Creating Posters for the Classroom

Creating Posters using Powerpoint

Description of tool:

I have used Powerpoint for presentations, but never for anything else until recently. I just learned how to use Powerpoint to create posters. You can create a poster of any size, and put anything you want on it. You just create a slide like you normally would in Powerpoint, but choose poster when you print it. You then put the poster together and you have a poster you made. It takes as much as you want it to. It all depends on how much you want to put into your slide. The poster will print out on anywhere from two pages to more depending on the size of the poster. Depending on the printer you choose, the poster can be in color or black-and-white. If you know how to use Powerpoint, you can learn how to print a poster.

Dr. Okland's Website

Pedagogical uses:

The uses for posters are endless. I just created three different posters for my classroom. I have multiplication strategies on one poster and division posters on another. The third poster, I created a checklist for students before they hand in their assignment. Anything you want your students to see can be put on a poster. Since the poster is created in Powerpoint, you can put pictures of any type onto the slide, so you can create posters for any subject you want. 

Students can be taught how to create a slide for any project you want them to complete. The students could then print out the posters and present them to their classmates. They wouldn't have to print them out, however, They could just share the slide if you would like to go paperless. Students could present any number of things from Science concepts to a book they just read. 

Division Vocabulary Poster 

Student assignment checklist poster 

Multiplication strategies poster

Cost of tool:

The only cost associated with the tool is having Microsoft Powerpoint on your computer and access to a printer if you want to print off the poster. I also had to have tape to tape together the posters. As you can see I have QR codes on my poster, so I would need access to a QR reader. The QR codes go to different websites where students can practice the strategies. 

Why you want to learn this tool:

I just found a new, cost efficient way to create posters. Any concept I want to show my students in a larger format I can. Creating posters using Powerpoint is easy and fun to do. Students can create their own posters and it doesn't take a long time to create. Also, you can add pictures and QR codes to the poster, which makes the poster interactive. Once students know how to create posters, the possibilities of what they can do with the knowledge is endless. 

As a teacher, you may see that your students need to see a better visual of a concept. You can put it on a poster using Powerpoint. You can then print it off and have it at a station or in a location for students to look at it. Posters can be colorful or black and white. Again, they are easy to make and can add information to your classroom. 

Sources:

ISTE Standards. (2015). Retrieved July 22, 2015, from http://www.iste.org/standards
Okland, S. (2015). PPT-tutorial-Posters-Windows.pdf. Retrieved July 27, 2015, from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-rOh7btx4EhZHBpMHc3QW5KVWs/view 

ISTE Standards:

Teacher:

1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
1. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
2. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
3. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
4. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environment
2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
1. Design or adapt learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
2. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
3. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
4. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments, aligned with content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
3. Model digital age work and learning
1. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations
2. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation
3. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats
4. Model and facilitate effective use of emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning
4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
1. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources
2. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources
3. N/A
4. N/A
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership
1. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning
2. Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others
3. Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning
4. Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community

Students:

1. Creativity and innovation
1. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes
2. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression
3. Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues
4. N/A
2. Communication and collaboration
1. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media
2. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats
3. N/A
4. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems
3. Research and information fluency
1. Plan strategies to guide inquiry
2. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media
3. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks
4. Process data and report results
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
1. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation
2. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project
3. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions
4. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions
5. Digital citizenship
1. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
2. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity
3. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning
4. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship
6. Technology operations and concepts
1. Understand and use technology systems
2. Select and use applications effectively and productively
3. Troubleshoot systems and applications
4. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies

QR Codes

QR Codes

Description of tool:

QR codes are similar to a bar code that you scan with a QR reader. You can access QR readers on your cell phone or tablets. You must have a QR reader in order to use QR codes. QR codes can be made with a QR generator. When you scan a QR code with a reader, the code takes you to a website you can access on your phone or tablet. QR codes make it possible to visit websites without having to type in the web address. The QR code takes you directly to the website. It makes it easier for students to visit websites. It saves them time and energy because they won't waste half the class trying to type in a website address. QR codes are really easy to make if you use a QR generator. I use goo.gl URL shortener. I used it as an extension on Google Chrome. All I have to do is click the shortener for the website page I am on. The goo.gl shortener gives me a shortened web address as well as a QR code. I just copy and paste the QR code into whatever document I want the students to use for the codes. 

