Bringing the Zoo to School

Field trips are one of the best parts of being in school. So much learning happens outside of the classroom and students remember field trips for quite a long time. Well far too often school budgets don't allow teachers to go on as many field trips as they would like. If this is your situation, then you should check out a wonderful app created by the Smithsonian's National Zoo.

This $1.99 app is an easy way to take your students on a virtual field trip. Some of the features of the app include maps, tours, animals, news, and activities. Students can even access live video feed of some of the zoo animals including, pandas, gorillas, lions, tigers, and gorillas. There are also informational videos provided about these animals.

A fun feature of the app is called Zooify Yourself. You can upload a picture of yourself and add various animals features and noises, to transform yourself into a zoo animal. This could be a fun review activity for students to participate in at the end of the unit.

Students can use the zoo map to explore the different areas of the Smithsonian's National Zoo. They can select a red dot by an animal enclosure and when they do, information about that animal appears. Some animals even have a video and photo that go along with the information. A downfall is that the writing may be too challenging for younger students to read independently.

I would definitely purchase this app for my classroom. It is a great way to bring learning to life and expose students to information about various animals. By using this app, students also learn about maps and how zoos work. There are countless lessons a teacher can create using this app. These lessons can be tied directly to the information being learned in class. Students will love exploring the Smithsonian's National Zoo from the comfort of their classroom.

References:
[Untitled images of Smithsonian's National Zoo app]. Retrieved March 7, 2017, from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smithsonians-national-zoo/id545498325?mt=8

[Untitled image of Smithsonian's National Zoo app logo]. Retrieved March 7, 2017, from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xcosoftware.nationalzoo

iPad Lesson 8

For the final iPad lesson, the app used was called iLearn With Boing. This app is part of an educational series that focuses on multiple subjects areas. I used the literacy app for this lesson.

When you open the app you are directed to the home screen. There you see a giant iceberg and two little icebergs. On top of the big iceberg is a space ship. There are four creatures on the ice as well. The closest one to the front of the screen is an alien named Boing. The alien asks the student who they want to play with. They can choose between the bears, penguins, and the seals. Each animal corresponds to a different part of literacy. The bears work on letter practice, the penguins work on phonics, and the seals work on words. The only animal available with the free download is the seal. In app purchases are required to unlock the other animals.

After clicking on the seal you are taken to another page. The app tells the students the word they have to spell. Next, they have to put the seals in the correct order on the whale's back before it swims away. The app puts the first seal in the correct spot for the student so they can see what they are being asked to do.

Above the whale's back is a picture of the word they're trying to spell. Then on the back of the whale is the letters to spell the word. Above the letters is a shadow to mark where the seal has to go. The letters are already in the correct order on the whale, the student just has to drag the seals from the water into the right place. Each seal is wearing a winter hat that has the letter on it. When the seal is dragged to the spot it is supposed to be it says its letter sound.

In the top right hand corner there is a timer. Students are allotted a certain amount of time for each word before the whale swims away and they have to start over. Once students spell the word correctly, the app reads the word aloud before a new word is presented.

If students make it through a certain number of words spelled correctly they earn a prize. A little screen pops up and the student is allowed to play with their gift. It is usually something they can dress up and move around the page. After awhile the app redirects the student back to the original game. This is a great feature because other wise you may have students who just play with their gift the entire time instead of going back to the app.

For the lesson I taught the focus was on the student being able to hear a word and spelling it correctly, by naming its various phonemes in the correct order. The standard that went along with this focus was, RF.1.2.D.

To begin the lesson we first talked about spelling and what we do when we are writing and don't know how to spell a word. She told me that you sound it out. I then introduce the app and explained that she would be working on spelling different words. I let her know that she would need to say the word and the sounds she hears because it will help her with her spelling.

She then played level 1 of the seal game, which focused on words. The student picked up how to play the game pretty quickly and was able to do it independently. While playing, she always beat the timer. I encouraged her as she was playing to say the letter sounds along with the game. As she was working I had to remind her to put the letters in the correct order. She would sometimes begin by dragging the middle letter or ending letter first. After a few times reminding her that we want to start with the first letter, she began to do it all on her own.

This was a beneficial app that helps students with spelling. If I could change something about the app it would be that you can make it more challenging, by removing the outlined words. This way the students would really have to think on their own how to spell the words, instead of just mindlessly dragging the seals to their matching letter. I think that this app was too easy for my student, but I would still recommend it for kindergarten teachers to use with their students who are emergent spellers.

References:
[iLearn With Boing app logo]. Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://itunes.apple.com/ky/app/kids-abc-letter-spelling-literacy/id502026679?mt=8

Socrative

Socrative is a really great tool that is used to help support teachers when it comes to formative assessment. There are four ways in which teachers can use the app to assess their students knowledge. These four ways are: quizzes, quick question polls, exit tickets, and space race. Another bonus is that this app is completely free for teachers to use!

When a teacher creates a formative assessment, students can use any device in the classroom to
participate. They use a unique code to join their teachers page. From there they will be able to take part in the formative assessment. As students take the assessment, the teacher can view the live feed of the results. The data will be featured in a chart and the teacher can select whether or not to show the students names and answers. This live feed will provide the teacher with immediate information regarding how well their students know the information they're being tested on. On the bottom of the data chart there is a section that shows the class total and the percentage of students in the class that answered each question correct.

For a quick question, the teacher can choose between three types of questions. They can have the question be multiple choice, true or false, and short answer. The ability to choose the style of question you use allows the teacher to cater the assessment to his/her class. If they're running low on time and don't have time for students to complete a short answer response, they can make the decision to have students answer a true false or multiple choice question. Teachers can also choose to align their quiz they create with a common core standard.

