Techie Kids
Inspiration, Imagination, Innovation!
How-To Videos
Apr 30th
Our classes are talking about making “How-To” videos.
How-To Videos would give step by step directions for how to complete a task. The younger Techie Kids are thinking about time order words such as First, Next, and Last. They are also practicing following directions.
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The older Techie Kids are considering storyboarding and how to create videos using tools like Photo Story 3 and Windows Movie Maker. Both of these tools are Free.
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Here are our first 2 attempts at making a plan and filming our idea.
Our first video features Lauren as she shows us how-to draw a cartoon panda.
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Next, we would like to share how-to find the area of a right triangle.
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We are hoping to share more how-to videos soon. Thanks for watching!
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What other how-to videos should we create next?
What tips or strategies could you share with us about making a quality video?
Do you have any storyboarding websites that you would recommend?
What how-to videos have you created?
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Ballet: A Student Post by Emily & Claire for Mr. Mannell
Apr 26th
This is a student post by Emily and Claire for Mr. Mannell (and a short video for all of our readers!)
You can visit Mr. Mannell’s site, Extended Comments for Students, by clicking here. 
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We are so thankful for the video you sent us! The student performers did a great job! We can tell they had practiced.
The costumes were magnificent. We loved the way they portrayed their characters. We noticed their feet were pointed and this showed their marvelous technique. We liked how they expressed their character. This interpretation seemed less traditional and formal than other ballets we’ve seen. It made the story more unique and interesting. We also have to applaud the choreographer for being able to pull it all together in a beautiful production.
As part of our thank you, we would like to share a little bit of ballet foundation with our readers. Please enjoy our short video of ballet’s basic feet technique.
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What did you think of how we explained the basic feet positions?
Could you share a story about dancing with us?
Do you have any questions about ballet?
Mail from Mr. Mannell
Apr 3rd
Today, the Techie Kids had a wonderful surprise! We received a package in the mail from the fabulous, Mr. Mannell (@RossMannell). He has been doing an amazing job of supporting my 3rd through 8th grade bloggers.
Here are the first comments that we shared on our Winter in Michigan post.
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Here are the links to additional posts that were kicked off by these comments. Please explore them! I’m sure you will love them as much as we have!
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We were thrilled when we opened the Australian package and found a book, Wombat’s Secret, a wombat figurine, and a token from Potoroo Palace, an animal sanctuary where Mr. Mannell took many of his incredible animal photographs.
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Here are some of the amazing images taken by Mr. Mannell that he shared with us and gave us permission to use.
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We found out that it took 14 days to travel from New South Wales, Australia to Michigan, USA. If the package could travel in a straight line, the total distance traveled would be about 9,600 miles.
View A Wombat’s Journey in a larger map
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Mrs. Moore is an Indiana Jones fan, so she was excited to share this Google Map, Treasure Map style!
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Since Australian animals were a big focus of many comments and posts, we’d like to share some pictures of animals in our area with you. Click on the book cover below to read our Michigan Animals book.
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We are so excited that blogging has allowed us to connect with new friends around the world!
Thank you, Mr. Mannell, for all that you’ve shared with us!
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Please tell us something that you have learned from Mr. Mannell.
What animals live in your area or are unique to your area?
What animal is most interesting to you and why?
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Notable Michiganders
Mar 15th
As part of our Michigan studies in 3rd grade, we have practiced our research skills to find some well-known people from Michigan. When the Techie Kids took a look at some of the biographies, they chose a person that caught their attention. Each child created a “cereal box” design featuring their famous person. They also shared something about them that they learned or felt was important.
We are pretty sure that you’ve probably heard a few of their names before. Take a look…
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If you would like to find some famous people from your area, click on the picture below to check out our Research page. Here, you’ll find 7 of our favorite search engines.
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Can you tell us about a famous or notable person from your area?
What search engine do you recommend?
Fun with Reading
Mar 14th
We love to read. So, of course, we are excited about March is Reading Month!
Our schools have many fun activities planned this month like read a cereal box day, read- a shirt day, flashlight reading, and special guest mystery readers. We explore the different reading genres in our classrooms. Our students know that we all enjoy different books. Knowing the genres helps us decide which kind of story we’d like to read next.
