The Struggle of Being on a Cart

I am about to start my 5th week of school...  Last week was my first week with my groups.  Why?  Well...  The first week of school we (the interventionists) were kicked out of the room we were sharing to make way for a new classroom teacher.  It was upsetting, especially after spending my last week of summer setting up my corner.  Of course it's always good to have a new classroom teacher to lessen the numbers, but the short notice wasn't so great.

Then we spent the first week of school packing up our stuff and trying to find a place to go.  We ended up putting our desks in a classroom and keeping our stuff in the hallway covered with a tarp...which is constantly falling down, so I have to keep covering things back up because I'm afraid of "sticky fingers" that might find some of my things to hard to resist.

Fast forward to this week...  We STILL do not have our carts that were ordered over THREE weeks ago.  We are using Media Center book carts in the meantime that only hold so much.  Since we don't have a room (or table anymore), we have to go into classrooms now.  Sometimes we have to find a spot in the hallway because there is no room for us in a classroom.

I basically feel like a pinball right now!  It has been an extremely frustrating and tiring month for sure!  I can only hope we get our carts soon.  Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to still have a job, but it makes it really hard to do my job when I don't even have what I need to do it or a place to do it in.

OpenEd

I came across this website, OpenEd, the other day.  I was curious to see what it was and signed up for a free account at https://www.opened.com/.

OpenEd is the largest K-12 educational resource library, offering over a million assessments, homework assignments, videos, games and lesson plans for every Common Core Math, Language Arts, Literacy and Next Generation Science standard. OpenEd lets you assign quizzes and homework to your students and automatically grades them, recommending videos for whatever they have problems with. The result is truly personalized learning for each student.

 OpenEd also offers a free modern (Common Core, SBAC and PARCC-oriented) assessment tool. After a student takes a formative assessment OpenEd recommends just the right resources for the student to watch or play to gain mastery. OpenEd's also offers free assessments for every Common Core Standard and more. They are the only free and open source assessment item bank in existence. 

There is lots to access with a free account but you can also sign up for a premium account with access to even more resources.  I particularly loved the video lessons.

Check out the Resource Library to see all they have!

From Room to Cart

Before school started I spent some time setting up my corner in a classroom.  I was sharing a room with two other interventionists and we each had a corner, along with the art teacher in the other corner.  I was excited to have a little more space this year, since last year we had less space.  I spent about a week setting it up, and even brought my 5 year old daughter along to help out.

Well, so much for that because at 2:30, before the first day of school started, we were told we were losing our room for a new teacher allocation.  Needless to say, I wasn't happy.  I felt like I wasted the whole week.  We had no where to go, so ended up putting our desks in a classroom and will now have a cart to keep all of our things on and push into a classroom.   So I took down my corner and took a bunch of stuff home.

I don't handle change well, especially on such short notice, so I was pretty upset at first.  It took me a few days to accept it and now I have, though it's not like I have a choice!  :-)  At least I still have a job and we are gaining some new teachers, so it's a good thing.

This will be my third year being an interventionist and I guess I got spoiled with having a room the past two years.  We were able to pick out our cart (below) and I already have ideas of how I'm going to decorate it.

I found the fabric below today and thought it'd be perfect to use.  I'm going to attach it with some Velcro.  I also picked up some hooks and things for organizing.  I will post pictures once I deck it out!

Key & Peele - TeachingCenter

Seesaw

Seesaw

Student-Driven Digital Portfolios 

 Whether you are 1:1 or just have a single device in your class, Seesaw seamlessly organizes your students’ digital and physical work in one place.

 Seesaw empowers students (as young as 5!) to independently create and organize their work in a digital journal, develop their academic voice, and collaborate with classmates.

 Seesaw facilitates parent communication with real-time notifications, giving them a glimpse of their child’s day and an opportunity to support learning at home.

