ABCya App

The reason to why I choose the ABCya app is because it is a fun and educational app for students to use within classroom settings. The app is made up of various literacy games in order for children to build on their literacy skills. As well, the grade level that this can be used for are from kindergarten to grade 6. Personally I think that this would be a useful app to implement because instead of having to always use worksheets, students would be able to learn these skills through an interactive game.

Reference: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/abcya

Niagara University- Yasmin Piacenza

I started this Facebook page called: Learning Continuity Grades K-8 for parents and children in my community.  It's a page that houses ideas for continued learning at home, give it a look and give it a like! 

angie@nu

Educational App: Birds Song Identification AI

This App happens to be extremely educational and is strongly recommended for Kindergarten to grade 4. Despite the grade levels I find that teachers could definitely go ahead and use this up to grade 6 by extending the habitats and communities topics further, but I personally found it suitable for primary and junior grades. I'm sharing this educational app on this blog post as I believe it's great to get the students hands on when doing lessons revolving around Science and technology especially when we're exploring the topics of Habitats and Communities. I find this App spectacular and super easy to use as you can download it on both Apple and Android products as it is free version and just to give you all heads up is that certain bird species apps will cost you money to purchase and download, which is why I'm informing you about this free app. Please feel free to take advantage of this unique and creative app and use it with your younger children as well when you take them to the playgrounds, trail walks, backyards, and the beautiful gardens. 

From all the aspects of this app, the one that stands out the most is that this app allows you to hear the "SOUNDS" of the individual bird species followed by paragraph describing their taxonomy, bird family, scientific bird name, physical traits, height, colour, voice, distribution and habitat, behaviour, breeding, classification (Omnivorous, carnivore, herbivore), predators, parasites, status (population), diets (what's insects/animals or food they eat), Relationship with humans. 

What is the Eurasian Eagle Owl?

The Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo Bubo) belongs to the species of eagle-owl that lives in much of Eurasia. It is sometimes referred to as the world's largest owl, and they are often found in the largest numbers in areas that have cliffs and ravines are surrounded by scattering of trees and bushes. Due to the owls preferences of being in Rocky areas they are found in elevations of 2,100 m (6, 900 ft). When it comes to diet, these Owls happen to eat small mammals including voles, hares, rabbits, mice, raptors, woodpeckers, insects, seabirds and amphibians. When it comes to comparing physical features these owls; males and females have huge differences in weight, females are found to be 3.9-9.3 pounds while males are found to be 3.3.-6.6 pounds.  These species have orange eyes, and exhibit a brownish color upper body.

§  Being elementary teachers, we must find ways of motivating students to become aware of their wildlife, ecosystems and different bird species that live in them. As students are aware that bird species are spotted just about anywhere they go such as playgrounds, gardens, backyards, beaches, recess, woods, jungles, trail walks they can be encouraged to observe them and make interesting factual notes.  

§  Through practicing daily note-taking, students would enhance their knowledge and awareness on bird species and be able to connect that to their science lessons. 

§  An additional area students can focus on are understanding levels of the food chains including producers, Herbivores, Omnivores, and Carnivores, and the importance of decomposers! 

The Eurasian Eagle Owl useful websites and additional websites that are highly recommended for you to visit!

http://birdsflight.com/eurasian-eagle-owl-facts-eurasian-eagle-owl-habitat-diet/

https://www.gettingsmart.com/2017/02/apps-daily-classroom-activities/

Bird Nature Study Printables. (March 17th, 2020)

https://www.homeschoolcreations.net/download/bird-nature-study-printables/  

Made possible by Iqura@NU

IKEA Swedish Meatballs Recipe

Swedish Meatballs 
Serves: 3–4 
Preparation time: 2 hours 10 minutes 
Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

Meatballs 
500g beef mince 
250g pork mince 
1 onion, finely chopped 
1 garlic clove, crushed 
100g breadcrumbs 
1 egg 
5 tbsp milk 
Salt and pepper to taste 
Olive oil for frying

Cream Sauce 
40g butter 
40g plain flour 
150ml vegetable stock 
150ml beef stock 
150ml thickened or double cream 
2 tsp soy sauce 
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Method: 
For the meatballs, place beef and pork mince in a bowl and combine, using hands or a wooden spoon, until there are no lumps and the mixture is smooth. 

