my version of transparent, collaborative leadership...with a Teamann twist

Truth, Justice, & the Edtech Way

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One of the more fabulous reasons that personal learning connections are so worthwhile are those random moments when they can impact what you do, daily. I’ve responded to a couple of different hashtag requests that the reason I love twitter so much is that it allows me to connect with people who make me better at what I do.

Cue this rainy afternoon. I come home drenched, soggy toed and exhausted from a stormy school dismissal and am directed to check out a live podcast that was being shown on Youtube. I recognized all the faces from the show today, and realized what a GREAT group was assembled!

Lisa Johnson, @techchef4u, is an educational technologist in Eanes ISD. She blogs all kinds of instructional technology awesomness at www.techchef4u.com, a site that you can lose yourself in for hours. She’s also the creator of the TechChef app, “TechChef4u offers multiple resources to support teachers and parents in their search for FREE quality apps to support their children and students. While the TechChef4u app is an educational app store that provides searchable and categorized lists of 500+ FREE apps for PK-12.” Check it out in the app store!

Greg Garner, @classroom_tech, is from Austin, Texas. I love the line on his about.me page, “Always improving and taking people with me, I define success as empowering others to be successful themselves.” Isn’t that we should all strive to be?

Jon Samulson, @ipadsammy, also from Eanes ISD, is an educational technologist. He is an incredible provider of technology resources, especially on his other other job, hosting the @Techlandia podcast. He’s a big fan of Tony Romo, thank goodness, and someone I enjoy greatly “on the twitters”.

Carl Hooker, @mrhooker, is the director of educational technology in Eanes ISD. As a relative new member of his fan club, his reach is far and wide. With over 30, 000 hits on his blog, www.hookedoninnovation.com, he is an ed tech force to be reckoned with. From his start as a teacher to his current district technology leadership, he’s always had one common belief – the kids need to drive their own learning. How can you not be fan of that guy??

 

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Four different perspectives, four different levels of experience…four more opportunities to learn! Check out their vodcasts in the iTunes store, just search for iVengers radio, and you can also subscribe to their podcasts there. I can’t wait to go back and listen to the rest of them! Thank you, Carl, for the pick me up pointer!

 

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12 days…

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Have you let your students create something this year? Have they had the opportunity to show off their high thinking skills?IMG_4693

I loved 5th grades angry bird’s animal adaptations that they have up right now.  It took something that students enjoy and allowed them to create an adapted animal. Remmeber that our fab fifth graders have this to think about:

5.9 Science Concept. The student knows that adaptations may increase the survival of
members of a species.

The student is expected to:
(A) compare the adaptive characteristics of species that improve their ability to
survive and reproduce in an ecosystem;
(B) analyze and describe adaptive characteristicsthat result in an organism’s unique
niche in an ecosystem: and
(C) predict some adaptive characteristics required for survival and reproduction by
an organism in an ecosystem.

Here’s also a few sites to help your students get digitally creative, :0

 

Build an Online Habitat is where students choose animals and match them to the correct environment by changing weather,  vegetation, animal & biome.
Animal Homes is a great site for little ones to begin learning about different animal habitats.
A student chooses an animal, is given some information to read about the animal, and then draws the habitat for it. Once their drawing is completed they can save or print it.
Students select a wildlife or habitat category button and only the animals that match what you have selected will be shown.
Plant and Animal Habitats from the BBC is another great habitat game where students have to put aliens in their correct habitat after being given
clues about the creature and their habitat.
Wanted: New Home for Frog! is a great activity from EcoKids  where students can help a frog find a new habitat.
In Who Lives Here students match cards to see which animals and plants live around a specific kind of tree.
The Magic School Bus has a fun habitat matching game called The Great Habitat Match.
habitally,
Amber

13 days

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A balloon pop is a cute idea for students to do at the end of the year serving as a countdown. Each student writes a reward/activity that they would like to do. Then they turn them into you and you can pick the ones you want to do inside a balloon and blow them up. Then the students get to pop one balloon a day resulting in a different activity to count down for the last few days of school!

 

Pop-ily,

Amber

14 days

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This activity includes a worksheet set up as an “end of year” activity AND a blank version for you to adapt as you see fit – I’ve used it for review questions / work and the kids like to use it.