Special Class Blog Assignment

Six Resources for my Future Classroom

On Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs' web page Curriculum21, she provides teachers, parents, or virtually anyone with some excellent resources for finding a plethora of helpful information. Information that can be useful in lesson planning, aiding academic study, or simply help making daily decisions. Of the 68 resources available on her web page, there were a few that caught my attention. The resources I have chosen are geared toward education, and mainly toward the early childhood curriculum.

 
1. ZooBurst
ZooBurst is a digital storytelling tool that uses images from the students own image collection or an offered set of images to create pop-up books. The use of this tool in my prekindergarten or kindergarten classroom would be useful in aiding collaboration and literacy skills. Students love animals and using technology. Giving students the chance to create stories and illustrations with their own ideas will enhance the quality of their work and keep them interested in learning.

2. QR Code Generator
We have all seen those little digital squares at the bottom of a magazine, a store window or other places, well those are QR codes.  When a person installs a QR code scanner onto their electronic device they can scan the code that will take them to the associated website.  A generator is a tool that will create these QR codes.  When I sat down for an interview with a prekindergarten teacher, she discussed with me the use of technology in the classroom.  She described her interest in generating QR codes in the classroom creating a situation whereby students can simply scan a code to take them to all kinds of other interactive learning websites. I think that this is a neat tool.

3. ABC Circus
ABC Circus is an application that is in the iTunes store, and may be downloaded to the iPads which students in Baldwin county use in the early childhood grade levels. It does have a small fee, but seems to be very educational and can aid in learning letter and number recognition. Students can play games that help them recognize the letters and use their fingers to draw them. It also offers the option to print the letters A-Z and numbers 1-10. This application can be used on personal home iPads as well as in the classroom.  This way parents can participate in their children's learning.

4. ZoomSci 
PBS Kids has created this interactive site to help children learn about science.  ZoomSci offers a variety of different science subjects, such as life science, water, senses, and chemistry. By clicking on individual links they can view materials and instructions regarding an assigned project, this way they will have a hands-on learning experience and be interested in what they are learning. There is an offered daily project that I could check daily to see if it is something that would meet the standard I'm trying to teach that day. I also like PBS Kids because so many children can relate to the characters on this site. They can see these characters at home on their private television and use them at school by creating various projects.

5. Crabby Writer 
This is also a paid application offered on the iTunes store. The target audience is for Preschool - 1st grade. It enhances early writing, reading, and literacy skills that is crucial in children's learning by offering alphabet letter recognition games and sight word recognition.  I think that the children would enjoy learning literacy skills by using this application. It has cute characters and vibrant colors that connect the children to the learning tools.

6. Pinterest 
Okay, so just about everyone has heard of Pinterest, the visual online tool that you can use to find ideas for all your projects and interest, and I am always finding Pinterest to be helpful in all aspects of my life. I visualize finding ideas about things I want to use in my classroom, creative projects I can use with my students.  As a teacher I would  use the offered ideas and utilize my own imagination by placing different twist that will make these ideas my own.  I will "pin" the ideas I find useful to a board to come back to later.