Next year I am returning to kindergarten after a 3 year 'visit' to 3rd grade. I work in a school full of tecnolongical resources, including an activobard (whiteboard),personal laptop, 4 desktop computers, mobile laptop carts, digital cameras, and scanners. My hope is that I can lay the foundation for my students to truly integrate technology into their learning, not just do the same projects on a computer that they used to do with pencil/paper. I am looking for some transformational kinds of learning experiences that are still appropriate for 5-6 year olds. I would greatly appreciate any and all advice, suggestions, and links....

Thanks!
Scott Gaglione

Tags: kindergarten, learning experiences, technology, transformational

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What a great site, Scott. I teach K-5 and I love how easy your site is to use. Thanks!

Jacqui
I used Microsoft's PhotoStory 3 to have students create videos to show what they just learned about. It takes some prep, setup, and training to facilitate, but it was well worth it. I did have control of our domain, so I was able to setup a special account my students could login to, which mapped a drive to my "image gallery" folder, where I provided images that pertained to what they were learning about. You also need a microphone, so students can narrate. I started this about halfway throughout the year. It worked great. Students synthesized what they were learning, and some students really surprised me with how motivated they were. Take, for example, this student, who had a difficult time controlling the pencil, and did not like to write. He made one of the best videos - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0exmql1flQ

Also, check out ESGI for assessing letters, sounds, sight words, number recognition, etc. It is a program I created while teaching K. It is a huge time-saver, and is now being used in 47 states. http://www1.esgisoftware.com/ESGI/public/introVideo.aspx

If you havent used Starfall, it is a great site to use in the classroom, or send home to parents. www.starfall.com
Here's a good collection of interactive sites for kindergarten students:

Caesar Rodney's Elementary Kids' Sites- Kindergarten Links:
http://teachers.cr.k12.de.us/~galgano/klinks.htm

(Note: You're welcome to cross-post your inquiry to the Kindergarten Teachers Ning network:
http://kindergarten-teachers.ning.com.)
Check out Promethean Planet for some great resources. There are some wonderful flipcharts that are Kindergarten specific.
Scott,

Hope your transition went well.

Here is another great, free, online tool you can model for your kiddos with the projector and LCD:
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createAgraph/default.aspx

Post the class data on the wall - soon they will learn how to navigate the site on their own. Remember, many of them are using Webkinz and PBS Kids at home - they are very comfortable with the Internet... and would love the chance to use it at school!
What a coinidence- just this week the kids are creating their own graph usng their own question and tallying the results from their classmates- now we can go to the next step and create digital versions to share over the web... Thanks!!
Just posted about http://www.storycove.com/ in the 'other' Kindergarten thread. There are also some good resources here...
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/month2month.htm
Hey Scott.. sorry but I don't have that much ideas to give to you to that kind of topic, I'm only a student you know.. IYou got a great idea for the kids to learn and to integrate technology into their learning.

In my opinion, doing fun stuff while learning is really helpful for them to absorb what ever you are teaching.. Doing puppets and other hand made projects is still a great way of learning.

I read an article before..a software for the interactive Whiteboard or your computer lab-- teaching basic reading and writing skills.. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000IYKDUA?ie=UTF8&tag=thehi...

offer activities to develop new reading skills, contextualizing phonic learning and increasing comprehension of the written word. It's really a fun approach.

stories for 5-6 y/o:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/033396568X?ie=UTF8&tag=thehi...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1405054255?ie=UTF8&tag=thehi...

Good luck with your plan. I really hope you can get a lot of ideas.. More power!
There are a variety ways to integrate technology into kindergarten. Technology can help to motivate students and engage students in ways that other educational tools cannot. Technology isn't just computers and computer programs. Digital cameras, projectors, scanners and "Leap Frog"-type systems are also ways to incorporate technology into kindergarten. In Montgomery County, Maryland as well as other areas of the country, technology is becoming an assessment tool used within the classroom.
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Another alternative to KidPix (which is wonderful but we had a hard time with it on our network so it was replaced) is Pixie by Tech4Learning. It has some features that are better than Kidpix ie, when the students make a mistake they use the Firecracker in Kidpix and can't get their drawing back that took them forever. In Pixie there is a back button that lets you go back multiple times (like in Word). So the students don't have to start over again. They can also export their picture in one step as a JPEG which is helpful.
Or TuxPaint. A free version of KidPix that is just as robust.

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