Brand New Look

My blog has a new look, and here's what inspired me. 


My district hosted an amazing technology conference this week and I learned SO many new, useful things while I was there! Here's a recap of what I learned and plan to implement in my classroom this fall:


- Prezi.com: I plan to use this site in SO many ways! It will replace my "All About Me" bags I do at the beginning of the year - I will make my own "All About Me" Prezi to show the students and then they will get to create their own. I also plan to use it for parent orientation (much snazzier than a PowerPoint!) and various student research projects during the year, such as our Native Americans and community workers presentations.
- Blogger: While this session didn't give me quite as much information as I would have liked, it did inspire me (and my teammates) to revamp my blog. You can thank this class for prompting me to get my new layout, as well as this site where I got the template. They have GREAT templates, backgrounds, icons, etc. Their work looks much better than mine ever would!
- Study Island: I'm lucky enough to have a school that already had a subscription to this amazing site, but I will say that I honestly didn't use it as much as I could have last year. This session gave a wonderful overview of this site and I am certain that I will use it in class (reading and math workshop, perhaps?) and in after-school tutoring. I also plan to use it for students that need assistance in specific areas by assigning needed tasks and pushing them to work on these weak areas both in and out of school.
- Google Earth: I knew a bit about this program, but had no idea how useful it could be in the classroom! This site can be used in almost all subject areas, from math (perimeter, area, distance - check out www.realworldmath.org) to reading (check out www.googlelittrips.com - it shows the actual locations stories take place in) to social studies (country projects, Flat Stanley locations, Where in the World, landforms, etc. etc.) to science (weather around the world). I am so excited to implement this program in my classroom and know my students will LOVE getting to see this amazing view of the world.
- Visual Storytelling: This sessions was created to encourage storytelling through pictures. The presenter encouraged us to use only pictures for writing prompts (no other information), as well as introduced me to the idea of "6 Word Stories". The 6 Word Stories could be a great writing technique for older students that need to condense their thoughts, but would also be excellent for my young students that have limited writing abilities. Another inspiring session!
- Demo Slam: The conference ended with a "Demo Slam" where oogles of presenters shared their favorite technology tid-bits. They presented for about 3-4 minutes each and gave great, useful information about products, websites, and other forms of technology. 
Some slamming highlights: 
- Search Stories: digital storytelling through Google searches
- Socrative App: student response software through ANY technology - phone, computer, Chrome book, iPad, etc. Just like SMART Clickers!
- Google URL Shortener: shortens any URL and can be added directly to your GMail account (search in the Chrome store)
- AccessNow: This website allows you to access your computer's hardware from any computer
- Slide Rocket: Presentation app for Google Chrome
- Stich.it: Puts together a bunch of URLs (audio, websites, presentations - like from Slide Rocket - videos, images) and turns it into one seamless presentation
- Skitch: Use to take screen captures and add arrows, captions, and more
- Scratch: Created by MIT, this site allows you to make your own interactive stories, games, music, or art, almost like an interactive comic book.
- StudyBlue: Make your own flashcards (available in an app)
- BookSource Classroom Organizer: Keep track of your classroom books and who checks them out
- Google Drive: This is the Google Cloud - a must to download! You get 5GB free (lots of space), and can buy more if you want.


All in all, this was a wonderful conference and I left rejuvenated and inspired to use even more technology in my classroom. I'm grateful I was able to attend and I know my students will be, too!