Get the Buzz on Blogging!

Well...looks like I'm back in school! I truly enjoyed my little break and actually made an effort to have some "me time" that I documented on my Instagram! So...I fully planned on getting started on my assignments mid-week, but then I was hit with my annual sinus infection/strep throat combo! I even missed a day from work, which never happens! I was laid up for the last part of the week and am just now beginning to feel like my throat might not catch on fire and my head probably will not explode!

So this week, while I was laying in bed, I researched a ton of awesome educational blogs! I have previously found most blogs through Pinterest, but searching topics in feedly was really quite simple! I could really get lost looking at all the teacher resources, ideas and tips...it could be a full time job just taking it all in! I loved that most of the blogs I checked out allowed you to specifically choose your grade level or area of expertise. I think my favorite one was Teaching Blog Addict! Not only were there links to hundreds of related blogs but there were also teacher freebies (which I adore!) and pin boards organized by themes!

In the past, I have subscribed to the few blogs I follow through my email. Each day when there's an update, I get an email. That was the "old-fashioned-ME", but the new "techie-ME" will be using feedly as a way to organize and get updates for my blogs! It was really simple to search and add the blogs I wanted. I loved that I could organize them into categories as well. For now, they are all under "educational", but as I add more, I will be more specific with my categories. Who knew this even existed? Probably everyone...except me! Ha!
Check out this quick tutorial on how to set up and use feedly!

Hope you learned something new about blogging like I did this week. It's such a great way to share ideas and acquire professional development right at your fingertips! Have a great week!

Happy Blogging-

Sarah

Wrapping It Up!

I feel like all I have done this week is wrap things up! I met with parents for conferences to wrap up the 9 weeks; I am wrapping up my online technology class; I wrapped up the first quarter of the school year with my students; Fall sports are wrapping up for my kids...I even wrapped up a gift for my mom's 70th birthday! It's pretty exciting when things come to an end, because it means that we can look back on our accomplishments and forward to the future.

The final assignment for my Master's class was creating my own website on Google Sites. To be honest, I really thought this was going to be way over my head. But just like all the other assignments, I jumped in and gave it a whirl!  I began by viewing YouTube videos to help me know just what to do. Check this tutorial out to learn how to build your own website!

The expert I watched suggested using a template that was already created for a classroom site. So I thought, wow...this is going to be easier than I thought! I began by creating a site and choosing a template. As soon as I started editing, I became frustrated by all the formatting and was unable to edit some parts of the template. After about an hour and a half of messing with it, I deleted it and started over. I DO NOT recommend using a template, but maybe you'll try it and have better luck than I did! So on my second try, I simply added the pages myself. After looking at some examples and studying the rubric, I had a pretty good idea of what I would include on my classroom website. I began adding information, linking websites, embedding videos and inserting pictures. I was pretty proud of my final product when I wrapped things up! Check out Mrs. Birchfield's Classroom 5th Grade webpage!

What I have truly enjoyed about this class is that it has pushed me out of my comfort zone and reminded me that I can do ANYTHING I put my mind to! As a mom and a teacher, it is my responsibility to model this kind of perseverance if I expect my kids to do the same. I also know that I will use many of the Google tools I have learned in my everyday practice. When new technology is presented to me, I won't be intimidated anymore! 

Thanks for visiting my blog each week. I hope you have learned and been able to use many of the cool tools that I have presented.

That's a wrap!

-Sarah

Knock, Knock...Opportunities to Learn!

The above picture was taken today after my daughter's team took second place at a local soccer tournament! They were pretty discouraged by this championship loss because they took second in their last tournament in August. Although I understand the disappointment of losing, I encouraged her that it's a great opportunity to learn! The above picture also depicts what I do about 75% of my life on the weekdays and weekends! It's amazing when I think about all the time I have spent at the soccer field watching my kids play....and there is still so much I just don't know about soccer!! Learning new things can be daunting, but it is also exciting to think that we will never know E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G! There will always be a better play on the soccer field, a newer idea in the classroom and a more efficient way to use technology. So what do we do when we get discouraged?....We just keep going. Some new learning I did this week was creating a playlist in YouTube and making a picture collage in Picasa. I love finding ways to enhance my teaching, but I especially love learning new opportunities to share with my class!

YouTube and YouTube EDU

YouTube has been around a while, I mean, even I have used it at home and in the classroom!  But seriously, YouTube is a great resource for videos to share with your students, as well as a teaching tool with helpful tutorials.  If not for the tutorials on YouTube, I'm not entirely sure I would still be sitting here typing this blog!  Now one thing I didn't know existed was YouTube EDU. It is a feature of YouTube that allows you to find educational videos with content for any age. You can search within your grade level and subject area to get more specific videos for your use. Another thing I discovered while navigating new features of YouTube was TubeSnack Playlist.  This awesome feature allows you to edit videos and cut out parts that you don't want. You can also merge multiple videos together making them into ONE video to share!  In my classroom, we just finished a unit on Order of Operations and I created this playlist to review the concept throughout the year! It will also come in handy during math intervention for those who need more practice! 

