We are celebrating Computer Science week all month here in Kindergarten through Fourth Grade. We started last week with some unplugged activities and will continue with the traditional Hour of Code activities this week. Students will then progress into more complex tasks or onto coding some of our new robot friends. We have Ozobots, Dash from […]
Pre-K Bridges
The Pre-K students had a unit on transportation so we did their first STEAM project of the year building bridges. First we read: Bridges are to cross by Philemon Sturges. Then we looked at other real bridges and their shape. Students worked in partner to decide which shape they wanted their bridge to be. Once […]
Kahoot vs. Quizizz
Kahoot and Quizizz are both great ways to gamify formative assessment in the classroom. Each has it’s positives and it’s negatives and each has its place. First, why gamify assessment? it’s motivating it’s engaging it’s exciting Both are FREE and students DO NOT need accounts. Kahoot Quizizz Accounts Teacher yes No Questions Multiple Choice Multiple […]
#coffeeedu
On Saturday I met up with some amazing like-minded teachers for CoffeeEduNJ. CoffeeEdu is a one hour chat, or “unconference”, where people get together and talk about…anything. Learn more about it here: http://www.coffeeedu.org/ There were not only awesome local teachers, but Alice Keeler, the creator was able to come. I learned, I was inspired, I ate breakfast, […]
NJ Teacher’s Convention
The first day of teacher’s convention was full of information. Today I presented on Augmented Reality and QR Codes. While it’s hard to see the benefits of AR in slides, click here to see my notes and ideas. Tomorrow I present on creating and iBook, creation and copyright. Download my iBook that is full of […]
Google Expeditions Takes You Out Of Your Classroom
Today I went from the depths of the ocean to the Moon. I visited the Galapagos Islands, the Colosseum, Antartica, Mars, and Mount Rushmore. I saw Sharks, Pythons, and Polar Bears all from inside the school. Along with students and teachers in grades 2-8, I went on and controlled a number of virtual field trips today thanks to […]
Read & Write
Read & Write is my current favorite extension for Google Chrome. Read & Write describes itself as a tool that will help students build confidence in reading and writing. I am here to validate that claim. Each student has their purple puzzle piece icon at the end of the URL bar. The utility bar pops-up once […]
Favorite Chrome Extensions for Teachers
With second, third, and fourth graders on Chromebooks, I feel like I am all Chrome all the time now. Here are my favorite Chrome Extensions for teachers right now: Read/Write: is so amazing, it deserves its own post later this week. AdBlock Plus: this extensions blocks ads EVERYWHERE on every tab open. Ready to show YouTube […]
I’m Back and It’s Getting Better
I’m BACK! This August I came back to my computer lab looking like this: It’s hard to tell but there are 200 new Lenovo N21 Chromebooks, 40 new iPad Airs, 12 Chromebook Carts, and 4 iPad docking and charging stations. What does all this mean? After two weeks of unpacking, assesst tagging, inventorying, and synching the second, […]
A Makeshift Makerspace
I’ve always wanted a Makerspace; it is what inspired me to look into starting a STEM/STEAM program. The reality is a Makerspace would not get used to its full potential due to scheduling and other things. With 2 weeks left of school I created what I’m calling a “Makeshift Markspace”. I set up a variety […]