Need an effective solution for ELLs? Check out this great article from THE Journal:

A kindergarten teacher pairs his research-based curriculum with 3D animals to teach and delight his kindergartners.

I teach at a Title 1 school and have 21 students in my kindergarten classroom. My students speak six different languages, and 95 percent of them are English language learners (ELLs). My approach to teaching is “relationships first.” I teach students, not curriculum, and I believe in creating high-quality lessons and curriculum and delivering that material in a FUN and engaging way! I have high expectations for my students and encourage risk-taking, exploration and fun!

When it comes to technology, the kids use iPads, laptops and Kindle Fires, as well as our Smart Board. For about two years now, we have used the augmented reality platforms, Letters alive and Math alive, and they have been a huge success in our classroom. A couple of months ago, we took things to the next level and started using the Sprout Pro G2 Learning alive Station. The station combines the 3D augmented reality cards of Letters alive and Math alive with the Sprout’s built-in high-res document camera and 20-point Touch Mat to give my students a highly interactive, cross-curricular 3D experience.

Implementation of the Sprout was seamless. With just the touch of two buttons, I was up and running. There are no cables to connect, and everything is contained in one piece of equipment. This eliminates a lot of the tech issues for the kids and teachers and means they can use it on their own. I love that the mat is like a second screen. The activities and interactive buttons project onto the mat in vivid color for kids to touch and explore! And makes the Sprout experience more like a touchscreen tablet that our students are so familiar with! This, along with the manipulative flash card sets, help with learning letters and letter sounds as well as word and sentence building; not to mention the math skills.

One of our favorite things to do is build words with Letters alive. I’ll say a word and students find the letter cards and spell the word. Then they push the button to hear the sounds and the word. This provides them with scaffolded practice with phoneme segmentation and blending their sounds into words. Once the students are familiar with this activity, it actually becomes an independent learning center that my students do on their own. They use picture cards and build the words on the card using Letters alive, and then write the word. This gives them a multi-modality approach to word work! For our classroom, this ability for students to use the technology is vital because it’s their classroom and their technology and their learning, and I want my students to have access to everything in their classroom!

A Research-Based Literacy Bootcamp

We first introduce Letters alive to each class during our 26-day ABC BOOTCAMP at the beginning of the year. ABC BOOTCAMP is our research-based curriculum for learning letters and sounds. We use the Letters alive animal cards to introduce the letter and sound before the class creates a circle chart for the letter of the day. The 3D augmented reality animal associated with the letter of the day really gets the students excited. Learning about the animal while learning the letter ties in science and connects this system to our STEM initiatives.

With Math alive, we use the interactive games to bring our greater than/less than lessons alive with Amos Alligator. The students predict which number or group will be bigger, then they move the symbol and we see which number Amos eats. This game on Math alive makes the students so enthusiastic and truly brings this skill to life for all types of learners!

One of the benefits I see to using augmented reality with my kindergärtners is that it brings abstract skills and concepts to life in a concrete way. This shift from abstract to concrete makes the skill and learning more accessible to our students.

The results are clear, too. At the end of ABC BOOTCAMP we have an average of 90% mastery of all letters and sounds. When using Learning alive as a supplement to our ABC BOOTCAMP curriculum, we’ve seen literacy scores improve—and the laughter and squeals of excitement are sure signs of the learning and engagement happening!

Our next project with the Sprout will be integrating it into our learning centers time so the students can use it 100 percent independently as a center choice. They will be able to set up their own augmented reality station and connect with their favorite animals, all the while working on word building, sight words, letter sounds and sentences.

Check out this great PodCast from CoolCat Teacher featuring Greg Smedley-Warren of Kindergarten Smorgasboard!

ENGAGING KINDERGARTNERS WITH TECHNOLOGY: AUGMENTED REALITY, IPADS, QR CODES AND MORE

Listen to the actual PodCast here!




Vicki: How can we engage kindergarteners with technology?

Today we have a kindergarten teacher from Nashville, Greg Smedley Warren @kindersmorgie, or as his students call him, “Mr. Greg.”

