POST #3: Share a resource

I explored Learn 360 by going to Iowa AEA Online and using my school's login number and password. I teach k-4th remedial reading, and I have some good nonfiction books on bats, whales, etc., that I like to use with my 3rd-4th graders. I have noticed my students are excited to start reading these books, but start to lose interest when the vocabulary or information starts to get difficult, or they just haven't built up their reading endurance - some have short attention spans. I think the short videos on Learn 360 could help me keep these students interested and motivated to finish the books. I like how you can easily view the length of video, narrow the search by grade levels and when the videos were produced, and display the videos in order by "the most viewed." After viewing several videos, I have found 2 favorite series that I could type in as key words to help me narrow my search faster - Science Nation and Zeek's Animal World.

I could start a lesson by using a Learn 360 video as a prereading activity to gain background knowledge. Then halfway through the book, have a sticky tab on where/how to find a different video or segment of video to watch on their iPads about the subject, as well as another video sticky note at the end of the book. To help improve comprehension, students could write or take notes about what information in the video helped to reinforce the information in the text. Students are then learning how to use media and online resources to compare and contrast information, improve reading comprehension, and gain knowledge.

Because I am not officially with a school district with a login, I could not access all of the resources.  However, in looking through what I could and my hopes of being an elementary teacher, I think one I would use is Tales2go located at https://www.tales2go.com/ I went throught the Heartland AEA website, then library and digital resources at the top and then clicked online resources on the left, picked grades K-5, and it had a link/button on that page.  
From what I am able to get from it without signing in, is that this is a database that allows schools/teachers to put audiobooks on their devices for student use.  They also have lesson plans available that give titles from their database to use for instruction.  Also for teachers, they have articles and research.  If I were in a lower elementary classroom, I could see using some of the lessons in small group activities and using audiobooks for a student station for them to listen to and have the phonics, vocab, etc go along with the lesson they are currently working on in the classroom.  I think that the kids would benefit from further exposure to books being read to them, and could also benefit by having the actual books available for them to follow along.  Ultimately, it is more exposure to books and reading, which is the foundation of learning.

I do "Daily Geography" with my second grade students.  We start with the globe and a world map, then do the United States map and then progress to a map of each state--one or two states a week for the rest of the year.   The students are always so interested in each state as we study them.  We locate them on our United States' map in the classroom and discuss each state.  Therefore, I decided that I will use the CultureGrams "states and provinces" edition.  I went to aeaonline.org, then clicked on "educators", then "CultureGrams" and finally the "States and Provinces edition".  I am so excited about showing the students the state flag, famous Americans from that state, and some landmarks in that state.  I know they are going to love it!  It will be our Friday lesson each week.

I located two different articles in Brittanica Online that I may use with 6th graders this year:  
Olympic Games @ http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/353563
Popular Music @ http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/353507
        These beginning level encyclopedia articles will serve as beginning reference sources for a simple research paper that a teacher asked for help with.  She wants to start the year with her sixth graders by writing a simple three paragraph research paper. In May I suggested that students’ favorite music could be the topic, but at the end of August some students may be really interested in the Olympics, as well.  I will pitch my ideas to her and see what she thinks.  The objectives of the project are for students to 1) conduct research in the proper steps, and 2) write a simple at-least-three paragraph research paper (introduction, body, and conclusion).  
        If there is not enough detail for the teacher/students in these Level 1 articles, then they can easily switch to the level 2 article.  However, I like these Level 1 articles because they provide a succinct and non-threatening text, and they actually provide a hyperlinked list of subtopics that students can use to choose from, if interested.  The level 2 articles do not have such list in the beginning paragraphs.  
        The teacher and I still need to plan the logistics of the lesson, but I envision her introducing the students to the project, then I will provide students with instruction on the steps of research.  That is when I will guide students to these Brittanica articles and show them the other nice features of the database (audio, citation, further resources, etc).  Other research instruction, whether done by the teacher or myself, will include skills in note-taking, summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting, and citing sources to properly give credit and avoid plagiarism.

The target audience will be seventh grade students.  They will first view a couple of short videos on their laptops with head phones.  They are always more anxious to begin a lesson with a video than a reading assignment.  I will have pupils use the students tab and click on Learn360.  From there they will do an advanced search for vascular and nonvascular plants.  (http://learn360.infobase.com/p_Search.aspx?rd=a&q=vascular%20and%20non-vascular%20plants).  From there they will be instructed to watch the video on Plant Characteristics about structure and function, and also the video on Gymnosperms and Angiosperms.  The will use their reflection journals to indicate what they learned from the videos and include four specific items for each.  They will use Britannic (Middle) to find images and articles about particular plants.  They will then choose one plant that's an angiosperm and one plant that's a gymnosperm and list four characteristics of each.  http://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/276449#206614.toc
Next they will click on the video and images tab to view parts of a typical cell diagram and complete a blank diagram provided by the instructor.  These resources will provide the student with some basic understanding of the different types of plants and their uses.

