SHOWCASE Yukon Schools

5th Graders Enjoy Interactive Writing on KidBlog

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Tue, 28 May 2013 15:14:00 +0000

For the second year, fifth grade students in Mrs. Sue Hooge's classes at Independence Elementary School have had the opportunity to share their writing projects online using the free website KidBlog. Mrs. Hooge setup three different KidBlog sites for the 5th grade writing students she taught last year in her homeroom, Mrs. Cromwell's class, and Mrs. Burgess' class. Here are some of the comments 5th graders wrote at the end of the year about their experiences with interactive writing and KidBlog.

Yasmine wrote:

This year, I thought it was exciting to use Kidblog. I thought it helped me a little because it helped me learn to blog if someday I wanted to blog on something else. It also helped me because it has spell check and it helped me learn how to spell and remember the words that I type. It was also a little fun because I could blog at home about what I did during the weekend or during spring break. Also, at the beginning of the year, we got to do our first blog about the book that we read from the library so it was kind of new to me when it first introduced to me. I really liked Kidblog and I thought it was very fun to experience it.

To access their class' Kidblog website from home, in the school computer lab, in the classroom, or anywhere else, students learned to visit www.yukonps.com and click the top tab for OUR STAFF. Then students (and other web visitors) can click INTERACTIVE TEACHER SITES in the right sidebar of the page. That page lists links to individual teacher KidBlog sites and other interactive media sites, like YouTube and AudioBoo channels.

In reflecting about her experiences with KidBlog, Ashlee wrote:

I think kid blog is like Facebook but much safer and better for kids! It is really fun to type stories, advice, or just because you want to tell kids about something you did. I also like to comment on people’s post to tell them what I liked about it or tell them if they misspelled a word or something like that. It is great to see what other people are doing or to see how their stories are different from yours! I had a fantastic experience with kid blog and I hope you did too!

It is not only important for our students to learn to practice good digital citizenship and the responsibility which comes with access to digital resources online, it's also required by the new Common Core State Standards. Students are required to both read and write with different kinds media, and using digital text on a classroom site like KidBlog is an excellent way to practice these skills.

Not all the 5th grade students were excited to use a public, interactive website for writing, however. Landon wrote:

I don’t really like Kid Blog that much but it was kind of fun. I’m not really in to the websites where you type things and people comment on your opinion.

It's true not all students are fond of writing or enthusiastic about writing in a public forum where other people can see their work. Since we live in a world increasingly filled with digital information, however, it's more important than ever that we help students learn to wisely and responsibly navigate the choices which face them when it comes to writing and sharing ideas online. It's important to note Mrs. Hooge MODERATED all the posts and comments which students and others submitted to their Kidblog sites during the year. This ability for the teacher to filter and approve posts before they are seen by other students as well as the public is critical, and helped Mrs. Hooge facilitate positive writing experiences for her students online this year.

While blogging in class wasn't the highlight of the year for every student, it definitely was for some in YPS. Natalie, a student at Lakeview Elementary School, joined the after-school club "Storychasers" last semester. In a recent post on the LES Storychasers site, she wrote:

My half year in story chasers has been the best thing of the whole year. It was great if you are in 4th grade and you are not in story chasers you sure try as hard as you possibly can no matter if you don’t want to be a journalist. My favorite thing in story chasers was when we first started and the things we learned. We learned how to do audio boo, articles, and how to do a lot of things.

It's wonderful to see teachers and students in YPS embracing digital writing and the opportunities it affords for students to both develop their literacy skills as well as meet Common Core State Standards. Check out more YPS student work on the Interactive Teacher Websites page.

by flickingerbrad

Poems with Prezi

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Tue, 28 May 2013 14:27:00 +0000

Seventh grade students of Mrs. Ricki Robertson at Yukon Middle School used the website Prezi last semester to create interactive presentations for poems they created for class. Here are five examples Way to go Mrs. Robertson and 7th (now 8th) grade YMS students!

