TodaysMeet-Social Studies

TodaysMeet is a fun collaboration tool that you can use in the classroom.  It is a tool that give your students the opportunity to use their smart devises in the classroom.  It is really easy to make.  You can post a QR code or link for your students to go to that has a discussion question that they can answer and collaborate together on a subject.  It is a fun, interactive way for students to get involved in a discussion in class rather than to just sit and listen to a lecture.  It also gives an opportunity to use technology int he classroom and students love it.  It seems like as soon as there is technology involved, students start to pay attention and get excited.

Students could incorporate this tool in their presentations that they have to make for class. It would make a book report a little more interactive and fun for the other students to get involved.  They could also use this tool as a quiz to see if the students payed attention to their presentation.

I created a TodaysMeet that would fulfill the following third grade standards:

Utah Core Standard:
Standard 1

Objective 3 
Analyze ways cultures use, maintain, and preserve the physical environment.

1. Identify ways people use the physical environment (e.g. agriculture, recreation, energy, industry

Ed Tech Standard:

Standard 7 Use telecommunications and on-line resources (e.g., email, online discussions, web environments) to participate in collaborative problem-solving activities to develop solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (4, 5)

ISTE Standard:

Global Collaborator

I strive to broaden my perspective, understand others, and work effectively in teams using digital tools.

Google Forms-Science

I created a class quiz on google forms.  I loved working with google forms!  I really liked how easy it was to use.  I know that a lot of people use google forms, but I had never made one before.  I really thought that it was going to be more complicated than it is.  I think that I will be using this a lot more for now on.  This a great way to do so many things in the classroom.  I used it as a quiz, but it could be used to gather information from parents, to get feedback from students, and to assess where the students are in learning content.  I think that it would be a good way to get back anonymous information from students too.  you could set up a google form to vote on things in the classroom.

As a teacher, you could assign students to teach a content area and allow them to use google forms to make up their own quizzes on a presentation that they have made about what they were teaching or presenting.  

The quiz that I made would fulfill the following fourth grade standards:

UEN Standard:

Standard 3 
Students will understand the basic properties of rocks, the processes involved in the formation of soils, and the needs of plants provided by soil.

Objective 1 
Identify basic properties of minerals and rocks.Classify common rocks found in Utah as sedimentary (i.e., sandstone, conglomerate, shale), igneous (i.e., basalt, granite, obsidian, pumice) and metamorphic (i.e., marble, gneiss, schist).

EdTech Standard: (if used in grades 3-5)

Standard 5 

Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

ISTE Standard:

Knowledge Constructor

I critically select, evaluate,and synthesize digital resources into a collection that reflects my learning and builds my knowledge.

Brochure-Internet Safety

Brochures are a good tool to know how to make for the classroom.  You can make a brochure to give out to the students about your classroom and the expectations that you have in your class, you can use brochures to advertise clubs within the school, or to give out information in an easy to read format.  I am not sure how often I would actually use this approach with a lesson, but I can see it being a valuable tool to know how to do in case I ever did run into a time where I needed to make a brochure.

Teaching the students to make a brochure can be a valuable thing for them to learn.  By making a brochure, they can use higher thinking skills to compile the information that they have learned about a certain topic.  They can also use it as a fun way to present a report or be creative outlet for them to make something.
I created a brochure to give out to students and parents regarding internet safety. The brochure that I made would fulfill the following standards:

UEN Standard:
N/A

EdTech Standard: (if used in grades 3-5)

Standard 5 

Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

ISTE Standard:

Creative Communicator

I communicate effectively and express myself creatively using different tools, styles, formats, and digital media.

Animoto-Science

Animoto is a fun website that you can use to create videos.  This was not my absolute favorite tool to use.  It seemed a little time consuming.  I originally tried to make just a slide show and it seemed to take forever just to make it up to 30 seconds.  I actually left  the project, but came back to it later and used the video section instead.  that seemed to be a much better option and a lot easier to use.  This would be great to use in your lessons or to have on your website where your students can access information that you are wanting them to learn.  The video format is more interesting then the typical slide show that it somewhat over used.  It would be a great resource for you to have your students to learn so that they can make presentations for their various assignments.  Students love to create different media ans this is a great one for them.  You could use this for book reports, slide shows, or any type of mini presentation that you would like to bring into the classroom.  The Animoto series that I created fulfills the following fourth grade standards:

UEN Standard:

Standard 3 
Students will understand the basic properties of rocks, the processes involved in the formation of soils, and the needs of plants provided by soil.

Objective 1 
Identify basic properties of minerals and rocks.Classify common rocks found in Utah as sedimentary (i.e., sandstone, conglomerate, shale), igneous (i.e., basalt, granite, obsidian, pumice) and metamorphic (i.e., marble, gneiss, schist).

