Prezi is cool to watch and complicated to do. Here is one I did as an introduction to our library. http://prezi.com/l-avfflsjslq/hawks-library/ As I was doing it I kept thinking what do I want big or small. Do I want the whole thing to have a special shape and what do I want visible when you look at the whole thing? Putting things in an order was about the easiest part once I decided on all the pieces.
Some of my students would go wild with this. I would start out with fourth and fifth graders (my oldest regular classes). I would begin with topic like 5 things about me or my 5 favorite activities with pictures and a statement for each. On the first time around I would keep the content simple and familiar. Depending on the results and the learning curve I might move to groups and something that would require some research. The second time around could also be a joint project with the classroom teacher as an assessment activity for a unit of study.
Before going into this project I would be sure the students understand which photos may be used and how, including creative commons and citing sources. This would also be an opportunity for them to take their own pictures and learn how to upload and edit.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Lesley 6008 - Project Ideas
I like both of these projects because they are intermittent projects that would work with classes I see two or three times a week. They also integrate technology into the curriculum. Working with the classroom teacher, we would each do different parts of the project with the class.
Journey North: A Global Study of Wildlife Migration
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/
Journey North: A Global Study of Wildlife Migration
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/
I used Sunlight and Mystery Class with a group of fourth and fifth graders this past year. I was looking at Symbolic Migration to use with Second/Third or Kindergarten/First. This could be tied to the classroom units on migration, butterflies, communities.
I would introduce this activity to the student in the fall. Using maps and google earth we would locate Hay Springs and Mexico. In the spring we could find the locations of our sent and received butterflies. We could discuss communication:
the need to translate our letter sent to Mexico,
appropriate communication on the internet,
letter writing in general (handwritten and typewritten)
We could raise our own butterflies for release in the spring. This would lead into discussion of life cycle, butterfly gardens, migration of butterflies and other species.
Activities: Younger students:
read books about butterflies, butterfly migration
write letters to parents, grandparents, friends
put pictures of butterfly life cycle in order
match Spanish and English words used in the letter and pictures
plant butterfly friendly plants around the school
Older students:
participate in Monarch Migration Tracking Project
track the path of the symbolic butterflies and how far they traveled
work together on a set of guidelines for appropriate communication on the internet
research plants for that are butterfly friendly and grow in our area and the cost of purchase
Monster Exchangethe need to translate our letter sent to Mexico,
appropriate communication on the internet,
letter writing in general (handwritten and typewritten)
We could raise our own butterflies for release in the spring. This would lead into discussion of life cycle, butterfly gardens, migration of butterflies and other species.
Activities: Younger students:
read books about butterflies, butterfly migration
write letters to parents, grandparents, friends
put pictures of butterfly life cycle in order
match Spanish and English words used in the letter and pictures
plant butterfly friendly plants around the school
Older students:
participate in Monarch Migration Tracking Project
track the path of the symbolic butterflies and how far they traveled
work together on a set of guidelines for appropriate communication on the internet
research plants for that are butterfly friendly and grow in our area and the cost of purchase
This project could be used with any of my elementary classes.
The project would be introduced and past examples shown before the students begin their work. The students would create a monster drawing. They would then write up a description of the monster in a way that another person could draw the monster. To test their descriptions the students could take their writing home and have a parent or friend draw from the description then edit their description. When ready the description would be typed for sending to a partner school.
When we received descriptions students would draw the monster they read about.
Both before and after the activity students could discuss what makes a good written description. After the activity students could locate their partner school using maps, globe, and google earth.
Further investigation and research could be done discovering the climate, geography, etc of the partner classes.
The project would be introduced and past examples shown before the students begin their work. The students would create a monster drawing. They would then write up a description of the monster in a way that another person could draw the monster. To test their descriptions the students could take their writing home and have a parent or friend draw from the description then edit their description. When ready the description would be typed for sending to a partner school.
When we received descriptions students would draw the monster they read about.
Both before and after the activity students could discuss what makes a good written description. After the activity students could locate their partner school using maps, globe, and google earth.
Further investigation and research could be done discovering the climate, geography, etc of the partner classes.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Lesley 6008 - Wunderland
There have been variations in the weather over the past ten years but not a real change. This is a dry period in Honolulu. The precipitation is up from 0 to less than .1 and some cases this was just a trace. The wind speed appears to be higher than ten years ago, but there is also a lot of fluctuation. I would not make a conclusion based on this data. I also looked at data for the week that included May 8 over ten years and the data was very similar. It can be deceptive to base a conclusion on climate change based on one day of the year.
This site would give valuable information on the weather in different locations around the world. Combining this with other information students could compare how various factors (coastal vs inland, elevation, surrounding terrain - mountains, etc) effect the climate of an area. They could then go on to compare and contrast like and unlike areas as to natural vegetation, crops grown, housing, etc.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Lesley 6008 - Story
This site is for elementary but can be used by older students as well. Photos must be a certain size to be uploaded to the program. This could be a problem for early elementary students. However, if the teacher saves the photos for the students any adjustments could be made prior to saving. For older students they can easily make the adjustments and re-save the photo using Picnik.com.
