The technology cafe

Turkey Journals

2012-11-29T17:08:00.001-08:00

If you want to have your class make Journals like these next Thanksgiving, visit my online store to download this project and many others!

Turkey Journal Created by one of My 5th Graders!

I'm back!

2012-11-28T18:20:00.000-08:00

Sorry that I have been away! I am taking a class which does not leave me a ton of time to share. Plus we just had conferences and report cards. I am sure that you educators can relate!

If you want to see some new products and ideas for your classrooms, check out my store by clicking on the link on the right side of this page!

halloween in 5th grade

2012-10-31T14:57:00.000-07:00

I have been a 5th grade teacher for 11 years now and Halloween is always one of the toughest! The kids' energy level is through the roof and the parties more often than not end up in chaos and noise. Well the last few years we have found an awesome solution and they come in the form of mystery parties! The kids are engaged and quiet the whole time and they are having fun! It is always tough to find things that 5th graders think are fun and cool and these mysteries are right up their alley! Here is a link to some or you can google search for mystery parties.

party ideas

Technology in Reading

2012-10-27T06:52:00.003-07:00

Here is an engaging activity for kids to do during any reading unit. In this one my student was the main character from the book Getting Near to Baby.

This is the final product.

Like facebook but safer for the classroom!

2012-10-26T12:42:00.002-07:00

Have you ever wanted to use Facebook in the classroom, but don't want to worry about it being "out there" on the web? Try using edmodo. It is a free website that has the look and feel of Facebook, but it is secure so it is safe for your kids to use for school! I have used it for book discussions and group work note taking, idea sharing and reflecting! You can do whole class activities and you can also form smaller groups that can collaborate with each other.

Here is the link!

edmodo.com

Turkey Journals

2012-10-23T18:01:00.003-07:00

A fun writing activity posted to my store! You can do it the old fashioned way or have kids create a blog as a turkey!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-Turkey-Journals

What are your favorite tech tools?

2012-10-21T08:40:00.005-07:00

Let's collaborate! What are your favorite tech tools that you use in your classroom and how do you use them?

Right now I have three that I love
1. Skype
2. Voicethread
3. wikis

I use them all in different ways. Some of them I have posted below in earlier blogs.

Visit my Store for more ideas

2012-10-16T05:44:00.002-07:00

Visit my store here!

Student Podcasts

2012-10-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought about having your kids create podcasts about what is going on in your classroom?
It's easy and a great way for kids to reflect on their own learning and keep parents informed!

Set up a computer in the back of the room and when kids come to you and say they are "all done" :) you can have them write and record a podcast and upload it to your classroom webpage. They could read your newsletter, reflect on a unit they are learning or an experiment that they did!

A great tool for kids to record their voices for podcasts or anything is audacity. Here is a link!

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Mr. Technology: Geography Mystery Skype

2012-10-14T11:44:00.001-07:00

Mr. Technology: Geopgraphy Mystery Skype: Here is a fun idea and it is easy and free! 1. Find friends or relatives who live out of state (even better if they are teachers with stud...

Geography Mystery Skpye

2012-10-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun idea and it is easy and free!

1. Find friends or relatives who live out of state (even better if they are teachers with students who can play along).
2. Or ask the parents of your students if they have friends or relatives outside of the state.
3. Set up a time for the person or the person's class to SKYPE into you your classroom
4. Each student in your class has a map in front of them.
5. Create ten questions (ahead of time) that will help your students guess where they "mystery SKYPer" Lives.
         a. Are you near and ocean?
         b. What states do you border?
         c. Do you border another country?
         d. What are your natural resources?
         e. And so on.....
6. Choose ten kids to ask the questions of the mystery SKYPEer
7. AFTER all ten questions have been asked the kids have to figure out where the person is skyping from!

It is a great way for students to practice and use geography skills and keep them engaged! I do it more than once so that all of my kids get a chance to ask the questions. I like to do it at least 3-4 times a year.

Have fun!!

SKYPE in the classroom

2012-10-08T17:12:00.002-07:00

Hi Educators!

Have you ever used SKYPE in you classroom? There are many great and easy ways to use it if you haven't! Here are a couple...

1. SKYPE with an author (A lot of authors are willing to do this, just email them!) Some authors will do it for free and some charge a small fee.

2. Mystery SKYPE: Have a classroom or person Skype your class from another state or another country and your kids have to guess where they are by asking 10 questions about geography, natural resources, latitude and longitude lines, etc. etc. What a fun way for you kids to practice geography!!

3. Practice a Language: You can have kids SKYPE with a native speaker for whatever language you teach!

Here is a link for SKYPE in the classroom! Here you can collaborate with teachers all over the world!
https://education.skype.com/

Voicethread

2012-10-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite technology tools to use with my students is called Voicethread. It is a hard tool to explain, but it is an online file sharing program that allows anyone who is invited to comment on what you share. You can share a Power Point or a picture or a series of pictures or even a video clip. I took part in an awesome collaborative lesson with a classroom half-way across the country last year. My classroom along with 49 other classes around the country added things about their home state to this collaborative project including eceonomy, toursim, natural resources, sports and more! Imagine...students teaching other students all across the country!

Below I have posted the link to that project. Just imagine how engaging of a lesson this was for students to take part in! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about using this tool in your classroom! I have used it in several different ways.

http://bcps.ed.voicethread.com/share/2582428/

Welcome

2012-09-30T11:31:00.002-07:00

Hi Educators!

I am here to share my ideas and thoughts about technology in the classroom. Here is a little of my background so you know something about me. I am in my 11th year of teaching in Birmingham, Michigan. I am lucky enough to be teaching in an area that allows me to use a lot of technology in my classroom. However, there are a lot of things that I do that I could do even in a district that does not have the same amount of resources. Ever since I started teaching I loved to use technology in my classroom because I loved how much more engaged it allowed my students to become in the content. Eleven years ago it was mostly making power points or using the internet or email. Today it includes wikis, blogs, wordle, skype and countless others!

Last year I earned my Masters degree in educational technology from Central Michigan University. I don't consider myself a master teacher or anything all that special. I do think that I have a lot of creative ideas to share. I am still a full time teacher so I understand the realities and time constriants of the classroom so everything that I do or share with you has those realities in mind.

Eight years ago I was one of eight teachers in my district to begin a program called "IGNITE". The goal of this program was to bring constructivist teaching to the forefront and learn how to integrate technology the right way into classrooms. It was a very successful program and our district grew by leaps and bounds as far as student centered teaching and learning and using technology.

Currently I am a 5th grade teacher and an interactive white board trainer for my school. My goal here is simply to share some ideas and hopefully learn from others about how they are using technology in my classroom. The thing is, there are SO many tools out there that it is impossible for anyone to be an expert on all of them!