POST #3: Share a resource

The resource I have chosen is BookFLIX. I knew right away when listening to the training that I would implement it in my classroom. Since I do not have access to a school login, I signed up for a free trial for my classroom. As soon as I have the information for my trial, I will set up each student computer so that all students can read along during reading center time. I currently have students read on ABC Mouse and Starfall. BookFLIX will provide another reinforcement of necessary reading skills. Students will be able to click on the reading tab to hear and see the words in the story, which aids in fluency. They will also be able to click on words to hear the definition of words. My students need extra experiences to enhance vocabulary, and BookFLIX provides non-fiction information in colorful and interesting books that seems to present a “near” field trip presentation. In addition to using BookFLIX in reading centers, I really like linking books to state standards. For example, there is a book that teaches students about elections, which is a state standard.

This lesson will focus on researching the American states using the Culture Grams database.  4th graders are the target audience.  Learning about the regions of the United States is the focus of their social studies curriculum, which encompasses the Northeast, the Southeast, the Midwest, the South, and the West.  The student objectives is to discover 3 facts about their chosen state and incorporate it into Google slides.  Also required are images of their state as well as citing the resource.                
Here are directions for students to listen to and follow along on their computers while watching the teacher model on the Smartboard.  “First, go to the waffle (this is what we call the Symbaloo icon, which somewhat looks like a waffle!) on the bottom task bar.  Next, click on the yellow tile with the apple for the Iowa AEA online resources.  Now, look on the left hand side for the capital ‘C’ for Culture Grams.  Then, click on the link for the States Edition.   http://online.culturegrams.com/states/index.php     Simply click on the state you are researching.  Note on the left hand side are colored headings to help you navigate:  The Place (to learn about climate, natural resources, etc.), History, The People, Cultural Notes, and Fun Facts.  Be sure to notice in the upper right hand corner is where you can find a citation.  We typically use MLA style in schools, so click on that. Then, copy and paste your citation into your Google slide.  Enjoy exploring!”

I used iCLIPART to search for a picture to use for a PWIM cycle with K-3rd grade students.  After logging in I did a basic search using the word doctor.  From there I decided to do an advanced search and narrow the results to a color photograph with baby/child.  I downloaded item 203585 which is a photograph of a doctor and a nurse with a child and after renaming the photograph I saved it to the desktop.

This photograph will go into a Smartboard file to be used during a PWIM cycle with kindergarten through third grade students.  Students will be working on building their vocabulary and writing.

It was really fun to browse through all these digital resources. I can't believe that I haven't been using these! There are a lot that will help me as an art teacher. One resource that I really enjoyed was the AP Images.  Here is the link to AP Images, photos. :  http://classic.apimages.com/fronts/Default.aspx?sh=14Ine 
My target audience for using this is 6-7th grade art students. I do a project with my students where they pick an endangered animal and create an informative poster about the animal. In the past I've had students use Google Images. AP Images seems like a much better and safer choice for students to use for finding their images! Another project hat I need students to search for images is their Movie Poster Project. This would be another great time for my art students to use AP Images. My students need images just to look at while they draw. Sometimes this is just to see "how a monkey's ears look" or something simple and quick. I think AP images would be a great resource for that. Right now, I'm thinking that AP Images can completely replace all the times my students use google images.
The objective that this helps to achieve is students finding appropriate and relevant images to work off of when creating artworks. My art students need a lot of visual aids and props and this will work nicely for them.

I clicked on the link on the left side, entitled "Learn 360" & was taken to this site, http://www.learn360.com/Default.aspx?Pageid=371217 .   I clicked on browse subjects and started looking for subjects that would fit into my curriculum.

I then chose Technology and Society and then clicked on the sub-topic of Technology Careers.  I watched the first video  (http://learn360.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=39263&tScript=0)
and thought it would ok for my Technology Communications class to watch.  They need to know what some of the careers in Technology are and what they would need to know to work in that area.

I tried to look for Language Arts materials that would fit 6th grade, but every time I clicked on a  standard, it came back with nothing.  That is why I chose the Technology & Society one through the subject index.   