Picasa

Now for a person who loves to take pictures, I am always interested in more ways to store and display them!  Picasa is a tool in Google that files your pictures on your computer into folders and then allows you to select pictures to create a collage! You can select your background color, sizing, spacing and even the order of your pictures!  I think kids would have a lot of fun telling their personal stories with this cool tool!  They could use it to tell about Christmas break or as a wrap up for the end of the year. It would be a great addition to a writing piece or presentation, too!  Picasa is free and very user friendly! Check out the collage I created with some pictures from our Kindergarten Buddy day. We helped our buddies count and add their steps on a beautiful Fall day!

Now, to combine both tools above...a very useful YouTube video on Picasa!

YouTube+Picasa=N.L.O. (New Learning Opportunity)!

Love of learning (in my opinion) is one of the most essential understandings we can model for our students! It's important in school, in sports and in life that we are willing to learn new things, try new things, practice new things and fail at new things in order to succeed!  I hope you enjoy this week's cool tools and find use in your own classrooms!

Happy Learning!

-Sarah

Go With The Flow...And You Will Grow!

Okay....so the most common question I am asked by my non-teaching friends/family is "how can you work with kids EVERY DAY?" Well, my answer is simple, variety. I love that every day is different and that I can always expect the unexpected. So, with that said....smoke, fire trucks, a building evacuation and the rest of the day off campus with 485 kids in one room, is NOT my idea of "variety"! It ended up not being a fire, but an air conditioner motor problem that caused some smoke and loss of electricity. It was an exciting day, to say the least, and by the time we were able to head back to the school, I was EXHAUSTED!  Not end of the day tired...but, ears ringing, feet hurting, back aching, crawl in bed without taking off my makeup, EXHAUSTED! I said I liked variety and that's exactly what I got!  In this business of teaching kids, we have to be ready to adapt and go with the flow! And speaking of variety and going with the flow, I learned some awesome new technology this week. And I didn't even cry! Not. One. Tear.

GOOGLE EARTH                                        

Google Earth is like the coolest virtual map I have ever seen. I have watched my husband play around with it before when we were planning our vacation last spring, but I have never gotten my own hands on it, until now. I can totally imagine lots of ways it can be used in the classroom. For one thing, maps seem to be outdated as soon as they are printed these days, so the ones in our social studies books (copyright 2000) are not the best reference tools. Not only is Google Earth current, but there are so many amazing things you can do with it besides mapping. It allows you to navigate and search specific places. It even gives you place marks to click on for more information or even directions on how to get there. There's a really cool feature called historical imagery on the tool bar that takes you back in time to see what the area looked like in the past! The tour guide at the bottom is ready to go with places already navigated for you that are in the area you have searched.  It takes a little playing with, but it's so much fun!  

This is what the page looks like!
Left: search box, places history, layers of what is visible
Bottom: tour guide
Right: pan, tilt, zoom the screen
Top: tools like the historical imagery, adjusting time of day

With Google Earth you can also explore the oceans and outer space. Check out this underwater tour given by marine biologist, Sylvia Earle. AAAAAMAZING!!! Kids will so dig this!

GOOGLE TOUR BUILDER

So with as impressed as I was with Google Earth, Google Tour Builder took it to the next level!  If there was a battle between them, Tour Builder would definitely win. You can create your own virtual tour, people!  I had so much fun with the one I made (which I fully plan on using) with a unit on monuments and memorials.  You can select any theme you want, choose the locations to visit, upload pictures and videos and describe the tour too. The possibilities are endless...another idea would be for kids to create their own tour to tell the story of a historical figure by following their timeline. We always do a presentation for Black History Month in February and this would be the coolest way ever for students to display what they learn! Plus, I wouldn't have to teach for like a week with all the great presentations! HA! Just kidding...maybe!:) But seriously, my students are gonna LOVE this!

I hope you are able to find as many useful ways to incorporate Google Earth and Google Tour Builder as I did. Just jump in and start playing with it, go with the flow and you will grow...your mind!  

Happy Travels!

-Sarah

Just Breathe...And Take A Technology Tour With ME!

This week was much more manageable with kids, school and class for some reason. I felt like I could finally take a deep breath and relax a little. I'm not sure if I should attribute this to my husband recovering after two weeks with an upper respiratory infection, my teacher calling me a "Google Ninja" (ha!) or just settling into a routine and getting into the swing of things. Probably a combination of all of the above is helping me find my inner peace (or inner peas)! I really wanted to get all of my work done early this week to free up my birthday weekend! So I hopped right in and started researching new Google tools right away!

Cool Tool #1: Google Cultural Institute and World Wonders Project
One site that I never knew existed until now is called Google Cultural Institute. Check this video tutorial out!