 Getting Started with Seesaw

Seesaw Presentation for Teachers 

General Help and FAQ 

How to Add Links Into Seesaw

Seesaw Student Experience

Head to http://web.seesaw.me/ to get started!

BrightLoop

What is BrightLoop? 
It is an all-in-one app for student progress.

• Web-based
• Access from any web-enabled device (iPads, laptops, tablets)
• iOS and Android
• Mobile App
• Collect Notes
• Photos of Student Work
• Set Goals
• Planning
• •Quick Status from observations
• Multiple Content Areas
• Reading, Writing, Math, Speaking and Listening, Behavior

 BrightLoop brings together formative assessment, lesson planning and parent communication. Track student need via your mobile phone, tablet or computer. We then provide weekly reports helping you track student learning goals, assess how effective your lessons were and update families as needed. From there you can plan lessons for the next week right in BrightLoop.

  I learned about BrightLoop from attending the iPadPalooza conference this summer.  He has some great resources at his website and blog:

http://www.primarytechteaching.com/

Ideas for Using BrightLoop in the Elementary Classroom:

Applications in Elementary Math

Simplify Parent Conferences and Report Cards

Conferring in Writer's Workshop

Using BrightLoop for Reading Workshop

Quick Assessment Benchmarks

Creating a Digital Student Portfolio

Using BrightLoop with The Daily 5

Common Core Aligned: 

• When you signup for your BrightLoop account, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are already programed in based off of your selected grade level.
• Easily create notes and goals aligned to various standards.

•  All students are on one screen
• No folders, binders, or notebooks
• Collect information based off multiple content areas
• Add subjects to meet your needs

 Collect Screen - Individuals and Groups on One Screen

• Great for guided reading and small group math
• Click on Group Name to take notes on all students
• After clicking on a student, this screen will up (can set note to standards, a goal, or attach a photo)

 Notes and Goals

• After clicking on "CCSS," you can set notes aligned to standards
• All standards programmed are based off classroom grade

 Image Capture

• Take photos of student work
• Great for showing growth in writing, handwriting, etc.
• Take photos using camera or upload from Camera Roll

 
Family Share

• Share notes, goals, and photos with family members
• Families confirm email and then can be updated on student learning

  

• Great for differentiation
• Status based off visual observations
• See class understanding of standards at a glance
• Can note whether a student needs attention, is on track, or ahead
• Great as an Exit Ticket
•  Student Portfolios
• See all notes, images, and goals
• Timestamped
• Accountability
• Open and close goals

 

Setting Up Classroom

• Go to classroom setting
• Enter first and last name
• Take a photo using camera or upload a picture from the Camera Roll

Additional Resources

brightloopteacher.com 

Learn from other teachers on how they incorporate BrightLoop in to their day! 
 

5 Important Things About Classroom Blogging

I came across this article tonight and though I would share!  Check it out!

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2015/07/5-important-things-ive-learned-about.html#.VbrRGfmYUo4

Website Mention

One of my blog posts was mentioned on an education website today.  How exciting!  :-)

http://paper.li/Eduware_Inc/1310586347?edition_id=1ab36860-371e-11e5-8972-0cc47a0d1609#!headlines

Dragon Dictation

Do you have a problem with your students writing, especially on the iPad?  Well, you should try this app I found called Dragon Dictation.

Dragon Dictation is an easy-to-use voice recognition application powered by Dragon® NaturallySpeaking® that allows you to easily speak and instantly see your text or email messages. In fact, it’s up to five (5) times faster than typing on the keyboard.

With Dragon Dictation you can also dictate status updates directly to your Social Networking applications (Facebook and Twitter) or send notes and reminders to yourself….all using your voice.

Dragon Dictation supports a multitude of global languages. For a full list of currently supported languages visit www.dragonmobileapps.com.

 Dragon allows students to compose their writing orally by speaking into the iPad or to type their writing by reading it aloud.  Students can even add punctuation by speaking the name of the proper mark.  This is of great use for students for whom the process of writing or typing is too much of a chore to allow for the creative expression of their ideas and those whose spelling gets in the way of their completing sentences.

