Week 15- Maze Passage Generator

Week 15- Ebook Fluency Passage

Using InterventionCentral, I created an assessment that students will have to read from and will calculate what their fluency rate is. The passage I chose was on a 2nd grade level. Creating this was interesting because it allows teachers to do more teacher-made assessing which has slowly started to leave the learning environment.

Week 14- Words per Minute

I was surprised to have read 114 words per minute in my audiobook! I think that may be too many words to comprehend as a child so quickly. I would definitely have my students listen to a slower version of my text!

Week 14- Visual Perception

I assessed one individual for visual perception by doing the pencil eye sync test. We stood about two feet apart and faced each other. I told them to look at me and made eye contact. From there, I introduced the pencil and asked them to look at the pencil. They made eye contact with the pencil and then back at me. Then I asked them to look at me and tell me how many pencils did they see. Immediately, they responded and said they seen two pencils. They said that they felt fine. They looked at the pencil and said they saw two of me. We did this a few times before I noticed their eyes drift. Towards the end they did say their eyes were blurry.

They looked at the Hallenbach picture and seen the cow immediately! It took me a minute to see it myself so I was very surprised. The picture of the dalmation was much harder for them to see!

Week 13- New Format

I have converted an existing book to a new format. It went from a PDF to EPUB.
It is accessible in my Google Docs at the link below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-NsUTNr5Tk1SHNzOGpXcE5mY1E/view?usp=sharing

Week 13- Nook book

I was given the task of creating an ebook for Nook and Kindle format. It took me through a really long process of downloading and even asked for tax payer information (YIKES!). I went directly to the source (nookpress.com) for creating my book. I was told on the website that it would take up to 72 hours for verification in order to publish my short story.

Week 13- Etextbooks

I found these eTextbooks to teach Writing and the components of it.

Writing in Color- This textbook would be used by a teacher to better understand what writing should encompass and how to implement it in the classroom.

Writing for Success goes in depth with the writing process and provides strategies for teachers to use such as teaching ESOL scholars and punctuation. This book can be best used for teaching older students.

For a cost, this workbook can be purchased and includes sentence building, punctuation, parts of speech and writing.

This textbook can be used by teachers who are teaching ESOL students.

This workbook is set for Kindergarten and can be purchased and used as a PDF. It has fiction and nonfiction texts and also involves reading comprehension and writing. 

Week 12- Text Set

I chose to create a text set about dance. The books range from fiction to nonfiction. Many of the books selected have African-American dancers since I tried to relate this to my classroom as much as possible. Books with characters of color are always a hit within my classroom. I could not narrow my standards down to just one because I felt like the stories had similar events and characters but different problems. The best standard I could come up with was RL.3.9 With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories. 

• Dance by Holly Karapetkova 

Dancing in the Wings by Debbie Allen

I Got the Rhythm by Connie Schofield- Morrison

Dancing Star: The Story of Anna Pavlova by Gladys Malvera

Star Ballerina by Times for Kids

Misty Copeland: Power and Grace by Richard Corman

Of course these books specifically come from where I have access: Time for Kids, Hoopla and Amazon. Everyone may not have access to these resources.

Week 12- Ebook Experience

Since using my Jacksonville Public Library account to use the app, Hoopla, I have downloaded and read 2 books! I must say that I am proud of myself because although I love to read, I also love the feeling of turning the pages and putting my bookmark in to keep my page. The book took up space so it was a constant reminder that I had to read it or the sticker on the back of the book told me when it was time to return it. Hoopla has allowed me to read books on the go! I downloaded the app to my iPhone and iPad. That helped me be able to pick the book up wherever I am. Did I mention free?! Hoopla did not cost me a dime and I read books that are available in my public library. I did buy a book that was not available on iTunes but that was okay because I have been dying to read it.

The program I used was Hoopla. On this site you can read books, watch television shows, listen to albums, and read comics! It practically covers all likings. As previously mentioned, the availability of what you may want to read may not be there but the genres are present. The last book I read was To Kill a Mockingbird written by the late Harper Lee. I read it in high school (many many many years ago) but I recall it being amazing. I was not disappointed this time around either. A young girl is growing up in a time where she has to adapt to her surroundings and deal with the struggle of living in those times. She befriends an individual that she knows no one would approve of. Her father, who is an attorney, deals with a trial that hits very close to home.


Ebooks are beneficial. I truly enjoy them. I think the classroom and education could benefit from ebooks but I know the problem will arise when discussing financials and how would tablets be funded within the school. A different approach to this could be textbook companies making the texts that accompany the curriculums be made available. Even if teachers have to register their classes, an app, compatible with Apple and Androids, could be a simple solution. Kids need books in their hands even if they are not truly flipping the paper pages!