Steve Jobs by Judy

Lincoln Poem by Brandon

Jesus Christ by Summer

Martin Luther King Jr by Joey

Abraham Lincoln by Austin

Why Your School Needs a Scratch Club [VIDEO]

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:23:00 +0000

This past year, fourth and fifth grade students at Independence Elementary School in Yukon, Oklahoma, have had the opportunity to participate in an after-school Scratch Club led by STEM teacher Chris Simon. Scratch is a free program from the MIT Media Lab, which permits learners of any age to create games, tell stories, make animations, and much more. In its new 2.0 version, Scratch is entirely web-based, so it can even run on a Chromebook! Yesterday was the final day of "Scratch Club" for students at Independence Elementary this year, and several students shared the reasons why they enjoy Scratch and have loved the Scratch Club. In this five minute video compilation of their ideas, pay attention to how several students mention the importance of "agency" and choice. Many report how they love the opportunity to be self-directed in their learning and to have opportunities to use their imaginations to create. Also notice the way one student references the "hard fun" of programming, which is something Gary Stager talks about often in the context of students learning to code.

Many thanks to Chris Simon as well as Cecil Bowles, the principal of Independence Elementary, for supporting this Scratch Club experience for fourth and fifth grade students. All students at IES were introduced to the Scratch program in the fall, and many chose to attend the Spring Break "Scratch Camp" Chris Simon helped facilitate in March. Scratch Club, however, has provided weekly opportunities for students to not only "go deeper" with their knowledge of programming in Scratch. Perhaps more importantly, Scratch Club has provided a space for students to be encouraged and recognized for their "geek skills" in creating programs, making videos and telling stories with computers. It will be exciting to see where these students choose to apply these skills in the years ahead!

Check out Code.org for more information about getting an after-school computer programming club like the IES Scratch Club going at your school!

Using Student Videos on YouTube to Demonstrate Proper School Procedures

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:38:00 +0000

Jennie Wilmes, the K-3 librarian at Shedeck Elementary School, has been working with teachers this semester on a new "digital way" to help students learn proper procedures at school. Using some very talented student actors, Mrs. Wilmes created and published six short videos to her Library YouTube channel which showcase proper procedures for using the bathroom, walking in the hallway, attending the morning "sunrise" assembly, eating in the cafeteria, staying safe on the playground, and checking out books from the library. Mrs. Wilmes collected all six videos in a single YouTube playlist, so teachers at Shedeck (as well as parents and students, with assistance) can access these terrific videos. They range in duration from 37 seconds to 1 minute and 57 seconds each. Mrs. Wilmes recorded, edited and published these videos to YouTube using an iPad and the iPad app, iMovie. Gayla Pounds, the literacy coach at Shedeck, also assisted with the video recording. Check out these super videos featuring Shedeck students!

Developing Communication Skills With YouTube & iPad Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:59:00 +0000

Ginger Gregory is the Gifted Resource Teacher at Lakeview Elementary School in Yukon, and currently has 117 videos on her classroom YouTube channel. Ginger has used the six iPads in her classroom and her free, district-provided YouTube channel (since our district participates in the Google Apps for Education program) to help her students develop oral communication skills, oral fluency, as well as digital literacy skills this semester. In the following six minute video, Mrs. Gregory and eight of her students explain what they have learned as a result of their assignments this year using iPad videos and YouTube.

It's exciting to hear about these positive ways Lakeview students and teachers are not only meeting the new Common Core State Standards, which include requirements for students to both use and create information in multimedia formats, but also how students are having opportunities to discuss and practice the responsible use of digital media tools like YouTube. Mrs. Gregory is doing a great job finding ways to not only engage students through technology, but also prepare students to make good choices with technology tools. This "digital literacy" training and practice is more important than ever in our hyper-connected world. Way to go, Mrs. Gregory and Lakeview Elementary students!

While Yukon Schools also participates in the free "YouTube for Schools" filtering program which limits student access at school to only "approved" YouTube videos, it's very important to prepare students to make good digital choices when they access the Internet OFF the school network. This happens regularly when students use cell phones with data plans or go online at home or other places where Internet content is not filtered.

As of April 30, 2013, teachers and staff in Yukon Public Schools had created 24 different YouTube channels. YPS has over 500 certified teachers, but most do not yet have YouTube channels. YPS teachers were first able to create district-administered YouTube channels a year ago, in the spring of 2012. Teachers like Mrs. Gregory who are exploring the use of YouTube for educational purposes are blazing an important trail as digital learning pioneers for other educators around our district, throughout Oklahoma, and around the world.