I spent some time looking through most of the resources, but the one that I see myself using most is iCLIPART. As an ESL teacher, I am constantly looking for images to better show the students what we are talking about. I google search images for the students at least once a week. Previously, I have always used google. But like I said in one of my other posts, google is not always safe, even with strict filters on. It would be so much easier to have this site bookmarked and easily accessible anytime I need to show a picture of something to my students. For example, in Kindergarten, we just finished a unit on beavers. When I searched beavers, I was able to find quite a few appropriate pictures that would have worked perfectly. http://schools.iclipart.com/search.php?keys=beaver&x=0&y=0&andor=AND&c1=COLOR&c2=BANDW&cat=All&tl=photos&s1=&s2=&release1=&release2=¬keys=&previewcheck=&rows=5&cols=7&period=&orien=&collection=&jump=0&submit=TRUE&type=REGULAR 
I am excited to use this resource in my classroom. I see myself using these very regularly.
I also have used Bookflix in my room before. Many times, students get to use it as a website choice during “free” computer time. Being able to listen out loud to reading is wonderful for all students, but even more so for ESL students. I have also used it for whole group instruction. I know that for one unit, we read many different versions of “Goldilocks”. I have used http://bkflix.grolier.com/p/node-33985/bk0054pr for the students to watch. Then we compare and contrast it with the versions we have already looked at as a class.

I used BookFlix paired with CultureGrams.  The link for BookFlix is: http://bkflix.grolier.com/b/node-33980/bk0101pr.  The link for CultureGrams is:  http://online.culturegrams.com/states/state.php?sid=48&sn=Washington_DC.  

This lesson is targeted at elementary students.  (Since I don't have my own classroom, I will assume this is for my own children who fall within this category).  I paired a fiction/non-fiction book study about pets and animals that have lived at the White House with a CultureGrams study of Washington D.C. and history of past presidents.  This study is a multidisciplinary approach covering social studies, reading & writing skills.  

Students have an opportunity to read a fictional story about kids not making great pets.  Then they would read a non-fiction story about interesting pets that have lived in the White House over the years.  It specifically tells about President Harrison's goat that pulled his grandson across the White House lawn in a cart.  President Wilson kept sheep that "mowed the lawn."  Coolidge's wife liked to walk a raccoon on a leash.  The Kennedy's had 3 ponies.  Roosevelt had 40 pets!  

Students would then creatively write about what it would be like to live in the White House and what pets they would bring.  

Finally students would explore Washington D.C. and research past presidents on CulturesGram and share what they learned with their peers.

I would go to the AEA online Resources page and tap on Teen Health and Wellness, I would log on with my school username and password.  On the right hand side I would click on eating disorders.   My 8th grade students will be giving reports on eating disorders. They can choose to describe an eating disorder such as bulimia or anorexia or they can report on athletes and eating disorders.  They will click on which ever topic they are interested in.  They can read different articles that relate to athletes and eating disorders, they can watch a short video discribing the problem. They will need at least three sources for their report.  They could use the short video to use in their presentation.  For my special needs students they can use the listening tab and have the article read to them. It has a pause so they can do it at their own rate.  I think this is a good site for special Ed students because of the listen option and the short videos. I also like they have hotline numbers to help a student who might have a eating disorder and is looking for help.

As I am not a teacher, I will not be using the resources for a class.

Since I am not actively employed as a teacher by a school district I do not have access to the Iowa AEA databases. However, my experiences in the assessment industry have given me much experience with available and credible resources on the internet and freely accessible to anyone.  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has some of the most up to date data on the economic and social well-being of people around the world. Here is some navigation steps to the OECD Data base and an example of some additional cultural information that might be added from a primary source to augment CultureGrams.

1. Go to http://www.oecd.org/
2. At the top is a set of tabs click on “Data”
3. On the right hand side of the window you will see a search box and a Browse by topic or country. Click on “topic”
4.,On the “Topic” page there are a set of icons for each of the topics inside the database. Select “Education”
5. On the “Education” page select “Educational Attainment”
6. The “Educational Attainment” page shows comparisons by age group by country. Students could use this as a primary source of information on a world view of a topic such as “educational attainment” or using the other “indicators” for different topics or a specific topic for a specific country.

I also use a lot of data from the World Bank, but that is not as user friendly as OCED. I think the resources I viewed during the online course make it much easier to find the vetted information from primary sources.