EdTech Standard: (if used in grades 3-5)

Standard 5 

Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

ISTE Standard:

Creative Communicator

I communicate effectively and express myself creatively using different tools, styles, formats, and digital media.

ThingLink-Science

For my ThingLink, I made an interactive for kindergarten students to learn about the seasons.  I really like ThingLink.  I think that it is a fun tool to use in the classroom. I think that students would appreciate this way of learning.  Students love technology and the ThingLink almost feels like a game.  I love that it is something that you could put together and students can explore and learn on their own.  There is a lot of possibilities to use this tool.  It would be great as a study tool.  Students that are learning their states could have a map with all of the states and capitals and use it in place of flashcards.

Students could make a Thinglink to show the content that they have learned from a lesson.  It is a perfect higher thinking order project for them to use.  Students could even use it to make a project for a report on a book that they read.  Really, the available subjects that could be linked with a ThinkLink are endless.

This project that I made would fulfill the following kindergarten standards:

Utah Core Standard:

Standard 2 
Earth and Space Science. Students will gain an understanding of Earth and Space Science through the study of earth materials, celestial movement, and weather.

Objective 3 
Compare and contrast seasonal weather changes.

1. Identify characteristics of the seasons of the year.

EdTech Standard: (if using in 3-5 grades)

Standard 5 
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

ISTE Standard:

Innovated Designer (if student makes ThingLink)

I solve problems by creating new and imaginative solutions using a variety of digital tools

Padlet-Social Studies

I made a padlet for a social studies assignment.  The idea is to have students answer the question by responding and posting  picture that represents their answer.  This is a good tool to use to collaborate on a project or to see how well your students have grasped a concept.  Padlet was really easy to use.  I like the fact that I can post a question and that students can still access the question when they are at home.  This helps to bring learning home.  Using higher order thinking skills to answer a question helps students more than a quiz on the subject.  By allowing the students to respond to the question where the whole class can see it also allows students to see what others are thinking and possibly make them learn more.

Students could use padlet for a number of things.  It would be great for them to use it collaborate on a group project, or just as a place where they can store information that they have found regarding a paper they are going to write.  

The padlet that I have created fulfills the following third grade standards:

Utah Core Standard:
Standard 1

Objective 3 
Analyze ways cultures use, maintain, and preserve the physical environment.

1. Identify ways people use the physical environment (e.g. agriculture, recreation, energy, industry

Ed Tech Standard:

Standard 7 Use telecommunications and on-line resources (e.g., email, online discussions, web environments) to participate in collaborative problem-solving activities to develop solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (4, 5)

ISTE Standard:

Global Collaborator

I strive to broaden my perspective, understand others, and work effectively in teams using digital tools.

EDpuzzle-Math

For my EDpuzzle, I used a fractions video.  I really liked this tool.  It was really fun and easy to make.  I liked that there were already videos to choose from that can help me to teach whatever content area that I am trying to fill.  There are so many ways to use EDpuzzle in the classroom.  As a teacher, videos are a valuable tool to teach students.  There are a lot of students who learn better when they can are taught visually. Youtube has so many educational videos and EDpuzzle makes these videos even more beneficial to the classroom because you can input your own content and questions into the videos. It would be great to use EDpuzzle with videos to make sure that your students are paying attention to the content you want them to learn.

The EDpuzzle that I have made meets the following third grade standards:

Utah Core Standards:

Strand: NUMBER AND OPERATIONS - FRACTIONS 
Develop understanding of fractions as numbers. Denominators are limited to 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 in third grade.

Standard 3.NF.1 
Understand that a unit fraction has a numerator of one and a non-zero denominator.

EdTech Standards:

Standard 4 
Use general purpose productivity tools and peripherals to support personal productivity, to remediate skill deficits, and to facilitate learning throughout the curriculum. (3)

ISTE Standards:
Knowledge Constructor
I critically select , evaluate, and synthesize digital resources into a collection that reflects my learning and builds my knowledge.

Flyer

For my flyer, I made a poster to advertise a school activity.  Being able to make a flyer is a great tool to use in the classroom.  You can make posters to display in your classroom. These can include your rules, your classroom schedule, a poster about a book. or really anything that you can think of that you would like displayed in your classroom.  Knowing how to make a flyer is a valuable tool.  As a teacher, there will be plenty of opportunities to use this skill.  There is always something coming up that you might want to advertise to the students or parents. There is always information that needs to be posted somewhere and it is nice to have it look professional and neat.

A student that knows how to make a flyer can make a flyer for a book report or to display the content that they have learned about a certain subject.