I went to the Iowa AEA Online website http://www.iowaaeaonline.org/ to find a source for pictures that my students could use for a 4th grade social studies project.  In their classrooms, my special education students are required to make a power point for a biography during black history month.  After doing all of their research and limiting the information that they are going to put on their slides, my students tend to want to "google" images for their power point presentations.  I clicked on the AP Images and logged on using my school password.  From here I searched "Maya Angelou” for images for the power point.  I clicked on the box below each picture that I selected for the presentation and clicked download.  I renamed the pictures for easier retrieval.  I then was able to put these images into the power point presentation and to know that these pictures were appropriate and legal to use.  I also used the iClipArt for Schools sight in much the same way to find other images to use in the power point.  I searched “poetry” and “writing” to find images that could also be used in the presentation.  From iClipArt, I downloaded the pictures and saved them to my desktop to be used in the presentation.

I am a substitute teacher and do not have my own classroom. I retired from teaching 2 years ago. Of the many AEA Online resources from which to choose, I would choose the online resource called soundzabound with my middle school music students. The site is located at http://www.soundzabound.com/ and requires a password for usage.

 Students can either go to Google (which will be used in class)and type in the website address. Or highlight the address in their G-mail account and right click on it to take them to the site. Student's G-mail account will be used for corresponding and communicating assingments and directions for the assingments.

In my music classroom I would use soundzaound as a powerpoint enhancement tool. Students would create a powerpoint presentation on 17th century composers using soundbits from soundzabound which best represent the composures musical sound. Creativity and accuracy about the composer is strongly encouraged with their powerpoint presentation.

This projects helps students indentify patterns in music, helps with listening skills, uses compare/contrast methodology and analyzation skills.

Much like some else previously posted. I do not currently have access to the different online sites since I am not working in an Iowa school at present. For this post I will try to explain how I have used on of the resources in the past.  I will talk about Britannica School Elementary. To access this site you will need to go into the AEA Online and select Britannica Online.  This link is found on the left-hand side of the screen. At this point you will be prompted to log in. Since I don’t have that information I cannot give a detailed report on how this will look. I believe once you log in it will give you an option of which level you want to use, choose Elementary. If you have done this right it should say Britannica School Elementary in the upper left-hand corner. I have used this program before with students when researching the adaptations of living things, specifically animals. The first thing I have the students do is type their animal into the search bar. Once the search has been completed they will choose the result that best fits their animal. After that they will need to choose the reading level for the text. I usually teach younger students so I usually recommend the first level. After that students read the article looking for the desired information.

Another option for using this resource would be to not use the search bar and use the categories on the front page of the Elementary site. Students can choose the Animal Kingdom section and try to find their animal that way. Overall, I like using Britannica for younger students (Grade2-3) when researching animals. The information is very kid friendly with pictures and often diagrams. I also really like how it is very safe for students to use. At times you might think Google would be faster but you can’t guarantee the results are safe.

One of the objectives in my classroom is for students to do research.  I plan on having my students partner up and choose an animal to research.  I’ll demonstrate how to research by logging into the Britannica Digital learning website,   http://school.eb.com/levels/elementary/article/352836.  I’ll use a graphic organizer and I’ll show them how I maneuver through this website to find information on bears (the animal example I chose).  I can show my students how to click on pictures and I can share with them how some of the pictures may provide clues about their animals (for example – habitats of where their animals live.)  I’ll show them how to click on videos as well.  Since I teach younger students, I’ll make sure the reading level is appropriate.  Once I’m done demonstrating, my students will be given a graphic organizer to help them find information on the animals they chose.  Since I teach young students, it may take several repeated times on this website for my students to become comfortable navigating through this website.  If time allows, I’ll have my students share their graphic organizers with the class.  I’ll even put the Britannica website on the smartboard, and the students can share pictures and videos they found on this website.

Presently, I'm working outside the school system during the summer and subbing during the school year.  Because of that I do not have the username and password required to use the services to the fullest.  However, at https://www.teachingbooks.net/ it did allow me to perform a subject search.  In my job opportunity, I would be teaching Middle School Geography.  We will be studying regions of the United States.  From the top of the page, I chose to do a subject search on the Midwest.  Once I had the search results, I narrowed it by selecting 7-12 and nonfiction.  Here I chose the book-The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl.  I could use the author's personal website and his page on TeachingBooks.net to to give the students addition information about the author and introduce the book.  Using The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl would allow me to show the students how Geography affects those who populate a specific region.  I could tie it to the water problems this region is having today. This would be a great opportunity to use other AEA Online Services to show images of the Great Plains during the dust bowl of the 1930s.  The Digital Library at https://www.aeadigitallibrary.org/ would be a great place to start your search.     Here you could find videos and still images for classroom use.

