Students drive on Google Drive

This month I introduced the students to Google Drive. I let them play around with it and take the driver's seat, so to speak. It was really exciting to see how quick they were to get through the ins and outs of working on an assignment with a partner or group. After just one period I had a couple of boys going home that night and working on a presentation for social studies. Fantastic!

The students have been creating presentations, using both Google Drive and Power Point, on a variety of self selected topics. It is wonderful to see how excited they are to share and learn from each other, not only about the topic but about the technology and resources they used as well. 

On another note, we have been on the   laptops creating some stories using The Mysteries of Harris Burdick and letters using The Dr. K. Fisher books. I am taking one of Kevin Honeycutt's suggestions and looking into publishing a book of our writing. It would be cool to have a double book where you can flip it one way for the letters and the other way for the stories. I wonder if that's a possibility? I will have to check!

After EQAO, of course.  :)

Music Inquiry with Touch Piano and Taiko

In Kinderland we sing and make music daily. We use music to learn and consolidate letter names and sounds, sight words, counting by 1's, 5's, 10's, etc. We write music and record audio and video of us creating music. We love music! So, we decided it was time to do an inquiry about music since the kinders have such great interest in it. On the SMARTboard and iPads we've been watching stomp and other garbage band videos. Pinterest has been helpful for brainstorming ideas about how to make an outdoor music wall. Kinders made their own instruments and recorded their songs with repeating patterns(Math and Music) on video and Garage Band.  We went for a parade at an assembly showing off our instruments. Kinders have also been practising repeating patterns on a piano app called Touch Piano and a drumming app called Taiko.  We've put simple lyrics to these repeating patterns as a phonemic awareness activity with syllables(i.e. apple-apple-pear).

Lego Inquiry with Lego Movie and Blocksworld

In Kinderland we've been inquiring about lego.  We went to see the Lego Movie and yes, "everything was awesome!"  After seeing the movie the kinders came up with wonderings such as, "how is it made?", "who invented lego?", "how do you make lego?", etc.  We have used the iPads in researching videos and websites that can answer our wonderings.  Our vocabulary has been expanding through these questions with words like, creative, manufacture, structure, foundation, etc.  To encourage writing the rule is, if you want to save your lego creation for later than you need to write about it.  Some kinders chose pencils and paper while other students chose to use the camera, video, or explain everything on the iPad.  We take pictures and put them up on our lego documentation panel to show our learning.  Students have been creating lego challenges and writing signs inviting other kinders to take up the challenge.  A new to us app has been Blocksworld.  It is similar to Minecraft in the sense that you can build structures, however geared to a younger audience.  It uses 3D shapes and the students have been excited about creating and sharing their worlds with other classmates.  They challenge each other's thinking continually and taking risks, and this app has introduced experimenting with 3D shapes.  This has been a perfect lead into instructing 3D shapes informally in small groups and formally in Math.  The Lego Movie app has been an exciting way for the kinders to explore their creating in story telling and cinematography.

Inquiry Explosion

The month of March has been pretty exciting in our classroom in terms of inquiry. The students are continuing to look into questions they have around our science and social studies topics. They are using the laptops to explore resources such as Britannica School and the Ontario Educational Resource Bank. 

However, and this is the most exciting part, whenever we have independent reading or extra time after an assignment is completed the students are getting together in groups or independently researching topics that interest them. I have a group of boys who, everyday, gather at the back of the classroom with their writer's notebooks and materials on the chosen topic of the day/week. 

I have also just introduced them to Google Drive so that the collaboration can continue on at the presentation/publishing stage. Can't wait to see how this turns out!

Blog you later. 

Inquiries & OERB

As a class we've been exploring the world of structures and have been able to research some of the world's most interesting and famous landmarks using the laptops. The students have been working in partners on a research topic of their choosing.  

Besides using looking at different resources that are available, we have started to evaluate them and use our reading strategies of trying to find the main idea/important information. We have started to use Alpha Boxes to help the students put those ideas into their own words. 

We've also been using the Ontario Educational  Resource Bank (OERB) a lot on our laptops. The activities, especially for math, can be used as introductions, practice, and review. It is also easy to differentiate when using the site. I love it and so do the students. 

Inquiring minds

January was a great month for inquiry in our classroom! The students have really started to get excited about being able to explore their own questions. The laptops have enabled them to do so. 

The students are also loving the fact that they can publish all of their favourite writing assignments so easily and in a variety of ways. I have students using regular Word documents; some using Word Q to help with spelling and clarity; others creating "picture books" using Power Point; and a few exploring making comics using Bitstrips. It's great!

Kinderland Reading Focus with Raz Kids

Our reading focus in Kinderland has been on making connections.  We have songs, actions, and pics that help us to make deeper connections, but the iPads have put a whole new spin on things.  In guided reading with the Raz Kids app kinders make a connection, take a screenshot and upload it to educreations.  There they can highlight, annotate, and record their learning.  The following pic also shows how we highlight our sight words and speech sounds that we're working on.  Kinders take great pride in sharing and celebrating their thinking with their classmates.  This inevitably challenges others to think deeper and expand on their classmate's thinking.  

Exploring

   This month we have been exploring different online resources. Jeremy Cadeau came in and helped us start online portfolios and introduced us to some other programs. The students have become addicted to Prodigy Math and are exploring inquiry questions using Kids Infobits and Desire2Learn. 

   Having the laptops in the classroom has been great for differentiation. They have been especially helpful for my IEP students as well as my students who are excelling and need a challenge. 

Kinderland's Machine Inquiry

We've just started using our iPads 6 schools days ago because that's when we got our cases.  So, our first project is still in progress.  We've followed student interest which has led us to learning about machines.  Students have been taking photos and video of their learning of investigating old computer motherboards.  They've been using educreations to record their observations and wonderings, as well as adding photos and text.  Other kinders are using the iPads in our class' "Santa's Workshop" where they are building toy machines and recording procedural steps of how to build their toy.  Kinders are most excited to share their inquiries on the SMARTboard so others can collaborate and expand on their thinking and understanding.  Heads up Santa!  You're going to want to hire some engineers from Kinderland this year.  We're always looking for ways to make richer experiences for our kinders.  Ideas are always welcome!

Sharing Documents with Students in G. D.

So that we could practice putting items into our Google Drive hand in folders (that are shared with me), I wanted to share a document with my students. I created two lists of recipients, one for my Grade 2s and one for my Grade 3s, and I sent the document to both of these lists.  I intended for my students to open the document, answer the question, and hand in the work by moving their document to their "Hand-in to Mr. Creasor" folder.  As students started to open and change the document, we discovered that the changes were being made on all documents, of the same title, open in the classroom.  In hindsight, I realize the ability to simultaneously work on a document is a feature of Google Drive but I am wondering how to get around this feature if I want each student to be able to make changes to the same document?  We tried renaming the document and moving the document.

As I write this, it occurs to me that I should have had my students make a copy of the document, rename it, and then proceed to make changes.  Unfortunately, this possible solution did not occur to me when I was with my class.  Would this be the best route to take?

Thanks for any assistance you might be able to provide.

Scott

Diagnostic

This month I wanted to perform a diagnostic so that I could compare my
results from the beginning of this inquiry to the end. I did this by
providing my students with a quick survey that asked about their research
skills and knowledge of how to use technology to help them answer their
questions, which I will use again at the end of the year. As well, we did
a mini-inquiry into Remembrance Day and Veterans’ Week. Without much
help or advice, the students went on to research one of four questions of
their choice. They were able to use our laptops; however I did not give
them any instruction on which sites or programs to use. I’m excited to
be able to compare the quality of product and the answers of the survey to
yearend results.