Communities Have Rules!

Well, hello there!  Thanks for stopping by! It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but the beginning of the year leaves me exhausted and with sore feet. Last night, I may have gone to bed at 8:00 p.m. Don’t judge me.

Like many teachers, I start the year off by creating a classroom community that is respectful and responsible. A positive learning environment is SO important! Our first social studies unit just happens to be about communities and citizenship. We talk about why it is important that communities have rules and laws. Enter Digital Citizenship! It was so easy to merge this topic into this unit. We aren't finished learning about digital citizenship yet, but we are off to a great start!   WOOHOOO!

We haven’t officially received our Ipads, but I wanted the kids to  know about the NORMS and EXPECTATIONS! Now, we won’t have to waste any time getting started with our learning experience once we do get our hands on them!

We talked about how we treat our new devices and what it means to be a good digital citizen (more on that to come later!). We also talked about how to handle our Ipads, what the buttons mean, and how to use some of the really neat features. I do have my Ipad in the classroom, so we were able to share it as we were learning. A lot of “ooooohs” and “awwwwwws” happened as I took them on a tour of the Ipad home screen apps.

Here are some anchor charts we created as we learned about the rules and the basics of the Ipad.

The level of engagement was astounding and even though I do not think Ipads are a replacement for  education, I certainly think it will enhance the learning process! I am so lucky to be a part of this experience and I am very eager to see where technology will take us in education! 

Coding for Kids

Coding as a Foreign Language

Coding was introduced to me by a college professor I had during my undergraduate degree program. It was, in no way, a very in-depth study of how to code. He taught us how to input code to move a character left, right, up, and down. I was always amazed with myself when the character actually did what I told it to do. I'm sure the kids would feel the same!

Coding, in general terms, is language for computers. You basically give commands to your computer and it will perform the task. Once you learn the basics, it’s pretty easy to build from there.

Kids pick up foreign languages quickly and learning the language of coding would be no different. There are a ton of great apps out there that I personally like. I could see myself using these with students in the future, once I become more comfortable with coding. My goal is to promote problem solving skills and logical thinking.

I’ve compiled a Top Five list for the apps I play with the most in my own personal life:

Daisy the Dinosaur. It’s super simple and only uses basic functions. So, this app is a must for those 1st/2^{nd    grade students} 

Hopscotch is another good one for beginners. The kids still use the visual drag and drop tool, but they have a few more functions to tinker with.  I find myself playing with this one the most, mostly because I like to make the different animals wiggle and flip…hehe 

Tynker. This one is super similar to Dairy the Dinosaur and Hopscotch. It uses visual code instead of the text code, which makes it easy to use and navigate. It also includes an AWESOME tutorial video for kids....but you have to pay 50 bucks to have them enrolled. 

Scratch. Anther one similar to Tinker and Hopscotch, but I found it would fit 4^th/5^th graders better than the younger elementary kids. That could just be because of my limited knowledge of coding, however.

Codeacademy is more of an in-depth look at coding because it actually uses coding language (JavaScript, CSS, and HTML) instead of the block tool.  This app has a series of lessons the kids can progress through instead of it being a game-like activity. It’s definitely something to used with your advanced kiddos or older students.

We shall see how well I implement this into the classroom in the future. Perhaps, it will just start out as a free-time game and then progress from there. Again, I’m no expert....like at all! I'm pretty much learning with the kids. But, I love a new learning experience and this is definitely one I see myself getting better with over time.

Kicking Off the Year with Picture Books!

Whew! First day back and I am exhausted! I always forget how overwhelmed I feel after my team and I sit down and start planning our first week. Oy Vey Maria! Although, it's the time I feel the most creative and inspired because I can try new things with this new batch of kiddos!

My third grade team and I always like to kick off the year with great read alouds that help teach kids about acceptance and responsibility. We read Horton Hatches the Egg, Odd Velvet, Leo the Late Bloomer, and Armadillo Tattletale, just to name a few.  

It's always nice to have a follow-up activity to really drive home the lesson from each book. So, here I am, searching and searching for things that I think would be perfect for my darling third graders. But, alas, nothing has really jumped out at me. To circumnavigate this problem, I have created my own! I've attached them as PDFs so you can easily download them into a PDF-Notes App for the kids to complete on their Ipads. 

Click Here for Armadillo Tattletale

Click Here for Odd Velvet 

Click Here for Leo the Late Bloomer 

Click Here for Horton Hatches an Egg 

Enjoy!

My OBSESSION with the #1secondeveryday App

Obsessed! 

I recently watched the #ChefMovie with Jon Favreau. It was adorbs. The part I liked best was the little kid using social media to help market his father's new business. He used one app called #1secondeveryday. Well, as you can imagine, I became obsessed with it!