He does a lot of work on the Kindergarten Smorgasboard.

So, Greg… How do we engage kids in kindergarten with technology?

Keep it Simple in Kindergarten
Greg: Hi Vicki. Thanks for having me.

So, I’m all about keeping it simple. I’m always on the lookout for very simple ways that I can engage my kids with technology — ways that are easy for them, but also easy for me so I don’t spend a lot of time fumbling with technology trying to get it working and set up for the kids. So I’m always on the lookout for really simple ways that the kids can interact with technology.

Vicki: OK. Give us some of those ways.

Ipads and Augmented Reality
Greg: One way is iPads. Most of the kids are completely familiar with iPads and tablets and phones, so we have some iPads in the classroom with some folders. We have a reading folder and a math folder full of apps, so the kids know they can grab those iPads, open those folders, and use any of those apps.

We also use Augmented Reality in the classroom. We use a program called Learning Alive Plus from Alive Studios, which is an augmented reality software that works with letters, phonics, and word building. So we use that a lot. The kids actually use that during Center Time, so they’re working with that augmented reality to build words and sentences.

Vicki: Describe for us how that works, because I know there are a lot of people — even though we’ve had some shows — they might not know what augmented reality is.

Greg: Augmented reality is basically 3-D without the glasses. So when the kids are interacting with the software, the images are coming alive in 3D on the screen for the kids.

Vicki: It’s just floating in space, or somewhere in your classroom.

Greg: Yeah… it’s on the screen. So it’s on the monitor, or if you’re using a projector it’s projected on the screen or a SMARTboard. The best way to describe it — which I think everyone can relate to — is Pokemon Go. So if you’re kind of familiar with Pokemon Go, that’s augmented reality. That’s kind of what it looks like when the kids are using it in the classroom.

iPad Apps to Help Children Learn to Read
Vicki: What are some of your favorite “go-to”s for reading?

Greg: For reading as far as apps, we do Letter School, which is great for letter formation and letter recognition.

Montessori Words for Kids is my favorite, probably, of all for reading and literacy. It’s great for sound identification, segmenting sounds, word building, and decoding words. It’s very interactive. The kids love it. They work on their letters, and once they build a word, then they get 10 seconds to play and draw before they go onto the next word. So there’s almost that instant reward every time they build a word. The kids love that.

Ipad Apps for Math
For math, I’m a big fan of Monkey Math School, because it’s not just focused on one skill. It’s a constant review of all the kindergarten math skills that we work on.

My kids’ favorite math app is called Subitizing Tree, which works on that all-important math skill of subitizing, which is basically number fluency. The kids love that. I hear them all day long, jumping up and down and screaming and cheering because they were able to subitize with that app.

So those are some of my favorites.

Vicki: Cool! So you have iPads, you have all of these things, you’re doing Alive Plus, which is augmented reality.

What else?

QR Codes and Kindles
Greg: We also do a lot with QR Codes. We use Amazon Kindles with our QR Codes. I’ve found that the Kindles work great with the QR Reader. I’ve never been impressed with the KIndles as far as using a lot of apps, but they work great for QR Codes.

I’ve created several sets of QR Codes for math and literacy. The kids use the codes, they scan the codes, and an image of a document pops up. They might be doing sounds or counting or shapes or word building. The kids really love that they can use the QR codes around the room and interact with technology that way.

Vicki: It’s kind of like passing out digital papers. Is that how you would kind of summarize the QR Codes?

Greg: Pretty much. My kids use them during Center Time. A lot of teachers actually post them around the room, so the kids are walking around the room with their tablets, scanning the QR Codes and working on them that way.

Vicki: Yes. And I believe that QR Codes are now built into the iPAd iOS for Apple devices.

Greg: Awesome. Oh, that’s good to know.

Vicki: Yeah! New little tidbit. I just read it, like last night.

Greg: (laughs)

Vicki: OK. Lots of cool things. What else?

Interactive WhiteBoard Uses in Kindergarten
Greg: Like I said, I’m a big fan of keeping it simple. So that’s really what we use, as far as technology.

