Podcasting- No iPod Necessary!

Have you caught podcasting fever yet? Podcasting involves creating sound files that can be saved, sent, and published to a website or blog. Students and parents can listen to the podcasts through their computers or even save the files to listen on an MP3 player, iPod, or other listening device. A few classroom ideas for podcasts include weekly spelling lists, class notes, readings from text books or other literature-kids can listen at their own pace and replay as often as needed. Because podcasts are simply sound files, not images, teachers can have students create recordings to be published to the web safely-no pictures or names of students need to be included. For information about finding, subscribing, listening, or creating podcasts, click here http://learninginhand.com/podcasting/

Virtual Manipulatives in Math

Teachers understand the power of using manipulatives to increase students' understanding of abstract math concepts, but at times cost and storage issues may prevent the use of manipulatives. A new idea is to use virtual manipulatives, which are defined as interactive web-based visual representations. The power behind these manipulatives is their level of interaction and their manipulability. Of course a computer is needed, but many free websites offer a variety of virtual manipulatives. Check out this article for at least 10 ideas/sites http://www.techlearning.com/article/14468

Interactive Math, Science, English site

The BBC (British Broadcasting Company) has great programming and also supports an educational website, which hosts interactive math, science, and English games and activities. Try the science activities for interactive learning, which can immediately be followed by brief online quizzes over the activities just completed. Activities included target about third grade and up (including adults-I had a great time quizzing myself on lots of English and science facts!). Click to check it out http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/

Digital Readers

E-books are textual documents that have been converted in an electronic format and are displayed on e-book readers (like Amazon's Kindle), computers, or other mobile devices like calculators, cell phones, and MP3 players. One of the most unique features of e-books are their size, or lack of it. Students and teachers can access e-books anywhere without carrying heavy books back and forth or dealing with the problem of forgetting materials at home or school. There are lots of sites with free e-books; I like http://www.tumblebooks.com/ Sign up for a free account to get started. The Tumble Readables have a variety of choices for different age levels and interests. Students can read along as the text is highlighted or choose to turn up the audio and have the book read to them; bookmarks can be used to keep their place if students can't finish the book in one sitting. Fonts can also be increased if needed. Not only are Tumble Readables convenient, but also great for students who need assistance with reading fluency or would like to have the same passages read to them more than once to assist with comprehension.

Computer Lab Teacher's Survival Guide

Looking for complete units to use with your K-6 students in the computer lab? The Computer Lab Teacher's Survival Guide found here for around $25 http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Lab-Teachers-Survival-Guide/dp/1564841782 includes units on computer basics, keyboarding, technology ethics, real-world solutions, Internet research, telecommunications, multimedia presentations, graphs, and how a computer works. Each lesson includes tips for both independent and guided practice, extension and remediation activities, as well as accommodations and ideas for assessing each lesson. Published by the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE), these units align to the National Educational Technology Standards which are the basis for our SD Educational Technology Standards.

Project-Based Learning: A 21st Century Skill

Project-Based Learning provides students with real-world experiences through activities like simulations and case studies and can increase student motivation. Incorporating project-based learning can eliminate the "When am I ever going to use this?" question because the projects are mirrored after real life situations and allow the students to immediately apply their knowledge and engage in higher-level thinking. For videos, ideas, and possible projects, click on http://www.edutopia.org/project-learning

Google Docs

I've heard people talk about using google docs, but didn't know what they were, so I did some research. What a neat tool for sharing documents, especially those that need multiple editors! Google docs is a way to post a document on the Internet and allow the users of your choice to have access to the document, spreadsheet, PowerPoint, etc. for editing purposes. This eliminates attaching a document in an email, allowing others to make changes and saving the doc on their computer, and then sending the new version to you or all the others involved. This way everybody sees the changes as they are made, making collaboration easier and more efficient. All you need is a computer with Internet access and a free Google account. This video has a description and brief instructions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA

ePals

Imagine your students interacting with classrooms across the globe and participating in projects with students from other countries. Providing these collaborative experiences to our students in SD is easier than you think. ePals is a free service that allows you to safely connect your students with other classrooms. Teachers can ask to be matched with other grade level or content alike classrooms or students, allow their students to create and participate in blogs, write to penpals, and collaborate on projects all within the epals website. Visit http://www.epals.com to learn more about this free opportunity.

