked at their iPods and used a check list to mark off each student-it was quick and easy in the process we saved a tree!  Here are  a few samples of the student's work.

A Thinking Day with Christian Long

Saturday I had the opportunity through The Literacy Connection to listen to Christian Long speak. Christian speaks nationally and internationally on topics ranging from emerging trends in education to innovative school planning practices.  His research focus is on making connections between emerging technology, educational trends, and school design. As I sat for his introduction I was mesmerized, and I listened and wrote down several thought provoking ideas.

“words are the chess game of language” 

“the collision of kids learning is why we teach”  

“everyone can fight not everyone can build” 

 “innovation and creativity are the goals”

"let go of assumptions"

As I begin to think about these quotes within my classroom, I am now thinking differently on how to approach my teaching.  Probably one of the key points that hit home with me because of implementing the iPods this year is the idea that creativity is the goal. This is why I am so excited about launching Story Kit this week in my classroom.

The rest of our day was spent on activities that made us think differently and have us work with many different people in the group.  This was fun for me because I was able to reconnect with teachers from my district as well as see people I haven’t seen in a while. I was able to meet Mandy who writes the blog Enjoy and Embrace Learning, and also meet some new people from a district that is next to mine.  These exchanges are as valuable to me as the presentation.

I have to admit I was never quite sure what the next step was because he had us thinking, writing, and moving quickly.  This whole process was interesting, and I am still processing it.  However, the one thing Christian definitely solidified for me was the idea of choice in my classroom.  I am a huge believer in students’ choice however; I tended to still narrow their choices in writing.  Not so much as give them a topic, but I always had them lift something out of their writer’s notebook if they are going to publish. I now ask myself what is the purpose for the assignment? My answer is to go through the writing process while practicing the new vocabulary and writing skills that we have working on in class and finally publish their piece of writing using Story Kit. Therefore, if a child wants to start at the beginning of the writing process with a choice topic for publishing, then that is their choice.  I am still thinking about his presentation as I write this blog, but my thinking is different so I believe Christian would be happy.

Four New Math Apps

A few of my students asked me this week some great questions that made me stop and think.  One was, “Why don’t we have many math apps on our iPods?” Another was “Can we get some math review activities to help me with my basic facts?”  Both these questions made me stop and reflect.

First of all my passion is with literacy, so I spend most of my time reading literacy blogs and looking for literacy apps.  For some reason, when I think about math I think in terms of my units that I teach.  This year I also have a wider range of diversity in my math class, so I need apps for a wider range of skills We are starting our multiplication unit on Monday, so I have spent this week looking through many different apps.

In addition, our next Social Studies unit is economics, and I was looking for apps to support counting change, making change, even some shopping apps that would apply these concepts as well as a student friendly checkbook/savings account app.  I was not very successful in this search.  I guess I know what I can do when I retire-create apps for elementary economics. Here are four that I chose and a short reason why I got them. 

Basic Math:  I am starting with the free version; the next version is $3.99. This application is the four basic operations with a focus on fact review. The problems are presented and it is a multiple choice for the answers.  You can set the number of problems as well as be timed.The $3.99 version allows the students to type their answer in for the basic facts.

 Just Fractions:  This app cost .99 and I love it as an introduction for fractions.  This app goes from basic addition/subtracting with like denominators to multiplying and dividing mixed fractions.  Two reasons I like this app is it has a Show Me button that takes the students step by step in the process and it also has an excellent built in vocabulary seek button if the students don’t know the meaning of the a term.

Kids Math Fun-Fifth Grade: This app cost .99 and there are different ones at each grade starting at kindergarten and going up to sixth grade.  I am going to have my students use this and if it works well I am considering purchasing a grade above or below. This app is for higher learners it is based on fractions, decimal, and percents.  The students will need to know their facts to use this app.  This app has a time limit piece that I think will be a great challenge for higher thinking.

Counting Coins is a free app.  To be honest it is a little primary for my class, but I needed something for a review with coins.  The focus in on four areas:  counting coins, matching the value, making the total, and dragging coins to create a given value. 

 I am having the students leave their iPods at school this weekend (they will not be happy about that) so that the apps can get loaded to the iPods.  I am anxious to see if

they like these new apps especially for the students have been asking about math apps. 

