Blog Post #19

Summarize a Story 

This lesson is about creating a summary. The video provides a short story and then it provides an example on how to summarize it. I liked this video because it had animation for children.

I had never heard of TED-Ed until this week. It was interesting to find videos on Youtube about my final project. For my final project, I chose to focus on summarizing because the students always have a hard time with this skill when they take the state test. My project is about teaching students to summarize and I was very impressed that I found a kid-friendly video on demonstrating this skill. I thought TED-Ed will be an amazing tool to use. There are many ways in which TED-Ed can be used in the classroom.

            The first idea for using TED-Ed will be for students in the 4^th grade for a Science lesson. In this case I would have my students find a video about the topic for their science project. I would then have them ask questions in the Think section, include resources in the Dig Deeper section, and create some discussion questions that the other students can answer. Another lesson for this same grade level and subject would be for students to look for videos on certain experiments made at the end of the unit. The students would be placed in groups and they would have to do an experiment. They would then find a video related to their experiment.

            The second idea that I have for using TED-Ed would be to teach my students about a certain topic. In this case I would use it for a 2^nd grade Language Arts lesson. I would show the videos to my students as a whole group and have them answer the questions. I would also divide them into groups and have them create a discussion question that the rest of the groups can answer.  

            My third idea would be for a 3^rd grade Math lesson. For this lesson, I would give each student a math problem that they would have to solve. I would have them solve the problem and find a video where the problem is being solved too. I would then have them find other resources so that the rest of the students could see the options.

            These are just some of the ways in which we can use TED-Ed with our students.  This is a great resource that can be used to teach or for students to show their learning. This would be something familiar for them because students usually already know how to look search for videos on Youtube.

Blog Post #18

I had recently discovered Google Photos when I saw that my phone’s memory was low and I needed to free up some space. I was able to erase the pictures and they were saved in my Google Photos. I really love that the photos are now uploaded and that it creates videos. 

My first idea for using Google Photos in the classroom would be for them to create an album. I would use Google Photos for a 3^rd grade Science lesson. I will assign a topic as we are finishing a unit. The students will be responsible for taking photos and uploading them to their album. An example would be heat. They would have to take pictures of things that give heat. They would have to add a description explaining what is happening in their picture. Another idea for this same grade level and subject would be to have students create an album based on photos they take when making experiments. Students would take pictures of the materials, steps and then show final results. They would be asked to add a description where they explained what they were doing.

My second idea would be for students in 2nd grade. This lesson would be for Language Arts. Students need to be able to summarize. I think using Google Photos would be a great way of doing this. I would have students take pictures or find photos and do a retell of the latest story we have read. I would have them add a description to each photo so that I would be able to assess that they understood that a summary doesn’t include every single detail that happened in the story. I would do this lesson at least 2 a month.

The third activity would also be for Language Arts but for students in 5^th grade. In this case I would use it for finding synonyms. I would give each student a word. They would be responsible for finding synonyms. They would then look for pictures of those words and create an album. They would have to order the words meaning least to most. For example, if the word was mad. They could use words like upset, angry, irate, furious, and enraged. Then they order them to show the pictures from where the person seems a little annoyed to enraged.

            These would be some ideas for using Google Photos. I think using Google Photos in the classroom would be engaging for students. Most of them love taking selfies, and this is a great way for them to use it for their education.

Blog Post #17

Lost Love

My album tells the story about a young woman who loses the person she had planned to marry. It tells us how she had to recover in order to be happy again.

Blog Post #16

50 Writing Prompts for All Grade Levels

The first article I found was about writing prompts that can be used for all grade levels. This article is divided into three sections where it includes writing prompts for high school, middle school, and elementary. This article was appealing to me because at my school they are always explaining how we need to push our students so that they can be able to write well for the STAAR test. Writing is a critical skill that students need to master in order to succeed. I thought that some of the prompts were a tad bit hard for my kindergarten students but they were appropriate for older grade levels. One of my favorite prompts at the elementary level was, “I wish my teachers knew that…” I thought this would be a great opportunity for the students to share their deepest fears, hopes, dreams, or secrets. I believe this prompt would open the door to build a better relationship with the students.

