What Grants are Available????

When looking at all the technology available, a teacher begins to wonder how she is going to be able to get it and use it with their students. After looking at several different organizations that offer grants and other donations to educators, here are three that I felt would benefit me and my students.

Olathe Public Schools Foundation - The Foundation helps the staff and students in the Olathe Public Schools in various ways. One way is by honoring two teachers each month through the Educator Excellence Program. The teachers are presented a check for $500 to be used in any way the teacher sees necessary for the classroom. The winners are picked based on nominations made by parents and students. Another way the foundation supports educators is through grant programs. Through these grant programs, the foundation will award teachers up to $1,000 for innovative classroom projects and up to $5,000 for projects impacting multiple classrooms, grades, or schools. During the 2010-2011 school year, the foundation awarded more than $70,000 in grants but received applications for over $160,000. To receive a grant, the teacher must submit a proposal and then be selected. The proposal should include the following areas: Innovation; Demonstrated Need; Educational Outcomes; and Student Success. This would be a great place for me to start when thinking about receiving donations for my classroom.

Adopt-A-Classroom - This is a non-profit organization based out of Florida that was started by a man who worked as a mentor to a boy in a special needs classroom. He was amazed at the lack of resources the teacher had for these students. He started Adopt-A-Classroom as a way for teachers to get money donated to purchase the things they need without having to spend their own money. Teachers can register their classroom and then donors can donate to their classroom through the organization’s website. Teachers are asked to give a description of the students they serve as well as what they would purchase with the donations. Once donors have donated to the classroom, the teacher is able to shop online through a variety of organizations that have partnered with Adopt-A-Classroom. If the teacher cannot find what they want to purchase for their classroom through the vendors already working with Adopt-A-Classroom, then Adopt-A-Classroom will work one-on-one with the teacher. This program sounds very beneficial as a way to get donations for your classroom. The donors can be anyone who wants to donate to a classroom. Donors can search by school name, location, teacher’s name, and many other ways. Teachers can also put a link to the website on their class website or in the monthly newsletter. This way, parents can donate as frequently as they wish. This is an organization I will be looking into as another resource through which to receive donations. This would be an easy location for people to go to donate money as well as receive a tax deductible donation letter that would benefit them at tax time. People across the world would be able to donate as long as they had internet access so it would not be limited to people in the Kansas City area.

Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators - This is a great resource for teachers who are looking for help in writing grants as well as finding grants that are available. Kathy has provided educators with a list of Federal programs, projects, services, and activities that provide assistance to the public as well as information on doing fundraisers. Many teachers have worked with the teachers on their grade level team to develop fundraisers to fund field trips as well as to purchase supplies for experiments or the classroom in general. It is always a good idea to have new ideas for fundraisers so people do not get bored with what you sell and they are more likely to purchase again and again if there are different items. A person will only buy so many tubs of cookie dough before they begin to say “No”. Varied fundraisers will attract different groups of people which may increase the profit from the sales. The grant writing tips found on Kathy’s website are very helpful. I have never written a grant before but after reading the tips she has provided, I think it is something I may be able to do.

There are many resources available to teachers who are looking for ways to fund new technology to use in their classroom. Many grant applications are free but there are some with a processing fee. It is important for the teacher to research the different programs and find ones that would be the best for them. Starting with the school district’s foundation is great because they want to support the students and staff in their school district. Grants may take awhile to write and process, but when you are awarded the money, it is well worth it. The look on your students’ faces when they get to use new technology is priceless!

Collaboration within the Classroom

Student Collaboration:

This week, I created a lesson for my classroom using a wiki. Using the wiki, the students would think of a storyline for a digital rhyming book. The reason I chose rhyming as the focus is because this was an area where most of my students struggled last year. They constantly were using words that had the same beginning sound as a rhyming word. We worked very hard on this concept all year. So, the book is one more way I can work with the students on the rhyming words. The wiki would be nice for this because the students can go back at different time (like centers) and add new words they think of. The students would also be reading words that are at their level. It is not going to have big words that the students who are barely reading will have to figure out. The level will be at their independent or instructional reading level depending on who the other students are in their cooperative group.

