Creativity at its finest!

Tons of cool, creative things happening on our campus.... a few from today are:

#1  Mr. Wilder getting in touch with his creative side with his "APPlication Tree" and "App of the Week".  Excellent way to explicitly teach apps to Kinders and show how they can be used.  You're also paving the way for future technology integration.  Woohoo! (See attached picts.)

#2  Mrs. Jamail jumping into uncharted territory with Google Drive!  She did a fantastic job teaching the login procedure and helped work out some glitches for the rest of us.  (Mrs. Parker starts with her Kinders on Monday!)  The best part of Mrs. Jamail's lesson was when she rolled in a giant cart of Non-Fiction books and bewildered her students by showing them that they can research with technology and with awesome books!  Way to be cutting-edge and old-school at the same time Jamail!

Gives me goosebumps to see what incredible teachers we have here! 

Your FLI,

App of the Week: Evernote

This week's F.F.F.A. (Favorite Fabulous Free App) is Evernote. I am actually fairly new to Evernote, it is Lindsey who is responsible for my new Evernote addiction. Evernote is an incredible note taking program that is available anywhere and at anytime. It's very user friendly, and has endless possibilities.

• Access your Evernote account from any device.
• You can store it on your desktop to make for an even easier access to your notes. 
• Make audio notes
• Add pictures to your notes
• Create binders to virtually organize your notes
• With the web clipper feature you can capture webpages so you can find them again. 
• You can create a link for any of your Evernote files to share with others. 
• Blog directly from your Evernote. 

The list could go on and on. There are definite student uses, but it's true glory is in the organization it can provide to you, the teacher. 

This is a great 7 minute video that gives a great overview of Evernote. If you want some more ideas or tutorials just Google Evernote or talk to your campus FLI! 

Your FLI,

Week 1

Being in a new role has been a little strange for me this week, however I have seen so many wonderful things happening on our campus this first week of school...

• Ms. Barrett started a scientific process project using ipads. I showed up to help today, and had totally forgotten that our school iPads don't have cameras. HA! So we started the project, and will finish on Tuesday. We failed big, but totally made it work.
• Jan Rice has started designing a Dripping Springs community project for her third graders. She took wonderful pictures of our community that her students will use to explain the importance of each place. I will help her finish it up this weeks with a Google Earth tour. 
• Ms. Norton has a great idea for a book trailer project. I am so excited to begin helping her bring this to life. What a great idea!!!!!
• Ms. Mocz has been sending her kids down all week to use our new space. It's been so nice to have some company. 
• Mr. D had all of his kids bring their devices on Wednesday and we had a great discussion about TigerNet.
• Ms. McManus made an awesome Prezi about her trip to China to share with her students. Check it out here: http://goo.gl/Xv0h9b 
• Mrs. Northrup borrowed the iTouches to begin a "Survival Kit" project with her kids.
• Mrs. Lloyd designed and implemented a really neat "Humpty Dumpty" themed technology project for Kinder. All week long they were looking for pieces of their Humpty as they learned important aspects of being a Kindergartener. They took a picture at each place they went, then they made a video on ScreenChomp to use for review. Stay tuned for a posting of her classes final product. 
• I have loved seeing all of the kids for their first tour of The Center. I can't believe I met with almost 800 kids this week. I can't wait till I know all of their names. 

So many wonderful things were happening on our campus this first week, and I know I only touched on a few that were visible to me. If you did or saw something awesome happening the first week of school please comment below.

On to week two!

Your FLI,

Fotobabble

This year all of the DSISD elementary campuses participated in a Meet the Teacher Fotobabble project for students and parents. Each teacher created a Fotobabble and then pasted a QR code outside of their door for Meet the Teacher Night. Us FLIs were blown away by the creativity and excitement so many teachers showed. We were so blown away, that we had to post a favorite from each campus! 

Rooster Springs Elementary School

Adam Kenton

Dripping Springs Elementary School

Missy Kollman

Walnut Springs Elementary School

Liz Ridenour

We greatly appreciate each and everyones participation! Feel free to link your Fotobabble in the comments, or if you have a great idea for a classroom use of Fotobabble please share! Have a great first week with your kids!

Your FLI,

App of the Week

This marks the first of many posts where we will feature a favorite fabulous free app (FFFA) that we or a reader loves, and some suggestions for use! 

Chirp

If you were in the 4th or 5th grade science and writing workshop or in any of Hollis' Envision Innovation workshops you have heard of Chirp! However, if not, get excited because Chirp just might change your life, or your classroom management.

Chirp allows you to share a URL, Photo, or text message with any other device that also has Chirp open. The item is shared through a unique sound known as a chirp. When searching for this app in the iTunes Store, be sure to select "iPhone app." Or you can just select this link:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chirp/id529469280?mt=8

Imagine the possibilities. Quickly and easily share links with students with just one click! It's truly a favorite! If you are already a Chirp user, please comment on ways that you've used Chirp! 

If you need any help or ideas for use, make sure you stop by your CL&I and your campus FLI will be thrilled to assist you.

Have a fabulous first week! We are all cheering you on!

        Your FLI,

Envision Innovation

Yesterday was Dripping Spring ISD's first annual Envision Innovation conference for elementary teachers. Although it was a long day, it was a day filled with many "ah-ha" moments and excitement. I talked with many teachers yesterday who seemed to be inspired and filled with great ideas. Some of the highlights of my day were....

• Speaking with Jan Rice who has this wonderful idea for helping her third grade students really understand the layout and location of all of the important places in our Dripping Springs Community. 
• Watching people get silly at the photo booth (awesome pictures to come). I think Jennifer Payne's  picture is one of my favorites. 
• Watching Kristen Northrup win the iPad Mini. I wish I had a picture of that moment. Her excitement and joy when her name was called was a priceless moment. 
• Presenting about Digital Books with Vicki Lynch and the engagement and excitement that group showed. Also, having a student come in and read her digital book to us was a treat. 
• The Envision Innovation round table, where wonderful and dedicated DSISD parents and teachers shared with us their thoughts, concerns, and ideas. 

There were so many wonderful moments that happened yesterday! Including the fact that we were on the News! Check it out here: 

Your  FLI,

Katie Hollis