Podcasting

This week we had to create a podcast!  At first I thought, "A Pod-wha?"After reading the resources and allowing myself time to play around on my computer to really learn what I can do with it, I think I've figured this thing out.  I first downloaded Audacity.  This came at the perfect time because I also had to create a custom CD for our jumprope performance so our songs would match the exact amount of time needed for each trick.  I took my laptop to school and interviewed two groups of  four students in my middle level and high level math classes.  I asked the students questions to see how their technology use at home compared to their use of technology at school.  I asked them to share the kinds of things they are able to do with technology.  At the ages of 10 and 11, they can do amazing things.  I also asked them to share what they would like to learn to do and their thoughts on technology.  

After interviewing my students I played around with Audacity to edit the tracks.  I cut, pasted, merged, and added other recordings of my voice to tie it all together.  I then exported the file and uploaded it to a hosting site.  I used PodcastMachine.com to upload  my podcast and I will include the link at the bottom of this post for you to listen to my final podcast.  

At this point my students are fairly happy with the amount of technology they get to use at school.  In January we got class sets of netbooks for each 5th grade classroom and the 5th grade teachers have eagerly been incorporating these into lessons and projects as often as possible.  The use of technology really can engage students in their learning.  One student in my high class said it best, "With the netbooks, we actually learn new things."  

Podcast Interview

Partnership for 21st Century Skills

This week one of our requirements was to visit the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21)website.  This is a national organization that advocates for 21st Century readiness for every student.  I have to admit, that initially, I was surprised that such an organization exists but then found myself questioning why this surprised me in the first place...I guess it just seemed surprising because in this technology filled world we live in, education is lagging far behind and many schools do not have the funding for equipment or personnel to incorporate such technology based lessons.  


The website is a wealth of information with numerous links for further resources.  It lists specific skills students will need to be successful in the workforce and offers links to access additional information.  The site breaks these skills down into six key elements:  Core Subjects, 21st Century skills, Learning & Thinking Skills, ICT Literacy, Life Skills, and 21st Century Assessments.  


As I clicked on link after link I began to feel somewhat overwhelmed by the number of links and information.  I assume it would be easier to navigate if I had a specific topic I was looking into instead of trying to get an overview of the entire site.  


One key idea that stood out to me was the concept of adding an assessment piece to determine students' mastery of 21st Century Skills.  This has intrigued me to look into this further.  Exactly what skills are being assessed, and most importantly HOW are they assessed in an efficient and timely manner?


Although I found this website initially to be slightly overwhelming (and lets be honest, that could just as easily be a result of being a week away from Spring Break, having weather that is 50+ degrees higher than normal temperatures for this time of year, and a combination of too little sleep and too many irons in the fire) I see how the site could potentially be beneficial for the classroom teacher struggling to fully understand how to incorporate 21st Century Skills in the classroom.  I will be looking more closely at the maps, but wish they had one specific for math, to help me determine which skills I really need to invest time on in my classroom to ensure my 5th graders are getting the skills they need to be ready for the following year.  I also will check back to the blog section and visit some of the links over the summer to better acquaint myself with what this site offers and how I can improve the use of technology in  my classroom.  

ZooWhiz

A site my kids are loving right now is  ZooWhiz. It is a free site that reinforces Math, Reading, Word Skills, Punctuation, and Grammar. I found it on iLearnTechnology.com, check out the link to learn more about this great resource and for ideas on how to integrate it into your classroom.


Students must answer questions (they pick the age level and content) to earn points. Most questions are worth 10 points even if they must answer 4 things in that one problem. Students can then buy animals for their zoo to help their zoo popularity and worth go up. In just two days I had a student who was so motivated he accessed this game at home before AND after school. He bought a dinosaur, some mythical creatures and more. He spent at least 5000 points/coins on animals, and with only earning 10 points per question, that proves it is a very motivating site! The site is still in its beginning stages but soon there will be features to allow teachers to access their students' activity reports. I have created class usernames for three of my four 5th grade classes and they all love it. I also love it because it presents math questions we haven't gotten to yet, or simply in a new way that makes students think and make connections. I monitor my class while they play this game and their questions have really activated great mathematical discussions.

Blogging in the Math Classroom

As a part of my school's technology committee, I recently had the opportunity to visit schools that have gone to 1:1 technology to see effective ways to incorporate technology in the classroom.  Most of these classrooms used blogging primarily in their reading and writing classes to give students an audience for their response to literature or writing samples, and to provide a place for collaboration for the class.  As a math teacher, I must admit, that I really had hoped to see more ways to use blogging in the math classroom, or at least that I would have taken the time to ask these amazing teachers if/how they use blogs in their math courses.  

To answer these questions myself, I reflected on this week's resources for my graduate course and I also conducted searches online.  

Some of the ways I could use blogging in my math classroom are:

• to provide links to videos, lessons, or supporting websites
• hoodmath
• to provide links to games that allow students to practice and strengthen their mathematical thining
• to provide class notes, study guides, or assignments
• to provide collaboration with classmates or students in other math classes  (My math classes are leveled, so having an opportunity to interact with students at various levels provides students with a number of different perspectives on mathematical approaches.  It also allows students to ask for clarification/assistance from other students if they are stuck on a topic.  This collaboration also allows students to offer help to others who need it, causing them to think about the topics in a different way.
• to keep the class updated on schedule changes, due dates, field trips, and other class events
• to ensure all students have the same access to information and that they won't miss out on an update or piece of news due to being absent
• to keep parents updated on class assignments and activities
• to allow students to create math problems to challenge their peers
• to post a weekly math challenge or math problem for students to respond to
• Timed Tests
• mathquiz.biz 
• Links to virtual manipulatives
• Homework help

Some of the great ideas I found at http://eport.education.illinois.edu/view/view.php?id=267 

• Math Journaling
• Today I got stuck on......
• How would you use ____________ in the real world?
• What I liked most about today's lesson was_________________.
• Explain to a student in the third grade what you learned about __________________ in class today. 
• Give a Problem to Solve
• Have students solve a problem using numbers and symbols and then explain the reasoning in words.
• Math Autobiographies
• Allow students to write about their experiences with math (personal struggles and successes).  Autobiographies help students see that they are part of the learning process
• Resources
• Students find resources on topics
• videos, games, lessons, worksheets, manipulatives
• Students explain why they selected their posted resources.

The schools I visited used Edmodo which is a social networking site for the classroom.  Schools can get a personal domain to increase the safety/security of this site.

I found other great features of this site listed at:  http://stanford.edu/group/pace/EVENTS/edmodo.pdf

• Class Calendar
• Post reminders
• Due dates and assignments are posted
• Teachers can see who has turned in each assignment and when (it has an easy feature that says "Turned in....18"
• Teachers can assign discussion topics and assignments to multiple classrooms
• Quizes-these can be automatically graded

I would love to learn about other ways teachers have used blogging effectively in their elementary math classrooms.  If you have any suggestions, please post them here.  

EDMODO-Looking for suggestions on how to use in the math classroom

I recently was able to visit a school who has implemented 1:1 technology K-12 through the use of IPods, IPads, and laptop computers.  I was amazed by the things they were doing using Edmodo in their Reading and Writing classes.  Have any of you used Edmodo in your math classrooms?  I currently teach 5th grade math and I'm looking for a way to use this site in my class.