The middle school prompts are more open to explain issues like gender, bullying, ethnicity, etc. One example of a prompt I found would be interesting to read about was, “Is your ethnicity an important part of your identity? How so?” This is a question that will provide students with the opportunity to dig deep down and analyze. A prompt from the high school level that caught my attention was the following, “What causes racism?” This question is of vital importance because it gives students the opportunity to analyze their feelings and maybe research past events to determine what they think causes racism. These are important prompts that can provide the teachers with a greater understanding of how the students think. It also provides the opportunity for addressing any misconceptions that may exist. Overall, I enjoyed reading this article because it gave me stupendous ideas to use in class. 

6 Techniques for Building Reading Skills 

The other article I found in Edutopia described techniques to build reading skills. The techniques mentioned include making annotations that will increase engagement and increases comprehension. Some of the following are: asking questions, chunking, summarizing paragraphs, and even drawing pictures. Another goal is to appeal to the senses. Reading aloud to students and verbalizing the questions can be beneficial because students need the skills modeled because sometimes they don’t know how to ask the questions. Another suggestion the article emphasizes is setting goals. In order to do this, students need to evaluate their reading skills and ask themselves questions. Other suggestions include giving students different text lengths, giving them the opportunity to choose what they read, and by assessing their skills whether in a formal or informal manner. This article gave me ideas that I can use with my class to build their reading skills.

 

Blog Post #15

Blog Post #15

Using LiveBinders was a new experience for me.  At first I had a hard time adding new content but once I got the hang of it, it became easy. Now that I’ve seen how you can bookmark websites and includes all sorts of videos, images, links, etc. I can see how useful it can be in the classroom. The first idea for me would be to use this binder as a teacher. I could keep track of activities and ideas especially when using the videos. This could easily be shared with other colleagues. I would especially use this binder for Reading. It would be for kinder and I would create a binder for the letters of the alphabet. Each tab would be a different letter. The tabs would have two sub tabs; one for the videos for that letter, and the other for other resources or books for that specific letter.

My second idea would be for students in the 4^th grade. This would be a lesson targeted for Science. In this case I would divide my students in groups and they would have to create a binder on a specific topic. I would use this as a type of assessment for them after we finished with a unit. Each group would research information, and activities for their topic. Then they would share their binder with the rest of the class so that the students could learn more about that specific topic.

My third idea would be for students in 5^th grade for Social Studies. This would be a final project. Students would be given a specific question about a topic that has been discussed. They would need to create a binder with the information that supports their points of view in regards to their question. Students would be able to create tabs and include the resources, websites, images, videos, etc. I think this would promote interest in students because they are already online most of the time and they enjoy sharing what they found on the Internet. This would be a way to engage the students in sharing their discoveries.  

I think LiveBinders is a great way of bookmarking websites so that we don’t forget where we found it. This is useful because you can have sub tabs within a tab and put more resources related to that topic. I could easily see myself using this with activities for the different units.

Live Binder

My LiveBinder is about resources that I have used for teaching different skills in kinder. They include videos and songs about the letters and numbers. It also includes websites that I use for my students to provide extra practice.

My LiveBinder

Blog Post #14: Final Project Idea

For my final project I would create a lesson for the 4^th grade level. I would like to create a Language Arts lesson and focus on the TEK (6) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to: (A) sequence and summarize the plot's main events and explain their influence on future events. I decided to focus on this lesson because every year after we receive our scores for the STAAR test, it is determined that we are lacking the skills in summarizing. We have seen students struggle trying to determine what to include in the summary.  

The learning goals for this lesson would be for the students to learn how to determine if their information is an important event that needs to be included in their summary. The other goal would be for the students to be able to sequence the events of the story, and therefore, understand and be able to explain how those events all have an influence in future events.

This lesson will be designed to focus on main ideas as an introduction so that students can avoid including information that does not belong in the summary. I will tap into their interests by focusing on stories that they are familiar with and that appeal to them.

