Aurasmas

Here it comes!!!
While I'm still excited about QR codes and the numerous possibilities and educational applications that they offer, I felt a bit like a dinosaur when I discovered Aurasmas today.  What better way is there to make the physical world come to life if not with music, video and 3D images!  The surrounding world and images become alive and the reality is augmented with a touch of a button.  That is what Aurasmas have to offer and I plan on exploring them in the near future.  In the meanwhile, here are a couple of links that explain what an Aurasma is and how to create one.  And, of course, there is an app for that!

Aurasma links:
http://www.aurasma.com
Demo video

Stay tuned for more!

Using QR codes - Explained!

I absolutely love the "Explain Everything" app!  It is well worth the $2.99 I paid for it.  It is great to have an option of saving the files/videos created with this app but what I like the most is the option of saving the work created in "Explain Everything" as movie files.  This opens up a number of possibilities and lends itself very well to flipped and blended learning models.  The short instructional video above was created with "Explain Everything", next step is to introduce students to this app.

Useful Livebinders

Web 2.0 Tools are great for communication, collaboration and interaction.  This Livebinder contains my favourite web2.0 tools.  I have used most of them successfully in an elementary classroom.  Many of the tools can be used with students in Kindergarten and grade one and do not require individual accounts and email addresses.

Web 2.0 Tools for the Classroom

Last year, I started using livebinders to support students with research projects.  I embed them into student wikis, kidblogs and Moodles.  This binder provides links to resources that support aboriginal studies and can be used with elementary students (grade 3 - 5 and possibly older):

Grade 3 Social Studies

This livebinder is used by grade 5 students and supports the Ontario Science Curriculum:

Grade 5 Science – Human Body

Reading with QR Codes

     Ever since I noticed the little black squares with irregular patterns all over the place and learned that they contain coded information that can be read with iPads and phones, I've been thinking of how to use them in the library.  Today, I started working on a project that will allow me to invite students to experience the joy of reading in a different way!  

     In my new reading corner, students will be invited to use iPads to read magazines and to use QR codes to listen to books read by various authors online.  I started by compiling a list of youtube videos of books read aloud by some of my favourite authors.  Once I had a few videos, I used Quietube to get rid of the advertisements and unnecessary content found on youtube.  

     My goal is for students to use this new reading corner independently, therefore,  I used "Explain Everything" app to create a set of instructions for using QR codes.  

     In the future, I hope to invite teachers to participate in this project by recording podcasts of their favourite books.  I will then turn the podcasts into QR codes and tape the codes into the books.

Using notebook computers for research

Students in grade 3 have started researching urban and rural communities. Today, they played interactive games selected from the Ontario Educational Resource Bank and watched videos on Learn 360. Once they gather enough knowledge about communities, thy will take a closer look at pictures of our local community and identify some problems that the members of our community have to face. They will then propose possible solutions to these problems and create an action plan that they will present on an iPad.

Graphic Novels in Our Library

Check out the graphic novel area.  It a got a "face lift" and I hope the new system will help students keep the books organized.  I felt it was important to create a section with graphic novels for younger students to make graphic novels more accessible to them and to help them select good quality novels.

Book Room

With help from many wonderful volunteers, the book room has been reorganized and re-freshed.  Sets of books have been placed in plastic bags, barcoded and clearly labeled.  The book bags are stored in magazine file boxes and each box is labeled with a list of contents.

A big thank you to all amazing volunteers!!!

Netbooks have arrived on Halloween!

Learning Goals:
- log in to wireless network,
- visit the library moodle to post a fact about the human body on a class wallwisher,

Human Organ System Research

Students are using OERB resources and the SMART board to learn about the human organ system.

Open Book Exchange

Grade 5 Research

Students are using a variety of print and electronic resources to gather information about the human organ systems. They are accessing online encyclopedias, OERB resources, videos and print resources.