Cushman EDU614

Timers are something that are constantly being used in my room. This year my large visual timer caused more problems therefore we had to get rid of it. It also was hard to set multiple timers at once for multiple students. We have started using our phones for timers with our students. I was introduced to Countdown but Jenn actually in our last class (thanks Jenn!). I find some of my students have a hard time visualizing how much time they have left on their break when they are being told. At times it has caused meltdowns due to the fact they didn't understand how "short" a minute actually was. I started using this timer app with a few of the students and it has been a huge success. You can set the timer for any amount you want. Once you start the timer, the countdown begins. The circle starts out green and as the timer goes on, the color changes from yellow to red. This adds another layer of visual for the student because they can see, as the color changes, the amount ...

All of my students have a really hard time writing and typing on the computer. One student in particular has a visional impairment that makes it very hard for her to focus on small print. In order to help her use/type on the computer, she has a special keyboard to use. It is brightly colored and the letters are larger than a normal keyboard. We also enlarge the computer screen and font when she is typing. Since we have given her access to this keyboard, she has been able to type so much faster than in previous years. She doesn't need help navigating the program either. It is incredible to see the difference when she has access to this larger keyboard. We have also found the other students like to use it as well. They all find it easier to find the keys they are looking for and find it easier and quicker to type up their assignments on the computer.

Parent communication is something that happens daily, if not multiple times a day in my classroom. Usually we use email and/or phone calls to communicate with parents. However, sometimes is it hard to get to the computer to write back or answer the phone during the day; a lot of teachers at my school started using the Remind App this year. I decided to give it a try myself. What I liked about this app was that you could set everyone up in the class but message individual parents or the whole group depending on the message/need. Parents are also able to send messages back or start a new conversation with me on the app. I mainly started using it to send home our daily communication logs. A few of my students go home with charts each day showing their behavior and how they were during each block of the day. I could instantly send them to parents on the app without the fear that a student might be upset by what they see or not even show it to their parents . This way if they have any que...

After playing around with Google Earth in class, I instantly thought about how great this would work in my classroom. There were so many amazing ways and features I could incorporate this into my classroom. When using this website, my mind went to a few of my 5th graders who are currently studying about different countries around the world. How cool would it be for them to see actual landmarks and sites they are studying? First, to get my students familiar with the website, I had them look up their addresses and local places they know on the website. This got them to understand how the website worked and what they could do with it. Then I had them think about how this could be used to help them with their country projects. One of my students was studying Italy. I found a tour of Rome on Google Earth and we used that to explore the city and sites. When doing a tour of a famous place, Google Earth splits the landmarks into multiple days. For my students this was perfec...

Research is becoming more and more prominent within the public schools. Students are asked to research topics for projects and are expected to weed out the good information from the bad. However, most students don't know how to effectively look for information on the internet. When it comes time to research I feel like I'm doing most of the work for the students! The purpose of my classroom is to support students to become more independent learners. How can I do that if I'm spending most of the time researching and looking for the good websites for them to look through? My students wouldn't even know where to start on their own. After reading the chapter on student researchers in Alan November's Who Owns the Learning?,   I was really intrigued by the Google Custom Search. I thought this could be a good way to allow my students more independence while learning how to research a topic. It was extremely easy to use! Once the custom search was created all you had ...