For this lesson, I am planning on having students use Prezi so that they can summarize the main events of the story. I would also have them use Edmodo to communicate with me as well as with their peers. Another Web 2.0 tool that I would like to include would be Twitter. I would include Twitter because I think it can help them summarize since there is a limit to how many words you can have.

Blog Post # 13

 

In the scenario, I observed several problems. In one of the groups only one of the students was writing the research paper while the rest of the team only edited minor details.  Another problem I identified was that students were deleting each other’s entries. A third problem was that there was not a rubric in place so the students were focused on their wiki looking pretty instead of worrying about the content. A fourth problem was that students in another group were not collaborating and were therefore writing their own paragraphs separately. A critical problem that I also identified was plagiarism, which meant that students were just copying content from other websites without giving credit. The last problem I found was that students were posting content that had nothing to do with the research questions.

I would prioritize problems as followed: not having a rubric in place that explained student’s expectations, and how the participation of each student would be graded. The second problem I found was that students were plagiarizing. The third problem I found was that Jane did not write comments to her students after checking their engagement. The next problem would be of students erasing each other’s entries. Another problem was students not collaborating and having just one student do the whole work. The next problem in order of importance was that students were posting content that was irrelevant to their assignment.

A possible solution to the first problem would be:  for Jane to have given the students a rubric where it explained what was expected from each student. She should have mentioned that each student needed to write a paragraph and write their name after their work was added to the project. She should have also said that students are only allowed to edit and not erase entire entries of their team. By doing this, the students would know what was expected and would respect their classmate’s work. They would also understand that the content, images, and videos that were uploaded needed to be related to their research question. By giving students a rubric, I think that it would have avoided the problem of groups focusing their attention of changing the formats to make it prettier instead of on the actual content. The solution for the second problem is for the teacher to explain that plagiarizing is academic dishonesty and that work that is not theirs will result in an automatic zero for the entire group. I think this would help students realize the importance of giving credit and the groups would abstain from copying work. A possible solution the third problem would be to have Jane send feedback about the student’s progress as she checked their engagement. One of the links below mentions how Tim King would project the Assessment Tool on his screen during class and this motivated the students because he provided instant feedback. Another article describes how to be notified when there are updates made to projects.

 The following are some links that would help Jane learn how to use wikis more effectively. 

http://blog.wikispaces.com/2015/09/wiki-tips-and-tricks-creating-a-table-of-contents.html

http://blog.wikispaces.com/2015/08/wiki-tips-and-tricks-notifications.html

http://blog.wikispaces.com/2014/07/get-your-class-in-your-wiki-painlessly-new-join-code-for-your-students.html

http://blog.wikispaces.com/2013/12/wikispaces-classroom-tour-with-tim-king-shared-notes-and-assessment.html

Post # 12

 

Section I:

#edleaders

 

I chose this hashtag because I am seeking to get my degree as a Principal. Therefore, I am interested in any piece of advise that will help me become a principal that is an advocate for the students, the teachers, and the school community. I found a tweet by Wolfgang Soeldner that caught my attention.  It says that, “Education is a team sport.”  This quote is telling us that everyone in the school is responsible for their job, if someone doesn’t do their part, then we all look bad. Every person who works in a school is responsible for creating that safe environment for our students, we have the power to make it magical and unforgettable or we can make it horrible. Therefore, it is important that we take responsibility for every student that sets foot in the school. In order for us to work together as a team, a principal needs to have the staff and faculty believe in the school’s vision and goals. This was another article I found that states the roles and responsibilities of a principal in integrating technology.  Technology is the present and future, and principals need to not only support the use of technology but also model it. Just like we need to model for our students, principals need to model for the faculty and staff. Faculty and staff need to feel that the principal believes strongly in the use of technology and is not just using it to compete with other schools. Another interesting article, “The 5 Behaviors that Derail Executive Careers,” can be tied up to the first article about education being a team sport. The first mistake that many leaders make is being oblivious to an employee who creates havoc. The employee will look deficient but the executive will be blamed for keeping him there. The other type of behavior that derails executives is arrogance. In education there is no room for this behavior because as was mentioned before we need to work as a team in order to have students succeed. An arrogant leader will cause employees to hesitate in giving opinions or ideas because the leader is always right. Therefore, being aware of our own weaknesses and strengths allows a leader to develop and grow. The hashtag #edleaders gave me advice on what is expected of a leader. It goes to show that being a leader isn’t about always believing one is right but about supporting and advocating for your team in order to accomplish a goal. 

