Notebooking, Teaching, and Technology

The other day I attended a training session and our group choose this video to watch (we had a list and this was the one that seemed the most interesting to us). I really got sucked into it primarily because of the science element (using conductors). The students used a device called a Makey Makey (which I hadn't heard of). Someone in our group had used them before and said they were really cool. I liked how they tied the use of them into learning about conductors and insulators AND coding (pretty ambitious). Here is a link to what Makey Makey's are and can do . Since I work with Title 1 schools I was able to secure funding for six of the Makey Makey's (they can be purchased on Amazon for $50 each ). I thought they would make a great grant idea for anyone looking for something new and different to do with students that ties in technology, engineering, and science (hence the share).

In 2009, when I was teaching fourth grade math and science, I applied for, and got, a scholarship to attend Space Camp in Alabama. I had a great time ( read my post in 2009 here ) and used a lot of resources in my classroom. I even planned a potluck space night for parents ( click here to read my post on a separate blog I kept up during my years as a classroom teacher) and got a grant for "build it yourself" telescopes. I love studying space and being able to go to Space Camp...for free...was a unbelievable PD opportunity. I made a video of all my pictures to share with folks who were in the program with me (click on the link above... or here  if you want to see what it was like). I'm writing a post about it because it is that time...time to apply for a scholarship! Each scholarship covers the following: tuition for the 5-day program at U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama; round trip airfare; meals and double occupancy accommodations; program materials; and...wai...

I recently had the opportunity to attend ISTE's (International Society of Technology Educators) national conference in Atlanta. One of the perks was chatting and meeting new people. I happened to meet the teacher pictured above while waiting for a session on how to create games/advanced actions in PowerPoint (great session by the way!). We bonded over her nails (hence her hand position in the picture - they were Jamberry Nails and a friend of mine started to selling them so they stood out :) While we were chatting she said that she wrote a grant to attend the conference (she was from Oklahoma). Apparently this grant (Fund for Teachers) paid for EVERYTHING...including her laptop, laptop bag, etc. She wrote everything she would need for the conference into the grant (I want to say the total grant she wrote was for $3,000). This was super impressive. She said in the grand scheme of things she thought small. Apparently a person wrote a grant to study programming using Scrat...

In one of my schools fourth graders are working with a local Audubon club to explore birds (as part of their Organisms and their Environment unit). This week they are working on dissecting owl pellets. I put together this short (6 minute) video about owl pellets for the children to watch prior to the activity so they would have some frame of reference going into it. Basically I found several YouTube videos and downloaded them. I put them together using Windows Movie Maker Live into one longer video for the kids. In conjunction with watching the video students will also work on a virtual owl pellet dissection on this site -  http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/flash/v4/index.htm . This will all take place the day before the actual owl pellet activity. I am curious to see how the video and virtual experience will compare to the actual owl pellet dissection (having never done it myself!). I'm going to ask students to compare the two and tell me if they felt that...

   Continuing on the topic of windmills I thought I would do a quick post of where you can buy a "fairly" inexpensive windmill kit. The kit featured here is from Pitsco Education  and has been used by Mrs. Parker's fourth grade class for several years (see bottom two pictures). She teaches in a STEM school so they have money, that alot of classroom teachers don't have, to puchase these kits. Last year I had the opportunity to help, as an extra pair of hands, in her classroom while the fourth graders put the kit together. I'm glad I had the opportunity. I normally don't do well with kits but Mrs. Parker and the kids made it look very doable. If I were to purchase these windmills I would probably buy the DVD that goes with it to help explain how the kit gets put together (an extra $25). I most likely would look for some kind of grant to offset the price. We have several in our district and I am hoping I am not too late to apply for th...

A friend showed this video in my graduate class the other day and I thought it was completely doable with a group of students as a project. The parts might have to be purchased through a grant though. I'm going to try and convince one of my fourth grade teachers to do this during her light, electricity and magnet unit. It actually fits our sixth grade standards the best but we can squeeze it into the fourth grade as well! I'll post pictures if we do it :)

First off let me start by apologizing for such a long absence from this blog. Budget cuts hit my department this year and instead of working between two school I now have four. I underestimated how much work it was going to be to get all four schools up and running at the start of the year and I final have room to breath! This is a cute seating idea that I ran across in one of my new schools. She uses balls instead of chairs. I liked the idea so much that I thought it would make a great grant request. There is a lot of research supporting the use of balls to sit on from strengthing your core to help establish balance (plus it helps get the wiggles out). The teacher has a lot of rules and goes over ball procedures at the start of the school year. Anyone breaking the procedures gets a chair for the rest of the day. She says that most children want to sit on the balls so rule breaking is minimal. Students who break or bust their ball must replace it (parents are told this as well)....

Composter as Advertised on BuyLifetime A grant that I wrote up a month ago was just approved (Yay!). The local grant committee surprised us today with a balloon and novelty check for $500. I will be working with two fourth grade science teachers integrating composting into the curriculum. The grant covered the cost of two tumbling composters ( see compost tumbler video here ) and child friendly composting books from Amazon for both classes. We will be composting pumpkins after Halloween and poinsettias after the holidays. These are two items that always find their way into the trash after the holidays. I felt both of them can be easily composted thus eliminating landfill waste. The students are excited about it and are already wondering if decomposing pumpkins make orange compost! I have never done this project before and I am hoping that we have useable compost in both bins by mid to late May. I want to write another grant that provides students with a pot and plant where they can use...

I was just recently awarded a grant through Donor Choose for science themed reading material for a classroom at our school. I was required to write a grant through a class I was taking as a final project (we didn't have to get it funded we just had to write and submit). Several of us in the class got our requests funded. Mine was flat out funded but a friend of mine got hers funded through a series of donations to the project (which is a great way to get parents involved by asking them to contribute a little bit to the materials you need). For those educators who have not heard of Donor Choose it is a site where teachers can put up grant requests for their classroom. The entire process is very easy. The site walks you through everything step-by-step. Some tips I would pass on are: 1. Put a picture up of you with your class (make sure photos are permissible of your students first). I think if donors can get a sense of who you are and your students you run a better chance of getting ...