This would meet the following standards:

Utah Core Standards:

N/A

EdTech Standards:

Standard 5 
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

ISTE Standards:

Creative Communicator

I communicate effectively and express myself creatively using different tools, styles, formats, and digital media

Mind Mapping- Science

Mind mapping is a fabulous way to get students thinking about things.  I remember making mind maps in school on a piece of paper.  Technology makes making mind maps a lot more fun and interactive.  Mind mapping can help your students to organize their thoughts for a paper, it can allow them to display the content that they have learned and it can be used as a great visual way for students to learn.

I chose to use popplet as my tool of choice to make a mind map.  I created this mind map to visually teach students how to classify rocks.  Using the mind map, it helps those students that learn visually.  To be able to see it spelled out what characteristics each type of rock have, makes it easier for those type of learners to learn.

This mind map would meet the following standards for fourth grade:

UEN Standard:

Standard 3 
Students will understand the basic properties of rocks, the processes involved in the formation of soils, and the needs of plants provided by soil.

Objective 1 
Identify basic properties of minerals and rocks.Classify common rocks found in Utah as sedimentary (i.e., sandstone, conglomerate, shale), igneous (i.e., basalt, granite, obsidian, pumice) and metamorphic (i.e., marble, gneiss, schist).

EdTech Standard: (if used in grades 3-5)

Standard 5 

Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

ISTE Standard:

Creative Communicator

I communicate effectively and express myself creatively using different tools, styles, formats, and digital media.

YouTube-Mathematics

YouTube is valuable resource for teachers.  There are so many videos that can help you teach a lesson.   Youtube makes it really easy to find videos that can be used in the classroom.  As a preschool teacher, I use youtube a lot.  Sometimes, it is easier to teach a concept to kids by letting them watch a video.  Talking about a volcano erupting isn't the same as seeing a video of it erupting.  By making a playlist of videos, you can easily find the videos to show your classroom.  This can make it easier for you to find the certain video that you are wanting to show your class at a certain time.  Your playlists can also be shared with your students so that they can watch the videos on their own to solidify the things that are being taught in the classroom.  

I have made a playlist of videos of math videos that kindergarten students can watch to help them with the math core.  If you embed the videos into your blog, it makes it so that students could watch the videos straight from your blog and not have to actually go to YouTube.



This playlist helps to meet the following standards for kindergarten:

Utah Core Standards:

Strand: OPERATIONS AND ALGEBRAIC THINKING (K.OA) 

Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from (Standards K.OA.1–5).

Standard K.OA.1 
Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, simple drawings, or sounds. For example, use clapping, act out situations, and use verbal explanations, expressions, or equations.

Standard K.OA.2 
Solve addition and subtraction word problems within 10. Use objects or drawings to represent the problem.

Standard K.OA.3 
Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way by using objects or drawings. Record each decomposition by a drawing or equation. For example, 5 = 2 + 3 and 5 = 4 + 1.

Standard K.OA.4 
Make sums of 10 using any number from 1 to 9. For example, 2 + 8 = 10. Use objects or drawings to represent and record the answer.

Standard K.OA.5 
Fluently add and subtract using numbers within 5.

EdTech Standard: (if using in 3-6 grade classroom)

Standard 4 
Use general purpose productivity tools and peripherals to support personal productivity, to remediate skill deficits, and to facilitate learning throughout the curriculum. (3)

ISTE Standard:

Knowledge Constructor:
I critically select, evaluate and synthesize digital resources into a collection that reflects my learning and builds my knowledge.

Newsletter

I created a newsletter that could be printed off and given out to students to take home or could be emailed to the parents.  Being able to create a newsletter is an excellent way to keep communication going to between teachers and parents.  It is nice for parents to know what is going on in the classroom and be aware of upcoming events.  If you communicate with the parents, they feel more connected to the classroom.  I know that as a parent, it is really appreciated when you are aware of what is going on in the classroom.  My kids have had teachers in the past that were really good at sending out newsletters and some teachers that were not good at doing it at all.  I felt much more connected to the classes that had the newsletters sent home. As much as you think that your students will remember what they did in class, they do not.  When they get home, generally, the parents will ask what they did and the answer is always the same "stuff."

Teaching students to make a newsletter could be a good way to incorporate more tech skills in the classroom and allow them an opportunity to use their writing skills.  Making a newsletter would fulfill the following standards:

Utah Core Standard
N/A

EdTech Standard
Standard 5 
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

ISTE Standard
Creative Communicator
I communicate effectively and express myself creatively using different tools, styles, formats, and digital media

Google Docs-Science

Google Docs is a great resource for both students and teachers.  Students can use Google Docs to type all of their assignments.  Google Docs could be used for journaling, writing papers, or anything that needs a word processor. This is a really easy tool to use.  It has the same features as any word processor program and it is free! Teachers can use it to type up lesson plans, make worksheets, make flyers, produce brochures, and many more ideas.  The great thing with Google Docs is that it can be a great collaboration tool.  Students can be working on a group paper at the same time on different computers. I love this feature.  It is nice to know that I can be working on the same paper as someone else and see the changes that they are making as they are making them.  It makes things go so much faster.  It is much better than having to email a paper back and forth trying to collaborate and work on a project.  Google makes it really easy to share.