Education is a Team Sport  

Roles & Responsibilities of a School Leader in Technology Integration

The 5 Behaviors that Derail Executives

Section II

There are many ways in which Twitter can be used in the classroom. In my case, I would use it with 5^th grade students for Science or Social Studies. I would have the students create a Twitter account. Then depending on the topic we were covering that week or in a unit, I would have the students do some research and do a small presentation on Prezi explaining their findings. In their presentation, they would have to include at least one link. Since Twitter is a social media that allows communication between people all over the world, I would have my students use it to communicate with others. This activity would be for students in 4^th grade and they would use it in Social Studies. Students would have their own Twitter accounts and they would be asked to communicate with people from different cultures in order to learn the different life styles of other students. I think this would be better than just doing research because it would be information coming from an actual person who can explain how things work in their culture. The third way I would use Twitter would be to do research for the sake of learning. Now that I’ve used Twitter and searched hashtags, I would be able to look for different topics that are of interest for me. I could look for activities for students, or new research on technology. Using Twitter for research would also let me share interesting links, or videos that I found.

            Twitter is about sharing and expressing thoughts in 140 characters or less, to make an impact. A few years ago, I attended a training where it was demonstrated how important the choice of our words was in creating an impact. I would have my students in 4^th grade us Twitter in Language Arts. After reading a story or poem, I would ask a question and have my students choose their words wisely in order to answer the question and make the greatest impact. This could be done weekly and one student could be chosen each week as a winner. I think this would engage students and help them look for better words to express themselves. I think Twitter can be used in many ways to help teachers and students learn. I’m sure there are many other ideas on utilizing this social media. These are just some ways in which I would use it in my classroom.

Post # 11

Edmodo is a social media site similar to Facebook that allows the community to share files and communicate with. The teacher can post reminders, which comes very handy especially if you forget to send notes home. This site also lets you create quizzes, assignments, polls, notes, and snapshots. I had not heard of this site but I know it will be extremely useful once I start utilizing it in my classroom.

            The first idea I have for using Edmodo is to communicate with the parents in my kindergarten class, especially when I need to send reminders. Sometimes I am in such a hurry that I forget to pass out the notes reminding them of some event that is going on. Edmodo can help me remind the parents about any events going on.  These reminders could be sent weekly so that parents are informed of what is going on in the classroom.

            Another way I would use Edmodo would be to create snapshots for my class. In this case, I would use it with third graders in Language Arts. This would be a great way to assess what standards my students still need help with. In this case, I would have them take one snapshot per week, after we have covered those standards for the week.

            Since Edmodo is similar to Facebook, I would have 4^th grade students sign up and post questions for Language Arts. Students would be read a book or chapter in a book, then they would be asked to post a question. This question could be about anything they wanted to analyze: the characters, his motives for doing something, an alternate ending, etc. Then they would all have to post a comment on at least two questions. Students could also post comments about something they learned that they found interesting.

            Edmodo is also another option to stay in contact and share information with colleagues. We could share ideas, lessons, and files. This collaboration is neat because I can work with my colleague when planning what are the Texas standards that we need to cover for the week. This would be a good way to maintain the communication and work on the lesson plan when it is convenient for both of us. It reminds me of Google Docs.

            Edmodo is a useful tool for the community. It is a great way to maintain communication with the students, parents, and other colleagues. Many things can be done with Edmodo and even though in my current grade level I can’t give my students Snapshots, I would use it if I were teaching 3^rd, 4^th, or 5^th.

