Five for Friday: The FETC Edition

I *should* be heading to bed right now, but I have several tabs open in my browser that I’m not ready to close yet. As a compromise to myself, I decided to blog about a few things I’ve discovered this week at FETC.

(I’ll be busy conferencing and driving back home, so I’m writing my Five for Friday on a Thursday night. )

1

educade.org

This morning we heard Lucien Vattel. He is CEO of GameDesk and founder of Educade. While I have dabbled with gaming in the classroom before, I had honestly tuned out previous mentions to this resource. When he started to show specific example during the keynote, I started frantically taking notes.

I already signed up for a free account and have filled my backpack with games and activities I want to try with my students. We saw examples of Motion Math, Dragon Box, Jason’s Rollercoaster, and Reach for the Sun being used in the classroom. I love how you can search for the games by age and topic!

2

BrainPop GameUp

Wednesday night at the exhibit hall opening event, I got to meet a celebrity.

For those of you who are not elementary teachers, that is Moby from BrainPop.  Today I went to a session on games and assessment. One of the resources mentioned was Game Up from BrainPop.



What impressed me most is that BrainPop has compiled games from other sources as well as their own creations. Again, these are easy to search and have many potential classroom applications.

3

Scan to Learn

I’ve been bit by the augmented reality bug. I am still so impressed! I posted about using colAR in the STEAM Lab earlier this week. I was even more impressed when they names colAR one of the four WOW resources at the Tech Share.

I plan to use Aurasma to add some augmented reality to our cardboard arcade, so I went to a session today about using augmented reality in the classroom.

Karen was fantastic. I do not yet have iPads in my lab, but I discovered some computer based AR sites, too. This video is one worth checking out.

I’m also thinking about using Heart Cam to give AR Valentines to my students. Nothing says, "Happy Valentine's Day!" quite like a virtual beating human heart from your STEAM teacher. I’m still working out the details, but I think it just might work!

4

Parallels Access

This was another WOW from the Tech Share. The idea is that you can remotely access programs from your Mac or PC on your iPad. The video explains it better than I can.

It is $49.99 for a year subscription, but as a conference attendee at the TechShare, I was given a subscription to try out through the end of the year. I’m excited to try it out once I get home. I’ll let you know how it goes!

5

The last one is too hard to pick, so I'll write about two. I guess that makes it Six for Thursday, but that's okay.

I went to an fantastic session on Google Apps. I just looked at the presenter info and discovered that one of the two presenters was Susan from The Digital Scoop.

Our eChalk subscription should be going live in a couple of weeks, so I was looking for ways to use Google Drive with my students. I was taking notes like crazy to keep up with all the fantastic things Jason and Susan have done with their classes. Thank goodness for Evernote!

I also went to a session about STEAM. I usually walk away from STEAM sessions disappointed because the presenter spent too much time talking about what STEAM is and not enough time talking about the ‘how’ and the available resources. Michael from 21Centuryedtech found a nice balance between the two. He said that he has a blog post coming up about STEAM resources that I can't wait to read.

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I’ve spent the last two nights in my hotel room pouring over the resources from the workshops, sessions, and speakers. I have quite the ‘to do’ list of things to try out when I get back.

I miss my two little ones and the Irishman, but I am going to enjoy one last night in a bed of my own without anyone to wake me up!

Five for a Rainy Friday

While most of the country has been dealing with snow this week, we had a major rain event here in south Florida. It has been a while since I linked up with Five for Friday. There is a definite theme to my five.

1

My day started with a 4am wake up call from my two year old. When I got to the kids’ bedroom, I heard an ominous dropping sound. Sure enough, there was a leak in the bathroom. Not wanting to wake the kids, I threw the drenched towel in the bathtub and moved the toddler potty under the drip.

2

At 5:30am my alarm went off. I took a shower and snuck downstairs to finish a presentation and sub plans. At about 6:15, I was waiting for the iron to heat up. A few minutes later, I learned via social media that the local school district canceled classes. This was significant because our day care closes when the school district closes. I teach in a single school district. My husband and I both had school. Oh, boy!

3

I was actually only going to be in my classroom for an hour today. I presented at a technology exchange at the university. There were only 7 presenters. 5 were university professors. The main event was on the other campus. I have never presented via teleconferencing. It was unnerving. To make matters worse, there was only one other professor in the room with me. I wasn’t even sure which camera to look at or if they were seeing me or my screen. It went well, but it was odd.

4

After that I headed home so my husband could go to work. I called the condo association to report the leak in the roof. I won’t go into it here, but they are questioning the root cause of the leak. My wonderful neighbor is going to fight it with us. I fear this is going to be an ordeal.

