Thing 19: Screencasting and Screen Sharing

Screencastify:

I can see myself using Screencastify to provide simple explanations or give directions for assignments. I could then share out the screen casts via Google Classroom and students could access the information even if I am working with other students. I recently had a new student join our class, so I made a quick instructional video on how to access and complete the Readworks assignment so she can access the directions in case she forgets what to do during our reading block. (It's not the best video example because my Google Classroom screen looks different than the student version, but I think it will still provide her with enough support to get started on her own.)
Readworks Instructions

It would be great if my teammates and I could each create a few screencasts for the math concepts and then share them with each other. It would be a great thing to send home so parents know how to help students with math. I see lots of possibilities...now I just need some time to cast away!

Thing 18: Student Assessment and Feedback Tools

Remind:
I have started using the Remind App and find it such a fast and easy way to share what we are doing in the classroom with parents. It's a quick way to send reminders as well. I chose it because I was looking for a better way to communicate with parents and share what students are working on.  Previously I was updating a class blog with pictures and information about what students were working on in class. I found that very few parents were actually following or viewing the blog. I found myself having to email parents the link to the blog and reminding them to check it out each time I added a new post. So, I tried to use Remind in the same fashion, as a way to share class activities with parents. I find Remind to be a much faster and easier way to share photos and information. I can quickly send messages and pictures from my phone, which means I can message parents anytime. I also activated the two-way messaging, so parents can communicate with me as well. This has been really helpful because parents will send me a quick text to give me a heads up if their child is sick, or had a rough morning. One downside I found is that not all parents wanted to sign up for Remind, so when I share information via the app, not all families receive it. Despite that fact, I honestly prefer to Remind message parents instead of emailing them because I know they will receive the message on their phones and see it instantly. I currently teach third graders, so this is not an app I use to communicated directly with students, but I can see how this could be a great way to communicate with older students

Vizia:
I chose to explore Vizia because I have used similar programs that allow you to add questions throughout videos,so I was familiar with the concept and wanted to see how Vizia compared. I thought Vizia was very easy to use. I love that it can record answers in Google Sheets-BONUS! I added some questions to a multiplication strategies video. I am going to have my students watch it with their learning partners tomorrow during math stations. I know they will be excited to work together and interact with the video!

Multiplication Strategies Video

Thing 10: Search Tools Ninja

I spent some time exploring KidRex and Choosito since I work with younger students. I was excited about the option to select reading levels in Choosito, unfortunately since that feature is part of the paid portion, I was unable to see the feature in action. I think if my school purchased this search tool it would be a resource I direct my students to use, but with other options available, it is not something I would personally pay for. I wanted to love KidRex, but found that although the search results were "safe", they were not necessarily relevant to what I was searching for. I searched: cookies, zebra, monkey...each search resulted in a lot of ads and results that would not provide my students with the information they were looking for. (Of course I would need to teach my students about which sites are most reliable and using key words, but as third graders, I think the search results were just too vast.) I looked into the site a bit more and it looked like KidRex was working on a "Pro" version that might better filter results. If so, that may be something to check out in the future, but for now, KidRex is not a tool I plan to use in the classroom.

SweetSearch - I typed in the same three topics into SweetSearch, and although the first few hits were ads, I found that just a few results down were more relevant sites such as National Geographic. I looked into their news version and found that there were many ads within the articles themselves that weren't necessarily things students needed to be distracted by when researching information. My school subscribes to PebbleGo, which may be the more appropriate option for my younger students.

Thing 6: Digital Storytelling

I spent some time exploring Powtoon and Animoto. I like that I could download Animoto to my phone and then quickly select photos from my phone's album. This will definitely be an app I purchase and will use regularly as a way to create quick and engaging videos to share with students and their parents. It allows parents to see what we are doing in the classroom just as sharing photos would, but it is more professional and interesting to look at! I don't think I will be having my students create their own accounts as the apps policy states users should be 13 or older, but I really do like the possibilities of using it in the classroom myself.

I did a quick video (using the free trial version) of my class debuting their new Positivity Project shirts.:

Thing 5: Audio Tools

I really like how much I had using Chatter Pix Kids. I think my  would be highly motivated to write a script if they knew they would be able to create a video using this app. I like that it is an app students can use on the iPad. I think this would be a great activity for students to use when responding to books or even creating their own videos to explain a concept. Students could create a video during station time and then we could organize them by topic and house them in a place where students could access and refer to them as resources through out the year.

My Chatter Pix Kids Creation:

Thing 2: Student Blogging and Writing

I explored several of the options. I like the idea of 3rd graders sharing their "voice" with each other and their parents. I am not sure if I would have them each individually blog, but perhaps have groups blogs set up, or one class blog that the students are "in charge" of.

I was thinking that maybe I could take the idea of the "Thursday Letters" students write and send them home digitally instead. I looked into Tiny Letter, but honestly since we are a Google school, I think students could create their own template in Google slides and email it to their parents. Then their parents could respond on the following slide. This way students would still be interacting with parents and have a great record of all the things they did in third grade. (Bonus: more typing practice!)

One new site I discovered from the list is Padlet. I created a very basic Padlet template that I think my literature circle group could use to extend their conversations and understanding of the text. I like that you can easily link/add pictures, and the fact that students can type their response may make them more willing and comfortable contributing to the "discussion". Using this idea would not only give them the opportunity to respond to the text and each other, but also allow me better insight into their thinking. Padlet

My final thoughts...I'm not sure I'm ready to manage 3rd grade bloggers, but I do see the value in giving them a way to share their voice digitally, so this is definitely an idea I want to explore more and think about how to best incorporate it in some form next year.

Thing 17: ebook creation

I really like the idea of having students create ebooks. I have had students use Book Creator and Google Slides before. I have only really ever given them the option to use it to present their animal research projects, however, as I was exploring more ebook resources, I began thinking about all of the possibilities...
       research project presentation
       publishing personal narratives
       publishing information books
       ebooks as a tool to explain content
       creating ABC review books
       (and clearly at least 100 more things)

NOT TO MENTION ... all the TYPING practice the creation of an ebook provides!!!

I created a basic ebook about main idea just to test out some of the features. I really like that students can narrate it, as well as share it online. I felt like it was pretty easy to use and that students would be able to figure it out pretty quickly as well.  I like that I can easily send out assignments via Google Classroom as well. It would be nice if you could print it for free, but think of all the paper we're saving by sharing digitally!

My VERY simple ebook: Main Idea ebook