The teacher can also put students into teams. This aspect of the app connects directly to the space race activity. Teams of students compete to answer the most questions correct on a formative assessment. The space race is also a timed activity.

Teachers who teach multiple classes can create various sections through their one account. They just choose from the drop down menu which class they want displayed. The teacher can also create a class roster on Socrative and use it to take attendance.

For being free, this app is truly amazing. It provides teachers with an easy way to conduct formative assessments. Teachers can monitor student data digitally and use the information to help cater the instruction to students needs. The program can grade students assessments and the teacher can upload this information to Google Drive, email it, or print it for their records.This app is a wonderful way to integrate technology its the 21st century classroom.


References:
[Untitled images of Socrative app]. Retrieved March 6, 2017, from https://www.socrative.com/index.html

[Untitled image of Socrative logo]. Retrieve March 6, 2017, from http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/04/15-apps-you-should-try-with-your.html

iPad Lesson 7

For the 7th iPad lesson I used an app called Endless Reader. Endless Reader is a free app with in app purchases, that focuses on spelling. The words the app uses are sight words students need to know.

When you open the app you are taken directly to the homepage, which features a big monster opening his mouth wide. Inside of his mouth are different sight words you can scroll through. In the bottom right hand corner there is a circular dial with the numbers 1,2, and 3 on it. These numbers represent the different levels of sight words. On the monsters top lip you will see the alphabet. Some of the letters are shaded a light color and others are darker. If they're darker that means you do not have those letters unlocked. When you pay for the upgrades you can have students practice multiple sight words for the entire alphabet.


To begin playing you select the first sight word in the list, which is all. When you select the word you first see the word written how it should be. Each letter of the alphabet is a different color. After the app says the word aloud a crowd of monsters runs through the word and the letters go flying on the page. The student then has to drag the colored letters back into the outlined word on the page. When they drag a letter it says its sound. If they don't put the letter in the right spot it makes a silly noise. If it is put in the correct spot it says the name of the letter. After the word is put back correctly, music is played and the word is read again.

Once the student spells the word correctly, a monster comes and drags the word above a sentence. Then the monsters run through the sentence like they did the words and multiple sight words in the sentence go flying. It is then up to the student to drag the correct sight words to their correct spot. If they want to hear the sentence read aloud they click on the speech bubble in the top left hand corner. When the student is dragging a word to the sentence, the word moves and keeps saying how it's pronounced.Each of the words also have unique patterns on them to help the student remember its definition. For example the word up, had cloud inside of it.

After the student has correctly placed the words into the sentence, an animated clip is shown. This clip has a monster acting out the sentence. After the clip,  the app reads aloud the sentence. If the student wants to watch the clip and hear the sentence again, they click on the circular arrow which is on the monster. If the student feels ready to move on to the next sight word they click on the arrow in the bottom right hand corner. This will take them to the next sight word in the alphabet. If at anytime they need to go back to the home page they click on the banner in the top right hand corner that says abc.

For this lesson the focus was, I can practice spelling words by saying the word and listening to the sounds I hear. The common core standard that accompanied this lesson was, RF.1.2.D. The lesson began with us talking about things we can do to help us spell words we don't know. Immediately the student told me that we could sound out the words we are trying to spell. We have focused before on stopping and listening to the sounds, so I was very impressed that she remembered this from previous lessons. I then explained to her that listening to the sounds is helpful but sometimes words are tricky and have letters which are silent. We can't hear these letters so when we try to spell the word we may leave them out by accident. I told her that it is okay if that happens, because by listening to the sounds you will still be able to spell most of the word correctly.

When she opened the app she worked through all six unlocked sight words. I instructed her to spell the word on her own after the app read it aloud the first time. After that, she was spelling every word she was given. She did a good job with matching the misplaced letters to their correct spot. The student told me at the end that she enjoyed this app.

I would absolutely recommend this app to other teachers. The graphics, sounds, and content are all great. A pitfall however, is that the in app purchases are pretty expensive. If the teacher could somehow figure out how to find the funds to purchase this entire app, I truly believe it would be beneficial to those students who need practice with sight word recognition.

References:
[Untitled image of Endless Reader app]. Retrieved March 9, 2017, from http://www.hbook.com/2014/04/choosing-books/reviews/endless-reader-app-review/#_

[Untitled image of Endless Reader app home screen]. Retrieved March 9, 2017, from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app-bundle/endless-school-bundle!/id999169038?mt=8

[Untitled image of Endless Reader logo]. Retrieved March 9, 2017, from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.originatorkids.EndlessReader

Write About This

Write About This is an educational app that helps students with writing by providing an additional way for them to practice their writing skills. The price of the app is $3.99, so although I have not personally used the app I have taken the time to read about it online. 

The home screen of the app has six circles. They say: search, categories, random, my write abouts, create a prompt, and quick write. When students use this app they are able to practice writing using different prompts and eventually publish their work digitally.

Students can select from 125 pre-loaded images. These images serve as the inspiration for their writing. In addition to the images the app also has 375 text-voice prompts. These prompts provide guidance for the student as they begin writing. Students can either select their own writing prompts or the teacher can select them ahead of time for the student. The app also has the capability to read the prompt aloud to students if they cannot read it on their own. Three levels of writing prompts are available to the student. Level 1 is the easiest and level 3 is the most challenging. This feature of the app is beneficial to students because they can answer questions that correspond with their writing skills. If the teacher feels that none of the writing images or prompts on the app fit with what they're working on, they can create their own. This is a great way to tailor students writing to what they're doing in class.