5

The rain that fell last night was incredible. We had 12.7 inches. On my way to work there were roads closed and subdivisions flooded in. As soon as I got to the city limits where my school is location everything cleared up. There were hardly even puddles on the road. It was unreal.

Just north of my house, I-95 was closed. They had 22 inches of rain, most of it in just 3 hours. They are calling it a once in a 100 year rain event. 

I’ve had snow days (not in Florida), hurricane days, and now rain days. So much for the dry season!

Five for Friday: The one with the hashtags

One of the blogs I used to read, back when I had time to read blogs, did a Five for Friday five word hashtag thing. I don’t remember who it was, but I’m going to borrow the idea this week.

 

#newcomputersgreattosee

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#pumpkinspumpkinspumpkinarteverywhere

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#smartboardfinallycomingMonday

#couldntstandtheplainwood

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#inprogressbookpagecollage

#thissuckerisREALLYbig

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#Whoooelselovesaweekend?

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#WhoooolovesaTpTsale? 

This one takes more than 5 words! TeachersPayTeachers is having a FLASH SALE and giving 10% off all purchases if you use the code fb100k.  I am joining in and holding my own 20% off sale in my store.  That means you get a combined savings of 28%. Enjoy!

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Got any hashtag comments for me?

Five for Something–What I’ve Learned

I intended to blog last night, but it was quite a day. My two-year-old was sent home sick 20 minutes after he got to day care. The Irishman picked him up and they had a great day napping at home together.

We’d planned a trip to the pumpkin patch and to the library this afternoon, but we decided to keep the little guy home for a good nap. He still isn’t quite 100%. My almost-four-year old headed off dressed up in her Ariel outfit for an afternoon of fun with her Daddy. My husband is a fantastic father!

During this nap time I was trying to decide the best way to update the blog. I’ve decided to share five things I’ve learned since moving from third grade to the STEAM lab.

1

When ordering giant computer tables, 2 bases and 2 sides means you ordered one table. I got the e-mail saying that the table we ordered August 5th would be delivered Tuesday. The singular “table” concerned me. Our purchasing director looked at the quote and tried to reassure me that it was two tables. Then she called to check.



My ONE table was delivered on Thursday. In the middle of class. I had to make of last minute plan changes. Twice. It took longer than they thought to put it together. (The picture was taken after school on Friday, so the stools were already on the old tables so that they can clean the floors.)

The table is lovely. It should have 12 iMacs on it in the next week or so. My only complaint is that there is only one table. They are ordering a second one. I’m hoping it gets here before Christmas!

2

When ordering a SMART board, I’ve learned to pay attention to the size of the wall.
I’d barely recovered from the table-installation while trying to paint in the room episode when they told me the SMART board would be installed Friday.

They wheeled in the giant board and all the equipment at 9am during my planning period on Friday. They took a look at the wall and said it wouldn’t work.I watched as the equipment I’ve waited months for was wheeled back out of my classroom.



Two hours later, in the middle of my first grade painting project the electrician showed up and removed a light bulb. He is going to come back next week to remove the light fixture so that the SMART board will fit. They will try again to install the SMART board a week from Monday.

Fingers crossed!

3

On the plus side, I’m learning how to organize things. I have six classes a day (one each for grades K-5) for 50 minutes each. There are two minutes between classes. My days fly!

I got this “Tasty Toppers” set from Really Good Stuff years ago. (I think it has been discontinued – I bought it on clearance) I used it when I taught third grade, but it has been a life saver in the lab!



Now that I’ve explained the “May Do” options, they know exactly what they can do without me having to give instructions again.

4

LEGOs have saved me. In my third grade class, my students had a book in their desk. I had other activities for early finishers, but there was always that one to fall back on. After about a week I knew I needed to figure something out.



All my classes, kindergarten through fifth grade, beg to play with the LEGOs. These three tubs belong to one of the middle school teachers. Her son is now in college, but his collection is still getting much love!

I’ve gotten wooden blocks and LEGOs from teachers with college age kids who have long outgrown them. My next project for tonight is to create a poster to ask for donations of old building toys.  We are a K-12 school. Our high school is a dual enrollment program with some amazing students. I suspect that there are more than a few of those kids with old collections of K’NEX or LEGOs or gears that my students would be thrilled to use. If that doesn’t work, I’ve started researching ideas for a Donor’s Choose project.

5

I’m spending hours researching art projects. Until my computers are set up, I’ve been a little more art heavy on the STEAM than I’d expected to be. I’ve learned to use Pinterest in ways I never expected. I’ve even surprised myself and created several of my own projects.