Have you ever heard of such a thing? When you get into the site, you are able to take a virtual tour of historical events, exhibits and even view authentic photos and videos connected to the content.  You do need to spend some time exploring the event to select what you want to share with your class. One of the exhibits I came across was the Anne Frank archive.  I was able to view rooms in her house, video clips, pictures of her and real pages from her diary!  I spent a lot of time navigating this cool tool and couldn't help thinking of how great it would be for my friend Shelby, who is a high school history teacher. The possibilities are endless for her with older students and the higher level content! But I think there is a use with my elementary kiddos too! The archives might be a little over our heads, but the World Wonders Project would be great!  This is a tool that allows you to visit places such as, Yellowstone National Park or the Great Barrier Reef, and feel as if you are really there!  This could replace the old map hanging in my room from the 1970's with a birds eye view of the actual location! There's also a map along with a street view that uses 3D modeling to make the experience very realistic! 

Check out this view of the Great Barrier Reef!

Cool Tool #2: Google Calendar
It's funny because this week I was trying to schedule upcoming parent teacher conferences and found a tool that could actually help me with this daunting task! My usual "old school" way is to print an open schedule with 20 minute time slots on the three conference dates, send it home for parents to choose a day/time, and then make contact again for a reminder. Such a hassle!!! SOOOOO...as I was researching the many great features of Google Calendar, I learned about a cool feature called "appointment slots".  This would be a much more efficient way for parents to sign up for conferences using a shared calendar! Plus there are reminders built in to Google Calendar, so bye-bye "old school" paper way! 

Steps to setting up appointment slots:
1. click on the calendar grid
2. set up appointment slots
3. fill in information on dates and times available
4. click "create slots"
5. share link with parents so they can sign up for conference times

This is good for me AND the environment! #savesometrees 

Cool Tool #3: Google Story
Now, I seriously saved the best and most exciting tool for last!  Google stories is happening in my class ASAP!  I was so excited about it, I showed my teaching team the very next day after I learned it!  If you want to check out my story, click here!  My students will be writing their own stories in the next couple of weeks to share with their parents at conferences. I thought they could write their life stories or even about their year so far in 5th grade.  It would be awesome for them to include their goals and hopes for the year!  Go to Google Story to get step by step directions... but it really is pretty simple! Hey...I finished in one hour....not lyin'!

Well folks, I think that's about all for this weeks' cool tips! Hope you can find some great ways to use them in YOUR classroom!

Happy Touring!
-Sarah

Wedding Bliss Taught Me This....and Cool Features of Google Drive

So...yesterday my family attended our nephew's wedding and it was absolutely breathtaking! The reception was held at the bride's family farm which was, by far, the most picturesque scene I have ever experienced in Kansas!  The tent was set up for dinner and dancing while fields of tall grass, wild flowers and horses set the background.  As we waited for the bride and groom to be announced, I decided to take some pictures.  I captured a shot of my kids laughing and chatting with each other and it really warmed my heart!  You see, since school has started it seems like all I do is taxi the kids here and there, sit in meetings for school, complete homework on the weekends and try to stay on top of the endless laundry!  I can't remember the last time I actually sat down and relaxed with my family, until last night!  I'm not gonna lie, I got pretty emotional looking back through those pictures when I got home. It reminded me that I need to slow down and enjoy these moments instead of getting bogged down by schedules and to-do lists.

You're scratching your head and asking yourself..... what does this have to do with cool teaching tools in Google Drive, aren't you?  Well, let me share with you the key word in today's post... EFFICIENCY! I think when we can work smarter and not harder then we free up time to nurture our families and enjoy a little "me" time!  One of the coolest features in Google Drive is the forms tool. Not only is this a great way for teachers to help students in their efforts to collaborate, schools can use it to collect feedback and even a bride could use it when planning her wedding!  Here's how it works, you click the forms button, select the theme (which is my favorite part), create the questions, share it with others and Google does the rest!  The results are automatically put into a spreadsheet and charts are even created for you to view!

Check out this survey I made in "forms" for my classroom rewards by clicking on this link!

Another awesome tool from Google Drive that I will definitely be using in my classroom is the Google Docs share feature!  Students can create a writing document in Google Docs and then share it with their teacher and other students to receive feedback.  Sharing the document and giving editing rights, allows students to help each other edit and revise their writing before they publish their final copy. Sometimes it is hard for me to meet with students for the editing part of the writing process and this tool helps with time and efficiency!  The video below shows a class who used Google Docs to share their own writing and also created a class writing for their teacher. Each student added to the document and then published a collaborative writing piece.  How cool is that?

Each week I am amazed at how much Google has to offer and the amazing tools that can be used to help me and my students to become more efficient. When living life, we have to remember to stop and smell the roses, feed our souls and do the things that fill our cup!
Happy Sharing!
-Sarah

A Recipe for Research

Who doesn't love a good recipe?  Well Google Custom Search tool gives you a great recipe for research by allowing you to choose specific sites for your students to use!  A great part of this custom search engine is that you can access it from anywhere when shared through a link or embedded onto a blog.  Also, because you're selecting the sites, you can rest assured that the content and reading level is appropriate for your kiddos and that the sites are educationally sound.   I am so excited to use this right away with the research on service dogs we will be doing this week.  

Check out my "service dog" search engine now! Just type in a keyword such as "autism" and explore!

Happy Searching!

-Sarah