Daily Weather Check

First grade students will be studying weather and record the daily temperature and cloud coverage for a particular city to track its weather.  At the end, students can compare various weather patterns from cities around the world with their classmates. 

Daily, students will:
1.  Choose a city  
2.  Click on its 'globe'  
3.  Click on the link to find out that city's weather for the day
4.  Record the weather on their monthly weather calendar

Fantastic Films

Today we had thirteen second grade students work together with the PS Tech Coaches to create three short videos highlighting the importance of our SAS Core Values. We had an hour to brainstorm and plan in the morning and then an hour to film and edit before lunch.  The link to the playlist is below:

Click here for the SAS Core Values Video Playlist

QR Code Book Reviews

Students in first grade are going to make QR Code Book Review Posters!

Kelli's Weather Report

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The new clip-n-clip feature in iMovie is amazing! Here is a short sample I made quickly for our first graders who will be studying weather in January...can't wait to try it with them.

Google Teacher Academy

I have just returned from the Google Teacher Academy in London.  It was an honor to learn with such positive, open-minded educators who are Google Apps for Education leaders in their community.  One of the most important take-aways is the connection you build with inspiring people from around the world who are life-long learners.  It definitely broadens the  horizons of my personal learning community, which I can share locally.  Some awesome Google Tools that were discussed are:

• Google Cultural Institue
• The Google Cultural Institute brings together millions of artifacts from multiple partners, with the stories that bring them to life, in a virtual museum.
  http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/home
• Tour Builder
• Tour Builder is a new way to show people the places you've visited and the experiences you had along the way using Google Earth. It lets you pick the locations right on the map, add in photos, text, and video, and then share your creation.
  https://tourbuilder.withgoogle.com/
• MapsEngine
• Google Maps Engine makes it easy for you to create beautiful maps and share them with others.
  https://mapsengine.google.com/map/
• Annotating YouTube Videos
• Video Annotations is a new way for you to add interactive commentary to your videos! Use it to:
• Add background information about the video
• Create stories with multiple possibilities (viewers click to choose the next scene)
• Link to related YouTube videos, channels, or search results from within a video
• All of the above!

• You control what the annotations say, where they appear on the video, and when they appear and disappear.

  How do I get started?

  Please visit our Help Center for more information on Video Annotations.

Peer Teaching with Kid Techxperts

When making iMovies from the first grade field trip to Little India, two students in Mrs. Clark's class were excellent examples of peer teaching and became the Kid Techxperts.  I taught them how to record the Bollywood music from my iPad onto their movie.  Then, while I was working with other students, Woojin and Yoonseo were able to teach their classmates how to record their music.  The next step will be teaching a few Kid Techxperts in Mrs. Derksen's class!

    

John Burns Visit

Over the past four days, John Burns, the Director of eLearning at Shekou International School, has been at SAS in the Primary School.  John brings a wealth of experience in the field of iPad integration and doing so in an authentic way.  He led workshops with the PS teachers sharing valuable apps, tools, and insights to enhance our program.