As a teaching tool, I would make books for different topics. The book can be used to help introduce the topic then reviewed by the students as needed. My book is about organization in the library and the use of spine labels. This could be expanded to include photos of the various sections in the library. Other topics might be: parts of the book (back cover, front cover, etc OR index, table of contents, etc), reference books and their purpose (dictionary, thesaurus, atlas).
As an assessment tool students could make a book to teach a topic or concept to a younger group of students. Students can use this as a reporting tool after a field trip or at the conclusion of a unit, summarizing what they have learned.
As a teaching tool, I would make books for different topics. The book can be used to help introduce the topic then reviewed by the students as needed. My book is about organization in the library and the use of spine labels. This could be expanded to include photos of the various sections in the library. Other topics might be: parts of the book (back cover, front cover, etc OR index, table of contents, etc), reference books and their purpose (dictionary, thesaurus, atlas).
As an assessment tool students could make a book to teach a topic or concept to a younger group of students. Students can use this as a reporting tool after a field trip or at the conclusion of a unit, summarizing what they have learned.
Lesley 6008 - Wikipedia
I looked up three topics on both Wikipedia (English and Simple English) and Britannica: First Lego League, Golden Gate Bridge, and Hay Springs, NE.
Only one of the three showed up in all three, Golden Gate Bridge. The Wikipedia-English article had the most information. I also looked Golden Gate Bridge up in the WorldBookOnline (Advanced, Student, Kids). WorldBookOnline had a separate article in the first two, but in the Kids version only mentioned the bridge in an article on bridges. Most of the factual information was the same. The biggest difference was a large section in Wikipedia (a couple sentences in Simple English) about the suicides from the bridge.
I attempted to add a notable citizen to the Hay Springs, NE article and link it to another article in Wikipedia. It was removed several hours later. I didn't have an account and wonder if the effect would be different if I had an account. I read about posting new information. Personal knowledge isn't enough. There has to be a printed source to verify the information.
Only one of the three showed up in all three, Golden Gate Bridge. The Wikipedia-English article had the most information. I also looked Golden Gate Bridge up in the WorldBookOnline (Advanced, Student, Kids). WorldBookOnline had a separate article in the first two, but in the Kids version only mentioned the bridge in an article on bridges. Most of the factual information was the same. The biggest difference was a large section in Wikipedia (a couple sentences in Simple English) about the suicides from the bridge.
I attempted to add a notable citizen to the Hay Springs, NE article and link it to another article in Wikipedia. It was removed several hours later. I didn't have an account and wonder if the effect would be different if I had an account. I read about posting new information. Personal knowledge isn't enough. There has to be a printed source to verify the information.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Lesley 6008 - Wiki
I like using a wiki for class comments on a topic. Students are more willing to write on a wiki that a piece of paper to turn it. It is also easy to get comments back to them and ask questions. With an online format there is no "I didn't get it." or "I lost it."
I used this with Journey North-Mystery Sites for students to keep track of their findings and clues over a period of several months. Besides all the comments being in one place the students' personalities came out in the font and color they used.
I can also see using this with the Robotics group to keep track of ideas and share them with each other. They can access it at home and put the ideas up when they think about it rather than wait until the next meeting and possibly forgetting it.
A wiki could be used when reading a novel as a group. Students could give comments on a chapter or a topic, debate issues, connect to their lives. Students can use initials to show who posted what.
I used this with Journey North-Mystery Sites for students to keep track of their findings and clues over a period of several months. Besides all the comments being in one place the students' personalities came out in the font and color they used.
I can also see using this with the Robotics group to keep track of ideas and share them with each other. They can access it at home and put the ideas up when they think about it rather than wait until the next meeting and possibly forgetting it.
A wiki could be used when reading a novel as a group. Students could give comments on a chapter or a topic, debate issues, connect to their lives. Students can use initials to show who posted what.
Lesley 6008 - Google Docs
This program would be better for group projects than Windows powerpoint. It has fewer bells and whistles so students could concentrate on content more that background and other extras. Also since it is created all at the same time and in the same template there is not problems putting each student's part into the whole.
Any project that can be done in powerpoint can be done collaboratively using this program. I have done a class book with kindergarten and first using MSWord and a starting template. Google docs would work just as well and has the added benefit of being available to family and friends just by giving them the link. Grandparents living far away would love it.
The information in Wikipedia was about the same as the other sources I found. Wikipedia is a good general reference, especially for factual material, e.g. country or state background information or biography of an historical person. The photo in the Wikipedia entry is in the Library of Congress collection of images.
Any project that can be done in powerpoint can be done collaboratively using this program. I have done a class book with kindergarten and first using MSWord and a starting template. Google docs would work just as well and has the added benefit of being available to family and friends just by giving them the link. Grandparents living far away would love it.
The information in Wikipedia was about the same as the other sources I found. Wikipedia is a good general reference, especially for factual material, e.g. country or state background information or biography of an historical person. The photo in the Wikipedia entry is in the Library of Congress collection of images.
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