Tanesha+Hendley's+Cool+Tools+Review+and+Application+Plan

 During the New Literacies Institute, a close analysis of Cool Tool sessions was made to ensure that the tools chosen to attend could be integrated into the inquiry project and Language Arts. It was with great relief through personal conversation it was revealed that most of the Cool Tools could be used in all content areas. Because of personal choice and happenstance, Voicethread, ACRE, Digital Video as Process and Product and Nintendo Wii are the Cool Tools sessions that were attended. // VoiceThread Evaluation // The Voicethread presentation was most beneficial for me because I instantaneously thought of ways it could be integrated into Language Arts, I became proficient in how to create a Voicethread, and it could be easily accessed. Students could create or recreate plots of selections and provide illustrations of their comprehension of a plot. They could also create poems and illustrate literary poems through the use of graphics. The presenter was excellent in allowing the attendees of the session explore Voicethread to gain proficiency. I was actually able to create a complete Voicethread in the session. Although Voicethread is not free, it only costs $1.00 per year. At my school we could either ask parents to pay for the $1.00 or each academic team could pay for it by adding it to team dues.

//ACRE// //Evaluation// As a North Carolina educator, the ACRE was insightful and a necessity in understanding the imminent changes that have been occurring in the North Carolina Public School Systems. The ACRE presenter simply informed attendees that North Carolina is attempting to prepare our schools for 21st Century Learning to meet the societal demands and how we are going to prepare our schools to meet those demands. Her presentation included timelines and assessment modifications. We were even given the opportunity to voice our concerns in our content area changes by attending future meetings. Many of the changes she mentioned prepared me in how to prepare my students for future statewide benchmarks and End of Grade tests. // Digital Video as Process and Product // This particular session featured various ways that we could integrate the flip video when teaching novels. Most of the novels used were novels that I have taught in 7th grade Reading. It was interesting and refreshing to see how teachers could use the flip video to teach and assess reading comprehension and high order thinking skills. From this presentation, I learned that through using the flip video I can add rigor into my classes. I particularly enjoyed the music video to the plot of the “Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton. // Nintendo Wii Presentation // The Nintendo Wii presentation was an eye opener in revealing how interactive games could play a vital role in the learning process. It was also a way for me to relieve some energy as I thoroughly enjoyed playing the Lego Indiana Jones game! I thought it was neat how the presenter had each member in the group doing something different but related to the same skill. However, my group resulted in all either playing the game or viewing each other play the game. In our group discussion after the activity, we discussed possibly having stations to remedy this issue. There could also be an issue in finding games that relate to content areas or that students would find success in a time period. Even though this session was more open-ended, it provided the attendees with something to ponder on another way to teach all students.

Cool Tools Application Plan Cool Tools Used: Voicethread Content Area: Language Arts Time Frame: 2 days FOCUS/WARMUP || Students will define plot, setting, protagonist, antagonist, mood, and theme. || 3 minutes || 1 minute || 7 minutes || 10 minutes || 17 minutes ||
 * Day 1 **
 * 
 * OBJECTIVE || TLW: Review the elements of fiction by creating a story using Voicethread illustrating examples of given terms. ||
 * TEACHER INPUT || Teacher will review focus/warmup activity. Teacher will explain to students that they will illustrate the vocabulary words from the focus activity by uploading pictures onto Voicethread, creating a story, and including examples of each term in their story. Teacher will review rubric with students (link to rubric is at bottom of lesson). Teacher will explain to students that they will be given an extra day to complete activity. ||
 * GUIDED PRACTICE || Teacher will share with students a Voicethread that was previously created. Students will identify examples of given terms in Voicethread. ||
 * INDEPENDENT PRACTICE || Students will use the mobile labs to create a Voicethread that tells a story and illustrates all of the terms. ||
 * CLOSURE || Students will write about what they learned from activity. || 2 minutes ||
 * 

Day 2 **

FOCUS/WARMUP || Students will identify the plot, protagonist, theme, setting and mood of a short selection. || 3 minutes || 1 minute || 7 minutes || 27 minutes ||
 * 
 * OBJECTIVE || TLW: Review the elements of fiction by creating a story using Voicethread illustrating examples of given terms. ||
 * TEACHER INPUT || Teacher will review rubric with students. ||
 * INDEPENDENT PRACTICE || Students will complete Voice thread projects and share them with class and teacher will arrange so that students can share their Voicethreads on the Whiteboard. ||
 * CLOSURE || Students will write about their favorite Voicethread and explain why. || 2 minutes ||

Rubric Link: []