Dragon allows students to compose their writing orally by speaking into the iPad or to type of their writing by reading it aloud.  Students can even add punctuation by speaking the name of the proper mark e.g. “Go to the store, exclamation point” will type “Go to the store!”
This is of great use for students for whom the process of writing or typing is too much of a chore to allow for the creative expression of their ideas and those whose spelling gets in the way of their completing sentences.
- See more at: http://creatinglifelonglearners.com/?p=974#sthash.4pjI9YaO.dpuf

Dragon allows students to compose their writing orally by speaking into the iPad or to type of their writing by reading it aloud.  Students can even add punctuation by speaking the name of the proper mark e.g. “Go to the store, exclamation point” will type “Go to the store!”
This is of great use for students for whom the process of writing or typing is too much of a chore to allow for the creative expression of their ideas and those whose spelling gets in the way of their completing sentences.
- See more at: http://creatinglifelonglearners.com/?p=974#sthash.4pjI9YaO.dpuf

Dragon allows students to compose their writing orally by speaking into the iPad or to type of their writing by reading it aloud.  Students can even add punctuation by speaking the name of the proper mark e.g. “Go to the store, exclamation point” will type “Go to the store!”
This is of great use for students for whom the process of writing or typing is too much of a chore to allow for the creative expression of their ideas and those whose spelling gets in the way of their completing sentences.
- See more at: http://creatinglifelonglearners.com/?p=974#sthash.4pjI9YaO.dpuf

I was looking on Google for apps to use for reading intervention and this app popped up.  The YouTube video below is a couple years old but goes over the gist of it.  I installed it on my phone and it is SO easy and recorded everything I said PERFECTLY - even when I said "exclamation point"!

For more information go here.

Goodnight iPad Read-Aloud

I went to the e3 Technology Conference yesterday and the presenter shared this book and I fell in love!  It is so hilarious and is an accurate parody of how we are so "plugged in" to our devices.  I have to admit, I am guilty of many of these.  Below is a read aloud of the book, so check it out!

 You order this book off of Amazon (free shipping with Amazon Prime) for about $10.
Goodnight iPad from Amazon

e3 Technology Conference

Today I went to the e3 Technology Conference in Warsaw and it was awesome!  I learned a lot more about iPads and how to use Excel.  

We had a very yummy lunch from Panera:

At my last session, we learned about a ton of different elementary iPad books and apps.  I highly recommend getting the book "Good Night iPad"!  I seriously laughed out loud!

I even won an adorable door prize!

The last presenter I had, Janet Jordan, was wonderful!  She shared a ton of new apps to use in the elementary classroom and is even willing to come to schools to show how to use some of the apps.  She gave us a list of books and apps to check out:

 

 

   

Class Messenger

Today I learned about a new app called Class Messenger, that is very similar to Remind but offers a little more.  It is an app but is also available at https://www.classmessenger.com/, which can make some things easier to use.

 Class Messenger makes it effortless for teachers to send home important notes and updates about the day’s learning experiences. They can even see exactly which parents have read each note. And whether via app, text or email, communication through Class Messenger is always private.

Go here to learn how it works!

 How is Class Messenger different from Remind?

https://www.classmessenger.com/faqs/how-is-class-messenger-different-from-remind-101/ 

Showbie

 Showbie

https://app.showbie.com/ 
https://my.showbie.com/signin 

 Features:

• Assign: Distribute assignments, instructions and resources to your students in a few taps. All related materials are kept in a shared folder for that assignment
• Collect: As your students submit work, Showbie keeps everything organized in a single, convenient location.
• Review: Add annotations, voice notes and text notes directly onto your students’ work in Showbie.
• Students join your class using a class code. No need for an email address to create an account.  You just need a unique user name and password.
• Only 100 assignments allowed in the free version

 

