Getting I.T. Right @ CeVMS: Quizlet Qrazy!

Cedar Valley is going Quizlet Qrazy!  

Check out some of the places it's popping up:

8th Grade (SAT word lists)
http://quizlet.com/19048841/sat-1-70-flash-cards/
7th Grade (ELA Vocabulary)
http://teacherweb.com/TX/CedarValleyMiddleSchool/costas/links1.aspx
http://teacherweb.com/TX/CedarValleyMiddleSchool/MargaretDugan/apt8.aspx
6th Grade (Science, Social Studies, and Science Vocabulary)
http://teacherweb.com/TX/CedarValleyMiddleSchool/mscool/apt24.aspx
http://teacherweb.com/TX/CedarValleyMiddleSchool/msmay/apt24.aspx
http://teacherweb.com/TX/CedarValleyMiddleSchool/KMidkiff/apt70.aspx

One of the teachers talks about how she uses Quizlet in her classroom:
"I am using a subscription to quizlet.com to create flashcard sets for unit vocabulary. I have them embedded on my Teacherweb page so that students can practice them without paper cards. The quizlet also uses the terms and definitions to make a matching game. Students have enjoyed trying to beat their own time in matching the terms and definitions. It is a fun way to reinforce and practice vocabulary. Average test scores have increased, but whether it is a causal relationship or not is unknown."

Check out the blog post on Quizlet for more information.

Why is Quizlet so useful? Students can work at their own pace learning words. There are several "games" that can be used with the same content, so it's less likely to get boring. Teachers can upload words in just a few easy steps and create groups within the program -or- they can simply share lists that have already been made available publicly. 

TechKNOWLEDGEy Tips: ViewPure

Here's another tip that may enhance your viewing pleasure:

Going Google (Without Going Crazy) Volume 5

Click on the picture to check out this week's Going Google Tips!

Feature Me! --Getting I.T. Right @ CeVMS

Piktochart, Postermywall, and Smore...Oh my!

Sometimes you need more than just a poster to get your point across. Ms. Humphries' 7th grade English class took a leap and used some of the most recent TechKNOWLEDGEy Tips to create some great presentations

Here's what Ms. Humphries had to say about the projects her students completed:

"Students read a novel of their choice, and the culminating activity was to create a poster displaying symbols for character, plot, author's style and theme. Instead of the usual poster board project, students used Web 2.0 programs including Piktochart.com, Postermywall.com, and Smore.com. Some students also chose to use Prezi.com. The idea was to expose students to technology programs beyond the usual PowerPoint presentations or just a standard poster board. The real-life assignment is great for kids, especially in language arts when it's critical to professionally edit the work and have it ready to publish in its final draft form. In order to share, students engaged in a gallery walk and viewed each others' products while providing feedback."

Here are a few examples of the student work:

As Ms. Humphries stated, part of  the students' grade came from the peer review that they submitted regarding other students' projects. In order to accomplish this, she set up a gallery of computers and students rotated through offering glows and grows for each of the projects. Here's what that looks like:

Flippin' Out

Ms. Dowd and the journalism crew are at it again. They used one of the last TechKNOWLEDGEy Tips over Youblisher to produce a teaser for their yearbook: Check it out here.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

8th Grade Language Arts classes produced newspapers using Google Draw. Students were able to format their pre-written articles into a newspaper format in a collaborative area. Mr. Lankford, Ms. Sparks, and Mr. Richardson rocked

Check out some of Ms. Sparks' classes finished products. 

Check out some of Mr. Richardson's classes finished products.

Check out some of Mr. Lankford's classes finished products.

• Example 1
• Example 2
• Example 3
• Example 4

On the Town

Madame Macharia's classes have also spent some time in Google Draw recently. They created a "ville" or a "maison" for their project. 

Check out how detailed some of them were able to get:

TechKNOWLEDGEy Tips: Edmodo

For a blended classroom that has a social media feel, think about trying Edmodo. Click on the picture to go to a more detailed description of what this is and why you might use it in your classroom:

FYI: One of our own campus was featured district-wide with this Tech Tip!

TechKNOWLEDGEy Tips: Youblisher

Click on the picture to learn about a great resource for publishing student work. This would also be a great way to publish assignments to deliver to students/student devices. Click and read for more examples.