If you're interested in seeing other creative ways Yukon teachers are using YouTube to share student work and "flip their classrooms," check out the channels of high school trigonometry teacher Jim Drummond (25 videos, math problem tutorials), 7th grade geography teacher Phillip Ward (42 videos, student "paper-slide video" reports about Africa), 6th grade social studies teacher Kayleen Browning (6 videos, student skits about ancient Rome), and professional development coordinator Adam Zodrow (7 videos: screencasts about Common Core, TLE and more). If you're interested in creating a free YouTube channel, check out these instructions on the YPS Instructional FAQs site.

Many thanks to Jake Heister, who taught a wonderful professional development workshop earlier this semester at Canadian Valley Technology Center about instructional uses of YouTube, which Mrs. Gregory attended.

3rd Graders Research Animals with 4 iPads, AudioBoo and PebbleGo

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:30:00 +0000

This spring semester, 3rd grade students at Shedeck Elementary School in Yukon, Oklahoma, worked with their librarian, Jeannie Wilmes, to conduct "blended research" about different kinds of animals. Their research was "blended" because students used both library books as well as electronic resources like the PebbleGo website and database. Mrs. Wilmes worked with students twice a week for two weeks in this project, which culminated in students audio recording their research using the free iPad app AudioBoo. Students were then able to share their recordings with classmates and with parents online. In this five minute interview video, Mrs. Wilmes and some of the Shedeck third graders describe their project, what they enjoyed and some of their lessons learned.

Check out more of the students' recordings on the AudioBoo channels for Mrs. Doran's class, Mrs. Filyukova's class, and Mrs. Forga's class. It's wonderful to see and hear the great work that Mrs. Wilmes is able to do with students as a full-time library media specialist. Way to go Shedeck students and educators!

Do you know about mudpuppies, which are sometimes called water dogs? If not, you better check out Cynthia's report!

listen to ‘Cynthia C.’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Natalie V’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘David L’ on Audioboo

2013 Yukon Teacher of the Year Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:17:00 +0000

The Teacher of the Year Program in Yukon Public Schools highlights outstanding teachers on each of our eleven campuses. In advance of last week's Teacher of the Year banquet, when Shannon Dutton was awarded the 2013 YPS District Teacher of the Year award, students as well as teachers across the district were interviewed about their campus teacher of the year. These videos were shared during the Teacher of the Year banquet, and are now available publicly on our YPS Storychasers YouTube channel. Please take some time to watch these videos and hear from our students and staff about many of the reasons these YPS teachers are outstanding! These eleven videos are also available in a YouTube playlist.

Direct links to the videos are:

5th Graders Create eBooks on Idioms

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 06:25:00 +0000

5th graders in Sue Hooge's writing classes at Independence Elementary School were recently inspired by students in Indonesia to create their own "enhanced eBooks." Students read and discussed the eBook "Our Batak House," created and published in January 2013 by elementary students taught by Jane Ross in Indonesia as part of her classroom "Digital Backpack" project.

In addition to text and photos, an "enhanced eBook" can include recorded audio. After completing a language arts study on idioms, Mrs. Hooge and YPS instructional coach Wes Fryer taught IES 5th grade students how to use the iPad app "Book Creator" to include both photos and recorded audio in an eBook. Students decided to create their own "class eBooks" about idioms, and used "Our Batak House" as an inspirational model. Each class included "About the Author" or "Behind the Scenes" pages at the end of their book, to provided more information and context for readers who might be anywhere in the world!

If you have an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, click the links below to download the "enhanced ePUB" eBooks created by Mrs. Hooge's writing students and enjoy their digital creations!

The Idiom Book (Mrs. Hooge's Class)
Amazing Idioms (Mrs. Cromwell's Class)
Idioms (Mrs. Burgess' Class)

Wes Fryer recorded a five minute video for Alan Levine's project, "True Stories of Open Sharing," telling the story of how 5th graders in Sue Hooge's class came to be inspired by Indonesian student eBook authors. The title of that video is, "Open Sharing Leads to eBook Inspiration: Indonesia to Minnesota to Oklahoma."

