Podcasts

Podcasts are great tools for teachers to use in their classrooms.  All of my classroom computers have Audacity downloaded on them and come with microphones.  Using podcasts is easy for young students and does not take much time.

I have introduced Audacity to my students by having them record a story.  They were able to learn how to record, pause, and play back their recordings.  They learned how to save and open the recording.  The students filled out a fluency rubric and were able to go back and record a second time to improved on their fluency.  This is the perfect activity to use before I introduce podcasting.

Scholastic offered some great ideas about using podcasts in lower grades. I think one meaningful activity would be using podcasts to record interviews.  Students could prepare interview questions for people around their school and community. People would come into the classroom to create a podcast with a student.  This would be a year long project that would incorporate oral language, writing, reading, technology, and hopefully science and social studies based on the people we get to interview. This project is also a way to get families and the community involved in education.

Wiki

I have never considered the benefits of using wikis in a first grade classroom until last week.  The whole idea of allowing students to add, edit, and delete information on a wiki would be perfect for group projects.  I like the idea of a wiki space being an ongoing project and not just a place to add information once.  The simplified structure of a wiki is appealing for younger students.

I love using blogs to get inspiration for my classroom. So not knowing how to implement wikis into my classroom I turned to blogs.  I found a first grade classroom that uses a wiki to help with writing skills. The first graders are working on a story and the wiki allows all the students to participate.  The students can add more to the story, delete and change parts, and edit.

I also like how we are using a wiki in grad school to define vocabulary words we have learned.  I could see this being useful in my first grade classroom.  We could have a wiki for each science and social studies unit.  The students could place pictures, examples, and words for each vocabulary term.

Does anyone know of a good website that give examples of younger students using wikis in the classroom?

Blogs

I read about 10 blogs daily...anywhere from cooking, fashion, health, home improvement, family life, to teaching blogs.  I can spend hours on my computer jumping from one blog to the next.  The blogs inspire me to be a better cook, wife, teacher, and even home decorator.

Here is what I have noticed about the blogs I follow...

• large pictures on every post
• realistic projects
• honest and real stories
• short entries
• new entries every week
• one writer

This past year I recently started following some wonderful 1st grade teaching blogs.  About once a week the bloggers post what they did in their class, pictures, and sometimes free printables! The printables are amazing! I am so impressed by the quality of work- so much better than any workbook I have found at a teaching store. 

One of my goals for next year is to start my own teaching blog.  On the blog I would post what I am doing in my class, printables, and share pictures. I am excited to join the blogging world and hopefully inspire other teachers. 

I would also like to begin a blog for my students.  I would like to figure out a way to have the students contribute to the posts and provide access for them to comment. Brain Pop Jr has a great section all about blogs that I saw one of my students looking at the other day.  This could be a great way to introduce them to blogs.  I am just a little iffy about if first grade is too young for them to start writing their own entries.  Maybe I will be the one to write the entires and provide them with the chance to post comments. 

Last Semester

Well here were are...our last semester of graduate school.  I am thankful for all that I have learned over the past 2 years, but I am more impressed with how I have learned to balance my life.  The past 2 years have brought on many changes for me...a new house, planning a wedding, marriage, and going back to school.  I am proud of myself for taking on this challenge and finally feel good to see the end in sight! I like how this last semester has us putting everything we have learned together and applying our new found knowledge.  I'm looking forward to May, but know that I have a busy few months ahead! Cheers and good luck to our last semester!!!