The website, 50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative Classroom (http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/50-ways-to-use-wikis-for-a-more-collaborative-and-interactive-classroom/) has some great ideas about ways to use wikis in the classroom. I really liked the idea of using a wiki for the classroom’s FAQ. This would be great not only for students but for parents as well. It would be one location for parents to go to and post their question or to see if other parents have the same question. This would especially be nice at the beginning of the year when the parents of my students have questions about being in school.

The Flat Stanley Project website (http://flatterworld.com/?nav=home) is a great resource if you do this with your students. I tried doing a Flat Stanley project with my students one year. We read the book right before Winter break. Over break, they were supposed to take their Flat self with them and then journal about what they did. I had perhaps 5 students complete the project. Since then, I haven’t tried it again. After looking through the website, I think it maybe something I can try again using the website this time to help get the students excited about it.

I was also intrigued by the Skype in the Classroom website (http://education.skype.com/). This is a great way for classrooms across the country (even world depending on time zones) to collaborate together. One idea I had was to compare and contrast the classrooms. I think this would be interesting for the students to see how our classroom is similar to other classrooms and how ours is different. Even just the diversity within the classroom would be interesting. The students could also interview the other students. This would allow the students to see how their interests are the same and how they are different.

Teacher Collaboration:

Teacher collaboration is so important to the education world. When looking at teacher collaboration, I would have to say my new favorite website is SMART Exchange (http://exchange.smarttech.com/#tab=0). There are so many wonderful ideas to use with SMART boards or SMART Notebook. There is a group of Kindergarten teachers in my district that do this very same thing via e-mail. Once we have created a SMART Notebook lesson, we e-mail it to the whole group so others can use it without having to take the time to create it themselves. There is so much we have to get done within the day and not enough time to do it. If others have already created it, we do not need to spend the time re-creating it. Scholastic is another great teacher resource (http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/connect.jsp). Many think Scholastic is just for ordering books. They have many great resources for both teachers and parents. This is one website I share with my parents not only for ordering books online but also for the resources.

Cost of Collaboration:

The nice thing about collaboration is that it is free, for the most part. I did find a couple of websites that you have to pay an annual fee ($50 was the average) to be a part of. Other websites do not have an annual fee. Knowing there are websites I can use for free, I would have to consider the pros and cons of the collaborative group before paying an annual fee. In the education world, free is a very good price! To use Skype, you would have to an account. I know there are accounts you can sign up for that are free. The price for a web camera starts at $29 and goes up from there depending on what brand you want.

I am excited about heading back to the classroom this fall and seeing what new activities I can have my students collaborate on. It is so important for students to learn the skills of getting along with others while completing projects because they will be doing it for the rest of their life. If they do not have a good foundation with the skills, they will have a difficult time as they get older and have to do more and more collaborative work.

Video and Multimedia in the Classroom

Video is a great piece of multimedia technology to implement within the classroom, especially for the visual learner. Visual learners are students who need to see things in pictures and have mental images to retain the information they are learning. They learn best by seeing the teacher’s body language and facial expressions to understand the content of the lessons. The videos or digital storybooks should be from 2 to 10 minutes long according to the University of Houston’s The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling website (http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/index.html). I really like the following quote I found in Gail Matthews-DeNatale’s overview of digital storytelling: Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth and I’ll believe. Tell me a story and I’ll remember it forever (http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI08167B.pdf). I think this applies for all learners, not just the visual learner. A story, whether it is a video or a digital storybook, captures the students’ attention and really engages them in the content.

When I think about the ways I use videos within my classroom, I think of indoor recess, enriching a lesson, and rewards. These are the primary times I have used video. I have not had my students create a video nor have I created a video for a specific lesson. In some ways, I think I am a little nervous about having my students use the flip camera (it is already hard enough for me to let them touch the digital camera) as well as being concerned about the students understanding how to use the editing programs. When I think about the price of the technology and the fact my students are 5 and 6 year olds, it makes me nervous. I want them to have the opportunities to use this type of technology but I also would like to keep it in working condition! As I was looking through the 45 Ways to Use Your Pocket Video Camera in the Classroom (https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dhn2vcv5_6tv55j7g9) I saw some great ideas that even Kindergarten students can do. After seeing these ideas, I feel comfortable about implementing some of these within the classroom.

