Fluency Recording Extension

Collaboration is a key element of technology integration, so when a colleague has a great idea, SHARE IT!  A colleague of mine wanted to take fluency recording a step further, to cover more content areas simultaneously.  Here was her idea, explained in detail:

What if we recorded students reading THEIR OWN work out loud?  

Writing teachers are constantly reminding students to revise and edit their work. Usually, we see that certain parts are not coherent, or are irrelevant, biased, etc.  We encourage younger students to read their writing aloud to determine punctuation and spelling errors.  If they were to LISTEN to their writing pieces aloud, they would HEAR these mistakes for themselves. A checklist is soon to come!

Recording Reading Fluency

As teachers of reading, we know that fluency is necessary for students to be successful.  What we often overlook are the students that know they are not fluent, but are not sure where to go from there.  


Using iPods with microphones, or a free program like Audacity, students can record and then listen to themselves read.  Once they get over the uncomfortable part of listening to themselves read, they can evaluate their reading specifically.  Are they too fast or too slow?  Are they choppy, or monotone?  They are able to answer those questions on their own!


Having students fill out a fluency checklist, or self-assessment on how they sounded allows them adequate reflection time.  It also preserves a record of their reading, both for you and the student.  These can be played at the end of the year, in conferences, or even passed on to future teachers of that student.


**Tip: Explain to students that they are not getting graded on their recording.  This will help them be more honest in their reflections, and not as nervous when recording.  


**Tip: Have students record twice-- one time cold, without having looked at the passage beforehand, and another time after practicing the passage.  Compare the differences!


**Tip: Make sure students have passages at the appropriate reading level!  (generally, their independent or instructional level)

Classroom Blogs: Step 1

One of the hardest parts about using technology in education is getting started.  You go out, searching through the abyss of the internet, and see so many great ideas (surrounded by a lot of terrible ones).  You immediately want your blog (or website, presentation, etc) to look and be exactly like the ones you see.  So many people want their classroom blogs to be extremely deep and engaging right from the beginning...but they do not function that way.


So, my advice is to start small.  Teach students safety rules while introducing and defining blogs.  Bring them into the blog design...show them great blogs, and come up with ideas on what your class' blog should look and feel like.


Next, teach them how to post comments, and have them write one of their own.  Take it a step further by asking them to have someone from home or another class to comment too.  This begins the community-building aspect of a blog.  Keep in mind that for a blog to be a real place of learning, it needs to be open to the rest of the world.  Protect the safety of your students by teaching THEM how to handle themselves.  Blocking outsiders keeps students from forming an authentic audience!


Remember...it is all about COLLABORATION!

Classroom Blogs and Motivation

Class blogs can be motivators--their own unique online community for any age of students.  They can be where your students feel the most safe and comfortable when participating, but also the place where the most efficient collaboration takes place.

The trick to using them as motivators with students is similar to how you design your classroom space.  Below are some of the ways teachers can adapt their blogs to attract and welcome their students. 

"Bulletin Boards" - Similar to how teachers decorate bulletin boards and door frames in classrooms, blog designs are readily available and easily creatable.  On Blogger, changing your template gives your blog color and personality.  Changing this can help re-attract your students' attention in the most basic way if you feel they have gotten off task.  

"Shiny Gadgets" - Every child (and adult) is attracted to shiny new toys.  In classrooms, that might be a new computer or iPod, or a new student!  The "shiny gadgets" for blogs or other websites are called "widgets."  A widget is basically a piece of code that you embed into your website that shows up as a new part.  For example, you might add in a population map that shows where people are viewing from, or a "Brainpop" video bank.  Adding these gives an even more personal feel to the blog, and can also help show students that they have an audience to work hard for!

              Here are some great widgets for websites:

Feedjit

ClustrMaps

http://www.brainpop.com/educators/link_to_brainpop/

50+ Web Widgets

Widget Tools

Widget Box

"Rearranging Desks" - Every teacher experiments many (MANY!!) different ways to arrange desks, furniture, and other equipment in a classroom to best fit student needs at the time.  On a blog, this can be done by changing the layout.  In other words, change where parts of your blog are placed.  For Blogger, this can be done in the layout section.  

THE BOTTOM LINE: Be willing to play around with how you set up your blog.  Take in student suggestions, and don't be afraid you will ruin it.  Blogs are meant to be customizable...which is perfect for the "individualized" education world.