Way to go Mrs. Hooge and 5th grade students at IES for creating these enhanced eBooks! It's exciting to see the wonderful ways our Yukon teachers are helping students develop their literacy skills! It's also very timely to see this great example of how positive open sharing and use of social media tools can be for student learning, since the international "Open Education Week" is coming up March 11-15, 2013!

Why Scratch Club?

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 22:07:00 +0000

This Spring 2013 semester, twenty-four 4th and 5th grade students are participating in "Scratch Club" after school at Independence Elementary. STEM teacher Chris Simon is sponsoring the club, which students were invited to apply for in December. See the previous post, "Yukon Students Learning Computer Programming with Scratch," for more information about FREE Scratch programming software, how Scratch complements the STEM program at Independence and in Yukon Public Schools, and how ALL students at IES were introduced to Scratch this past fall semester. Today Mr. Simon, four IES Scratch Club students, and principal Cecil Bowles spoke briefly about why the Scratch Club has been started and what they are each looking forward to with Scratch Club. The video of their ideas ("Why Scratch Club?") is 2.5 minutes long. Please check it out!

Learn more about the IES Scratch Club on scratchclub.yukonps.com. Check out Mason's Scratch project, "About Me" on the Scratch community website.

Yukon Students Learning Computer Programming with Scratch

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:49:00 +0000

The December 12, 2012, issue of the Yukon Review featured an article on page 11 about students taking STEM classes with Chris Simon at Independence Elementary School. STEM is an acronym for "Science, Technology, Engineering and Math." The article was titled, "'Scratch' teaches students computer programming: Unique learning environment challenges Independence Elementary School fourth and fifth graders." Here's the text of the article.

Fourth and fifth grade students at Independence Elementary School recently got an introduction to computer game programming and animation. The class was co-taught by STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) teacher Chris Simon and Yukon Public Schools' Common Core instructional coach Wes Fryer using the Scratch programming platform.

"At the beginning of the year I asked the kids if they were interested in computer programming, and a few raised their hands," Simon said. "When I mentioned their video games were developed by computer programmers, they all raised their hands. This program is a fun way to foster that interest and not be overwhelmed by the actual complex language used in programming."

"For example, younger children can create projects very easily and then they're blown away when I tell them college students use Scratch in some introductory computer science classes, including Harvard's introductory computer class. Projects can be very basic, or highly complex. It's entirely dependent on their interest and imagination."

Scratch is a programming language learning environment enabling beginners to get results without having to learn syntactically correct writing first.

Created by the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Media Lab, it is intended to motivate further learning through playfully experimenting and [the] creation of projects, such as interactive animations, games, etc. Scratch is used in many different settings: schools, museums, community centers, and homes.

Best of all, it is free to anyone who wants to use it. It runs on both Windows and Apple computers. You can download Scratch at: scratch.mit.edu.

Fryer was introduced to Scratch several years ago and led several "Scratch Camps" in Oklahoma City last summer for students as well as teachers.

"One of the creators of Scratch, Mitch Resnick," describes it as having a 'high bar, but low ceiling," Fryer said. "This means it's easy for even young kids to get started creating projects in Scratch, but the sky's the limit with what they can potentially make. It's really an awesome platform for creativity, building communication skills, and developing computational thinking. We know all of these skills are important for our students in the new era of Common Core."

"YPS is extremely fortunate to have a fulltime STEM program for fourth and fifth graders. My hat is off to Chris Simon for jumping in and introducing IES students to Scratch. Who can say the exciting places these skills will take our Yukon students in the months and years ahead? We're living in a digital world, and these kids are learning to think critically as well as communicate effectively in the digital landscape."

Chris Simon is starting an after-school "Scratch Club" for 4th and 5th graders at IES in Spring 2013, which will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school starting January 10th. The website scratchclub.yukonps.com showcases student Scratch projects and shares more information about the club. IES students were invited to apply for Scratch Club in December, and Mr. Simon is starting with 24 students. Both Mr. Simon and Dr. Fryer hope the enthusiasm for Scratch and computer programming will grow not only in Yukon but across the state of Oklahoma!

