Tech-Tastic! Pulaski PD Presentation

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I am co-presenting at our district technology inservice on ways to integrate technology into both math and literacy. If you're interested in finding out about ways you can integrate Padlet, DoodlecastPro (Explain Everything, Educreations,etc) and PicCollage, feel free to check out our presentation link above, just click on the image. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

My co-presenter is a 5th grade teacher and as such we have many examples from both of our classrooms. You'll also find links to Padlet boards with more examples as well as video links with tutorials to get you going.

We have been working on comparing 2 digit numbers less than 100 in math this past week. We've been building the numbers using base 10 blocks, using both traditional blocks as well as virtual base 10 blocks on our iPads. We've been noticing and discussing how the 10s place is what helps us to know if the number is larger (as long as the 10s place numbers are not the same- we talked about what to do with that debacle as well). As a quick assessment this week, I gave each child 2 different numbers to build using the app, Number Pieces Basic. This is a great app for students to build, compare, add and subtract numbers with and best yet, it's free! Click the link above to check it out for yourself.

After building their numbers on the app, each student took a screenshot of their page and then imported that picture into the app, Doodlecast Pro. Doodlescast Pro is an app which allows us to write on our pictures, as well as record our thoughts. This is not a free app, but there is a similar one called Screen Chomp that is free. Students then had to tell what their numbers were, which was larger and explain the thinking that they used to know which number was larger. When we were done, I had my students email their videos to me. I listened to each one and then forwarded it to their parents along with a note about how they were doing with the concepts we were working on. I had a dad email today with the following comment, 
"This is awesome! Get to see his learning and development of concepts in action."
Yes! That madde my day as a big part of why I think the iPads are such a great tool is that our classroom learning can be transparent to parents and the world!

Number stories

Earlier this week we spent some time learning about addition and subtraction word problems. Students have been learning about subtraction language (flew away, broke, got eaten, etc). I really do love the way our new math program introduces subtraction to students. The seem to have a better grasp of it and it doesn't seem to send them away screaming like it did in the past. Well maybe not screaming, but crying definitely showed its ugly head on occasion.

Student creating visual representation of the
pirate problem above

One thing that I have found helps students internalize subtraction language is having concrete examples. We started earlier in the week with these types of examples and then began to work into visual representations. Students were given a word problem and together with a partner had to determine how they were going to solve the problem. Was the language telling them to use addition strategies or subtraction strategies. Once students decided on how they wanted to tackle the problem they worked together to visually represent the problem using Doodlecast Pro. I chose this app as I wanted them to have audio capability to record their thinking once we were done. Thinking about the SAMR model, the beginning of this lesson was just substitution, but the engagement factor of using the iPads definitely helped to keep the learning at the forefront.

As we continued on, students were then asked to record the math sentence that matched their thinking. As they finished, they used the record function of Doodlecast Pro to explain their thinking. This is a fantastic way to delve into the thinking of your students, especially your out-of-the-box thinkers, as it gives you new perspective into the thought processes they are using. I encourage you to give this a try. It has definitely opened new doors for me into how my students are tackling problem, something that I am not always able to discern in a whole group conversation. In the case above, I thought students would make the 9 muffins and then cross of 3 to find out how many muffins were blueberry but instead they used the addition strategy of counting on which they explained in their audio.

In addition to sharing their doodlecasts with me, we also used Air Server to project some of our projects and to share our thinking with the class. For students who are shy this has been a phenomenal way for them to share as they are often comfortable enough to create their audio with a buddy but are uncomfortable in front of the whole group. When we Air Serve they are able to play back their Doodlecast without the pressure of having to be on the spot in front of the group.

Calendar time with a tech twist

 This month I am trying something new during our calendar time in order  for all students to participate and more importantly, for all students to be able to analyze and share their information about our weather graph at the end of the month. We normally do our calendar routine on the Smartboard, which allows student participation, but only allows one student at a time.

To start our new venture, I took used the snipping tool to capture a picture of our October calendar, minus the dates and extra icons that we drag each day, and also snipped a copy of the weather graph that we use. I then sent these two pictures to my students' iPad via the Chirp app (more on that later this week). Once I sent these, students saved them to their camera roll and then imported the pictures into the Doodlecast Pro app.  Each morning as we complete our calendar on the smartboard, students will now also add the date to their own calendar on their iPad and also color in the corresponding area on our weather graph. 

At the end of the month, we'll use the recording feature of Doodlecast Pro to analyze our weather graph and tell what we observe. For example, there are 5 more sunny days than rainy. When we are done, the Doodlecast app, will also allow us to share our finished projects with parents, our global classrooms and myself. 

In my opinion, everyone should....

This week during writer's workshop we have continued to work on opinion writing. This is our 2nd time working on opinion writing this year and I have been very pleased with the growth my students have made.

One of our objectives this time around was to branch out and learn several new ways to start our opinions. In the past we used the, "In my opinion..." starter. To the right is the anchor chart that each child added to their writing binders with our new options. Everyone had their own opinion on which was their favorite and they enjoyed experimenting with them all. 

Seeing as it was Friday, I didn't want to start a big piece so instead I created a quick template based on an idea I found on Pinterest. Students had to chose one of the images at the bottom of the page and write an opinion piece based on their choice. 

As students finished they published their pieces using Doodlecast Pro. Students went online to find an image that would portray the choice they made which they then used as their background image. They then recorded themselves reading their opinion pieces. Once they finished their Doodlecast they emailed it to both their parents and myself.

 The first example below has about a 6 second delay before the student begins talking and is from one of my higher writers. The second example is from one of my average kiddos.






 

DoodlecastPro and Writing

This week during our writing time we have been working on writing informational pieces. We read a book about coyotes and took notes as we went. After collecting and sorting out our notes, kiddos chose three facts that they found most interesting. They then took their facts and wrote an informational paragraph with a topic sentence, 3 details (facts) and a conclusion sentence.
When we were done, students used the site, Pics4learning.com to find a picture of a coyote which they then uploaded to the DoodlecastPro app. Once this was done, they voice recorded themselves reading their informational piece and shared it with their parents. I am hoping to do a lot more with students recording their writing when they are done as it was extremely motivating for them and was a wonderful way for us to share with our parents. In addition, it gives us an opportunity to go back and reflect on where we started and how far we have come with our writing, reading, and technology skills over the course of the year.

Number Stories Tech'd Out

This week in math one of our learning targets was to create and solve number stories. We used an app called, DoodlecastPro to help us show our learning for this target. Doodlecast Pro is an app which allows you to record yourself while also recording your writing and/or drawings.

After learning about the 3 main parts of a number story (numbers, words (story), and a question), students were given 2 numbers and a bag of manipulatives. With their partner they had to show their numbers with their manipulatives, take a picture of their representation and then come up with a story to match. They then uploaded their pic to Doodlecast Pro and then recorded themselves telling their number story while also adding the corresponding number sentence. The results were phenomenal and compared to the math journal version seen below, this was sooooooo much more engaging. I can see where kiddos will definitely remember this vs. the blue and white, boring page from our journals. 
After doing this with a partner, students created their own number story following the format above the next morning. After creating their number story, they emailed their video to me which I am now able to use as an assessment piece or add to their digital portfolios. I also emailed the video to their parents.
See below to view samples of some of our partner videos.