Getting Started with Wonder Workshop- Dot and Dash

I've been wanting to learn more about coding in elementary school and introducing teachers in my area to integrate robotics in the curriculum and during the school day.  I'm loving code.org and feel like I'm am only in the beginning phase of exploring and learning.  My goal is to work with the Wonder Robots and turn around sessions to share with my area TCEA Community and spread awareness in my school district and surrounding districts. 

Most of the time, the extra learning has to happen at home.  I really don't mind when learning is this much fun and includes bonding with my children.

I've spent two short time frames over the last two weeks working with my 4 yo son. We've been using the Go and Path App.  So far, I think they are great for pre-readers.  It is visual and enjoyable for a child to explore.

I will document our learning here in my blog as I continue to explore and learn.  Here is the first video that shares my son's trouble shooting and first challenge with Dash.

Collins Big Cat Books- Free Book Apps

I have been so excited about the free interactive books for the iPad that Collins Big Cat provides for our early readers.  These are more than just books that read out loud.  Students will enjoy the activities.  There is even a story creator with the ability to record audio to tell your story.


Collins Big Cat: The Steam Train Story Creator
Collins Big Cat: The Farmer's Lunch Story    
Collins Big Cat: Playing Story Creator
Collins Big Cat: My Bike Ride Story Creator
Collins Big Cat: It Was a Cold, Dark Night Story Creator
Collins Big Cat: In the Garden Story Creator
Collins Big Cat: At the Dump Story Creator
Collins Big Cat: Around the World Story Creator

SAMR for PreK and K

I teamed up with PreK and Kinder teachers and facilitators in our district to collaborate on an iPad roll out for early elementary.  I was asked to introduce SAMR to all of the PreK and K teachers in our district.  I thought back to every time I had seen a SAMR presentation or taught teachers about it in the past.  I felt like I needed to create something that would apply to my early elementary teachers.   I collected examples of real student work and looked at some old ways I had seen Pre-K and K teachers using technology and added a few other ideas that I didn't see happening often in classrooms.

The most important part of our presentation was talking about good quality lessons that teachers use to check for understanding and relating SAMR to what prek and kinder teachers do in the classroom.

The teachers on our team challenged me to create the presentation in Nearpod to teach teachers about this awesome tool without directly teaching them about the tool. It worked out really well, teachers enjoyed interacting during our session. The slide show was our Plan B.

We used apps in our SAMR presentation that teachers would use in hands-on workshops taught by teachers on our curriculum writing team during the afternoon sessions.  I made sure to share the lesson ideas as we talked about where they fit in SAMR.

What's even more awesome is, teachers decided they'd like to help me develop our own Pre-K and Kinder Padagogy Wheel similar to the one created by Allan Carrington, because we couldn't find one that would relate to early elementary. I can't wait to collaborate with teachers in our district to do this.

My SlideShare minus the video examples.

SAMR for PreK and K from klwrightbalbier


My NearPod presentation on SAMR for PreK and K
 

Using Shadow Puppet in Pre-K and K: Turning Off the Image Seach Feature

I've been working with a group of AMAZING pre-k through 2nd grade teachers to design technology integrated lessons that are aligned with core curriculum.  Shadow Puppet EDU has been one of my favorite apps since the day I discovered it.  It's an app that can be used for any content. 

Here is an example of what a 4 year old can create with Shadow Puppet. This student illustrated the parts of a plant with another app and used Shadow Puppet to share what he learned.

 

One of the key pieces of our meetings is to really evaluate all of the apps we will be recommending.  We want to answer the questions we know every teacher will ask us. It's important to do this before the pre-k and kinder teachers on our title elementary schools become part of a beautiful iPad roll out.  We want them to be just as excited as we are about the learning that will take place.

"Can we turn off the web image search in Shadow Puppet?" asked a teacher in our meeting. Since we are planning on creating with Pre-K students, I don't know why I've never asked that question myself.  She looked into the settings and there it was! Beautiful, the answer to all of our pre-k and kindergarten worries.  A teacher can turn off the web search when students are working independently to share what they have learned.   A teacher can enable the web search for guided or modeled searches as early learners are introduced to digital citizenship and searching on-line. 