Week 11- Ebooks

My books were sent to the Professor Cavanaugh from UDL Book Builder.
Storybird book is attached in pictures.

Week 11- Storybird

See the book I created using the pictures given on Storybird! It is a neat program. This could be great for kids to publish their pieces of writing and parents can buy them.

http://storybird.com/books/j-milton/

Photos

Week 10- Literacy Field Trip

Today I visited Clay County Literacy Coalition! Located in Orange Park off of Kingsley Blvd, this little gem services many people within the community. The population who uses this facility seem to be mostly adults who want to learn and/or improve their English. The facility was small but had much space for small groups and even a meeting area for larger crowds. Computers were available for use for registered adult learners. When speaking with the representative from the location, he said that they serve as the middle person between the learner and the tutor. Tutoring may occur at the center or a location which is agreed upon by the two. Many ethnicities have been served here: Spanish, Colombian, Arabian, African and others.  All hours and locations must be given to the CCLC for data recording. The people who teach here are all volunteers! The CCLC is a non-profit organization which has been around since 1995. Pictures were prohibited while people are being tutored but I understand why (privacy).

While I was there, one group (two women) were working together on making words with letter tiles. It seemed as though they were focusing on building the words more so than the handwriting and print. I could hear them repeating words and even changing the initial consonant. The interaction was friendly which leads me to assume this was not their first session together.

The house of CCLC were not very friendly to my career since I am still in school this week but I took time off work to stop in. They have a social in April for tutors but no information has been set in stone. I am going to definitely be visiting this place again!

Week 9- Microsoft Photo Story

I was not pleased with this program. It required a tedious download and was not very user friendly. I created my Photo Story with text on my opening slide, images from the story I selected, myself narrating the commercial, and light jazz as background music. It was not my best creation but I am hoping to use Garage Band on Apple in the future.

Week 9- Animoto

I have always wanted to create videos that are read alouds I have done! Animoto may just be the gift I have always wanted to make that happen in the future! Check out my Booktalk I created. It was VERY simple. The hardest thing I had to do was convert my voice recording into an mp3! Check it out!

Week 9- Booktalk Cartooning

I created a booktalk cartoon about the reading strategy, retelling the story of If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. Making the cartoon was very easy! I like how makebeliefscomix.com had pre-made characters and props I could put in my comic strip which makes it super easy to put it all together.

Week 8- Lit Circles

Technology-enhanced literature circles can be a great thing if technology is readily available to participants. The advances in technology are quite awesome. When reviewing this assignment, I could imagine having different participants fulfill their roles using various forms of technology. Different ideas I could see are:

• Discussion Coordinator- Typing up various questions to have participants respond to, record their introduction as coordinator and answers to the questions given
• Literary Expositor- Record themselves reading the text aloud, highlighting the favorite points and explaining where to turn to correspond
• Vocabulary Elaborator- Use different online resources to define vocabulary and receive different examples of the word
• Graphic Illustrator- Create drawings on Paint or Google Image search looking at different examples

Of course there are many more jobs that are a part of the literature circle. These few are very minimal. I could see individuals using iPads, tablets, and applications to successfully fulfill the requirements of a literature circle.

I cannot say that this was great for first grade but with more guided practice/gradual release, it could be successful. The technology available at my school would support this type of cooperative learning.

For my assignment, I used the scholars in my class. Using our iPad cart, I downloaded my Kindle app and let them read/listen to Mercy to the Rescue which is a chapter book that is great for beginning readers. I assigned 5 tasks to 5 scholars. I gave the assignment sheets to each of them. Individually, I called them up to explain their tasks. They originally made it seem so hard but we went through it together. They all knew how to use Google so that was quite awesome to see. My Coordinator was very awesome because she was able to keep everyone in line and checked in with them to make sure they were completing their work. Scholars had 20 minutes on Tuesday and Wednesday during their center time to work on their circle assignments.

Week 7- REVISED Library Visit

What did you think of when you thought of the public library? 
When I thought about the public library, I did not originally think of the technology pieces playing such a big role. 

A place to check out books? A good set of children’s books? Did you think DVDs, music and audiobook CDs, downloadable books, literacy classes (English and technology)? 
As I stood in the library, I did see the opportunity for computers and printing to be done. Everything else has to be used inside the library and checked out with a valid card. There was a place to check out books but you have to do it only when it is open. On the Sunday that I went, the library was closed for patrons to check out. I did not get the opportunity to check out anything. Speaking with the library attendant, they had a very small library, roughly 7,000 collections available which includes books on CD, children's literature and physical books. The library has 12 employees with one person at the counter to check out materials to patrons. 

