Reading and Writing Tech Tools

Week four! 

http://www.penfriend.ltd.uk/
- Penfriend helps users write faster by predicting the next word to come, which makes writing faster and easier as well as helping with spelling and grammar. The site says it works well with students with dyslexia, visual impairments, or some physical disabilities. It even has an ELL tool, which would be great in classrooms! 

http://www.inspiration.com/Kidspiration
- Kidspiration is described as a "visual way" to help with words, among other things. Students are able to combine pictures, text and spoken word which can help develop vocabulary, word recognition, and reading comprehension. I would use for students to help develop their critical thinking skills, and writing skills of course. The site would also help ELL students as it has a great vocab tool that gives students a picture, synonyms, and definitions of words. 

http://www.nuance.com/for-individuals/by-product/dragon-for-mac/index.htm
- Dragon is a product that lets users dictate what they want to write. You can completely edit and control the document by using your voice. I could see this helping students with physical impairments, as well as a creative class activity. If you had a paper or even just a sentence on the screen, the class could edit it together and students could actually speak their edits which could be fun. 

http://www.leapfrog.com/en-us/products/reading-family
A little more on reading, audiobooks are always a unique tool to help readers. There are many sites that offer audiobooks, and one product I've seen among young readers are LeapPad LeapReaders. The students has different text choices and uses a LeapPad pen to follow the words on the page and have it read aloud, or it can tell the student vocab of certain words or ask questions. It would be especially nice for students who didn't have extra assistance at home, or just wanted to read independently but needed a little more help. 

     Reading about eVoc strategies was interesting this week... it was clear through the article how important vocabulary is to improve reading and comprehension. As it mentions academic language, it reminded me how integrated academic language is into our schooling. Rarely are we taught random vocabulary words, but more often they're integrated into our unit (like the word "hypothesis" in a science unit). In the article learning new academic language is described as learning a second language, in for ELL students, a third, or even fourth language. 

     Using a wordcloud can help students address different vocab in articles and various readings. It can promote discussion among readers as well. I liked the idea of using teacher-selected sites, it almost feels like a bit of a scavenger hunt for students to use different sites for different portions of the project. Creating captions was another idea I liked, because it allows for creativity as well as knowledge about vocabulary. Of course games are always good, especially at moment where you have free time and learning games can even be seen as a reward in some classrooms. 

I've been looking online a little bit more own vobab project, but am still deciding what resource to use. Stay tuned!

Teacher blogs

This week I found some teacher blogs, and was introduced to not only wonderful teachers but some great ideas. 

Ms. Cassidy's Class
Great blog! This sparked my interest because first graders are so much fun and have so much creativity, and I had read that Ms. Cassidy's blog was great for creativity. One cool feature on this blog is that each child has a link dedicated to their learning. I can follow up on Grace, Jakob, Matthew, or any of the other 20 students in her class! I read that her class is looking over thirty pheasant eggs... I love the idea of long-term projects, especially with younger grades. Here she incorporates a science lesson as well as teaches the students patience and keeps them wondering. Some other ideas are the students reading by flashlight (keeps them more engaged, she says!), sorting through the marshmallow shapes of Lucky Charms and doing math with them, as well as hosting a winter carnival. Sounds like a class I'd want to be a part of! 

Regurgitated Alpha Bits
This blog gave a real insight to teaching. I appreciated this blog because it does more than just convey the glory of teaching... it gives the not-so-fun parts either, the silly parts, and the ridiculous parts. I love reading her posts about a student sassing her, grabbing her butt, and getting jokes via e-mail from her students. It reminds me to enjoy the silly parts of teaching, and that even moments that seem a bit outrageous are all part of the job. 

Scholastic Teachers
This site hosts several teachers different blogs. I was able to hear from Alycia, a third grade teacher in New York, as well as Allie, a pre-k teacher in Nevada. Allie had a creative flair for teaching which I was attracted to, including a post on "turning snack time into teaching time"! I love use of food, games, and other things student enjoy because it makes learning fun. 

And just for further reference for next time...
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/top-14-teacher-blogs

Technology in the classroom

In 3rd grade my teacher won a grant that got palm pilots in our classroom. While now palm pilots seem a bit extinct in the tech world, they were exciting to use as a third grader. We read the news on them, wrote ourselves notes, and played games. This and the AlphaSmart keyboard (remember those?) were my first taste of technology beyond computers in the classroom. As time as gone on we see touch screen computers, iPads, and new variations of the classic blackboard in classrooms. Technology in the classroom is often in the form of electronics that enhance the classroom experience. It’s important to integrate technology into our classrooms, as there’s so much it can do and it’s not going anywhere.

Technology is, and will continue to be, a part of our lives. It’s important to utilize the tools we have access to in beneficial ways. Things like the Smartboard and the Elmo are replacing the chalkboard which makes some people cringe (technology! Taking over our world!), but considering the improvements they make in the classroom, it’s no wonder they are being integrated. The ability to show a computer screen on the wall, to write on the wall and easily erase, to write in many colors… these are just a few of the features of these products. We are able to access so many different mediums with a smart board, which can engage children in different ways. We all know this important because not every student learns in the same way. I do believe there is a time and place for technology (no need for electronics on the playground), but we can’t ignore that it has been beneficial to many learners, to the environment, and to organization. We can engage learners in new ways and new technology extends to help ELL students and special education classrooms in ways we couldn’t before.