Saturday, March 23, 2013

Blog 9: How can I use Pearltrees to differentiate content in the classroom?

           
How can I use Pearltrees to differentiate content in the classroom?

       This week we were given the opportunity to learn a new program called 'Pearltrees'.  Although apprehensive when I first logged in, the worry dissipated as I began navigating around.  This program is simple and intuitive.  

      In my opinion the Pearltrees is a type of advanced bookmarking program that allows its users to save URLs, pictures and notes.  Instead of the traditional bookmarking system that uses folders or 'tags', this program chose a more appealing look.  A single Pearltrees is created around 1 main topic.  When websites, photos, and notes are gathered about that topic, pearls are added on (creating something similar to a branch).  The great thing about this program however, is that others can join in and contribute.  As a result of its physical appearance, simple navigation, and its ability to have users connect upon similar interests, Pearltrees can possibly a great tool to use within a classroom.  
    
      I believe using Pearltrees within the classroom has a possibility of being very beneficial in terms of differentiating.  I see this program as having multiple uses.  One of these uses is directed more towards the organization of information used within the classroom. This program can allow for teachers to organize all their online supplemental resources for given subjects in topics.  Let's say for instance, the topic and subject happened to be the States of Matter (Science).  A teacher could use this program as a means to organize additional videos, games, reading, photos and notes. Students who may be struggling in the concept, as well as those students who need enrichment, could use this site as a means to explore the topic deeper.  This program also has the capacity help teachers help students to reach all students on their intelligence level needs, from providing interactive games, music, videos, articles and photos.  Pearltrees could be an excellent program for a teacher to use within the classroom to help differentiate instruction.  

     Another use in which Pearltrees could be use to help differentiate content in the classroom would be to have students be involved with the program directly.  Although I do see this happening more in the older grades, it could also serve as a useful tool to use in a group setting in the younger grades. If a student is involved with the creation of their own Pearltree, it helps lend itself for a stronger connection with ones own learning.  A teacher could have students use this program as a means for organizing information on a specific topic, sharing it with individuals and digging deeper on given topics.  

     I definitely see myself using this program in the future, especially in terms of organizing supplemental resources on specific topics (especially science!).  I believe that this could really help aid in my quest to becoming a truly differentiated classroom.

Communication:

     This week has been an extremely productive week in terms of communicating with my PLN.  My partner and I have been in constant communication for the last week about Project 2 and we are now at the finishing touches (yay!).  I've also had the opportunity to share what I’ve learned about a program called a Glogster (noted in my last blog) with other staff members within my school. Although I did not actively communicate with Twitter (I did attend Thursday, but did not contribute much that conversation in particular), I did feel that it helped me better understand this week’s assignment.  I also spend some time this past week checking out other people’s blogs.  As a result I discovered some very interesting and useful games I might be able to use within my classroom. I look forward to seeing what next week has to offer.
    

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Blog 8: How might video games enhance my students' learning?


How might video games enhance my students' learning?

A few months ago I noticed that often times on topics that were completely new to my students our lessons would take nearly an hour longer that was scheduled (often times I had to cut out science/social studies to accommodate for it).  It appeared that if my students were struggling with a new concept they often ‘checked out’ on me during explanations and examples.  As a result I began asking other teachers what they do in order to help keep students on task and engaged in the lesson.  After several conversations I learned that a lot of teachers offered rewards to the class if everyone finished during our class period (it’s an hour and 40 minutes).  Such rewards often included free time in the classroom or on the computer.  Well, although I do like to give free time once in a while, I felt that there had to be a way to incorporate some type of reward that not only served as a ‘change of pace’ activity, but one that would be fun yet still focused on the skill necessary for students to understand the concept being taught.

Although I did consider having students do math games (such as file folder games and the sort), I noticed that most of my students were more motivated by the idea of playing with a computer. Plus, who has the time to create whole games and gather its materials for every topic?  I certainly don’t. As a result I began my hunt for Internet programs/games that I could use within my classroom. A few programs in which I used within my classroom already this year for Mathematics in particular include: IXL Math, Sumdog and Timez Attack.  I used IXL for a while, but noticed that students got bored with it quickly; therefore I talked to another teacher who suggested Sumdog.  That too is really great website, but unfortunately it requires A LOT of bandwidth that my school does not seem to have (at least for 15 students to be on at one time), therefore I had to put that program on the side table.  The last one that I mentioned is one that I still use within the classroom.  I will investigate it further in the latter portion of my blog. 

The task this week turned out to be exactly what I needed.  With my current students I noticed early that they really loved computer video games (who doesn’t?).  I knew that although I did use a program called Timez Attack, it only focuses on just a few of the many standards that students need to master, therefore it became a necessity for me to find another video game type of program (or two) that was fun to do, but provided additional practice in the current skills being taught.  This assignment came just in time too, as I recently decided to stop using IXL Math as much and needed a new rewards program/educational game to incorporate into the later half of math. Before I talk about the two new programs that I just introduced to my 3rd graders, let me tell you first about a program called Timez Attack.  In order to respond to the questions associated with this task I decided to observe the reactions/engagement of my students while playing this game.

Program: Timez Attack                        
Website: http://www.bigbrainz.com/
Standards:
3.OA.4. Determine the unknown whole number in a multiplication or division equation relating three whole numbers.

3.OA.7. Fluently multiply and divide numbers up to 100, using strategies such as the relationship between multiplication and division (e.g., knowing that 8 ×5 = 40, one knows 40 ÷ 5 = 8) or properties of operations. By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.


1.     Was the child engaged?
Students were very engaged.  In fact, students actually ask to play Timez Attack when they finish other work early.  They love it!

