N3 has been using technology as a peer assessment tool. After learning about Mat Man, children practiced making a human figure with many details using the SMARTboard. Each child had to draw Mat Man with one color on the board, trying to add all the details they could by looking at an example. Then a child’s peer was asked to add any missing details to the drawing on the SMARTboard using a different color.
Another assessment strategy used with the SMARTboard was making an incomplete Mat Man on the board using black and then having children complete it using other colors. They did this with a partner so each of them used a different color.
I recorded these activities by taking screenshots of the drawings that will later help me and the students assess the details each student is missing most frequently so we can work together on these and make sure they are included in future drawings.
I recorded these activities by taking screenshots of the drawings that will later help me and the students assess the details each student is missing most frequently so we can work together on these and make sure they are included in future drawings.
Pre Kinder 4 students have been using the iPad to take photos of their block constructions. The photos are kept in a folder on the iPad so children can look at them later and use these as a guide to build the same towers later. The photos will be printed soon and put in the block center to encourage and motivate students to build different types of buildings.
Furthermore, we have been reading classic stories such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears and using the iPad to read the same stories electronically. One of our students mentioned he wanted to make a movie, so we found an app for the iPad called Stop Motion Animation.
In order to make this movie the child had to choose a few objects to take a picture of and then move them a tiny bit and take a photo each time the objects were moved, to create the sense of motion while looking through the photos. This was repeated as many times according to the length of the movie each student wanted. Later, the movies were played in fast motion in order to make the objects move across the screen and look real.
In order to make this movie the child had to choose a few objects to take a picture of and then move them a tiny bit and take a photo each time the objects were moved, to create the sense of motion while looking through the photos. This was repeated as many times according to the length of the movie each student wanted. Later, the movies were played in fast motion in order to make the objects move across the screen and look real.
Children also made story characters with clay and put them together to create a character basket, where students could use the characters of their choice in their stories.
The next step is to record audio so they can hear themselves telling their stories.
These are some examples:
The next step is to record audio so they can hear themselves telling their stories.
These are some examples:
| |
K7 students used technology to record themselves for our classroom website. They were recorded singing an ABC song and this was shared to help connect classroom learning to the home. Students were then shown the videos of the ABC song on the website and they were encouraged to watch the videos with their families. In the week following the posting of these ABC songs our website had 43 unique visitors and 178 page views. This is by far the most visitors and page views we have had in a single week since the website was created.
| |
Students have also had the opportunity to watch various videos and listen to songs to enhance our learning unit about frogs. These multiple delivery methods helped students more easily recall and retell information about the lifecycle of a frog. It also enhanced their learning of key vocabulary such as “camouflage”. Students were also recorded acting out and singing along with the song “Five Green and Speckled Frogs.” As we watched the video we discussed the subtraction facts related to the song.
PK-K8 students have been making individual and group stories. They have been using one-page drawings or booklets to represent their stories with illustrations and text. Children are usually videotaped as they orally share their stories. This last time, we took story dictations instead. The children individually sat by me as I typed their story into the computer. They were able to see how I pressed the different letter keys to form letters on the screen, and thus words, sentences, and complete stories.
We have been asking children for their input when building our webpage. In this photo, one of our students is choosing one from three photos, showing his mother reading a book to our group.
We have also been studying about pollinators for several weeks. The children have learned that flowers have pollen and that this pollen is carried from flower to flower by pollinators. The children and I researched the exact flower part that produced pollen and then where the seed or fruit begins to grow from the flower after pollination has happened. They sketched their findings as they shared their learning with friends. Several students also watched a video of flowers being pollinated. Students used plastic bees and pretended to pollinate the flowers they were watching on the screen.