Digital Video

I take a lot of pictures of my kids and use them to share or as story/writing prompts. I never thought about using video instead or in addition to photos. I videoed my dogs the other day playing in the backyard. I thought it would be a great prompt to get kids to write because there were so many ways to interpret it. One could either assume they were playing or they might think they were fighting. You could end up with all types of great writing pieces.

The one problem I had with uploading the video was that the volume goes up and down. I now need to work on editing it to fix that problem. I think part of it could be fixed by using a video camera versus my digital camera. The downfall is that I always have my digital camera on me but not my camcorder.

Dog Video

Overstream

Wow, what a cool and simple was to give your kids a visual and make text individualized! I used Overstream to add captions to a video of The Gingergread Man. I teach Pre-K so we really work on labeling items, however this would also be great for beginning readers. Youtube read the entire story but I wrote the words. I stuck with simply labeling the characters. It was very simple. I really liked how I could pick where words begin and how long it appears for. It is completely individualized and can be made to meet any kids needs.

Here is the link to my video:
http://www.overstream.net/view.php?oid=uvm1emtduusv

Threaded Discussions/ Virtual Class

I love threaded discussion in and out of class. I don't always like to talk in class but I feel really comfortable on threaded discussions. Sometimes, I have a lot to say but not always the words to say it. By being given the flexibility to have "think time" I feel like I share more of what I am thinking. I also like how it allows for everyone to read it and for many to respond with what they think without the face to face discussions. On the other hand, sometimes I don't have anything to really say in response but I enjoy reading what others have to say. Not to mention the convenience of discussing things from home is always a major plus. Being able to read, post/respond and then take a break and come back to it later is awesome. Lately we have had a few virtual classes. My life is busy and hectic so it has been nice. I have been able to get my work done, help my son with his and have dinner at home, mostly because of threaded discussion.

Jing/ Webquest

I used a program I already had on my Mac to make something similar to a webquest but for my preschoolers. However, since everyone wouldn't have access to the software I used, I used jing to record my "webquest". Jing was great and easy to use. I was able to use the demonstrate how to use what I created by actually doing it (as jing recorded what I was doing) and talking about what I was doing.
Jing is a great resource for tutorials. I think it would be great for professional development. So often we forget what is taught in those long workshops. If we had a tutorial to watch it would give us a refresher, keep us from having to ask so many questions and from becoming frustrated.

I created the lesson below to go along with our unit on spiders. The lesson started with the kids talking about what they know about spiders. The next day they discussed what they wanted to know about spiders. Following that activity I assured the websites I chose would answer the kids questions, as well as, provide other interesting information. As a class we visited the websites to find the answers to our questions. The following day we learned about the life cycle of the spider and colored a illustration of it. Finally, we listed what we had learned comparing it to our original list of what we knew about spiders.

Here is the link to our activities with spiders.

At Christmastime

This didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped. I recorded my class singing a song that we are practicing for our Christmas Program. First they were too quiet and too far away and then on this one they song a lot louder but I think they were to close to the phone. I couldn't figure out a good distance for them to be, especially since I never knew were they going to sing loud or quiet. I think I like using podcast for recording one person versus a group.
Gabcast! Pinebrook Preschool #2 - At Christmastime

My preschoolers have been practicing for their Christmas Program. This is a recording of one of the songs.

Podcast

Gabcast! Pinebrook Preschool #1 - First Attempt

Hopefully I was lucky and it worked! :)

Digital Books

Digital books are amazing. Depending on what site you use you can make a book to go with your theme, teach about one specific thing or make a class book. So often I find myself hunting the library for what I need and then sometimes not finding it. I didn't realize that I could get online and make a book specific to what I need in a matter of minutes. I love it. I never realized how easy it could be. I have now made a theme book on TarHeel Reader and a book about my students on VoiceThread. It was so simple and only took me about 30 minutes (that's even being a first time user). The kids also love it. Not only because they were in the book but also because they "wrote" the words. I plan on making many more of these books throughout the year.

My class started learning about photography last week. We talked about why we take pictures. Then we talked about how we take pictures. The class practiced taking pictures and then we talked about them. Afterwards we picked a topic to take pictures for. We took the pictures and made them into a book. Below is the link to our VoiceThread book if you would like to view it.

Tarheel Reader- Fall

Voicethread Book

Social Bookmarking 2

Okay now that I have created my own social bookmarks I can truly tell you that I love it and I can't believe I didn't know about it sooner. It is so easy to use and an awesome resource. It is a great way to share websites across the county with my fellow preschool teachers, share sites with parents, and to keep my kids focused on a particular topic. Not to mention the fact that I use at least five different computers a week so now I can access the sites I need from anywhere and I won't become so frustrated because I don't remember which computer I was on when I found 'the best site ever'.


Social Bookmarks

Social Bookmarking 1

I have a computer in my classroom, as well as, a Promethean board. However, we have a computer lab that I can access but have always steered away from because I teach Pre-K. After reading the article about web-based bookmarking I now think it could be possible for me to take my whole class in to the lab and have a productive lesson. Prior to reading this article I never let my kids on the internet unless it was on the Promethean board or I went to the site for them, i.e. Starfall, and then let them navigate in that site. I had no idea you could bookmark on the web so that every computer could access the same links and sites. I had only bookmarked to my computer. I also think it would be neat way to share between our Pre-K classes. For the most part we are all located at different schools so we don't see each other often. But by doing web-based bookmarks we could share lessons we did and web pages we loved.

Blogging

Wow, who knew blogging could open so many doors. I had never blogged previously to the computer class that I am currently in. It is an awesome way to motivate children in journal writing, book reports, and posting things they have learned. As well as, keep parents informed about what is going on in the classroom and give them an insight as to what is going on in the classroom through pictures and videos. I love it and can't wait to use it more! I was planning on making a website but I think using a blog will be so much easier to create and easier to update.

Literacy and Technology

How are they related? How do you teach them? Is technology just another genre in literacy?

I think that it is a new genre, however not one that you teach and just leave alone for the rest of the year. Technology is a great way to teach kids to read, write and listen to each other and one that motivates them. Teachers need to over come their fear and start learning about the ever changing world of technology and how it can change and enhance their classrooms.