Once students complete their writing they are able to publish and share. They can even upload a picture of themselves that will appear next to their name on the by line. I think that this app could be very beneficial for teachers to use in the classroom. As a teacher I would use this as a part of literacy stations. Students could use the classroom iPads to work on their writing throughout the week and publish it on Friday. They can even share their writing with their parents, so they can stay up to date on what their child is working on in school.

References:
[Untitled image of Write About It logo]. Retrieved March 6, 2017, from http://schoollyd.com/app-to-write-on-pictures

[Untitled images of Write About It app]. Retrieved March 6, 2017. from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/write-about-this/id601375313?mt=8

Lowering the Noise

If you have ever been in an elementary school classroom before you know that it can real loud, very quick. As a teacher it is your goal to make sure students remain quiet so they can focus on the work they have to do. A little chatter may be fine but it is important students know what is expected of them and what is a voice level you as the teacher find acceptable. While looking for great tools for the classroom I stumbled upon this app called Too Noisy.

Too Noisy is an app that helps the teacher monitor the noise level in the classroom. A meter is used to show where the noise level currently is in the room. The teacher has the capability to change the sensitivity of the meter. This way the teacher can make sure the app is adjusted to the activity students are doing. If the noise level in the classroom gets too high an alarm will sound. If the alarm is too quiet on your iPad or iPhone, the company suggests connecting your device to external speakers.

I think that despite the $3.99 download price of the app, it could be a great investment in a classroom. Students will be held accountable for their noise level and the teacher can use the app as a way to monitor noise level while they're conferencing or working with a small group. As students are quiet and the meter doesn't move into the red, they earn star awards. The teacher can then incorporate the star rewards into the class behavior management reward system. I would definitely consider purchasing this app to use in my future classroom as a way to help ensure students are working in a room that is quiet and on task.

References:
[Untitled images of Too Noisy app]. Retrieved February 28, 2017, from http://toonoisyapp.com/

[Untitled image of Too Noisy logo]. Retrieved February 28, 2017, from http://toonoisyapp.com/

iPad Lesson 6

The sixth iPad lesson focused on spelling sight words. Sight Words 2 was the app used for this lesson. During the lesson the student practiced using spelling strategies she has been working on in order to spell the various sigh words correctly.

Sight Words 2 is a free literacy app teachers can download for their student to use during the school day. When you open the app you are taken directly to the homepage. This page has an image of a wood post with six different options you can choose from. The top of the post says words tour, followed by find n shoot, unscramble, memory game, bingo, and practice words. At the top of the page there are two gear wheels that say settings. After clicking on settings you have the option to have the app use grade 1 or grade 2 sight word lists.

For the word tour the app reads through ten different sight words, letter by letter. The student has to click on the right arrow to hear and see the next word. By clicking the circular arrows in the middle of the two arrows the app will spell the word again. When you want to go back to the homepage you click on the little house in the bottom right hand corner.

The game find n shoot has the student "shoot" the chosen word by clicking on it. On the easy level there is a small box at the bottom of the screen that tells the student which word they need to find. For the hard level the student only hears the word and they have to find it in the clouds.

The unscramble game has the student spell different sight words from the letters provided. On the
easy level, the student sees boxes that have the letters written inside which make up the word and the student has to drag the letters from below to its matching spot. When it is switched to the hard level the student only hears the word and isn't provided any hints for how to spell it.

Memory game shows six different clouds for the easy level. The student has to click on the clouds to try and match the sight words together. The app will read the sigh words aloud to the student once they click on the cloud. For the hard level there are 12 clouds, so it becomes more challenging for the student to find the matches.

The bingo game is similar to traditional bingo. A word is read aloud and the student has to click on the word on their game board. When they click on the word, an image appears to show that they have that space taken. There is also a timer on the bottom right hand corner to show how long it has taken the student to get bingo. On the bottom left hand side it shows how many incorrect words the student clicked on.

The last activity is called practice words. This allows the student to practice the words they have marked red during the first activity, word tour. Once a word is marked red, it appears highlighted in white with a microphone on the right hand side. When the student clicks it, the app reads the word aloud for the student. Students can use this part of the app to practice words that they found challenging.

For the lesson, the common core standard addressed was RF.2.3, which states the student can listen to a word and think about the sounds and letter they hear. We began the lesson by talking about the importance of sight words an why we need to know them. I explained that when we read sight words it is like reading any other word and we want to make sure we think about the sounds we hear. Thinking about the sounds we hear will help us when we work on writing the sight words.

We then used the app to practice what we just discussed. She played the unscramble game and began on the easy level. At the beginning she struggled with unscrambling the words in order and would put the letters back randomly instead of starting from the first letter. It took a lot of reminding, for her to do this naturally on her own. After going through the list one complete time on easy mode, I switched it to hard. I noticed her taking the time to say the word after the app read it aloud, which is what we have been working on. If she didn't put a letter back in the correct spot the app would make a silly noise then the letter would go back to the bottom of the screen.

This app was beneficial when it came to having the student practice spelling sight words. I personally think that it could have been more engaging, however the student did enjoy playing and asked to play again once we finished. If I could change anything about the app it would be that a sentence was provided along with the sight word. A sentence would help the student see the word in context, which would allow them to develop a deeper understanding of the word instead of only knowing how to spell it.

References:
[Untitled image of Sight Words 2 logo]. Retrieved February 27, 2017, from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playsightwordsII

iPad Lesson 5

The fifth lesson focused on using reading skills to create a sentence that makes sense. Jumbled Sentence 3 was the app the student used to help practice this skill. This app is a free app that is both fun and engaging for students.