One resource I plan to teach my kiddos to use is BookFlix.  To use BookFlix, they will need to log into their assigned Chromebook with their user name and password.  Then they will do a Google search for AEA 267 Online.  They will double click on the first result that says Get Media Area Education Area 267.  They will see a page with different choices and double click on the Iowa AEA Online tab.  Next, they will look at the list of tabs on the left hand side of the page and go to the fourth tab and double click on BookFlix PK-3.  This will take them to the login page where my kiddos will need to know and use the Southdale user name and password to enter BookFlix.  Below the login, there is a tab to learn about BookFlix which I will have them use and we will learn together how BookFlix works.  Once they log in, here's how it works.  Kids choose from several topic options and double click on one of them.  Then kids can chose from 4 book options up on the screen.  They will pick one, and they will go through the following.  They will listen to a book, read a book, do 2 learning activities, learn about the author, and then get to choose a link to take their learning further.  When finished they can log out.  Once kids are familiar with logging in and the process of reading books, I will teach them about choosing the appropriate book level.  Another thought I had is simply bookmarking BookFlix on their Chromebooks.

I plan to use Soundzabound with our students for two group projects this year.  I have to work with Mrs. Hukvari or Mrs. Harris our media specialists for my passwords--I didn't want to bother them on summer break.  

Soundzabound is a royalty free music site.  High School students will use this site to download music that they will use to help them teach the following in our class:
1.  Personal Fitness Group Project:  Students will design and teach an exercise routine that incorporates exercises that address the 5 Components of Fitness

2.  Dance Group Project:  Students will teach students a dance routine

The music used in each of these projects will help motivate the students to participate/move and have fun in class. Most people exercise with music and I should use more often in my classes to help get students moving.  

By using Soundzabound, I can also teach our students about this site and the importance of not pirating music.  

One of my first projects that I do with 3rd grade students is a research project on an endangered animal. I will use britannica online. Students can read about endangered animals and then once they have chosen a specific animal they will be able to search for the entry for that specific animal.

http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/32604

I am a substitute teacher, who has worked in several of the school districts in the Quad Cities, so I do not have the appropriate user name and password to log into a number of the resources mentioned in the class to browse through them in any great dept. It would be helpful if substitute teachers and other in a similar situation could obtain a guest login while taking this course.  This would give us a better opportunity to appreciate the resources offered by Iowa AEA.  I feel I did receive a good overview of the resources offered by the Iowa AEA.  The resource which most interested me, an ex-college counselor, human potential, study skills instructor; and present athletic coach is the teen health and wellness resources.  It should be no secret my target audience is the athletes that I will be coaching this school year.  From what I gained from browsing the general information, I would like to incorporate activities that heighten their awareness of drugs and alcohol; eating disorders; diversity; mind, mood and emotions; nutrition, fitness and appearance; online skills; skills for school, work, and life.  I believe these would be the easiest for me to incorporate while interacting with the students.  This does not mean in any way that the other items listed are not as important and in a number of cases more important than the ones I will focus on.  My objectives for focusing on these items is based on my previous experience as a counselor and coaching.  Students that do not have positive self-images of themselves in school and in sports have a lot of problems in life.  Encouraging the students to work together and communicate is an important key to them being able to handle the issues in healthy manners.

I went to the Iowa AEA Online website and in the student tab chose Britannica Online. I chose Elementary and searched track and field (http://school.eb.com/levels/elementary/article/353870). Every year towards the end of the school year, our 5th grade students participate in a track and field day. I can use this to start off my Track and Field lesson using the diagram picture that is provided on this page to show the students a variety of events that can take place during a track meet. I like how the introduction gives a basic overview of the sport and each tab has a picture that can be viewed. Also, what I like about this website is that there are different reading levels that can be accessed by students with higher reading levels or any individuals that want to learn more in-depth about the sport. But I think the neat thing about this page is the Related tab. This tab leads my students in learning about athletes that made this sport special, which might lead them to writing a report about this individual later in their education career. I believe this will help my student understand the sport and my lesson when I start using vocabulary words that are related to track and field, and also they will understand what the athlete is doing on the track or on the field, if it is watching TV or observing an event in person.

I went to the Learn 360 Infobase to search for videos for the Spanish classroom. I found it very easy to use. It works similar to searching  for a video on You Tube, but it has filters to help one find an age-apporiate video more quickly. I really like this function because many of the Spanish learning videos on You Tube are for elementary students. Immediately, I found  the video, "Great Reasons to Learn Spanish". Unfortunately, I just purchased this video last May.

