This month: Writers Workshop gets a digital twist; fifth graders connect with students across the globe using Edmodo; and first graders hone their stroke order skills with a fun iPad app. Read on to learn more about what's been happening with tech in the classroom at CAIS!
Writers Workshop Goes Digital
Informational writing just got a whole lot more exciting! This year, third grade English teachers Shannon Selerowski and Ryan Hughes introduced a new twist to their Writers Workshop unit on informational writing. Rather than creating traditional paper books, students used an iPad app called Book Creator to create digital books. Students chose a topic of interest to them and crafted books on their topics with many of the important features of an informational text. Even the publishing party got a digital twist: third graders visited first grade classes to share their eBooks. Students loved this new take on their writing project! To see an example of a third grader's informational eBook,click here.
Facebook for School? Why, it's Edmodo!
Want to create a safe, online community for your class where you can post notes, quizzes, assignments, resources, and more? Looking for a way to facilitate productive online discussions between your students in a way that is safe and secure? Consider tryingEdmodo! Several of our fourth and fifth grade teachers have been experimenting this year with this terrific online tool. In Ron Morris's fifth grade class, students are using Edmodo to access links to Khan Academy videos, check reminders about class assignments, and ask one another questions about homework. Edmodo has been met with rave reviews from students and their parents, too!
Flattening the Fifth Grade Classroom
Do you know how the typical day of a student in Taiwan compares to a student from the US? Just ask one of our fifth graders! Ron Morris and our fifth grade students have kicked off an ongoing collaboration with Tsai Hsing School in Taipei. For their first collaborative project, students at CAIS and Tsai Hsing recorded the ways in which they spent their time over a period of 24 hours. Next they compiled and analyzed their class data as they looked for similarities and differences between the schools. CAIS students used Google Spreadsheets to create colorful graphs (see below for an example) and posted the graphs to the two schools' shared Edmodo group. Stay tuned for further exciting collaboration with Tsai Hsing as the school year continues!
Book Reports for the 21st Century...Take Two!
In December we reported that book shares have taken on new life this year in Jake Sproull's sixth grade English Humanities class. In collaboration with Jeri Countryman's sixth grade technology class, students are using a different tech tool each month to report on their independent reading. This month students completed their book project using a fantastically fun and highly versatile iPad app:Puppet Pals! For their project, students created and recorded a video that featured several characters having a dialogue that described the book or a scene from the book. Some students chose to use stock characters included in the Puppet Pals app, while others chose to create their own characters. The results were both creative and highly entertaining! See a student project example below.
Unleashing Students' Imaginations with Google Presentations
Fourth graders have been busy honing their presentation skills in both languages this year! In Annie Liu and Cheryl Teng's Chinese classes, students learned to use Google Presentations to create posters raising public awareness on healthy habits (click here to see an example). Students built skills such as inserting clip art, manipulating colors, and arranging shapes to create colorful and eye-catching posters. Then in Anne Valentino and Sean Mosconi's English classes, students reinforced these newly learned skills by creating Google Presentations on Native Californian tribes. In small groups students studied one of California's native tribes and created a presentation containing information about their tribe such as location, food, and shelter. Finally, students presented the results of their research and their Google Presentations to their classmates. Click here to see an example of the fourth graders' work!
Making Memorizing Characters and Stroke Order Fun!
Want to make memorizing Chinese characters and stroke order more fun? Quizlet and Chinese Writer are the way to go! Both tools utilize a game-based learning environment which not only motivates students, but also enables them to practice at their own pace and receive immediate feedback. In fourth and sixth grade Chinese classes, students use Quizlet and choose from different study modes (like flashcards, scatter games, Space Race games, etc.) to memorize their newly learned Chinese vocabulary. In first grade Chinese classes, students practice tracing/writing the characters and earn points for using the correct stroke order. See below to watch a first grader in action!
Upcoming Technology Professional Development Opportunities
East Bay CUE Cool Tools 2014 - Oakland, CA, Feb. 8
CUE Rock Star Napa Valley - Napa Valley, CA, Feb. 14-16
Annual CUE Conference - Palm Springs, CA, Mar. 20-22
