More on Starfall...

I did some further exploring into the different areas of Starfall that I am less familiar with.

One part that I explored was called "Word Hunt."  Students can drag and drop different words into the sentence to change the sentence and the animation.

After making their selections, the animation changes to match the text!  Students can continue to change the words until they like the way it looks.  The 2nd page keeps the selected word from the first page too!  After they are finished they can print out a page with their sentence and writing space to make up a story to go with it.

Content Filter Request

Janet- thanks for pointing me to the DR to try to get Voice Thread unblocked!  I was able to find out about the process under the section "Technology Review Process."  The bad news is, it seems as though an administrator is the person who needs to make the request.  Here is the chain of command/process

I'm guessing that teachers would need to plead their case to their administrator in order to get the approval process started.  Has anybody been involved in this kind of a process before?

Starfall

Many early childhood educators and families have used Starfall to help supplement their child's reading and learning.  Starfall has a wide variety of skills and levels.  On the main screen you can choose from ABC's, Learn to Read, It's Fun to Read, and I'm Reading (on the left side).  There is also a more seasonal section on the right side.  Each section is slightly different, basically each section is more difficult than the previous section.
I typically use the ABC section with some of my struggling students.  For each letter it has songs and pictures to go with the letter.  Since I am familiar with the ABC section, I decided to explore a different feature of the site.
The Learn to Read section has 3 steps for each "level" of play.  Students are free to start anywhere, but for an early learner going in order would make the most sense.  The first set has the student practice the -an and -at families by dragging the correct beginning sound for the given picture.

After completing all of the words in the -at family, all of the words a reviewed again.  Students also have the option of printing out a review page.

Here is the printed practice sheet.

After completing both word family sections, the student can read an animated book using words from the -an and -at families.  Each word is clickable and will sound it out for the student.  The student can also click on the picture to animate it (they love this)!  Finally there is a short movie- for this section it is about the order of the alphabet.  Students can explore the sections in any order they choose.

This is a very kid friendly site all together.  The audio and animations are motivating for young learners and many struggling students respond well to using this site.



You can now get some of the games as an app for the iPhone
Check out MoreStarfall the new membership only site with even more animations to enjoy!
Starfall now even features a Kindergarten Curriculum.  The program is relatively new, but many teachers seem to enjoy it.

Voice Thread: Story Telling Sample

Today my students wrote and illustrated 6 steps to making a snowman.  I scanned their work into the computer to load into Voice Thread.  Recording the students' thoughts got a little tricky since Voice Thread is blocked by the lovely school system, but I found a way around it :)  I used Garage Band to make the recordings at school.  When I got home and was able to access Voice Thread, I loaded their pictures (one is upside down- silly pdf), then when I recorded the comment I simply hit play on Garage Band!
Here are their thoughts!
I know this may not be ideal since I had to do some of the extra leg work at home, but maybe if we pull together we can get the school system to unblock it.  Does anybody know how we get that done?!

Even though I did a little extra work at home, I like the final product.  I also liked listening to some of my students after I recorded them.  One went back to the art center and whispered "It was cool, she recorded my voice on the computer!"  I like the confidence and enjoyment it gave to her since she can be very quiet and shy.  I look forward to doing something like this with each of my students in the future!

Voice Thread: Story Telling

We've been using Voice Thread after each class as a way to recap each class and ask some additional questions.  Voice Thread has so many applications.

For my Kindergarten students, with assistance, they would be able to create and share a story with the class or with families.  Students can upload pictures that they created using programs like Pixie or Inspiration directly into the view.  The student could then speak the story instead of writing it- a GREAT alternative for my young students!  So many of them have great story ideas, but it can be a painful process to get it written down on paper.  This way students can put more effort into creating great illustrations and can narrate the story!

The site is simple to use- after choosing "Create" you can select what type of media feed you would like.  You can upload files from your computer, use your webcam, another url, and there is even a direct link to other media sources like flickr.   Mulitple images and pictures can be selected if your student had several illustrations for their story.  After all of the images are ready and in order, you can simply record a "Comment" to tell the story.  You can advance through the pictures while recording when it is appropriate.  Very simple to use!

This would be especially helpful for me because some students struggle to ever get anything on paper that make sense.  Using Voice Thread, they can have a nice looking product and an understandable story (mostly).

This Kindergarten Class used Voice Thread after studying the author Mo Willems.
This video discusses the importance of using oral storytelling with young students as a way to organize their thoughts and ideas.

More on Carrot Sticks

After my first post, somebody asked me about pricing:
It's very minimal
1 month for $3.95
6 months for $19.95
12 months for $29.95

That question prompted me to find out about using it for an entire classroom.  There was a link for classroom set up.  After putting in simple information (name, school, location), I was sent an email with a separate web address- http://www.carrotsticks.com/clemens.  Now my students can create an account and play all 4 modes for free!

Thanks for the question Sherri- it really got me to investigate a little further.  Now I think this can be more worthwhile in a classroom than I originally thought!

Oh- I also got my "reward certificate".

Carrot Sticks- Screen Shots

Here is where a student would create their character.

The addition problem is displayed above the character, the number of carrots earned is shown and how many more you would need to earn a reward as well.

This is show on the left of the screen, students can select different levels of difficulty.  Parents must pay for a subscription in order to access anything other than addition.

 

This is shown to the right of the playing field- they are

 other players that you can challenge in the game.

I should have put these into my original post, but I couldn't figure it out!  Very simple layout, but attractive to most young students.  The site says it's safe and secure as well.

Carrot Sticks

So I found a math facts review site online called Carrot Sticks.  This site is designed to be a multi-player math facts review site for grades 1-5. 

When you first enter the site, students are prompted to create a character.  They can choose the gender, skin color, hair, clothing, etc for the character.  Once they enter the game, it's pretty simple- students are given an addition problem to solve.  Students can simply type their answer using the number pad on their keyboard.  For students who would like more of a challenge, on the left side of the screen they can change the level of difficulty.  For every correct answer, students earn "Carrots."  After earning about 300 "Carrots" students can turn them in for a reward.  What is the reward you ask- good question!  When I played, it prompted me to put in an email address for my parent so that a reward certificate could be emailed, however after about 30 minutes, I have yet to receive and email :(  Maybe I needed to sign up in order to take advantage of the "rewards."

As a student answers more questions correctly, the questions become more difficult as well.  It begins with basic single digit addition, moves on to adding with 3 numbers, then double digits, triple digits, and even vertical addition with regrouping.

On the left side of the screen, you can see other students who are playing and the number of carrots that they have earned.  You can challenge other students and they can challenge you as well.  I had two or three people try to challenge me, but I didn't think that would be too fair to the other student!

One thing that I thought was deceiving about the website was a place on the left side of the screen where it appears as though you can select other types of problems like subtraction, multiplication, and division.  Once you click on it, however, a page appears tell you that you have to pay to use anything other than addition.  It tells parents that it is a worthwhile investment to sharpen their child's skills.

Overall, I thought that the site was very attractive.  Students would enjoy creating a character and challenging other people.

As far as the use in the classroom- with the addition section usable with out purchase, it would be something very motivating to use for practice and review with an entire class, small groups, and individuals.  If the levels became too difficult for young students, you can simply change the level back to an easier setting.  Younger students could also have manipulatives available to help solve problems.  Older students would enjoy playing against other students as well.

Here is an article supporting the practicing of math facts through the use of games, just like you would practice reading through the use of books- Memorizing Math Facts
This article gives tips about memorizing math facts and links to more games- How to Memorize Math Facts