           

Post # 10

Fostering Identity in School 

Fostering Identity Safety in School was an interesting article that I found in the Edutopia Technology blog. It caught my attention because I had just finished watching a documentary where teenage girls had been cyber bullied and harassed in their school. In order for us to foster that safe environment for our students, we need to make them feel that they are important because of who they are. This can only be done when we go above and beyond and not only teach students that bullying is wrong because it breaks a rule, but teaching them values. Students need to feel empathy for others, regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, etc. Students need to respect others, even if they don’t agree with them. They need to learn how to be kind and honest.

This article covers steps to deal with bullying and since bullying is sometimes based on biases, I think this is the first step. We need to teach tolerance and understanding. Students need to realize that not everyone is the same and that they can learn from each other. Teachers need to model this behavior, and the values. After all, students are always watching teachers interacting with other adults, and how they interact with other students. This is a huge effort that needs to be made, but it is for the well being of not only the students but everyone who belongs to that community. 

Embracing Failure> Building Growth Mindset Through Arts 

No one really wants to fail, but it is an important step in the learning process. This is what they teach the performing arts students at New Mexico School for the Arts. Students are reminded constantly since day one that it is not the end of the world if mistakes are made. Making mistakes is part of the process and it allows for constructive criticism that will enable students to learn how they can improve. They are also taught that taking risks is how they can expand their abilities. They remind the students that it doesn’t matter if they can do great the first time or over time with practice and feedback, as long as it is done because in the end, taking risks will payoff.  In this school, students are taught that they need to appreciate this feedback and not let their feelings get hurt. They are encouraged to write down the feedback in a journal so that they can remember it and apply it later. Teachers need to be specific about where improvement is needed but also need to provide successes. Students need both in order to better themselves. 

I found that both articles provide suggestions to foster that safe learning environment that students need so that they can succeed. It is important for us show them that it is okay to be different. They also need to understand that making mistakes is part of the learning process and so is taking risks. Students learn to accept these and receive feedback on how to be better; at the same time they are also learning how to provide positive feedback to their classmates. These steps bring us closer to creating that identity safety in the school because students will feel safe and comfortable even if mistakes are made.

Post #9: Prezi: The Best Way to Present

Post #8

Blog Post # 8:  Google Drive

My experience with Google Drive was limited to working on a document and to saving my photos. I knew I could share and edit a document online while other people edited as well. That was what we learned in a class and I never thought about using it again. Now that I’ve seen the video, I learned that many things can be done: documents, spread sheets, surveys, and presentations.

My first idea for using Google Drive would be to use Google Docs. I would use it for my classes especially when I have to work in a team and we all have busy schedules and can’t meet. This way we are all able to access the document from wherever is convenient for us. This way we can all add, remove, and edit the document online.  I find this very useful because as graduate students we can all access the document when we have time.  

My second idea would be used with students in the third grade. I would have the students use Google Forms for a Math lesson. I would have the student get in groups of four. Then I would have them use Google Forms to create a survey so that they could post it in their blogs and have their classmates answer them. Then I would have each team view their answers and create a graph showing all the answers they received. Finally, I would have them answer questions based on the results.

My third idea would be to use Google Drive with 4^th grade students for Science. I would have the students create a Google account. Then I would create a folder with the information, notes, presentations, and lessons of the entire year. I would then share this folder with my students so that they can access them from home especially to review for a test. This can also be used for any other subject or content area depending on what is being taught.

Another idea would be to use Google My Maps. This idea can be used for 2nd graders in Math. In this case, I would create a math addition problem where they could use the map and find the sum of miles from one place to another. This would just show a visual and let them know how far it is. Google My Maps is nice because it tells you the miles from one place to the other.

            Google Drive is a great tool for teachers and students. It lets us do many things and save our documents without occupying your available space. This is a great resource to be used with upper grade levels they just need to be taught how to use the different programs.

