Today was the second day of grade 4 this year, and my eagerness to learn even more about my students led me to turn to technology. I gave my students a quick low down on Comic Life, and then let them explore, play, and create a comic of themselves. Their only requirement needed was to …
Each school year, as I begin planning my days and units I am amazed at the changes and progression of technology. Last year, I was excited to use iPads, really focus on blogging with my students, and begin our Twitter classroom account. The connections made and sharing abilities proved to be successful, and provided ample …
For the past year I have solidly become an addict of twitter to build a professional network, and have experienced first hand the great abilities of it, the connections one can make, and the endless learning that is present. This year I decided to create a twitter account for my class, as a way for …
Recently, I have been exposed to a number of books and articles for my master’s program, and have been intrigued by the notion of the science behind learning, and how we can help learners and our students succeed. In the first two chapters of The Cambridge Handbook for the Learning Science by R.K. Sawyer, there …
Removing the “teacher hat” can allow you to reflect and contemplate the varying aspects and teaching methods within your classroom. Being on spring break has allowed me to do just that. What’s working? What would I change? What skills do the students need before the end of the year? How can I integrate technology to …
Recently, my mind has been bombarded with ideas and thoughts around literacy. How is it defined in a modern, technology-based world? How do current changes affect the way literacy should be taught in the classroom? I was lucky enough to find a twitter chat, #ntchat, focusing on literacy this week. It was a great opportunity …
Digital Learning Day is a yearly scheduled event to help focus on learning through different technology platforms. It is a great way to get students excited about using technology and to see the abilities that it has to enable their learning. Twitter was filled with amazing examples around the globe of educators using technology with …
In my class, we are currently reading the short story, Koko’s Kitten. In case you are unfamiliar, it is about an incredibly talented, sign language-speaking gorilla and her unusual friendship with a kitten. My students absolutely loved this story and empathized in the sad moments with the gorilla, and rejoiced in the incredible friendship that …
As my students were filling in their agendas today and looking over their nightly words, a student raised his hand and questioned, “What does the word choicest mean, and how would you use it in a sentence?” Together we looked up the definition, and struggled to come up with a sentence. It led me to …
Out With Erin 