Digital Citizenship

In Kindergarten, we teach the children to respect themselves and others by listening and using nice words.  We practice role playing different social and learning situations as a class.  We identify and show how to be disrespectful (aka a bad friend) to help them identify the negative choices.  With the Internet, I am currently deciding what websites are allowed in the classroom.  As a class, we decide what websites are good (fun to play) and which ones we don't want to play again.  When we being our Writer's Workshop unit on Book Reviews, the children and I will be visiting different sites and deciding what makes a book review true or false.  This unit is also where I will teach about 21st century citizenship.

Wiki Lesson

Creating a wiki for the students to use in Kindergarten is difficult since the children have not had time to learn how to use a computer independently.  I created a wiki to have the parents sign up for volunteering opportunities in the classroom.  Another idea for a wiki would be a Thanksgiving/Winter Break/Spring Break journal.  Each child would create a journal page at home with their families and we would view the whole journal in class.

Click here for my volunteer wiki page

Digital Storytelling

Benefits of using digital storytelling in the classroom would be the ability to "teach" a lesson on the screen while walking around the room to help those who are struggling and students could also use digital storytelling to teach each other or show their parents what they are working on in class.  Challenges would be time, ability to use the technology outside of school, and privacy concerns.  Some parents may not want their child to participate in digital storytelling because they do not want the Internet to have a direct connection to their child at this age.

Using the digital storytelling video I created during Daily 5 for Read to Self or Read to Someone will allow me more time to do guided reading with others instead of having to repeat the login steps every 5 minutes.  The best way for me to integrate this into the curriculum is to post links from my classroom blog to reach the parents about math, handwriting, sight words, and reading.

Learn how to login to raz-kids

Podcasting reflection

Using a podcast in the classroom would be beneficial when a teacher is able to have the lesson verbally taught while he/she is walking around the room to check participation/understanding.  A challenge would be time (how long to make depending on lesson).  Having a child create a podcast would give him/her ownership of their learning.  It would allow the child the ability to "show off" what he/she knows to peers and/or parents.  I am not ready to have my student create a podcast independently but could see the possibility of having an end of the year podcast posted to my classroom blog with each child saying what they liked best about Kindergarten.  

Podcasting

My first podcast

Chrome/FOSS Lesson

I found the app Number Frames and would use it to reinforce counting and addition.  Right now, we have learned how to count to 10 using a ten frame and I would have the students use the app to create different number amounts to "test" their friends.  When we begin addition, using this app would help with picture representation when adding and reinforce the use of ten frames.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/number-frames-by-the-math/idlcfdihcafblaoadpfeofbcbcmfogbc

Open Source content wants to create a environment where ideas are discussed, built upon, and improved with all resources.  Currently, the majority of information used in the classroom is still controlled by publishers and Open Source would decrease their control and allow teachers to collaborate and post information freely to one another.

LMS

1. Google Classroom is different from a traditional teacher website because it allows you to post assignments, send them directly to the students, have the students complete the assignment using a computer, and send it back to the teacher for corrections.  A traditional teacher website does not allow for the student to complete and return assignments to the teacher through the website.

2. I created a Google Classroom and the main benefit I can see in the future would be easy access to assignments for students who are absent without notice or leaving for an extended period of time.  Instead of me trying to copy and collect assignments missed that day/those days, the parent & student would be able to sign into Google Classroom and have the material right there.  It would save paper and time.

3. Google Classroom can help make my classroom a more student centered environment by giving parents additional access to assignments and reducing the "I forgot my homework" excuse.  Kindergartners have difficulty remembering to bring their homework back to school sometimes.  When they pack their take home folders, sometimes the homework gets "lost" in the shuffle on the table or left at aftercare or left in their mailbox.

Overall, it was fairly easy to create a Google Classroom.  I had some difficulty understanding how to add items to the classroom calendar but googled "how to edit google classroom calendar" and was able to find a site that explained the connection to posting assignments and the calendar.  I'm not sure if I will use Google Classroom this year since the team website is our main way of communicating with parents.  I think I would either have a team website or a Google Classroom but not both.

PLC Lesson

1. Teachers can leverage this power by taking pictures of activities in action or completed and discussing with the children how their work is going to be shared with others.  I know in my classroom, when I tell the children that I am going to put their work around the room, they talk less and focus more.  I use to post completed small moments for Writer's Workshop on my classroom website and the children enjoyed guessing who wrote what when I shared the website in the classroom.

2. Building a PLC empowers teachers by allowing them to create a place where they are able ask for support or share ideas with others who are in the same boat as them.  Instead of just a general search, you have a specific group for a specific need.

Social Bookmarking/diigo

Setting up the diigo free account was fairly easy.  I'm not sure how to use this with Kindergartners but could use it as a resource during class time.  While the children are sitting on the floor, I would use diigo by logging in and finding specific articles or websites I bookmarked and project them on the whiteboard for the whole class to use/see.
I have set up a group for my team and have bookmarked specific websites and articles that pertain to subjects we are teaching in the classroom or research to support ideas/discussions we have been having about half day Kindergarten and Common Core.  This is another tool that will allow the team access to each other's materials without having to call, text, or email constantly.
For the parents, I could create a group where I bookmarked things that would support additional practice at home.  It would be websites, articles, or worksheets to print out.  Parents always ask at conference time what else they can do at home and this would be a good place for them to look.

Cloud Learning/Google Hangout

Using Google Hangouts to have a video meeting was frustrating.  For some reason, I kept getting a notice that Google Hangouts was not enabled with my google account.  I looked up how to's using atomic learning, moodle, and google search.  I followed all the directions they listed and still nothing.  I finally decided to make sure I could activate the camera and microphone and it worked!  Apparently, I had access all along even though it still says Google Hangouts is not enabled for me.

The actual video meeting went well with Sara.  I did this when the children were lining up for lunch and they were surprised to see and hear her on the computer screen.  While I can see the benefits of using this app for team meetings for outside of school, it would be difficult to use with Kindergartners.  One possible idea would be to use the app to connect with other Kindergarten classrooms in the school, township, state, or county.  It would help the children understand and see how others learn, talk, and, much more.

I have been trying to use google drive to create the majority of my classroom materials this year.  I like how drive allows you and others to collaborate on the same page, possibly at the same time.  I do have to remember to make a copy of something someone shares with me before editing otherwise I end up changing their original document.
Click here for my sub sheet writing page

Blogs Lesson

1. Having students blog on a regular basis helps them to understand what they are thinking and lets others see the connections they are making.  It can help the teacher see their point of view and modify the "lesson" for specific students.  To use the blog as an electronic portfolio, I would have students reflect on specific topics or lessons.  I would have them do a pre and post refection at the start of each unit to see their growth.

Here's a link to my classroom blog.

Web 2.0

1. I use Google Docs, Teachers Pay Teachers, Google Slides, and Pinterest.
2. Google Docs is my favorite.
3. Google Docs is something I use on a daily basis and allows me to communicate quickly with others.
4. They allow for quicker collaboration.