Post # 7: Survey

My survey is about Reading.


https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeblBFfEt0naYK1ApGaF_GJmdIyWNzkZrpA7VfOI92oUKNWmQ/viewform

Blog Post #6: Using Pinterest

Pinterest is an amazing tool for teachers wanting to find ideas and resources for the classroom. I love how you can find ideas for anything: classroom management, home decorating, activities, babies, workouts, etc. Pinterest is an easy way to keep track of the pins you make by saving them in different boards. I have created several boards based on the different content areas. This just helps me keep track of the activities I have liked and can later use. It saves me of having papers stored in folders that I then forget to use.

            My first idea for using Pinterest is for finding activities, classroom decorating ideas, lessons, and anchor charts for kindergarten. I chose kindergarten because it is the grade level I currently teach. I have used this social network, Pinterest, in the past two years to find ideas for writing, to find fun and engaging math activities for my students. Finding apps that are grade level appropriate for my students is another way I would use Pinterest. In this case, I would be learning different activities that can be used with this grade level. If they moved me to another grade level, I would use it to find everything related to the other grade level.

            The second idea would be for me to use with 5th graders in Science. Students need to do science projects every year, and for some it is hard to find ideas of what they can do. So the week that projects are announced, I would have my students search Pinterest and create a board named Science Projects. I would have them look for ideas and pin them to their board. This would give them an idea to research several projects and then look at their ideas and decide what they want to do.  

            The third idea would be for teaching and collaborating with the other teachers in my grade level. In our school, we have designated days for planning as a grade level. When we plan together we look at the TEKS for the whole 9 weeks and then we looks for activities. We always use Pinterest to look for the activities. We would look for ideas for anchor charts especially when teaching new concepts to our students. This would be another form of us teachers learning together.

            I loved using Pinterest. I think it is a great tool for anyone searching for ideas and resources, it does not matter what you’re looking for. Lately I have been using it not just for school, but also for tips on my baby. I think Pinterest can be used for teaching and learning and can be used by anyone.

Pinterest Board

The link to my Pinterest Board:

Educational Resources

Blog Post 4: Uses for Evernote

Evernote is more than a tool for taking notes. It is a place to keep information whether recorded or typed that can be shared with others. It can also include pictures, screenshots, articles, and other information that can be edited by people you share it with if desired. I enjoyed using Evernote and I think older students would benefit from using this tool.  

I would use Evernote in the 4^th grade in the subject area of Language Arts. Since this is a great tool for creating notes and saving them. I would have my students write narratives or short compositions. Then I would ask them to record themselves reading their work. I would have them save these compositions in the same notebook so that it could be a digital portfolio of their work throughout the year. This is a great way to show the students’ progress in writing stories.

Another idea for using Evernote, would be for 5^th graders. For Math, I would give them a word problem as a pdf file. I would then ask them to solve their problem and ask them to record how they found their answer. As an article mentioned it is important for students to explain the logic behind their answer whether it’s right or wrong. I think this would be a great tool for students to explain their reasoning. This would be a way for them to explain step by step how they solved their word problems.

My third idea would be used in a dual language 3^rd grade classroom, in Spanish Language Arts and English Language Arts. Students in dual language are learning both languages so I would have the students create notes every day. One would be in English and the other one in Spanish. This would be their journal. I would give them a topic and have them write about it for 15 minutes. Students would then be required to share their note with a partner so that they can edit their work.

As a teacher, I would use Evernote as my place to store the lesson plans for the academic school year. This would be a great resource because I could write down the lesson plan. After my students are done with the activity, I would post some samples of their work. I would also reflect about how smooth the lesson went and record modifications, reminders, or misconceptions that need to be addressed for the next year.  

I loved using Evernote, I found it very useful and easy to use after I watched the video Up and Running with Evernote. I like that you can create so many notes, include photos, audio, and share everything. This is a tool that I will continue to use because I can use it to save pictures of my baby too.

Public Evernote Notebook

 I decided to use Evernote to create and share a notebook with lessons I found for Kindergarten. Since I am fairly new to the grade level, I wanted to research some ideas to use with my classroom. I wanted ideas that would be engaging and fun for my students. In this notebook, I included ideas for Math, for writing, and a cute one for Mother's Day. This is a work in progress because I plan to add more lessons to this notebook.

