Stop Motion with Knuffle Bunny and Character Ed, Viviane Kraus, Librarian, Franklin Fine Arts Elementary School

The students  enjoyed creating character education Stop Motion videos.  Students loved being in control and “running the show.”  For example,  using cameras, ipads, creating, etc.   I would like to take a minute to discuss how the book blends real photos with drawings.  This book takes objects in children’s real word that they observe (school, streets, laundromat)  with things that they imagine (Knuffle Bunny).  This book’s combination of observation and imagination is something that students are naturally drawn to.

The unit worked well because it allowed kids to use technology, storytelling, drawing, writing and organization.   An additional surprise was that students were given an opportunity to practice character development by working in groups to get a task completed.

What I and the art teacher would have done differently…

We would take it to another level and add sound on the final product.

We would have student use Google Drive to organize their material.

Sabin iMovie and Prezi iPad Projects!!, Meghan Gabler, Librarian, Sabin Magnet Elementary School

I am beyond thrilled with my 5th and 6th graders and how well their iMovie and Prezi projects turned out. Each student, solo or with a partner, chose a college or university of their choosing and built a presentation around it. Our whole school has been college focused this year and this was a great way to end the year and make the focus more  attainable for them.This is what I wrote my final lesson plan about and it is also what I made my second video about. Please check those out to learn more about the details of the project! However, the students began this project at the start of the 4th quarter and just finished it this week. I have to give them so much credit for the weeks of classes missed due to testing:(. They still kept their pace and their final projects were great! I will be uploading more of the individual projects to my website this summer because they are great examples for my future students. It was great to see my 5th graders get excited about a college, speak of it as it was the place they were choosing to go, and something that they can focus on the next few years. A few students loved the project so much they have asked if I could adapt it to high school research because that is nearer in the future for them. I will definitely be doing that!!

The Prezi app on the iPad ended up being a life saver for those students that chose to make Prezis. As they worked on the desktops originally, Prezi would freeze, or the internet would lose it’s connection frequently, forcing the students to have to pause continuously. Once they moved over to the iPad’s they were easily able to add pictures, type and do what they intended without losing connection. Having the Apple TV also made it possible for the students to present from their iPad to the Smart Board without having to stand next to the board. I am glad that I spent the time in the third quarter having every 5th and 6th student that I see create a Prezi account so they can continue to use it. It took a few steps and definitely some patience, but once they were logged into their own accounts they had fun teaching themselves the different tips and tricks.

General iPad status. It has been a struggle keeping the iPad’s both secure and charged, but I would say I have managed quite well. Through an observation with my A.P. she noticed how well the lessons were going with the iPad’s so she let me “borrow” two more, so that my larger classes of 24 and 25 students (I know this is small in comparison to other CPS schools, my apologies) could have enough iPad’s to work in pairs. She also then purchased 30 stylus’s for the students to use. They have worked out really well when it comes to drawing and typing and even just general searching. The students take good care of the stylus’s and even use the microfiber cloths to wipe off any smudges before and after using the iPad’s. However, with much perseverance and persistence, I am finally getting a cart that will hold all of the iPad’s and the Chromebooks! It should arrive soon and I am already making space for it in the library. My administration has been more and more helpful the more I share the great student work with them.

Looking forward to next year. When I met with Colleen she suggested that I clear off the iPad’s at the end of the year. So I will be moving student projects and other artifacts to my MBP to use in the future. It's great to use these student work samples as examples for future students and projects. It will also be helpful to start with clear iPad’s so that when I assign them an iPad to work with next year they will have a clean slate, with no other student artifacts remaining. It will also be helpful to configure the apps that I need for the start of the year versus what I have been using at the end of the year. EIther way, I am excited to start a new school year with the iPad’s having already learned so much but also ready to learn more this summer!

