Following Blogs to Stay Current

   On the subject of staying current, teachers are fortunate to have a wide variety of blogs out to follow. Using technology to help link us to people and ideas we might otherwise not have access to is a BRILLIANT thing! I have recently discovered the blog of Ms. Hamilton,  The Unquiet Librarian. I was most intrigued by her recent post on the concept of Makerspaces, which I have spent a great deal of time reading about lately. Check out the blog for some really great ideas!
http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/

 Following blogs is a great way to find great teaching ideas and thoughts for instruction. Got any good blogs to share?

Staying Current ~ A Must for Any Good Teacher or Libarian !

   When thinking about this important topic and how it relates to me currently as a third grade classroom teacher and hopefully in the future as a librarian, I look for ways to "keep up" and remain fresh. Luckily, AASL (American Association of School Librarians) has created a list for the 2014 Best Websites and Apps. Today, we are going to take a look at three of these websites and share some fun, innovative ways that we can use them in the library or classroom.

   I know teachers are not supposed to have favorites, but I do ~ with websites of course! Today's Meet is the first site I am sharing. My students and I use this site in my third grade classroom every day! In using this site for the first time, I set up my room (online), post my room details for students to log in--doing this step requires them only to sign in with their name. They do not need to join anything, pay for anything, agree to anything!! It is 100% FREE and totally easy to do! My kids log into my room every morning on their iPad. I can post it onto my Smart Board---all you need is a connection to the internet to make this little gem work. Now, WHY would you want to use this? Oh let me count the ways! In my language arts class, it has several uses:

•  In the morning, I will post a journal topic or writing assignment, soemthing I want kids to work on as they arrive. This eliminates the need for me to repeat myself 20 times as students enter the room! They will log in on their iPad or see it projected on the Smart Board and get right to work.
• I use it for a paper free, SAVE a tree exit pass! I will simply type in a question for them to answer. Say the lesson was on prefixes and suffixes ~ List two words that use the prefix re- and give the meaning of the root word with the prefix. They simply type their names and their answer!  (Criteria ~ I always say you have to come up with your own, no copying what someone else did--as they can see other answers on their screen!)
• Guided Reading ~ Literacy Stations ~ My students know that when I am with a group and they need me, instead of interrupting a classmate reading, they send me a message and I can see it on my iPad and respond without creating a disruption! 
• Food for Thought ~ I tell my kids that this is visible by classmates and me--So, think before your speak. This is not a chatline, we use it for educational purposes. 

   From the list I found a site that I have not used before but am brainstorming all the fun ways that I can use this one in class! It is KAHOOT! https://getkahoot.com/

    Here is what I learned about KAHOOT! It is a classroom response system that my students can access through their i Pads. Gonna make a QR code for my kiddos to use when accessing this one! I can create quizzes, discussions or even surveys--which they call "KAHOOTS" Funny!! This reminds me of an App I use called Socrative. It allows you to track progress through your assessments.

Here are my Classroom Thoughts for Implementation ~

• Using it for formative assessments ~ Quick Checks/On the Fly; Exit Passes.
• Post a Thick Question ~ Something I want kids to think about and respond to.
• Take a Survey ~ After reading a story, post a survey to allow students to share their thoughts and responses.
• Using it to create a fun review before an assessment

    The last website and certainly not least is POW TOON. I had fun creating a project in my class I with POW TOON. Now, I may just be going POW TOON crazy. POW TOON allows you to create this dynamic presentations that you can animate and show. It is a really exciting tool to give any presentation a real WOW factor! I am thinking of creating a POW TOON to introduce parents to me for our Open House and run it on my Smart Board. Check it out at http://www.powtoon.com/

   Hope you will take the time to check out these FREE sites and perhaps implement some of them this school year!

    Want to check out the list in its entirety? Here is a link to see the full list
http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards-guidelines/best-websites/2014#curriculum

Techie Moment ~ QR Codes and Augmented Reality

   This week we have a really fun assignment!!  I am exploring both QR Codes and Augmented Reality and how to utilize these within the library and or classroom. Let's start first with QR Codes, why because I love them!! I use these daily in my classroom. QR codes are popping up everywhere now and are very easy to use with a big impact on instruction. My kids are QR Code Crazy. What is a QR Code? Here is how I described them to some co-workers while teaching them how to create and use QR Codes in daily instruction. Let me say that this is my version of a QR Code definition ~ QR stands for Quick Response code and it stores data or information that can be accessed by scanning the code with an iPhone or Smart Phone device. Make sure you have a QR Code reader app installed to be able to scan and read the code. There are lots of sites out there that you can use to create QR Codes

•  http://www.qrcode-monkey.com/
•  http://www.qrstuff.com/ 
• http://www.i-nigma.com/CreateBarcodes.html

Now, for the fun part ~ How can you use this little darlings in the library or classroom? Oh, let me count the ways!!

1. Create a Scavenger Hunt ~ Now, this one took time to get it all together but the kids loved it. My teamies and I set up a language arts activity around our building. Our kiddos worked in pairs to complete it. One student carried the iPad and the other a clipboard and activity sheet. They had a blast finding all the codes and answering the questions !! By far a favorite!
2. I create codes for sites that we cannot bookmark on the iPads in order to reduce the risk of a student misspelling or incorrectly typing in a web address.  I create the code and label it with the name of the site it will take you to and post it on my QR Code Parking Lot Board.
3. Create a QR Code for test prep sites. Around the time we are prepping for SOL's my kiddos will scan a link to take them to an online practice site so they can take a prep test. 
4. QR codes can be set up with a list of instructions for stations or an activity. Students scan it and their instructions pop up! 
5. When our school each year does a program called, One School, One Book, I link the podcasts for each chapter reading to a QR Code that they can scan and access the reading for that day!
6. QR codes can be used to help students become familiar with different sections of the library! 

    I could go on and on about QR codes but how about showing you one? Here is a QR Code--you know I had to change the color to my happy green! Scan the code and it will take you to my weebly site (yes, it is still a work in progress) 

 Now, on to Part 2 of the assignment, augmented reality. I enjoyed exploring this tool and thinking about the many ways I could apply this tool to the library and classroom. Augmented reality allows you to use an image and overlay it with a video, when scanned, it comes to life ! Aurasma is the site that allows you to create an "aura." Take a peek at it and when you want to learn more about augmented reality let me say that the Aurasma TED talks by Matt Mills does an awesome job of bringing this topic to light in a very understandable way. Here is the link to that one ~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frrZbq2LpwI

  How can this technology be incorporated into the library and or classroom? I checked out Erin Klein's awesome blog , Kleinspiration (http://www.kleinspiration.com/2013/05/using-augmented-reality-via-aurasma-in.html) for some "inspiration" I loved her ideas of using augmented reality to create bulletin boards for open house. I will definitely be heading back to this site frequently.
In thinking about ways to use this in the library :

• This would be a great way to do a book report. Students could select and read their book, give a "book talk" that others could access by scanning the cover of the book.
• I like the idea from Erin Klein about making a talking word wall. Using students to create a definition of a word that would pop up when that word was scanned. 
• A great way to set up activities: like new student orientation. I bet I could get our principal to tape a tour of the school and we could have one of our student ambassadors use this to help welcome new students throughout the school year.

   Sorry for the wordy post, but there was a lot of goodies to share today! How will you use these tools in your instruction?