I have used Google to make a sample worksheet for a science project to have the students do in the classroom. This will fulfill the following second grade standards:

Utah Core Standard

Standard 1 

The Processes of Science, Communication of Science, and the Nature of Science. Students will be able to apply scientific processes, communicate scientific ideas effectively, and understand the nature of science.

Objective 1 

Generating Evidence: Using the processes of scientific investigation (i.e. framing questions, designing investigations, conducting investigations, collecting data, drawing conclusions)

1. Framing questions: Observe using senses, create a hypothesis, and focus a question that can lead to an investigation. 
2. Designing investigations: Consider reasons that support ideas, identify ways to gather information that could test ideas, design fair tests, share designs with peers for input and refinement. 
3. Conducting investigations: Observe, manipulate, measure, describe. 
4. Collecting data: Deciding what data to collect and how to organize, record, and manipulate the data. 
5. Drawing conclusions: Analyzing data, making conclusions connected to the data or the evidence gathered, identifying limitations or conclusions, identifying future questions to investigate.

EdTech Standard

Standard 1 

Use keyboards and other common input and output devices (including adaptive devices when necessary) efficiently and effectively. (1)

ISTE Standard
Empowered Learner
I use technology to set goals, work toward achieving them and demonstrate my learning

Storybird-Reading

Storybird is a really fun tool that can help even the struggling writer find writing stories fun.  Using the available graphics, students are able to make up their own stories to go along with the pictures and write their own books.  My kids love to use this website.  My daughter came hoe one day from school and showed it to my son.  They really love to use this now.  It is great that the site gives pictures tot eh students that can start the students brain to think of good stories.  It is very user friendly and super fast for them to write a story.  My daughter loves that she is now a "real author" because people can read the stories that she has written.  Students can use this to help them get their creative juices flowing and write their own books.  Teachers can use the books to teach their content in a new and fun way.

I used Storybird to make an alphabet book to reinforce letter recognition for kindergartners.  This will fulfill the following kindergarten standards:



Utah Core Standard

Reading: Foundational Skills Standard 1 
Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

d. Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

EdTech Standard 
Standard 5 
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

ISTE Standard
Innovated Learner
I solve problems by creating new and imaginative solutions using a variety of digital tools

Answer Garden- Social Studies

Answer Garden is a an awesome resource that I really enjoyed using.  I liked the idea of being able to allow my future students to use technology to see how they are learning.  The idea of using answer garden to brainstorm ideas in the classroom sounds amazing. I have used this in some of my classes here at UVU.  It is a nice way to see how everyone else interprets a certain content that we have been learning.  I like to see what answers become the most popular ones. There are so many ways that it can be used including brainstorming ideas, taking a quiz, and voting on a question or idea.  I think that using this in the classroom helps to break up the normal boring lectures and gives students a way to be part of the lesson without having to feel uncomfortable speaking in front of everyone.  I think that this would be a great tool to use especially for those students who are a little bit more on the shy side. 

I used answer garden as a quiz that could help me to evaluate where my class is sitting with a social studies lesson.  This will fulfill the following fourth grade standards:

Utah Core Standard:
Standard 1 
Students will understand the relationship between the physical geography in Utah and human life.
Objective 3 
Analyze how human actions modify the physical environment.

EdTech Standard:
Standard 6 
Use telecommunications efficiently and effectively to access remote information and communicate with others in support of direct and independent learning and for pursuit of personal interests. (4)

ISTE Standard:
Global Collaborator
I strive to broaden my perspective , understand others, and work effectively in teams using digital tools.

Tiki-Tok - Social Studies

I liked using Tiki-Tok.  There was a little more required then some of the other resources that I have used, but I really did like the overall experience and the look of the final project.  It could be a useful tool in the classroom.  However, it was really time consuming and I am not sure if I would use it for a lot of things.  I think that I would like it a little bit more if i wouldn't have had to constantly change the date format for each entry. It would be nice to use for large timelines that are really important for the students to remember.  It is a good way to visualize dates for students.  I think that you could use this in a science curriculum to show the advances of science or technology.  The obvious thing for me to use it for, was a history type of project. Students might even be able to use it to show the sequence of a book or play.  

I used Tiki-Tok  for social studies.  I made an example of a timeline of Texas that a student could make to use in a oral report.  This completes the following 5th grade standards:

Utah Core Standard:
Standard 1 
Students will understand how the exploration and colonization of North America transformed human history.

EdTech Standard:
Standard 5 
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

ISTE Standard:
Knowledge Constructor
I critically select, evaluate, and synthesize digital resources into a collection that reflects my learning and builds my knowledge