Going Google (Without Going Crazy) Volume 4

This week's Going Google post focuses on Color in Google. Click on the picture to go to the Smore:

TechKNOWLEDGEy Tips: Museum Box (and Bonus: Lit2Go)

Click on the picture above to see a great tool summary for Museum Box complete with marvelous examples to get your mind racing on all the possibilities for thinking (outside.....inside.......) with a Box!


And as a Bonus: (This would be a great thing to incorporate into BYOD day!)

Click on the logo to go to the online tool.

Thanks to Library Services for bringing our attention to this great resource! Check out these other resources provided to you as well.

From the Lit2Go website:
"Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. An abstract, citation, playing time, and word count are given for each of the passages. Many of the passages also have a related reading strategy identified. Each reading passage can also be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along or as supplemental reading material for your classroom."

Feature Me! -- Getting I.T. Right @ CeVMS

Fuel Up to Play 60

According to their website, "Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by National Dairy Council (NDC) and NFL, in collaboration with the USDA, to help encourage today’s youth to lead healthier lives." Students and staff at Cedar Valley are joining the Fuel Up to Play 60 movement. In the past few weeks, almost every student and staff member has signed up to be a part of the effort put forth by the Athletics, Wellness, Health and Physical Education team at Cedar Valley. Students have pledged to be active at least 60 minutes a day.

CeVMS PE and Athletic students in the lab signing up for Fuel Up to Play 60.

Why is this making the Getting I.T. Right! Blog? Because the tracking portion of this program is online! You can sign up to be part of Cedar Valley's effort as a supporter. You can help your students track their progress. You can use this site as a resource to become a healthier you.

Eat healthy. Get Active. Make a difference.

Moore than Just Social Media

Ms. Moore's 8th Grade History class was caught "Fakebooking" in class! Thanks to Ms. Dowd and the yearbook editors for finding this great project. Here's what they had to say about Ms. Moore's project: "She is having her kids create a [Fakebook] page for a famous person from the Revolutionary War using a classroom learning tool that looks like Facebook...the project is a huge hit!" 

Take a look at some of the awesome projects that were turned in by Ms. Moore's class:

http://www.classtools.net/fb/1/QDSkdm

http://www.classtools.net/fb/51/NjRB4c

http://www.classtools.net/fb/82/YeL9AD

http://www.classtools.net/fb/82/34N2TX

Taking Polling to the People

Ms. Dowd's yearbook and journalism classes want your opinion. At least, that is what they told 6th grade dance attendees. In an effort to get more information straight from the horse's mouth, the yearbook and journalism classes are taking the polls directly to the Cedar Valley Student body. The 6th grade dance poll was the first of many that will pop up this year as the journalism students prepare for their submission dates to the yearbook. This week, 8th grade students cast their votes in a mock presidential election with a BYO Device in their US History Classes.

Poll Results from Google Form submissions to questions asked at the 6th grade dance.

Do you want to know the full results? You'll have to purchase a yearbook!

On the Prowl for Energy

Ms. Thomas's 6th grade science classes are on the prowl for examples of potential or kinetic energy. They captured their examples with Flip Cams and presented their findings to the whole class. Using technology allowed them to get out of the classroom and experience the types of energy in real world settings.

Ms. Thomas caught some of her class in action as they rolled down the ramp.

Remind101 in Action

Ms. Deitch is harnessing the power of a text message with her 8th grade math classes. Ms. Deitch used the information provided to teachers from this Tech Tip over Remind101 to get her classes signed up.

Check out some of the messages that help her class (or friendly neighborhood ITSs) come prepared:

Messages sent by Ms. Deitch to people subscribed to her class.

A digital portfolio in your pocket: BYOD in action

Ms. Ehman's project was turned in to Feature Me! by a fellow art teacher, Ms. O'Leary, who in turn stole the idea for her own class. 6th Grade art students were told that they could bring their electronic devices into class to take pictures of their artwork to create a digital portfolio to take home and show off. This is a great way to expose parents to what is happening in the class and allow the artwork to stay on display at school. Both groups benefit from allowing the students to bring in their own devices to capture the pictures digitally.