Book Report Alternatives, Take I

Critical thinking skills and creativity are two key elements of a 21st Century learning environment as outlined by The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.  Also defined as a key element is Information, Media, and Technology Skills.  This blog series is dedicated to taking the traditional reading assignments, such as book reports, group discussions, and demonstrating comprehension to the 21st century.
Book Report Alternatives Take I:
Of the sites and ideas highlighted in this series, Shelfari is probably the most similar to the traditional book report.  On this site, students can create a virtual bookshelf that displays all the books they are reading, have read, or would like to read.  They can rate books, summarize them, create tags, and leave a personal message about the book.  A student's profile is considered complete when they add facts to their books and join discussion groups.  In the discussion groups, students can ask questions about their book or other classmates' books, respond to prompts, summarize their story, or even give their own feelings and perspectives.

When considering Grappling's Technology Spectrum, this site could be utilized for lessons at the adapting or transforming level.  Adapting lessons simply allow students to do what they've always done with pencil and paper using technology instead.  Transforming lessons, on the other hand, utilize critical thinking skills, expand the learning throughout multiple disciplines, and can even take the learning outside of the classroom walls. 

If students collaborate with other classrooms in Shelfari, using groups created and monitored by the teacher, the possibilities are endless.  Other students from a range of geographical regions can add input and perspective to literature studies, making connections for the collaborating class.  This is something that cannot be done without the technology.

Shelfari takes a little bit of preparation in the beginning.  Accounts are free, but email addresses are needed for the students.  Free email accounts can be created using sites like Gaggle or ePals. Both sites also offer collaborative features, so students can not only obtain an email address for Shelfari, but can collaborate with other students and classes using the built in features of the email services.

The 4 C's, identified by The Partnership for 21st Century Learning, includes critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. By participating in authentic discussions such as those described and collaborating with other students and classrooms, students are engaged in all aspects of a 21st Century Learning environment. 

Make Your Presentations Move!

So maybe you're studying photosynthesis and you'd like the students to create something that demonstrates the growth of plants under the perfect conditions of water, sunlight, and temperature.

Maybe you're a primary teacher and your students are working on a transportation unit.  As the kids put the finishing touches on their projects, here's a few tips to really make their presentations both interactive and exciting.

Check the video tutorial below to find out how:

Fun SMART Notebook Trick

Here's a video tutorial of a fun SMART Notebook trick to try in your class using a spotlight to find text hidden from view.

This trick takes the place of the "screen shade" in SMART Notebook.  It's always good to mix things up to keep engagement at the highest levels.  This is just another tool for the toolbelt!

Lots of fun ways this could be used in the classroom!  What ways can you think of?

Using Technology for Guided Reading

In Guided Reading activities, students are involved in a variety of reading strategies while the teacher provides support to small groups.  There are many engaging ways technology can be used in these lessons to stretch and enhance student thinking.

Student Led Discussions
Skype 
Students can discuss topics and ask questions with other classrooms using Skype, a free application that allows users to call others.  Students can see each other through the web cam and communicate in real time, asking questions and discussing readings.

Chat
Using various chat features, students can discuss and question readings.  Try Typewith.me to chat and create writing and Gaggle chat so students can meet in virtual rooms to discuss teacher given prompts and topics.

Reflections
When students use journals to reflect, they are putting their ideas, questions, and thoughts in a paper form of a response log.  Blogs are the electronic version of this same idea.  By allowing students to reflect in the form of a blog, they will not only verbalize their ideas, but publish them for the world to see, which typically increases effort.  Additionally, by publishing public reflections, other students reading the same book can comment with their own ideas, which can develop into a discussion, mimicking the dialogue students would have if they were meeting face to face.
Blogmeister is a good site that is free and safe for kids.  Teachers can set up an account and provide kids with their very own page, which can demonstrate growth over time.

Questioning and Notes
As students read, comprehension can be increased by writing notes and questions on post-its or stickies.  These are then saved until students have the opportunity to either discuss their reading in small group format or make the connections themselves through further reading.  The same practice can be carried out virtually by using either a wiki or virtual sticky notes.  By storing the notes and questions in a public forum, students benefit not only themselves, but also the other students in the class.  Other students can answer the questions and make comments on the notes; therefore, accelerating the timeliness of feedback and the ability to make connections.

There are many good wikis that are free for teachers, including PBWorks and Wikispaces.  The same is true for virtual sticky notes.  Check here for several links to free, virtual stickies.

Post Its, Anyone?

Save the environment and your school's budget by using these sites in lieu of sticky notes:

Wallwisher

Postica

Spaaze

Lino

These are great resources to use for brainstorming, collaborating, questioning, and note-taking.