Pedagogical uses:

12 Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom

49 Ways to Use QR Codes

I personally will use QR codes for my students to have a quick way to get to a website. My students will also be generating QR codes for reports and to share their sources. It will take a lot less time for my students to get started on a webquest if they can use Ipads to scan QR codes. Students will think its fun that they get to use Ipads to do worksheets! However, my students will scanning the QR code for the worksheet and then doing the work on a whiteboard. QR codes can allow you to go paperless in your classroom if so choose. 

My favorite thing about QR codes is how easy they are to scan and how it saves you time typing in a website. 

QR codes are accessible everywhere. There are businesses that have started to put QR codes on their products. Students could go on a QR scavenger hunt to see how many QR codes they can find in their everyday lives. 

Plus, QR codes are a fun way to implement technology into a classroom setting. There are a lot of resources on the internet with QR codes already generated. 

Goo.gl shortner with QR code generator

Location of the tool:

The QR code generator I used is an extension of Google Chrome. You can find the extension in the Chrome store at https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/apps?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon. If you look online, there are numerous websites that will create QR codes for you. You just have to find the right one that works for you. As for QR readers, you can find them in the app store. Again, you have to find the right QR reader that works for you. Some readers save where you have been, others do not.
https://www.the-qrcode-generator.com/
http://www.qr-code-generator.com/

Why you want to learn this tool:

QR codes are easy to generate and they will save your students time. Students can use an Ipad or phone to snap the QR code instead of taking the time to type in the website. QR codes are a great way for students to share information with you or each other. They do not take a long time to generate and they are fun to use. Plus, if you get the right QR reader, the reader will save the QR codes you have snapped so you don't have to write down websites you have visited. QR codes are a great way to incorporate technology into your classroom and a great way to use less paper in the classroom. 

Sources:

Barrett, T. (n.d.). 49 Interesting Ways to Use QR Codes to Support Learning. Retrieved July 27, 2015, from https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ujQ_jnrGc5BE9oEA47CBkpgwjLXjN6IlIjrDlXUJvFs/embed?slide=id.i0

ISTE Standards. (2015). Retrieved July 22, 2015, from http://www.iste.org/standards

Miller, A. (2011, December 5). Twelve Ideas for Teaching with QR Codes. Retrieved July 27, 2015.

ISTE Standards:

Teacher:

1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
1. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
2. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
3. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
4. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environment
2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
1. Design or adapt learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
2. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
3. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
4. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments, aligned with content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
3. Model digital age work and learning
1. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations
2. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation
3. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats
4. Model and facilitate effective use of emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning
4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
1. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources
2. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources
3. Promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interaction related to the use of technology and information
4. N/A
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership
1. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning
2. Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others
3. Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning
4. Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community

Students:

1. Creativity and innovation
1. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes
2. N/A
3. Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues
4. N/A
2. Communication and collaboration
1. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media
2. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats
3. N/A
4. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems
3. Research and information fluency
1. Plan strategies to guide inquiry
2. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media
3. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks
4. N/A
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
1. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation
2. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project
3. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions
4. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions
5. Digital citizenship
1. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
2. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity
3. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning
4. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship
6. Technology operations and concepts
1. Understand and use technology systems
2. Select and use applications effectively and productively
3. Troubleshoot systems and applications
4. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies

Non-Collaborative Learning

My students do non-collaborative learning all the time. My favorite way to do non-collaborative learning is through scavenger hunts and webquests. Below you will see a scavenger hunt where students learn about food webs and food chains. During the scavenger hunt, the students have a chance to get up and move. At the end, the students get to do my favorite brain break. The students have a sheet that goes along with the scavenger hunt. On the sheet, the students draw and answer questions related to the websites. You will see QR codes on the scavenger hunt. The students have access to IPads with a QR reader already installed. The students would use the ChromeBooks if the websites do not work on the IPads.



