Course Reflections

   What an intense eight weeks! I am amazed at how much was packed into it and how much I learned. More importantly, I'm thankful not only of what I did learn, but what I will actually use with my classes. I'm excited to try all the digital tools we used to create wonderful pieces. Tools like: blogging, wikis, Animoto, Google Hangout, Skype, digital storytelling, just to name a few. It's hard to pick a favorite assignment. I was very proud of how my Animoto turned out. I'm actually going to use it on my school's website. It was the easiest media tool to use. I put a great deal of work into my digital story which was an I Am From poem. It was very personal so it meant a great deal to me. Working on my literacy project, I think I was the most surprised. I had kindergarten students use the video option on iPads and they took to it like ducks to water. It was amazing. They are so young yet so capable! We underestimate them. Blogging was time consuming but well worth it. It really focuses your thoughts, which would help students tremendously. It's also very interesting to read the replies to the posts. I can see the tremendous value in using Skype in the classroom. As a librarian, knowing how expensive it is to book authors in person, this alternative is great. Students get an almost one on one experience with the author. Definitely going to try that.
   Perhaps the most valuable aspect of this course was the collaboration we enjoyed with each other and the incredible help we received from our teacher. Those lessons go much farther than book learning can. It supplies us with more confidence to try new things and collaborate with colleagues in our own workplace. That's worth it's weight in gold. What was frustrating was the feeling of not having enough time to complete everything, and worrying about technology breaking down. That creates a lot of stress. All in all, I feel like I've just been through a crash course in digital media and I came away with invaluable knowledge. Thank you Judy! Thank you cohort!





                   

Can't Get Enough of Mo!

   As a school librarian I chose to focus my literacy project around an author study. I work with a small kindergarten class and one of their favorite read alouds is Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems. It is an interactive book in that the main character, Pigeon, is talking to the reader throughout the book. Mo Willems, the author, is a three time Caldecott Honor winner and has written several Pigeon books, as well as Knuffle Bunny books. The students never tire of listening to his stories and his books are consistently checked out of the library over and over. I met Mr. Willems at a book convention and got his new book signed. He is a very nice man and I wanted to share that experience with the students as well. He also has a wonderful website for children and teachers with loads of activities, lesson plans, a blog, and videos. Pigeon has his own fun website as well.
   I decided to open the unit with a read aloud of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! It is Mr. Willems first Pigeon book and follows the format of Pigeon talking to the readers.  The digital tool I used with the students was an app called iDraw, which students used on iPads. After reading the story I directed students to draw Pigeon and write his name. iDraw is a simple to use app and the students had no trouble drawing. Once they were finished they were to pair up and interview each other talking about their pigeon. The directions I gave were to think of questions to ask their partner about their drawing. While they asked the questions, they were filming the interview as well. The kindergarteners had no previous experience using the camera option on the iPads, yet they took to it like water. I was amazed at how little trepidation the students had and how adept they became at filming. I plan on having them film more of themselves. I used MovieMaker to create the author study for students and teachers to use. My hope is that teachers will see how easy it is to use MovieMaker to create their own author studies, and how students can participate using traditional methods as well as technology. They aren't afraid of using digital media so we shouldn't be either.
    The literacy piece in this project for the kindergartners was discussing author's intent, empathizing with the character, reading and writing the word pigeon, as well as listening to many stories by Mo Willems. Here it is, hope you enjoy it.



 

                                                                        
                                                                       

I Am From...

   I love poetry. There is something about using a few words to express a multitude of emotions that is so simplistic, yet so bountiful. I love choosing just the right word to describe something. I love the rhythm of poetry. It can sound just like a song. Poetry can get right to the heart of the matter, whatever that may be. Children are natural poetry writers. Their honesty allows them to be. They have yet to be corrupted by convention as adults have.
   One of my favorite poetry prompts is the I Am From... poem, created by George Ella Lyon.
http://georgeellalyon.com/where.html
It is a powerful tool to get to know oneself. It makes you think of how you came to be you. Since it is in list form, it is easy to create. I think every student should write at least one I Am From poem. Middle school is a great time to write one but younger students can do it as well. There is no wrong way to create this poem. It just takes some thinking and remembering. Digital storytelling is a wonderful medium for students to use to create these poems. They can be as creative as they want. There is power in narrating their poem and hearing their own voice, as well as finding images or photos. Here is my attempt at the I Am From Poem. Try one with your students!