Add onion, garlic, breadcrumbs and egg, then mix. Add milk, then season with salt and pepper.

Roll small handfuls of the mixture into balls. Place the meatballs on a tray, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 180°C (or 160°C fan-forced). Heat olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Once hot, add meatballs and fry, turning them so they brown all over.

Place fried meatballs in an ovenproof dish, cover with a lid or aluminium foil, and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

To make the cream sauce, melt the butter in a frying pan, then whisk in the flour and stir continuously for 2 minutes. 

Add the vegetable stock, beef stock, cream, soy sauce and mustard. Bring to a simmer and allow the sauce to thicken, stirring occasionally. 

Serve on its own or with mashed potatoes.

Thinking About Learning in a Time of Social Distancing

As we find ourselves thrown into online teaching and learning, I have found myself reflecting a lot on how we can create and implement meaningful learning experiences online. As educators, we spend so much time thinking about how we can construct these kinds of experiences in the classroom, but this becomes infinitely more complicated and difficult when trying to construct these experiences remotely. In the classroom we have the benefit of a dialogue and redirection, the ability to provide materials to the whole class. Without this give and take, it has become more necessary than ever to find online ways of learning that are:

-       Highly accessible (which becomes a much greater challenge for those in lower income brackets, and those who are younger)

-       Able to provide students with some kind of engaging and meaningful learning.

It is unfortunate that perhaps these two requirements do not always go hand in hand. What may be most accessible to students is simply sending them handouts or a list of questions, but this is not necessarily the most interesting or meaningful learning experience, and is certainly not as engaging as a discussion in the classroom. In order to make learning experiences as meaningful for students at home, so much more work is needed to be done on the part of the

Teacher – and even then, lacks the benefit of a dialogue where you can assess student's understanding throughout the lesson in order to improve their learning and answer their questions.

 I feel that this time has been such an interesting reflection of the role of technology in education. Tech can certainly enhance learning, and help provide meaningful learning experiences, but technology cannot replace the teacher, and the benefits that come from a face to face connection in education.

Courtesy of the real Lydia@NU

Math Motion

Motion Math is an innovative learning model that playfully teaches the conceptual foundations of math with interactive visuals.  It is a subscription-based app featuring math games for kids in kindergarten through sixth grade.  Students practice a variety of math skills by playing six popular Motion Math games. Students enter an access code for immediate access to over 900 levels of adaptive content/games on the web or via the iPhone/iPad app. Students can easily find their level of challenge with intuitive gameplay, built-in tutorials, and scaffolded hints.  Teachers and admins sign into our dashboard to track student usage, mastery, and factors of learning such as growth mindset.  Motion Math is easy to get started in classrooms and doesn't require any special technical knowledge or setup. 

The site provides technical and instructional support with live chat and phone help during business hours. The dashboard allows teachers to see how students are progressing in concepts strands based on their performance in games. Teachers can also monitor student activity in real-time to gain visibility into which games students are playing at which difficulty levels.  This application is also great for special education students as the application uses a highly visual form of instruction. Most games require little or no reading, even at high levels of complexity. The games are independent and self-paced.  The games are cchallenging without a sense of failure. A subscription to Motion Math cost $2.99 per month or $20.99 per year.  However, there is a 7-day trial to see if the application is worth purchasing.

Brought to you by: Catherine@NU

Epic!

Epic! Is an online children's subscription book service offering immediate, on-demand access to over 25,000 picture books and chapter books for children K-6. The Epic! Library also includes thousands of Read-to-Me books, audio books, educational videos and educational quizzes. The website is free with an educator account, so basically the teacher has control of their classroom account and provides their students with a classroom code in order to gain access inside and outside of the classroom. 

