Sep
15
Starfall
September 15, 2008 | | Leave a Comment
Kindergarten loves Starfall! The kindergarten teachers at our school use Starfall in the classroom, so it was great to collaborate with them and have a chance to show the students how to use the program independently.
The Starfall reading program is designed to be fun, exciting, and to instill confidence in young children as they learn to read. The website and companion printed materials are clear and effective tools to help you implement proven teaching methods. Our website was created by carefully observing the way children learn using a computer. The Starfall Website is easy for students to navigate independently, but it is not intended as a surrogate for the teacher. Our scientific, research-based reading materials and activities are modeled on the “Big Five” focus areas recommended by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. We built-in a sixth we’d prefer not be overlooked—Motivation!
Students have used Starfall in class for two weeks, and they have enjoyed it. They have also continued to learn how to operate the mouse and are understanding the concept that they must input in order to “get on” the letter activities. The site has more than just alphabet activities, including sections for early readers and more advanced readers. It is a good site for children in preschool through second or third grade.
Sep
15
Word Processing
September 15, 2008 | | Leave a Comment
For two weeks, grades 1-6 have been learning the basics of word processing–from understanding how to go about telling the computer what they want their text to look like, to what options they have for formatting. The students really did a great job.
Aug
27
Dance Mat Typing!
August 27, 2008 | | Leave a Comment
I found this exceptional web application on Cindy Putnam’s blog. After a few minutes testing it out, I knew Dance Mat Typing was going to be a hit with the kids, but more than that, it would get them actually typing. The right way.
Now, I will admit, a few students who choose not to follow the directions from me or the talking Rock ‘N Roll Goat (or Opera Octopus, Hillbilly Rooster, et. all) are still doing a bit of “seek and destroy” pointer finger typing. But the majority of the kids who are giving it a little effort are seeing great rewards. They are typing without looking at their hands. Their eyes are lighting up. They are both amazed at this quickly learned ability and proud of themselves for seeing that trying will get them somewhere. Lastly, those students with internet access at home (and some in the classroom–early finishers I suppose) are actually practicing typing with Dance Mat on their own free time.
“Wow” is all I have to say.
And I will admit, I can type without looking at my hands, but I don’t type the proper way. Well, I do peek at my hands now and then. I’ve actually been doing Dance Mat Typing on the weekends at home. Who doesn’t mind learning typing from a belly-dancing hippopotamus? Click on the image to visit Dance Mat Typing!
Aug
21
I first found this game as a web application at Learn4Good’s section of games for young children. Last week, it came in handy to get the primary students accustomed to using the directional arrows for manipulating an object on screen. Since it involved mazes, it also prompted some problem solving and critical thinking, especially with the first grade students.
Recently, though, I found the downloadable version of Ladybugs by Midori Tech. This is better, really, because it is run as an application on the computer and not the web. Learn4Good is a decent site, but the kids might click on something else. With the downloadable game, kids are only playing one thing: Ladybugs. Like the web version, there is a maze section in which the kid must use directional arrows and a bit of thinking to help the ladybug find her house. Two other games are included, though. One requires the child to race against a computer-controlled ladybug to navigate a maze first. The other requires the child to use directional arrows to match a colored ladybug to her matching house.
It’s a simple game as freeware, though a fairly inexpensive upgrade for about ten bucks presents more possibilities.
Aug
17
Poisson Rouge (Red Fish Soup)
August 17, 2008 | | Leave a Comment
I am using this web site to get my kindergarten classes accustomed to using the mouse this week. Poisson Rouge (or Red Fish Soup) is a site designed with free games and activities that are both stimulating and educational.
Manipulation requires moving the mouse and clicking, and sometimes dragging objects. Various activities on the site include:
- Toybox: involves matching and other activities
- Art Gallery: painting in styles of famous artists
- Dot-to-Dot: connecting stars (like constellations) to make animals and familiar objects
- Piano: playing one octave of keys with the notes displayed in treble clef with playback
- Aquarium: Simple games with aquatic animals
- 123: Click on number blocks to open activities which teach counting
- Alphabet: activities that teach the alphabet in French, English, and Spanish
- Vocabulary: Clickable scenes from rooms, to transportation and animals, where the names of all objects are spoken aloud along with a printed spelling of the word. The scenes are identical in English and French.
There are several more activity areas that I have not mentioned. This is from the User Guide:
When small children pick up objects, they invent new ways of holding and using them. Thus there is no right or wrong way of using anything on this site. It’s up to the children to find what they want and to grow their naturally exploring mind. We found that what they don’t discover straight away, they’ll find later, what they don’t know how to do at first, they’ll learn when they are ready and, as many of you know and/or have found out, that is extremely powerful and confidence building.
Aug
14
Word Processing: Some Good Finds
August 14, 2008 | | 2 Comments
I’ve been looking for some software to get the primary students keyboarding and using a word processor. Word is just too complicated for them. Not only did I find a simple program for the primary grades, but in searching, I found a great site that tutors older students on using a word processor.