 I love that the creators of Shadow Puppet EDU have thought of everything.  You can undo a recording per page, re-record the whole thing, you can share easily, and even share with parents using their SeeSaw Class and SeeSaw Parent App.

How To-
1. Go to the settings app on your iPad
2. Scroll down till you find the Shadow Puppet App Icon and click on it.
3. Disable the web image search and/or the Edu image search if needed.

Favorite Free eBook Collections for Teachers

I've had a lot of teachers asking me to share my favorite eBook resources for elementary students with them.  I hope you love them as much as I do!

 
1.  Starring You Story Books for the iPad or Starring You Story Books on the computer- Make your students the main character of the most entertaining stories ever!  Teachers will enjoy reading these stories to their students.  If you are a teacher, you can apply for free access to Storybots learning resources!  Apply now, it's a must! Triple YAY!!!!
 

2. wegivebooks - You will find amazing eBooks to read with your students. Create an account and begin to enjoy free eBooks that will work on your laptop and computer. eBooks have an age recommendation, easy search options, and there are titles available in Spanish.  This is a free resource for everyone! 

 3. StoryLineOnline - StoryLine Online is a collection of great books that are being read aloud. The Screen Actors Guild Foundation records well-know actors reading children's books and makes graphically dynamic videos so that children around the world can be read to with just a click of a Storyline Online video book image. An activity guide is available for each book.  StoryLine Online works on the computer and iPad. 

4. EPIC! eReader App or use the web version at EPIC!- Here is a great collection of eBooks that are FREE for educators.  There are a variety of books for elementary age students.  Some stories include audio. You will need to create an educator account to share great books with your students. This is also a great resource to share with parents and families.  With a promo code you can share with parents, the family will gain free access for 2 months.   



@kbalbier

Hello Crayon + Chatter Pix Kids

HELLO Crayon + Chatter Pix Kids

I have been enjoying app smashing for some time now.  When you combine apps, educational fireworks fly in the classroom. If you haven't already, you've got to try HELLO Crayon and Chatter Pix Kids together.

I usually recommend HELLO Crayon when teachers are looking for a free drawing app in the elementary classroom. It has a few great features to make life easy when working with lower grades, there's undo and a fill can.  Trust me, that saves a lot of time when illustrating. ;)

Drawing a character from a book or an example of what you have learned in class is something that can be accomplished with paper and pencil.  When sharing this, I like to share Chatter Pix to allow students the opportunity to add their voice to their drawing.  Chatter Pix records 30 seconds of audio and will make it appear like the picture is talking. You can also download the creation to the camera roll for FREE! This is a great way to give voice to our Pre-K students. Imagine them drawing a circle in HELLO Crayon, they turn it into something they have seen that is an example of that shape.  Now they can explain how they know a whole pizza is a circle.

Check out the how-to my buddy Joe and I created and hear a few ideas for using HELLO Crayon in the classroom here.

Here is an example of something created by a 1st grader when she used Hello Crayon and Chatter Pix Kids.  She explains the problem in the story Chrysanthemum from the point of view of the character, Victoria.




Check out our how-to video for Chatter Pix Kids and learn a few ideas for classroom use here.

Educreations + Background Eraser= ∞ Digital Storytelling Ideas

One of my favorite apps to share is Educreations.  It is app that students can use to explain their understanding, present what they have researched, or even tell a digital story.  I like to pair a few apps to allow students to use their own drawings from an external drawing app to create their stories.

Step 1- Draw a character
Use a drawing app to create a character that you would like to manipulate or move in Educreations and save it to your camera roll.

In the "What's Appening" tutorial below, I used the Hello Crayon App to draw a frog character.  It's easy to use and it's FREE.




Step 2- Erase the White Background
Use the Background Eraser App to erase the background your illustration and create a .PNG image file.  It's very easy to use if the background is one color.  With this trick, you can bring in a nice, full screen picture to use as a setting in Educreations, then use your own drawing as a "puppet."Check out the "What's Appening" tutorial on Background Eraser below.




