How does technology affect us: a comparison with our Estonia partners

We have continued our partnership with our Estonia friends to discuss technology and how it affects our lives. We used the website Mindmeister to create individual mindmaps sharing our thoughts on how technology impacts different aspects of our lives.

 New London students

Estonia Students
Click here to view their mindmap.

Next, students compared and contrasted their mindmaps through our collaborative Edmodo group.

What did we learn?  The biggest lesson students learned was that across oceans and countries, we have much in common when it comes to how technology affects our lives!

Look no further for your next vacation inspiration!

Where would you like to go on your next vacation? Let our 5th grade tour guides help you with your decision. Each student selected his or her dream vacation spot. Next, they used what they learned about persuasion to create a video using the free online video editor, We Video, that convinces others to go to their destinations of choice.

Want to get some inspiration for your next vacation?  Watch their videos below.

Learn about Digital Citizenship from our 5th Grade Stars!

Fifth graders in Mrs. Young's Integrated Technology classes want to teach you something about digital citizenship and online safety.  They have produced, directed, and starred in their very own public service announcements to share what they have learned.  Using WeVideo, our first-time video creators were able to easily edit their productions by mixing in text, music, and animations.  Want to learn more about digital citizenship and online safety?  Watch their videos below.

Conversations with Estonia

Students in Mrs. Young's Integrated Technology classes have partnered with students from Tallinn, Estonia to talk technology. Since our timezone differences make it impossible to speak with one another via Skype, we had to be creative about our mode of communication. Enter VoiceThread to the rescue! Using webcams and phones, we are able to record video our comments and share them with one another. Others can watch the created VoiceThread and add new comments to the original slides, allowing students to actually see and hear one another in order to create a more meaningful conversation. See our first VoiceThreads below. Our goal was to give the other school a brief introduction and then start a conversation. We will then respond to one another's VoiceThreads to engage in a deeper discussion.

 



 Our next VoiceThreads will ask students to reflect on how technology affects education and the pros and cons of technology. We look forward to a meaningful conversation and learning from our new friends in Estonia.

5th Grade Edmodo Book Project

The fifth graders in Mr. Wegner's class have been busy sharing what they have been reading in class using the classroom social networking site Edmodo. After reading their independent selections, students have been using Edmodo to discuss and share with other members of the class. Students love Edmodo because it reminds them of another popular social networking site. Can you guess which one?

Students were responsible for completing posts sharing the following:

1.  an image that symbolizes something about the book.

2.  a new ending to the story.

3.  a fake tweet using the website Fake Tweet Builder summarizing the book.

Not only did the students enjoy connecting via a social networking platform with which many were very familiar, but these tasks challenged the students to think about their books in very different ways.  Once information was posted, students then had the chance to comment on one another's information and try to meaningful infer what was being shared about each book.

In addition, during some of the writing tasks, Mr. Wegner's students used the Google extension Read & Write, available through the Chrome Webstore, after adding text into a Google Doc.  Read & Write plays the written text out loud so that students may hear exactly how their writing sounds.  This helps students identify when grammatical and spelling mistakes have been made. 

Students were very engaged when they had this opportunity to connect with one another and explore their reading in unique and meaningful ways.

8th Grade Decade Research Videos

Eighth graders in Mrs. Koshollek's Language Arts classes turned a traditional research paper project into something 21st century by creating videos using Microsoft's free software PhotoStory 3.  Students created a Top 10 list of facts based a research topic they choose from an assigned 20th century decade.  Using PhotoStory, students were able to highlight the most significant events from their research and create a multimedia presentation that combines images, text, and audio. See some of their examples below.

Thanks for another great National Library Week!

A big thank you goes out to all of our community members-from near and far- who took the time to celebrate literacy as "mystery readers" and support this year's National Library Week theme "Communities Matter @Your Library."  These people truly showed our middle school students the importance of a community and how lucky they are to live in a community that supports literacy and their education.  Here are some snapshots of all of the mystery readers who visited our building during this past week.

John Faucher, School Board member and owner of Johnny's Little Shop of Bait

Kent Hager, City Administrator

Laurie Shaw, Executive Director of the New London Chamber of Commerce

Retired teacher Mrs. Cristy

Kathy Gwidt, new District Administrator

Preschoolers from Winter Haven, FL

Judy Arzt, Associate Professor, University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, CT