We do have an interactive whiteboard in the classroom as well that we use a lot for whole group instruction. The kids use the SMARTboard during centers, so they’ll be doing some word building and word writing, and those kinds of things.

One of the things that I use my SMARTboard for is a lot of teacher things. So like in the morning, we take attendance. As the kids come in each morning, their pictures are on the SMARTboard. They move their picture from home to school, to show that they are at school.

And then I have what I call my boombox, which is a PDF document that has clipart linked to songs and videos that we use on YouTube. Whenever I want to pull up a song for the kids to use, instead of typing in the name or something, or searching for it on YouTube, I’m able to just touch on that boombox, and it will immediately open that song or video. It just makes my life a little bit easier as a teacher and keeps things moving.

What Mistakes Do You Make Using Technology with Kindergarteners?
Vicki: Have you ever made a mistake when you started using technology with kindergarteners?

Greg: Oh gosh. All the time.

Of course there’s always that inevitable, “The technology fails.”

But my biggest issue is always with YouTube, it seems like. One minute YouTube works great, and the next minute nothing will load. Or you pull up a video and even though it is a kid-friendly video, a kindergarten video, the ad before it is something inappropriate, so you’re scrambling to try to turn if off or make it stop.

That’s really where I struggle with technology — just, “Is it going to work today, is the internet going to work today, and then something inappropriate popping up on YouTube which is unfortunately not a lot that we can control.

Vicki: So what, Greg, is advice that you have for kindergarten teachers who feel a little bit scared of using technology in their classroom?

Greg: I get it. It’s new. It kind of seems like it’s more to have to do. So I would just say start slowly. If you’re comfortable with a technology, try to bring that into your classroom. Kind of build on it from there.

I always tell teachers, “We expect our kids to show up every single day and take risks. As teachers, we need to be willing to do the same thing.”

If technology is an area that we’re kind of scared of, maybe that’s a risk we need to take. We need to bring in some more technology into the classroom.

I always just say, “Go for it!”

The worst that can happen is that it cannot work. It can fail. And we can have great conversations with our kids about how, even as adults, we fail. Now we can learn from that, and we can be better.

I’m all about taking risks, so I always just say, “Jump in and go for it!”

What To Do When Technology Fails?
Vicki: Oh, that’s so great!. I have to ask this. What do you do when the technology just crashes and doesn’t work? That strikes fear in the heart of teachers!

Greg: (laughs)

It really does. But you know, I think as our kids are getting so much more used to technology, they’re now used to technology not working.

I think it’s gotten a little bit easier, because the kids are like, “Oh, it’s not working.” Or they’ll immediately say, “Oh, the internet’s not working.” They just kind of roll with it, and we move on.

Of course, they’re going to be disappointed. But we just kind of move on to whatever’s next, try to keep going, and not let it completely derail the lesson or derail the whole day.

Vicki: Really, though… what percentage of the time does it actually not work?

Greg: Probably 5-10% or less.

It’s not a major everyday occurrence, but it does happen. And of course, it always happens when you’re being observed and evaluated by administration.

Vicki: (laughs)

Greg: Never fails.

Vicki: (laughs)

Oh my goodness! That is what happens, isn’t it?

My principal always seems to come in when I have the wildest, craziest things happening, and I’m just like, “I don’t even know how you’re going to evaluate me on this.”

Greg: Exactly.

Vicki: And then you’re so scared about what they’re going to think.

Greg: Right.

Vicki: OK. So Mr. Greg has just shared lots of great ideas for our kindergarten classrooms. But here’s the thing. If he can do it in kindergarten, you know you can do it with any age.

It’s part of being a remarkable teacher. We’ve had so many fantastic ideas.

Get out there and try some of them today.

Concern for struggling readers and poor literacy scores has educators and special interest groups meeting, blogging, and talking about “awareness” of the issue. Unfortunately, most of the discussion is on just that, “awareness.” There aren’t many new ideas coming down the pipeline to help teachers reach this new age of children and their hunger for bigger, better, faster, and flashier ways of learning. So, the action steps usually include some type of intervention during or after school.