The video at the end of the presentation doesn't work. Here is the link for Mrs. Fox's FAVORITE brain break.


Pop See Koo. (2015, March 30). Retrieved July 8, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RqMflGzRjY

Collaborative Learning

Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning is a key part of instruction in a classroom. Google Apps make it easy for students of all ages to collaborate in a classroom. My students collaborate on projects using Google Slides or Google Docs. The students receive a topic and they must work with a partner to complete the project. 

Executive Branch Collaborative Presentation

This is an example of a collaborative project my students did using Google Slides. The students were assigned a partner. The two partners then had to research to find out information about this branch. The students presented the branch to their classmates when they were finished.

When I do this assignment again with the students, the students will cite their sources. I plan on teaching the students how to cite their resources successfully this year. 

This is another example of a collaborative project my students did. I taught the students about the planet and the students researched their own facts and added them to the presentation. The students then shared their facts with the class. The students enjoyed this project. They were excited to add pictures and their own facts to the class presentation.

Cloud Storage Devices

Cloud Storage Devices

Description of Tool:

GDrive also known as Google Drive is a storage device where users can access their files offline. Users can back up their documents in the random event that the user's computer crashes. If the user has the files in the Drive, the user can access the files from any computer. The user can also share the files to collaborate with others on their documents. Google Drive is associated with Google so the files in the GDrive are Google documents. However, a user can upload documents from other places and the documents will be saved in the Drive. The Drive is user friendly and it is easy to organize the Drive to fit the user's needs. 

Pedagogical Uses:

Both teachers and students can use this tool to share documents with each other. Teachers can share their lesson plans with administrators and other teachers. Students can share documents with their teachers without using paper. The teacher can see the student working on the document and make comments while the student is working. The student can access the document at home if the student doesn't finish in school. The student needs to have internet access or have downloaded Google Drive before the student can work on his/her document. Teachers can use Google Drive to share websites with students and have students interact on the page. If a teacher wants to incorporate more technology into the classroom and use less paper, Google Drive is the way to go. 

Example of Google Drive

Location of the tool:

Google Drive - If you are not signed in, you must sign in with your google account before viewing your drive.

Cost of tool:

Google Drive provides 15GB of free online storage when you sign up. If a person wants more, he or she can pay 1.99 a month for 100GB of storage or 9.99 a month for 1TB of storage. 

Why a teacher would want to use this tool:

Google Drive is a great way to store documents online for later use. The documents can be shared with students, administrators, and other teachers. The documents never go away, even if a computer crashes. A teacher can see students working on a document in real time on Google Drive and make comments on the document. Instead of teachers using file cabinets, Google Drive is an online, digital version. Google Drive is user friendly and easy for students to learn how to use. Once students get the hang of Google Drive, teachers can have students complete assignments online and hand in digitally to the teacher. The teacher can comment and grade the document without using paper. 

Sources:

drive.google.com

ISTE Standards. (2015). Retrieved June 30, 2015, from http://www.iste.org/standards

Okland, S. (n.d.). EDUC 675 Teaching with 21st Century Tools. Retrieved June 30, 2015, from https://bb.vcsu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_3_1&url=/webapps/blackboard/execute/launcher?type=Course&id=_10455_1&url=

ISTE Standards:

Teacher:

1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity

b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources

c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes

d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments

2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments

a. Design and adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity

b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress

c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources

3. Model digital age work and learning

b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation

c. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats

Student:

1. Creative and innovation

a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.

b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression

2. Communication and collaboration

a. Interact, collaborate, and  publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media

3. Research and information fluency

b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media

5. Digital citizenship

b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity

6. Technology operations and concepts

a. Understand use technology systems

b. Select and use applications effectively and productively