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The Book Fair is here! The Book Fair is here! The Book Fair is here! It's my favorite time of year...seeing some new books, some classics, some gross books, some hilarious books...I love it all! This is one of my kiddos who was pretty pumped to see this Pokemon book. I must admit, my heart sank a bit when that was the book he was most excited about. What about the newest I Survived book or that awesome looking shark book behind him? But...on the other hand, I love that he makes his own choices. So many times, parents will complain that their kids will ONLY read graphic novels or ONLY read the video game books. Do you hear what I hear? They're READING! They're reading on their own time about things that are important to them! Since the revival of Pokemon in the last few months, it's all I hear about. It's like a language I've never heard and will never understand. That's okay...it's their language, not mine. I'm not one of those teachers that prohibits their students from reading "fun books." What is a fun book anyways? In my honest opinion, that Pokemon book does not look fun to me whatsoever! So, I'm proud of this kid, and for all of my students, for knowing who they are as a reader and being enthusiastic for reading books for themselves!
#greenteamphotochallenge
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Today, the third and fourth graders welcomed best selling author Jennifer Holland, creator of the Unlikely Heroes and Unlikely Friendships series. She shared stories about the animals she has written about, her passion for reading and writing, how she researches for her books, and more! Over the last couple years, my students have Skyped with and met authors in person, and it's amazing to see the transformation in their interactions with these authors. Their questions have transformed from, "What's your favorite ice cream?" to "What made you become an author?" and "What inspires you as a writer?" I love that these children can see themselves as readers and writers, even at such a young age. Even better, the moment we returned to the classroom, everyone had stories to share about animals they've seen. They are collecting ideas to write about without even knowing it!
#greenteamphotochallenge I used the SonicPics app ($1.99 in the app store) to create my digital story. Trying to find authentic photos to include in my story was not the easiest, but I think it came out pretty good, especially considering it was completely created on my cell phone. I have used this app on iPads and iPad minis, but it was very easy to manipulate on a cell phone. I can see this app being applied across many subject areas and video is very easy to share.
You can access my digital story HERE! Being a third grade teacher and working in a K-8 district, I thought I was going to have a difficult time finding someone to interview on using cell phones in the classroom. Everyone I know uses iPads, Chromebooks or other computers. So, I did what came naturally to me...I turned to social media! I posted on Facebook that I was looking for any teacher that uses cell phones in the classroom for instructional purposes, and within a half hour, I had 3 responses! Here's what I found out...
My cousin, Kelli, teaches high school math in Indiana. Her immediate response to my Facebook post was that her students use it for Kahoot and she texts them homework through Remind.com. I sent her a private message to see if there have been any issues with misuse, privacy, or what kind of consent was needed from families. Her response was that the students have 1:1 Chromebooks, so she's never needed to ask for further consent and doubts the parents even know their children use their personal mobile devices in the classroom. My friend, Katie, is also a math teacher in a very affluent area in northern Illinois. This school pretty much paves the way for everyone else, so I was excited to hear from her. Years ago, Katie helped develop a program for freshman who struggle in math using technology-based learning strategies. She indicated that the students use their phones for Pear Deck. This is the first time I've heard of this application, but she described it as a way to ask a question and show the entire class's responses as overlaying graphs to see the mistakes anonymously (her records show specific student data) and it gives her a platform to talk about mistakes without her students feeling ashamed for not knowing the answer or fully understanding. She also said they use the calculators on their phones because it's easier than digging through a backpack to find an actual calculator. Her students do have iPads, and the phones are really just used as a backup or out of laziness. When I asked her about misuse, she said that of course there's misuse, just like anything else. Her biggest challenge is students getting distracted by social media or texting when their phones are out, but she leaves the responsibility up to the students. If they choose to misuse their devices, they are the only ones who will suffer. And again, she doesn't seem to think the parents even know their cell phones are being used throughout their class and hasn't been an issue. Then I spoke with another friend, Jenni. Jenni teaches physical education and health in a high school. She was very eager to provide feedback because she's really getting into using technology in her classroom and relies mostly on the students' cell phones. I was surprised to hear that she uses them mostly to access Google Classroom. She said most of her students have cell phones and they connect to the school's Wifi so they don't take away from their family plan. She indicated that those students that do not have cell phones have open access to a Chromebook cart in her department, so there's never been an issue with a lack of devices. She said she's "pretty sure" the students and parents sign something for technology use at the beginning of the school year, so she doesn't do anything extra in terms of getting parental consent. She uses Google Classroom to post articles for students to read and reflect, quizzes and keep food logs. She's finding it to be an incredibly easy way to communicate with students, track progress, grade, provide feedback, and more. Though Jenni has only just begun integrating the use of cell phones, she's very eager to learn more and become completely paperless by next school year. I did receive a couple other responses from teachers on my initial post. Most indicated they use Kahoot, Plickers, Quizlet Live, Dictionary.com, taking photos, and sharing classroom news on Twitter or a class website. I think what surprises me the most is the lack of fear these high school teachers have in permitting the students to use their personal cell phones in the classroom! I'm actually impressed. Being a third grade teacher, this is often the first year my students are exposed to using a device regularly for instructional purposes, and there's always A LOT of parents with questions about safety and privacy. Rightfully so. I just found it funny that Kelli, Katie and Jenni had similar responses about parental consent and usage. In the Cool Cat's Teacher's Blog's 10 Reasons Cell Phones SHOULD be Allowed in School list, number 10 states, "You're fighting a losing battle" (2009). Since the students have the devices, why not use them? The schools seem to cover the consent/rules part, then it's just up to the teachers to set expectations and find ways to enhance learning using the cell phones. I still don't think I'd encourage the use of cell phones in my own third grade classroom, but I absolutely, without reservation, see value in incorporating the devices with older students. Teachers must utilize the tools that are available, and let's face it...they're available! If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! Cell phones are here to stay, and I think it would be great for students to learn ways to use their phones for purposes other than texting, tweeting and chatting! Resources Davis, V. (2009, March 8). Making a case for cell phones in school. Retrieved September 28, 2016, from http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/ |
![]() Angie Wake's Wilkes University Blog by Angie Wake is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Based on a work at http://angelawakewilkes.weebly.com/. AuthorAngie Wake - 3rd grade teacher in northern Illinois ArchivesCategories |