Much of this attention is directed towards at-risk 4th-8th graders who are currently being pushed through the system and forced to deal with compounding issues later in their academic careers. Whereas this effort is a vital part of the overall solution, it focusses on what to do with the water that has leaked through the dam rather than plugging the hole. Our company, Alive Studios, is focusing on building stronger foundations for reading and math by focusing attention on PreK to 3rd graders before they enter the mid to upper elementary ages.

As a mother of two adopted sons from an orphanage in Latvia, I was faced with the challenge of teaching my young boys to speak and read English. Speaking wasn’t too bad, but reading and writing proved to be a source of many tears. We tried public and private schools and most of the popular off-the-shelf reading programs. Nothing seemed to offer the breakthrough we were so desperately seeking. In the midst of our dilemma, I was introduced to augmented reality. One of my employees slid a flash card with a black square printed on it under a document camera and the Eiffel Tower popped up in 3D on top of the card. It was that event that triggered a full supplemental reading curriculum based on augmented reality for early learners. My desire to help my boys with an engaging, “surprising” way to learn to read actually launched a new company.

Alive Studios provides engaging software kits for early learners, incorporating zoo animals that spring to life in 3D and interact with children as they learn reading and math. This eye-popping (and kind of mind-boggling) experience has kids fully-engaged as they recite the letters, words, and simple sentences. Our Letters alive Plus kit incorporates evidence-based reading instruction through the use of AR software. The supplemental lessons and activities are presented within an animal-filled theme, which helps tie science into every lesson. The more I learn about brain science, the more I understand why our solution is so successful for kids. Our lessons appeal to a wide range of learning styles and abilities, and literally have students laughing and squealing their way to better scores.

At J.E. Moss Elementary in Nashville Tennessee, Greg Smedley-Warren teaches a kindergarten class that is 90% ELLs. Within the first 30 days of integrating Letters alive Plus into his ABC Bootcamp, Greg said, “Our letter and sound knowledge went from less than 10 (average)…to all 26 letters.” After using Letters alive Plus, he said, “90% of my students read at grade level or higher and are reading earlier in the year.” Reading scores from his class are charted in a new case study, which includes a revealing interview.

Greg said that his students’ engagement in Letters alive Plus was “amazing,” adding that “It also builds excitement for school, which is vital for our students at the beginning of the year.” The Letters alive Plus kit that Greg and his students used includes 26 letter cards, 97 sight-word cards, and 84 word-family cards. Each card is interactive and triggers multiple animations depending on the word or sentence that is created. While learning to identify and sound out each letter, the kindergarteners were able to hear, see, touch, build, and speak all throughout the lesson. This multimodal approach appeals to a broad range of learning styles and abilities, and increases long-term retention (especially for ELL, at-risk, and special needs students).

While our supplemental learning kits are aligned to kindergarten state standards, they are also extremely effective as interventive solutions for 1st-3rd graders who may not have mastered the required reading and math concepts. One of the more flexible features of the programs is that they can be used for whole class, small group, or individual instruction. This allows teachers to target instruction based on students’ specific needs, which improves outcomes.

Alive Studios already had independent research that revealed a 48% increase in letter naming and a whopping 112% increase in letter sound recognition. One of the surprising results of this previous study was the positive effect Letters alive had on classroom management. Attention spans were lengthened and students’ motivation to learn was increased. Now that teachers have been actively incorporating the AR-based software into their existing curriculum, several success stories, like Greg’s, have begun pouring in. My team and I were thrilled about this new data from Greg. Getting this affirmation for the effectiveness of our learning kits, especially with ELL students, inspires us to continue helping teachers throughout the U.S. and beyond.

Teachers can use unexpected events to bring students’ brains to attention and illuminate the pathways to memory storage.

Can you think of a time when you were surprised? Of course you can. We all can. There’s actually a scientific reason that explains our ability to recall such times, as Dr. Judy Willis, a neurologist and classroom teacher, explains in her book, Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning.