2.     Did the child learn the skills that were targeted? 
They are in the process of it yes. I can see improvement in multiplication and division fluency.

3.     Can the child demonstrate that these skills were mastered? 
Students can demonstrate that theses skills are mastered.  Currently I administer AIMS Web Probes biweekly to students and can visually see the improvement.

4.     Who in your PLN did you consult with about these games? How did they respond or assist?
I consulted with my coworkers about these games.  I learned that the current 5th grade teacher was the one that uploaded the game on about half of our school laptops.  He is the one that introduced it to me after I asked about what math programs I could use. 

Program: Fun Brain
Website: Games on 3rd grade level: http://www.funbrain.com/FBSearch.php?Grade=3
Website home page: http://www.funbrain.com/

Standards:
3.MD.1. Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes. Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes or hours (e.g., by representing the problem on a number line diagram or clock).

3.OA.4. Determine the unknown whole number in a multiplication or division equation relating three whole numbers. For example, determine the unknown number that makes the equation true in each of the equations 8 x ? = 48, 5 = ?÷ 3, 6 x 6 = ?

3.OA.7. Fluently multiply and divide numbers up to 100, using strategies such as the relationship between multiplication and division (e.g., knowing that 8 ×5 = 40, one knows 40 ÷ 5 = 8) or properties of operations. By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.

3.NBT.1. Use place value understanding to round whole numbers to the nearest 10 or 100.

3.NBT.3. Multiply one-digit whole numbers by multiples of 10 in the range 10-90 (e.g., 9 x 80, 10 x 60) using strategies based on place value and properties of operations.

3.MD.1. Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes. Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes or hours (e.g., by representing the problem on a number line diagram or clock).

1.     Was the child engaged?
Students really loved this website actually.  One of my students were actually the one that introduced me to this program (I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask students what websites they like to go to for Math, and this was one of them).
2.     Did the child learn the skills that were targeted? 
Students did learn the skills that were targeted. 
3.     Can the child demonstrate that these skills were mastered? 
Students are able to demonstrate that the skills learned were mastered by providing a short quiz afterwards.  By having students practice the skills in a game like matter they didn’t feel like they were ‘learning’ but rather just having fun!
4.     Who in your PLN did you consult with about these games? How did they respond or assist?
Amazingly enough no other teachers knew about this program.  After a student told me, however I let several other teachers no about it.  I plan on introducing it to the rest of the staff next Monday during our Staff Meeting.

Program: Mr. Nussbaum

Website: A few games particular to 3rd Grade: http://mrnussbaum.com/grade-3/
Main Website homepage:  http://mrnussbaum.com/

Standards:
3.OA.3 Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in situations involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.

3.OA.7 Fluently multiply and divide within 100, using strategies such as the relationship between multiplication and division (e.g., knowing that 8 × 5 = 40, one knows 40 ÷ 5 = 8) or properties of operations. By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.

3.OA.8 Solve two-step word problems using the four operations. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies including rounding.

3.NBT.1 Use place value understanding to round whole numbers to the nearest 10 or 100.

3.NBT.2 Fluently add and subtract within 1000 using strategies and algorithms based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction.

3.NF.3.b Recognize and generate simple equivalent fractions, (e.g., 1/2 = 2/4, 4/6 = 2/3). Explain why the fractions are equivalent, e.g., by using a visual fraction model.

3.MD.2 Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using standard units of grams (g), kilograms (kg), and liters (l). Add, subtract, multiply, or divide to solve one-step word problems involving masses or volumes that are given in the same units, e.g., by using drawings (such as a beaker with a measurement scale) to represent the problem.
1.     Was the child engaged?
This was another successful website that I introduced to my students.  They enjoyed the games on it, and it had several games that were applicable to Alaska State Standards.

2.     Did the child learn the skills that were targeted? 
They did, I discovered the success after give a short quiz afterwards.

3.     Can the child demonstrate that these skills were mastered? 
Students are able to demonstrate that these skills were mastered as they progressed through the game successfully, most showed mastery on the quiz following the use of the program.

4.     Who in your PLN did you consult with about these games? How did they respond or assist?
This was another website that the 5th grade teacher introduced to me.  I spoke with him about my desire to find a program more engaging that IXL,  yet still provided additional help in topics across the board.











Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Blog 7 Glogster


What tool did you learn this week to assist you in differentiating the learning process for students?

            The tool that I learned about this week to help assist me in differentiating the learning process for students is a program called Glogster.  This program is an easy to use blogging platform that invites users to create posts that are not only easy to read, but entertaining, engaging and fun!
            This could be a great tool to help engage all different types of learners as it has the option to add text, video, audio, and photos.  This blogging platform would be a great tool for a teacher to help provide extra learning opportunities to struggling learners, as well as provide extend for high flyers.  Glogster, with a fee, also gives the option for students to create their own glogs within a particular class. By having students create their own ‘Glogs’ they become engaged with their own learning.  It would also be a great formative assessment piece to gage students understandings of a topic.   Since Glogster adheres to most learning levels, students are able to create a glog to suit their own style and learning needs. 
            I am so excited to introduce this new program to my students.  In fact, I created my first ‘Glog’ this evening.  At the moment in our 3rd grade science curriculum we are learning about matter, particularly the 3 states (solid, liquid and gas), therefore I thought ‘States of Matter’ would make a perfect first glog.   Although it may look simple, it actually took me about 3 hours to make.  But then again, I did take my time choosing out the perfect pictures, video, graphics, frames for all pictures, frames for texts and even took a bit choosing what font I wanted to use for what.  Overall I think it turned out well, would love to hear what others think.  Tomorrow I will be showing my States of Matter blog to my class, wish me luck!