Challenge: PowToon

What did you create and why?
I created a PowToon to use with my students on the first day of school.  I thought it would be a fun way to introduce myself to them.

What went well for you?
Everything went pretty well.  PowToons has a quick, easy tutorial to get you started, both in video format and in a clickable format.  It was nice that PowToons has some ready made PowToons that you can edit.

What was challenging?
The most difficult part for me was to stop messing around with it!  I could spend way too much time with this app!  The other thing I thought was difficult was how to save it somewhere I can find it. 

What did you enjoy?
I enjoyed creating a PowToon that is usable right away. I was also able to link it to my facebook account so my friends could watch it and offer suggestions.  I was also able to link it on my SWIFT page, so parents and students can watch it at home.

What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families?
I plan on using this on the first day of school.  I think it would be fun to use at Curriculum Night, too and to share it with other teachers at my grade level.  Maybe we could created one for our opening assembly!

Here is the link to my PowToon.
https://www.powtoon.com/g/bVtLgAvbcLm/1/

Challenge: Google Docs

What did you create and why?
I created a newsletter in google docs.  I am hoping to use this as a basis for my classroom newsletters for the year.  

What went well for you?
Everything went pretty well.  Making the newsletter was easy.

What was challenging?
The most difficult part for me was to figure out how to get the doc on my website and how to make it a usable link.

What did you enjoy?
I enjoyed creating a document that will be helpful for parents and students, and also for other teachers at my grade level. 

What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families?
I think this will be an easy way to keep parents informed about classroom news, events, homework, etc. I am also envisioning this to be used by other teachers on my grade level team.  Perhaps we could write one common newsletter together.  Students could even contribute to this.

Here is the link to my document (I hope!)
https://docs.google.com/a/edmonds.wednet.edu/document/d/1qQoqs7H_HnaXiyhS5eVV0bo3WY78DkIfapUDNw1BB0g/edit?usp=sharing

Challenge: SWIFT Classroom Website

What did you create and why?
I updated my SWIFT Classroom website.  I did this to make it more user friendly to parents and to students.

What went well for you?
Everything went pretty well.  The embedded help from SWIFT was really clear and easy to follow. For example, I wanted to rearrange the order of my pages, and it was way easier than I thought!

What was challenging?
The most difficult part for me was to get my google doc as a link in newsletters.  It wasn't a problem with SWIFT, but rather a google doc learning curve on my part.

What did you enjoy?
I enjoyed creating some new categories that will be helpful for parents and students.

What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families?
I think this will be an easy way to keep parents informed about classroom news, events, homework, etc. I also created a student discussion question, but I'm not quite sure how to incorporate that into my daily classroom routine yet.

Here is the link to my website
http://teacher.edmonds.wednet.edu/beverly/ccaesar

Google Docs

• What did you create, and why? 
• I created a weekly newsletter that will be shared with families. It will not only include information on what is happening in our classroom but will also include snippets from our specialists.
• What went well for you?
• I am familiar with google docs. This past school year, along with our school librarian and secretary, published a weekly all school newsletter so I was already familiar with how docs works.
• What was challenging?
• Nothing :)
• What did you enjoy? 
• I enjoyed making a template for a newsletter that I can use once I am back in the classroom. 
• What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families? 
• As I mentioned before, I helped publish the CWE Happenings (weekly all school message) at my kids school. Docs made it so easy for me to edit, the school secretary to add whatever she needed as well as any other staff member. It was a wonderful way to communicate with families and keep everyone informed on school events, dates, etc.

Room 18 Newsletter

Google Calendar

• What did you create, and why? 
• I created a classroom calendar that includes not only important classroom dates but also all school/district events.
• What went well for you? 
• I love google calendar and use it daily for personal events so this was a really easy transition to apply to a classroom setting.
• What was challenging? 
• Honestly, the most challenging part was just getting logged in! I am not currently teaching (subbing here and there) so remembering all my passwords was the most challenging!
• What did you enjoy? 
• As a parent of two ESD students, I feel that having as much information as far in advance as possible is essential to keeping families "in the know". There is nothing worse than finding out TONIGHT IS CURRICULUM NIGHT (and yes, that did happen to us one year)!

Classroom Calendar

Challenge: Google Drawing

Google Drawing

     Google Drawing can have the potential to add graphics to google docs and slides.  This opens up a potential in the math classroom, allowing students to draw their answers.  This was one of the pieces I found missing last year, the ability for my students to draw their responses.  

      I found that moving a picture from Draw to Docs is not a simple process.  It took a few extra steps getting the pictures into the document.  After using the EDIT

     I am looking forward to teaching the students how to integrate the Drawing app with Docs and Slides.  This will help personalize the student's communication.  

Google Docs

Google Docs

     I have been using Google Docs for a while, but I am just beginning to use them in my classroom.  As a Math teacher, I have had a tough time finding ways to integrate Google Docs into my everyday teaching.  This year, I want to change that.  I have begun integrating Google docs with other tools, like Google Drawing and graphing tools like Desmos, to allow students to more fully articulate their understanding within the google world.  

     I am currently thinking of using this type of activity once a week or so as a way to pull together the understanding from the recent lessons.  Everyday work will still need to be done paper and pencil - until math equations become more user friendly on line.  Although, the ability to upload pictures from phones or cameras will help bring both worlds together when necessary.