RSS Feeders

What the heck is RSS? An RSS feeder allows the Internet to find the content for you rather than you searching for content. Here's how it works. . . Users create a "reader" through Google or other site, then users subscribe to the sites of their choice. Your reader regularly checks your subscribed feeds for new work, downloads, and updates and posts it to your homepage. Rather than you searching your favorite sites for content, any new content will be posted automatically to your homepage, putting everything in one place. Check out this video for a brief tutorial on getting started with RSS feeds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU

21st Century Skills

Almost a year ago, Governor Rounds signed on to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills project, joining SD with 10 other states to work towards the goal of implementing 21st Century Skills into SD schools. So, what are 21st Century Skills? These skills include learning and innovation; information, media, and technology; life and career skills; core subjects; global awareness; and financial and economic literacy, to name some of the skills in the list. As you can see, computers are only part of 21st Century Skills, which focus on assisting students in being knowledgeable and productive citizens and consumers in a technologically advanced and changing environment. Go to http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ to find out more about 21st Century Skills, the partnership, and ideas for teaching and assessing the skills.

Revisit an old favorite-PBS

I have always enjoyed the programming on PBS; for pure entertainment, I love the British comedies. As a teacher, I utilized many PBS programs to bring real-life events to my students and to generate both discussion and writing, and was happy to find my local library had a good selection of PBS programming and guides available for checkout if I missed taping a show. Now PBS offers teacher resources via a website http://www.pbs.org/teachers/ One of my favorite features is the subject area search. Simply click on one of the subject areas, select a grade level and specific topic area to bring up a list of lessons. These lessons include a comprehensive description, so it's easy to see right away if it will include what you want without wasting time reading through additional pages. Also included are websites, books, and other resources that enhance the lesson. Not all lessons are based on PBS programming, so DVDs, etc. are not required.

Assessing Technology in SD

In spring 2009, all eighth graders in SD will participate in a mandatory assessment based on their proficiency on educational technology standards. This online assessment is not hardware or software based, but emphasizes the educational technology standards that were adopted almost two ago, which include informational literacy, digital citizenship, and appropriate technology use. For more information on the assessment and standards, as well as a sample online assessment, read the article found here http://doe.sd.gov/educationonline/2008/December/art_article5.asp from the DOE Education Online.

Tech Learning Magazine online

Want a resource for teacher-friendly articles and information about technology? If you have a spare minute or two, browse through Tech Learning magazine online http://www.techlearning.com/index.php I especially like the tech guy question feature, as they are short, easy to understand, and make learning about technology fun, even for a tech newbie like me!

Writing Strategies for Middle and High School Teachers

Writers' Workshop, writing in the content areas, revising, editing, which type of writing instruction has been proven to have the greatest impact on student achievement in writing? This document http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/COI%20SPED%20synopsis1.pdf from the Center on Instruction is a meta-analysis, or compilation of years of studies on which types of writing instruction are most (or least) effective for student achievement. The authors reviewed scientifically-based research and list 11 strategies in order from greatest effect to least effect. Of particular interest to me was what the research shows about stand alone grammar instruction, meaning done independently of student writing, as in, stand alone grammar exercises from textbooks, workbooks, or worksheets. Hopefully, this article will reinforce what you are already doing and give you some ideas of strategies to incorporate into your classroom.

50 Web Tools for Digital Storytelling

I know you've heard of PhotoStory, but did you know there are more than 50 other web-based tools you can use for digital storytelling? Check out this wiki http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/StoryTools by Alan Levine; he not only provides links and directions for each of the tools, but has also used all of the tools to create versions of the same story about his dog to give users a great visual of how each tool differs and ideas for their uses. Other visitors to his wiki have also uploaded examples of their work under each tool.

Think of the slide shows and other uses your students can come up with using these tools-timelines for historical events, sequences of science projects, novel summations, bring their own writing to life. . . Kids will be excited about the opportunities available through these digital storytelling tools.