Wonderful Word Wednesday New iPod Apps

Excerpt from part of a story

I have added two more apps this week for Wonderful Word Wednesday. I was searching for support with the introduction to parts of speech and an app that would allow students to create their own story.

MAD LIBS:  I remember when I was young, and I loved the paper version of Mad Libs.  Now the students get to practice their parts of speech and create a funny crazy story that they share with their friends. What a great reinforcement for parts of speech.

First page of the model story-some simple hand drawn illustration

STORY KIT:  This is my #1 FAVORITE app and it's FREE! I love it for so many reasons.

*the students create their own personal digital electronic story  

*students can put their original text on the pages

*students can draw original illustrations-what fun for them :)

*students can download pictures from the internet and add them

*sounds can be recorded to support the story

*students can move pages around/edit/revise their story

*to print the stories the students will email their final version to me

Another page of the story but pictures are downloaded from the internet.

on a class email list 
*I will print them for a final assessment

I have high hopes for STORY KIT.  Once I introduce the app I plan on having the students use it for content areas.  They could create a story about European Explorers or the steps of the Scientific Method.  I really believe STORY KIT has endless possibilities. 

Using Audiobooks for the First Time

We, Sarah and I, had the opportunity to cross something off our bucket list this past Thursday night.  We were asked by our retired principal to come and talk about how state standards, benchmarks and indicators flow in lesson planning to a graduate class at Ashland University. After we were done with our presentation, we sat and listened to Phil's opening lecture which connected our lesson with the students' next assignment.  As I sat and listened, he reminded me of an important concept that I had forgotten. Always take time to reflect on the lessons that I have taught as well as where I am headed with future lessons.  Reflection is crucial in our busy teacher world and for me that is usually the step that I leave out if I am pushed for time.

  I began to reflect about  iPods and how I have used them in Language Arts.  Next week, I am excited to branch into audiobooks on iPods in reading.  I love the story Frindle by Andrew Clements for many reasons. First of all Mrs. Granger is one of the best word study teachers.  I love the introduction of Andrew Clements as an author because he has so many other books that my students could choose from when we are finished. Also it is perfect for the start of the year with a lively discussion about a class clown, named Nick.  I am extremely curious about how purchasing this audiobook will enhance the reading instruction; however, I have several  questions.

-Will the students choose to listen instead of read the book?  Is that important?
-Will they listen ahead of where where we are in class?  Does that matter?
-Will I save class time and have the students read/listen at home so we can spend class time on the focused lesson?  This is my goal and why I decided to purchase the $9.95 book.  For those of you who have been reading my blog-you know that was a huge decision to spend that much money.

What do you think?  Have you ever used books on tape or audiobooks for a whole class book novel?
Let me know your thoughts?

iPods=communication=Wiki/Blogs

One of the reasons I became so interested in technology last year was because of the positive effect that Wikis had on my students as well as me.  When I started using Wikis last year, I was not even sure how they worked, but I knew the ability to communicate with my students from my home was extremely important to me.  In addition, the students reading and writing about their friend’s writing was another positive benefit of Wikis.

As I mentioned in the post Gotta Keep Reading, I introduced the class to our Caplin Wiki/Blog page.  I knew the students loved the video so that was my hook and since Sunday night I have had many students comment on the video.  I also added a Constitution video and asked the students to write at least 3 new facts they learned using the keyboard on the iPods. This was also well received, and it was fun to read the students were sharing videos with their parents and siblings.

Now that we have iPods the whole idea of Wiki/Blogs is like a snowball rolling down a mountain. The ideas are endless, and we have just started.  The first idea is to continue downloading videos to their iPods.  This will save class time because the students can watch the videos at home and take notes then the next day we can start with a conversation about the video. I plan on showing focused clips of video to reinforce important concepts.   A second idea is to post inquiry questions about our current content areas for example in geography, “How does climate and land features impact the economy in Canada?”  The students can type their answers as well as add pictures to support their answers.  They are able to find pictures on the Internet take a snapshot and then add them to the Wiki. With both these ideas,  the fact that we can carry on conversations outside of class time will start a whole new level of conversations as well as higher level learning that I am very excited about this year.