Minecraft becomes Teaching: Videos that explain deep stuff in Minecraft Lingo

Want to reveal the basic concepts and theoretical orientation of how the universe might have been created???  Check out this Minecraft-like video with narration.  I know our students with Autism would get a kick out of this highly technical piece!! COULD be fun science unit.

Earth DAY Re-use video and project...

I wanted to share a fun video that can be used in the classroom.  It is based out of San Francisco where art residents stay in a studio by the dump and have to create solely using thrown out materials.  This can be an introduction to waste, recycling, and a project that follows through with collecting and creating!

Our class is collecting garbage from campus, sorting it (think common core project/math chart), planning a sculture, painting materials, and then creating a custom art piece that reflects their imagination and re-uses thrown out materials.

Connecting Creativity and TECH

I cannot even begin to share with you the amount of art apps, websites, and creative uses of technology that truly ignite the student's brain!

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This site below can connect you to thousands of ideas:

http://artistsinblogland.blogspot.com/p/art-teacher-blog-directory.html

Here is a fun site that simply provides art forms in one place (origami, art tutorial, etc):

http://artforkidshub.com/

My students REALLY get their "fine motor skills" on with this site.  It allows for excited engagement while practicing the skills many of our students with special needs require! The origami choices are simple and more easy to follow than typical sites, as well as generally topics of interest.

This other site is dedicated solely to origami but has a section for kids:

http://origamiks.com/origamiforkids/origamidiagramsforkids?start=30  

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Literacy & the Arts

The wonderful connection to the Arts is literacy...

This can be played out through story.  An artist seeks to create a story with its viewer and the arts platform provides so many opportunities to write!!

Just Some websites that allow for this story element in action  (there's hundreds, just google it!):

www.storybird.com

http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/make-your-own/story-maker

https://storymaker.cc/

http://www.seussville.com/games_hb/storymaker/story_maker.html

Balancing Technology (my perspective) A few ideas...

   In my position as the tech curricula support, one area I have noticed is the fear that technology will take over the classroom.

I think there are great resources and activities to balance this act.  One small example is art "step by step" videos.  Are the students stuck to a screen? No... they're practicing their fine motor skills and potentially, highly engaged!

Check out this art for kids website:

http://artforkidshub.com/ 

Another activity example is a Alaphabetic Nature iBook kids!

If you're doing "letter of the week", take a walk with a camera or your cell phone camera and have the kids find that letter.  Add the letter to an iBook page, students can create a sentence (or multiple) and at the end of the year you can publish the kids book!

Tech Tips ....

Thought this was wise words in reference for technology in the classroom:

Zooburst: Digital "pop-up" storytelling

Slightly new twist on a digital storybook. 

 http://zooburst.com/index.php

Could be very entertaining for our kids with special needs!!

 

 

About ZooBurst

ZooBurst is a digital storytelling tool that lets anyone easily create his or her own 3D pop-up books. Using ZooBurst, storytellers of any age can create their own rich worlds in which their stories can come to life.

ZooBurst books “live” online and can be experienced on your desktop or laptop computer, or on your iPad via the free ZooBurst mobile app. Authors can arrange characters and props within a 3D world that can be customized using uploaded artwork or items found in a built-in database of over 10,000 free images and materials.
ZooBurst authors can share books with readers using a simple hyperlink, and books can easily be embedded in any website or blog, allowing authors to provide their own contextual framework to their stories. Authors can also maintain a moderated discussion forum for each book, providing a virtual space in which readers can interact with one another.
Readers who have a camera installed on their computer can also experience any ZooBurst book in Augmented Reality. Using nothing more than a standard webcam, visitors can hold up a special symbol to the webcam to watch as a 3D pop-up book “jumps” out of the paper and into the room around them. In addition, our Augmented Reality mode also allows readers the ability to interact with a book using simple gestures. For example, simply waving your hand in front of a book will allow you to turn its pages back and forth.
iPad users can also experience ZooBurst books using our free mobile app (available on the iTunes app store). With the ZooBurst iPad app you can also “scan” for special “Story Codes” that let you easily attach a ZooBurst book onto any physical item, such as a class bulletin board, parent newsletter or a printed textbook.
As an educational tool, ZooBurst provides students with new ways in which they can tell stories, deliver presentations, write reports and express complex ideas. ZooBurst contains a powerful “classroom management” feature for teachers that lets them easily set up protected, safe spaces for their students. Teachers can assign usernames and passwords to their students without having to input any sensitive or personal information, and can manage and moderate student work in a protected environment. In addition, premium users have access to a wide range of advanced book building features, such as audio & speech integration, downloadable books and an unlimited book library.
The best way to learn more about ZooBurst is to give it a try! Click here to sign up for your own ZooBurst account - it's free!

Send messages, use student polls, and more!

Paging who?

Check out this website, which could be used to reach parents, older students, and more with messages regarding the classroom.

https://www.classpager.com/

Use it for homework updates, no school days, school-wide functions and more!

*Just remember to check in with our organization policy and see what forms might need to be signed with parents, etc.

Assess your students using any device.

Engage your classroom with polls, exit tickets, after-class reminders, and more — delivered to each student on their own phone or tablet.

It's a new generation of classroom clicker.

• Run classroom-wide polls using text messages.
• Give personalized feedback to individuals or groups.
• Broadcast updates and info to parents and students.

Start Engaging Students for Free

ClassPager works on any device, including iPod Touch.
All phone numbers are hidden, so you can use it safely.