Sivers' Stories

I really enjoyed playing around with google drawings! First I explored auto draw. This was life changing! I do not consider myself an artist by any means but I am not horrible either. This made my life so much easier! When I model during writer's workshop not only do I model writing but I model quick sketches as well. This will help my pictures be a little bit more clear. Also, some of my students spend so much time, sometimes too much time, on their pictures and do not focus on their writing. I can see myself having some of my first grade friends using this to speed up the process a bit.  Below is my picture of a sad ice cream cone and the auto draw version.  I then explored using the template. I built a snowman. I LOVED THIS! I can totally see my student doing this. I especially loved the writing aspect that was attached to this. Many of my friends struggle with writing and this would be a great way to introduce our "how-to" writing unit. I am excited to try this

I chose to explore PowToon. I was first introduced to PowToon when the learning coaches in my district created one to share with us their purpose within the district as well as how to contact them. I thought it was super cool! I loved that it was an animation of sorts as well as a way to provide information. I also thought that my students would love to see something like this. Again, it would provide them with information but also would keep them engaged. I made a PowToon a few years ago to share with my students an example of a project that they were going to do about animal research. I was able to model for them in an interactive way. Now, looking back I too can have them create a PowToon for a portion of their project. The project entails them picking an animal and researching 4 aspects of the animal; diet, characteristics, habitat and interesting facts. The research is recorded on index cards. Students then take the index cards and create an animal flip book. Just like I did in m

Instagram...I have one but I don't post much! I more so use it to see what other people are doing. I decided to delve deeper into my instagram account and see what I could do! The first feature that I chose to explore was filters. I had no idea there was so much to this! I usually just take a picture and move on but this provides a whole new way to look at photos. My favorite filter was "willow", it made my picture black and white.  I always have seen the ability to post to multiple social networks, like facebook, but never have tried to do so. I didn't see the point, but this time I tried it out. It was fairly easy and just required to me to click a button and then it showed up on my facebook as well.  I also explored the use of insta-stories. Insta-stories are something I enjoy watching but have never done one myself. It was super easy and fun! A feature that I use on twitter that I need to start using on instagram is tagging people and hash-tagging. Using a h

I myself had to brush up on my digital citizenship so it was nice getting to explore some resources. I particularly  enjoyed diving into all the children's books involving digital citizenship. Being that I teach 1st grade, it is somewhat difficult to discuss the idea of digital citizenship and its importance. I was pleasantly surprised to see all of the books that could help me explain what digital citizenship is and how we can be good digital citizens. Some books I especially loved were Good Night iPad  by Ann Droyd and Bad Kitty Does Night Like Video Games  by Nick Bruel. I even ordered them! I haven't provided any direct instruction regarding digital citizenship (yet...waiting for my books) however, we have had discussions about the internet and search engines. We do an animal research project towards the end of the year so at that time we discuss databases and how we find good, valuable information (in 1st grade language). I think this time would be a valuable time to

I love Bitmojis! I have one of myself in a Positivity Project t-shirt as you enter my classroom.  I think Bitmojis are very easy to use and I find it to be very user friendly.  I can see myself using these in multiple ways. My immediate thought is using them in the hallway to display student work. At the beginning of the year I have students make pictures of themselves to be displayed in the hallway all year. Underneath their picture is where all their work is displayed for the year so everyone knows who's work is who's. Instead of students making pictures of themselves they could make bitmojis of themselves for me to print and those can be up instead. My students would LOVE to make their own bitmoji. I also could use them throughout my classroom to label things for students like mailboxes, book boxes and popsicle sticks used to call on students.  I can also see my students using their bitmojis as a means of presentation of some sorts. I haven't dabbled with it, b

Google slides is the presentation tool that I chose to explore. As I have mentioned before my district is a G Suite user so google slides is the likely choice for me. I have used google slides previously but took this opportunity to try out new things! I would use google slide in my classroom for a variety of things. First and foremost, it is a great way to share information with students in an engaging way. Much like power point, information can be organized in a way that is not ascetically pleasing to the eye but organized and precise. It also allows for pictures to be included as well as links to videos. I also like to use google slides to present to other staff members or parents. I enjoy having the ability to have multiple people have access to something. Especially when working on a team, it is essential. We all add what we need to and can all be in it at the same time. Being that I teach 1st grade I find myself hesitant to try and embark using google slides with my students.