3rd Grade Narrated Art About Bats

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:59:00 +0000

Third graders in Mrs. Bounds' class at Parkland Elementary School learned about different kinds of bats in October. Working with the Parkland librarian, Mrs. Eskew, Mrs. Bounds helped her students take pictures of their bat artwork and narrate those pictures using the free website AudioBoo. Here are five of the student projects. It's great to see Parkland students taking opportunities like these to practice their oral language fluency and communication skills, as well as their writing. Common Core State Standards, which Oklahoma schools are in the process of adopting, require students to communicate ideas online for a global audience. Way to go students, Mrs. Bounds, and Mrs. Eskew!

listen to ‘Vampire Bat - Ella’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Fisherman Bat - Taylor’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Bulldog Bat - Audrey’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Spear Nose Bat - Carter’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Flying Fox Bat - Anna’ on Audioboo

Student-Created Sequoyah Book Reports, AudioBoo, iPads and QR Codes

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:19:00 +0000

Fourth and fifth grade students at Independence Elementary School in Yukon Public Schools are sharing their learning as well as excitement for library books this year in a unique, highly digital way that is not only fun, but also meets Oklahoma's new Common Core State Standards for literacy. Students are recording short, oral book reviews and posting them online using the free iPad app and webservice AudioBoo. Then students are using QR codes in the library to access and listen to each other's book reports. In this short video IES librarian, Lindsey Clinton, explains how the project works. In addition, some IES students demonstrate the process of using AudioBoo (free) to record and publish audio book reports.

The Sequoyah Book Contest is sponsored each year by the Oklahoma Library Association to encourage students to read books of high literary quality. "Master lists" are published in May, and students are encouraged to read as many of the books as possible during the following school year. According to the contest's official website:

Students in grades 3-5 who have read or listened to at least three titles from the Children's Masterlist are eligible to vote for the Children's Sequoyah Book Award.

Students vote in February and March each year, with all votes submitted to the Oklahoma Library Association by April 1st.

Mrs. Clinton devised this project to encourage more students to read the Sequoyah books as well as develop their oral communication skills through recorded book reports. Adam Zodrow, the YPS Professional Development Coordinator, worked with Lindsey to setup an AudioBoo channel and get students started with their recordings. Using some strategies from the "Narrated Art" project idea on the "Mapping Media to the Common Core" website, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Zodrow designed the IES Sequoyah book challenge to develop students' traditional literacy skills alongside their digital literacy skills. So far it's been a great project and very successful, as you can hear from the student comments in the video above!

Listen to and comment on IES student audio book reports by visiting the IES library's blog, where Mrs. Clinton has posted and embedded student AudioBoo reports!

Common Core Writing Lesson With AudioBoo: 9/11 Narrated Art

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 18:21:00 +0000

Kayleen Browning teaches 6th grade Social Studies at Yukon Middle School. This year, she asked her students to identify a word which summarized things they had studied and learned about the 9/11 attacks in 2001 by al-Qaeda on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Mrs. Browning recently heard about the free iPad app and website AudioBoo, and the idea of helping students create "narrated art" using the program. She taught her students how to photograph a drawing they had made or upload a photo they found online, and then read a short essay they wrote about their 9/11 reflection using AudioBoo. This is a two minute video interview with Mrs. Browning recorded today in her classroom, in which she describes the assignment and its connection to the Common Core State Standards which Oklahoma is transitioning to now. This is a great example of how YPS teachers are integrating writing assignments across the curriculum, helping students practice practice their oral communication skills, and helping students safely publish their work in digital forms online.

Here are links to seven of the 95 AudioBoo "narrated art" 9/11 reflections Mrs. Browning's sixth graders recorded in September this year. Access all of them on audioboo.fm/Brownink.

listen to ‘Surreal’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Gallantry by Emily ’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Sadness by Brady’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Fearless by Paige ’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Strength my kathleen’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Shocking by Sakura R.’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Sadness by Aaron Sailer’ on Audioboo

Parkland Elementary School Library's YouTube Channel

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:20:00 +0000

Chris Eskew, the librarian at Parkland Elementary School in YPS, recently created a YouTube channel and uploaded her first video: "Library Procedures."She recorded this with an iPad in different segments, and then edited them together using iMovie for iPad. Mrs. Eskew is using this video with students at Parkland this year as they discuss appropriate and inappropriate library behaviors! Check it out! Way to go Mrs. Eskew!