For example, I looked at looked for something to do with cutting practice with kindergarten. We spent time practicing with lines. The final activity was to cut on the lines and to turn the finished product into a rug.




Right now I’m working on a collaborative project with all 18 classes using old book pages. After 10 years of teaching I have a box of books with pages falling out. I couldn’t part with them, but now I’ve found a use for them.

Each grade level is working on a different part. K and 1 painted blue sheets for the background. Second grade painted colorful half sheets for the board border. My third, fourth, and fifth grade classes have all painted fall leaves.



I’ve painted “Fall into Learning” letters and a tree trunk. I hope to have it all put together this week. Expect pictures!

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So there you have it. Five things I’ve learned so far this year. I’m enjoying the change, but I will be thrilled when all my technology is in place.

Enjoy your weekend!

Five for Friday

Today chewed me up and spit me back out.  I won’t go into it, but I’ve decided to take the afternoon for myself. I’m looking at Pinterest and reading blogs. I haven’t done either of those things in a while. I miss it!

So, I am determined to post my Five for Friday ON Friday this time. Here goes nothing…

1

Today was my first day teaching art. While the rest of my day was rough, I enjoyed my classes. (For those who may be new to my blog, I am in a STEAM lab this year. I teach 6 classes a day K-5 on a three day rotating schedule.) I was a little nervous about it. My first two classes were a little crazy, but by the end of the day I managed to finish projects AND clean up before they left me. With only two minutes between classes it is a bit hectic!

2

Speaking of Art, my first project was based on The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. I started with the story:

I’ve already had several students complain that they are not good at art, so I thought it would be a good starting ground.

I gave each student frames to fill with their dot creation. They got 4-8 frames depending on the grade level. I had stations set up around the room for them to create using crayons, markers, paper/glue, and watercolor.



After they completed their dot art, they put it together into their own dot gallery. They look fantastic!



It wasn’t the most technical of lessons, but they were really creative and even the fifth grade boys who rolled their eyes when I started the lesson got into it in the end.

My next step is to sign up for International Dot Day. It just so happens to be on my birthday.

I want to get each student to design one more dot that we will hang up on the GIANT bulletin boards outside my room. With 18 classes K-5, it will be a lot of dots. 

3

Earlier this week I did some more with the Common Core Digital Citizenship Curriculum. I printed these in poster size.

image source

image source

I found with the number of our students on Instagram, I was using the middle school poster starting in third grade. Crazy! It is a great resource though!

4

My own two little ones have requested a picnic in the living room the last two nights. No picnic is complete without popcorn and a movie.

After a long day at work, I can’t complain!

5

I knew Monday was Labor Day, but it wasn’t until yesterday that I realized we are off on Thursday as well. Many of the schools in South Florida don’t have school on the major Jewish holidays. I am not Jewish myself, so I didn’t realize it was next week. Talk about a welcome surprise! I won’t turn down a three day week!

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Enjoy your long weekend!

Five for Friday…Late again

**I actually wrote this on Friday night and it has taken me all weekend to find time to post it. Such is life!**

The first week of school. There is nothing quite like it! My husband had to work late tonight. I sat down with the kids after work watching Curious George. I woke when my husband called at 7 to say he was on his way home. Thank goodness the kids had snacked and dinner was only leftovers!

I hope to get into a more regular blogging routine again, but right now I’m just trying to figure out life as a specialist.

1

I had fun teaching this week. I’m exhausted, but I enjoyed teaching. Teaching in the lab is completely different from third grade. I have 6 preps on a three day rotation. 

It was half way through the first day that it dawned on me that I have to learn names for 18 classes. On the plus side, I feel like a movie star walking down the halls. I teach every kid in K-5, so everyone wants to say hi or give me a hug.

2

Kindergarten kicked my rear. Our school does a staggered start for K, so there were only six kids for each of the first three days. 

“I’m hungry. When’s lunch? I like art. You’re pretty. Where’s my teacher? Is it lunch time yet? I have to go potty. When do we eat lunch? I have a cat. I’m hungry. Can I go potty now? I have a lunch box. Is it time for lunch yet? I have a sister. When do we go to lunch?”

It was a full 50 minutes of talk. Seriously. Can you tell that I have them right before lunch? 

I had a Kindergarten rotation during my student teaching, but it was November. August is a completely different ball game. They were nonstop. 

Thankfully it is already improving. A little.

3

The computers they ordered for my room are here, but the electricity and data ports still have not been upgraded, so they cannot be used yet. There was a mistake in the work order or something like that. They *might* be in over the weekend to work on it. There is a pretty good chance I will have to teach in the media center all next week, but no one knows for sure yet. I’m all about being flexible this year!