Spanish Language and Culture resource

Buenos Dias! This website http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/index.php has everything a Spanish teacher needs to offer online enrichment lessons on culture, language, conjugation, you name it. The culture study modules include videos, songs, and grammar and language lessons that students can do independently or in groups. I think one of the best features is the interactive "assignments" that students can complete and submit online and are immediately scored for instant feedback and correction.

Thinking back to my 12 years of teaching Spanish, this would have been a welcome resource to use on days when I was absent, but still wanted the kids to something with Spanish even though the sub would not be able to lead a lesson in Spanish. It would also be a great tool for classrooms with laptops for each student; kids could utilize this site when they are done with tests or other work.

Intervention Website Three-Reading

You've done both formative and summative reading assessments with your students and identified their areas of need, now what do you do? For a comprehensive list of reading interventions, visit the Florida Center for Reading Research website at http://fcrr.org

Look for the Student Center Activities and browse through hundreds and hundreds of interventions and lessons complete with all needed printable materials for everything from fluency to letter recognition, to improving comprehension when reading nonfiction and literary elements such as characterization, plot elements, and everything in between.

Ideal for individual centers, partner work, small groups, or whole class instruction, these research-based strategies are easy to use immediately-no additional fancy materials needed.

What is SBR?

SBR, or scientifically-based research, is a term used often in education. Districts, schools, and teachers should be using it; SD district accreditation plans, school improvement plans, and consolidated applications should reference it; and students should be experiencing it. But, what is it? Simply put, instructional strategies and teaching materials that are based on SBR have been proven through research studies to be effective in increasing student achievement. For examples and ideas of SBR, visit the website for the Center on Instruction found at http://www.centeroninstruction.org/index.cfm The work of Center on Instruction is focused on the areas of reading, math, science, special education, and English Language Learners, and provides SBR ideas for those content areas and populations.

Making Science Fun!

If I were able to go back in time, I think I would have changed my major to science! I did get to teach 7th grade science for one year back in the olden days before things like Highly Qualified status and Praxis tests, and I had so much fun doing experiments and building and discovering things with the kids. Steve Spangler is the guru of making science interactive, and above all fun. His blog http://www.stevespangler.com/ is filled with experiments, ideas, and videos which can be shown to students or simply used to give teachers ideas. Since it is time to think about shopping for holiday gifts, his latest blog entry gives 25 ideas for FUN educational gifts, including a "magic wand" which actually works through static electricity. Very cool-I want one.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I promised I would blog every day, and one topic I promised to blog about was technology. The technology in today's blog is . . . the crockpot! My favorite fun blog is called A Year of Crockpotting found at this link http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ The author decided to use her crockpot every day for one year and blog about it. Each day she posts her recipe, pictures, and comments from family and friends about how the recipes turned out. It's fun to see how creative a person can get with a crockpot, and the recipes I have tried have been delicious. Recipes for non-food items like candles and other craft items are also included. Hopefully the cooking portion of your Thanksgiving is over by now, but you can always refer to this blog for ideas on using your leftover turkey. Happy crockpotting!

What's on the DakotaSTEP?

Educators in South Dakota are well-versed in content standards-we're involved in writing them, revising them, mapping them, and teaching them. Teachers are also well aware that standards are assessed both formatively in the classroom, but also summatively on the DakotaSTEP test. I'm often asked what will be assessed on the DSTEP, and instead of just referring teachers to standards, I often refer them the the test blueprints found here http://doe.sd.gov/octa/assessment/dakSTEP/index.asp Just scroll down to the 2009 STEP section and you will find the blueprints for math, reading, and science.

The blueprints tell you not only what indicators will be assessed, but also which standards WILL and WILL NOT appear on the 2009 DSTEP, and how many questions per standard and strand. For example, in every grade level math test, algebra has the most questions with the measurement strand having the least questions. Reading and science follow the same protocol, with some strands heavily assessed and some with very few questions. Having the DSTEP blueprints will not solve every problem, but might provide teachers with more information about how to align curriculum as needed.

