Using Pinterest in the Classroom

Hello all!


There are many ways to liven up your classroom. Some things that could need changing are the decor, teaching methods, or lesson plans. One specific way to update these things is to use Pinterest. This app is very popular. I have been a user for about four years now.


Nowadays, there are so many ways to use this app for teaching. I have a board dedicated to my future classroom. That includes seating arrangements, decorations, themes, and many more ways to make my room more welcoming to students. There are also many pinners out there who have collections of pins for lesson plans which are fun to use. I have also found many get-to-know-you activities for the first few days of class.


This week, I have used Pinterest to jump-start an idea for a Project Based Learning (PBL) lesson for my future students. This project uses some technology to help students better understand a story of their choosing. But the whole idea originated using Pinterest.


Lately I have noticed more and more infographics appearing on the popular page of Pinterest. Infographics are basically just fancy graphic organizers like what anyone can create in Microsoft Word. However, this format uses more colors and pictures than a standard graphic organizer. They are unique ways to convey information and / data. So I thought that it would make a great PBL lesson for my students.


For this project, I did it myself to see just how hard it was to complete. The hardest part was finding a website that would allow me to make an infographic for free. Even though I did find a website, my alternate resources could have been Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or Adobe Photoshop. But, Docs and Word really would not have been the best choices because they would probably come out too plain. (Also I tend to have a hard time aligning pictures freely in Word). Long story short, I did find a website, http://easel.ly/, and it works great for a free infographic maker.


Now, I did not make an account for this site because I did all of the work in one sitting and had no reason to save my progress while working on it. So here are the steps I used to complete my Literary Infographic Project.



Step 1: Choose a story that you want to base your infographic on. For this project I would allow students to pick between using themes, characters, or plots. I chose to do my example over Hermione Granger from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.



Step 2: Go to http://easel.ly/

Step 3: Pick a template or click "start fresh". I found that clicking "start fresh" works better because you don't have to waste time by deleting the text off of the templates.

Step 4: Choose a background, insert shapes, add text, add pictures, and fill out whatever information that you want on your infographic. This website is really easy to use.

Step 5: Go to the download tab and click PDF. From here, you can choose to print and / or save your infographic.

And here is my lovely finished project.

This project is fairly simple and uses technology. Making an infographic can be as complex as you want it to be. It is a really great way for students to express their creativity while learning about a literary text.


I have attached a link to the actual assignment template that I would use in my classroom for this PBL lesson below.



https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SxDT1QZX0ZamNvrCRvJIXW3WiW65HhN9Z-Aq14E5m-8/edit?usp=sharing



Until next time,

-Kaitlynn

The Use of Web 2.0 Tools

Hi again! As a future teacher, I often think about my future classroom, lesson plans, and projects for my students. Educators are constantly finding new ways to help children learn by integrating technology. To do this, teachers often instruct using Web 2.0 technologies. So, I thought that I would give them a try by researching them, and posting my favorites here!


1. Find How - http://www.findhow.com/

Here users can search information on almost any topic. Users just type in what they want to learn about, or pick from a subject area. This website also delivers safe content. Students in my class could use this website to learn how to become better writers. They could also use it to learn how to do other things in the classroom.


2. Vyew - http://vyew.com/s/

With Vyew, users can create online discussion forums. Users can also post documents, and have online interactions. Vyew allows people to view posts in real-time, but people can also go back later to review them. I could hold online class discussions with Vyew. Students could also use Vyew to work on group projects, and then upload their presentations for the class to see.


3. Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/

This tool is essentially the strictly audio version of YouTube. Users can create and share their audio files. This sharing process can be done privately, or shared onto blogs. Also, like the other tools mentioned so far, there is an app for it! As a teacher, I could upload lectures and post them to my website. As a project, students could upload an oral presentation, and then share it with the class.


4. My Story Maker - http://www.carnegielibrary.org/kids/storymaker/

My Story Maker is a way to tell a story using pre-drawn characters and objects. Users can create a personal story and are able to view their story as a video when finished. This tool also gives users codes for their stories, so users can always go back to stories they have created. Students in my class could recreate a literature piece that we have covered, and put it into their own words. They could also use this tool to tell a brand new story of their own. Although the format this tool uses is a bit childish, it is entertaining nonetheless!


5. EQuizzer - http://www.equizzer.com/

This is a Web 2.0 tool that allows teachers to make quizzes online. Students then take these quizzes online, and they are turned into the teacher. Teachers can also monitor the scores of their classes. As a teacher, I could create any quiz and send them out to the students for them to take one quickly. My students could also create their own quizzes, and from their questions I could select questions to go on their tests.


6. Quizlet - https://quizlet.com/

Quizlet is an online way to share flashcards. Users can study in groups using the flashcards, tests, and study games. This tool is also available as an app. I could create my own study guides from here to send out to my students before their tests. My students could also get in groups to create their own flashcards and share them among one another.


