Final Destination...err, Presentation

Oh my goodness! What a task this was! I have worked so hard and hit so many snags while completing this project. I think I've got 2 dozen new gray hairs to prove it. I really, really wanted to use Prezi as my presentation tool. I spent hours and hours working on it, to no avail. I got myself so twisted up, I thought I would never find my way back out. So on to Plan B. My tried and true, albeit somewhat stale, PowerPoint to the rescue. With all the excitement of learning about all these cool new tools for teaching, I have to say I was mighty disappointed in myself and my technology skills. I promise that I will continue to work on my skill set. But, for now PowerPoint is my friend.


 


The following is my final project. I'm no Kardashian, but I'm trying to keep up.


Presentation Proposal


 
Title: Keeping Up With the Kids: Flipped Classroom Web Tools


 
Audience: Elementary Librarians


 
50 word description:


 
Keeping Up With the Kids: Flipped Classroom Web Tools is an educational overview of user-friendly, SOL aligned resources that will enhance teacher lessons and promote student engagement. In this session you will get an overview of Thinglink, Blendspace, Easel.ly, and Aurasma and ideas for using these tools.


 
http://www.slideshare.net/terisang/teaching-technology-51403715

Blogs to Follow

Each of the blogs that I explored this week have some wonderful features and a plethora of information. However, the blog that I am most impressed by is The Adventures of a Library Girl. Youcan clearly see how talented this librarian is and appreciate her creativity and wealth of knowledge. I just wish I could go to lunch with her one day and pick her brain to get some additional inspiration. She seems like a very lively person. It is easy to see why she has won the ALA, New York Times and Carnagie Corporation's "I Love My Librarian Award" and be named a Library Journal "Mover and Shaker." (bio/headshot:Jennifer LaGarde).

I also follow the blog The Library Voice. Author, Shannon Miller, is knowledgeable and creative. She also is a well-deserved, award-winning blogger. She provides unique and relevant ideas, activities, and links. Her blog is also visually pleasing with a white background and just the right amount of photos and graphics.

Staying Current

 There are just so many amazing websites and apps for teaching! How did I not know about these until now? My teaching habits are going to be receiving a major upgrade after this assignment. I simply cannot wait to begin using these tools in my lesson creations and student activities. I am fully embracing the makerspace philosophy and so many of the websites I have now discovered lend themselves perfectly to the implementation of makerspace in my classroom this year and in a school library in the future. These tools are wonderful sources to help foster students learning. As a teacher, it is crucial that my approach change from “the sage on the stage” to someone who is readily able to guide my students in the right direction to learn and grow at their own pace and interest level.

Gooru

This free Google educational search engine is a wonderful source of lessons. There are plenty of pre-made lessons to choose from in the content areas of science, math, social sciences, and language arts. There are lessons from kindergarten level to 12^th grade. You are free to choose from the shared lessons or you can create and share your own lessons. It allows students and parents the ability to access the materials and information at any time, provided they have internet access.

Engineering is Elementary

This website is an amazing tool for enhancing your STEM lessons and or your makerspace. There are classroom lessons for grades 1–5, engineering adventures for grades 3-5 and grades 6-8 for use in the classroom or for afterschool clubs. Parts of the lessons can be downloaded for free. But, in order to access the entire set of lessons for each unit the user must purchase them. For teachers just starting out in their implementation of STEM lessons or makerspaces, this is a wonderful source for getting the ball rolling and for getting students involved in creative thinking and problem solving.

Knowmia 

This is a free website and is also available as a free app. Students can easily type in the topic they are studying or interested in. It is a great tool for differentiating units of study as students from 4^th – 12^th grades can easily watch videos at their own level of understanding. Teachers have the option of creating and uploading their own lessons as well. The iPad app allows the teacher to create, design, import and edit images, add videos, imbed links, and record lessons for students and parents to access as needed.