OK-Writer is a word processor specifically designed for young children to grow up with. Using the simple button-driven interface, kids can create stories using OK-Writer, then print them out or have them read aloud by the Mac.
OK-Writer is shareware. Though you can download a free version of it, a full version is available as a site license for $150, which is pretty good as far as that cost usually runs. It is very simple, but the fact that with the click of a button the text can be read back to the student, I think it would be great not only to have in the lab, but in the primary classrooms as well. This can also be a great idea for parents looking for a way to more easily have their children type for homework or projects.
Mrs. Sterling’s Word Pad is an online tutorial for kids. It teaches how to format documents, adjust fonts, and add images and effects. It incorporates a pretest and post test, videos, games, and exercises. Students can work on these lessons at home, or it could be used to work with a group on reviewing the basics of word processing.
I’m going to quote Mrs. Sterling to explain why word processing is important.
Why Word Processing?
Simple, it is the foundation of most of the computer applications that students will come in contact with over their school career and in the workplace. The graphic user interfaces and icons are common across almost all productivity software. Bold is B, Italics is I and Underline is an underlined U. With word processing skills out of the way in elementary school, students over learn the techniques and easily integrate what they know into other applications such as presentation, publishing and design software.
Aug
12
An Intro to PhotoBooth
August 12, 2008 | | Leave a Comment
The new iMacs in the lab have come equipped with a simple application called PhotoBooth. Bundled in with Leopard, it uses the built in iSight camera to allow the user to snap shots and add effects and backgrounds. Thanks to Mr. Coleman, one of our sixth grade teachers who tipped me to PhotoBooth (just one of many Mac apps I have yet to discover), one of the fifth grade classes dug in today when we finished the other tasks of the day.
Aug
12
School is in Session!
August 12, 2008 | | 1 Comment
We started back to school yesterday, and the computer lab was up and running at 9 AM with my first sixth grade class. I was already a bit nervous and excited as it was my first computer class ever. Of course, right at the beginning of my first lesson, in walks the superintendent and president of the school board (followed by the principal and lots of cameras).
Talk about nervous! I was very glad, though, that we were visited by our new superintendent. This school year will bring about some positive changes, and I feel that an academic and behavioral expectation has been strongly set for everyone from the very first day.
So far, the time has flown by and I have really enjoyed teaching in the computer lab. The students are so
savvy, even the little ones, so I am looking forward to getting started on collaborative and innovative projects with the classes.
Mrs. Angel, our new Spanish teacher, has also set up a plan to integrate Spanish and technology toward the end of the six weeks, starting with sixth grade. This project will involve using Garage Band to make podcasts.
Our new computers have such exciting capabilities I really am just too thrilled and excited for all of the project-oriented work the students can do.
Aug
6
Welcome Back
August 6, 2008 | | 1 Comment
It’s that time of year again–the one that smells like the laminator and copy machine are fired up and you can hear the slice of scissors on bulletin board paper.
The teachers are back in the building! It has been a very busy week so far as everyone prepares for the arrival of our students on Monday. Summer really does seem to go by fast, and before we know it, we’re back and planning for a new school year. I was never quite so nervous for a new school year as a student as I am as a teacher. Do students know how anxious we teachers get? Like the children, we also get very excited for a new start.
This year is really a new start for me, my first year as the technology coordinator. The beginning of the year is of course a very busy time for me as I assist classroom teachers with getting their computers and printers hooked up and running (which explains my lack of frequent posting lately). Something else that has occupied a lot of time is a lab full of new computers. We got them yesterday! The oldie goldie eMacs have been replaced with more up-to-date iMacs.
Now, to any readers who are familiar with a lot of good software, I might need some suggestions. A good number of the programs that were used previously in the lab, such as Kid Keys, Mavis Beacon, Wild West Math, Math for the Real World, Penny Panda, Timeliner, and Clock Faces (sure I have left off something) can no longer be used in our lab. They were run with OS 9 on the old eMacs. OS 10.5.2 does not run OS 9 and compatible OS 9 programs.
So, here is my question:
I need such programs such as:
- Typing for younger children (K-3) that also helps the little ones learn to use a mouse, similar to Kid Keys.
- Typing for older children.
- Math reinforcement and critical thinking.
- Telling time (for younger children).
- A timeline creation.
What are some quality “free” (whether online or freeware/shareware) programs for Mac?
Aug
3
Blogging Article for Teachers
August 3, 2008 | Tagged blogging, tips, tools | 2 Comments
I’m just back from the beach, but I found a great article as I began gearing up to return to work tomorrow. This article by Alisa Miller is titled “50 Useful Blogging Tools for Teachers.”
Blogging is becoming more and more popular in the classroom. Teachers can blog to stay in touch with parents and students or they can incorporate blogs from all of the students as a learning tool. The beauty of the student blog is that children from Kindergarten to high school can blog. No matter how you use blogs in your classroom, these tools will help you get started, enhance your experience, or bring the students into the fun.
Click here to read the article.