Check out more YPS teacher "interactive websites!" All teachers, librarians, and club/team sponsors in YPS can create a FREE YouTube channel to showcase student work, projects and activities. To learn how, see the post "Create an Educational YouTube Channel" on our YPS Instructional FAQs site.

Learn About Your Teacher Through Her QR Code

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 18:02:00 +0000

How did parents in your classroom or your child/grandchild's classroom learn about new teachers this year? At Independence Elementary School in Yukon Public Schools, parents of students learning with Dawn Dukes in the Gifted Program could use a smartphone and a free QR code reader app to scan the following sign outside her classroom.

This QR code forwards smartphones (and other devices with reader apps, like iPads) to this webpage with a photo and some biographical information about Mrs. Dukes.

QR Codes provide a fast way to share web links and other resources with other people who are using smartphones or tablets. i-Nigma is the free QR code reader app teachers in YPS used this summer in iPad Media Camp. Many other free apps are available for reading QR codes as well as creating them. The free website createqrcode.appspot.com is an example: Simply paste the web link or other information you want converted into a QR code, then click CREATE. You can print and share the QR code with others like Mrs. Dukes did outside her classroom.

This year several librarians in our district are working with students who are making digital book reports. Their plan is to use QR codes in the library to link those student audio and video projects, so more parents as well as classmates will be able to access them!

Interview with Yukon High School Author: Luke Swanson

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:57:00 +0000

Luke Swanson is a junior at Yukon High School and the author of the recently published book, "Liberty and Justice for All." The book is a historical novel set in 1865 at the battle of Appomattox, at the close of the U.S. Civil War. This is an eighteen minute interview recorded with Luke on April 30, 2012. In the interview, Luke shared some of the backstory about how he wrote the book, what was most challenging as well as rewarding about the book writing process, and advice he has for other people who aspire to publish their own books. Luke published the ebook online by himself, directly, using Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing and Barnes and Noble's PubIt! website. In the interview Luke also identified several people who have been particularly inspirational to him as a student, author and lover of history. These teachers include Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Swanda, Mr. Block, Mr. Kendall, and Mr. Colley. His mother, also a middle school teacher, has also been extremely inspirational to and influential on Luke as he's developed his passions for writing and history. In addition to ordering "Liberty and Justice for All" from Amazon.com or BarnesAndNoble.com (for $2.99) you can stay up to date on Luke's writing by "liking" his Facebook page, "By Luke Swanson." That Facebook page is also a good way to get in touch with him, in case you're interested in inviting him to speak at your bookstore, library, conference, or other event. Luke was featured in Matt Patterson's April 23, 2012, front page article in The Daily Oklahoman, "Yukon student becomes eBook author." Yukon Public Schools is proud of Luke Swanson and the trailblazing example he's set for students everywhere as a self-published eBook author!

(direct mp3 download)

"Liberty and Justice for All"(Amazon.com)
"Liberty and Justice for All"(Barnes and Noble)
"By Luke Swanson" (author's page on Facebook)
"Yukon student becomes eBook author" (NewsOK.com, 23 April 2012)

Surrey Hills 3rd Graders Share Their Creative Voices

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:53:00 +0000

Third grade students at Surrey Hills Elementary in Yukon have enjoyed new opportunities to share their creative voices online this semester. Teachers Shila Dobbins, Linda Smith, and Joell Slavin have used the free website AudioBoo.fm with their students to record creative stories written earlier in the semester based on Jan Brett's book, "Gingerbread Baby." Each teacher has a "channel" website on AudioBoo, which are linked from the Yukon Public Schools' Interactive Teacher Websites page. Here are three examples of student audio recordings. Students drew artwork to accompany their stories, and photographs of many of their pictures are included on the AudioBoo website. Great job, students and teachers at Surrey Hills Elementary!