So many ideas came to mind! At the end of the year, it would be a great recap video for the kiddos to watch. I can just hear the "oooo" and "ahhhhss" now!  I would like to do one video every month and send them to parents so they can see everything we are doing in the classroom. Is this too ambitious? I think not! I mean...it's one second a day. Who doesn't have time for that?


I also think it would be fun to do this with my colleagues. There are so many great moments we share together, i.e. Smiling Pile of Poo (Look at me! I have an inside joke with other people! Woohoo!)  I want to capture it all and then show them at the end of the year. Wouldn't that be a hoot?!

We shall see how this goes....you can look forward to more blog posts with our videos throughout the year!

Transforming Your 31 Bag

Not a Technology Post BUT Who Doesn’t Like a Good Ol’ Fashion Craft-ivity?

I love my #31bag. Like LOVE LOVE my 31 bag. It's cute, it has my name on it, and I can pack a whole lot of teacher stuff in that puppy! I keep seeing on Pinterest how people are putting in those mini crates and completely transforming their bags into an on-the-go-file-cabinet. I wanted to do this to my bag, but let's face it, my school supply budget was at its limit and I could spend no more! You may be thinking, "Danielle, it's only $4!" And I would reply, "Yeah, but why spend $4, when you can do it for FREE?!" 

Here is what I had at home just laying around taking up space:

1. Flat rate boxes I use to send my sweetie pie packages while he's in Korea. If you don't have any around your house, go pick some up from the post office....they are FREE! 

2. Duck Tape/boxing tape

3. Your 31 Bag, or whatever bag you'd like to transform

Yes, folks. That's all you need to make this project happen!

First, I measured the width of my bag. I cut the sides of my boxes so I could slide them in to get a perfect fit. I secured the new sides together with tape. (I used what I had on hand, but use the clear boxing tape if you've got it). I did this to two boxes. 

Then I cut one side off each box. 

 



I slid them into each other until I got the width just right. I put it inside my bag to test it out :)

And then Voila!

 Final project....I added a little divider there for random things and such.

Hope you enjoyed this Free-Of-Charge craft-ivity!

The Wonders of #Dropbox

The Wonders of Dropbox

School still hasn’t officially started, but here I am fiddling about with my new Ipad. Thanks #Butlerschooldistrict!

I have used Dropbox for maybe three years now. It’s pretty much a server you can save all your wonderful files to and access them on any device. You can also share the folders you create.

 

After three years of using Dropbox, I have never used the sharing tool, until NOW! At first, I was thinking that I would need to create a new Dropbox and give the login information to my students so they can have access to my files. But then I thought, why not have them create their own Dropbox and then I can share my files with them?

I know what you’re thinking….DUH! There are many blog post about using #Dropbox and #Evernote, but I guess I never really read about or paid any attention to the sharing of files part of it. HA! Silly me. So trust me, the following ideas are probably nothing new, but they are new to me and when I'm excited about something I have to share! 

This opens up a lot of great things we can accomplish in the classroom. Here is a list of ideas I have so far using Dropbox:

1.    Create a file under each student’s name and then share those folders with the students. They will be able to drop their assignments and projects into them without the hassle of emailing them to you. You also won't be bombarded with a bunch of Airdropped files. Talk about annoying :) 

2.    Allow students to share files with each other. This will be especially helpful for group projects. Of course they can use Airdrop and Icloud, but this will allow them to stay a little more organized and I can see what they are working on too!

3.    Share Newsletters and other handouts with parents. I love this idea the most because eventually I never want to use a printer or copier ever again! I want to go completely paperless. Yes, I know I can email parents but in my community some parents do not have access to the Internet. I can have the students download the files from Dropbox before they go home and then BOOM! No more copying!

4.    Share with other teachers in other school districts and buildings! We have a shared folder at school, but I know other teachers I’d love to share with and this is the perfect outlet to do just that!

These are just a few ideas but I am sure I will think of more as we move through the year. #IloveDropbox 

My Formal Introduction Into the Blog World

Finally! A Class Full of Ipads!

After years and years of being envious of teacher blogs, I've finally decided to create my very own! This blog in particular will be geared toward my first year with a classroom full of ipads! You'll hear all about the highs and lows (hopefully mostly highs!) of implementing ipads into our daily schedule. 

For me, this isn't too scary since I've used apple products since college. I am working on my MacBook as we speak and I've had Ipods, Iphones and Ipads for years. So, you could say I am pretty familiar with the operating system. 

BUT, using an apple product is completely different than teaching someone to use and apply the device. Not just substituting the device but creating with the device! Difficult, but not impossible. A little scary, but exciting! 

My district provided us a three-day training on our Ipads. At first, I thought I would be bored out of my mind, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I did not know. The Ipad has so much POTENTIAL! I knew how to use the apps and what not, but our trainer provided new ways to use those apps with our students. 

So here we go! In 11 days, school will start and this journey will begin. I hope we can all come together and learn from each other as we embark on a very technological future with our students!