Here is a video last year’s Techie Kids created to help others learn about genres.
THE GENRE SONG
The Genre Song from Kelly Moore on Vimeo.
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In our technology lab, we also explore many websites that share stories with some combination of text, audio, or video.
Here are some of our favorite reading sites.
ONLINE STORIES SQWORL
(Currently 50 links)
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This is a Reading Sqworl made just for my 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.
MIDDLE SCHOOL READING
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Happy Reading!
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Tell us about your favorite book and why you like it.
What is your favorite genre?
Can you tell us how your school celebrates reading?
Do you know of any other great reading websites to share?
Skyping Mrs. Kistler & the 49′ers
Mar 9th
Hooray! Hooray! It’s Skyping Day!
Today our first group of Techie Kids had their first chance to Skype while they were at school. We were able to meet Mrs. Kistler and the 49er’s. We were so excited!
This year, 3rd graders learn about our great state of Michigan. We have worked hard to find out about Michigan’s natural resources, symbols, and landmarks. Today we were able to learn about Texas from kids who actually live there!
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This is a Google Earth screen shot of the 49er’s state taken by Ben.
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Madisyn used Google Maps to calculate the distance between our schools. We found out that we are 1,469 miles away, which was about a 22 hour drive. We thought we’d need to pack some snacks, like pretzels, for that drive!
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Here is some of what we learned:
One of Texas’ natural resources is oil.
They use salsa as frequently as others use ketchup.
The bluebonnet flower is a symbol of Texas and you better not be caught picking one on someone else’s land!
Summers in Texas are very hot.
Dr. Pepper was created in Waco, Texas.
The Alamo, Sea World, and the River Walk are some of their landmarks.
One of their state symbols is a Cowboy!
Ants in Texas bite!
You better double and triple check your backpack before you go anywhere…you just might find a stowaway scorpion!
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Check out our backchannel!
Today's Meet with the 49'ers by
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Our student photographers and videographers did an excellent job capturing the excitement!
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Thanks for a great learning call, 49’ers!
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What will you remember most about our Skype call?
What new facts did you find out?
Do you have any other questions you’d like to ask?
Thank You!
Mar 6th
Blogging is simply amazing! Thank you for helping us learn about our world and how technology lets us make connections in ways that weren’t possible before.
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Our Winter in Michigan post received 86 comments. Our readers commented from 15 different locations, 6 different states in the U.S., 6 different countries, on 4 different continents.
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Mrs. Yollis shared information about the weather in Southern California with us on her class blog.
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Mr. Webb in New Zealand created 2 posts for us, 1 with a photo slideshow and 1 with weather report videos.
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Ross Mannell’s excellent comments and replies led to even more shared learning as he posted to his Extended Comments for Students blog.
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Here is a Google Map we created showing where each comment was written. We added some highlights about the weather in their area at the time of the post.
View World Wide Weather in a larger map
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Our students were amazed at the response and the facts that you shared! They were very excited to reply to you. We searched each state or country noted in the comments on Google Earth. Our classes were delighted to see the Earth spin and “fly to” each location. They loved seeing photographs taken in each area. We took note of landforms and compared and contrasted them to our own. Our classes are buzzing with adventure as they share places they want to visit and learn more about because of your comments.
A bajillion (yes, bajillion=considerably more than a million) thanks to all of you!
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We are excited to see what we will learn from you next!
Winter in Michigan
Feb 19th
As we have been discovering different blogs around the world, we began to notice a few things about the weather. Some of us were talking about the cold temperatures and all the snow we’ve been getting like, Mr. Avery’s class and Mr. Salsich’s class, and the snow we are hoping to get, Mrs. Watson’s class. But then, we noticed some blogs talking about warm weather, 4KM and 4KJ, and swimming, Mrs. McKenzie’s class.
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Our students decided they wanted to share some pictures of what it looks like in our area right now and invite others to compare. Here are some pictures that reflect our cold weather during our current season of Winter.
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Click here to see Snow Falling
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Will you help us learn about our world by sharing about life in your area?
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What season is it where you live and what seasonal activities do you currently enjoy?
Can you tell us what that season looks like where you live?
What are some of the characteristics of different seasons in your community?
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