Magnetic Poetry

The Internet is so cool! I just found a great site for kids (who am I kidding...adults too!) This site allows students to create their own poetry online using the popular Magnetic Poetry format. Picking from four different kits, students will find lots of different words and backgrounds to use to manipulate the words into poetry. I especially love the First Words and Story Maker Kits. These would make a great rainy day recess, or extra activity for students. The best part: students can email their finished poem...to you! Check it out here, and if you make any cool poetry, don't forget to email it to me!

New Site

I just found a cool site with tons of technology links for first graders. Some of the links are a bit outdated, but I found some great ones as well! I particularly liked the interactive Clifford stories. Notice the Benni the Bear under Problem Solving...my school totally did that way back in the day. Oh, memories!!! Check it all out here!

Computers!

Last Wednesday started as a normal Wednesday. Rushing around my apartment getting ready, making tea for the drive, finding an alternate route to Carnation (flooding...) and then the excitement...three new to us computers in my first grade classroom! The kids were so excited to see them! Some of these students don't have computers at home, so the opportunity for them to use these and be excited about learning is unquantifiable. These computers are going to be an amazing resource for the classroom and we are so lucky to have them. Yay for accessible technology! So far they are still getting the computers ready for usage, but I will give full updates how how the kids do with them.

And another thing....

To be fair I should mention that Page Creator is actually in a testing period through a program called Google Labs. What this means is, Google is testing out how it works/if it works/what needs work...etc. Since it is in an early testing phase they love feedback and are still working out the kinks. I also forgot to mention that with Page Creator you do not need to know HTML. However you can see everything you have done in HTML (this could be a great tool for the classroom). Also no site hosting is needed for Page Creator, which means free web pages!

Asgt. 5 Part Two

For my final technology project I created my own classroom website. Instead of using my practicum school I used the names of students in our technology class, thus creating a sort of template that I could use to adapt to whatever school I am at.

When I decided to do a website I was incredibly nervous. At the beginning of this class I was admittedly not very comfortable with technology. Even after learning so much this semester, the idea of creating my own website was daunting to say the least. After talking to Professor Sorenson I decided that Google Page Creator would be my best bet. After lots of trial and error, I was able to create my own website! Page Creator truly is a simple program, allowing you to add on to simple page layouts. The key is creating numerous pages and linking them to your home page. I discovered that through simple copy and paste you can include charts, lists and handouts that you have saved in Microsoft Word.

Page Creator is an excellent website builder for a beginner like me. I enjoyed adding links and pictures. However I did have a few issues with it. I found the layouts and backgrounds to be rather limiting. I enjoyed adding gadgets, such as coloring pages and a countdown, but just realized they have disappeared! I will work out the glitches and update my website as necessary.

Although I would not call myself a Page Creator expert quite yet, after spending a bit more time on it, I believe I will be. In the future I would like to explore alternate web page creator programs, perhaps Free Webs. I do think I posses a level of mastery where I could teach Page Creator to others. It would be a great program for elementary students to use to create their own websites. My vision is that each student has a page which they create and use to showcase their class work. Each site would then be linked to our classroom page.

To check out Page Creator yourself follow this link!

What do you think your classroom will look like in 5 years?

Wow! Who knows? This is an exciting question. Five years ago I never would have imagined document projectors, clickers, Smart Boards, classroom blogs, etc. It will be interesting to see where technology takes educators next! My hope for my classroom is that in five years I will have productive tools that supplement my teaching curriculum. Although technology can never replace effective teaching or curriculum, it can engage students and bridge gaps that teachers alone cannot. Hopefully my classroom will have computers for my students to use, a document projector (I have realized how this can help with classroom management by not having your back to the classroom) and ideally some sort of interactive white board.

I do realize that how my classroom looks will vary greatly depending on where I work. As a teacher it will be my responsibility to realize what my classroom needs and work for it. Look for an updated blog in five years with full details!!!

Share some things that have happened in your classroom...

I have had the opportunity this semester to observe a first grade classroom at Carnation Elementary School. I love this school! One of the greatest things I have been able to observe is how independent these students have become during literacy centers. During the first weeks of school the first graders spent a significant amount of time learning how to go to school. Since many of them had not enrolled in full day kindergarten, this year was their first chance to be at school all day. Learning classroom routines, school schedules, and socialization rules were a large part of these first weeks. One area where their growth has really shown through is in literacy centers. In just three months the students have gone from very dependent during centers to incredibly independent. It is exciting to see how well they do and just how much they have learned.

Watching students growth has been incredibly exciting and often surprisingly tangible. Students who could not write a complete thought the first month of school are now writing sentences! They continue to impress me with just how bright they are all. I am incredibly blessed to have an amazing class of first graders to observe! I look forward to next semester where not only will I be able to spend more time with them, but I will be able to teach them!