Edudemic

Just stumbled upon the site Edudemic that is described as...

"A community of teachers, education professionals, and hundreds of other people interested in the intersection of education and technology."

The website houses endless articles on the use of technology in the classroom and is broken down by resources for students, resources for teachers.  The screen shot below highlights articles that are trending right now.

Educdemic can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest which includes a board on the best Web 2.0 Tools.

Highly recommend checking Edudemic out!

Another great article on iPads

Another great article about using iPads in the classroom -
17 Real-World Ways iPads Are Being Used in Schools

iPads in Education

The following link (http://www.scoop.it/t/ipadsineducation) provides a variety of articles about using iPads in the education field, from the use with young children up through the college years.  5 iPad Apps for Students with Disabilities and
10 Popular Tools Being Used On iPads In The Classroom were two articles that caught my eye.  The site features many other articles and includes links to other educators using iPads in their classrooms.

Preschool Expectations Digital Stories

In my PreK Special Ed classes I frequently use social stories to teach children about feelings, calming down, as well as classroom rules and expectations.  As part of a SPDG PBIS Grant through SERC, our department created a set of social stories about our preschool expectations.

With having an interactive whiteboard in my classroom that I frequently use for instruction, I decided to turn these social stories digital.  I am anticipating creating a whole series relating to different parts of our day including snack, the hallway and the bus.  In the digital stories you will note repeated phrases and pictures, especially our three preschool expectations, be safe, be kind and do your best!

Digital Storytelling in the Preschool Classroom

In trying to figure out how to incorporate digital storytelling in my preschool classroom, the example provided from the Gryphon House Blog really helped clear the air on what a digital story is and can be. 

"Have you watched a wedding video lately? Many times the video starts with music playing in the background while visually zooming in on still photographs, such as pictures of the spouses’ childhood homes and baby pictures, then moves seamlessly to actual video of the ceremony and reception. That is an example of how digital storytelling works."

This blog posts continues to provide ideas and resources to use when creating digital stories in the classroom including Voki, StoryBird, and StoryCenter.org.  It also provides an example of a digital story that was created by a teacher in New Jersey using Voice Thread.  This teacher was national recognized for her the digital story her class created about polar bears.

Circle Time Rules

Everyday with my little kiddos we go over our circle time rules:

eyes watching

ears listening

voices quiet

bodies calm

We frequently sing a song that goes with these rules.  In setting out to create an Animoto I decided what would be better than giving my students a visual to correspond with the song and circle time rules.  To make it more personal for my kiddos I also took pictures of them doing the motions to use for the Animoto.

Now everyday the first thing I do with each of my classes is watch this video.  The kids actually ask for it.  We play it on our eno board and the kiddos sing along, do the hand motions and even my most distracted student is engaged and following along.  I absolutely love the final product and the visual it provides for my students.  Will certainly be continuing the use Animoto in my classroom.

A digital story telling the process of making a digital story...

Start to finish how elementary kiddos create digital stories.  Kids and technology these days, its their way of life.

Digital Storytelling with the Littles

“Digital storytelling incorporates a variety of multimedia such as audio narration, music, video, and still images to tell a story.”



"Digital storytelling has taken the educational world by storm, due in part to the power it has to engage and motivate the learner. Digital storytelling can also be used by any age group from pre-k to college level. Young children can be involved in the making of a digital story in a variety of ways, such as taking photographs with a digital camera, acting out scenes, drawing pictures and scanning the images, and narrating the story with their own words. When the students are involved in the creation of the digital story it becomes very meaningful to them and, thus, a very effective teaching tool."

Formative Assessment in the preschool classroom using Digital Storytelling

Early Childhood Teacher: Digital Storytelling

some food for thought...

its almost 12 minutes but its worth the time...

Blogging in the Elementary Classroom

community, creativity, innovative, excitement, motivation, sharing, communication, audience, home/school connection, involved

Tots and Technology

Whether it's the phone, the computer, the iPad he finds it and tries to use it-- and he's not even 1.