Connecting the Library and Technology: Ideas from the Technology Coordinator, Jeanette Simenson, Technology Coordinator, Goethe Elementary School

As we close out the year and get ready for our planning for next year, I think to myself we have two months to plan, learn, and grow with each other through the vast world of the Internet. My library teacher and I would like to spend endless hours meeting and planning but unfortunately with toddlers and teenagers we are booked solid. But not from the hours of 1-3pm and after 8 at night. Why can’t we share a folder, an email, or a great link? We can create curriculum through virtual means. We can share ideas and ask questions and start our own professional learning community. Why not invite other teachers to join in? So before you leave and say farewell till next year, think about creating a way to build your virtual community for those that want to connect over the summer. I think Marcia and I will start small with a few teachers, a couple of emails, and a task list that we would like to complete. When we find out new information or gain insight we will share it over our Google docs. Many of your technology coordinators want to be a part of planning and have great ideas for apps and curriculum connections.

Marcia and our staff are excited to have the Chromebooks next year along with all the great iPad apps we have used. The students will have a rich, engaging experience, one that we can share digitally with parents and our greater community through our website. If you have a computer lab teacher you can build lessons together and have students continue their research or collaboration in both the Library and Computer Lab. We are the hubs of our school and we can show others how to connect technology to the content in ways that teachers don’t know are possible yet. Make sure to consider this when using technology: Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and some great resources through Common Sense Media.

If you have any technology questions or just need an idea please feel free to reach out to me as well. Have a great summer and hope to connect with you all online.

Jeanette Simenson

jrsimenson@cps.edu

Using Thinglink in the Library Classroom, Marcia Mariscal, Goethe Elementary

Thanks to the iPads, I was able to have the students explore Kids InfoBits.  They worked with partners opening the different tabs, clicking on the sound button, and adding information to their backpacks.  The third graders were able to email articles of information to their cps gmail account.  This was the first time the students were able to explore the sight in class.  On the second day of class the students picked a specific animal to research.  The students worked with each other answering a series of questions to gather more information about their animal.  Because I encouraged them to read two to three articles depending on the age of the group, the gathering of facts took two 50 minute class periods.

As a teacher, I knew I wanted the students to do research on a topic using the CPS database, but now I had to think about how they would share their learned information.  The traditional safe route for me would have been to create a project, a poster that students could pour all their learned information on.  But because of the iPads, I decided to think outside the box and plan for the students to use technology to share their new learned knowledge.  But What?  I decided to go the expert for advice.  My tech teacher Mrs. Simenson, who suggested to use Thinglink.  Thinglink?  I had not heard of it and was definitely not familiar with the app.  Thinglink is an app that allows you to add an image from your camera roll and add informational tags, as well as, add video. What’s great is that you can create an educator account which allows you to set up student accounts.  They generate your email domain and provide you with a password for each student.

Well I decided that my 1st through 3rd graders would be using the Thinglink app to display the information obtained from their research.  A word of advice, when you create your class list, change each of their password to a more manageable one.  The domain and the password they provide is too complicated for kids.  I made sure I changed all their passwords to one they could remember.  To make it even easier, I chose the same password for all my students.   Another tip I would give myself before I do this again, and therefore letting you know, some students did not know or forgot how to type an underscore.  Because the username they generate contained their first name, underscore, last name; it took a while to login to the website.  I also found that first graders needed help adding the @ sign. Once these small hiccups got resolved, it was smooth sailing from that point on.  The students picked up on the app very quickly.  I thought the first graders would have a hard time understanding, but boy was I surprised.  They were done adding their facts to their tags in no time.  I was so excited to see them clicking on a tag and rereading their information.

Besides displaying their information in a new way, what I found positive about this app was the sharing of information that goes on.  Students are able to see other classmates work and comment on it.  They are able to see my stream with other grades and comment on them as well.  Now it is not just their class, but 1st through 3rd are sharing information with each other.

It truly is a community of learners.  I know that I want to continue next year working with Thinglink and teach my students how to embed videos into their interactive image.  I am very excited for what next year will bring thanks to the introduction of technology into our library.

Kindergartners Make Music in the Library, Juan Fernandez-Saines, Librarian, Pickard Elementary School

One of my goals for the REVITAL project was to also include the kindergarten students in the learning of a special lesson.  I do not want any of my students to think that the library is only about reading and analyzing print media.  I want them to realize that the library is a place where they can learn about everything, including how to play music.  Our school does not have a music program or music teacher.  So all of our students don’t receive enough exposure to learn about this art form.