When I typed the keywords "learning Spanish" I was given 62 videos with the one above on the first page. After I added the 9-12 filter I still had 52 videos, so I typed in Spanish Alphabet to narrow my search. Then, I was given four videos and only one was age-appropriate for high school students, "The Challenges of Spanish Pronunciation".  The video covers the vowels and 14 of the Spanish consonants.  

The video was produced in 2000 and it is entertaining. It can be watched in short segments (5 to 6 minutes) or watched in one setting (29 minutes).  I will use it with my first and second year students during the first few weeks of school.  

Lastly, I hiked the Inca Trail in June and I will likely share my experience with my students during a short unit on Peru.  Therefore, I did a search using the keyword, "Incas".  I found an interesting title, "Blood & Treasure in Peru".  I plan to watch it soon.  

The source I am going to share is http://www.soundzabound.com  Once I put in my user name and password, I went to the "Browse by" bar on the left of the screen and clicked on "categories."  All the different categories of music came up and I chose rap.  Page 3 has "Students Rap Over This" for 2:30, :30, or :17 as lengths of time.  Page 3 also has "Students Rhyme Over This" for 1:50, 1:00, :30, or :15.  

I will have students that speak English as a Second Language coming into my classroom.  I will have students in all grades k - 5.  Sometimes I have newcomers that speak very little English, and other times of the day I have relatively high level speakers that I work with.  Our school as a whole is going to be focusing in on fluency this year.  One of the components that we use to teach fluency is repetition of poetry.  Using music with a back beat can motivate the unmotivated child.  It can make a boring activity lots of fun.  It can stick in a child's head, and help them to continue practicing away from the classroom once they know the beat.  I would first teach a poem to my small group of students.  I probably would not do this with kindergarten, but it works very well with first grade through fifth.  We would go over the vocabulary and make sure that the students all understand just WHAT they are reading.  Discuss any phonics lessons that may be a focal point in the classroom for the week, or possibly a review.  Then we would bring out the music.  This can clearly be done with multiple types of music.  What I also like about the website, it that it will let you know if there are vocals in the song or not.

Another way I would like to use this website is to make a folder with classical music.  I would play it when the students are working on writing or independently working on a project.  Music seems to give peace to children and a sense of calming when complete silence actually seems to work against them.

My plan is to work with an intermediate team, and our media specialist to utilize the resources in the Teaching Books.net resource.   I would like to select at least 4-5 books that are in our guided reading collection that are used for novel studies, and look those books up through this site.

1) The team and I will navigate to the Teaching Books.net site through out AEA site.
2) We will each take a book title (I will pre-select those I know are in the site)
3) Preview the resources to see how they can be used in classes.  
4) Use the QR codes so that students can listen to inteviews, view videos etc.

Since I am new with the current district I am working for, I currently do not have a password to access the many of the resources on the AEA Online resources.

However, as I was working with my daughter this summer on reading skills, she remembered her school password and we spent some time going through some the books on on Book Flix. We went the AEA online resources page, clicked in the left-hand column on Book Flix, and after she had entered her password, we listened to and explored the various features of several book titles.  As I watched her navigate through books such as "Click, Clack, Moo" and other popular titles, I began to think that True Flix would be an excellent resource to put to use for my 4-6th grade students, as each of those grade levels continue to incorporate D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) time on nearly a daily basis. As many districts do, we have several students who struggle in reading, and since Book Flix is so easy to navigate and has quality instructional material, I would love to incorporate some books into my music classroom to help bring the books to life and help students learn how exciting reading can be.

For my lesson I will use BookFLIX found in the AEA media library.  After arriving at BookFLIX find the heading Get Smart and pick the category Family and Community on the list that is provided.    This will bring you to the first page of book choices and located on this page are the books that is used for this lesson, Chato’s and the Party Animal and Mi Barrio. This lesson will be used with second graders.  ELA objectives are text-to-text connections, character traits, and fiction/nonfiction.  Social Studies also connects with objectives of understanding neighborhoods.  I already use a hard copy Chato’s Kitchen in my room with the main goal of new vocabulary.  After viewing/reading Chato’s and the Party Animal students will use a graphic organizer to make text-to-text connections between the stories, including a focus on character traits.  Students will also read/view mi Barrio, My Neighborhood.  Text-to-text connections will be a focus for the two books and also information found in our social studies books will be used to make text-to-text connections.  A discussion of fiction and nonfiction will also occur though out the lessons.  I would also like to use the meet the author resource for Chato’s and the Party Animal.  You can find this resource on the left hand side of the page when you have opened the book.