TRUDACOT POSTER

As a staff we had the privilege to work with Dr. Scott McLeod this summer. Dr. McLeod led us through the Trudacot Model one day in June and then we were able to see him at the St. Vrain Tech Camp a week later.

The TRUDACOT Model is all I believe about Technology - wrapped into one checklist. At first the terminology and work can be unwieldy. It can be uncomfortable because we all see ourselves in that top level surface Tech "integration". TRUDACOT is all about making the Tech invisible and student work meaningful.

Our staff was inspired by this model and we believe it's the next step for our building. I put together a poster for us to refer to as we go through the year.

3 Clicks To Make YouTube Safe for All Students

OK, we all know that moment: Plan One either zooms through or falls apart and Plan Two goes much the same way. Or a student asks that "perfect" building question and the whole "Let's find out" moment is unvetted and spontaneous. 48 eyes are on your projected screen and it's a complete crap shoot what your search will bring. The ads can be dicey and grown up fingers are NEVER fast enough to click away from inappropriate content in front of a live 9 year old audience.

We also know the independence and resourcefulness oozing from kids who are researching at stations. And haha, do we EVER know the eye contact two 5th grade boys make when they hit the inappropriate jackpot and flood one screen.

YouTube is such an amazing resource that I know many lessons and learning include it in many forms. Vetting the videos and creating approved Play Lists is an awesome resource for classroom use. However, anyone who has ever worked with kids knows it is a matter of time before they jump outside the lines.

Keeping our students safe online is of utmost importance. Here are THREE CLICKS that take YouTube from that nailbiting experience to a resource you can trust and enjoy.

I am going to show you how to switch YouTube to "Restricted Mode" and breathe a lot easier during research and independent exploration.

 You do not need to sign in to activate the Restricted Mode; however you DO need to sign in to lock the Restricted Mode so I suggest signing in when you begin.

After signing in scroll ALLLLLLLLLL the way down to the bottom of the page. Like the way way bottom.

At the VERY bottom of the page you will find the Restricted Mode option. The default is "OFF" so yours probably is OFF. Click on the arrow and change to "ON"

At this point you will need to click "On" then hit Save. You also see the option to "Lock Restricted Mode on this browser". This prevents any other user from changing to Unrestricted Mode.

That's it! Literally 3 Clicks change YouTube from an off limits website to a useful resource.

Let's take a look and notice a few things quickly. As YouTube says "No Filter is 100%accurate but it should help you filter most inappropriate content." I agree with this statement and I would like to note that I have not had any problems with inappropriate content since I have changed modes.

Please also note that this setting works only on THIS BROWSER. If a student opens a different browser then you need to check the settings again.

Also, for those times when it may be that someone has been off task the History Tab is to the right of the Restricted Mode tab and this will give you all the info you need.

3 Best Apps for Classroom Creation in less than 20 Minutes

Felt Board 2.99 App Store, Software Smoothie

Felt Board is a staple with our Primary kids throughout the building! This app gets used in any subject and can be used to communicate all learning. FB is one of the first apps I teach in Kindergarten and we go strong through early 2nd.

One of the most fun Library features about Felt Board is the Fairy Tale character selection and general story characters. After learning Library iPad norms we may start with reading a story together and using Felt Board to share Main Character. Another day we may show setting AND characters. We can use this app to show Plot as well. Felt Board works well with partners. One of my favorite activities was when groups of three Kinders "pre-read" a book then showed the Main and Supporting Characters.

*My Principal happened through the Library through this lesson and was AMAZED by all the standards we hit. Our District just moved to Evidence Based Grading and I think she was most thrilled by all of the EVIDENCE we collected in minutes.

See the camera on the right side of the screen? This is a Teacher's Best Friend! This camera allows quick screen shots of the FB work. This work can be sent to parents, displayed, collected for Evidence (Showbie, Schoology) or saved to model for students. It also very easily retains the work to become a page in Book Creator.

I LOVE, LOVE pulling out FB with older 2nd graders and 3rd graders when we introduce/ use graphs, charts and systems. The kids are so familiar with FB that we can focus on the new concepts. Felt Board provides a strong selection of Chart and Graph Templates.

Book Creator App Store, FREE

Like Felt Board, Book Creator is one of the very first apps we teach. The best thing about this app is that the student drives the car. Think of it literally as on online book - your students fill the pages with their learning!

This book was used in Science - but this Teacher can use Stevie's title to show Evidence. Stevie clearly knows that "certain groups of letters have their own sounds". 

This student is using one of the most popular and versatile features of Book Creator - Comic Book Pages. Here BC was used for sequencing but the Comic Book pages open the interest level and application to K-5 and above.

The latest version of Book Creator can be read to the student by Siri which is a cool change, We love having the kids narrate their own work and work on presentation skills.


ChatterPix, App Store, FREE by Duck Duck Moose

Kids LOVE ChatterPix so that means I LOVE CHatterPix!! It is so much fun to pull out and I love that  kids can share learning in less than 30 minutes. Mostly I have kids collaborate and ideate before we pull out devices.

Users can take pictures, screen shots, draw, use the templates or add any images to animate. I have seen pictures of work, characters, famous people, and concepts animated.

One of my FAVORITE pieces of work ever was when a student used Chatter Pix and Unicorn from Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great to explain the impact of Bullying to his classmates. 

Please share how you use these apps and let me know which ones I am missing!! Happy Apping!