Technology Week

After many weeks we are finally back to blogging! I am pleased to announce that we have a blog team in place to fill you in on our classroom happenings on a weekly basis.

This week, we checked out the laptops from the library and got down to business in all three grade levels. The fifth graders are currently in the process of creating a wikispace on European Exploration. During my visit to the technology conference I learned of several highly effective web 2.0 tools for the students to use. I hyper-linked these tools to the wikispace so they would be readily available for the students. So far the kids have created mind maps, wordles, and even interactive maps! Our wiki is completely secured so if you are interested in visiting it, you will have to request an invitation. You may also email me! Check out the attached link https://exploringtheglobe.wikispaces.com/.

In fourth grade, the students began working with Storybird. This website allows the students to add multiple illustrations to a digital book and write their account of the pictures. The students were asked to write a narrative based on the illustrations of their choosing. I was blown away with their level of creativity! Check out the videos on fourth grade to see a snapshot of some of their stories.

Last but not least, the third graders worked with a partner to write for an expository prompt. This lesson was particularly fun because the students typed their essays instead of writing them! At the end of the week, the students moved from laptop to laptop editing their peers' papers making sure they were perfect. We finally realized how beneficial it was to edit others papers! This week the students will work to illustrate their stories so we can publish our book.

This will be my last week blogging. I am officially handing over the reigns to my blog team. Stay tuned to see what new things we'll be learning in the upcoming weeks.