This week we have learned about digital citizenship.  The ISTE standards for teachers states what skills our students need to know.  Here is how I will address them through my classroom.

4a. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.  
We really aren't at the point of citing material in second grade.  Though we do talk about surfing the internet safely.  I use the kid's search site KidRex.org.  My students enjoy searching on this site about all their inquiries.  I will model the citing of information and the reasons for doing it.

b. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources
I use a number of programs within my curriculum that differentiates for each learner.  I use FrontRow in math.  I also use Reading Eggs and Imagine Learning for reading.  Each of these programs takes the students through the standards at their own level. I also love to incorporate choice within projects.  Often I give an assignment, however I give them a choice of the mode to deliver it.

c. Promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information
I really enjoy the way that Common Sense Media creates their digital citizenship lessons.  I have already done some of the lessons on that site.  I enjoy the well organized lessons that they provide.  I plan on doing the Staying safe online lesson.  I have already shared my video on cyberbullying with my class.  They enjoyed it and we had a great discussion.  They now want to create their own Animoto videos.

 d. Develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital age communication and collaboration tools.
I have enjoyed taking my students on virtual field trips.  We traveled to Plymouth plantation before thanksgiving and discovered how the pilgrims lived long ago.  We are beginning to read about Polar regions in our Being A Writer unit.  I want to incorporate the virtual trip to Antarctica .  I feel that this will really bring the topic to life.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying

This week I have learned do much about the importance of thoughtfully incorporating technology within the curriculum.  Students need to be engaged in projects that are content based and teach them to work together collaboratively.  Are jobs as teachers has now been widened to include preparing our students socially to enter their future workplace.  We need to teach them to be not only think critically, but also to be able to communicate their ideas effectively and to be a team player.   Common Core is all about perseverance and that is exactly what Project Based Learning and Bloom's Revised Taxonomy is all about.  I read a quote that said that in order for a student to understand, they must remember.  In order for them to apply, they must understand.  In order analyze, they must apply their understanding.  In order to evaluate, they must be able to analyze, but it takes all of these to create. Wise words!

I have been working on my Social Studies hero unit with my second graders.  I wanted them to take the information that they had learned about the hero of their choice and, with their group, create a five picture story showing his/her life and accomplishments.  This is the substitution level because it takes the place if drawings that could have been done on a poster.  Then they can augment the photos using the Photoshop features when they upload the pictures onto the App Explain Everything.  The app will allow the joining of the photos and voice recording if they choose to do so.  The students will then present their projects to the class (modification). I want the students to upload their projects onto our class website to showcase their work for their parents and receive their comments (Redefinition).  

I have to be honest and say that I had a bit of trouble with my project going through the SAMR model.  I knew what I wanted to do and how I wanted to incorporate technology into the lesson.  It was easy for me to redefine and modify the lesson.  I was hard for me to think of the lower levels of the model. What was taking the picture replacing? Oh, they would have had to draw pictures in the past. LOL. I tend to think big and get all excited about the upper models and I don't focus on the lower level and how it was incorporated.  I have learned that I need to slow down and really think about the baby steps and how they modify the lesson (even if it's little).

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

I have been filling my brain the last two nights with a plethora of information.  I have always tried to integrate technology into my classroom, however I rarely gave it much thought about the domains that I might be using or the level of complexity involved.  In my classroom we already use a lot of differentiated math and reading apps and sites, so most of my goals are toward the collaborative spectrum.
My first goal is to have my students collaborate with one another using the site Kidblog.  This would be at the adaption level of the Technology Integration Model. I started using it last year with my third graders, but to be honest I didn't take it to the level that it could be.  I want to use it more in the way of sharing their weekly goals with one another and supporting their peers.  I also would like it to be used as a type of reflection.  One reason that I am choosing Kidblog is that every entry is sent to the teacher for approval so that unkind or off topic comments can be removed. In order to achieve this goal, I will have to create a time every week for each of my students to create a post (preferably on Friday) where they can reflect on their week's progress and create a new goal for the following week. The site itself has plenty of support for the teacher just starting out and several of the teachers whose blogs I follow also use the site.
My second goal is in the active and collaborative domain.  I would like to create a classroom website that is not just created by the teacher, but student created as well.  I would love to have a student post their learning on the site daily.  This could even be a classroom job.  This could be in a form of the student writing a few sentences about their favorite activity of the day or uploading a project that they created.  This would also function as communication with parents who would be invited to view the site and comment on the posts.  Luckily, I have just learned how to create a blog (thank you!).  We, as a class, will have to come up with our own name  and create our first post together, welcoming our guests.  I know there are several teachers within our district that have classroom websites should I need some support.  I also know that there is bound to be information out there on the Internet.
My third goal is to have my students create more projects that correlate with the content that we are learning, but in fun and engaging ways. This activity would fall into the constructive domain at the adoption level.  I plan on using the app Stick Around.  This app is wonderful! Students can create games for one another and it can be integrated into language arts, writing, math, grammar etc... Not only that, the students have to create an answer sheet to go with it.  The students playing the game are timed and the number of tries are also shown so they can create goals for themselves.  I thought it would be a fun station to incorporate in my math rotations.  Instead of using worksheets, the students can create a puzzle for their peers to solve.  In order to achieve this goal, I will have to make sure that my students can effectively navigate the app independently. This requires me to be knowledgeable enough to troubleshoot any problems my little second graders can get into.  I will most likely start it as a group task where two partners can create a project together.  I learned about this app from one of my blogging buddies (I love to steal other wonderful teacher's ideas). Should I run into trouble, I would turn to my tech savvy colleagues at my school. 
There are so many fun and engaging apps and sites out there for us to create lessons that go beyond our old style of paper and pencil.  I am excited to begin this journey to use technology in an appealing and meaningful way.

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

I just made a new Voki. See it here: