Incorporating Technology with Padlet

Hello Literacy Land Friends and Followers!  I'm Deniece from This Little Piggy Reads.  Today I'm going to share a website with you, Padlet.  There are a few reasons that I love Padlet.  First, it's incredibly user friendly for both me and my students.  Second, it's quick!  I mean super quick to set up a "pad".  Third, it is incredibly versatile and would work for a variety of grade levels and most subject areas.  Finally, it works on any device - phone, Mac, Google, tablet, etc...

For the first part of my post, I am going to explain the functions of Padlet with a video!  You can click the picture below to watch the video, or click HERE.

Now, I'm going to discuss all the uses of Padlet in a classroom.  There aren't many websites/apps that are applicable for PK - High School, but Padlet is!  In an Early Elementary Classroom, you might use it in place of a Bubble Map.  In an Upper Elementary Classroom it could be used as an exit ticket.  In a Middle School or High School Classroom, a teacher could easily use it for a novel study, literature circles or a socratic seminar.

  

If you are looking for ways to integrate technology into your classroom instruction, give Padlet a try!

  

Leave me a comment with your favorite way to integrate technology into your lessons!

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Creating Stories with StoryKit

Hello, all!  It's Andrea from Reading Toward the Stars!  I have a fun app to share with all of you today.  Hopefully you can play with it over the summer and use with your kids next year.  Or maybe you need a time filler for the end of the year!

I love a good professional development, and last Friday was one of those great days!  I spent the day learning all about different computer programs and apps. You can find about those apps in this {post}.

Of all the apps I checked out, StoryKit proved to be the easiest and most useful.  I could see where kids could really enjoy using it and creating their own stories or even reports.

The app was created by the International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) to help children use technology with reading and writing.  In this day and age, it is becoming more paramount to embrace technology while reading and writing.

I wish I had a chance to let students use this and show you how it works, but I was able to make some fun stories myself.  Here is one I made in just a couple of minutes tonight.  Click on the {here} or on the picture below to take you to it.

As you can see the app is super simple to use.  This was done on my iPhone while the kids played outside.

Some of the teachers were using it to create notes for the students.  The students could even use it when they finish a unit and get pictures off the Internet to use in their stories and tell their facts.  This would be a great alternative to the dreaded research paper or other writing prompt.

The stories can then be shared and shown to everyone through email.  There is no account to set up, and privacy is key.

I really think students will enjoy using this app and have lots of fun with it!  I keep thinking of more ways to use this app.  The possibilities are endless!

How could you use this app in your classroom? 

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Graphic Organizer App

 Hello Literacy Land!  Deniece here from This Little Piggy Reads.

I am a Texas Teacher and in Texas we are STAAR C-R-A-Z-Y right now!  STAAR is our statewide test. The Reading STAAR had a serious overhaul (compared to our previous TAKS test) therefore, every administrator and testing grade teacher is in a tizzy!  The reading test is no longer a comprehension test. There is also a mix of other genres not just fiction passages and a biography.  So, I have made it my mission to increase my students' exposure of non-fiction text through magazines, websites, online journals and pamphlets.  

This year I'm working in a GT pull-out program.  We are lucky enough to have 10 iPad Minis.  It has been a learning experience having them.  I've changed a lot of my views about technology in the classroom.  I don't see the need to collect phones anymore, but I do think students should utilize their technology to further their education.  Today, I'm going to show you a new App that helps create graphic organizers for any grade level and any subject area. 

Last week, I used the App to work on Science TEKS 5.10 (C)  describe the differences between complete and incomplete metamorphosis of insects.  I began the lesson by accessing prior knowledge.  Some kids knew that morph meant to change or transform.  But none of them knew the difference between a complete and incomplete metamorphosis.  

Now, you're probably familiar with KWL charts.  I've used them in the past, but I have a major issue because what the students WANT TO KNOW is rarely answered in our reading.  So, instead I use a Prior Knowledge and New Learning t-chart. 

I explained that their lesson objective today was to learn the difference between complete & incomplete metamorphosis in insects.  They would use the iPad to go to the website, askabiologist.asu.edu.  There they could read all about metamorphosis, see videos, look at pictures and take notes.  After students completed their notes/research, they were given clay to demonstrate their learning.  

I want to tell you all about Popplet Lite!  I've heard about it from other bloggers and I decided to give it a try.  It's a FREE App that allows students to create their own Graphic Organizers or Thinking Maps (I wish it had circles, though).  I wanted the students to be creative and choose how they wanted to display their learning.  Shockingly, no two looked alike.  Some were venn diagrams, some looked like life cycles or flow maps and some were tree maps.  I thought it was awesome to see how students learned the same concept, but were able to demonstrate their learning in very different ways.  

Here are a couple of nifty things about Popplet Lite.  First, you can change colors.  The kiddos loved that. Next, I found out on Day 4, that you could press "VIEW ALL" to see all of the popplets on the page.  So, if your kiddos made 2 popplets about complete & incomplete metamorphosis, they could see both of them and use export to save them to the camera roll or e-mail them to you.

At the end of the day, our exit ticket was our "New Learning".  I wanted to know everything they learned about Metamorphosis, including the difference between complete and incomplete metamorphosis.  My favorite part of my current position is that every lesson involves cross-curricular learning.  We used a plethora of skills: note taking, technology, art, photography, text features, graphic organizers and science.       

Have you ever used Popplet Lite?  If not, what ideas do you have to use it in your classroom?  If you're a Texas Teacher, click on my blog button below to following my blog. 

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