Third Graders Begin Preparing for Skyping Project!

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Carmen Richardson

This week the third graders began preparing for their upcoming Skyping project called “Chat Across the USA.”  Each third grade class will have the opportunity to Skype with other third grade classes from around the United States.  During our Skyping project we will learn about other communities and share our own community and Hawaiian culture with others. 

This week the third graders were able to watch some videos of last year’s third graders Skyping.  We also tested our geography skills and tried to find some of the states we are going to be Skyping with on an interactive United States Map.  Would you like to try it, too?

You can use the zoom tools on the left side of the map to zoom in and out, as well as travel East, West, North, or South. Can you find Florida? How about Maine? Or New Jersey? These are three of the states that we will be Skyping with.

What other states do you think we should try to Skype with?


View Larger Map

To follow along as we work on this project and to see some short videos of last year’s third graders Skyping just click here!

Posted in Global Collaboration/Skype, Third Grade | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

My Goals this Year….

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Carmen Richardson

I did a lot of thinking over the summer about my goals for this school year. Being the technology teacher, I definitely want to have our keiki use some really cool tools to create awesome projects. But, my goals reach beyond that.

I came back on to campus at the end of July to prepare my classroom and I realized how lucky I am to be here, in this amazing school, working with the best adults and children. I also realized that my goals go beyond the academic learning that will take place. My goals for this year are to help all of the keiki at our kula to be thoughtful, wise, passionate, and kind. If we show aloha to each other we can make this the best place to be! I believe we can do it!!

Posted in Thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 54 Comments

Technology and Us

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Carmen Richardson

Check out this very interesting article on how technology is changing us!  My favorite quote:

“Perhaps those who teach in any context… will become increasingly focused on imparting greater understanding of ideas and ways of thinking, and less focused on memorization,” said Sparrow. “And perhaps those who learn will become less occupied with facts and more engaged in larger questions of understanding.”

Has Google Changed Our Memories?

Posted in Thoughts | 4 Comments

Check out Mrs. Chang’s Cool Web Tool!

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Carmen Richardson

Hi everyone! I was looking at Mrs. Chang’s blog today (did you know that she got married this summer?!!). Mrs. Chang put a cool web tool called a Wallwisher on her blog to allow you all to share your favorite summer moments!
Check it out below:
And you can get to Mrs. Changʻs blog by clicking here!

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Summer!

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Carmen Richardson

I hope everyone is having a great summer break! I am enjoying my time working on my Master’s Degree and planning for next year. Less than a month before school begins! Yay!!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Fourth Graders Explore Apps on ipod Touches

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Carmen Richardson

The fourth graders were able to briefly explore some of the apps on our new ipod touches. They had a great time looking at the apps we have downloaded so far. “The Oregon Trail” and “Stack the Countries” seem to be two of the favorites. All of our haumana are looking forward to participating in the educational opportunities the itouches will provide!

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Second Grade Playground Project!

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Carmen Richardson

The second graders have been participating in a collaborative project called “The Playground Project.” We partnered with a second grade class in Vermont and created movies for each other about our playgrounds. As we watched each otherʻs movies we thought about what we could learn from each other about our unique communities. We also thought of many questions to ask our friends in Vermont!

On Friday Mrs. Fullertonʻs class was able to Skype with the Vermont second graders. We enjoyed meeting them face to face and had a wonderful answering their questions and asking questions of our own.

Here is a little look at their Skype experience:

Here is the video we made for them about our playground!

Our Playground! from Carmen Stack on Vimeo.

Click here to see the video they made for us about their playground!

Posted in Second Grade | 3 Comments

Support Our Quest to Skype with First Lady Obama!

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Carmen Richardson

The third graders have been participating in a project called “Chatting Across the USA.” They have Skyped with a number of other states, sharing who they are and learning about others. Five of the states involved in the project are now taking it to a new level. We are doing a collaborative unit on living healthy. One of our first goals for this unit is to Skype with First Lady Obama! The five states (Hawaiʻi, Maine, New Jersey, South Dakota, and Arizona) worked together to create the video below, which states the top 12 reasons we would like to Skype with First Lady Obama!

Support us by watching our video and sending the link out to all your friends! If Youtube is blocked you can scroll down for the video on Vimeo.

The Top 12 Reasons First Lady Obama Should Skype With Us! from Carmen Stack on Vimeo.

Posted in Third Grade | 9 Comments

Third Grade Skype Project Article in Converge Magazine!

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Carmen Richardson

The Chat Around the USA project that our third graders are involved in has once again made national news!  This time the project is featured in an article in education publication called Converge Magazine.  Click below to read the story!

Video Conference Project Sparks Meaningful Learning.

Posted in Third Grade | Tagged | 1 Comment

Chat Across the USA and Barbara Bush!

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Carmen Richardson

Our third graders are part of a project called Chat Across the USA! As you know, if you have visited my blog before, I have written posts about some of the skype video chats that we have been fortunate enough to experience! Well, during our Spring Break I was contacted by the originator of the project, a third grade teacher in Maine, Cherrie MacInnis. She had some exciting news! She invited us to participate in a Skype chat with Former First Lady Barbara Bush! I was able to go into school during our Spring Break and be a part of this special video chat along with students and teachers in South Dakota, New Jersey, and Arizona. The students in Maine did a wonderful job leading the presentation and Mrs. Bush had some very good advice for us! Check out the pics, FOX NEWS Video, and Bangor Daily News Article below!!

Click here to read the News Article

Be sure to watch the video that is part of the news article after you click on the link!

Posted in Third Grade | 4 Comments