Mrs. Carpenter's Gateway to Technology students recently used SmartPhones to control their robots. 

In addition, all the classes are adding Google Chrome to their devices so that their bookmarks from their school desktops will sync to their devices. They are moving to GTT journals in a digital format. They are downloading Adobe Reader so that students may mark up notes from the class website. Students will organize notes in a digital notebook. Students are also using their Droid phones as remote controls for their NXT Battle Bots.  In this video, students are researching playgrounds before designing their own in Inventor. 

 

 

Mrs. Thompson's Social Studies students use iPads or classroom computers to answer questions about the French Revolution via Socrative. 

Mrs. Murphy's 6th grade Social Studies students use their devices to research the Middle Ages and create a product using their favorite app or program.  Students who do not have their own devices are able to use a Netbook from one of our mobile labs. 

Ms. Bibb's 8th grade technology students are using Alice to program a virtual world. 

Mrs. Lister's and Mrs. Gregory's 8th grade ELA Writing students video each other as they attempt to follow their partners' instructions in their own technical writing.  Back in the classroom, students will analyze the performances in the videos to see where they may need to revise their writing for greater clarity. 

 

Mr. Lawson's 8th grade math students use the Aurasma app to "uncover" answers to problems they work around the classroom.  It's magic!!

Mrs. Thompson's 6th grade ELA Reading students use their devices to scan QR codes in a content-related scavenger hunt around the classroom.  Once they find the information needed, they use it to complete the task at each station.  Notice the "BYOT huddle" as students who are unable to bring their own devices still benefit from looking on and learning with the group. 

 

Here are some notes from Mrs. Thompson:

 

1^st, 2^nd and 5^th-- We are studying how to recognize author’s bias and perform literary critiques.  The students had 8 QR codes to read with their devices.  These links took them to web pages that contained children’s book reviews, children’s movie reviews, video game reviews (age appropriate reviews) and one restaurant review.  The students had to perform a unique task with each website- compare, critique, etc. 

4^th and 6^th – We have just finished reading Pam Conrad’s My Daniel.  The book takes place on the Nebraska prairie where they find dinosaur bones. The students have 6 QR codes to read with their devices.  These links will take them to information pertaining to this book- Smithsonian virtual museum display of dinosaur bones and fossils, websites about prairie life and myths about dinosaurs.  The students will take notes and answer questions at the various stations.



Mrs. Farrington's and Mrs. Spraker's 7th grade math students are using their devices to create a presentation on how to find sales tax, tip, and discount and how to apply this to the final total cost and sale price.  Groups write a real-world applicable problem. 

 

Mrs. Wofford's 6th grade GT math students use their devices to find measurements for Shaquille O'Neal's foot.  Then, they calculate the surface area. 

Literature Circles with Google Drive

We are using Google Docs to collaborate with Literature Circles. I created a document in Google Drive for each novel and shared it with students that are reading that novel. The students still have the traditional Lit Circle jobs each week, but instead of filling out a paper (that often gets lost) they add their information to the Google Doc. This allows students to easily collaborate outside of class. As a teacher it helps me ensure that all students are doing their part along the way and not waiting until the last minute. I have noticed increased student excitement and participation about reading and sharing.

QR Reader

I have used the free Android and Smartphone app QR reader as a way to quiz my students on books we are reading, stems and vocabulary. This activity gets them moving around the building since they have to find them first and encourages them to work as a team to find the right answer. At this point they do have to write down the answer but most of them do this on their device as well and show it to me at the end. I have not been able to build the questions in a way that it could be an actual scavenger hunt but my students enjoy it anyways and they are reviewing painlessly. The following link will take you to a free site to generate your own codes; http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ You will need to save them to your computer and then print them out. Any QR Reader will be able to access them. Have fun!

Picking Pixorial

We like to do a lot of video recording in our classroom, and oftentimes, we cannot get a video camera.  With BYOT, we have the luxury of using our own devices to record and take care of this issue.  The problem comes in when we have to download or upload the final product.

However, we recently found a free app (both Android and iPhone friendly) that will help to alleviate some of those headaches.  Pixorial is a video and picture sharing program that stores media in the cloud. 

We found that using Pixorial is a very easy way to upload video (and pictures - but we weren't using pictures) so that we could share them with each other. There are many share options; the most popular ones are through Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites. There is also an option to embed the image or the video, if you don't want to involve social networking.

And it also is a great tool that can be used for video editing. While we didn't need it for our project, that option is still there in case we want to use it in the future.

It offers 7 GB of free space, so while we can't upload monstrous files to the cloud, we can upload several. And after the year is over, students can use the account to share their own pictures and movies with their friends and family.

Pixorial Logo

BYOT in the Middle School Math Classroom

So far in my experience with BYOT, students have used their own technology in a variety of ways in my classroom. Students can access my notes that are posted on my website, saving them the time it takes to copy notes. I also post tutorial videos on my website of how to solve different types of problems (depending on the unit we are in) that students can access on their devices and use as a tutorial. Students have used their devices to answer math writing prompts and submit their responses to me via email or gaggle. I also did a lesson on solving multi-step equations where a video from Gaggle provided the instruction and practice. Students could watch the video on the SMART Board if they did not have a device or on their own devices to work at their own pace. There are many different apps that I have showed the students, such as Evernote for taking notes. I look forward to learning many more ways to implement this technology in my classroom but have enjoyed the experience so far.

Continuing the Conversation: Using VoiceThread to Simulate the Oral Tradition

The eighth grade at Lakeside used VoiceThread to simulate oral tradition.  It's free and Internet-based, and it's even available as an app for Apple products.

VoiceThread splash page

 Our Technology Facilitator helped our students by VoiceThread and showing them how to sign up for accounts and experiment with the technology.  Afterwards, students worked in their groups to create their VoiceThreads where one story led to another.  Every student also commented on each group's VoiceThread.

Red Riding Hood VoiceThread by our 8th graders

To the left is an example of one of the finished products.

Upcoming:  Find out how we used VoiceThread again in a pre-reading activity that resulted in high-interest reading and deeper thinking into the next novel we read!