During indoor recess, one of the students’ choices is to watch a movie. Some of the videos we use during this time are Leap Frog (reading and math skills), Discovery Education, and preschool characters (Elmo, Dora, Blues Clues, etc). The students love watching videos which have characters the students are familiar with and already enjoy watching. The videos are filled with fun activities and songs. This is also an activity where the students are quiet so if I need to pull students and assess them during this time, I can. I do need to be careful of my kids who are really engaged in the movie. These students do not want to do an assessment during this time. They would rather be watching the video so they pay more attention to that than what I’m asking them do.

I use Discovery Education to enrich a lesson. There are great educational videos. Many of these videos are older which is not as engaging for my students. They do not want to sit and watch a video that is in black and white or where the kids in the video were 5 years old in 1982. I have found some good videos to enrich science, math, and social studies lessons. These videos are good to use after I have taught a new concept and the students may need a little more help before moving on to the next part or a new concept.

If you have young children and have not checked out the Leap Frog videos, I highly recommend you do. The students love these videos. They are great for teaching reading and math skills as well as introducing students to skills they will need when entering pre-school and Kindergarten. The kids watch these over and over throughout the year and do not get tired of them.

We were just given permission to use youtube this past year. I have not spent a lot of time looking around youtube for videos that will help enrich lessons because I was already using Discovery Education. This is something I will be looking more into this year as well as seeing what teachertube has to offer.

I actually did not have a pocket video camera until today. I was able to purchase a nice Sony (I got the Bloggie 4GB) for $140 from Target. It comes with the software needed for the computer. This cost did not seem too bad to me for what I got. Of course, when you need to purchase at least 10 cameras (so students can work in pairs), the price adds up quickly ($1400 to be exact). I have a regular digital camera already at school. The one I use in my room is a Canon PowerShot A95 and retails for $199.99. For the computer, I would need a program such as Windows Live Movie Maker. If we were ever to switch over to Macs, I would then be able to use iMovie as the editing program. We have District provided headsets with microphones which would cost any where from $6 to $84. Ones that I found on the internet that look similar to what we have in the building were $10 which for two classroom sets of 25 would be $500.

As I think about next year, I can see myself using video within my classroom with my students. I think they would enjoy using the Flip cameras to capture some fun activities in our classroom or to help me with assessments. With assessments, I could have the students interview a peer and ask them the questions I give them. Based on their answers to the questions, I would know if the student understood the concept I was asking about or if I needed to provide them with additional support in that area.

Audio Multimedia in the Classroom

Podcasts for the Teacher!

A podcast is a mix between a blog and the radio. Some podcasts are only people talking, just like the radio. Other podcasts allow you to look at information on the screen while listening to the presenter talk about what you are viewing. Podcasts are a great way to get information to students and parents as well as sharing information with other teachers. Podcasts are messages that people can come back to over and over as many times as they want/need to. While looking at various podcasts via the internet, I came across the following podcasts. These are ones that I have subscribed to so I will continue to get podcast from them either via e-mail or iTunes.

KinderKids Podcast at http://web.mac.com/agearrings/iWeb/KinderKids/KinderKids%20Podcast/KinderKids%20Podcast.html is a great podcast for me to subscribe to because it is all about another kindergarten classroom. The author shares different activities they do within their classroom as well as samples of student work. Along with KinderKids Podcast, there is a KinderKids Blog. The blog is great another great way for me to get ideas about what other Kindergarten teachers are doing in their classrooms.

NPR (National Public Radio) is a website that allows the instructor to research podcasts in various topics. There are some great technology podcasts at the following address: http://www.npr.org/sections/technology/. As I was looking through the list of technology podcasts, I came across one about GPS users. I found this interesting after incorporating handheld GPS devices into a lesson last week. There was another podcast talking about how secure the web is or is not. This would be good to use when a teacher is talking with their students about internet safety and how we have to be careful what we share with other people via the internet. Subscribing to a podcast about technology would be very beneficial for me as I incorporate technology in the classroom. It provides another way to keep up with new technology and ways other teachers are incorporating it in their classrooms.