When you open the app you see three rocket ships that have different aliens in them. Each rocket ship has a different level on it. The app does not require the student to successfully complete the previous level before being able to try the harder level. However, as a teacher I would recommend the student starting from level 1 and them moving up. This way the sentences would progressively get more challenging instead of starting with the hardest sentence.

 After you click on the level you want you are taken to another page that has a circle with a picture in the center. The picture goes with the sentence you have to create. On the outside of the circle there are different alien space crafts that have words on them. In the glass dome on the space ship there is a microphone icon. When you click on the microphone icon the app reads aloud the word on the spaceship. The spaceships with the words on them are continually rotating in a circle around the image.

At the bottom of the screen there is a blue box that has more boxes in it. These boxes are where the student has to drag the words from the spaceships into. As a student drags a word the app reads it aloud. Once all of the words are dragged from the spaceships into the boxes and a sentence is formed you click "OK". If the sentence is correct the app will read the sentence aloud to the student. If some of the words are wrong, the app will make a silly noise and the words that aren't correct will go back to their spaceship. Students have three minutes to work on creating a sentence that makes sense and uses all of the words on the spaceships. On the right side of the screen is the students score, the time, and the number of coins they have earned. Students can use the coins to "buy" digital stickers through the app. 

When I used with app with the student I work with we first began by talking about the importance of

knowing different words. We discussed that when you know words it is helpful because sentences are made up of different words. The end goal of being able to read the words in a sentence is that you can then make sense of what you read. If you are only focusing on the figuring out the words then you won't be able to also think about the meaning. Before she played I also went over hints that would help her create the sentences more successfully. I asked her what we already know about a sentence. We then talked about how sentences start with capital letters. By knowing this we are able to find out the first word of the sentence. We then worked through the first sentence together while I modeled on the iPad how to move the words from the spaceships into the boxes at the bottom of the screen.

What was challenging for the student was that there was a timer. For students who are still in the beginning learning phases of developing sentences this timer puts a restriction on their learning because they may need more time that what is provided. Another part of the app that the student found difficult was identifying which word had the capital letter. This lets me know that she needs additional practice with capital letters and distinguishing them from lower case letters. Despite the game being challenging the student wanted to keep playing it to improve her score. By the end of the third time playing, I came to the conclusion that this app was too challenging for the student right now. She needs to practice more basic reading and writing skills before she would be ready to successfully play this game on her own. 

Even though this game proved to be too hard or my student, I would still suggest it for other teachers to use. I would suggest it because it requires the student to really think about the conventions of a sentence. Along with sentence conventions the app forces the student to think about meaning. If they don't focus on meaning, they will not earn points by building correct sentences. It is also helpful that there is a picture for students to reference as they work on making meaning from the words provided.

References:

[Untitled image of Jumbled Sentence 3]. Retrieved February 22, 2017, from https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/jumbled-sentences-3/id597850711?mt=8

Reading With Raz

Raz-Kids is an online reading resource for students that is affiliated with Learning A-Z.com. Students can use Raz-Kids as a way to grow their literacy skills through reading leveled texts. There are 29 different levels students can choose from and over 800 books. While using this reading resource students can read the story themselves, or choose to have it read aloud. If they're reading it themselves they can record themselves reading, which is an awesome feature that aids in fluency growth.

Once students complete their book they take a reading quiz. Each reading quiz has an extended response question that they have to answer. This extended response question is important because often times students don't see significant growth on benchmark testing, not because they can't read more challenging texts but because they struggle when it comes to the writing aspect of the assessment. This practice will allow students a better chance of success when they take their reading assessment.

Raz-Kids is a great way for students to practice reading books that are at their instructional level and develop their writing skills. What makes this program even more unique is that all of the books and quizzes can be translated into Spanish, as a way to support ELL's. At the school I am currently at the ESL department uses Raz-Kids as a part of their teaching practice.

The resources provided for teachers through  Raz-Kids are very beneficial. Teachers have the ability to create custom assignments for students as well as view the progress of the students in their class. Raz-Kids also has a variety of resource videos available for teachers to use. These videos provide instruction on how to use the program in an effective way.

Despite the many benefits of Raz-Kids one downfall is that you have to pay for a subscription. It may be too expensive for one teacher to purchase this reading resource on their own, however it is always an option for a group of teachers or the school to purchase the program. I believe that despite the cost Raz-Kids would be a great tool to help students grow as readers.

References:
[Untitled image of Raz-Kids logo]. Retrieved February 20, 2017, from
https://clipartfox.com/download/a2010703684876378e47832ae0ce1ee77c9705bc.html

Earning Points With LiveSchool

LiveSchool is a behavior management system that teachers throughout the school can use in order to monitor how students are acting throughout the day. This system is very similar to ClassDojo only it comes with more capabilities. If there are only 1 to 5 people in a school using LiveSchool then the price is free. The more people in the school who utilize the system, the higher the price is to purchase it. This provides schools with an opportunity to purchase this system for their staff.

Students are added into LiveSchool by their teacher and when they are they receive an individual profile. Teachers throughout the school can bring up a class list featuring all students in the room. Next to the students name is two bubbles. One bubble is green and that represents how many positive points the student has earned. The red bubble shows how many negative points the student has. When giving or taking away points there are a variety of options to choose from so parents and other teacher can see exactly what the student did well or needs to work on. Teachers can also leave comments when they're giving or taking away points. These comments can be seen from anyone who has access to the students account.

