My First Podcast - Technology usage of first graders

Reflections on my first podcast!  I know it will get easier and one day I will look back on my first podcast and laugh.  I will laugh at all the time I spent trying to change the "Quick Time Movie" file that I used to interview my student, change it into a Mp3 file. I will laugh at all the time I spent downloading Audacity so I could manipulate and tweak the audio, just to find out that I had to export the file and I didn't have any place to export/save it to.  I will laugh because there was NO sound when I uploaded the Mp3 to the sound cloud.  (I still don't know why...  but an older version had sound).

You will find the interview of my students in the posting below.  Uploading that to my blog was probably the easiest thing I did for this podcast.  I cheated and used a YouTube video to help.  It showed me how to upload to Sound Cloud and then get the widget code in HTML to post on Blogger.

Now to the technology of first graders.  These 6 and 7-year-olds are being exposed to LOTS of TV.  They all have a television in their bedroom and watch an average of 13 hours of TV per week.  Approximately, they watch one DVD or movie per week and spend 7 hours per week on a computer. They are young so they don't have much interest in music.  They might have an iPod or Mp3 player in their house but listen to it only 15 minutes a week or less. 

One household had 3 iPads and another household had none.  These were mainly used with the older siblings in the home.  The first graders averaged 3 hours per week on the iPads.  I found that the same was true with gaming systems.  X-box, Vtech, Playstation and Wii were in the household but used only 1 hour per week.  Handheld systems like a DS had even less usage with an average of 30 minutes per week. eReaders like the Kindle and Nook were available to them but only used 30 minutes a week.  I did not ask if that was for reading or getting on the Web.

In the classroom, these first graders get time on computers, iPads, and Smartboard.  They average 3 hours per week on technology.  No gaming systems in the classroom but educational apps and web sites.

Interview  You will notice in the interview that they do not have the concept of time.  That is why the parents filled out the technology usage at home form and returned it.

Please comment on your students technology exposure in the classroom and at home.

PODCAST

Super handwriting at the end of the year!

My First Grade Superkids have some wonderful handwriting at the end of the year.  Do you teach handwriting in first grade?  Is it part of your curriculum?

Our handwriting practice is done every day.  It is part of our Reading/Language Arts series.

I am so proud of the growth over this year!

Last Weeks of School Fun

Sock Hop & Walk-a-thon

My first graders enjoyed the sock hop last Thursday.

It was a wonderful clear morning for our Walk-a-thon on Friday.

Does anyone out there do these kind of activities during the last 3 weeks of school?  

Spirit Week at School

Crazy Hat/Crazy Hair Day

We are having fun these last few weeks of school!  This is the last full week for our 8th graders so they planned a fun filled week.  An 8th graders visited us on Monday and taught a lesson.  Tuesday was class colors day and we did buddy reading with the 6th grade.  Wednesday was Crazy Hat/Crazy Hair Day.  Tomorrow continues with an afternoon "sock hop." ("You mean we get to take our shoes off and dance in our socks?")  Friday is our annual Walk-a-thon and we get to wear school colors (blue and yellow).  What a fun week!

Naturally, we are still doing our Reading, Math, Calendar, Science, Social Studies, Spelling, and Handwriting.  This week brought sunshine and warmer weather too.  Only 16 more days until my Super First Graders have to leave me to move on to Second Grade.  I will miss them.

Mrs. Laramie

Welcome to Laramie's First Grade Superkids

Our classroom is in Chicago's south side neighborhood.  The class of 2020 has only 12 students.  We have been working hard all year and cannot wait for Summer.

I started this blog for a college class.  I currently follow 4 or 5 other teachers' blogs and hope others will be following my blog soon.