The picture is the hallway outside my room. I made these posters spelling out The Science Technology Engineering Art Math Lab. I love the way my room has come together so far and cannot wait until all the updated furniture and technology is in place! 

4

I’ve started with the digital citizenship curriculum from Common Sense Media. It has been eye opening! I looked at the first lesson in the 3-5 curriculum and was worried that it was going to be boring. Not at all! The conversations it has led to with the fifth graders has been a bit scary. So many of these kids already have Instagram and Facebook accounts, but they had no idea of the potential dangers or potential repercussions from irresponsible actions online. They have been completely wide eyed as we talk. I felt strongly about starting with this unit. We’re only one lesson in I’m sold already.

5

I’ve made some awesome connections this week. Several years ago I worked on the South Florida Arts and Early Literacy Research Project with the Music in Education National Consortium through the New England Conservatory. I’ve contacted several of the university partners from that project this week and have promising leads for help integrating art into the STEAM lab. I also had a parent express an interest in partnering with engineering projects. I think it has lots of potential!

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For now the kids are in bed and my husband just brought home some take out for a date night at home. 

Enjoy your weekend!

(Or what’s left of it! I wrote that on Friday when the weekend was still ahead of us. Now I have a serious case of the Sunday night blues and ironing to do instead of date night. Sigh.)

Five for Friday

1

Thursday night was the VIP reception at the Marzano Conference. Unlike the presenters reception I was actually invited and dressed appropriately this time. (Click here for that story)

We expected a large group of teachers to be recognized. It turns out that the team of five from our school were the only five teachers able to attend the reception. (The other team was from Arizona and did not travel.)



We got autographed books/certificates and mingled with the real VIPs. It was a surprisingly fun evening. We met a principal from Australia, talked movies with Bob Marzano, and were treated like stars.

2

Two of the teachers from our group have videos currently being used for LSI training. We did not know that until the trip. The two teachers kept getting stopped and called by name by people who had watched their video in training sessions. It was like walking around with movie stars.

LSI has lots of video recorded, but we didn’t know what it was being used for until now. (Other than the research study.) There were pictures of our kids in the promotional catalog and clips from our classrooms on the video montage at the end of the conference.

3

My daughter told everyone that I was going out of town for a concert. She is only three. I had to convince her day care teachers that a concert would be more fun, but it was really a conference for work!

4

I am still researching technology for the STEAM lab next year. A lot of the companies I am looking at will be at ISTE 2013 in San Antonio next week. I would LOVE to be there myself! I have a little bit of conference envy. I’m tempted to ask if the school would pay for a virtual attendance registration. 

5

I’ve already reached that point in the summer where I am panicked that summer is moving by too quickly! There is still so much I want to do! I’m going to make a summer bucket list tomorrow. What are you hoping to do this summer?

Five for Friday: Summertime

Even though school is out, I’m still working. Friday has not lost its appeal! (Edited to add: I was so tired last night I fell asleep working on this post. It guess that goes to show that some things don’t change!)

 

1

I am teaching drama in our afternoon enrichment camp at school. I’ve done this for the last 4 or 5 years. We call it drama, but I really do mostly songs and games. I usually do stick puppets around week three just to mix things up a little. It is easy, fun, and the pay is good.
The biggest shock is always the kindergarteners. They are really soon-to-be- kindergarteners. This year we have several with summer birthdays, so they are only 4 right now. I usually don’t take too much notice, but next year I will be teaching K-5. It is going to be quite different!
One of the littlest girls reminds me so much of my own daughter. One of the other teachers said the same to me today, so I guess I’m not the only one who thinks so. This little girl has started calling me the “Drama Queen.” Two summers ago I was very pregnant with my son. Another pint-sized camper called me “Drama Mama.” Gotta love it!

2

My husband usually puts me to shame with gift giving. This year I bought him something he has wanted for years. He is like a child playing with it. I’m having fun just watching him!

3

Next week I am going to the Marzano Conference. Due to my participation in the case study filming this year, I am considered a “special guest.” We were told that means that we are going to an extra event with all the VIPs. Before the school year was out they also mentioned that their writer was going to interview each of the five of us from my school who took part. We didn’t think much of it. The liaison we work with said it would just be a few questions.

Last week the five of us got an e-mail from the writer. They have set aside a room and cameras to film the interview. We already e-mailed to ask about the kinds of questions to expect. I was filmed 10 times this year - four lessons, three coaching sessions, pre/post interviews for my formal observation, and a Common Core planning session.

