Fun with Apps

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Carmen Richardson

Today the third graders had some fun with the app “Comic Book.”

When you are using technology all kinds of things can be tricky or go wrong.  We know we are all computer superheroes because we are here to help each other!

Posted in Fifth Grade, First Grade, Fourth Grade, Kindergarten, Second Grade, Third Grade | Tagged , | 1 Comment

I Wonder #6…

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Carmen Richardson

Have you ever seen “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?”

Did you know that when I was I kid I watched that show?!?!?!?!

I saw this video and I had to share! Take a look:

Turn to the person next to you and tell them what you think the term “a cappella” means.

Now, leave me a comment and tell me what you think about this video!

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I Wonder #5……Stop Motion

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Carmen Richardson

Have you ever heard the words “stop motion?”

Maybe you have seen the movies “Chicken Run” or “Curse of the Were-Rabbitt” or “Wallace and Gromitt.”

All those movies were made using stop motion.

The movie below was also made using the stop motion technique. Take a look!

By watching that video can you tell what stop motion is?

Come to the carpet now and get ready to have a discussion on stop motion filming.

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I Wonder #4…..Be Creative!

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Carmen Richardson

This year many of you will be working on digital storytelling projects. Whether the stories we create are in groups, as a class, or individually, we will be able to use technology to tell some really awesome stories! So, to inspire us, letʻs take a look at a couple stories that were written by kids.

Watch the videos below!

Now, please turn to the person next to you and talk to each other using the following questions as a guide:

What did you like about the stories?
Which one did you like better? Why?

Now, in a comment on this post, tell me the answer to the following:

If you wrote a story that was about a really interesting main character, who would that main character be?

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I Wonder….#3…. Be Passionate!

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Carmen Richardson

Why do you think you are in school?  WHY ARE YOU HERE??

Turn to the person next to you and discuss your answer to that question.

One of the reasons I think you are here is to discover, learn, and practice some of the things that are passionate about!  But what is passion?  How do you know when you are passionate about something?

Take a look at this video.

Turn to the person next to you again, and this time talk about what the man in the video is passionate about and HOW YOU KNOW HE IS PASSIONATE ABOUT IT.  See if you and your partner can figure out what is going on in the video!

Now, hereʻs is the most important question…

WHAT ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT?
DO YOU HAVE PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE WHO SUPPORT YOUR LEARNING IN THE AREA(S) YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT???
IS YOUR PASSION(S) SUPPORTED IN SCHOOL????

Please answer the above two questions in a comment to this post. If your comments are not going through you can email me – carichar@ksbe.edu or write your answer on a piece of scratch paper and give it to me.

And remember BE PASSIONATE!!

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I Wonder…..#2

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Carmen Richardson

Have you ever been in the snow? Growing up in Hawaii I can count the number of times I have seen snow in real life! Iʻve only been in the snow twice on the mainland. But there were a few times as a kid that my older brother would bring down snow from Mauna Kea and we would play with it in our yard.

What would it be like if it started snowing right now? Yes! Look out the window and imagine what it would be like to see SNOW OUT THERE! What would you do?

Have you ever heard of New Zealand? Well, there is a place in New Zealand called Wellington. And in Wellington it NEVER SNOWS!

However, one day about a year ago something extraordinary happened. It snowed in Wellington. Watch the video below. And think about the kinds of feelings you see in the people in the video.

Here is your task:
In a comment to this post:

Tell me some of the feelings you saw in the people in the video.

OR

Tell me what it was like the first time you felt snow!

OR

Tell me what you would do if it started snowing right now outside our computer lab.

Posted in I Wonder, Thoughts | Tagged , , , , | 76 Comments

Welcome to Technology Class!

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Carmen Richardson

Aloha!

I hope you all had a wonderful summer! I am so excited to be back in school because I LOVE teaching technology! What did you do over the summer break? I got to go to an awesome technology conference. It was very inspiring! I also got to spend LOTS of time with my kids. One of the best things I did this somewhere was choreograph the musical “Cinderella” in Volcano! (Oh! And I also liked sleeping in….) Here are some pics of my summer vacation.

This year every grade level will be participating in exciting projects including digital storytelling, movie making, photography, collaborating globally with others, and using a variety of technology tools and programs to create, learn, and share. Technology class is awesome and we will have a wonderful time! If you are interested you may look at the National Technology Standards that guide technology instruction at our elementary school. Click here to access the standards.

If you have any questions now or throughout the year please do not hesitate to email me (carichar@ksbe.edu) or call (982-0258).

Here are some pics from our first few days of school!

Mahalo nui!
Carmen Richardson

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I Wonder… #1

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Carmen Richardson

As I have been watching the Olympics I have had many wonderings. I was watching the Menʻs Synchronized Diving competition and I was amazed at the performance of the athletes.

Check out the dive that got the American pair the Bronze medal:

Watching the divers win Bronze reminded me that the Olympics are very special and I began to wonder what kinds of amazing things have happened during the Olympics now and in the past.

Did you know that the first perfect score given in Olympic history was given to Nadia Comaneci in 1976?

What things do you wonder about the Olympics? What things do you know about the Olympics? Turn to the person next to you and talk to them and then together write a response.

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Article published in ISTE’s Learning and Leading with Technology

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Carmen Richardson

I recently wrote an article that was published in an educational technology magazine called Learning and Leading with Technology. The article talks about the awesome projects that our fifth graders did last school year with our friends in Baltimore, Maryland! Check out the article by clicking here!

Posted in Fifth Grade, Global Collaboration/Skype | 1 Comment

Kumu Crabbe and Fifth Graders Share our Culture

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Carmen Richardson

During the last week of school Kumu Crabbe and the fifth graders were able to share different aspects of the Hawaiian culture with a small group of native Cree students in Canada. The fifth graders, led by Kumu Crabbe, shared some basic Hula steps and performed a couple of dances for the Canadian students. It was a wonderful way to end the year long of sharing and learning that we have had using a variety of technology tools. We are so lucky that we have such amazing tools at our fingertips that make it possible for us to share with other people from all over the world.

Take a look at our last Skype session of the year:

Posted in Fifth Grade, Global Collaboration/Skype | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment