PTL Grant - New Look of Learning

The Year End

2010-05-24T07:48:00.002-05:00

Wow! I can't believe that the year is almost over. It has been a roller-coaster ride to say the least. All 64 of our students were issued an iPod Touch and we also had 16 ASUS mini-computers for the students to use. Having one-to-one mobile devices allowed each student the ability to access the Internet at any time (barring any Internet connection problems) to search for information. It allowed them the opportunity to listen to some Podcasts that were down-loaded and some of our students conducted some of the simple experiments for kids at home. I found several video-podcasts for them to watch that walked them through some of the experiments. I do think that the students learning was impacted in a number of ways. Students began to learn about many of the features in Google Apps, as well as appropriate ways to respond to blogs and share information. Our students created a number of projects using the technology, such as, Flipcharts, Slide shows, trading cards, advertisements, as well as taking on-line quizzes, Students were also able to hone skills learned in class as they practiced flashcards and a variety of Apps that help them better understand theory of continental drift, metric conversions, and even stay organized through posting reminders, assignments and agendas in Awesome Notes. It was also fun playing the on-line word game "Words with Friends" with my students (a great way to build vocabulary skills). This year was an exceptionally busy year for both the students and us. Some things we already knew and others we learned with the students as we progressed through the year.

I am already looking forward to next fall. Our experiences this year have taught me some of the things that worked and some that didn't. Now that I am more familiar with using the minis and many of the apps, I will be much better prepared. I felt behind much of the time, so I am starting early this summer and will begin creating some podcasts to go with each of the units. I am also going to work on developing additional project-based and problem-based learning activities for Science units. Janet and I are planning on working together this summer to develop some more integrated math and science units.

Our team feels blessed to have had this experience. It was a lot of work and frustrating at times, but having the opportunity to see how much technology can enhance student learning was truly a learning experience for me. Thanks, Spring Branch ISD for awarding us the funding to see our vision in actions!

Vocabulary

2010-02-05T14:58:00.002-06:00

Just a quick note to say putting vocabulary words as flashcards on the itouch is wonderful. Today, while the students were entering their new vocabulary, there was a beautiful, quiet, rare hush in the room.

Apps

2010-02-01T18:04:00.002-06:00

Of course, our students love using the itouches. They are definitely a motivating device. I have been disappointed with the number of quality apps that are available. We have found a few we really like, but not the selection we expected. Another disappointment is that the students cannot acces BrainPop on their touches. They love the videos available and we find them a valuable teaching tool.

Blocking Access

2009-12-07T09:39:00.002-06:00

After syncing a couple of times and having some great difficulties, we decided to restrict access to iTunes and the App store. We decided the last time to give them access to itumes, but keep the App store restricted. This seems to have helped us with our syncing problems and yet gives the students the opportunity to download their favorite tunes.

Things I didn't anticipate, but should have

2009-12-06T18:43:00.002-06:00

We are pushing forward with our use of the ipod touches. The students enjoy doing their agenda entries and homework assignments on their touches and we continue to add to their vocabulary flashcards. We are getting better at the syncing process, although it is still not as quick and easy as we had hoped for.

One of the issues, I hadn't really thought through, was what do when touches are lost or stolen. Since our students are each issued a touch, they are taking them home every day. We have had one that we believe was stolen from the sync cart (we have become more strict about cart access) and two students have now lost theirs. We have a couple of extra and so far we are just letting students borrow those for use in class, but not letting them take them home. One of the parents is willing to pay for a lost one. Do we allow this, even though everyone can't afford this solution? It is difficult to know how to be fair to all.

As a treat for our students, we put a couple of free Christmas games on their touches and they are thrilled with them!

Technology - Love it or Hate it!

2009-12-04T02:19:00.002-06:00

Well, it is after 2:00 in the morning and I have spent the last 5 hours trying to get my slideshow of our Class Stations to work on our Blog. At first I created a PPT and then could not get that to work in the blog. So then I tried google docs and the Photos I wanted to use made the file too large to download. Then I went to Flickr and it was easy enough to upload the photos there. The problem has come up with the Blog. I follow the directions to add the Slideshow as a gadget and it appears everything is good, and I save it; however, the blog just has a white square where the photos should be streaming through. It is strange because it will allow me to use other people's slideshows from Flickr, but not mine.

Anyway, I am exhausted, so I am signing off for now. I will have to deal with this problem later.

Good night! (Or is it good morning?)

Stations

2009-12-03T20:24:00.002-06:00

We have been working diligently to modify our teaching strategies to focus on small group instruction and more opportunities for students to collaborate and use the new technology to support their learning through a variety of learning stations. We strive to help them understand that computers and mobile devices are extremely useful tools and not toys. But...who says you can't have fun. The students have worked in a variety of stations to reinforce the learning in their core subjects. They have used the minis and the iPods to make comments on our classroom blog. They use them to research scientists and mathematicians as well as watch podcasts. They enjoy practicing their math skills using the computers and continue to build content area vocabulary. They use the iPod Touches to increase their organizational skills by keeping daily agendas, homework and important reminders, such as tests and projects. We are including a few photos to showcase some of the learning stations in our classroom.

I purchased a Flip video camera, so I hope to have time over the winter break to play with that as well as time to create a podcast or two.

On Our Way

2009-11-19T09:54:00.004-06:00

It has been a while since I last posted to our Blog. We are really getting our feet wet. In Math & Science, our students began working in Stations. We still have direct instruction in both our content areas and then students move to different stations to continue their work. At this time, our students are just working on one station per day to supplement their learning.They rotate to a new station each day. We have a research station, blogging, computer Math or Science games, as well as writing and reading and current events. Our goal is for them to do most of their work in small groups at stations and move away from whole group instruction. The most difficult part of this is the scheduling part. There just is not enough time in the day to get everything done. It takes time to teach the students how to use the technology and this cuts into our class instruction for Science. I feel that I am always running behind. As the students become more adept at using the technology, we can get caught up. It is all a mind-shift for us to change the way we teach. It is easier to say you want to be the guide on the side than it is to put into practice, especially when you are working with 6th-graders. They are still quite dependent.

We have started a class blog and the students have all posted to it at least once.There was some problems when we first tried to post and the students have had some difficulty with their g-mail accounts, but it is getting easier. I like being able to approve their comments before they actually post. This also allows me the opportunity to print our their posts and use the rubric to give them a grade and make comments on ways to improve.

Janet and I have attended the podcasting training and hope to get something going on that. We each want to create a couple before we try teaching this to the students. If we didn't have to teach or grade papers we would have all kinds of time to work on this. Such is life. I think we both feel that our vision is slowly coming into view. We still have a ways to go, but we are getting there.

Until next time...Happy Thanksgiving!

Kathleen

Janet's Perspective

2009-11-05T08:31:00.002-06:00

We are finally getting in a good groove using our technology; of course there are always glitches that come along but we are working on those as they come along.

The kids are having better luck charging their itouches at home without using a computer; so many computers are set to automatically sync itouches and that was causing us many problems.

We have also restricted access to itunes and applications. For right now, that is helping us keep kids and their parents from downloading extra stuff.

We have had some complaints from teachers who monitor the lunchroom about the use of iTouches causing issues in the cafeteria. After consulting with the principal, we have decided we cannot control this.

Moving along

2009-10-28T22:54:00.002-05:00

We are moving along-slow and steady. We opened our class blog last week and the students had an opportunity to post to our classroom blog using their iPod Touches. I like how the comments come to me before they are posted. You can even print out the comments. This will be great when we start requiring students to make posts for a grade. All of the comments come up and you can quickly read them and score them.

We tested out their gmail addresses and most of them were working. We had to "register" them on a computer before they were able to use the gmail on the iTouch. After that, they all seem to work well. I have also been able to import the students gmail address into a contact list so I can send items to them without having to type in each of the addresses. This will definitely be a time saver.

We have already had one student drop hers and cracked the front screen. We are in the process of getting it repaired. We have one that will not charge properly. We may have to contact Apple if we can't get this resolved.

Friday, a student left his binder behind in another classroom and went back to get it and it was gone. Of course the iPod Touch was in it, along with his personal iPod and work.

I still don't like the sync-cart. We are having difficulty with the touches that had additional apps loaded on them by the students. It slows down the syncing process and we had some that the name of the iPod touch changed. Any ideas why that would happen? We had a couple that had to be restored and quite a few that needed the latest updated version installed - another slowdown.

Problems with the wireless connections this week have not helped. I still hold onto the vision that we have for our classroom. It just seems to be taking longer than I thought it would take.

Catching my breath

2009-10-15T20:30:00.002-05:00

Today I finally feel like we are making progress. We spent the day at a training and it gave us a chance to talk as a team. It is so helpful to be able to get away from the classroom once in a while to carry on a discussion without interruptions. Also, today I was able to download the student gmail accounts to outlook and now the next step will be to get them downloaded into googledocs so I don't have to input/invite each one of our students individually. I began working on the student blog site and we had a chance to look at a number of apps. It also allowed us to spend some time working on the mini pcs. I was concerned about the capabilities of the little tykes, but after Karen worked with me on googledocs, I feel much better. Thanks, Karen. You were a great help today.

I also enjoyed getting together with other teams this afternoon and hearing how other teachers are handling classroom management of the iPod touches and the innovative ways that they are being used. It was also helpful to hear about problems that others have encountered and some of the ways around them.

I can't wait to get back to school to get one of the thumbtacks and try using iTalk. I purchased a flipvideo camera, so I am excited about getting started with this new piece of equipment as well.

Baby Steps

2009-10-14T20:50:00.003-05:00

Things are getting underway...slowly, but surely. The students are really getting into using the iPod Touches. We are still in the process of collecting the numerous signed policy papers, so the students are only using them in the classroom. We have also been waiting for the cases, so we hope they will arrive soon. "Are we using the iTouches today?" is a question that is echoed repeatedly through the day, every day. Students are focused on the simple tasks that require them to use the mobile devices. It is really cool when a student comes up to tell us something they just learned about when they were working on one of the apps.

The ASUS mini-pcs are also a hit. Students have had opportunities to use them to research physical and chemical changes as well as working on math websites and games. We are still learning about using Google docs, so not much new to report there. I noticed today the printer set up for our minis actually prints to another room. I will need to get that updated.

One thing that has disappointed me with the iPods are some of the "educational" apps. We have found that it is important to download the app first and try it out for ourselves. There are not as many available for middle school students as I had hoped. Also, some that I found this summer are no longer available. We are finally getting the hang of downloading and syncing apps.

We are also in the process of creating a student usage log and parent survey to send home next week.

Kathleen

Finally...

2009-10-06T18:29:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't had a chance to post, or for that matter, read, but like most of you, I've been busy. Really busy. I will be better from now on - I promise.

This has definitely been a roller coaster ride. I have at times felt completely overwhelmed and ready to throw in the towel, but today we finally got the iPod touches into the kids' hands and it was worth it.

We have had to overcome a number of issues, like having to register and update each of the devices individually. Having 68 of the devices, definitely slows you down. Working with the sync cart has had its issues as well, but I think we are finally making headway. We actually got some apps loaded yesterday with only a couple of problems.

We received the Gmail accounts for our students last week, so I am in the process of organizing that information for the parents.

I don't know who designed the sync cart, but they should have their head examined. Ours still does not open or close easily and when we are syncing, we have to open and close it several times. So much for maintaining a manicure.

I am also frustrated that we can't really use the Macbook at home. I still have not been able to get on-line at home with the Mac. I want to be able to use it to create some podcasts, but I can't do it at home and there is just too much activity and noise at school. Anyone have any ideas on how I can get around the Adm. name and password request???

Don't think I don't appreciate the opportunity we have been given, but I also thought that it would be easier to get these up and running and into the kids hands. At times I feel like we take one step forward and two steps back.

On a positive note...I don't think I have ever seen kids so anxious to create vocabulary flashcards for Math and Science. There are some really cool apps out there. The problem is, we start looking at apps and before you know it, two hours have flown by.

Now, if we could just figure out how to do without sleep, we might actually get caught up!

We will be in touch!

In the beginning...

2009-08-01T11:41:00.000-05:00

there were 4 sixth-grade teachers from Cornerstone Academy that applied for a technology grant and lo and behold, got it! This blog will be used to communicate the successes and setbacks that our team will experience through the 2009 - 2010 school year.

Follow us as we attempt to maneuver the ups and downs of the iPod touch as a daily classroom tool and a way to extend student learning beyond school hours.

Team members are: Janet Christman & Kathleen Grant (Math/Science) and Holly Smetek & Kristine Kenny (Language Arts/Social Studies). Feel free to contact us individually through the district e-mail.

We are excited and anxious about the challenge of learning and using the new technology with our students, but together we are confident that we can meet the challenge of the new look of learning.