Parents can even get involved with LiveSchool by downloading the parent app. By downloading the app they will be kept up to date with their students behavior while at school. Students also have their own app that they can download. When students look at their app they are able to see how they're doing, the number or points they have, any comments teachers have left, as well as check to see if any changes have been made to the rewards they can earn.

Paychecks are a cool feature of LiveSchool. Students receive a paycheck that shows how much

"money" they have earned. The amount of money they have in their paycheck correlates directly to the number of points they have. The paychecks are printed out and students can use them to make purchases from a variety of prizes the teacher has decided on or they can choose to save them.

LiveSchool is an awesome behavior management system that allows teachers, parents, and students to monitor behavior while at school. Data can easily be collected using this system and presented to administrators or parents whenever necessary. Engagement is a huge factor when it comes to positive behavior management and students will love working towards earning a big paycheck, so they can spend it on something they really want.

References:
[Untitled image of LiveSchool logo]. Retrieved February 15, 2017, from https://www.ena.com/company/partnerships/ena-partner-program/liveschool/

[Untitled image of LiveSchool paycheck]. Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://whyliveschool.com/

[Untitled image of LiveSchool points]. Retrieved February 15, 2017, from https://thejournal.com/articles/2014/09/24/liveschool-launches-free-behavior-management-tool.aspx

iPad Lesson 4

The fourth lesson I taught, focused on spelling practice. Before the lesson began the student and I reviewed what good writers do when they are spelling words. After we went over the importance of stopping and thinking what sounds do I hear, we went through a couple examples before using the app. Words Free Free is the name of the app that was used for the lesson.

Words Free is a free app that has in app purchases if you want to buy more words for students to practice with.When you open the app you will see four colorful tabs at the top. The first tab is green and it says groups. Selecting this tab will show a drop down menu where you can select which group of words you want your student to work on. They can choose from pre-primer, primer, first grade, second grade, third grade, and nouns. The second tab is blue and says words. Once you select this tab you will see what words are in the list that you selected the student to work on. A check mark will appear behind the word once it has been successfully completed. The third tab is orange and says colors. This tab allows students to choose which color they would like to write in. The fourth tab is purple and it is labeled info. When click on this tab shows features of that app that you can turn on and off, such as the trace arrow guide and connect the dots. You can also change the tracing difficulty.

When students begin tracing letters to make words, the app first says the whole word. It then says the first letter the student has to trace. On the screen the student will see a dotted letter with number bubbles and arrows indicating how to correctly write the letter. While they're writing the app makes a bubble noise and if the student doesn't trace the letter right it makes another silly noise to let the student know that isn't correct. The app will make the silly noise each time the student starts going off the path for how the letter should be written. Once the student has traced all of the letters the app will repeat the word again and show the student the word they traced. To go onto the next word you click on "next", which is at the bottom right side of the screen.

When the student I worked with opened the app she was instantly excited to try it herself after I first modeled to her how it works. The student I worked with is a struggling writer so I selected the primer sight words for her to practice with. Once she would trace the word I would then ask her to say the word and spell it. After a few words I then started saying a sentence that used the word she had just traced. After I shared my sentence I asked her to share her own sentence using the word. I did this so she could practice spelling the word, saying the word, and using it in context. While working on the app she shared that she though it was so cool and at the end of the lesson she wanted to do it again.

We began with spelling words using uppercase letters and then switched to lowercase, so she had practice with both. At the completion of the word list, I gave her a spelling test not using the app. I wanted to see how her knowledge of the words she just practiced spelling would transfer onto paper and pencil. All of the words I asked her to spell came from the list that she had just worked on. Five words were given and she was able to spell three right on her own. I saw this as a big accomplishment because she often times struggles with spelling every word she writes. For the words that she had trouble with, we ended up working through them together. I made sure she really stopped and said the word out loud so she was able to hear the different sounds. After she said the word I would have her say it slowly and each time she heard a different sound I would have her put up a finger. This way at the end of saying the word slowly, she could look at her hand and see how many sounds she heard. I think that with repeated practice using this app she would learn to spell new words regularly, which in turn would help her grow as a writer.

I would definitely recommend this app to other teachers or parents who want to help their students with spelling. I think it provides a great way for them to practice spelling words that they need to know in a fun way. I like how the app encourages students to use proper form when creating letters. One thing that I don't particularly like about the app is that they don't provide a sentence for any of the words. I think that providing context for the words students are working on would be beneficial to their learning. Besides that one aspect of the app I think that students will enjoy using this tool to help them develop the skills required of them to become more advanced writers.

References:
[Untitled image of Words Free app]. Retrieved February 15, 2017, from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/abby-write-play-dolch-sight/id526642951?mt=8

Seven Habits

Upon reading the article about the seven habits teachers who use technology effectively embrace, I wanted to take the time to stop and think about my own teaching practices.  The seven habits shared in the article are: They always start with the why, they are malleable and can easily adapt, they embrace change, they share, they think win-win, they are thorough and think ahead, and they actively care,

1. They always start with the why

This concept is simply yet most often forgotten. I have learned through my years of educator training that it is imperative to always think about why you're doing what you are doing. It is not beneficial for anyone if you just use technology because it is there. Creating a meaningful purpose is what will drive effective instruction and I believe that as a teacher I do a good job at this because of the training I have had.

2. They are malleable and can easily adapt

Understanding that the world of technology doesn't stay the same for long is important. Growing up in a digital age I am used to the constant stream of new technology and updates on pre-existing devices. In the classroom I will need to work on making sure I stay up  to date with the various websites, apps, and products I use in order to ensure I am adapting along with the technology.

