Artkive is a really neat app to organize all those pictures that your child does in art class. I remember my mom saving all the artwork I did as a child. I now have my own child coming home with art, and I am not going to lie, some of it gets...recycled. Some of it makes its way into a keepsake drawer, where the pile has been growing over the past 4 years. Artkive allows you to take pictures of your child's work, share it with others, and you can create a book of their artwork! Thinking long term, how neat would it be to have a book of the elementary art your child made? I love this idea! You can even do more than art. Pictures of any work can be taken, so tests, projects, report cards...anything! When you take the photo, it puts a plaque at the bottom where you can put your child's name, the grade they were in, a title, and the date. This app can be found on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
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I stumbled across this printable during the week and had it in mind to share with everyone on Monday. This would be a great printable to reference when talking with your children about technology, maybe even hang it somewhere in the house.
I got it from the blog Sunshine and Hurricanes. If you follow the link to the blog, you will see her post on controlling technology, and she has some great ideas! Now that kids are back to school, really keep an eye on their devices and apps. Next week I will do a post on those apps you should be aware of and what they are used for by kids. As students prepare to go back to school, it may be time to set up new expectations at home for electronics. During the summer, we may become a little more relaxed with device usage than we typically are once the school year kicks in. A few things to consider:
Of course, in the end, you are the parent that makes the decision for the child. Choose what works best for you and your family. Even get the kids in on it so that they feel they are helping make a decision about their time. We are all looking forward to a great year at school! This blog post is specifically for our district and the app we have. But if you are not from our district, feel free to continue reading to find out what great things you can have as part of an app. If you have not heard, we have an app you can get on your mobile device that allows you access to all things Hallsville related. Just go to your app store and search for "Hallsville", then download the app! You will be able to:
All of these great things are done through ONE single app! There is no reason this FREE app should not be on your device today. Always stay connected and up-to-date. Khan Academy is a great website for students, parents, teachers, tutors, and just anyone who wants to learn. It is completely FREE and offers many courses. I did a blog post for teachers on this, you can check out by clicking here. Parents, you can create a free login and create one for your child. I recommend also checking with the teacher to see if they have made one for your child, or see if there is time for them to work in th_e classroom on this site. Each of the lessons have questions with videos if the student needs additional help. The videos are great, too. You, as a parent, can go through and view the lessons and courses, too. I think that is a great idea so you can get a feel for how and what the child is learning. Courses have been created for a multitude of subjects, including math, science, humanities, test prep, computer programming, and more! This isn't just for remediation, it can also be used to tap into something your child is interested in learning about. Parents have a dashboard to assign courses and look through their child's progress. Such a great resource. Here are some ways you can use the math portion of the site -
With school starting, I would definitely keep this page bookmarked - there is a YouTube channel, too. This summer I stumbled across a past student's social media page. She talked about how peers were bullying her online. A coupe of weeks later, her friends had a made a page to support her and raise her up because of all the hate being spewed at her online. This is heartbreaking as this child is only in middle school. Many students have had this same situation happen, but their solutions are not as pleasant.
