Writing with Keyboards?

There is a struggle going on within many writers that have sloppy handwriting.  Which is more important: content or appearance?  In other words, should writers with bad penmanship concentrate on writing neat or getting their thoughts onto paper.

It isn't possible for all writers to do both.  Rough draft writing needs to be fast.  If writers go slow in order to have neat handwriting, then their thinking will slow down.  As a result, there will not be as much meaningful content in their writing.  A rough draft should be fast and potentially sloppy.  If the student can read their own writing, then it should be good enough for a rough draft.

This doesn't mean that it is OK to turn in sloppy handwriting.  When students turn a rough draft into a final draft, they should use neat handwriting.  The content is in the rough draft; the appearance is in the final draft.

Using keyboards can be a helpful solution to the issue of sloppy handwriting.  As long as it doesn't slow down the writer's ability to think.  Until students can type as fast as they can write, they should do their rough drafts on paper.

Evernote for anecdotal records

Evernote is a great tool to use for anecdotal records, especially if you have a smartphone!! I use a smartphone with the Evernote app to create digital notebooks for each student.  It is password protected both on Evernote and on my phone to protect student identities.  If I want to look up all of my anecdotal notes on a student's writing conventions, I search through his or her notebook for his/her name, writing, and conventions.  I would tag his anecdotal note with writing and conventions.  I would like it to a picture of his writing that showcased his ability to use a new type of convention.  This is a great way to quickly review data for creating small groups and sharing progress at parent conferences.

The great time technology balance

Technology is a great tool to use in the classroom, but it is always important to consider the time demands that new technologies have.  If a technology takes a long time to use, then you are spending less time teaching the content of your lesson.

For example, using google spreadsheets is a very useful tool for collecting data from multiple classes, but it takes some time to teach students how to use the tool.  It might not be beneficial to teach google spreadsheets to a third grade class because it will take a long time to teach most third graders how to use the technology.  It would probably be a better idea to use google spreadsheets in a middle school science classroom as the students have generally spent more time with a computer by this age.  It is important to know your students and their abilities.

If it is going to take too much time, it could be better to use old-fashioned methods.  However, if it doesn't take away from the content or take too much time, technology should be used in the classroom.  Educators needs to make a decision, giving thoughts to the benefits and time demands, about whether each technology piece should be used in their lessons.

Future Uses of Technology

In the near future, I plan to use Yodio, Google Earth, and Photoshop.  Yodio will be used to create something similar to an online alphabet book.  Google Earth will be used to show students the 7 different land continents.  Photoshop will be used by the older kids to create slideshows about how to play different sports, which will be done on rainy days for PE.

I don't plan to use mobile applications very often with the whole class.  I only have one phone, so only one person can be using the app at a time.  For many activities, it will be too time consuming to use mobile apps.

Websites

Websites are a very useful tool for any grade or content area.  Important papers for families can be posted online in addition to being sent home on paper.  Then if little Johnny forgets his permission slip, his parents can print, sign and fax it to the school while the kids are loading onto the bus!

Websites can also be a great place to celebrate student work.  Students can put their speeches into a podcast and post them onto a class website to share with friends and family who may not otherwise hear them.

Homework assignments can be posted to give students reminders about directions and due dates.  You can view my website at www.gregsykora.com.

Voki

Voki is a web 2.0 tool that can be used to create online cartoon characters that speak the words you type.  It is a fun way to get your students' attention for a short piece of content or important sets of directions.  Voki can be embedded into a website.

Mobile Apps

Mobile applications (mobile apps) can be very useful for students of all ages.  Even kindergarten can use mobile apps.  There are easy apps to use, such as Kids Math Ace, in which students add pieces of fruit and pic their answer out of a group of different numbers. 

Mobile apps can also be a great above and beyond activity for students how have finished the current assignment or for indoor recess.  Students who have finished their science lab can learn about wind speed and direction with the Papertoss application (an app that allows you to throw a digital piece of paper into a garbage can from varying distances with varying wind speeds and directions in the room).

Podcasting

Podcasting can be a great tool as long as it is used to teach to your objectives.  Children can really master a concept if they create a podcast about it.  For example, when younger grades are learning shapes, they can get into small groups and create podcasts about individual shapes.  As a culminating lesson, the kids can have a popcorn party and watch each other's podcasts to review all of the shapes.

Teacher-created podcasts can also be helpful.  I plan to create podcasts for my students to listen to at home.  They will be fun and a good way for children to review what they have learned.  They can also be used to front load new vocabulary, especially to ELLs.

Teach kids to recognize hoax sites

Show your kids some unreliable sources.  Talk to them about wikipedia.  Make sure they know that it is created by people just like you and me.  As a class, we will check information on wikipedia with known sources in books from our school library.  I will make sure my kids see examples of online sites with incorrect information.

Information can be taken as reliable if it can be confirmed from multiple sources.

Maps in the Classroom

How can you use maps in your future classroom? Would you ever use an electronic mapping resource like Google Maps in your class? Why or why not?


There are so many ways to use maps in the classroom.  Electronic mapping resources, like Google Maps and Google Earth, are often overlooked.  For example, Google Maps can be used to teach time concepts to upper elementary.  Students can plan a trip and estimate how long it will take to travel there and back.  You can also add times together by having multiple destinations.


Google Earth could be used to take your children along the journeys of famous explorers, such as Christopher Columbus or Lewis and Clark.


I will definitely use electronic mapping in my classroom.  It is a great way to engage your students, since they probably see their parents using electronic maps.  They may even use electronic maps themselves.