Math in Movie Making

I love TED Talks!!! 

Here is a TED Talk about how math in essential in animation making!!

So when students ask why we need math...well here is one of the answers!
Taking middle and high school math in day to day animation!

Very interesting...Enjoy.

Vegas Baby!!!!

Imagine over 7000 K-12 teacher coming together to LEARN served with a side of Partying! This is what is happening in Las Vegas July 7-11 2014 at the 2014 Staff Development for Educators National Conference.  

Who would've thought that I would be spending my first week of summer vacation at a teacher conference...well here I am.  I'm attending this conference to enhance my knowledge on integrating technology into my teaching.  

I've been attending some amazing workshops.  Sharing of Best Practises with other teachers has been refreshing and (I know I'm nerd) exciting!!!!

Stay tuned for more posts on the different things I discovered at the SDE Conference!

2014 SDE Conference Link

Get Your Google On...Google Docs

Get Your Google On with Google Docs

Last weekend Annie Kartos and I had the privilege of workshopping other TDSB teachers  on the fabulous Google App, Docs.  

Google Docs allow students to collaborate with their classmates from anywhere in the world with only an internet connection.  For teachers, Google Docs allows us to read the students' work live and in real time.  One of the features I really like on Docs is the ability to see ALL the work the students have done.  Anyone who have editing privileges can go back and see all the revisions that have been done throughout the  process.  This is great for monitoring progress and assessing students.  Another feature of Google Docs that comes in handy for teachers who find descriptive feed back time consuming.  You can leave your feed back right online...students have instant feedback. 

Click here to view our Presentation on Google Docs

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.  I'll do my best to answer them.

Happy Googling!!!

PRESENTING AT GOOGLE CAMP!!!!

Recently my friend and colleague A. Kartos and I applied to be presenters at our school board's first annual Google Camp.  Much to our surprise we were accepted as presenter and we are very excited to be taking part of this amazing professional development opportunity.  

If you are a Toronto District School Board Teacher and you are interested in attending Google Camp, it is going to be held on Sat. May 10th, 2014., at Earl Haig Secondary School at Yonge and Shepard. 

This Google Camp will be very informative for those teachers who have not discovered all the applications that Google has to offer. Google Drive is a great tool for student and teachers alike.   Come and learn with us!
Hope to see you there...

iPad Apps and Blooms Taxonomy

Video Game Reviews

Language Arts meets Tech...A Love Story

As a writing assignment each of my students in grade 7 & 8 were asked to write a video game review. With the support of my teacher-librarian we team taught "how to write a good video game review."  As a class we looked a examples of online video game reviews and came up with the success criteria.  The class used their writer's workshop centre time to conference with Ms. Kartos and make changes and improvements on their review.  Once the reviews were handed in the student then presented their reviews to the class.  I've embedded a few examples of the visual aids the students created to support their oral video game reviews.  

Social Media and the Tween

Click below to read the article and see the infographic

Trending Tweens

Stop Motion Animation created by my students

My Class went on a field trip to The TIFF Lightbox Theatre.  

The students grouped up and each group created a very short stop motion animation. 

(Sorry there isn't any sound on this video.)  

Let's Foster Creativity...it's as simple as a cardboard box

Caine Monroy is an example of an extraordinary student who used his creativity to fill his summer holidays.  As teachers it is important to teach our students in different ways to ensure that we can tap into the students' strengths and possibly ignite a passion to come to the surface.  As you watch this video of Caine and his story, he probably represents one or more student that sits in your class.  Possibly disengaged, bored and at time just lost.  We need to help our students guide our students to explore the out of the ordinary.  Imagine what your students could achieve if given the opportunities.  It is our responsibilities as teachers to help students 
grow and explore their own talents and abilities.  

To learn more about Caine and the Imagination Foundation click below.  

http://cainesarcade.com/

Students Using Padlet to Share their Learning

My Gr. 7&8 Students were asked to work in groups to summarize their assigned section of Chapter 6.  They used Padlet to present their work.  

Take a look by clicking on the links below. 

Developing an Agricultural Economy

The Gold Rush Era

Why was the Yukon Territory Created

The North West Mounted Police

History Paper Slide Videos

My students created paper slide videos to show their learning.

Each group was given a section of Chapter 8 in their History textbook and asked to create a paper slide to show their understanding.  

Here are some of the students' work.  

Enjoy!!

I found covering the content for Gr. 7 & 8 History was much more effective when using tasks that were more engaging for the students.  Some of the students who's work is presented above were some of my most reluctant students.

Paper Slide Videos is a very low tech way to integrate tech into your class.
In an older post on this blog posted a link to a YouTube video that showed you how to make a paper slide video.  If you missed it the link is below.
Click here for the Paper Slide Video

The Flipped Classroom

Interested in the Flipped Classroom?