“Our brains are structured to remember novel events that are unexpected,” says Dr. Willis. There are chemicals or electrical signals that pass from neuron to neuron across synapses in our brain in normal thought processing. During a surprise or unexpected event, an extra dose of dopamine is released in our brains, creating stronger connections, which lead to long-term memory. “One of the most important brain regions involved in discovering, processing, and storing new sensory impressions is the hippocampus, located in the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex. Novel stimuli tend to activate the hippocampus more than familiar stimuli do, which is why the hippocampus serves as the brain’s ‘novelty detector,’” cited Daniela Fenker, researcher at the University of Magdeburg’s Neurology Clinic II in Germany.

With Google and a few hours of research time, you can find countless studies that confirm the significance of a novel event that interrupts a familiar context and how it increases the ability to recall information. Understanding and accepting this phenomenon leads to the question of whether or not the surprise can come from an intended and purposeful source rather than by chance. The short answer is yes. Several studies in controlled settings have tested the effect that surprise events play in an otherwise normal learning environment. In each case, memory and recollection improved when novel events were interjected.

How does all this translate to education? Are there ways in which educators can structure their lessons to take advantage of “surprise”?

Dr. Willis suggests teachers use surprise to bring students’ brains to attention and illuminate the pathways to memory storage. For example, teachers can introduce lessons while wearing a funny hat or an elaborate costume; or, students can read stories in a new environment such as a circle of beanbags or outside on the grass. Parents and local volunteers can be invited to present information or concepts with a refreshing perspective. Music, games, hands-on activities, friendly competitions, team concepts, and project-based learning are effective ways to not only improve motivation and engagement, but also to increase students’ knowledge retention.

Some of the most successful and celebrated early-ed teachers today are known to embrace this concept. They have bright and colorful classrooms with creative, open seating. They have built a culture of fun, imagination, and sometimes their own language; they single out students with special nicknames, handwritten notes, or frequent eye-contact conversations to let them know they are loved and important. If you think of your favorite teachers from your elementary years, chances are good they followed practices similar to these. Each of these examples goes beyond the norm. They are unexpected and break the pattern of the familiar.

As a mother of two adopted sons from an orphanage in Latvia, I was faced with the challenge of teaching my young boys to speak and read English. Speaking wasn’t too bad, but reading and writing proved to be a source of many tears. We tried and failed with most of the popular off-the-shelf reading programs. Nothing seemed to offer the breakthrough we were so desperately seeking.

In the midst of our dilemma, I was introduced to augmented reality. One of my employees slid a flash card with a black square printed on it under a document camera, and the Eiffel Tower popped up in 3D on top of the card. Yes, that was a personal “novel event” that I will remember forever. It was that event that triggered a full supplemental reading curriculum based on augmented reality for early learners. My desire to help my boys with an engaging, “surprising” way to learn to read actually launched a new company.

Today, Alive Studios embraces the element of surprise, along with a multi-modal and cross-curricular approach, to motivate early learners towards proficiency. Each letter of the alphabet is coupled with an animal that springs to life in 3D and interacts with children as they control its actions by building sentences with sight words. This eye-popping (and kind of mind-boggling) experience has kids giggling, squealing, and laughing as they recite the letters, words, and simple sentences.

Whether it be the incorporation of the latest technologies like augmented reality or wearing a simple George Washington wig, the instructional value of surprise is proven and undisputed. In our modern world, children are peppered with visual and auditory stimuli from 500+ channels on TV, bottomless music sources, hundreds of thousands of mobile apps, and endless posts on social media feeds. In order to compete on that playing field, teachers should consider stepping outside the box and creating memorable lessons by adding a bit of “surprise.”

We are introducing a new augmented reality printed storybook, Amos Alligator Arrives at the Airport, into our current line of reading and math programs for PreK to 3rd graders. Our new interactive storybook is one of only a handful in early education that utilizes the emerging technology known as augmented reality. The accompanying free Storybooks alive™ app provides young readers with an unforgettable 3D experience and transports them into an imaginative and exciting adventure. It’s so funny when teachers see our animated characters pop into their mobile devices. They get as excited as the kids do!