 

   Wow, just had a Google Hangout session with the author of one of my textbooks. What an amazing convenience and tool! The author lives in Canada and there were nine of us in two separate rooms able to talk to her. Cassidy, the author, is a 1st grade teacher who has her students blog throughout the year. I'm new to blogging and am just beginning to understand the value of blogging with students. The benefits are far reaching, such as making global connections, practicing writing skills, and most importantly, developing critical thinking skills. I had difficulty seeing any value in having a 1st grader blog when they have no keyboarding skills and are not able to read or write. What are they blogging about? So I asked Cassidy during the Google hangout and she helped me see how valuable it is for 1st graders. Even though they can't read, just being on the computer and using the keyboard is helpful. It is but an introduction in the beginning of the year to the whole process of blogging. The student presses whatever keys and Cassidy translates underneath what they had to say. Being that they are 1st graders, they don't have a lot to say in the beginning. Which was my fear that it would be extremely time consuming to translate each student's thoughts. As they become more proficient with literacy, they will get better with using the keyboard. I suppose one could liken it to having a child play on a piano for the first few times. You don't forbid them to play until they've learned the keys and notes. And the more they play the more comfortable they become and start to learn which keys produce what sound. Then when you introduce more formal learning, they are that much more familiar with it.
   I realized I do that with kindergartners. I have let them use iPads without any real instruction just to let them get used to the devices. They all started to learn very quickly on their own what they could do with them. Yes, Cassidy inspired me to have more faith in what young children can do if we only just provide the opportunity.
Here is an interesting article addressing the naysayers of computer usage and young children:http://www.wiu.edu/thecenter/articles/gold.html

Pay it Forward

Thinking about ways to use blogging in the classroom and how it can be used for global connections, led me to think about a movie I saw called Pay It Forward. It was about a teacher who gave his class an assignment to be philanthropists. One of his students gets the idea of practicing random acts of kindness with the stipulation that if you receive an act of kindness, you must pass it on and perform an act of kindness. I was always intrigued by the idea of pay it forward and think it's a wonderful thing to do. I have been the recipient of someone paying for my coffee at Dunkin Donuts. It was in the drive thru and the person in front of me paid for my cup of coffee. It made me smile all day. Such a simple gesture with such lasting results.
 So I've been thinking of how technology could play a part since it is such an engaging tool for students. I found two websites that had some great ideas, not necessarily using technology but ideas for what can be done. In terms of technology, I thought blogging about practicing random acts of kindness might be something worth trying. Students could perform some simple act of kindness on a daily basis and describe what they had done in their blog. They could read each others' blogs and respond to their classmates. The blog could be opened up to the parents who could also respond and possibly start their own pay it forward activity. It would be great for the parents to see their child practicing this type of philanthropy and be able to respond and encourage their student, or the other students for that matter. The teacher may want to open the blog up to another classroom and have a joint effort. There are many possibilities.
In today's fast-paced world steeped in technology, I feel we must be especially careful not to lose the humanity that is so needed to keep us all grounded and responsible to each other. The world is a much smaller place now with easy access to global connections. It is more important than ever that we teach our children to be kind.  Visit these two websites. I really like the Random Acts of Kindness one best.  Go to the free resources page.
http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/
http://www.payitforwardfoundation.org/how-to-get-involved/

Here is one more website with some wonderful ideas:
http://inspiremykids.com/2012/ideas-for-using-inspiremykids-com-in-your-class/

Blogs, wikis, etc.

I really had no idea how valuable blogging could be for the classroom until I read Richardson's book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Web Tools for Classrooms. Having not grown up with computer technology, it is a struggle on my part to learn the latest advancements that occur so rapidly. Yet my students have no problem figuring how to create a movie or design a cartoon, etc., with little or no instruction. The iPad has made it even easier for the youngest of children. My 2 year old nephew started to play with my iPad and was able to find and open an app and start to play. It was amazing. Having no trepidation to using these devices is so foreign to me. I am always unsure of what I'm doing or how to use a devise. My son has little patience with me when I enlist his help. He always says, "Mom, you need to figure this out for yourself." I suppose he is right but it seems his mind is already 'prewired', mine is not. I also realize that to figure it out for myself, which I am willing to do, takes time. And a lot of it. It is a constant struggle to try and keep up with my students. It is frustrating for them when I can't even help them with a computer issue. But I am learning and am thankful for the opportunity to do so. 

Back to blogging - what is mind-blowing to me is the potential for global connections that blogging can create. I never really thought about how far one's thoughts could go to reach someone on the other side of the globe. That connection is mighty powerful. I can see the advantages for a student in terms of writing, responding, and receiving responses. How incredible is that to get to read what a student in Ghana has posted to something you said. As a learning tool I think it is incredible and should be used as often as possible.

                                                                         
                                                                            

Benefits of Graphic Novels

   As an elementary school librarian, I am always trying to find the right book that will interest a student. I am a firm believer that children should read what they want. I like to know my students so that I may find the genre they especially like. In the past few years graphic novels have become extremely popular, yet I have had push back from a few parents and teachers as well. A couple of parents directed me not to allow their child to bring home a graphic novel, and a few teachers will not allow them in their classrooms. I believe some parents and teachers feel that 'graphic novel' is just a fancy term for comic books. Well, yes and no. They are so much more.