7. Survey Monkey - https://www.surveymonkey.com/

Survey Monkey is a way to send out polls to groups of people. They have several templates to choose from. Users can also complete these polls to measure satisfaction, or give insight to those who send the polls. I could send a poll to my students to survey the amount of bullying that they have observed in the school. Students could also provide their feedback to how well they believed that the I covered the lesson.


8. Braingle - http://www.braingle.com/

Braingle is an online tool that provides riddles and trivia questions. They have a wide variety of brain teasers to choose from. Users can also submit their own riddles when they sign up for an account. As a teacher, I could use this site to find daily riddles to use in my classroom. Students could solve these brain teasers for a few bonus points, or just for fun.


9. Go Animate 4 Schools - https://goanimate4schools.com/public_index

This is a safe way for schools to create animated videos, and keep them in the schools. Users can only access the video content of their school / class. With this tool, teachers can sort the students into their classrooms, so that each class can use the tool separately. For my class, students could create a video for any sort of presentation or project. I could also illustrate pieces of literature that we are covering, so that students can visualize it better.


10. Prezi - https://prezi.com/

Prezi is a Web 2.0 tool that allows users to easily create power points. They have many templates to choose from, and then users can just add the information that they want. Because it is an online tool, users can access it from anywhere at anytime. As a teacher I could create my own presentations to lecture with, and not have to keep up with a flash drive. Students could also make their own professional-looking presentations for group projects.


I hope that by reading this post that you have discovered some new tools to use! Also, what are some of your favorite Web 2.0 tools that you use?

Social Networking

Okay guys. Let's get serious for a moment. I recently read two articles pertaining to a widely debated topic. I know what you're thinking "Is this dress blue / black or white / gold?" (Totally blue / black by the way). Is that even still a thing that people are talking about? I doubt it. Unfortunately, that's not what we will be discussing today.


Anyway. Like I said, I just read two articles not about a confusing dress, but about social networking. One article from www.theguardian.com was basically about how social media is affecting teens. The second article from www.inc.com said that research has shown that the use of social media is making people stupid, thus its title.


Thompson writes in his article that social media is making teens antisocial and that they are unable to connect with people in "real life". However, Thompson also includes that some social networking is beneficial. But the article claims that research has also shown that these kids do interact with others their own age. Ultimately, Thompson states in the article that parents should allow the social networking in moderation, and set a good example for their kids with their own cell phone use.


In the second article, Stillman argues that social media does, in fact, make people stupid. "It could be making you dumber by supplying answers and insights without requiring any actual thinking, so that your analytic powers begin to waste away like an unused muscle" (Stillman). She makes the strong point that the brain is a muscle and, like all muscles, if you don't use it you lose it. The Internet can give you the answer to almost any question, so with the world at our fingertips, there is a serious lack of critical thinking.


Personally, I believe that both of these articles make very valid and mostly true points. Many teens may spend too much time on their phones and on all of the social media websites, but they really should do so in moderation. Also, I completely agree that although it is so much easier to get all of our answers from the Internet, we should really strive to rely on our own thinking and exercise our brains.


Here are the articles that are discussed in this post:

http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/social-media-is-making-you-stupid.html

Stillman, Jessica. "Social Media Is Making You Stupid." www.inc.com. N.p., 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.



http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/oct/05/teens-social-networking-good-for-them

Thompson, Clive. "Teenagers and Social Networking – It Might Actually Be Good for Them." www.theguardian.com. N.p., 5 Oct. 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.

Welcome to My Blog

Hello there! My name is Kaitlynn, and this is my blog. I was born and raised in a small town in Arkansas, and now I attend college at an even smaller town in Arkansas. I am an English major, and I plan to teach at the high school level. Although no one in my immediate family is a teacher, several of my other relatives are or have been teachers. Unlike many of my peers, this is not the underlying reason that I strive to teach. I have wanted a career in teaching for a while now because when I was in high school, several of my teachers were ineffective and simply did not seem to care about us. I hope to be more than just a lecturer in my classroom, and earn both the respect and trust of my students.


I like to think that I have several hobbies, but I am always seeking more. Sipping tea and / or coffee and crocheting are among my interests. I love animals, but I am partial to my three dogs and five cats. Don't tell me that yours are cuter than mine because I will be forced to prove that you're wrong. I'm kidding. I will agree with you that yours are cute and gush over your pets, too. But mine will always be the best in my eyes. More of their perfect pictures will make it onto this blog soon I'm sure. Aside from my pets, I enjoy reading. Because my future holds a career in English, I am attempting to read some of the "classics", but it's not as easy as it looks. My newest interest is playing tennis. Unfortunately, I'm no where close to being considered talented when it comes to sports.


My goal for this blog is to connect with people like myself, or to others who are just interested in what I have to say. Blogging seems to be a cathartic way to compare ideas, and I can't wait to see where it takes me!