This online educational service was re-introduced to me last week by my placement teacher. This is the website that she is having her students use during this period of online learning. The features that Epic! offers works especially well for my Special Education Communication class. It is difficult for the students to read a book online and gain the information or reading practice that is required for them, since they read at a lower level than most grade 2's or 3's. My teacher assigns a few Read-to-Me and audio books a week, and then chats to the students about them. For certain lessons, my teacher also uses the educational videos and quizzes where she can keep track of the student's progress. The students also love that they earn badges for reading books and meeting goals that the teacher sets for them.

 https://www.getepic.com/educators

Brought to you by Kaitlyn@NU

Goodreads - Meet Your Next Favourite Book

Deciding what to read next?

You’re in the right place. Tell us what titles or genres you’ve enjoyed in the past, and we’ll give you surprisingly insightful recommendations.

The tech tool that I chose to talk about is the app Goodreads. I use this app myself, therefore I have a true understanding of how it is used and the benefits to using it. I personally love this app because I feel that it can encourage student reading and interest in books.

The app allows you to keep track of all of the books you have read, want to read and are currently reading. It allows students to rate books that they have read for other students who may have been interested in reading that book. Students are able to keep track of their reading progress, which is a feature I personally enjoy. I think that this app is great for students who are unsure about their interests when it comes to reading. It allows students to specify which types of books they may find interesting and gives a list of books that meet these subject matters. Students are also able to read reviews that others have posted which may encourage them to dive into a new book!

The tech tool that I chose to talk about is the app Goodreads. I use this app myself, therefore I have a true understanding of how it is used and the benefits to using it. I personally love this app because I feel that it can encourage student reading and interest in books.

The app allows you to keep track of all of the books you have read, want to read and are currently reading. It allows students to rate books that they have read for other students who may have been interested in reading that book. Students are able to keep track of their reading progress, which is a feature I personally enjoy. I think that this app is great for students who are unsure about their interests when it comes to reading. It allows students to specify which types of books they may find interesting and gives a list of books that meet these subject matters. Students are also able to read reviews that others have posted which may encourage them to dive into a new book!

Recommended to you by: Claudia@NU

Podcast #1: The Water Cycle

Today, we're going to talk a little bit about Science.

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/sofi81/episodes/2020-04-15T15_38_52-07_00

Courtesy of Izabela@NU

Staying Interconnected

In our current global pandemic, we've never been more separated from our next-door neighbors; however it's the perfect time to reach out and become a part of a global community through different technology platforms.  Platforms like Slack (or if you're younger, Discord), offer ways for large groups of people to share ideas, and connect with one another through common interests; and then offer a way for those same people to collaborate with one another.

These platforms were designed to be used by small companies; so thinking on the school level, a school board could set up a server for themselves, and have different rooms created for each school; or a school could set up a server for itself and create different rooms for every grade, in which students would be able to interact with one another in real time, throughout the day. This can lead to interesting collaborations where classes in two different schools can collaborate and interact with each other; while moderated by teachers and administrators.

On the classroom level; these platforms provide ways for students to continue having some of the social interaction that they're missing out on in a structured way, as not everyone would be staying in touch with their friends. This can also be an opportunity for students of the same school who are in different classes to continue to connect with each other, as you can have rooms for "chess club", "basketball"; and give the students access to rooms where they can ask questions about math, where some older students can potentially help out and provide online tutoring (under the guidance of a teacher).

 The possibilities are endless!