My help in realizing this goal was when I received a visit and support from Mrs. Colleen Herman.  She helped me download several free apps on two iPads including Garageband from  the iTunes store.  After learning how to do that I downloaded the apps to the rest of the iPads. So I began my first lesson by reading two digital books from MyOn.com.  The books were “Instruments and Music”  by Daniel Dunn and “The Bremen Town Musicians” as retold by Eric Blair.  After reading the books students also completed the handout “Which Are Musical Instruments?”

I taught the students how to open Garageband and I also played a few notes.  I also taught them how to swipe to select other instruments such as the drums and guitar.  They were very eager to  start learning. What I noticed when I grouped my students as they worked together was remarkable: they were discovering new functions on their own and teaching each other how to use them!  After allowing them to experiment for the first session, the next session was to make their learning more harmonious.

To do this, I taught them how to play the first eight notes on the piano.  I told them that when they combined different sounds they were creating a pattern that would produce rhythm and hence make music.  Now they were no longer just producing clanging sounds, their music went up another step and it became organized.

A few years ago it was unimaginable that we would have this capability of learning. Buying musical instruments can easily cost the school thousands of dollars.  And when funding is scarce and there is no music teacher, the iPad technology has made it possible for our students to enjoy producing music on their own.  It is my hope that next year our kindergarten students, who will be in first grade will be able to learn complete songs.  And who knows? Next year we may even have our first concert with an orchestra composed of iPads!

The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Stacie Bell, Librarian, Pirie Elementary School

One of the great parts about working in the Library is being able to collaborate with classroom teachers. My fifth graders recently read The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 with their homeroom teacher. After doing a character study with the their teacher, we brought that experience a step further in the Library. (See student work)

In the Library, we used a paid app called Faces iMake to create a representation of the characters from the book. Before the students began working with the iPads, we made a list of the characters and the students were assigned to pairs and a character. Students were then asked to write a list a adjectives and verbs to describe their character. This activity got student’s thinking about the things their character does and how they act, rather than just how they look.

Then, we were ready to work with the app. Faces iMake has several tutorial videos so we watched the first one as a class, which gave a much more concise introduction than I could and it also showed students where they could go if they forgot how to work a feature of the app.

Students were required to create the face of their character with the objects provided in the app. At least three of the objects had to represent a character trait or an important scene for the character. For example, a character who is smart might have a calculator for eyes.

After creating their faces, students exported the picture to the camera roll and then opened Pages. In Pages, students imported the picture and wrote about what they did. Students had to introduce the character and describe his or her role in the story. Students then wrote about why they chose their particular objects and how they represented their character. Students then converted their document to a PDF so it could be emailed and printed, and presented their Faces and explanations to the class.

The students really enjoyed this lesson because it gave them the opportunity to be creative (and a little silly). This lesson also allowed for a deep level of thinking because students must really dissect their character and make connections to physical objects and then back up these connections through their writing.

Reflection about QR Codes and Booktalks Unit, Viviane Krause, Franklin Fine Arts Center

I attempted to complete the QR Codes and Booktalks unit with 4th - 8th grade students, I have to say that I bit off more than I could chew.   In my mind I envisioned my library space where students walked around with the iPads and scanned the book’s QR code to watch the student generated book talk videos.  I was able to complete 5 books with QR codes.  The project was too big for me for my first time out with iPads, my learning curve was too large.  I also ran out of time.  I plan on picking and choosing additional booktalk videos to download this summer and create QR codes for those in the fall.  

Here is what I would change...

1.  Only do the unit with one or two classes, the videos take too long to download.

2.  The unit ended up lasting way too long because students were perfectionists with their videos, maybe give them a certain number of takes and that’s it.

3.  I would have had a different booktalk worksheet for fiction and non-fiction.

4.  I would choose the best videos to create the QR codes for, not all of the students.

Here is what worked well…

1.  The goal of having peers give booktalks to each other was met.

2.  The students loved creating their booktalk videos.

3.  The students learned about what QR codes where and how they work.