Educreations

This is an IOS app called Educreation.  It is essentially a WhiteBoard on the iPad that you can record on as you go through a lesson so the students can play it back as many times as they need.  I can see this being used in many different lessons including a flipped classroom and math.  Disclaimer: no mention was ever made that you had to be a perfect artist to use this.

<iframe width='480' height='300' src='https://www.educreations.com/lesson/embed/21061958/?ref=app' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/water-cycle/21061958/?ref=app

Should teachers be friends with students?

Should teachers be friends with students?
Yes, they should be nice to them so they know they genuinely care for them but No, teachers are professionals and should not be friends with their students. It is the same with parents and children. You love your children but you are not their friend, you are the authority figure that gives them structure and safety. Teachers are the same way, you give them structure and safety. Yes, the kids need to be loved by their authority figures and know that they are loved but they also grave structure. An example is when my husband was going through cancer treatment, we kept the girls on their schedule so they would not be affected. It helped all of us to maintain our daily schedule as much as possible. Social media has brought a whole new meaning to friends. Most teachers that are in the high school and junior high school level will not be friends with students until after they graduate. We also live in a small town where everybody knows everybody so parents and teachers are on Facebook. I have several of my students on with me so I have to be careful but that should be what I do anyway. I want to keep my digital footprint clean.

Screen Recording

Flocabulary at www.flocabulary.com
This is a great teaching tool that is already available in our system.  I use the vocabulary, science, language arts, and math.  The students enjoy the songs.  I am looking forward to hearing this life in rap since my daughter is graduating high school.  They have a this week in rap, this year in rap, and this life in rap for the graduating seniors.
<a href="http://www.screencast.com/t/24cpQFc2bT">Flocabulary</a>
http://www.screencast.com/t/24cpQFc2bT

Future of Genetics

The Human Genome Project was finished over 10 years ago that mapped out all of our genes.  It was finished two years ahead of expectations because of businesses like Research Genetics in Huntsville, AL that had technicians that worked really hard.  (Applause now for me and my crew).  Now we have available genetic profiles for people that are willing to pay.  It is on sale a lot for $99.  This gives you a complete profile of where you came from, your ancestry, helps you find relatives, diseases you are prone to and ones you are not, drug profile, and many more genetic anomalies.  One website is    
https://www.23andme.com/
The future of the biotechnology will increase just like technology has.  Your genetic profile is a start but if you want to know everything about yourself and what drugs you need to use, you would need to have all of your genomes sequenced.  We already have the capability of studying over 5,000 genes at once on a membrane the size of a credit card. It won't take the guessing game out of everything because we will still have bacteria and viruses but other things like diseases, aging, obesity, diabetes, and hair loss will be eradicated.  Exciting future in genomics.

Embed Code
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/QsHuGQieyjY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Direct Link
http://youtu.be/QsHuGQieyjY

Michio Kaku: Genetics: The Key to Immortality?

Author Stream

 I added a Gamification PowerPoint to authorstream.com


http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/lisanbowen-2142212-gamification-classroom/

Video with Captions

My grandmother started writing poetry in her head when she was 83 years old.  She was blind so she would recite the poems to us as we would write them down.  She loved fishing and this is one of our favorites set to pictures with captions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay8dxuxqMvQ

Animated Poster

Glogster
Created my first Glogster on Gaming in the Classroom.

Assistive Technology Reflection

Assistive technology is not utilized in some classrooms in a timely manner to insure the optimal learning for students with disabilities.  It is important for students that would excel with early introduction to assistive devices to receive those devices early in their educational career.  Occasionally those devices can be phased out as the student learns to use their motor skills or voice.  Not all students will be able to expand and learn without their device, they may need them for life.  Updating assistive devices as they grow will insure the continued success of the student.  Parents and educators can work together to insure that the student receives the assistance they need at home and at school. 

Assistive devices can include wheelchairs, laptops, tablets, communication boards, voice recognition software, and any technology that can assist them including software.  Students that are not able to communicate using their voice can use laptops or computers to write their thoughts.  They can also use communication boards to use as their voice.  Communication boards can even be used with a switch that may include using the eyes or other part of the body when students have limited mobility.  Joysticks can be used on many different devices to assist students.  An example could be for musical instruments.  Bookworm is a program to use that helps to read books to younger students.  This allows them to associate pictures with words.  Assistive technology can include software such as OneNote or EverNote to help the student with organization. 

As an educator, it is important to not only recognize when a student would benefit from assistive technology or devices but to know how to provide the student with the needed device.  It is also important to know who to work with and where to research the latest devices.  Technology is improving everyday and assistive technology is changing fast but it is vital in order to unlock minds that are trapped with disabilities. 

Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling-
A Day Without Math
http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/view_story.cfm?vid=93&categoryid=6&d_title=Mathematics

Biomass to Biogas
http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/view_story.cfm?vid=91&categoryid=12&d_title=Science

Science using Digital Storytelling				Science 3rd Grade
	Overview The students will research a science topic using the internet, books, or encyclopedias.  They will then write a story board and choose a picture to use in their digital story.  They will create a digital story using Photostory 3. Objectives ·         The students will enhance computer skills using search engine to research a science topic, locating pictures related to the topic, and creating a digital story. ·         Group work will strengthen communication and collaboration skills. Activities 1.       Groups will be chosen and each person in the group will be assigned to a particular part of the lesson.  Ex. The water cycle includes precipitation, evaporation, run-off, and condensation.  2.       The students will research a given science topic including the water cycle, the rock cycle, soil layers, and erosion. 3.       The students will each find 1-2 pictures relating to their research findings.  The picture must be unique to the group and related to their topic.  4.       The students will create a storyboard giving a description of their topic.  5.       Using Photostory3, the students will follow the directions to insert their pictures and then record their voices to create a digital story.  6.       Students will share their storyboards and digital story with the class. Adaptations Students will be paired together so they can assist each other. Evaluation Rubric to evaluate research, story board, pictures, digital story, and group collaboration.				Materials Tablet with Digital Storytelling software Photostory3 Other Resources Library books Online encyclopedias Search engine Computer Tablet with Photostory 3 Storyboards

All kinds of e-books

I like to use the Alabama Virtual Library and our school library also offers e-books.  I have a couple of Kindles in my classroom that I use and I like to search for the free books.  I don't have an iPad but some of my colleagues do and they use Inkling.  During my research, I found the Gutenberg project (www.gutenberg.org) could be very helpful and CourseSmart (www.coursesmart.com) can cut the costs of textbooks.
I also ran across several other e-book sites that I want to remember so I can share them and use them in my classroom. 

• www.scribd.com - This does cost $8.99 per month to read unlimited books.  It is like NetFlix for movies but for books.
• www.free-ebooks.net - They offer a wide variety of e-books and trade magazines.
• www.manybooks.net - They offer many free books with a variety of choices for downloading.
• www.openculture.com/free_ebooks -They offer 600 free e-books for Kindle, iPad, and other devices. 
• www.bartleby.com - I used this to read some poetry to my class.
• www.flatworldknowledge.com - offers many textbooks but they also have their own line.
• www.e-booksdirectory.com - offers free e-books and like the Gutenberg website, you can find old books. 
• https://openlibrary.org -to borrow, read, or collect e-books

I have one more that I tried out with my class the other day.  It is not actually an e-book site but a site you can use with certain books.  My students loved it.  You can read books and then follow where the book takes you on Google Earth.  We did Make Way for Ducklings and then traveled around Boston.  It was a fun virtual field trip.

• googlelittrips.com

Also a great website that I found when I was researching e-books is www.educatorstechnology.com.