Mareena Kohtala
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What Do I Do With Educreations?

9/24/2014

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I previously posted about one of my favorite apps: Educreations. The app is so versatile and child-friendly. It is an app that allows students to create, rather than just consume. What I love most about it, is that it is applicable to a very broad range of grade levels and activities. Now that you've decided to download the free app, what can you do with it?
I am working in a new school and a new job this year, which allows me the opportunity to work in some age 3 preschool classes. I decide to give Educreations a go and let the students work with me during the second week of school. IPads with 3 year-olds their second week of school? You may consider me crazy. Take a look at the three different but related products we created!

Educreations allows students to type or use a finger to draw. You can record your voice and create presentations very quickly and easily!


The examples on the right are from a former colleague. I saw her post on Twitter and had to share her success!

We used the Educreations app to write about things we love. pic.twitter.com/4ZKpmnFWx6

— Jessica Hemmann (@MsHemmann) September 23, 2014

We worked with a first grade class on creating @educreations about plants/erosion! #scichat #5thchat pic.twitter.com/Kk4w9g13ca

— Ms.Kohtala's Classes (@KohtalaKrew) April 4, 2014
Older and younger students can work together to create products. Here we created videos about plants we found in our outdoor classroom.
To share the published videos, simply go tohttp://www.educreations.com and sign in. You can grab a link or an embed code for your video.

Other project ideas:
-narrate a story (write or type a story, create a story board, draw illustrations, and then record student voice telling the story!)
-explain math problems
-create diagrams and explain
-take photos of a given topic, and then record voice and writing to explain (shapes, colors, angles, etc.)
The possibilities really are endless with this app!

** I also will add that another very similar app exists - Explain Everything. There are a bit more features, but I find it less kid-friendly for our younger students.**


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Peer Feedback for Student Blogging

7/21/2014

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An important component of student blogging is allowing students the opportunity to comment and provide feedback for peers. This can seem intimidating at first. "What if they post inappropriate things?" "What if they are mean and criticize the other student's work?" or even "What if they just write 'good'?"

These are all valid concerns and reasons why using an established protocol is important. 

This protocol was shared as a way to provide feedback for my current online graduate courses. The Ladder of Feedback Protocol was developed by Daniel Wilson and Heidi Goodrich Andrade at Harvard Project Zero. It incorporates a way to provide critique and feedback in a constructive way. 
The protocol includes four different components: Clarify, Value, Offer concerns, and Suggest.

Clarify: In this portion the reader asks any questions about what may not have been clear or included. 
Value: Provide compliments on specific ideas or components.

Offer concern: Offer critique with phrases like "Have you considered..." or "What I wonder about it..."
Suggest: Give suggestions for the concerns you've identified(Download the full document here http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic86452.files/LoF_detailed.doc)

In creating a student project, I was searching for a document that presented this information in a kid-friendly language. I thought I would give it a search, before creating my own from scratch. 

I found this great post that included a link to a TpT document that was FREE to download! 
Added bonus: This particular teacher has been teaching over seas for a few years! Another great PLN connection!

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Gummy Worm Group Task

6/10/2014

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I love to begin the school year with activities that allow students to work together. I want to establish two important expectations for my classroom:
1. Group Work: Students will be expected to work in collaborative groups, respecting each other and considering other view points
2. Problem Solving: Students will be expected to solve problems and create solutions without following a set of procedures

This is not an easy task, especially with younger students or students not having as much experience with a collaborative classroom environment. I feel that it is essential to establish the culture of the classroom from the very beginning. This includes fun! Students should enjoy learning, and I want them to strive to learn more each day. 

So how do I attempt to built this environment in a fun way? Activities which require students to think, work together, and problem solve for solutions.

TASK: GUMMY WORMS AND LIFESAVERS


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    Based in Doha currently, I am a technology-advocating learning junkie. 


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