Week 8- Email Delivered Text Reflection

This is my least favorite reading technique. Although it ensures I get some reading done each day, I just could not get into this. The emails were the most positive parts of the process because it served as a daily reminder that I have something I needed to do. If I stuck with reading this text for reading a little each day, it is predicted that I will not be finished reading this book for the next 9 months. Reading at my leisure is a favored past time but not in this form. Receiving this opportunity and experience was different but not something I see myself doing again.

Also, the book selections were extremely dated.

Week 8- Audiobook reflection

Using the application, Hoopla, I listened to a story over the course of two weeks. The books and movies rented from the site only allow you to read/listen for two weeks, assuming this is the maximum time agreed upon with the public library. Since I suffer from a disorder that affects my attention, listening to a story at my own convenience was quite cool. The voice over the reading was a man who had a really big voice which kept my attention for at least 10 minutes each time. I enjoyed being able to play the book regardless of where I am. All I needed was my cell phone or tablet. The book was always present. I did miss turning the pages of an actual book! Not having that feature just did not make the reading feel real. The attachment to the characters and events still occurred. I had heart wrenching moments and even teared up once while listening. My audiobook was to be returned around February 14 and I finished the book. I am looking forward to listening to other titles in the near future!

Week 8- Book Fold

I went to a website titled WritersWrite to find the book excerpt I used. Creating the booklet was quite easy! Never had I known I could put that information on the sheet that simple.

Week 7- Library Field Trip

Due to an unfortunate event occurring in my family, I was forced to take my field trip to the library  to Desoto, Texas which is a suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth area. At the Desoto Public Library, there is about 16 computers in a computer lab that is open to the public. When the library is closed, the lab is open later hours. The library holds books, movies and audio materials. The library was closed on the day that I went but there was a library lab attendant who could answer questions that I had about what was in the actual library. The library did not have a selection for special needs such as ESOL and deaf/ hard of hearing. The surrounding counties have resources for those with needs and citizens are able to be transported to receive services.

The attendants in the computer lab were somewhat middle aged people. I seen multiple study groups and tutoring occurring. The races were mixed. As far as events scheduled for the library, they had events for toddlers and teenagers. There were guest speakers scheduled to talk on topics such as love and money. There were advertisements for Spring and Summer break. There were no rooms open for community use because the county has special rooms in an alternate facility.

Week 7- Field Trip

Week 6- Track Changes, Comments and Find/Replace

I was very pleased with adding comments to a document and how easy it can be! It was quite interesting to see how I can make edits and give feedback to someone whose paper I may be revising or editing.

I have attached photos of my Find and Replace assignment.

Week 6- Index

Since I uploaded so much into my last post, this post only has the index added. Once again, I do not like how Google Doc does not upload my Word document as I intended but it is below.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qmXZ6gXYqq7F9fbXg3B_O4duffBoWH__JeVC6RRQTCI/edit?usp=sharing

Week 6- Headers, Footers, ToC and Heading Levels

In one document, I did four different things: Added headers, footers, heading levels and a Table of Contents! The header/footer was not new to me but I did find the ability to add a ToC pretty interesting! I had not known how to do that and label the headings so the document knew what should be on the ToC. Great information!

As I am uploading this document to my Google Docs, it looks different than how I created it in Word. My headers/footers look different. The ToC is not indented as I had it so I will upload the link from Google Docs and make the edits a PDF. My only concern with that is the difficulty of comparing the edits on a PDF?!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16_AVWqiWAP1v7B0AFde95O4tFlkl94QNRefIvRNbWJc/edit?usp=sharing

Week 5- Wordle (Novel)

I did not know that I didn't post my Wordle for a novel. Some kind of way I forgot to "Publish" and hit "Save". I did a word cloud for the book The Great Gatsby

file:///C:/Users/jmilton/Documents/Word%20Cloud%20Generator.html

Week Five- The Noun Project

Continue to inquire to gain more
knowledge.

All technology can be used but needs
to be at the appropriate time.

Once called an abacus, Common Core
has named is "Rekenrek".

Keep a book in your hand at all times.
When you finish one, pick up another.

Books of all genres should be read. Open
your mind to be different.

Conversation is always needed to promote
comprehension.

Don't be afraid to ask questions!!

Step away from the calculator. Show your
strategies!

Learning can take place anywhere. 

Learning takes place from Day one.