Step 3- Create a Digital Story in Educreations
Create a digital story in Educrations by bringing in your own characters and moving them as you record. Check the "What's Appening" tutorial below.  My buddy shares his genius as we bring all three apps together.

Replacing my iPad Screen

My iPad had an accident 3 weeks ago.  I couldn't believe it.  It was my fault, no child was involved.

After debating all of my options, I decided I wanted to replace my iPad screen myself.

What I Ordered

I ordered my replacement kit before doing my homework. I am not recommending this product, just sharing that I decided to take a chance with the Zeetron iPad 3 Digitizer Glass Screen Kit from Amazon.  Prices varied, I took the time to read reviews and made my decision based on that alone.  I'm sure I will discover the quality of the screen over time. I hope I made a good choice.

If I would have watched the YouTube videos I list below before ordering, I probably would have ordered from DirectFix or iRepair Fast.  They have additional parts (that can be damaged during the repair) that I didn't consider ordering before this project.  Both companies also have a mail-in iPad repair service.

Doing my Homework

These are the videos that I watched to teach myself how to repair my iPad.  Each video has something different to offer. In my opinion, the first two, make the repair look much easier than it is, but offer good tips and share important information about what to look out for. The third video leaves nothing out. It is 1hour and 20 minutes long, because you see the entire repair of an iPad with a cracked screen and a damaged corner.  

iPad3 Screen Repair & Glass Repair Directions by DirectFix.com

How to: Fix a broken front panel on your iPad2 or iPad3 by CNET

iPad 3rd & 4th Gen Screen Replacement (Nothing Left Out!) by iRepair Fast

My Experience

Cracked iPad Screen

It takes time.  I had to wait two weeks before I could find the time to work on my iPad without any distractions. I didn't expect the glass to break more when removing it.  If I had to do it again, I would use more heat, take more time, and have a set of gloves that fit snug.  I was careful around the camera, wifi antenna, home button and digitizer.  I made sure not to touch the LCD screen with my fingers and used a can of air to keep it dust free.  Before sealing the iPad up, I powered it on and made sure that my camera, wifi, home button, and touch screen were working properly.  Upon success, I smiled.  Accomplishment! Yay!

Tape was used to hold broken
glass together and guitar picks
to help keep the adhesive
 sepearated from the glass

Honestly, now that I've done it, I am going to be even more careful with my iPad.  I don't want to repair an iPad screen again. 

New screen installed

My Day at EdCamp Dallas

My Day EdCamp Dallas 2013

This was the first EdCamp I attended outside of El Paso, TX.  An EdCamp is a free, unconference.  The educators in the room determine what the sessions will be and what they would like to share.  If you walk into a session and the conversation doesn’t feed you, it is understood that it is not an insult to leave and find a session that is right for you.  YAY!  You get to be in charge of what you want to learn.

The Meeting Room

Each participant received a blue and a yellow post it note.  You could write down a topic that you felt confident facilitating on the blue note, or a topic you wanted to learn more about on the yellow note.  

For those who wanted a digital version of a schedule, Guidebook, sponsored the event by providing access for free. We just downloaded the app and scanned a QR to get the schedule.

Tweep Board

Flipped Classroom with Shea Regian Forney ISD

Homework has never been the same.  With a flipped classroom, students learn the basics and mechanics at home by watching a video and do the work/practice/projects in class.  Shea shared her experience and how the flipped classroom works in her 8th grade math classes. Read more about this session here. 

Build your Own App 

Yapp Box is a free app that can be used to create your own app for the classroom.  It could be an app for a tech tips.  You can add buttons on the bottom for pages to twitter feed or a photo gallery.  It’s definately an app I will explore.

Hacking the Classroom

I snuck into this session so I missed the beginning.  Aimee Bartis was sharing how her class is hacking the tech apps classroom.  You can read her student’s blog and experiences at http://hackingtechapps.blogspot.com.  They love comments.  If you have time, leave one for her students.

Genius Hour

Martha Lacy shared what Genius Hour looks like in her classroom.  She said it’s important to decide when and how often genius hour would be.  To me, genius hour in her classroom seemed like a time to for students to create and integrate technology.  I loved Martha’s student examples, how well her elementary students collaborated with Google Docs and how excited she was about the students progress.  My favorite take away was the keynote story her students created.