Tellagami

 Tellagami

https://tellagami.com/ 

•  Create a custom avatar
• Select a background for your story
• Record yourself telling your story
• Only 30 second recordings allowed in the free version requiring students to focus on main ideas
• Gamis are saved to the camera roll
• Can be imported into iMovie as introductions to scenes

 Check out these examples:

How Plants Grow

In the Library

Science 1

Science 2

 Tellagami Resources:

A Handful of Ideas for Using Tellagami In School by Richard Byrne

From Sandy Kendell at  EdTechSandyK

From TwoGeekyTeachers blog

Bring Common Core Alive with Telligami

Remind

•  Formerly known as Remind101
  
• Parent / Student Communication without the ability to reply (One-way communication)
• No more frustration over Newsletter
• Parents / Teachers don’t see each others phone numbers
• Recently Added Multiple Languages

 

 

 

Sign Up Here 

Remind FAQ 

Remind Teacher Resources 

Nearpod

What is Nearpod?

 http://www.nearpod.com/

• Insert PPTs, images, text, & video to create engaging lessons
• Insert quizzes, polls, open ended questions, or drawing activities
• Deliver the presentation directly to student iPads
• Control the pace of the lesson
• Keep students on task
• View student reports
• Download over 2000 ready-made Nearpods

 

 Nearpod Tutorials
5 Reasons to Use Nearpod in the Classroom 

Videolicious

  

Videolicious
https://videolicious.com/ 

Features:

• No account needed
• Select photos or videos from the camera roll in the order you want to use them
• Narrate over each shot
• Select music to accompany your video
• Save your video to the camera roll
• Can be uploaded to YouTube or emailed
• You can make around 20 videos before you will have to delete some
• Fewer choices to make keeps kids focused on the work

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 

Videolicious Science Lesson 

Videolicious Academy 

Videolicious Tutorial

Write About This/Tell About This

  

Write About This (Free)

 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/write-about-this-free/id601382666?mt=8

•  Created by a teacher
• All prompts are interesting and appropriate
• Can add audio to text
• One user can save to Camera Roll at a time

• Categories:
• 20 available categories
• Only one prompt from each category in the free version
• Each prompt has an audio recording of the prompt
• Three levels of difficulty for each prompt
• Only one written response can be saved at a time

•  Random:
• Prompts from the Categories section are displayed in random order
• Click the camera to add a custom prompt to the Custom category 

• Profiles
• When a student saves a response, they are prompted to create a profile - just select "Skip"
• If a profile is created, it can be deleted at any time.

Tell About This (Free)

 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tell-about-this-free/id781847911?mt=8

• Similar to Write About This
• Simpler Interface
• Only 13 Prompts
• No writing - students listen to prompt and record their thoughts
• Can create one custom prompt
• Only one Tell About can be saved at a time
• Saves to camera roll as a video

 http://www.tellaboutapp.com/

 

Instashare

Instashare

This very cool app allows you to easily share pictures from your camera roll between 2 devices.

Works similar to AirDrop but you can use it on ANY iPad or even iPhone.

To learn more go here.

 How it Works:

Kahoot!

What is Kahoot!?

•  Stimulates collaboration and social learning.
• Zero setup time, no player accounts required and simple one-click gameplay.
• Create your own Kahoots in minutes or choose from millions of public ones made by our global community.
• Connect and play with others from over 180 countries in realtime.
• Works on any device with an Internet connection, in any language, for any subject or age group – from kindergarten to college and beyond.
• It’s free to create and play (and always will be!). 
• To get started, go to: https://create.kahoot.it/#login and click on “GET MY FREE ACCOUNT” at the top. 
• Once you have an account and are logged in…
• Create New Kahoot!
• Search over a half million Public Kahoots 
• Example: Search “subjects and verbs” to see several examples of Kahoots dealing with Parts of Speech etc.

 http://mrseteachesmath.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-to-create-kahoot.html