Edmodo

Before we left for our much needed Spring Break I introduced my students to Edmodo. They loved it!! Annie has already been using this with her class and they love it as well. It looks like Facebook, so I think that is part of the appeal. After reading a Time for Kids article about California's Condors I posted an open ended discussion question on edmodo and students began to respond. I have to say that I have never seen students to eager to respond after reading a Time for Kids article before.

I decided to try using Edmodo with one of my reading groups. My Chasing Redbird reading group came down to the floor with their netbooks and we discussed the book. I through out questions and thoughts that I had while I read and they responded. I had to remind them to keep the discussion focused on the book. They did a great job and they really enjoyed discussing the book this way. All my other reading groups we clamoring to try Edmodo as well... I will definitely be using this as a way for students to respond to their reading. I think meeting and discussing the book is important this is a great tool for students who can't wait to meet to start discussing the book immediately or as they are reading the assigned chapters.

Some of our third grade teachers have used Edmodo with their study of plants and their students have really enjoyed using it outside of the school day. I shared my ideas for Edmodo and the first roadblock would be lack of laptops for students to use all at once. They would need to be in the computer lab which takes away from the immediate feedback/discussion. I realized how lucky my class is to have access to a class set netbooks at any given time...they could have easily written their reading response to the Time for Kids article in their reading journals, but I know I would not have gotten such a rich discussion of the article.

Texas Hero Project

Students researched a Texas Hero using the Netbooks every day for a week. The students created business cards with a Web 2.0 tool called Badge Maker. On the final day, students dressed as their Texas Hero and exchanged cards. I took a Netbook outside to the playground with us. I was able to play "Deep in the Heart of Texas" from www.youtube.com so the students could "Mingle to Music" and find partner to exchange with. Students orally told each other what they learned about their hero and placed the exchange card in a clear business card sheet. I was able to also take pictures with the Netbook with webcam. I loved that. All in one device!

James Bowie

Davy Crockett

Wait Till Helen Comes--Book Trailer

Animotos

Texas Hero Animotos

Every year students research one of the Texas Revolution heroes. This year students are in the process of creating either an Animoto or Glogster. It takes a less time for students to complete the project and they love the end product! More project examples will be posted as they finish.