I used Learn360 via www.iowaaeaonline.org to access the following video about the United States Constitution.

http://learn360.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=74687&tScript=0#

The purpose of the video would be so I could incorporate it into my Social Studies class.  A good deal of the Social Studies HiSET test is composed of Civics which includes the Bill of Rights, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, voting, etc.  The students really enjoy watching video clips to help supplement the learning instead of only reading the textbook or listening to me lecture.

I choose BookFlex to start learning about AEA online resources. First I went  aeaonline.org. Then I clicked on the educators tab. Then I clicked on Teachers resources.  From there I scrolled down to "BookFlex" and hit the go to site ( http://bookflex.scholastic.com). There I signed into BookFlex using the username and password I had obtained.  In Bookflex I clicked the tab "animals and nature".   I scrolled through the different stories and picked "Harry The Dirty Dog".  You can choose to watch the story and read along or turn off the read along and just listen and watch the story.  BookFlex also pairs " Harry The Dog" story with another story.  Which was "keeping Clean" by Sharon Gorden.  You can also read along or listen to this story but this one includes the vocabulary words in yellow that can be clicked on to get the definition.  Also on the home  page you could click on more resources.  They are Puzzlers, Meet the Author, Explore the web, and  More Animals and Nature.  Puzzlers  had word match games, Fact or Fiction, and  Which came First games.  Meet the Author told all about the Author where he was born and worked and other books he had wrote.  Explore the web tab, had other internet link sites you could connect to that would correspond with the story such as  Songs, games, poems etc.  
  I think BookFlex is a great resource.  I can't wait to check out some of the other resources that are available.  Although I am not working as a para educator at this time.  I can see how helpful these resources would of been if I had had them when I was working.  When I was working with my one on one special needs pre K student I  was given permission to use this sight.  But had no idea how to use it or negotiate through it.  This class has been a great help.  

The first resource I will explore us the Teen Health and Wellness. I have a teenage daughter who is heading to college soon. She has had a money management class, but this one seems even more detailed and hands-on.

     The most intriguing and relatable to my content area of all of the resources was Salman Khan’s introduction to his video lessons.  These lessons can be accessed at: https://www.khanacademy.org/about and the great news is that it can be accessed not only from the AEA page but any web search.

     What Khan has provided is a multitude of opportunities for students to have unlimited access to practice exercises, tutorial videos and a dashboard for tracking one’s own learning and progression through any set of chosen concepts. Another wonderful thing is that it’s geared for students who need basic arithmetic all the way through calculus.

     In the video provided during the course Mr. Khan had mentioned the idea of a “flipped classroom” and I feel as though this is something that would truly benefit all of my students allowing them to collaborate on their own math ideas and having discussions and seeing them develop mathematical thoughts and help structure their “math speech”. I plan on also using the dashboard for students who may be in need of remediation in particular skills or enrichment as well in others to help determine mastery of content before having them move on to more complex concepts.

I would go to AEA on-line and select Culture Grams.  I would utilize this resource to help 7th grade students complete a poster , travel pamphlet , or board game  for a selected country.  Students will be shown how to enter a keyword to start researching facts about their country.  Students would then be shown how to navigate the site and refine their search.  Students would be given a list of things to find out about their country. For example students would be asked to find out what language is commonly used, foods that are desirable, recipes, or the different customs that people follow.  Students can then compare what they have found to the customs and traditions practiced in the United States. I chose the site because it is easy to navigate and the site is safe for students.  I don't have to worry about any inappropriate comments or images.  The site is very engaging and the images are of quality.  My students would love to be able to access the information that they need without doing a lot of work.  It's all there for their use on one site.  Plus they are using technology to create something that they can use later in life to possibly travel to the country they researched.      

