Seven+Questions

** 1. Why did you choose this lesson? **
I run cool kids groups throughout the school year and the books, strategies, activities and topics covered in these lessons are some of my favorite.I had just finished presenting the Self-Esteem and Confidence lessons when we embarked on this project and thought it would be a wonderful lesson to start with.

** 2. Define new lesson plan design/goals of lesson. **
The goals are still the same, to teach students calming strategies and give them an understanding of what self-confidence and self-esteem are and what they "look like" in real life. My goal is to help my students come to understand that they are in charge of their thoughts, feelings and actions; they have choices. I also hope to help students "find their voice" with these lessons. I will still do this via extensive literacy connections but I will utilize new interactive Web tools and encourage more collaborative work. I will still use many of my "traditional" projects but am excited to infuse some new tools into the mix. Though I will be using new tools in class, this wiki is more of a communication tool with parents. They can view what we are covering in group and review it at home with their child. They will also be able to see their childs work on the site via slideshows. I hope parents will go on the wiki together and discuss the information. If it is exciting enough, I should be able to grab them!

** 3. Which tool or tools did you choose to incorporate into this lesson to potentially improve it? **
The tools I chose include YouTube videos, a book Poll and corresponding bar graph, Blabberize, ToonDoo's, Wordles and the little Fodey Wizard. My students have already made Wordles and LOVED them. They also loved voting on their favorite book and helping me build the graph and are excited to create the talking pictures via Blabberize. My second graders were very interested in the ToonDoo's I made and can't wait to work on those in small groups. I am still working on an iMovie for the book __Queen of the Scene__ and trying to annotate some pictures to use on the wiki.

** 4. Why did you choose these tools? **
I chose a few of them because they were easy for younger students to work on with my supervision. I also wanted to get the "Wow" factor going in my groups. Technology is not the main stream in the classroom, yet, and all these tools, even the "boring" ones aren't boring to my students who have never seen them! I got a kick out the Blabberize and can see the kids just having a ball all the while, incorporating what they learned in the lesson into the creation of a funny talking animal or person. I also want the parents to be able to view what we are doing in class so the slideshows are a fun way to show off their child's work.

** 5. What standards were you using to guide your decision on this: NETS? **
The standards I focused on were Creativity (1b,) Communication and Collaboration (2a), and Digital Citizenship (5a, 5b). Even the youngest students can enjoy creating on the Web tools available and the collaborative nature works well in my small groups. I also believe it is never to early to teach children about the power of technology as well as the responsibility that goes along with it. Lastly, I want children to embrace all that technology offers and have a healthy positive attitude toward it's use. They are "natives" so this will not be such a problem for them!


 * Please see Wiki Page on NETS and Common Core Standards

** 6. Do you feel this will improve your teaching: If so, why? **
I do feel this will improve my teaching because these tools are so exciting I am energized and look forward to sharing new tools. If I am excited by this, my students will be too. I still teach the same content, just use additional tools to spice it up.

** 7. Do you feel this will help improve student learning? If so, how and why? **
Yes, I do feel this will help student learning because they are trying something new and being exposed to some wonderfully interactive tools. I find students are drawn to technology and infusing my lessons with the use of these tools will be a great "hook". It's one more way to teach and reach kids with various learning styles - books and crafts are great but adding another dimension makes a difference to everyone.