A Day in the Life of a Connected Educator – Using social media in 21st century classrooms | Powerful Learning Practice

A Day in the Life of a Connected Educator – Using social media in 21st century classrooms | Powerful Learning Practice

Summer Learning

 
     With only a month left of school, many of us are taking advantage of every learning opportunity that we can for our students before we leave for the summer. Many field trips are planned, as well as end of the year celebrations. Some classes are busy working on research projects, while others are putting the final touches on thematic projects. As our school year ends, we also look forward to relaxing and enjoying the simple pleasures of summer. 

      As the summer approaches, I hope you will find some time to also learn something new. The joy of summer is that everything can be done at your own leisure. What is something that you have heard about this year that you would like to have time to "explore" further? Is there a special tool that you could integrate into your curriculum, but haven't had the time to figure it out during the school year? I would like to suggest a couple of tools that definitely would be worth your time! 

      If you are not sure what exactly you are looking for, but would like information about a new tech tool to integrate, you just have to check out Teacher Cast. This place shares the latest information in educational technology. It is known as "A Place for Teachers to help other Teachers".  This site has at least 50 podcasts about timely tech. topics (that can be downloaded from itunes to listen by the pool), as well as app. reviews, and so much more. It is definitely a favorite of educators!

     If you are looking for great conversations shared by other educators, you must get on Twitter!   Through the use of Twitter, my PLN has grown tremendously!  Twitter is a professional development tool that can happen at anytime of the day!  Throughout this year I have participated in a #4thchat on Monday evenings which allows me to connect with others on my grade level and share ideas!  This has also provided opportunities for collaborations with other 4th grade classrooms.   Looking for more information about the Daily 5?  Check out #daily5 on Twitter.  There are so many hashtags that allow you to find information about a specific grade level or topic.  Check out Cybraryman's list on Twitter hashtags.   Still need more convincing?  You have to read this article on 12 reasons why you should get on Twitter this summer.   Try something new and take a look at this video on how to get started on Twitter! 

     Hopefully you will find something inspiring to connect, create, and explore over the summer!  I look forward to hearing about your summer learning adventures in the fall!

Amazing Educators- Amazing Ideas

   I was very fortunate this past week to present at the  #MACUL12 Conference with several outstanding educators that are a part of the REMC Connected Educator Series.  This series provides videos on amazing practices and ideas by talented teachers throughout the state of Michigan.   This site provides professional development on incorporating these great ideas to promote 21st century learning in your classroom.  Take a look at http://www.remc.org/projects/connectededucator/ to find out more about wikis, blogging, Moodle, Ipads, Google Apps for Education, and so much more!  This is an amazing collection that you will want to share with your staff!  To find out more information about the particular series, please see the slides below for more contact information.

REMC Connected Educator Series MACUL 2012 Panel

View more presentations from runfardvs

A Teacher's Friend- Livebinders

  Do you have so many links that you wish you had a way to organize them by topic?  You have to check out Livebinders! Livebinders is a tool that allows you to bundle links in an interactive binder and share them with the world. You can also include documents in the binder. Looking for a binder filled with links and ideas on a particular topic?  Check out Livebinders!  This site is user friendly and another invaluable tool to put into your toolbox.  Here are a few examples-

 Marvelous Math Sites- http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/48549
Write On! For Kids - http://www.livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=30905
Daily 5- http://www.livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=176873
Web 2.0 Tools- http://www.livebinders.com/edit/index/127649

You just have to check out http://www.livebinders.com/!

Daily 5 Symbaloo

  As we work towards implementing Daily 5 more effectively in classrooms, I thought it would be helpful to integrate technology with some amazing websites.  I began creating a Daily 5 Symbaloo page that has many links for listening to reading, read to others, work on writing, and word work.  This link is a great page for students to access many sites on your computer.  Know of a link that should be added?  Please share with us!



Check out our DRE Daily 5 Symbaloo page http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/dredaily5

Tech for Teachers- Simplify Your Life

This week we are going to discuss a couple of tools that will help to simplify your life.

       The first tool that I would like to share with you is Dropbox.   Dropbox is an invaluable tool that allows you to store all of your files in one site that is easily accessible through any computer, iPad, or mobile device.   Dropbox allows you to view and edit all of your documents anywhere at anytime. As long as you have one of these devices at home, you will not need to carry your laptop home every night! You don't have to worry about coming into school to find it on the share drive. Just place the file in your Dropbox and you can access it whenever you need it! It is that simple! Sign up for your Dropbox today!
http://www.dropbox.com/ 

   The second way to simplify your life is by going to Cybraryman's site when you are looking for something educational.  This educator has over 20,000 links connected to his site for classroom use.  Looking for a great idea to go with a particular subject area or holiday?  He has tons!  Want to find out more about some great technology tools to use in your classroom?  He has it! Looking for other grade level teachers/blogs?  He has so many teachers linked to his blog (He even has mine!).  You simply have to check out his site! It will save you so much time!  Who has the time to  Google through endless sites?  
http://www.cybraryman.com/0_teachers1.htm 

    

    

REMC Connected Educator Series Featuring Mystery Skype

My classroom is very excited to be a part of the REMC Connected Educators Series, which shares how technology is being incorporated throughout the state of Michigan. Mystery Skype is one of our favorite classroom experiences which breaks down the traditional classroom walls and extends our learning into many other 4th grade classrooms throughout the United States. Take a look at the video to find out more about Mystery Skype!


You can see more projects here at http://remc.org/projects/connectededucator/

Symbaloo=Success!

 

Thank you to all of the teachers that attended our Tech with Teachers group today.  I hope you will find Symbaloo a meaningful tool in your classrooms. It is a great way to visually organize links that you use often in your classroom. Please see the attached video as a refresher on some of the things we learned today.  Looking forward to our next meeting :)

Our First Tech with Teachers Meeting- Symbaloo

 
I am so excited that a group of staff would like to come together twice a month to learn about some web 2.0 tools that can be used in the classroom. There are so many wonderful things out there to share!   One of my favorite things that many of these tools have in common, is the allowance for the home/school connection.  Parents have the opportunity to work on the tools at home for enrichment of the skills we are learning in class.
  Therefore, I wanted to introduce a tool that will immediately allow for a home/school connection. I believe that Symbaloo is a great way to share many web 2.0 tools that we use in class.Many of our teachers have not started a classroom blog to post links that they are using in class. However, Symbaloo will allow them to create their own personal mix, and  post the link on our school blog.  Best of all, Symbaloo is free!  There are many web mixes created already to edit and share with other teachers. Here are a few links to a few Symbaloo mixes.
http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/powell4thgrade
http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/homewebmix445
http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/elementarymath1
http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/languageartsinteractive

Here is another educator's post on how invaluable Symbaloo can be!
http://itscindybrock.blogspot.com/2011/08/symbaloo.html

If you haven't tried Symbaloo, you will have to see what you are missing!