YouTube Channel

Creating a YouTube Channel and posting my screencast was super easy! I think I would really like to use this technology to give access to my lessons for students who need review or extra help. Super easy! I love it! Though, I do think it would be time consuming to do this for a lot of my lessons. Quick review mini-lessons would be nice.

Writing Body Paragraphs

Screencasting

Screencasting was super easy to do once I had all the correct materials. (It took awhile to get a microphone, get it to work correctly, and then mark out a block of uninterrupted time for me to record myself.) Notebook recorder was easy to use, and I could see myself using it for when I have a sub in the future. Also, I could use it for follow-up lessons that I can post online for students who need help.

Reflection

Well I am writing my reflection before I finish my other 2 assignments because I can't get my screencasting to work. The Notebook Recorder is actually really slick and easy, and I think I would use it a lot. The only difficult part is getting a microphone to work properly.  

Some activities that I like that I would probably use again are 

• Rubistar- It was super easy to make a rubric. I wish it had more options for pre-made rubrics that I could just tweak and make my own, but I really do like the format and ease of it.
• I really like the Poll Everywhere. I do like doing a similar activity where students get up and move, but this would be fun to switch it up a little.
• I LOVE the google forms. I use them for my students' reflections during writer's workshop. LOVE LOVE LOVE how easy it is and how it organizes the information for me.
• I have been using google docs in writer's workshop as well. It has been fantastic! I am able to view students' writing from home, check on how much they're writing, and leave comments. 

One activity I would probably not use again is Storybird. I found it difficult to navigate, and difficult to find pictures that fit well with what I was creating.

Free Choice: Rubistar

I chose to use Rubistar because I know that I am going to be creating a bunch of rubrics this year for my class. I made one for an essay by combining several pre-made rubrics and adding some details of my own. It was super easy! I think that if there aren't any pre-made options for some subjects though (like poetry writing) then it would be just as easy to make it on Xcel or a table on Word.

Essay Rubric

Teacher Name: Mrs. Snyder


Student Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Introduction	The introductory paragraph has a strong hook or attention grabber that is appropriate for the audience. Background information is included that is specific and clearly relates to the thesis. It fills the reader in on any information they may need in order to understand the essay.The thesis statement names the topic of the essay and outlines the main points to be discussed.	The introductory paragraph has a hook or attention grabber, but it is weak, rambling or inappropriate for the audience. Background information is included but is general.The thesis statement names the topic of the essay.	The author has an interesting introductory paragraph but the connection to the topic is not clear. Background information is included, but may not connect to the thesis or topic.The thesis statement outlines some or all of the main points to be discussed but does not name the topic.	The introductory paragraph is not interesting AND is not relevant to the topic. Background information is missing. The thesis statement does not name the topic AND does not preview what will be discussed.
Body Paragraphs (x3)	A variety of thoughtful transitions are used. They clearly show how ideas are connected. A topic sentence is used at the beginning of the paragraph and clearly states the main idea and supports the thesis. All of the evidence and examples are specific, relevant and explanations are given that show how each piece of evidence supports the author's position.	Transitions clearly show how ideas are connected, but there is little variety. Topic sentence clearly connects to the main idea of the paragraph, but it is not the first sentence. Most of the evidence and examples are specific, relevant and explanations are given that show how each piece of evidence supports the author's position.	Some transitions work well; but connections between other ideas are fuzzy. The topic sentence does not support the thesis or is too specific for it to represent the main idea of the paragraph. At least one of the pieces of evidence and examples is relevant and has an explanation that shows how that piece of evidence supports the author's position.	The transitions between ideas are unclear or nonexistent.Topic sentences are missing.Evidence and examples are NOT relevant AND/OR are not explained.
Conclusion (Organization)	The conclusion is strong and leaves the reader with a feeling that they understand what the writer is "getting at." The thesis is restated in different words than the thesis in the introduction.	The conclusion is recognizable and ties up almost all the loose ends. The thesis is exactly restated from the introduction.	The conclusion is recognizable, but does not tie up several loose ends. The thesis is missing.	There is no clear conclusion, the paper just ends.
Grammar & Spelling (Conventions)	Writer makes no errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation, or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation, or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation, or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation, or spelling that distract the reader from the content.

Poll and Form

I created a poll to substitute for an activity called 4 corners. I make a statement and students have to decide if they strongly agree, agree, strongly disagree, or disagree and go to the corner that matches. It's a visual and physical way for students to state their opinions and reasons. I would be interested in trying this and the four corner activity and seeing which students enjoy more. I think some students like to actually see the people in the corners and get the movement, but I could see students liking to add their comments instead of having to share it out loud. That would be less threatening. I also wonder if I can determine who hasn't answered a question if I'm missing some answers. I think they students would really like texting in the answers, and I would be interested in seeing how many of my students bring cells to school. I guess they can use the laptop if they don't have one.



The form I created I plan to use during my writer's workshop as a reflection and goal setting tool. It will also give me feedback on what I can teach next to best help my students. Being able to access this easily with my Ipad during this time will be great. I had students fill out paper copy sheets similar to this the last couple of years. I would keep them in a binder with all of my notes from conferencing. It was very bulky and inconvenient. I am very excited for the use of my Ipad, google docs (where I can view student writing), and forms like this.

Infographics

I used easel.ly for my infographic. It was very easy to use. I liked the set-up and many options for objects, shapes, texts, etc. There was also an easy way to upload photos that I wanted to use. I didn't like that I couldn't copy and paste text or pictures from one program or website to my handout. I had to download a picture and save it to my computer before transferring it to my creation. Something very handy that I like (but didn't use) is that if someone makes their creation public, you are able to use it as a starting point and change some of the graphics or text to fit your message. So instead of creating  flowchart from scratch, you could find one and change the information or add/delete graphics.

I enjoyed using it to create a handout that I would use to build background information for the novel Iqbal. I would probably prefer to have my students use it as a project to demonstrate what they know. I also think it could be fun to use during a poetry unit where they could combine graphics with their writing and be creative with it.
easel.ly

Cloud Computing- Perfect for Writer's Workshop

I have been using google docs since Mounds View switched to Gmail. I thought it would be PERFECT to have my students have accounts for their writer's workshop papers. They could share their work with their peers and have peers leave comments for their peer conferences. I have been waiting for MV to decide if we are allowing students underage to have access to this in my classroom. I have also been looking at using turnitin.com. I don't know which is better or if it's even possible to use either at the 6th grade level. It would make things so much easier and useful for my students and me to view and share their work.

The presentation below that I created was used during Summer STEAM. I created it and was quickly able to share it with the other teachers since we were all teaching the same lesson to different groups of kids that day.

Summer STEAM Presentation