3. They embrace change

I will be the first one to admit that when I was younger, change and I were not friends. I preferred the way things were and didn't like when things were different. As I went to college I soon learned to embrace change and I became aware of how wonderful it truly is. This mindset will help me effectively use technology because I will welcome change in the classroom with open arms, because I know that things become boring when they stay the same for too long. If I want to see growth in the classroom, change has to become a common thing.

4. They share

When it comes to sharing, I feel that I do a good job of this within a small scale. I tell those I am close with about what I am doing, and about effective things I have implemented. When I have my own classroom for the first time, I want to begin sharing on a larger scale. Using social media sites such as Instagram and Blogger are great ways to share with the world all of the great things happening inside of the classroom.

5. They think win-win

Using technology is great, but what makes it effective is mutual understanding and acceptance from all parties. Parents, students, and administrators all play a vital role in the success of a student. If they understand what you're doing inside the classroom and the purpose behind the technology being used, they will stand by you as the teacher and support your efforts.

6. They are thorough and think ahead 

The more prepared you are the better your students will do. Student success is directly correlated to the teacher. I know that this aspect of teaching is something I embrace and do well. I know the importance of thinking ahead and having everything for the lesson ready to go when the students arrive to class. Being unorganized creates chaos and stress and takes the focus away from what is supposed to be learned. When I have my own classroom I feel competent in my ability to create thorough lessons and know that I am prepared to answer any questions the students may have.

7. They actively care

As a teacher everything you do should be for your students. The lessons you teacher should be engaging because you know that if students are interested in what they're doing, they will learn more. Being a teacher requires you to constantly think about the students in your class and do everything in your power to help them become successful lifelong learners. When I have my own classroom I know that I will always put my students first and do what I need to, in order to ensure they have opportunities that help prepare them to become global citizens who believe that they can make a difference.

References:
[Untitled image about 7 technology habits]. Retrieved February 8. 2017, from http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/7-habits-of-highly-effective-teachers-who-effectively-use-technology/

iPad Lesson 3

The focus for the third iPad lesson was word families and the app Wonster Words was used as a supplement to help teach the information. Wonster Words is a free app that does require in app purchases in order to unlock additional words. When you open up the app there are many different word families to choose from, however the only one that is unlocked because it is free is the 'AT' word family. When you select the 'AT' words there are eight words students will be able to practice with. Some of the words include splat, cat, flat, bat, and rat. When the student chooses a word the word is read aloud and it appears on the screen. The student then has to drag the individual letters to the word in order to spell the word. Sometime the letters pop up around the screen and other times they're in balloons and the student has to pop them in order to find the letters. As the student drags a letter to its correct spot within the word the letter makes its sound. Since the focus is on word families the word family of focus always comes as a pair. Once the student has successful spelled the word the app reads each letter in the word in order and then says the whole word. A video appears next which models the word. After the video plays the app reads a sentence to the student that relates to the video they just watched and includes the word they just spelled. Once the sentence is read the definition of the word is also shared. This app is very engaging for students because of its fun music and kid friendly graphics. There is even an opportunity for the student to play with some of the characters from the videos such as the rat and cat in between word practice.

While teaching this lesson I first began by asking the student if she has ever heard of the term word

families before. Once she said know I then asked her to tell me what a family is. She had trouble coming up with adjectives to describe a family on her own so I prompted her. We talked about how everyone in a family is unique and special but there are also things families have in common. I then went on to explain how word families are the same way. There is something word families all have in common and that is what makes them a family. What makes them unique is the words that are put in front of or behind the word  family. For example the word cat and rat are both a part of the 'at' word family. Their similarity is the 'at', and that is what makes them a family. However the letters c and r that are placed before the 'at' are what makes those words different. This comparison really helped her understand the idea of word families and she began reading the words 'at' as one word instead of trying to decode the individual sounds.

Once we talked about word families verbally we used a white board to put it down in writing so she could also see it visually. Word families was printed at the top of the board and in the corner was the word family 'at'. I then wrote the word 'at' in blue. Underneath 'at' I wrote cat but continued to write the 'at' in blue and the other letters in black. The purpose of the color coding was to show the student that all of the words from the same word family have parts that are similar and different. I then had her come up with two additional 'at' words that she put at the bottom of the board. To the right side of the board we brainstormed things that remind us about the word family we just worked on. Upon completing this warm up activity we moved to the app where the student was able to practice hearing and spelling multiple 'at' words. This lesson was used to address the common core standard of RF.1.3. The focus was having the student be able to read and write words from common word families. "I can read and write words from the 'at' word family" was the essential question.

This app proved to be very effective at helping students develop word family knowledge. The app is engaging and enjoyable for students. The student I worked with thought the graphics were funny and she even went back and did some of the words a second time because she liked it so much. I would definitely recommend this app to anyone who has students who need to practice word families, despite the fact that the app requires a one time purchase of $16 to unlock all of the word families. It is easy for the child to navigate on their own and it provides additional practice with a reading concept that is very important as students grow and develop their literacy skills.

References:
[Untitled image of Wonster Words logo]. Retrieved February 7, 2017 from http://www.smartappsforandroid.com/2014/07/new-release-wonster-words-free.html

iPad Lesson 2

For the second lesson the app used was Spelling City. This is a free app that students can use to help them develop their writing skills through spelling practice. When you open up the app you will see two columns. The first one says "Step 1: Select a Sample List" and the second one says "Step 2: Select an Activity". Within the first column there are a variety of words lists the student can choose from. This app is designed for students in grades kindergarten through tenth grade to use. In the second column there are nine activities to select from. The activity chosen is then paired with the word list selected to help make spelling practice fun.

