Mindy+Hoskins

Our group created a plan to work on the R4 benchmark "Higher level thinking is generated through student analysis of literature." We have found that at 3rd grade our students needs to work on revising predictions while reading. We planned to use Voice Thread for students to make an initial prediction, review their prediction, and make a final analysis of original prediction. Students would also be able to comment on others predictions. They would be encouraged to "agree or disagree" and support their opinions based on story knowledge.
 * Iowa Core Curriculum Integrated Lesson Plan**

We posted our reflection on the Iowa Core wiki.

**Reflections** I have posted all reflections assigned in class as well as responding to some other classmates reflections. It was very helpful to read what others were "reflecting" on. It helped to focus my own thoughts, as well as give me some new ideas.

**Personal Learning Network**

__**Twitter/Tweetdeck**__ Before taking this class I thought Twitter was something the stars used to let the world know about their daily lives. Now I see that it can be a very useful tool to communicate with and "borrow" information from other educators. "The Homework Dog" is another third grade teacher that I started following. I've already seen Tweets that have led me to different sites that I can use for classroom projects. My only obstacle is having time to sit down at the computer to get on Twitter.

I love this! We have built-in time in our schedules this year for collaboration. However, Patti Johnston out at Libertyville didn't have time to collaborate with another 3rd grade teacher. Lani Smith and I will use Skype to talk to Patti about what's going on in our classroom, share ideas, and answer each others questions. This will be an invaluable teacher-to-teacher tool. I can also see the use for classroom. We could have discussions that include Patti's class. Kids could Skype with individual students, small group, or whole class. What an amazing way to share information!
 * __Skype__**



__**Diigo**__ A handy tool to store my bookmarks. I like that it's accessible from any computer because it's on-line. I've tried to work from home on stuff and couldn't remember sites I had bookmarked at school. It's a great organizational tool. I also like that I can share information with other 3rd grade teachers. I've always said "why reinvent the wheel?" So if someone else already found a great site or has a great idea I'm all about "borrowing" it!

__**Some kind of Blog**__ So this in one that I haven't had enough time to really explore, but know I will use. I liked the new thing on Teacher Tools that Jason showed us called "My Blog Posts". I really like the old on line newsletters that we could create to keep parents informed. I'm not sure if I would first create the blog through Blogger or just use the one on the school website. It will take more time to explore and create, but a goal early in the school year will be to create and regularly update a blog to communicate with parents and students.


 * Web 2.0 Connections

__Edu.Glogster__** This is a fairly kid friendly on-line multi-media poster. I like that students can design the page however they like. It lends itself to a lot of differentiation based on student ability. They could make it as simple or as intricate as they like. I would use this for Social Studies projects in which students could research a person, place, or event then create a poster to show the information. Finding information and pictures on other websites and including it in my poster was very easy. After a few quick lessons, I think students could work fairly independently on Glogster. I would probably give students a rubric of the basic information that must be included, but allow for embellishment for those who need an extra challenge. Below is a link to a project I quickly created to give an example of how this could be used in my classroom.


 * @http://hoskinmi.edu.glogster.com/edit/washington-mhoskins/

__Wallwisher__** This is a quick online wiki that multiple users can contribute information to very quickly. I will use this for our daily math groups. A question or prompt will be provided then students will add comments and even respond to others' comments. This will be a great way to integrate Meaningful Distributed Practice from Every Student Counts. It will take just a minute to create a new page each day for students to use during math group time. Below is an example.



__**Photo Peach**__ Fantastic, easy, kid friendly on-line replacement for a presentation tool such as Power Point in my classroom. In a few short minutes I was able to search google for photos, download them into Photo Peach, and create a very professional looking "movie". I can see so many uses for this in my classroom. Students could do final projects for Science and Social Studies content. They could review books for Reading. It could be used for me to create quizzes for them to take and record in the comments how many answers they got correct. I think through a few quick lessons students could be taught how to use Photo Peach and create projects independently. I like the aspect of watching what other students have created and then leaving comments for them. It takes what could be just a presentation tool and makes it completely interactive. Kids would like creating their own "music videos"!

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__**Zooburst**__ This on-line book maker was fairly easy to use. Student's would be able to upload their own photos to create a book, or use pictures that are provided on the site. I plan to use it in my classroom as a story retelling tool. Students will create a book in Zooburst to retell a story they have read. I would provide a rubric of things that must be included. Students could then share their projects with the class. Below is an example of the project I very quickly created using only the pictures available on the Zooburst site.

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__**Wordle**__ This is a easy and quick way to record brainstorming of any topic. I like that when students say a word more than once it shows up bigger in the Wordle so those words stand out. I would use this in any subject area when introducing a new topic. Students can just shout out what they know, and we would create the wordle together.