Another podcast I found was Podcast Kid (www.podcastkid.com). I liked this podcast because it is a little girl and her father talking about things that are important to kids. The way I found this podcast was by googling Kindergarten podcasts. This was one of the first ones that popped up. They talk about getting ready for Kindergarten and what the daughter will do while at school. This would be great to share with incoming students either at Field Trip to Kindergarten (which happens the spring before the student begins Kindergarten) or at the very beginning of the year. After listening to the podcast, I would have the students list what they think they are going to learn and do while in Kindergarten and at school.

Podcasts can be subscribed to for free so there is little or no cost to the educator. Many have a link for them to be sent directly to your e-mail inbox. Others have a link for you to listen to them through iTunes which can be downloaded on a PC or is available on a Mac.

Podcasts within the Classroom

It would be easy for me to begin implementing podcasts into my classroom. This past year, Audacity was downloaded on every teacher’s computer in the building. We also have microphone headsets available for us to use when creating a podcast. The biggest part would be finding the time to create podcasts with content information.

Last year, our school’s technology team did a brief training for the staff on how to create a podcast and post it on our classroom websites. It was a very short training and I feel that even after creating a podcast for this class, I would have to go back over and review all of the steps to create one. As far as having my students create a podcast, I would have to provide them multiple days to plan and create their podcast. This would be a fun activity for Kindergartners but would take lots of planning and step by step instruction by the teacher. I feel my students would enjoy creating podcasts. It would give them another way they can become the teacher and share their knowledge about a topic. As I’m writing this post, I’m thinking about our fourth grade buddies helping us create a podcast. One of our Fourth grade teachers already has her students create podcasts. If we did this buddy activity in December or later, the older students would already have completed their podcast for the fourth grade and will be familiar with the process.

In our building, we already have computers that all students are able to use (either the teacher’s computers, student PCs, or the student laptops). Audacity can be downloaded for free on every computer. There are 50 microphone headsets in my school that my class can access. If a teacher did not have these headsets available for their students, they can purchase them for around $10.00 per headset. In all actuality, these would be something would be cheap to purchase for you and another classroom.

Having a podcast on my classroom website about Kindergarten and what we do would be great for parents (and students) who want more information about kindergarten and what it is like. It would be a great way to introduce people to Kindergarten and my classroom. Podcast can be watched over and over which is good for those who need to hear things multiple times.

Integrating Handheld Technology

There are several different types of handheld technology tools that can be integrated into the classroom. These tools include the iPad, iPod, tablets, GPS, clickers or Response systems, cellular phones, digital pens, and eReaders. Some of these tools are more appropriate for older students (such as the cellular phone) than they are for Kindergarteners. For many students, these tools are very engaging. They allow the students to use a technology tool that they may not have access to outside the school building. 

iPads are the newest craze in technology from Apple. From the research I have seen and heard, there are many apps available for the iPad that would be beneficial to teachers and students of any age (even graduate level students). iPads are being used not only in the general education classroom but in the special education and LifeSkills classes as well. In the general education classroom, they are being used to build students’ skills in all content areas. In the article, Five ways readers are using iPads in the classroom, the author talks about ways the iPads are used for interventions, enrichment, assistive technology, digital literacy, and organizing resources (http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/05/27/five-ways-readers-are-using-ipads-in-the-classroom/?). I could see incorporating an iPad in my classroom as an intervention. The article talks about the teacher using an app that helps students learn their math facts. These apps could also be found for reading and writing skills. It would be nice if I could go to a MTSS (Multiple Tier Support System) meeting and show the team how much a student gained over a period of time using the iPad. To me, it seems like it would be engaging to students as well as a tool I could use to differentiate student learning. It also sounds like a great tool to help keep my notes and materials organized. In the article, the author mentions a couple of different apps that help him keep his notes organized. It would be nice to be able to grab one thing to take to intervention meetings instead of grabbing my grade book, my anecdotal notes, data, and the child’s folder. I could take my grade book and the iPad and have all that information with me.