Connecting you via Brett@NU

Pod-o-matic: Episode 1 - Creative Ways of Being Organized

Click the picture or this link:
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/iquratariq314successeducationaltips/episodes/2020-04-13T17_42_06-07_00

Courtesy of Iqura@NU

The Woes of Technology

I found an article that proposed five arguments for eliminating educational technology in schools.  Their first argument is that educational technology is an unproven benefit since they mention that studies in favour of tech use are either non-existent or are potentially written with bias.  They argue further that students are more likely to be distracted by technology than they are to learn from it in which they note the entertainment value of technology can impair cognitive development.  Their second argument is that technology is replacing the basics of teaching in terms that students are becoming poor writers and readers.  They mention that teachers are devoting more time to teaching technology than they are to teaching a student how to write and read properly.  Thirdly, they argue it is fiscally irresponsible to invest in educational technology when there are other issues in school that need funding such as ways to alleviate crowded classrooms, burnt out teachers, behavioural management problems, and hungry children.  Fourth, it is argued that increased tech usage by students leads to a detachment in their humanity since technology renders physical and social interactions with other people to mere interactions with a screen.  They use social media and its detrimental effects on mental health including that technology can lead to a decline in empathy.  Finally, they bemoan technology as potentially dangerous for students since there are potential risks to student physical and mental health from exposure to the radiation technology can emit.

Personally, I do agree with some of their assertions.  Technology can be distracting to students in which it falls upon a question I have thought of myself in that if I had a choice to do long division or watch Youtube, which one would I prefer? Obviously, the answer is quite evident.  Their assertion that technology has led to poor readers and writers was an issue that I had touched upon in my, "Is Google Making Us Stupid" post.  Although, I had focused on how technology has made us poorer readers in which information we learn through technology gives us a basic understanding, not a deep understanding.  Their argument of financial investments into technology does bear some consideration since a school's problems that are independent of technology such as having sufficient and up-to-date Phys Ed equipment is usually because of a lack of money.  I also agree with one of their conclusions that technology should not be overtly used with primary grade students.  However, I do have an issue with their last two points.  They make note that technology can be a detachment from humanity, but with the Coronavirus pandemic, I would argue that technology has kept me in touch with my humanity since I have kept in contact with some of my friends.  Even without a pandemic, for students to be able to interact with each other through technology when it may be unfeasible for them to personally meet outside of school is always a benefit.  With their last argument of potential health risks from technology, they base their argument on early research suggesting those risks.  However, early research is not finalized research.  Even if early research may suggest those risks, they cannot make a definitive and conclusive statement on the health risks of technology until there is a multitude of short-term and long-term research that is likewise free of bias to vindicate their claims.

Overall, I conclude this post in a similar way I did with my Google post.  Technology is not going to suddenly disappear.  It will continue to be a fundamental part of not only our lives but to that of our students.  However, we should not simply ignore the potential problems it can have for our students.  Issues such as distracted students looking at YouTube rather than researching for their project will be inevitable with the growing influence of technology.  Still, this makes it a part of the responsibilities teachers have to adapt technology for educational purposes, but also minimize the potential issues that can arise from its use.

Reference:

(2020, February 12). The Deep Reader. Retrieved from https://jamash07.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-deep-reader-blog-post.html

Zone'in Workshops. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.zonein.ca/zoneinworkshop/articles/five-arguments-for-the-elimination-of-education-technology-in-elementary-school-settings/

Brought to you by Kevin@NU

Creating & Editing Videos - Using Audacity and Jing

Here are the links for you to download AUDACITY (editing audio software) and JING (screen capturing software) for FREE … Yes, it is FREE!

AUDACITY: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
                                             

JING: http://www.jingproject.com/

                                         

These are the TOOLS that I’m providing you … 

They are the “WHAT” you need to be creative, innovative, and they should be enough to get you started … “What” is what I give to you … YOU provide the “HOW” and the "WHY"… How you use all these tools, Why you choose to use these tools is up to you. 

You and your students will get out of them what you put into to them. You can’t do it all, but you can do something, a little at a time.  HOW and WHY will depend on your passion, work ethic, excitement, creativity, and your level of comfort.

To quote C.S. Lewis in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Father Christmas states (when giving the children gifts), “These are tools not toys … bear them well for the time will come to use them …” 

Uncle Ben states in Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Use these tools well to have fun and just muck around.