Social media is full of 'likes' and 'comments'. Many children feel it is a way of acceptance when they get 'likes' on their pics. If they don't get them, many stalk their own images for activity, may take down the photos, and many become depressed. In this day and age, we must see the way social media affects the lives of children. How can we do this? I start with the knowledge that I am the adult. This is what needs to be the first thought in our heads. We are the adults, we set the rules, and it is OKAY to say NO! Here are some ways parents can start to control the devices in their children's lives. 1. Set boundaries for your children. I spoke with a few families who told me their go-to rules included, no screen-time without an adult present, devices can only be used up to 6:00pm, and no cell phones in the bedrooms. 2. Ask children to show you how to use something. When you talk to a child like you want to know something they can do, you often will get a very willing participant. "How do you use Instagram?" would be a way to learn about their account, what they do with it, and you can see the content without the child seeing that you are prying into their business. Remember, this is their social life. It's like when our parents would ask who was calling us on our phone at night. We didn't want to answer these questions when we were kids, same as them not wanting to answer questions related to social media. 3. Open a dialogue between yourself and other parents. When you are curious about something, ask another parent. They may be able to give you insight into something your child isn't talking about. Be advocates for each other. If you hear or know something, talk to the parents of the child. We would want someone to do it for us, let's do it for others, too. Technology is powerful. Adults often feel helpless when it comes to technology because of how quickly it changes. If in doubt, don't allow it until you know more about it. A great site to use to check on the newest technologies is Common Sense Media. Apps are rated and reviewed here. BE INFORMED! Also, if you have any concerns, contact me and I will be more than happy to check out an app for you. Welcome back! Remember, you can request a blog topic by clicking on 'Topic Request' on the navigation bar. Every Monday check back for a new post for parents! Camp GoNoodle starts today! If you follow the link in the first sentence, you will go to Camp GoNoodle. Each week for 4 weeks, there is a different theme. This week is Friendship Week. Learn and participate in the songs and activities print your certificate, and prepare for the next week! Students LOVE GoNoodle. With all the rainy days we have had this summer, this could be a great way to get some energy out during the week! Check out the parent letter they have created to inform you about this fun opportunity! The beginning of the school year starts, you find out who your child's teacher will be, and you sit down at your computer. Many of us like to search for people we have just met on a popular social media site, just to see more into their lives. This often applies to parents searching for teachers, curious about what they like, their family, pictures, etc. Sometimes we may go a step further and ask to 'friend' our child's teacher. Don't be surprised if you don't hear anything until the end of the school year, or ever, for that matter. Many teachers have a work vs. school policy. Meaning, they aren't going to mix business with pleasure, keeping Facebook friends to those not associated with work. Some teachers don't even friend co-workers, wanting just that much more privacy. Some also will wait until the end of the school year before accepting a friend request from parents. Don't be offended if a teacher does not accept your request or if you can tell you have limited access to their albums or wall. Remember that teachers are people outside of school. They love the children in their class and their families, but often, they want to go home and disconnect. Students 'Friending' Teachers If your child wants to 'friend' a teacher, many of them will never get that opportunity. Most teachers will not friend a student. I say "most", which means that some do. Many higher level teachers tell students they will friend them after graduation, which works for them. Elementary teachers rarely 'friend' their students, for many reasons.
Teachers will share their lives with students in the classroom. However, social media allows access to too many outside factors beyond our control. So students, don't feel like your teachers don't like you, they just don't want to be "friends" with you...online! Haha! Need some safe search options for your kids? I am always a little fearful of what will come up when I Google something. For that reason, I often have kids turn away or I freeze the board. Another option is to use it as a learning experience, showing kids what to click on and what not to click on when online. A great option to use for when kids are in the classroom or at home, are safe search engines just for kids! Google Safe Search This is my go-to search for kids. It is like searching Google, but very filtered. If you scroll down, there is even a safe image search available. If kids type in some words (like "sex", "naked", etc), it will put a stop sign up and not let them continue. KidRex Searches emphasize kid-friendly websites. Also uses Google SafeSearch technology. Again, if you search certain terms, it will put up a note saying "Oops!" KidzSearch This search only returns Google "strict" search results. Another great option for searching. It reminds me a lot of my first choice at the top. You can also go through and set your search to SafeSearch. Do this by clicking on Settings on the bottom right (that's where mine was). Then it gives search options. You can checkmark the SafeSearch box. You can even lock it so no one can turn off the option except for the people with the password. I happened across this site while in search of summer slide websites for reading. Florida Education Association (FEA) has compiled some great resources, K-8 (can possibly be used for high school, too), that will be of great help this summer. TipsThe site starts out with a great list of tips to encourage students to read over the summer. Setting goals and visiting the library are just a couple of the great tidbits the site gives. WebsitesFEA also gives some great links to websites to encourage summer learning. They are divided between K-5, K-2, 3-5, 6-8. The sites they give are sites I am, for the most part, familiar with using. They have some great suggestions. Reading ListsThis may be my favorite part of the website! There is a section of reading lists, and I mean lists. There are SO many lists for students to look through in order to find the right ones for them. All in all, this is a great website for students to use that need guidance for reading selections or that need some great websites for learning. Florida Education Association's website is another one to add to your bookmarked list! |
AuthorA teacher turned techie with an obsession with Google, teachers that love learning, and students that love life! Archives
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