Digital Blog #C Chapter 5 & 7

   Here at the elementary school that I work at we have an awesome librarian that reads to the students, helps pick books for the students and is a book wizard when it comes to finding the right book for students. Many of the students go to the library once a week to check-out a book that they like and one book that is on their reading level. The librarian is there to assist the students so if a student can not find a book, instead of finding the book for that particular student and handing it to he/she she teaches the students how to search our schools' online database and find the book he/she wants. "Search engines designed for students are important sources of age-curriculum resources" as referenced by Maloy (2013 pg.110). Not only does the school have a database full of educational books but has age appropriate kid based websites that is approved by the school district. My students' love the educational website PBS Kids. PBS Kids features games, shows, videos, and fun apps. The librarian teaches the students by using technology that is available to help find answers to the questions they are seeking. There are many guided websites that I can share with my class regarding Chapter 5, that are general search resources such as Ask For Kids.


Also check out this awesome cartoon strip I made with ToonDoo!

By naasportillo | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

    As I helped a fourth grader compare and contrast Neptune Balls and Spider Silk I noticed that the writing assessment he had to complete was word for word written as what was in the writing text he had been given. Plagiarism is defined as "the direct copying and misrepresentation of someone else's work as one's own" as referenced by Maloy(2013 pg.119). I know that the student did it without understanding that it was wrong to copy the text. I explained to him that if you're going to write the text from someone else's work that you have to give the author's information so you can give credit for his work, I found useful information on strategies for preventing plagiarism that I could share with this student that could benefit him for the rest of his school education.

    Anything that can be educational and fundamental to our students' we incorporate it into our lesson. Our class is fortunate to have 18 iPad's that the students' use daily to help with reading and math skills. In chapter 7 it talks about a educational kids website, Kid Pix. Although Kid Pix is not a game, it has tools for drawing, painting, stamping and much much more. Instead of using the dull paint software that is already on the computer when you buy it, this website has more to offer our students' that can stimulate their creativity. I went to the website Kid Pix to see how it works. The website is colorful , easy to use and even has 3D images you can draw. Unfortunately, you do have to pay for it but you could download a 15-day trial offer. A great and free software that my nephews love is Tux Paint. Tux Paint is a free drawing program for children that allows them to be creative.

    Chapter 5 & 7 was insightful and informative. The three concepts that I chose were helpful for me and is beneficial within my classroom. I am also going to share it with my staff. Out of the three concepts I liked learning about the educational apps and learning about plagiarism.



Resources:

Ask Kids (2016, February 17,). http://www.askkids.com

Kid Pix (2016, February 17,). http://www.kid-pix.soft112.com

Maloy, Robert, O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd edition. Boston MA: Pearson Education.

PBS Kids (2016, Febrauary 17,). http://www.pbskids.org

Portillo, N (2016, February 18,). Finding Aladdin. Created with ToonDoo http://www.toondoo.com/MyToondoo.toon

Tux Paint (2016, February 18,). http://www.tuxpaint.org