It was very interesting to learn about digital pens. A digital pen looks like a regular pen but is able to record notes, capture audio, playback recorded items, hold up to 400 or 800 hours of recorded audio, and has a display to show the different apps on the pen (http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/education/). One way I could see a digital pen being used in my classroom is to record a lesson for students who are absent or for students who need to hear instruction over and over. Not only could I record the lecture part of the lesson, but I would be able to record any modeling that I did. Then the student could replay the lesson. If a student did not understand the content the first time they heard the lecture, they would be able to listen to the lesson as many times as needed. On the website (link is above), they talk about using the pen with their special education students. Teaching Kindergarten, I never know how many students I will have in my room who require assistance or have a learning disability. This would be a good intervention for these students. Another way I could use this pen is with my ELL (English Language Learners) students. They would be able to hear the lesson as well the examples as many times as they need to. Already in my classroom, I have a Tag book set by LeapFrog which sounds similar to the digital pen. This is a pen that will read books (printed by LeapFrog) to the student. The one big difference I see between the Tag pen and the digital pens is the Tag pen does not record anything and is already programmed to read the books created specifically to go with it.

To purchase a digital pen for the classroom, it would cost anywhere from $50 to $500 depending on the brand selected, how much memory wanted/needed, and which company makes it. The digital pens by LiveScribe are listed from $150 to $200 dollars. These amounts sound reasonable but to purchase a set for the whole class (approximately 25 students) would cost $3,750 to $5,000. To purchase an iPad for the classroom, it would be $499. A class set (25 students) would cost $12,475 plus the insurance to cover them if they were damaged plus the cost of any apps that are not free. For some teachers, they would have to come up with these amounts on their own. To do this, many would write grants explaining how the technology would be used in the classroom and how it would benefit their students. Other school districts may have enough money in their technology budget to purchase these for a teacher.

I would love to be able to have an iPad in my classroom. I see so many benefits for younger students. I have talked with several other teachers who already have them in their classroom; they feel they have seen a difference in their students’ abilities from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. Because my district is cutting budgets, like many others, I would need to either purchase my own iPad to use or receive grant money to purchase them. I will be looking into our Public Schools Foundation which gives out grants each year to teachers as well as other places I can write grants to purchase the iPads. I could see myself using a digital pen within my classroom. Because I do so much modeling, I think it would benefit those students who need a little extra time looking at the model or who need to hear the lecture over and over. As a teacher, I feel I need to keep up with the new technology that is available to our students. We are preparing our students for their future and the “real” world. We need to allow them to learn by using the technology as well as teaching them how to be respectful of the new technology and others who use it.

Diverse Learners

There are many ways in which our classrooms can be diverse. There can be cultural, learning styles, learning abilities, and digital diversity. Each of these bring a unique dynamic to the classroom.

Cultural diversity is looking at the variety of cultures within the classroom. In Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use, a “culturally responsive teacher is one who understands and capitalizes on the unique cultural attributes of students, including their experiences, as resources for promoting student achievement” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2010, p. 266). These teachers embrace the backgrounds of their students and use this to enhance the learning taking place within the classroom. My classroom is primarily made up of Caucasian students.  This past year, I had two Hispanic students, two African-American students, and two who were biracial. I have two units that come to mind when I think about teaching cultural diversity within my classroom. The first one is “We are all alike. We are all different.” I do this unit toward the beginning of the school year. We talk about how we are the same and then we talk about how we are different. This gives the students a chance to talk about their families and things their families do. They also present their “All about Me” posters which give the class another insight to who the student is. Another unit I do is “Holidays around the World”. I do this unit around Winter break. The kids really enjoy this unit in which we “travel” to different countries and learn how the people in those countries celebrate the holidays. I always try to include the countries from which my students come. When we come to their country, I allow them to share what they do with their family and at their house. I have even had parents come to share and do activities with the kids. In his article, Incorporating Cultural Diversity in the Classroom, Dr. Stephen Jones states our culturally diverse classrooms are “a prelude to the world of work, where many students will encounter diverse cultures.” Teachers who have an understanding of cultural diversity are more likely to understand there is diversity in student learning styles.

