CCES Bulldogs Ignite

We are so blessed to have Ms. Jamie come to our classroom to allow creativity and curiosity. Using littleBits, we invented gadgets that served a specific purpose. Students were encouraged to use the Invention cycle--Create, Play, Remix, and Share! 

My class was lucky this week to receive a Merge Cube.  This device uses an app on a smartphone to project images onto the cube.  The students can then interact with the projections.  So, in my efforts to make this more student friendly, I ordered my own set of VR googles from the Merge Cube website.  These googles are made of foam and have 2 head straps for the students to wear.  It still requires my cell phone, but the students cannot drop it.  I experimented with using VR videos on Youtube this weekend.  I can't wait to show this new piece of technology to my students!  I think this would be a great instructional and motivational tool.  I would love to have more of these someday because I think the educational benefits to students are amazing!

Welcome to my first, and quite delated, blog post about my Innovation Project. I have been avoiding that task, because I am nervous about verbalizing it. I am hoping that that process of writing about it makes the process less terrifying. Let’s try it and see! For my Innovation Project, I am creating an Inquiry Unit for a small group during my ELA block. This small group has been reading Ida B. and Her Plan to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and Possibly Save the World --an adorable story about a rambunctious and colorful young lady who faces some tragic and drastic changes in her life. Our focus throughout this unit is character, so this text is an excellent segway into our project. As students read, they will be developing sketchnotes based on the text. Students will draw features of each chapter that stands out to them. Then, in small group, I meet with each child to discuss their sketchnotes and dig deeper, asking inference questions and forcing students to make conclusions ab

Responsible Use of Technology One of the challenges of the 1:1 classroom is teaching the importance of responsible use and safety when using technology. This includes taking care of the chromebooks and using good judgement about how we use the chromebooks. In my class I have tried to review internet safety and taking care of chromebooks every 2 or 3 weeks as issues arise or I feel they are forgetting. The chromebooks add a whole new set of procedures and rules to the classroom. One of the very first issues of the school year was improper use of flipgrid. Students were using it to ask someone if they wanted to play at recess or to say hi to their friends in other homerooms. We had to have a few days where I modelled a correct video comment and they practiced. I had sentence starters for them to practice with. We also had issues with students trying to use the google hangouts to message each other. This caused me to have to increase my focus on the importance of worki

Last week, the 3rd Grade students presented their passion projects.  The students worked very hard to become experts in their self-selected passions and create their presentations.  Students utilized a variety of presentation methods and styles.  Many students also learned new technology programs in order to create their presentations.  Students who usually don't speak in class were presenting to complete strangers that night because they truly enjoyed their topics.  I am beyond proud of all of the students for the time and work the students put into learning about and presenting their projects. As teachers, we reflect back on our teaching.  I believe that throwing the 3rd graders into the "deep end" of the inquiry pool with no floaties was probably not the best way to teach them about how to research and present projects about their passions.  Next year, I would like to have the first passion project of the year be more guided so the students can learn vital research t

You have to walk before you run; you have to crawl before you walk; and you have to learn to swim before you can dive into the deep end. Who knew? Passion Projects are an amazing way to empower students to take ownership in their learning. When we read Inquiry Mindset over the summer, I was excited to begin this journey. After our Passion Project PD, I was hyped to jump right in! (Who doesn’t catch the hype of Jamie’s enthusiasm?) We met as a team and I had the highest of hopes for my students. It didn’t take long for the daunting reality of implementing true passion projects set in. Twenty-two different projects? Twenty-two different topics to research? Twenty-two different products created? TWENTY-TWO. My face slowly morphed into that of ¨The Scream¨ by Edvard Munch. Things that helped me: To Do List: I created a To-Do List for each of my kiddos on one document that I updated each time I met with them. Students knew when it was passion project time, th