JM@NU

Podcasting First for Sara ... Covid-19 Tips to Stay Sane

This is my first podcast using Podomatic.  I offer you some things to do during your stay-at-home time.   Easy to do!

Brought to you by Sara@NU

FYI: Audio problems are not due to Sara's work.  The original was clear and easy to follow. Mea culpa.

Podomatic

I want to talk about the recent form of technology we used virtually for class called Podomatic.  Podomatic is a website that requires audio and/or visual.  You can create your own podcasts and as a future educator you can do numerous fun activities with students.  I viewed some samples and the students were reading their personalized summaries of Robert Munsch books.  

My teacher Mr. Masciarelli had me create my own podcast and some ideas of mine that came to mind was to use this technological tool as a way to enhance communication skills for students.  As society progresses in this technological era, there is going to be shifts in how many different forms of communication take place and we will use this within the classroom.  For example, if we are doing presentations and for this specific assignment the students will be given the choice to either present in front of the classroom or create their own podcast to record and have the class view their podcast on Podomatic.  

Podomatic additionally allows you to post a picture for your podcast to represent the subject at hand, create captions to explain the description and implement tags; that way the more people type in that key word (you used for a tag) the more chance they will have to view your podcast. 

Tomas@NU ... Look down there ...  this is the first blog - click on the link to hear it.

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/tanastaselos/episodes/2020-04-07T09_58_33-07_00

Interactive Whiteboards

An interactive whiteboard can transform the way teachers differentiate and the way students experience learning in the classroom. When connected to a computer or tablet, a whiteboard becomes a large interactive screen that can be manipulated by a finger, pen, or other device. Students and teachers alike are actively involved as viewers and presenters of an on-screen material.

Interactive whiteboards provide a flexible format for activating multiple intelligences of learners, identified by psychologist Howard Gardner (2011). Viewing large size material on the whiteboard focusses on visual/spatial intelligence, hearing material read aloud supports linguistic intelligence, and being able to manipulate images and solve problems with one's on fingers and hands engages students bodily-kinaesthetic and logical mathematical intelligences. Adding music, rhythm, and sound stimulated musical intelligence while letting students work in groups at the whiteboard uses interpersonal intelligence and interpersonal skills. 

Apps such as Doceri and AirServer let you move around the classroom with your tablet connected wirelessly to a whiteboard, projector, or HDTV. One high school teacher candidate described how with this app she changed the learning dynamics in the room: "I can navigate through slides and display them from anywhere in the room, and students can add to my presentation by writing and drawing on the tablet as well."

                                                           Brought to you by Natash@NU

A Dog's Life, The Beginning of a Podcast, and Personal Wellness

                 

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/tanastaselos/episodes/2020-04-07T09_58_33-07_00

 

Courtesy of Cassandra, Tomas and Izabela @ NU

'Zoom' your way into Learning!

With recent developments of COVID-19, educators are experiencing unprecedented issues that we have never faced in education before. In-class discussions are now taking place fully online and all work is to be submitted virtually. One way teachers can have virtual discussions with their students is to use Zoom! Zoom is a cloud-based video conferencing service you can use to conduct live chats – either by video or audio or both. Anyone can join as long as you can connect to the internet from your computer, tablet or phone! To join a meeting, all you have to do is type the meeting ID (this will be provided to you by your instructor) on the Zoom website and then you will be added to that meeting "room"– it's that simple!

The basic personal meeting which includes hosting up to 100 participants, unlimited 1-to-1 meetings, 40-minute limit on group meetings and an unlimited number of meetings is completely FREE! There are additional upgrades you can purchase on the Zoom website. However, as a result of the Coronavirus, Zoom is temporarily removing the 40-minute time limit on basic accounts. This is a huge bonus for teachers that are hosting a zoom meeting to explain lessons, post material, send links and keep in communication with classmates and teachers! Adapting to using technology to learn can be stressful at first, but with simple websites such as Zoom, it makes learning more fun and easy to use!

 DaniellaG@NU