Writing in the Content Areas-math

Incorporating writing in the content areas is a great avenue to increase higher level thinking skills in your students and allow you as the teacher to do a quick check for understanding. Having them write just a few sentences can really highlight what concepts students have mastered and which concepts need more attention. Imagine asking your students to write out the steps to a math problem or explaining in writing how they came to the answer or how they know it is correct. Allowing them to share what they wrote with each other is also a great way to encourage peer assistance; it seems there is always a kid or two who can explain things in a way that reaches the kids who struggle.

I recently found a blog called "Let's Play Math!" which is all about using games, reading, writing, and challenging activities in K-12 math. This entry deals specifically with writing in the math class http://letsplaymath.wordpress.com/2008/10/06/writing-to-learn-math-ii/#more-1869
The author gives math journal prompts, ideas for math poetry, essays, word plays, etc.
Happy writing!

Assessment Questions-Free of Charge

We are all certainly familiar with the Dakota STEP test, but what do you know about the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP? The NAEP assesses what the average 4th, 8th, or 12th grader in the United States should be able to know and do. The NAEP is given across the nation to compare achievement in states and to track changes over time in grades 4, 8, and 12 in math, reading, writing, science, history, etc. If you teach grades 4, 8, or 12, you may have had some or all of your students included in a test sample. NAEP hires its own assessment teams to plan, administer, and ship the tests at no cost to the state or school districts. How do the NAEP and the DSTEP compare? The NAEP has higher cut scores, meaning it is more difficult to score proficient on the NAEP than it is on the DSTEP. Even though, SD students generally continue to do well on the NAEP. Our DSTEP and NAEP reading scores are fairly similar, but there is a larger gap between our NAEP and DSTEP math scores. Want to see some sample test questions? http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/itmrls/

The questions tool allows you to select grade, content area, and the year from which the question was used. (Reading questions also have the reading passages, and the writing prompts have samples of student writing)

Want to play your own version of "Are you Smarter Than a 4th, 8th, or 12th Grader?" Click the test yourself icon to take a short sample test and have it immediately scored and compare your results with how kids across the nation responded to the questions. Try using the questions to assist with teaching test-taking skills or project the site for whole class involvement.

Intervention Website Two

Probably the best part of my job is being able to visit so many wonderful schools, teachers, and classrooms. I usually go with the intent to share some ideas at the request of a teacher or administrator, but I always come away with so many great ideas from them! I was recently at Huron Middle School and saw intervention wheels hanging in many of the classrooms and teacher planning areas.

These intervention wheels come from a Texas company called http://www.mentoringminds.com/ Mentoring Minds has a variety of products for grades K-8 (but they could certainly be used at the high school level) for interventions and teaching materials in most content areas. What caught my eye about the wheels was their similarity to the EZ grader I used to use-just slide the card over to show what the student's percentage would be based on the total number of questions and the number right. Turn the intervention wheel to a new intervention to try, document its success or failure over time, turn the wheel and try another one. The wheels are about $9.00. Check out their online newsletter and other products.

P.S. I do not work for this company, but after seeing their products in use at a school, wanted to share the resource with you.

Intervention Website One

As we use more formative classroom assessments to find out what our students know now compared to what they need to know, we search for ideas to assist us in closing the gap. One great website I found is http://www.interventioncentral.org Website author Jim Wright is a school psychologist who offers downloads, lesson ideas, short movies, and articles on everything from several printable behavior contracts to intervention ideas on reading fluency, math, motivation, you name it. Check out the peer reading/tutoring manuals for ideas and directions on implementing this strategy into your classroom.

Three great things about this website: Jim keeps it updated with new information all the time, everything is free, and all ideas are applicable to k-12 learners with or without diverse needs.

Welcome to the blog of ESA 4 in South Dakota!

Welcome to my first day as a blogger. I have decided to start blogging as both a means to share ideas with the teachers of Region 4 and to create a personalized opportunity for me to learn more about technology and 21st century skills. Check back each day for a new blog with ideas about curriculum, assessment, teaching, professional development, technology, and education updates from ESA 4 and the SD Department of Education.