Week 5- Concept Map

Creating a concept map on Writing was quite difficult for me. I felt as though our textbooks did not provide much information on writing and required me to do quite a bit of digging. My concept map is a fusion of What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction and a book I have used in the past, Kid Writing: A Systematic Approach to Phonics, Journals and Writing Workshop. Simply using the illustrations to recall what I remember, I was able to "label" what I believe are the stages of writing development as the progression continues into childhood.

http://www.webspirationclassroom.com/view/1656325a2ccba

Week 5- Concept Map

Creating a concept map from a chapter of the books we have this semester was one of this week's task. I used Put Reading First  Chapter entitled What does scientifically-based research tell us about phonemic awareness instruction? This book has been great to read and gives so much knowledge that I currently use and will be using within my teaching career. Attached is the web I created using Webspiration. I was able to save the document three different ways: Word document, Google Doc, and an Inspiration document. Wanting to try all three, I downloaded all three.  Hoping these two links work below!

http://www.webspirationclassroom.com/view/1656313a118be

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vatZphPH3DagamMywPjBbV-GBYMleGUJdEV5k2_1ZS0/edit?usp=sharing

Part 2- Concordance- Week 5

Since we had to do a Word Cloud on a novel, I used Google to find a child friendly novel. It took me to an excerpt of a book called George Brown, Class Clown. It is a very cute read for scholars in around 5th-8th grade. I wanted to try a different program so I turned to Text Concordance which surprised me with the word count and providing the number of times frequently used words occurred!

Wordle Part 1- Week 5

The past 5 weeks have flown by! I am posting an assignment using Wordle. Wordle.net allows one to create a "Word Cloud", a variety of words that can be used to describe something or someone even. My Wordle lists a few words from this week's readings that stood out to me. Hopefully the embedded link below works properly *fingers crossed*

<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-NsUTNr5Tk1NUVGWVlLRlZiV3M/preview" width="640" height="480"></iframe>

And it didn't! Let's try using the link below for my Google Doc!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-NsUTNr5Tk1NUVGWVlLRlZiV3M/view?usp=sharing

Digital Diorama

I created a diorama about the "Locks" bridge Paris, France. Since Paris is my dream destination, I was truly looking forward to adding my own lock to the bridge.

 I will not be able to see the locks since they were removed in 2015! :-(

Text-to-Speech

When someone is writing, regardless on the purpose, it is meant to be comprehended. No one writes to not be understood. When words are written, or in today's time, typed, the sole purpose is to get a point across and make a connection with the reader. With computer-based programs, the Text-to-Speech (TTS) function has been added. A writer can type words into the program and have the words read aloud to them and the reader. Another form of text-to-speech are eBooks, published literature in all genres that are read aloud. Not all books have been formatted to have this function but the eBook library is continuously growing and becoming quite common. Making a connection to Text-to-Speech would be captions on television, movies, and video games.

My personal feelings on text-to-speech are simple: it is a fantastic feature that helps all, students and adults alike. In my classroom, I have not used this feature as much besides in read alouds that highlight words as it is being read by a narrator. Never realizing the benefit of the narrator and the one-to-one correspondence, I would like to use this feature more often in my classroom! "The TTS capability in eBooks allows students to hear fluent readers" (Gonzalez, 2014). Besides myself reading for my scholars, having multiple titles read by even a male's voice could help students comprehend and connect with a text more. In this course, I am reading/listening to two different eBooks while reading an eBook without the Text-to-Speech component. So far, I am enjoying the difference. I am hoping that by the end of this course I can merge my personal learning with eBooks and the goals I would like to set for my personal learning environment.

 Gonzalez, M., Dr. (2014). The Effect of Embedded Text-to-Speech and Vocabulary eBook Scaffolds on the Comprehension of Students with Special Education. International Journal of Special Education, 29(3), 10. Retrieved January 31, 2016. 

Session 4- Paperrater.com

Using the site paperrater.com, a piece of my writing was submitted to review the following elements: grammar, word choice, spelling, style, and vocabulary. Once the paper has been reviewed, a grade is given to the piece to show how it could be graded. From the grade, it is expecting you to go through and make the necessary changes to give a better grade. Attached below is my review from the site!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17cExhUwX_0VoeKh0yoiDhCV0OWX363RrH9L_UTib5Xc/edit?usp=sharing

Low Tech Writing Tools

I went to Publix and Target to get some ideas for writing tools. Many of the items I found have to be used with paper or dry erase.

These markers can be used by using sheet protectors and card stock. Simply put the card stock in the protector to create a sturdy surface. Use a cotton ball or felt to wipe clean!

These cut out letters and shapes can be used to make words. I was somewhat hesitant to pick these simply because it did not come with lower case letters.

Scissors are a great tool to use when there are left over magazines and newspapers around the home that can be cut to make words. Only thing missing here is glue :-)

Almost everyone likes to add a splash of color to their writing!

Paint can make writing fun!