Austin's Alien Gingerbread Story

listen to ‘Austin's Alien Gingerbread Story’ on Audioboo

Faith's Gingerbread Madison Story

listen to ‘Gingerbread Story-Faith’ on Audioboo

The Gingerbread Rock Star by Greg

listen to ‘Gingerbread-Greg’ on Audioboo

Doodles for Google by YPS Middle School Students

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:57:00 +0000

Doodle 4 Google is a contest held periodically which provides students an opportunity to design creative homepages for the Google search website. These are a few recent creations by Yukon Middle School students, currently showcased at the school library. Please drop by to see more examples of wonderful artwork created by our students! These designs were created by Swan James, Trevor Morse, Hannah Franklin, and Jocey Andis.

7th Graders Use YouTube Clips to Learn About Figurative Language

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:23:00 +0000

Yukon middle school students in Ricki Robertson's English class have been studying figurative language and finding examples of figurative language like alliteration, metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia, and hyperbole in contemporary music. Recently one of Mrs. Robertson's students, Richard, used the website Prezi along with YouTube and Real Player software to create a compelling presentation about figurative language examples. Richard included video clips from songs by The Jackson Five, the movie "Beauty and the Beast," the Charlie Daniel's Band, and Bette Midler. The following 8 minute video is an audio interview with Richard and screencast of his Prezi presentation. Richard discusses his project, what he learned, how he used different tools to include video clips in his project, and why he enjoyed this opportunity to incorporate different kinds of multimedia into a class project.

This project is an outstanding example of the ways students are expected to use technology under the new Common Core State Standards under adoption by public schools in Oklahoma. It is also a great example of a student properly exercising "fair use rights" to incorporate limited amounts of copyrighted media works in a transformative, non-commercial product which includes the author's opinions and ideas. Learn more about media literacy and copyright/fair use specifically from copyright materials provided by the Media Education Lab (now at the University of Rhode Island) founded by Dr. Renee Hobbs.

Lakeview Students Use iPads to Create Presentations

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:12:00 +0000

Gifted education students at Lakeview recently learned how to create narrated slide show presentations on the iPads using the iPad app called Explain Everything. 5th grade students will soon be watching the Yukon High School's production of Annie Get Your Gun. Each group was assigned a specific person from the musical to research: Annie Oakley, Frank Butler, Buffalo Bill, etc. The students conducted research in the computer lab and wrote scripts highlighting important events in their assigned person's life. The students then selected images from the internet on the iPads and took screen shots to use in their presentations. The images were loaded onto the Explain Everything app and students read and recorded the information from their scripts. The students were able to time the slide transitions so they were synchronized with the information they were sharing. The research, script writing, photo selection, editing, and recording were all done during one 2 1/2 hour gifted session.

The finished presentations were posted on a website on posterous for parents to view at home and for the 5th grade classroom teachers to use to share the information with their classes before they attend the musical. Some classes even brought the "in progress" presentations on iPads to the principal, music teacher, librarian etc. to share their new found information and technological skills.

Since the fourth graders needed to learn how to use the new app, but were not going to attend the musical, they had a slightly different project. They followed the same steps as listed above, but they had a different topic. They were allowed to selected any person in history that they felt was the coolest/most interesting person ever and their assignment was to give specific facts about that person's life that would convince anyone watching the presentation that they WERE the neatest person ever! The variety of student selected subjects for these mini-biographies was impressive. Students made presentations on Homer, Amelia Earhart, Houdini, DaVinci, Sacagawea, Neil Armstrong, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Walt Disney, and many others.

Check out these and other media projects by Lakeview students on the Lakeview Gifted Projects website on Posterous.

Creative Commons licensed image of Walt Disney from the Orange County Archives.

6th Graders Learn About Mummification

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:54:00 +0000

6th grade students in Kayleen Browning's social studies classes have been learning about mummies and the process of mummification in their unit about Egypt / Ancient Civilizations. To practice oral communication skills and further develop spoken fluency, students practiced and audio recorded written essays they wrote about their Egypt unit studies. Oral communication skills and safe online publishing of work are two elements required by the new Common Core State Standards adopted by Oklahoma. Here are two examples of student essays audio-recorded (using a hand-held digital audio recorder by Mrs. Browning) and posted on the free website AudioBoo. After listening to these two audio recordings, check out Mrs. Browning's interactive blog with more student work on teacherbrowning.edublogs.org.

