Tech Thursday {Brain Mapping Websites}

Technology Thursday is a weekly linky dedicated to all things technology related. Check out our Linky Parties page for details on how to link up!

This Tech Thursday is all about Brain Mapping Websites. My students love to use these websites. I really wish I had some examples of some of the work they do on these, but they are our student accounts which I can't legally share with you. :( Boooo. 

Anyways... Here are three wonderful websites that you should probably bookmark. You won't regret and your students will love you forever if you show them these fun brain mapping websites. Best part about them, you can assign students a task and they will be enjoying themselves so much while creating.... they will forget they are doing school work!!!

Up first is a website called Gliffy. This site offers a variety of shapes that students just drag and drop onto a grid background. Text boxes automatically appear on the shapes that they drop in so it is so easy to add text. The fonts of course can be edited and the shapes can change colors too. There is a quick tool for connecting the shapes. My students figured this website out in about 3 minutes. I had them start by brain mapping about themselves. They loved it! Now this is a go-to website for all of my students. Here is my quick gliffy that I made to show you how the shapes look. 

Next is a website called Mindomo. This one is a little bit more technical, but I love that you can add pictures, links and emoticons to your brain map. Mindomo maps start with a template. Students have to learn the tricks to editing (like holding shift + enter to go to a new line). When you start your first Mindomo they give you tips and tricks along the way. This website offers some features that the other two don't. Students can share their Mindomo easily and use it in a presentation too! There are different themes for students to choose from for the color or they can just edit the color on the individual bubble. Here is a quick example.

The last website I have for you is my absolute favorite brain mapping website. It is called bubbl.us. It is fabulous!!! There are tons of blank templates for your students to start with. The text boxes automatically appear on the bubbles as you go. There are little arrows on the sides of the bubble that allow you to create a new bubble. Students can also grab them and slide them around the page as they go. If they click on the bubble, they can change the text size/color. The bubble color can also be changed. There is another option for students to link different bubbles together, so they can really customize to exactly what they need. Here is my quick example. 

Yes... my examples are pretty basic... but you get the idea. There are so many different ways that you can use these brain mapping websites in your classroom. How could you use them in your classroom? I would love to hear your ideas.

Remember to grab the button up at the top of the post and link up below with your Tech Thursday post.

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Worship Wednesday 2/11/15

I am linking up with our blogger friend, Beth, at Adventures of a Schoolmarm for her new linky Worship Wednesday.

This is one of my most favorite scriptures.  I read it often.  In fact, my bible practically falls open to this scripture.  My pastor preached on this passage a couple of years ago, and it has never left me.  It gives me hope when I have none.  It lifts me up and lets me know that God has a plan for me. He, the Maker on high, has thought of me.  He has mapped out a way for me through all of the tunnels and storms and valleys.  I have an expected end.  I have a future- a future that God himself has imagined and designed just for me.

I usually stick to the New King James Version, you know, so I can understand what I am reading, but I do love, love this scripture in different versions.  Each brings a new layer to the verse.  But my favorite of this verse has to be the Message version.  

Jeremiah 29:11 (MSG) I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Hopefully this scripture will encourage you today and fill you with renewed hope for the future.

Have a blessed day!

Sunday Scoop {2/8/15}

The Sunday Scoop is based on the popular 3-2-1 graphic organizers so many of us use with our students. Tell us three things you HAVE to do, two things you HOPE to do, and one thing you're HAPPY to do. If this is your first time linking up, check out our Linky Parties page for details!

Here is my scoop for the week!

Link up and share yours!

   

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5 for Friday!

It's Five for Friday time! Here's a peek at what's been going on in my classroom this week...

Area & Perimeter

We have been hard at work this week on area and perimeter. We used the floor tiles to create shapes and find the area and perimeter of each one. Then, we used what we had learned to create a formula for finding the area and perimeter of a quadrilateral. My smarties even figured out how to use variables and the distributive property in their formulas!

BigIQKids

We just started using this website to practice vocabulary words, and my class is LOVING it! It's free, but there is a paid version as well that I haven't tried. As a busy teacher, I love that all I have to do is type our words in, and BigIQKids provides the definitions, sentences, etc. for me. Once my words are in, the games are automatically created and ready to go. There are spelling and vocabulary games, and as the teacher, I can select which games are part of our program. The site itself could use some design help, but it functions well, and my kids are asking me if they're "allowed" to play these games at home. (Umm... YES!)

GoNoodle! 

