Hour of Code December 8-14, 2014

As a classroom teacher and tech enthusiast I can not wait to celebrate the Hour of Code.  I am not saying I do not teach my students coding throughout the year it just means I love to make it is a celebration!  Any time you can celebrate students learning it is a perfect moment!

http://hourofcode.com/us

I would love if you share your favorite site or app!
Thank you!

This is a Kahoot!

Looking for something new to get students involved with your lesson using their own handheld device or a device they use in school?

Looking for a way to see if students understand a concept you just taught?

Looking for some great ways to have your students start a discussion, complete a survey, or give a quiz?

Well, look no further!

KAHOOT!

https://getkahoot.com/

Kahoot is a game - based classroom response system which is prefect for all levels.

I teach 2nd grade and my students love Kahoot!  I also teach at the college level and will be using it with them as well.  Everyone can benefit from this great response system.  

You can set up an account for FREE and students do not need an account so it is perfect for the elementary level.

You can complete the process in a couple of easy steps.

1. You just project your discussion, quiz, or survey on your SMARTboard or whiteboard.
2. The students log onto kahoot.it , they are asked to enter the game-pin, then they enter a nickname and wait for you to begin.  
3. You press begin and the first question appears on the SMARTboard and students answer on their device.  

It is fantastic and quick!  You can go back later and look at the results!

There are some terrific tutorials on youtube if additional information is needed!

Take some time to check out Kahoot!
  

My Excitement about August 5th, 2014....The Bats are coming again!!!!

Bats In The Band

Written and Illustrated by Brian Lies

Houghton Mifflin Co., 2014

ISBN 978-0-544-10569-0

Available to Pre-Order at Amazon

I placed my order on June 18th, 2014

I can not wait to share this new book with my students in September!  I have not even seen this book in person but if it is anything like his other three, it will be a hit in my classroom!

As you can see from my previous post I am a HUGE Brian Lies Fan!  

http://happy2teach-myblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/more.html

Brian Lies has three additional Bats' Books: 

Bats At The Beach

Bats At The Library

Bats At The Ballgame

Along with an extensive list of books which he has illustrated.

I proudly have these books displayed in my classroom along with a stuffed bat! My students can not wait for their turn to read with the bat and they even try to recruit a couple of students to listen to them read.  This is what makes teaching so incredible, the opportunity to see students excited about reading!

I also enjoy visiting Brian Lies' Website because there are wonderful activities which go along with his books!  Take time to check it out!

As a side note - My pup looks like the bats with his big ears :)

Waiting for my delivery from Amazon :)

Great Joy

Do you ever wonder why you became a teacher? Why do you spend the countless hours at home differentiating your lesson so that your students understand the concept you are trying to teach?  And why once a lesson is over you sit and think of how you can change and make that lesson better?  

Then it hits you! 

POW!!!!

The student who is smiling from ear to ear because they are so proud of what they wrote!  

Or the student who is so excited because they reached the correct answer in math!  

Or the student who just stood in front of the class and read an entire book with confidence and then the class gives them a standing ovation!

This was my day today!  Watching my students succeed and overcome obstacles is why I do what I do every day!  

Meeting New Educators...

I have not taking time to blog in a long while but I have decided that because I am meeting so many incredible educators through Facebook and Twitter it is time to jump back into the saddle!

I would like to start with ...

http://theenlightenedelephant.blogspot.com/

I happen to meet this incredible educator when I was on a blog hop which was a blast, I received so many FREE great lessons as well as finding new educators to follow!  Melissa created this incredible clip art set and it is available at 1/2 price for a limited time on Teachers Pay Teachers!  Don't Miss out!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-To-School-Supplies-Clip-Art-Set-1-783223

I can not wait to use this clip art!

DEN Goes Viral Project Success

In the Fall I had the opportunity to participate in a wonderful project with the DEN (Discovery Education Network).  We had to pick a topic and then create a video similar to the “Did You Know” Video created by Scott McLeod. 

Chad Lehman, DEN Community Manager headed the project and I was one of the Team Leaders.  The topic I chose was “iPads In The Classroom”.  I love using iPads in the classroom but wanted to learn more information from other educators.

I created an Edmodo group and approximately 22 members joined the project.  We had a lot of great discussions along with asking everyone to contribute facts for our video.

Tom McLaughlin, a DEN Star, offered to put together the video for us.  He put together the entire video on his iPad1.  Tom also blogged about this experience at Behind The Scenes of the Did You Know iPad Edition. 

To wrap up the project we had a video conference with Chad Lehman!  We talked about the pros and cons of the project.  Chad wrote a wonderful article which featured our video! 

I hope this summer to have the opportunity to work with the same group of terrific educators along with inviting some new ones to create a part II of our video!

New Year’s Resolution

Well, once again it is that time of year again when we reflect on last year and look towards a new year.  We always set expectations for ourselves such as losing weight, exercising more, and even getting more sleep.  I actually made two lists this year.  The first list was for me, the second list was for my professional development. 

I have a list of blogging topics which I have wanted to blog about since September.  Well, it is time that I start blogging regularly.  At first I thought I would blog weekly and then realized quickly that it is the 9^th of January, I was not going to keep that resolution very long.  So I made the decision to blog monthly and perhaps bi-monthly if I have the opportunity.

New Year….New Me!

What is your Professional Development New Year’s Resolution?