Leadership and 1:1  with Greg Gardener

Greg facilitated a discussion to see where everyone was with 1:1.  I decided to attend this session because I work with a campus that will be going 1:1 iPads next school year.  I feel that not enough conversation is happening and not enough planning and preparation is in place. Read more here.

Teaching with AR

Todd Nesloney and Matt Gomez shared the Augmented Reality (AR) Apps they use in their classrooms.  He had Drew Minock and Erin Klein Google Hangout in to share their ideas.

Two Guys and Some iPads Blog

Kleinspiration Blog
Todd Nesloney's Blog 
Matt B Gomez' Blog

Apps Todd Shared

There were a lot of "ooooohs" and "ahhhhhs" during this session.  

AR Flashcards

ColAR

Daqri Elements (they haven't been release yet)

Aurasma

App Smash or Smack Down
Click on the link to view the list of things shared during the Smack Down.  It was awesome!  Tellagami is one of the free apps that were shared.  I created one very quickly.

EdCampDallas-Leadership and 1:1

Leadership and 1:1  with Greg Garner

I went to EdCampDallas this weekend and enjoyed the conversation in this session.  I work with a campus that will be going 1:1 iPads next school year.  I feel that not enough conversation is happening and not enough planning or preparation is in place.

Greg facilitated a discussion to see where everyone was with 1:1 and said,“You cannot over plan a 1:1 roll out.” He recommended having an iPad Oath, a moral document for students in addition to the legal acceptable use policy.  If it is not on file, they take the iPad from the student and the signed document magically appears.  You will find other resources that might be helpful on the West Ridge Middle School Website. 

WestRidge Middle School in Austin, TX began their roll out by assigning each teacher an iPad.  Teachers were to learn how to use them, because it was coming and each student would have one.  It became very clear that it was not an option.

What you should know before the roll out

8th graders will do whatever it takes to break the restrictions. Campuses handled this differently.  One treated it as a disciplinary problem. One treated it as an instructional problem.  If you don’t have the apps you need to learn, there is a problem.  There was  “juice bar” that students could visit and have the apps and restrictions placed back onto the iPad.  It's probably a good idea to think about how you will handle it before it happens.  You can not over plan a 1:1 roll out.

As the group added input, one participant said they researched before 1:1 deployment.  He mention that research says to have a successful roll out, you must educate the teachers and the parents.

Educate, Educate, Educate 

Parents and Teachers need to know that they are in charge.  They need to take the responsibility of being the teacher or parent and think about things that will happen and how to handle situations that arise.

If a teacher has difficulty with classroom management, the teacher probably had trouble with it before the 1 to 1 roll out.  If a parent had trouble being an authoritative parent before a technology device was introduced, they will still have trouble after. 

Greg says that he reminds the teacher that they are still the teacher and reminds the parent that they are the parent. He also said, "If a teacher is ineffective before a 1:1 roll out, they will still be ineffective with the 1:1.  The technology just puts a big spotlight on it."   

It was said, "you can’t over communicate with parents."  Talk with them about the options.  Share what an 8th grader will be doing with technology in their bedroom, door closed till 1 in the morning. Talk with them about how to avoid that.  Talk with them about changing wifi codes, unplugging the wireless router at bed time, a place to leave the device after a set time, how to be a parent that monitors their child on the internet. Be the parent and stand your ground.  

Leadership

Greg also talked about the leadership role. If you are in a leadership position, you must remember that you are the leader.  You will need to have tough conversations. It must be understood that the 1:1 roll out is not an option.  If a parent wants to opt out, it’s a cop out.  He mentioned that one parent, bought a safe and had his child lock the iPad in it at when they got home.  The parent would unlock the safe in the morning and allow his child to take it to school.  

Option

The school district Greg works with allowed students, grades 6-12 to take the iPad home over the summer if they paid the insurance. Insurance was outsourced for the district. K-5 students didn’t have the option to take it home over the summer.

My Thoughts

This session was worth it for me.  Hearing what others experienced as they began a 1:1 roll out share was valuable.  It’s never to early to plan for it.  Thanks for sharing, Greg!