Tool # 11 Reflections

Wahoo...I am finished with my 11 tools! I really thought at one point that this moment would never happen!

My favorite tools by far were Storybird and wallwisher. I loved them! They both were very easy to use and can for sure imagine using them in my classroom. I plan to use Storybird in small group writing lessons to teach beginning, middle and end. I totally see myself as a teacher using Google Docs. It will take some extra practice for sure to get used to using it... but I love the ability to share and collaborate on documents quickly and easily with others.

My thinking has changed now that I've gained some confidence...but at first I must admit I was really scared about having to do this class alone. The first 3 or 4 tools were really tough for me and then all of a sudden it started getting somewhat easier..thank goodness! I am really looking forward to going on a limb and embedding alot more technology than I have in the past in my daily instruction. The nice thing is kids love technology and are pretty patient when it comes to having more opportunities with it!

I for sure will need to make some changes when setting up my classroom... a room layout that lends itself to easy access to the new technology will be crucial. Also, learning how to manage all the new technology that we will have in our classrooms will be something that has to be thought through really well.

I had some unexpected outcomes...I really didn't have much faith in myself in the very beginning but after sticking it out and a few frustrating nights it ended up coming together for me. I ended up learning some really cool things that I can't wait to use with my students. I am excited to get back to my classroom and put my new tools to work!

Tool # 10 Digital Citizenship

I love Brainpop and use it for alot of topics in kindergarten...it only seems natural to me to use it to teach a new concept. I think my students will be more receptive to listening and learning about the importance of digital citizenship if Brainpop presents it..
After Brainpop has introduced the new concept I will use Cybersmart to teach the acronym of THINK...tell an adult, hide passwords, interesting...but check with mom/dad, be Nice, keep passwords safe.
They need to understand that information can be posted on the internet by anyone and they need to only visit trusted sites.

NetSmartKidz:
The kids are going to love this site. The information is easy to retain and delivered in a manner that kids will be interested. I will use this the first week of school and throughout the year to remind kids about internet safety. It is important for students to understand who is safe and unsafe online. They need to understand NEVER to share personal information with strangers online.

When dealing with my new parents, I will share the importance of this at Back to School night and I will also share sites to the above resources so parents are also thinking about digital citizenship. It might be fun to include a technology tip each week in our grade level newsletter that hits on a specific top or internet safety tip.

Tool # 9

Technology should always be used to enhance and reinforce student learning. However it is important to hold children accountable for their learning. If students are not required to demonstrate what learning has taken place they tend to loose their focus and too much play occurs. I want my students to find that learning can be fun and can be in the format of a game but carries a responsibility.

Out of all the sites I visited... My favorite was Tutpup. I will definitely use this during math stations. I think my students will LOVE playing math games against other children from far away places!

I personally think that Learning Games for kids will be a huge hit with kindergarten and could be a asset to our workstation time.

TES iboard would also be awesome because the lessons here are designed to be used on an activboard. We currently have activboards in our classrooms. Early childhood is all about being hands on and this lends itself to doing just that!

I plan to use Studyladder during literacy stations. I could differentiate homework for higher level students with this, too.
I plan on using my I-Touches during both math and literacy stations.

The free apps that available are endless for the itouches...I love the sight word apps, brainpop, spelling wizard and memory games. I know my kindergarten kiddos are going to love these games during workstations.

tool # 8

This tool was a little easier because I have had a lot of experience with the itouch. My daughters have them and so I have had to get involved and stay on top of syncing them when buying new apps for them. I have set up my personal ITunes account but now need to set up an account for school purposes. I had 2 of them in my classroom last year and my students loved them. I am looking forward to having 3 more in my classroom in the fall. These are always a hot item with kindergarten.

I am a little nervous about the management with the Dell Netbooks and think that it will be difficult at first. Typically young children are quick with technology and will probably be able to manipulate them better than me.... However, I plan to have some student experts to help when problems arise and have equipment managers to help put away the equipment appropriately when we are done for the day.

I feel lucky to teach in a district that gives students so many technology opportunities at such a young age. I look forward to being an active part!

Tool # 7

I would like to try something called Kid Inspired Stories. I could implement this during second nine weeks of school to allow kindergarten students to learn centers and routines. Once my team decides what our genre will be for unit of study, I will pick a book and read it as a read aloud or shared reading. The independent task could that my students try to create a different version, new ending, or sequel to the story. Writer's workshop time would be a perfect time of our day to explore this writing.

Tool 6 Wallwisher, Blogger and Skype... so much fun

WOW..I love  wallwisher.  I think this would be a really cool way to ask parents questions and get quick responses...it's a fancy way to leave messages and communicate!  I think my students would love coming in every morning, creating a "sticky note" to answer  a question on the wallwisher.  I am going to add this to my list of favorites because it's quick and easy!
Here is my wallwisher URL :  www.wallwisher.com/wall/mrsrincon
Leave me a sticky note...

I also want to use Blogger in the fall to create a fun way to keep my parents involved with snapshots of the learning that is taking place in the classroom.

I am excited to use skype next year with some other classrooms within our own school....and our pen pals that I have set up in London...it should be lots of fun!

Tool # 6

Tool # 5

Things I love most about the summer... by rceroadrunner on StorybirdOk...I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE  Storybird.... I can not wait to use this in my classroom!  It is totally awesome and I know that my students would love using this to create their own books!  This is going to be a HUGE hit in my classroom in the fall.   Kids could even create books to be published and given as a keepsake for parents.   I totally got sucked in by this site and  when  I showed my daughters they too got so excited they ran to the computer to make their own! 

Tool # 4

After watching the short video clips, I felt pretty confident.  It was a lot easier than I expected... I know this method could really come in handy with my team.  I would love to use google docs with my team in the fall.  We could also use the forms to make team decisions when we don't have time to meet as a group.   I think the kids would love to "vote" using the forms. I shared a newsletter in progress using google docs and I created a survey for the kids to to be able to vote on their favorite color.

Tool #3

View Rock (geology) and over 3,000,000 other topics on Qwiki.

Hotlinking a video was fairly easy...I am almost a little nervous that I didn't do something right because it was so easy.  I love the idea of hotlinking video clips to my lesson plans...it's so nice to have everything in one place and just a click away.   I then decided to go ahead and try to embed the video and it worked with a little help from a friend (Thanks Theresa) It makes it a easy to share with teammates as well.  I saw some cool things on Qwiki.  I like Blinkx because it is a quick way to find clips that support what you are looking for.  I already use Discovery Education a ton in my classroom and love what it has to offer.
I also learned that it is very important and essential to give credit where credit is due and to really know where/how you are getting/sharing your information.

Tool # 2

Finally...I figured out how to make comments on other blogs and found some great ideas!  I had to get some outside help...thanks Lou Ann...don't think I could have done it without you!  I saw some cool things on some blogs and look forward to trying some of them out.  I want to try Storybird with my daughters, I saw the precious book that Mrs. Robbies' boys created and think that my girls would love this!