Our main products are great in the classroom, but we didn’t have a product that encouraged parental engagement… until now. The free Storybook app is rich with activities for parents and children to work through together and is available now on the iTunes App Store and Google Play and the printed book can be purchased from www.StorybooksAlive.com. With the app, young readers can point their tablet or smartphone camera at the pages in the storybook and have the characters jump to life in augmented reality on the device. The 3D elements and characters then interact with the reader as they’re touched on the screen. Children can have the book read to them by the app with a simple touch or they can read by themselves. Our first augmented reality Storybook teaches the letter A and the sounds it represents, along with several sight words as children are engaged with Amos’s adventure. We’re very pleased to be announcing our new book at ISTE 2016 in Colorado June 27-29, one of the premier technology shows for education worldwide.

Hello fellow CEO’s … Chief Education Officers!

I am blessed with the opportunity to speak at several educational conferences around the country about augmented reality… one of my favorite topics. I know we develop our own augmented reality software for classrooms, but it is always good to see what others are doing with this cool technology in education.

Our passion is to provide educators with nuggets of information and practical tools that can be brought back to classrooms. Augmented Reality will be a huge part of this next generation. One of the leaders in the space, Magic Leap, has raised over one billion dollars in investment startup capital; demonstrates the interest and potential this technology offers. If you aren’t familiar with it, check it out.

I know we are all looking for differentiated learning experiences that engage our students. One of the products I want to share with you is called Aurasma. Aurasma is a free DIY (do it yourself) augmented reality app for your smart device. You can use it to “bring to life” anything or object in your classroom. The thing I really like is its intuitive menu system. It doesn’t take long at all to find your way around it and begin creating your own augmented reality magic.

I put a short video together to show you how easy it is to use Aurasma. In the video you will notice I make ordinary vocabulary cards come to life. You can use this wonderful little app to teach so many things… you are limited only by your imagination. Enjoy!

The wait is finally over! One of the common questions we receive after teachers fall in love with our software is “Are Letters alive and Math alive on DonorsChoose.org?” Now, we can answer with an enthusiastic, “Yes!”

Thanks to our friends at Kaplan Early Learning Company, our reading and math learning kits are now posted amongst the other great products offered through this popular funding organization. Letters alive, Math alive, and Learning alive are now available in Mac or Windows versions on the DonorsChoose.org website.

DonorsChoose.org makes it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America create classroom project requests, and donors can give any amount to the project that inspires them. Teachers simply post their need and the product they wish to have, and donors can choose to make donations to fund the project. According to their website, over 70% of projects get funded. Periodically, Bill and Melinda Gates offer a matching program where they match any project donation.

In an effort to help teachers post their stories and projects, we have created a funding section on our site to make it as easy as possible to post your project and seek funding for our products.

As a startup technology company within the education market, it’s crucial for Alive Studios to be selective with our marketing dollars. Our mission is to provide teachers with cool technology that helps early learners become proficient in reading and math by the third grade. So, our marketing budget is targeted to areas in which we can deliver that message to as many decision makers as possible. This year, we made our second trip to an ISTE Expo as an exhibitor; and for a second consecutive year, ISTE has delivered by putting us in front of some great contacts.

The traffic seems non-stop at the shows and the attendees are always hungry for the latest technology trends in education. This, of course, is right up our ally since we are the world’s first company to develop an full-year, early education, supplemental curriculum using augmented reality technology. Our small booth size is compensated for by our 3D animated animal characters bellowing out of our sound system, which makes it tough for passers by to not be drawn into the curiosity zone.

ISTE not only provides us an excellent outlet to reach multitudes of tech-hungry prospects for our reading and math solutions, we also find ourselves meeting key B2B vendors that compliment our business. We have struck several relationships from hardware, to book publishing, to live streaming on the internet. Also, as we become more integrated into the exhibitor family, we enjoy seeing old friends and helping each other through our network of contacts.

One of our biggest attention-getters is our $795 Giveaway for a full Letters alive Kit! We hold a drawing, which is open to all attendees who enter their names. On the last day of the show, we draw quite a crowd as we announce the winner.

We are already looking forward to the ISTE Expo for 2016 and will be spending some time throughout the rest of this year nurturing the business relationships we’ve started.