Story Telling Tools

 When it comes to the world of online tools for story telling, I was not expecting to find what I did when I went "searching" for sources.  From my personal perspective, a 4th grade teacher, there are many tools that I have used for my own school such as Prezi that are wonderful.  The thought of having my learners use these tools however was not as exciting of an idea.  I know that I was able to use these tools in order to prepare a presentation, but I was looking for more child friendly resources for the classroom.  

The thought would be that my students can retell their own creative stories in a more interesting and engaging way using online resources.  This is what has been driving my curiosity.  I have had students use StudentPublishing.com where they are creating a book online and it is printed for each student, but the following resources are ones that I have more recently found.  These sources allow students to create their own stories that will stay online to view.  They incorporate the use of music, animation, graphics, or drawing tools. 

Storyjumper

goanimate4schools

littlebirdtales

myebook

bitstripsforschools

animoto

simplebooklet

zooburst
storybird

A picture example of the Storybird site is shown below.  So far it is the site that I have the most interest in and will be using with my students.  The artwork that is created on the site and the different templates that can be used are very unique. 

 

Using online story telling tools with elementary students is a great concept because it can be incorporated into my literacy units with ease.  It gives students the true freedom to be as creative as they want.  It is also an easy way to embrace alternate forms of assessment within the classroom.  So often the formal assessments of pencil and paper can take over the classroom experience.  Summarizing is a very important comprehension strategy and the assessment of summarizing through one of these tools can be an excellent addition to any classroom.  



Resources:
www.storybird.com 

Twitter in the Classroom

Through researching for another project I have gained an interest in the topic of using Twitter within the classroom.  Personally, I am not a big Twitter user and I am not yet at that point where I even understand why people use it.  According to the reading I have done on the topic I would definitely be considered simply a "follower" and not a "participant." I can go on Twitter to follow what famous people are doing or to get up to date news on topics that interest me, but I cannot imagine documenting my own day on there through tweets.  I am not at the point yet where that is something that I wish to be doing and I do think that is mainly because I do not think anyone would be interested in what I was doing.  

I saw the following video and it really began to spark my interest as to how Twitter can be used within the classroom.

This teacher has really found a way to show that Twitter can be used as more of a positive addition to the classroom as opposed to a distraction.  In my opinion Twitter would have NEVER found its place into an educational setting for students younger than college level.  Through this video I have began to understand how Twitter can encourage students who would not normally share to voice their thoughts and opinions.  

As an elementary teacher the part that hit me the most was the student who shared his own struggle with being shy.  He voiced his previous experiences in school as being ignored and was not able to show that he had any voice of his own.  He found enough strength to share with the interviewer that he is finally able to speak up in class.  His description of the students finally acknowledging him was awesome and it really makes you think.  Could Twitter or a concept of sharing like it really engage students enough to make a true difference?  

I believe that this concept is an important one to remember and find out more about.  Having students be required  to have assignments, as college programs require, such as writing 3 tweets or respond to 3 blogs would be something positive to include in courses.  Students would be required to participate and respond to writing and readings be writing summaries as they do now.  The only difference is that it looks differently.  

I think that this teacher has got it right.  How each of us incorporate this concept into their own classroom will be the unique and interesting part.

Resources:

LearningCoach. (Sept 2011).  Retrieved from http://www.schooltube.com/video/1aa687d903d4caf2e335/CNN-Twitter on November 22, 2011.

Paperless Classroom?

This week the staff at my school received a notice regarding our paper use and a warning that if we continue to use the paper at the current rate, there will be no more at the end of the second quarter.  This really got me thinking.  Initially I got extremely worried and thought to myself, "how am I possibly going to make them have homework?"  After running it through my brain for several hours and coming up with ideas based on what I have been learning in my grad program, the end of the day statement was that it wouldn't be that difficult to go paperless.

Paperless classrooms are something of the future from what I have always understood.   I have read about Eminence Middle School in Kentucky for example who has started an experiment of going paperless.  Kentucky is not a far away country that is extremely different than Wisconsin where I teach.  Their experiment is described at http://paperlessclassroom.org and it is extremely interesting to read about.  Each student is given a palm computer and costs are cut for paper and invested in the initial cost of buying the computers for students.
This whole concept is wonderful to think about and I honestly get lost in it.  I can scan all of the "worksheets" that I feel are absolutely critical to the learning.  Students can be required to visit specific sites to practice their math facts and record their progress on a Google Doc instead of turning in a paper chart at the end of the month.  Their reading logs can be put into Moodle and sent to me weekly through the computer.  
Programs like Google Docs I have decided will be an essential part of the process.  Also Prezi, Wordle, Evernote, and Zoho challenge are resources that have popped up quite often in my research of the topic.  Without the one to one concept I do feel that this would be much more difficult.  Within the classroom I would utilize the Smart Board that I have more than ever before by requesting the remote control system for student answering.  As of now there are only a couple of sets for the whole school, but each day I have quick check ups on material I wish I had the remotes to monitor student progress.  I could gain instant access to student knowledge and have the results calculated more quickly and efficiently!  
Overall, this is not a topic that I want to forget about.  I plan on continuing to research the benefits of paperless classrooms (besides the obvious on our environment) and find what is working.  I have decided that I will change one paper aspect of my classroom each semester for the rest of the year and see what kind of difference it will make.  It is a small step, but definitely somewhere to begin. 

Resources:

anggg890. (2009) Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44fCDYx2Lb8 November 22, 2011.