The focus of my lesson was, "The student can identify the individual phonemes that make up words." RF.1.2.D is the common core standard that went along with this lesson. When we began the lesson we first talked about how words are made up of individual sounds. Each word has different sounds we hear when we say it out loud. When we listen to these sounds they help us figure out how we spell the words when writing. I then continued to stress the importance of stopping to think about the word and the sounds we hear before attempting to write a word. To help her better understand the process of stopping to listen for the sounds you hear before writing we did a few practice words and sentences together. Some practice words included her last name, my last name, and the word dog. When we did the practice sentences I would have her attempt to write it on her own first and then we went over it together. If we worked through a word that was originally spelled incorrectly, I didn't have her erase her first attempt. Instead I had her write the second attempt under the first try. This way she could have a visual comparison of the first time she tried to spell the word and the second time.

When we first started the lesson I had selected the 2-3 compound words list. It became evident that this list was too challenging for the student so I went back to the home screen and selected K-1 colors. When I switched the word list the student was able to experience success with the activity. The activity selected for this lesson was Missing Letter. This activity asks students to complete the word provided by choosing which letter is missing. They have a word in a big box that has one letter missing. The app reads aloud the word and below the word are four options the student can choose from. If the student selects the wrong letter it makes a noise and the square turns grey. If the correct letter is selected it makes a trumpet noise and repeats the word again for the student. Above the word it also tells the student which word they're on and how many more are left.

 Even though the student I worked with struggled a lot in the beginning of this lesson with identifying the missing letter, towards the end she got the hang of it. She found it challenging and wanted to keep practicing so she could score a 10/10. I would definitely recommend this app for any teacher who has students who need to practice their spelling skills. This app is a fun and engaging way to develop such skills. The student can even practice the same list of words with different activities so they don't get bored.

References:
[Untitled image of SpellingCity logo]. Retrieved February 2, 2017, from https://www.spellingcity.com/high-resolution-logo.html

Take Note about Notability

Notability is an app that I was introduced to through a social media post. A teacher that I follow posted about this app and how she used it in her class to have students label a picture of an edible cell they created during science. I was instantly interested in checking this app out to see what it is all about. Unfortunately it costs $9.99, so everything I learned about it was from the information provided under the description from Apple.

This app allows users to upload documents, PowerPoint presentations, and PDF documents. Webpages from the internet can even be retrieved and written on through a feature called Share Extension. On the pages uploaded you have the option to sketch, write notes, or highlight information. The app also has a feature that connects notes and recordings together. This way when you go back through a lecture you recorded, you are able to hear what was said as well as see the notes you took. All notes that are recorded using this app can be shared in a variety of ways. Such ways include email, Twitter, Dropbox, and Google Drive.

This is definitely a unique app that although costs money, could be a good investment if you found something you could continually use it for in the classroom.

References:
[Untitled image of Notability logo]. Retrieved February 2, 2017,
from http://www.wonderoftech.com/notability/

The Scoop on Periscope

Have you ever wanted to share a live video but didn't want to use Facebook live? Well you should check out Periscope. Periscope is a video broadcast app that allows its users to post live videos. People have the opportunity to view the broadcasts as they're happening or they can be seen later. Using the Periscope app anyone can create an account which allows you to post and watch videos. While you're broadcasting a video, you are able to see a stream of comments people post while they're watching. If a comment is rude or not appropriate the presenter can block a comment. All comments are visible to anyone watching the video. Viewers also have the option to share hearts as the presenter is speaking, which show that they like what is being said.

I have only see Periscope be used for educational purposes. I follow teachers from the Ron Clark Academy who post regularly about lessons they have taught. Often times they use the live video to show you around the classroom if there was a room transformation involved. Periscope provides a cool opportunity to gain insight into what other teachers across the country are doing in their classrooms. I have learned a lot about how to plan unique and engaging lessons from watching various Periscopes.

When I have my own classroom I want to use Periscope to show others what I am doing in my room. I can post videos to share how I decided to set up my classroom, as well as any awesome lessons I have taught. If we are presenting a final project or having a classroom event that I want parents to be able to check out, I can start a live video so they can have the opportunity be included in what is happening inside the classroom.

References:
[Untitled image of Periscope logo]. Retrieved January 31, 2017, from https://invictaministries.org/periscope-app/

iPad Lesson 1

For my first iPad lesson I used the app myON. MyON is an educational reading app and website that many schools purchase to help their students increase their reading abilities. In order to access the books through their app and/or website you need to have a username and password. Since you have to pay for a subscription it may not be feasible for you to use this program with your students if your school has not purchased the program. When you log onto myON for the first time it directs you to a interest survey, where students have to choose how they feel about various genres of books. The scale is represented with smiley faces. Once the students have completed the survey and saved the information they will have to take a reading quiz to assess their reading abilities. From their quiz results the program will select books that are at an appropriate instructional reading level for that child. Upon completion of the quiz the student will be free to begin reading. They can choose from various options such as recommended books, genres, and favorites. Students can also type in a book they want to read to see if it is in the system. When a student chooses a book they click read this book and when they click play the iPad or computer will read the book aloud to the student. As the book is read the sentence the automated voice is reading highlights orange and then each individual word turns black. This is a great feature that allows students to not only listen but follow along with the words. If the student doesn't want the book to read to them they can turn off that feature. The book does not automatically turn pages, it is up to the student to click on the next page. Another cool feature of myON is that is tracks the number of hours students spend reading.