It has been SO cold here lately, and my class is definitely suffering from need-to-go-outside-itis! Fortunately, GoNoodle's Indoor Recess MegaMixes are a great fix for their fidgets! If you haven't checked them out yet, you need to! They are on the GoNoodle tab at the very bottom and there are SEVEN(!)different mixes to choose from.

Cardboard Challenge

Today we are starting the Cardboard Challenge! My students will be using the Engineering Design Process to create a Valentine's card box. The project is based on a kid who built a cardboard arcade in his father's auto parts store. My students will be challenged to build a cardboard Valentine's box out of whatever they can find in our classroom or at home. I have a pretty high group this year, so to up the ante a little bit, I am requiring their box to have some kind of a game element like Caine's arcade has. They are so excited, and I can't wait to see what they come up with!

Standardized Testing

Ok, this isn't happening THIS week, but it is coming up very soon! We test the last week of February, and I am starting to plan review activities, test prep lessons, and some motivation & encouragement for my smarties. What are your favorite Test Prep activities or Test Week lessons/activities? I need some fresh ideas!

I can't wait to see what's been happening in everyone else's classroom this week! Head over to Doodle Bugs to check it out!

Tech Thursday: Storybird.com

Technology Thursday is a weekly linky dedicated to all things technology related. Check out our Linky Parties page for details on how to link up!

I was hopelessly out of ideas for Tech Thursday this week.  Ugh!  What to write about?  So I decided to ask my students what their favorite website is that we use in class.  I got a couple of different answers but the winner was Storybird.com.  It may have something to do with the fact that I just introduced it in January so it is still pretty new to my students.  New = better sometimes.  So my post this week is a website that is highly recommended by my 3rd grade students.

What is Storybird?

The official scoop: Storybird is a visual storytelling community.  It is for artists, readers, and writers of all ages.  The site boasts that it is "one part educational platform, one part real-time publishing, and one part social network".

My students' take:  Storybird is a cool site to write stories on!

How much does it cost?

Although there is a premium membership, the regular teacher account is free.  There are a few differences between the two, but I have never found a need for anything more than the free account.

How can teachers use the site?

Finding stories: The site has a wonderful storehouse of stories for students to read.  The stories have fabulously artistic pictures and are written by other members of the site.  Some are written by students just like them.  Users can search for stories based on category, format, and age range.  Some of the categories included are dream, diary, sci-fi, animals and there is so many more.  Formats can be long form (chapter books), poem, or picture book.  Most of my students prefer the picture books. You can also search by age ranges; the ones most pertinent are pre-school, kids, tweens and teens.

Writing stories:  This is the most exciting part of this website.  Students are so excited to write and create their own picture books and stories!  It only takes a mini-lesson to teach students how to get started creating their own stories.

Writers click on the "Write" tab to get started.

The next step is searching for art.  You can search for "tags" on art which are categories.  Art tags include fun things such as big ears, tails, aliens, submarines, and dancing.  The sky is the limit.  You can also click on an art picture and look at pictures from just that artist.

Once you have selected the art you want for your story, click the button at the top of the page that says "Use This Art".  A drop down menu will appear and you select the format of your story: long form, poem, or picture book.

Next, type in your text and position your pictures.  It is easy to add pages to your book by clicking the plus button at the bottom right of the page.  You can also navigate through your pages by clicking on the miniature pages at the bottom.

Clicking save...well, I think you know what that does...

Cool feature...you can add someone else in the class as a collaborator and work together on a book.

This video gives a very brief rundown of website's basics.



Storybird Studio:  The Storybird Studio is the teacher dashboard and contains all of the teacher tools you will need.  From the Studio, you can add classes, add students, edit passwords and user names, and monitor your class stories.

Setting up a class: Creating an account and setting up a class are super easy.  I have embedded a video that shows how to register for the site, create a class, and add students.

Classes: Teachers can make as many classes as they want, and each class can contain 35 students.

Here is a great feature.  Classes are private!  Student names are hidden and the stories that the students write are contained in your virtual classroom.  Students can comment on each other's stories, but these comments are only seen by your class.

Student stories are automatically published to the class library when complete.

Making an assignment:

Teachers can actually make assignments for their class.  You can assign students to write a story about a certain theme, topic, or using a particular format.  Teachers can explain the assignment and even add a video link, URL, or upload a file if needed.  You can also set the due date.  All assignments will appear on the student dashboard, and the completed assignments will go into an assignment library that is separate from the classes' general library.  Students can read and comment on each other's work.  Below is a short video on making an assignment in Storybird.

Here are a couple of stories written by previous students.








I know the samples I put up aren't "perfectly perfect", but I just love the creativity that this site brings out in my students!

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