Post by sarajackson on Feb 24, 2014 0:48:01 GMT
The hardest part of getting started with both projects is all the days off, delays, and early dismissals. I'm hoping that now that we are back in school, we can get back to a normal schedule! 
For my Contempory Project, I am playing Schoolhouse Rock Multiplication videos to help with multiplication fluency. We try to watch one video each day, however I am finding I am able to get it in about four times per week. It helps the videos are only about three to four minutes long, but sometimes those four minutes are needed elsewhere. I am happy that my kiddos are already starting to sing along and sometimes I hear them singing the songs in line (especially right after we watched the video). I took a pretest to see where my students were before I started the project and am planning on taking another timed test pretty soon to see if the videos are working.
My Innovative Project is Voicethread. I have set up a couple of voicethread based on the standards 3rd graders are tested over on I-READ and I-STEP. Since I don't have computers in my room, we have to rely on the computers in the lab. We only get to the computer lab about 3 times per week. Only about 5 computers will pull up Voicethread in our lab so I've had to make 3 groups and we rotate. Each day we go to the lab, one group gets on Voicethread, one group gets on AR and Acuity, and the last gets on Reflex Math. It's working out pretty well, although it would be easier to just have the whole class on one website per day.
I took an informal inventory to see what my students were thinking of these two projects. Overall, most of them at least like these activites, with some thinking these are the best things they have ever done at school. I only have one student that does not like Voicethread at all, and one that doesn't like Schoolhouse Rock. I told them I was sorry they didn't like them, but not everyone is going to like everything we do and I thanked them for their honesty.
For my Contempory Project, I am playing Schoolhouse Rock Multiplication videos to help with multiplication fluency. We try to watch one video each day, however I am finding I am able to get it in about four times per week. It helps the videos are only about three to four minutes long, but sometimes those four minutes are needed elsewhere. I am happy that my kiddos are already starting to sing along and sometimes I hear them singing the songs in line (especially right after we watched the video). I took a pretest to see where my students were before I started the project and am planning on taking another timed test pretty soon to see if the videos are working.
My Innovative Project is Voicethread. I have set up a couple of voicethread based on the standards 3rd graders are tested over on I-READ and I-STEP. Since I don't have computers in my room, we have to rely on the computers in the lab. We only get to the computer lab about 3 times per week. Only about 5 computers will pull up Voicethread in our lab so I've had to make 3 groups and we rotate. Each day we go to the lab, one group gets on Voicethread, one group gets on AR and Acuity, and the last gets on Reflex Math. It's working out pretty well, although it would be easier to just have the whole class on one website per day.
I took an informal inventory to see what my students were thinking of these two projects. Overall, most of them at least like these activites, with some thinking these are the best things they have ever done at school. I only have one student that does not like Voicethread at all, and one that doesn't like Schoolhouse Rock. I told them I was sorry they didn't like them, but not everyone is going to like everything we do and I thanked them for their honesty.