The focus for my first lesson was questioning. RL.2.1 was the common core standard covered in this lesson which focuses on the student being able to ask and answer questions such as who, what, where, when, why, and how in order to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. The essential question was: I can read a story and answer questions to show my understanding. Besides the iPad other materials included a pencil and comprehension question sheet. Five questions were on the comprehension sheet that helped engage the reader in developing a deeper understanding the of the text just read. The five questions were: Who are the characters?, What is the story mainly about?, Where does the story take place?, When does the story take place?, How did the story begin?

The lesson began by introducing the concept of asking questions as you read and I asked her why she thinks good readers ask questions. Next, I showed her the comprehension question sheet and we read through the questions and discusses them. We then went on myON and she was able to choose a book she wanted to read. She decided to choose a book that she has read before. The title of the book was, Sofia the First: The Amulet and the Anthem. When she opened the book up and downloaded it to the iPad we began reading. She chose the read aloud option so for each page the story read to her. The first time through the story we just listened and I didn't add in any teaching points or make comments about the story we were reading. After hearing the story once, we read through the comprehension question sheet again. This time I told her to pay special attention now as we listen to the story again and as we read I want her to pause the story when she finds an answer to one of the questions. We completed the comprehension sheet during the second reading and not all of the questions were answered in order. We worked on answering them as they appeared in the story.

Throughout the lesson I noticed that creating complete sentences was one of her weaknesses as well as spelling. She was able to articulate the answer but when it came time to write it down she often struggled. I would help her work through her thoughts in order to put down an answer that matched what she would say aloud. As we read through the story the second time working to fill out the question sheet she did a great job with finding the answers within the story and pausing the story when she came across new information to fill in. A teaching point focused on using the words from the question to help us create the beginning of our complete sentence as well as using the words provided to help us with the spelling. I made sure that if the word was in the book or in the question she spelled it correctly. We also worked on making sure we had capital letters in the correct places within our sentences and that we ended with the correct punctuation.

Overall I thought that this iPad lesson was very successful. She was able to listen to a story read aloud which is a great way for her to hear fluency and learn to recognize words within stories. She had a good understanding of the story because she was familiar with it already. We worked through the question sheet together, because she is still not as a level where she can independently complete it. I would recommend myON to anyone who is working with students. It is a great program that allows students of any reading ability to improve their skills. It is tailored to what students need and provides students with a variety of books to read on their own or hear read aloud. I will definitely continue using this app to work with my student as she works on developing her literacy skills.

References:
[Image of book cover]. Retrieved January 30, 2017, from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.capstonedigital

[Image of myON logo]. Retrieved January 30, 2017, from
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.capstonedigital

Tweeting Our Way Into The Classroom

Twitter is a 21st century social media platform. This social media site can be accessed through apps and online. Twitter acts as a blog in a way, allowing its users to share their thoughts by tweeting messages that are 140 characters or less. Once you tweet your message, if you have a private account anyone who is following your account can see it. If your account is not private anyone on twitter can see what you wrote. Twitter encourages the use of hashtags as well. By using a hashtag in your post you are able to direct your message to similar tweets about the same topic. If you click on a hashtag you will be able to see all tweets that have used the same topic in their message.

Twitter is often used by people as a way to keep up with what their friends. However, despite what many people may believe, Twitter can play an important role in the life of an educator. Along with following friends accounts, you can follow other accounts related to topics you're interested. As a graduate student working towards my masters in literacy, I follow various educational accounts. Such accounts include, High Point University, edutopia, Reading Rockets, and NC Public Schools. These are just a few of the educational accounts that I have chosen to follow. By following them I am able to see continual information posted that relates to my interests as an educator. If there is something I feel compelled to share with my followers, I can retweet what the account has tweeted themselves. Sometimes your newsfeed can become overwhelming when following both personal and professional accounts. This issue leads me directly to my next point.

TweetDeck is a wonderful extension of Twitter that allows you to create a sense and order to your Twitter newsfeed. Instead of displaying one page, TweetDeck is organized into columns. Each column displays something different such as your profile, notifications, messages, etc. You have the freedom to add additional columns to help make your account personalized for your needs. When you click "Add column", a page pops up that displays 15 various options for your new column. For my TweetDeck, I like to use the collection and list option. When you choose collection you are creating a column that displays tweets relating to a specific topic, such as education. When you scroll through your newsfeed and come across a tweet you really like and want to add it to your column all you have to do is click the three small dots on the bottom of the tweet then select, add to collection. From there you can select which collection to add it to, if you've created more than one. Once you have tweets in your collection you have the option to share your collection with others. This is a great way for others interested in the same topics as you to easily view the tweets you found valuable regarding a central theme. When you create a list, it is similar to creating a collection. You create a title and then add users to the list. The tweets from the users you select will appear in this new column. You also have the option to embed your list onto your Twitter page. It will appear under lists and anyone who follows you can view things you have pined or retweeted from the accounts you follow, relating to the theme of your list.

In the future I plan to expand my use of Twitter for educational purposes. Using TweetDeck will be a great way for me to organize what I see on my timeline. I will continually follow more reputable educational sources in order to have a wide variety of information on my timeline. Twitter can help me become more aware of what is going on in the educational world, while informing me on best practices that have been researched and now shared on this social media platform. My main goal is to use Twitter as a way to help me as an educator stay in the loop about the latests and greatest trends when it comes to education.

References:
[TweetDeck logo]. Retrieved January 21, 2017, from http://keywordsuggest.org/gallery/667783.html

[Twitter logo]. Retrieved January 21, 2017, from https://www.webceo.com/blog/how-to-keep-monitoring-twitter-popularity-despite-the-tweet-count-api-deprecation/