One of the most applicable resources for me to use with my students will be BookFlix. My ELL students will benefit from lesson plans which call for hearing selected story from the array of books available.  I had to get the user and password from the AEA, then got on the AEA website, went to the educator link, and finally to teacher resources.  I was able to find the BookFlix link which took me to http://auth.grolier.com/login/bookflix/login.php?bffs=N.
I actually submitted a lesson plan using a fiction and a non-fiction book from the BookFlix Library.  I played around with the different ways students could have books presented to them.  That the books have key vocabulary highlighted (which also gives definition when clicked on) is a real plus. I always hyper-focus on vocabulary since my ELLs must learn new vocabulary in order to achieve comprehension of text. Other features include Meet the Author (familiarizing student with facts about the author), Explore the Web, and Puzzlers  (a word match game).  
 I believe I will use BookFlix extensively as well as ICLIPART For Schools http://schools.iclipart.com/index.php which will facilitate me in adding pictures to the many vocabulary word cards I make on a very regular basis.
These resources will not only benefit my students, but will also enrich my lessons. I am very glad that I chose to take Using Iowa AEA Online Resources as I learned a great deal about many valuable resources.

One of the resources that I will be putting to use in my classroom will be  http://school.eb.com/. I teach sixth grade language arts and reading. The students will be asked to complete a short research paper on a person that has made a positive difference in the world.  Britannica Shool is a great site to use because it has most of the information that I am requiring the students to find.  It is also a great site because the students can choose the academic level that best suits them.  I have at least 24 students per section.  In the past I have had students with reading levels that range from second grade to upper high school.  I feel that most of my students could easily benefit from using the high school tab.  I would encourage them to use this in order to get as much information as they can.  However, for my low readers, I would encourage them to use the elementary  or the middle school tab.  My expectations for the written work of my lower readers will not be as stringent, so this is a great source for them because they can learn to navigate through Britannica and do their research at their own level.  

Another site that I would have them use would be http://galesites.com/state/iowa/.  They would use this site to find current magazine articles about the person they are researching.  I would encourage most of my students to use the middle school tab and then look for magazine articles that my give them some interesting facts.  

I chose to use the Learn 360 online resource from categories.  I chose this because I wanted to see the differences between this and what online videos I have used in the past.  Previous years I have used mostly videos from Virtual Nerd, Khan Academy, or videos from the online textbook resources.  I have been satisfied with these but they are generally very plain and can be boring, sort of blah.  I wanted to see if these videos from Learn 360 would be any better or just the same as what I use currently.  

Here is a link to the video that I previewed:

http://learn360.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=77077&loid=332169&tScript=0

This video was generally more fun for students to watch rather than just watching someone solve a problem.  It gets them involved to try to solve the problems.  I think that students would be much more interested and invested in a video like this rather than what I have used in past years.  Just the pure entertainment of it would help and get the students interested in the topic.  i could easily see myself using this in my 7th grade math classes.  It would be east to have the students be the contestants on the game show and stop the video whenever I wanted them to work on the problems.  

The AEA Online Resource I chose was Learn360.  As a high school band director I find that audio resources can be helpful, but video resources are exponentially more valuable.  Although most people don’t think so at first, bands are really a visual medium, as are orchestra and choirs.  Seeing facial expressions, seeing conductors, seeing the bows of the strong instruments are all so important to the total music performance experience.

One interesting resource I found on Learn260 is a lot of videos on the Russian composer Tschaikowsky.  He wrote the Nutcraker and the 1812 Overture amongst many other things.  Videos were easy to find on Learn360 about him regarding his life and his music.  As a music teacher we frequently perform arrangements and editions of his music.  The videos go beyond just his life and work and into broader social discussions.  A simple searn of the word “Tchaikovsky” pulled up 64 results.  The search engines within Learn360 allow for many other related results as well.

A resource that was not applicable in my previous position but that I look forward to using in my future position is the BookFLIX resource (http://auth.grolier.com/login/bookflix/login.php?bffs=N).  As a Media Specialist in an elementary school my job will be to encourage students in Kindergarten through 3rd grade to read and provide individual instruction  for each student while also incorporating technology.  The BookFLIX does all of this!  I love that this resource pairs a fictional book with a non-fiction book.  The fictional books are engaging for students and with the read along feature students can increase fluency by following along with the highlighted text. Students need to be exposed to non-fiction books at all grade levels and the pairing of a non-fiction book with the fiction book is a great way to build knowledge and vocabulary.  The puzzle section at the end of each story is a great way for students to show what they learned and test their vocabulary skills.  The BookFLIX resource allows students to read texts that they are interested in at their own pace and provides resources to help them read the books.  Teachers could also specify a particular topic for students to read from while still giving students the choice of text to read. This resource will be very helpful in my role as Media Specialist.