Digital Story (My State History)

My digital story was on the CT. State Charter. As part of our state history unit, my 4th grade students are learning about historical documents from our state. I thought this was a great way to give them a lesson on Connecticut's transition from British involvement to the governing of their own colony. MovieMaker and PhotoStory were used to create this digital story. Pictures were used for education purposes through Google images and Flickr. The lesson is accordance with the CCSS:

• .ELA-Literacy. RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

10 Great Writing iPad Apps for Teachers and Students ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning | Diigo

10 Great Writing iPad Apps for Teachers and Students ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning | Diigo

For all the I-Pad users, this might be helpful.

Teaching Geograhy Digital Story

#links

I found the music and visual to be an excellent way to teach or review the states. This is for 3 grade and up.

My Final Animoto on Connecticut's 8 Counties

My 4th graders have started their My State Notebook project.  They will be doing mini research writing on the county they are from or one they find interesting.   I decided to do this Animoto on Connecticut's 8 counties as scenic way to introduce and teach how Connecticut is divided and the uniqueness of each county. The maps included in this Animoto will also help them to understand the region each county fits in when the topic is discussed in future lessons. Video mini-lesson complies with CCSS Research to Build and Present Knowledge 7, conducting short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic



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Virtual Tours

I thought this was an interesting website.  My students and I toured Antartica and had fun without freezing!  Check it out!

Take virtual tours!

Google Reader

 We are living in an age where we are neither all digital or all paper in regards to how we communicate.  When I read about technology, I get rather overwhelmed because there is so much out there to absorb and learn.  Although there are many kinds of technology out there to enhance learning and education, I research only the ones that are of the utmost importance to my students and my professional and private life.  I enjoyed reading about Google Reader in Will Richardson's Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.  This is one of the most interesting technological tool I have come across.  I was captured by the concept of having the news and information being sorted and relevant for my view.  I researched how others were using Google Reader both personally and professionally. I wanted to know if using one email address where all the students have access or individual addresses worked better for elementary students.  I would love to have my students use this tool for their research projects. This will broaden their research beyond Wikipedia.   Here are some ideas from an elementary computer teacher in Philadelphia.

Google Reader

What is the United Nations? 
An interesting way to teach children about the United Nations!