There are many different types of learning styles within a classroom. Dr. Stephen talks about how bringing different cultures into the classroom can also meet the needs of the different learning styles within the classroom. An activity that a visual learner would benefit from would be looking at maps and finding the countries where different cultures are from. They would also benefit from looking at pictures of what these areas look like. These pictures could be provided by the students within the classroom or by researching the country on the Internet. Another activity would be listening to the music from that culture. This would be beneficial for the students who are musical learners. Along with the music, the students could teach the class a traditional dance for the students who need to be moving around.

In addition to the different learning styles and cultures, we have students who have different ability levels. As teachers, we need to be able to meet the needs of all our students and be able to tailor our lessons to the different levels of our students. Some of our students do great with the lessons we create and can move at the speed we want our students to move. Other students need a little more time with a topic before they are ready to move on. As teachers in diverse classrooms, we need to remember we use authentic learning to “promote students’ deep understanding of subject matter content through the process of doing” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2010, p. 269). We differentiate our lessons so each of our students can be successful in their learning. When thinking about this, I think about my students who are in the life skills program. I need to tailor the activities within my classroom to meet their needs so they feel a part of the class. Even though they have cognitive delays, they can still do what the other students are doing.

The last diversity I have considered is digital diversity which can be found not only among the students in my classroom but among the schools in our district and even within the state. I work in a Title 1 building so I know many of my students do not have computers within their homes. Their chance to use a computer is at school, a friend’s house, or at the public library. It is my job as a teacher in a diverse classroom, to help these students have an understanding of how to use the computer and give them the opportunity to use it. I think about how many computers I have in my classroom (2 laptops for students to use and 1 teacher computer) and then I know of a friend who has 13 laptops in her room for students. We do not teach in the same district but we do teach in the same state. There are districts that provide technology tools for their students and faculty members to use. Not only do we have to look at the access our students have but we need to look at how “up-to-date” these pieces of technology are. Not all families at my school have $500 or more to spend on a computer for their house. They need that money to pay the bills or to put food on the table. Cost plays a major role in the digital divide of students. Some districts have the money to update their technology tools while others must cut their budgets because of state funding. Many teachers are using iPads in their classroom. This is the newest and greatest technology craze. To place one in a classroom would cost approximately $499. To afford this, many teachers are writing grants to underwrite the cost of purchasing these for their classrooms. There are many things teachers can use these for that would benefit the students even our lifeskill students. Many lifeskill students, whom are nonverbal, are using these to communicate with the people around them. A Kindle (wireless reading device) would be another piece of technology that could be incorporated in a classroom. For $139, a teacher could purchase a Kindle to use in their literacy centers. A teacher would be able to purchase children’s books for the Kindle. Some of these could be downloaded for free! Teachers always like “free” things!

Diversity is everywhere in our classroom and in our schools. As teachers in the 21st Century, we need to accept the differences within our classroom and use those differences to enhance our students’ knowledge. Our students learn to accept these differences when they see their teacher accept and embrace the diversity within the classroom. I cannot imagine teaching in a classroom where every student was the same. To me, that would be boring. I love the unique person that each of my students is. They each bring something special to my classroom and help make it an exciting and fun place to be.

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Jones, Dr. Stephen, Incorporating Cultural Diversity in the Classroom, Teachers of Color. Retrieved from http://www.teachersofcolor.com/2009/04/incorporating-cultural-diversity-in-the-classroom/  on June 3, 2011.

Where do I want to go with technology?

I would love to use technology more in my classroom. Right now, I use it daily for math (our lessons are created in SMART Notebook). I have created some Phonemic Awareness lessons in SMART Notebook, Kidspiration, and with CPS Clickers. My students are able to use the laptops during centers when it is not a testing month. I am very interested in writing grants or trying to find the funding for us to get iPads or other technology pieces my building does not currently have. I'm very excited to be taking this class about technology enhanced learning environments. I cannot wait to take what I learn from this class and apply it in my classroom in the fall.