Techie Tools Professional Development

I am privileged to be part of a group of technology leaders in my district called Pinnacle.  One of the requirements was to begin this blog.  I had never blogged prior to this year, and I honestly didn't see a reason to blog.  Boy was I wrong!!!!  I have learned so much from all of ya'll and I know that this is because of reading what you are doing in your own classrooms.  I would have missed out on so many new ideas that my kids have loved if I hadn't joined the blogging world.

Another requirement for Pinnacle is to lead professional development at my school.  This freaked me out!!!  I can talk all day in front of kids, but adults are another thing.  This has been the year of trainings at my school, so I decided to offer several different sessions on how to incorporate technology into the classroom.  Teachers were allowed to chose which sessions they wanted to attend and opt out of those they were already familiar with.  Overall the sessions went well and I didn't get tongue tied too often!

The first session I did was Blogger and Kidblog.  I LOVE my blog and all the wonderful bloggers I have met through the blog world and I wanted to share that with teachers at my school.  Have you ever used Kidblog?  I love it!  In the past, I have always started it with good intentions, and then let it fall to the side.  This year I have used it more consistently and in a variety of content areas.  If your interested in setting up your own Kidblog, here is the handout I used.

I also did sessions on Photostory and Audacity.  My kids love using these programs with digital storytelling.  Having iPods to use in my classroom, we use Audacity to create podcasts to share what we have learned about various topics.  Love doing this instead of a test!

My favorite session was the last one on using Voki.  What I love about Voki is the fact that it can be used with any age and it is EASY!  I showed my kiddos how to make their avatar once and they were off making their own.  Several kids even asked for the website so they could make them at home!

 
We were studying Presidents in our Government unit so I loved using Abe!

Last week we finished up our non-fiction reading workshop unit and my kiddos each created a Voki showcasing what they learned about.  It was a great way to celebrate the end of the unit.  Pick up my handout here 

If you haven't used these tools, check them out!  They are a great way to spice up lessons especially at this time of the year!