I worked really hard this year not to duplicate outfits. I didn’t realize the planning meeting was going to be filmed and I repeated a blue sweater. My biggest problem is that my “nice” clothes are dresses. I am a dress kind of girl. For filming you have to wear a microphone. Microphones work much better with pants or skirts.

I have a couple of gift cards to spend so I am going to try to find the time to pick out something new before I go. If we do this project again next year I’m going to need a new wardrobe!

4

I made a rough plan for my room next year. Now that school is out I’ve had a chance to dig around the new room some. I’m turning the art room into a STEAM Lab. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics)



This is NOT to scale. I’m not that good. On the far left are the built in counter/cabinets/shelves/sinks. I haven’t decided on the shape of tables yet, but the brown tables will be for iPad and art projects.
I’m looking at rugs. I found several here that I have been looking at.

The polka dot thing is this cabinet:



The purple rectangles in the bottom left are some of the same cabinets in purple that look only slightly better than the before picture. I have plans for them!

The blue tables will have iMacs on them. They won’t be blue either. My dad and stepmom helped me measure things out and pick out tables to fit the space.

The big problem is I haven’t decided where to put my desk. The best place would be in front of the gate where the kiln is stored, but that doesn’t sound safe. (Though I won’t be using the kiln that often.) We’ll see how it goes!

5

I had 5 things picked out last night, but I’ve forgotten the fifth. Today was a lazy day around the house. I cleaned the kitchen. We went to Costco for a chicken. Nothing worthy of being my fifth item.
Instead I’ll end with a question: How does your school deal with saving/turning in electronic student work? I read a blog about first graders turning in assignments through Drop Box, but I didn’t get an answer yet about how that works. Suggestions? Ideas?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Tie Dye, Helping Haiti, and Suggestions Wanted

1

Today was TIE DYE day! Our Third Grade Olympics take place next week, so today was the day we tie dyed 54 shirts. Thank goodness for parent volunteers!



Our school does not hold field day, so we created our own in third grade. We split the kids into 5 teams across three third grade classes. We use the shirts as a way to figure out each student’s team.

2

Wednesday night was our Hope for Haiti event. I shared this presentation the other night. It was something the students put together to share with the audience after our plays.

http://www.haikudeck.com/p/33g3NYmwSH

 
This event is extremely meaningful to me. When the earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, I was at home on maternity leave. My daughter was two months old, and my heart broke as I watched the news coverage during her naps. My husband works at a university and knew some of the students and staff members who lost their lives while on a mission trip during the earthquake.

When I went back to work I wanted to do something. Third grade social studies standards focus on geography of North America and specifically mention the Caribbean and Haiti.  A team of us had already created a reader’s theater based on the Haitian folktale “Bouki Dances the Kokioko” as part of the Music-in-Education National Consortium (MIENC) project. Using this, a service learning project was born. The original Hawks Helping Haiti was one play. The first year we also created quilts (like the ones we sent to schools after Katrina) that we auctioned off to raise money for the Red Cross. We raised over $3,000 the first two years.



When I was on maternity leave with my son in the fall of 2011, the other teachers had a local woman come to speak about her work with children in Haiti. It was through this presentation that the students learned about the need children in Haiti have for socks and underwear. The event also grew from one play to three plays.



True service learning balances the learning and the service to others. I love this project because I believe that it does just that.

3

With the play and the Olympics, we needed some down time this week! I am LOVING Hope King’s Paper Bag Memory Books.



They are such a neat end of the year keepsake!

4

The AP came to see me today about the STEAM lab for next year. Right now there are Chrome books in the room. I’d planned on also asking for a class set of iPads, Smart Boards, and a color printer. I had e-mailed asking to meet with him to talk about what technology they might be willing to purchase for the room.

They have decided that the type of projects I have in mind sound like more than the Chrome books can handle, so they want to really make the room a usable lab. They are going to put in work orders to retrofit the room with outlets and such.

About five years ago we were begging for doc cameras. I am going to have to teach myself some of this - I've never used a Smart Board. I cannot wait.  

As for technology for the room, I am supposed to come up with what I need. As in, what would my dream lab look like. With drawings for configuration. Rows? Along the wall? iMacs? PCs? Laptops? I’ve always been a PC girl, but I think kids today should know both. I have to research and figure out what I want.

I am so excited! I have about a week though to decide out what I want.  Ideas? Suggestions? If you could design a technology lab, what would you do?

5

It is just sinking in that I will not be teaching third grade next year. It became official this week that one of the first grade teachers is making the jump up to third. I am actually going to have to pack up and move from my classroom of nine years. I get to design my own room and teach my favorite things all day long. This is really happening!

Enjoy your weekend!