Screencasting to teach Active Reading for the Novel

Ever feel like a broken record when you are teaching and re-teaching? Screencasting allows you to teach it once and let others learn and re-learn at their own pace.

Active reading is an incredibly important skill, and I actually had been planning on teaching my rising 6th-grade son this today for his summer reading. Let's see how this goes...

While he watched the video, he made a bookmark, pausing as needed to keep up.

He said it was "very helpful, Mom." I was glad that he was able to do this on his own without me waiting while he wrote. Now, let's see how his newfound knowledge transfers to his summer reading books!

PicMonkey to Showcase Students' Work

Students as young as 1st grade love to save their work. Once they learn how to save onto their desktop, the creation often remains there without a true showcase of what they have created. For example, after watching a webcam of eaglet hatching in D.C., students shared what they had learned through StoryMaker. Here is what a 1st grader made:

One great way to help showcase a student's work is through PicMonkey. This programs is an excellent way to exhibit the digital portfolios of students. Instead of this adorable project languishing on a desktop, students can compile their favorite work to show their learning and progress. Here is an example from Jacqui's Video #17 on how to use PicMonkey to compile work:

Using ScreenChomp to Teach Digital Citizenship

To help younger learners understand Digital Citizenship, we watched a video called "Delivery for Webster." We discussed what mistakes Webster made and what rules of digital citizenship he broke. The students used the free app ScreenChomp to illustrate their understanding of what it means to keep your information private.

Here are two videos that first graders created:

http://www.screenchomp.com/t/hco57bpvU

http://www.screenchomp.com/t/vV5w2TMv

ScreenChomp is a fantastic app because not only is it free but it also introduces the students to the world of screencasting. In addition, this lesson tied in with the curriculum because students were discussing the idea that a story has a beginning, middle, and end. We highlighted these stories on the Friday morning announcement show so that the rest of the school could learn about digital citizenship as well as ScreenChomp.

Internet Search and Research

Today, I focused on Internet Search and Research. I love seeing how the four main ideas of technology in the classroom are essential for searching and researching on the internet:

• Vocabulary
• Problem Solving
• Digital Citizenship
• Research

By 3rd grade, students need to know how to research information on the Internet, and they need to be equipped with the tools to navigate the internet responsibly. This will include assessing where they are getting information on-line to ensure they use credible websites as well as respect copyrighted property. As they research, they need to be problem solvers and use correct vocabulary all the while demonstrating the rights and responsibilities of digital citizens.

Last year, I set-up a protopage to act as the homepage for my class. By visiting the tab for their grade, the students were able to see where we had been and where we were going in the Tech Lab. In addition, the students were guided to stay in the correct digital neighborhood. For example, under the 4th grade tab, students had a list of websites that they could use for the upcoming Colonial Day project.

By 5th grade, however, students needed to make their own decisions on where to go by assessing the validity of their sources. They may stumble upon a story to "learn" that dolphins have opposable thumbs - they don't by the way, but I honestly read this once and was really confused until I realized I was reading The Onion. Since students will not always have a list of sites they should visit, they need to assess and dismiss sites with confidence and ease.

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Digital Citizenship #summerPD

I'm excited to be participating in Ask a Tech Teacher's The Tech Infused Teacher. This week, we are exploring various topics, but the one I will focus on first is Digital Citizenship because it is the most important topic for our young learners to grasp.

It all goes back to the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Religion aside, digital citizenship emphasizes common courtesy, respect, and privacy. As students explore the internet and social media, their digital footprint begins at a startlingly early age. Therefore, beginning in Kindergarten, students need to be equipped with the tools necessary to keep them safe and respectful.

Tech Ed guru, Jacqui Murray, breaks down the skills by grade here including lesson ideas with links to videos and articles. What a treasure trove of information - and an invaluable resource for teachers and parents!

Last year when I taught Digital Citizenship, I began a padlet to help streamline the lesson. It's a work in progress, but the plan is to bring up the padlet on the smartboard and easily link to the resources for the lesson. No more looking for the lesson plan and/or bookmarking favorite sites. I am working on transferring my lessons to padlet for the upcoming school year... stay tuned.

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