Finding Chapter Excerpts

You'll be surprised how many chapter excerpts you can find online!  Check out these resources for a variety of reading levels and well-known reading material.

Freckle Juice

The Wanderer

Walk Two Moons

Young Adult Books Central  (EXCELLENT collection!)

One Day on the Prairie by Jean Craighead George

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

A Series of Unfortunate Events #10 by Lemony Snicket

The Great Ping Pong Ball Experiment by Phil Shapiro

Ellen the Eagle Needs Glasses by Phil Shapiro

Champion by Phil Shapiro

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo

There's an Owl in the Shower by Jean Craighead George

Excerpts by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Wringer by Jerry Spinelli

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Animal Adventures by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder


Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs

Beardance by Will Hobbs

Excerpts by Lois Lowry

These excerpts can be used in reading classes to hook a student on a book during read alouds, to study common writing elements and styles of authors, or to spread the resources in large classrooms.  What other ways can you use these excerpts?

Making Your SMARTBoard Brilliant - Part I

 What makes the SMART Board "smart?"  Google's definition of smart includes the following:

• showing mental alertness and calculation and resourcefulness
• chic: elegant and stylish; "chic elegance"; "a smart new dress"; "a suit of voguish cut"
• bright: characterized by quickness and ease in learning

For this piece of the Cool Tech Tricks SMART Board series, we're going to focus on the "chic" aspect.

Dr. Jamie McKenzie has done a great deal of research in how images can assist in learning and how a picture really can be worth a thousand words.  Check here for an article he wrote regarding choosing images.

Fortunately, in the SMART Board gallery, we have a wealth of images, backgrounds, multimedia tools, and interactive activities that are sure to not only engage students, but lend themselves to students physically being at the SMART Board interacting with it themselves.

Searching through the gallery is simple enough, but there are so many resources there that it can be overwhelming.  Have an idea in mind of what you need, then use the search tool.

In the above search for matter, you can see there are over 400 items that would fit this category.  Although pictures to dress up the SMART slide are nice, let me play the devil's advocate.  What are the kids going to do with that image?  In a core classroom, if it's just there for aesthetics, find something else that would engage the students in learning.  This could include labeling, matching, finding hidden items with the images, classifying, or brainstorming.

In the above example, you'll find there are 200 pictures, but 43 interactive lessons dealing with matter.  Although you can make the pictures interactive, the work is already done for you if you choose from the 43 interactive lessons.  To search through these activities, click the triangle in front of the description to open the multitude of examples.  Browse through and double click on the ones you want to use in your lesson.  They will then be inserted into the slide.  If they are items you use on a regular basis, save yourself some time and drag the item up to the area titled "My Content."  This is the equivalent of bookmarking them so you can easily find them later.

The same idea can be applied to images you've inserted to SMART Notebook from another source, like your Pictures folder or the Internet.  Simply drag them into the My Content area so that you can use them regularly.

These handy tips can help to better engage your students and can make your life a little easier.

Make your Presentations Pop (and Zoom and Spin) with Prezi

Looking for an exciting way to present information to your students this year?  Something more than just listing text for them to copy down?  A great way to spice up your presentations is to use Prezi. Prezi is an easy to use, engaging tool.  It is known as "the zooming presentation editor." In Prezi, you can zoom in on phrases, insert pictures, YouTube videos, flip, spin, and move around the presentation however you like.  Click here for an example.  

Although Prezi looks difficult to create, it's simply a matter of double clicking to add text and inserting images to let the pictures do the talking.  Check this tutorial to see how to create your presentation.

From using Prezi,  I've learned a few tips that have been helpful to me:

1. Before creating a Prezi, it is best to plan out your presentation first.  Draw and map out your ideas on a sheet of plain paper first.

2. If you'd like to use a picture as a background, it's easier to insert the picture as your first step.  You can move it backward by clicking on the "x" of the Zebra editor later, but it can save time if you do this first.  Because the presentation will zoom in very close, you'll need to use a large picture to ensure it doesn't become pixelated.  Stock Xchange is a great place to get large, royalty free images.

3. Add to the excitement of your presentation by placing text vertically rather than horizontally.  This will make the screen flip and turn. Do this by clicking on the outside rim of the Zebra editor.

4. When you plan out the presentation, think about the key ideas that are most important to your lesson.  Zoom in on those ideas, or better yet, place them right below another word, zooming in as you present.

5.  Look for creative ways to share your ideas.   Have a big point to make?  Zoom in and type that right next to the period of another sentence.  Have an idea that is a smaller piece of another point?  Look for a letter "o" in the first point, zoom inside of the "o" and type your next point there.

Using Prezi allows you to create an engaging presentation that is easy to edit and fun.  No more boring slideshows in 2011!