Tech4Learning tools have helped me become a more effective teacher by allowing me to take my classroom digital.  Students today are surrounded by technology and using the Tech4Learning tools has helped me connect this passion in a digital fashion.  They are motivated, inspired and eager to complete tasks when they know that are not only authors and illustrators, they are digital publishers.

The Tech4Learning tools have offered me a resource to overcome the challenges many young authors encounter by providing all students, regardless of their instructional level or proficiency with fine motor tasks an avenue for communicating their ideas.  Students are empowered to reach for the stars and achieve to their highest ability using the Tech4Learning tools and their success is evident in their creative and original works.

My teaching philosophy is that when students are highly motivated and actively engaged their learning soars. Using Pixie my students are able to design creative and original illustrations to highlight their personal experiences, publish creative works and share their knowledge about the world around them.  From the class video of Pixie illustrations of special experiences with our grandparents for Grandparent’s Day to t-shirts made with iron-on Pixie transfers of favorite fall activities to non-fiction text feature books to individually created students generated videos of original writings the creative possibilities are endless!

While helping a group of students develop an understanding of the role author’s craft plays in motivating readers to connect personal experiences when reading for meaning, students wrote individual works about a favorite food their mom or dad prepares.  Exploring the use of nouns, verbs, and adjectives students used the initial consonant of their chosen food (i.e. meatballs, carrot cake, etc.) to generate a list of nouns, verbs, and adjectives beginning with the initial consonant. Students then wrote an original story incorporating humor inviting a friend to their house to enjoy their favorite food. The students are currently using Pixie and Web Blender to illustrate and publish their written work into electronic videos.

These tools creative nature ignites students’ enthusiasm for writing.  The ability to infuse their own character through voice recordings is bringing their work to life.  The final projects are proving to be a hilarious collection of stories sure to bring laughter to their fellow students. 

The focus of our current class project is developing an understanding non-fiction text features play in helping readers make sense of text.  We are studying author’s craft and how authors use text features to help us expand our knowledge.  Students are expected to display an understanding of the following features:  table of contents, types of print, photographs, captions, close-ups, and labeling. 

We began by reading an assortment of non-fiction texts on bats and penguins.  Students selected a topic and are writing a non-fiction book to show their understanding of the animal’s characteristics, habitat, offspring, and amazing facts.  Students are using Pixie to create electronic nonfiction books, and their illustrations display their level of unique, creative talent.

In the fall my students illustrated Pixie slides that shared special experiences with their grandparents which began part of a class video played for grandparents visiting during my school's annual Grandparents Day in November.  The illustrations were moving and had many grandparents reaching for a tissue.

In December we connect with our social studies curriculum while learning about family holiday traditions.  Each student created a Pixie illustration to highlight one of their family’s holiday traditions.  The illustrations became a class movie that helped each student learn about the unique traditions of their friends in our classroom community.

Just for fun students designed a t-shirts for our fall festival party in October.  Students used Pixie to illustrate a favorite fall activity.  The illustrations were printed on iron-on transfer paper and ironed onto t-shirts which each student wore for our fall festival.  It was a wonderful classroom community building activity.

My own daughters used Pixie to create treasure maps for a third grade social studies project highlighting map features.  The maps were printed on iron-on transfer paper and onto t-shirts for their project presentation.  They used the map to describe how to locate the treasure.  The project was innovative, unique, and they have a treasured t-shirt to wear that they designed.

These are just a few of the many projects my students participate in each year.  One thing is always true, when we are in the computer lab using Pixie observers see highly engaged and motivated learners!