Here is the a video my AQ group created to help you 

understand the Flipped Classroom

Bloom's Taxonomy for the 21st Century

Bloom's Taxonomy for the 21st Century 

Effective teacher always have Bloom's Taxonomy in mind when planning a lesson and/or a task and use it in their daily teaching practice. Bloom's Taxonomy was written in 1956 and it represented a hierarchy of activities to guide our levels of questioning and challenges for 

learning for our students.

The idea of Bloom's Taxonomy hasn't changed...

But how does this look like in the 21st Century?  Let's take a look...

In the graphic above we can see the different Web 2.0 Tools that fit into the different stages of Bloom's Taxonomy.  As we integrate tech into our classrooms our teaching and learning experiences in our classroom should continue to reflect Bloom's Taxonomy.  

Gamification of Education

Being a Good Digital Citizen

This week at my school we had tons of issues with online bullying.  So my class revisited How to be a Good Digital Citizen.  Here are some ways to get the conversations started.  

This graphic is great to show students what Good Digital Citizens Do...

iPads in the Classroom

iPads in the Classroom

This is what an iPad is for....

The Pros

1. Students love them- This one’s pretty obvious, but they really do. iPads in the classroom will get even the most stubborn students excited and engaged.
2. Good battery life- This is one of my favourite things about it! My phone won’t even last me through the day but my iPad never lets me down. This mobile device will make it through the whole school day without dying, which is essential for school use.
3. Apps galore- The iPad has the ability to interact with a variety of apps. There seems to be an app for everything these days, and the number of educational apps just keeps growing.
4. Platform for e-textbooks- iPads can pretty much eliminate the need for textbooks. Yay, no more back-breaking book bags! Plus, e-books save tons of trees and they are more up-to-date.
5. Communication tool- Have any shy students not willing to speak out in class? Using iPads in the classroom can help fix that. You can use them as a polling tool or let students ask questions or make comments during lectures and address them either as they come or after the lecture. With the iPad students can communicate the teachers and other students instantly.
6. Great content viewer- The iPad is the perfect mobile device for viewing content. It really is a great way to experience the web, watch podcasts and videos, read books, and do research.
7. User-friendly to students with disabilities- There are many apps for students with cognitive disabilities. It has really been useful for students with who have problems with communication skills like autistism.
8. Light-weight and portable- The iPad is much more lightweight than a book bag full of textbooks, notebooks, and binders. Students can cram all that into the iPad and easy take it with them anywhere.
9. Fast and easy to use-The touch interface and app system on the iPad makes it easy to access learning tools. It’s “ON” instantly, and the apps open just as fast. It’s simple and easy, perfect for even younger students.

The Cons

1. Doesn’t support flash- One of the biggest criticisms of the iPad is its lack of ability to work with Adobe Flash and Javascript. A lot of content in schools and websites for kids are dominated by Flash. Although, some argue that the abundance of educational apps make up for it.
2. No USB port- The iPad has largely been positioned by Apple as a companion device to computers even though many people use them to do everything they normally do on a computer.
3. Lack of multi-tasking- Multiple windows and files can’t be kept open side by side. Although this is definitely a negative if you are trying to multi-task, it may be good for keeping your students focused on the one thing they are supposed to be doing.
4. Expensive- Many schools find the iPad is just too expensive. One solution to ease some of the financial burden would be to allow BYOD or even for schools to purchase the cheaper iPad mini instead.
5. Potential to be distracting- Of course there is the possibility of student being distracted and wondering onto other sites.
6. Lack of production capabilities-As I started earlier the iPad is a great content viewer, but unfortunately it’s not as great for content creation. It’s better for light writing.
7. Typing is sometimes frustrating- Steve Jobs once said, “typing on the iPad is a dream.” Well, in truth, it is not a dream. It is not like a computer keyboard, which makes it difficult to type longer emails or documents.  I much prefer a real keyboard any day. Syncing your iPad to an Apple wireless keyboard is a great idea if you’re going to be doing a lot of typing.
8. Not good for sharing- iPads were designed to be personal devices. With the incapability to enter logins, each student needs his/her own. Personal information can't be stored if students are sharing iPads.

ICT Workshop - Padlet

Using Padlet to Activate Background Knowledge

Created with Padlet

Some other Ways to USE Padlet

- KWL for a pre and post assessment

- use as formative assessment tool to check understanding

- place a sentence starter on a wall and students can generate ideas

- allow students to ask questions about topics or assignments

- use a wall for group research project to share ideas

- showcase student work

- digital Portfolio

- exit tickets

Twitter in the Classroom

Twitter is...

1.  Twitter is a quick way to send out reminders.  

2.  Twitter is a classroom news feed.  

3.  Twitter is connecting with your classroom  and school community.  

4.  Twitter is a place to ask your teacher questions and get answers.  

5.  Twitter is a great way to engage students in their learning.  

Don't be afraid to use twitter in you classrooms.  It's a powerful tool!!!