Lessons for Kindergarten

https://www.evernote.com/pub/caruiz3/lessonsforkindergarten

Some of The Best Windows Apps For Teachers

The educational technology blogs have many articles that are interesting and important for educators. I especially found the article about the best window apps for teachers to be beneficial. It has the app, Duolingo, which provides activities so that students can practice a new language. The languages that can be practiced are: Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Irish, Dutch, Danish, and English. With this app you can choose the amount of time to practice, 5, 10, 15, or 20 minutes. You can choose a language, and then take a placement test if you know the basics or start from the beginning. The test asks you to translate some phrases. It rewards the students for their good achievements and also translates texts. Another app that is mentioned is iMath, which gives students the opportunity to improve children’s math skills. This app is designed for children from Pre-K to 5^th grade. iMath covers more the 900 math skills and more than 20 topics. Sway is a storytelling app that allows the user to create and share reports, stories, presentations and much more.  It mentions another math app, MathQuiz, which lets you practice and improve your calculation skills. It also lets you choose the level, and the types of questions. I think the next app is for educators, and allows them to make lesson plans for any subject and allows you to share. 

4 Excellent iPad Apps For Recording Audio Notes  

            The next article I found was about iPad apps to record audio notes. The first app, Audio Note, allows for inserting text, photos, drawings, and highlighted notes. It can also amplify the audio if it is used in larger rooms. You can share the audio with the following apps: iCloud, Dropbox, WiFi, and iTunes. The Super Note Recorder lets the user to color code the notes to distinguish them from one another. It also lets you record voice and take pictures so that they can be added to your notes. The next app, Sound Note, lets you take notes during meetings, lectures, and interviews. This app allows you to record audio while tracking what you type and draw. This app allows you to playback by just tapping a word.

            These articles are especially for educators. Teachers can either use them in the classroom for school projects or practice math skills. The audio notes can be used for many different activities, especially storytelling in the lower grades. Teachers can inform the parents about these apps, so that students can practice at home. The Duolingo app would be very useful in my classroom for my bilingual students to practice the English language. As a teacher, I think that the more articles and research we have on apps that can support us, the better off our students will be.

Blogs used for Distribution, Discussion, and Demonstration

Blogs have become a platform to share ideas, videos, photographs, and information and at the same time allows other people to leave comments. Many classrooms are implementing blogs in their classrooms.  They can be used in three ways: distribution, discussion, and demonstration.

Distribution

Blogs can be used for the distribution of information to students and their parents.  In my case, I would use www.weebly.com which lets you create a blog. I would use it with my current class, which is kindergarten and would cover all the subject areas. This blog would be more for the parents since my students don’t know how to read or write yet. In this blog, the parents would be able to see the class schedule; this way they would be aware of when the students have breakfast, go to lunch, have P.E., and are dismissed. This blog would also include the rules and discipline plan.  The homework for the whole week and a calendar with important information happening each month, like: picture day, early dismissals, the times for awards ceremonies, and parent teacher conferences would also be included. This would be like an electronic newsletter for the parents.

Discussion

Blogs can also be used to generate discussions between the students. I would use blogs for Language Arts for 4^th grade students. In this case, I would create a blog and have each student  post on this class blog their responses to either poetry covered in class or to a story that was read to them. Students would be read a story and then would have to post their response and cover the following TEKS. They could summarize and/or explain the lesson or the message of stories that are fiction. They could also compare and contrast the adventures of the characters. Then the students would respond to their students' posts.

Demonstration

Blogs can be used to show the students’ progress over time, like a portfolio. I would use the blog in the 4^th grade for Science. In this case, I would have the students work in groups and make a video of the labs, their results, and their reflections about what they learned. I would then ask them to post their videos and have other students make comments. Another idea for 4^th grade students in Language Arts would be for students to post their stories or brief compositions. I would give them a topic and they would write their stories, film themselves reading the story and then other students could post comments providing positive feedback. Several of these stories throughout the year would demonstrate each student’s progress through a digital portfolio.