Brennah's Mummy Essay:
Brennah"s Mummy Essay (mp3)

Austin M. and Payton's Radio Show about the Mummification Projecthttp://audioboo.fm/boos/673231-austin-m-and-payton-s-newscast
Austin M. and Payton"s Newscast (mp3)

5th Graders Develop Problem Solving Skills with Lego WeDo Robotics

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:40:00 +0000

Some 5th grade students at Lakeview Elementary School in Yukon Public Schools are developing their problem solving and computational thinking skills using Lego WeDo Robotics kits. On February 13, 2012, fifth graders Cade and Thomas used the graphical, icon-based programming environment of the Lego WeDo Robotic software to control the motor of a Lego project other students created. In this two minute audio interview, they described what they are doing with Lego WeDo Robotics and why they enjoy learning how to program a basic robot.

Cade and Thomas Talk About Lego WeDo (mp3)

6th Grade Parents and Teachers Provide Students Feedback on Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:13:00 +0000

This semester, students taught by Debbie Callison at the Yukon Middle School 6th Grade Academy have been writing and sharing their poetry online using free, interactive websites hosted by Kidblog.org. All the posts written by students, as well as comments submitted by others to each website, are MODERATED by Mrs. Callison. Students have not only been working on the quality and content of their own poetry, but also discussing "What makes a good comment?" Students are identifying specific elements of poems to highlight and providing constructive feedback to each other. Online, student publishing and interactive commenting moderated by a classroom teacher is one specific element of the new "Common Core" standards for Oklahoma students which Yukon Public Schools is currently working to implement at the direction of the Oklahoma State Department of Education. One of the best things about students sharing their writing online using an open site like KidBlog is the opportunity it provides for parents to provide feedback, as well as teachers and students. Here is a specific example from Mrs. Callison's 2nd hour, sixth grade English class this week. This is a post written by Cooper last week, titled, "What is a Champion?"

Later in the day after Cooper wrote that post, Mrs. Callison shared some positive feedback as a comment on that post to accompany comments already moderated/approved. In addition, yesterday (January 31st) Cooper's Dad logged on to the class website. He also wrote a comment, providing feedback and encouragement to his son.

It takes practice to get better at anything, and Yukon middle school students are improving their writing skills with digitally-saavy learning opportunities provided by Mrs. Callison. Kudos to Cooper for sharing his poem, and kudos to his classmates, Mrs. Callison, and Cooper's dad for providing constructive feedback! We're living in times of change, and it's great to see this example of how Yukon Public School teachers are providing ways to extend learning experiences digitally beyond the "four walls of the classroom" and involve parents as partners in developing literacy skills.

5th Graders Learn about Prosthetics from Veterans

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:42:00 +0000

On January 9, 2012, several U.S. military veterans came to Independence Elementary School and shared a presentation with 5th grade students about prosthetics, prosthetic design, and their experiences as disabled military veterans.

This was a powerful presentation for many reasons. The presentation was part of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program at Independence Elementary which started this year under the leadership of teacher Chris Simon and principal Cecil Bowles. Students wrote reflective essays about things they learned from the presentation, and two 5th graders (Darius and Addison) recorded their essays using the free iPad/iOS application Cinch. (Update August 20, 2012: Since Cinch.fm has discontinued service, we've cross-posted these audio recordings to a free iPadio.com channel and embedded the recordings below.)

Please listen to Darius and Addison's essays and provide feedback as comments to this post. (All comments to our learning showcase site are moderated, so your comment may not show up immediately for others to view until it has been reviewed.) We are creating a narrated slideshow with photos and their voice narration which we will share here soon too. Special thanks to 5th grade teachers Mrs. Hooge, Mrs. Burgess, and Mrs. Cromwell who teach Darius and Addison and helped them write their essays. Great work Independence Elementary students and teachers!

Direct link to Addision's recording

Direct link to Darius' recording

Podcast: education2020 and Yukon Virtual School

noreply@blogger.com (Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:16:00 +0000

This 14 minute audio podcast is an interview with Amy Anderson from January 10, 2012. Amy is a counselor at Yukon High School and the counselor for Yukon's Virtual School. Amy explained what e2020 (education2020) is and what this curriculum program offers for students and families in Yukon Schools. Every student in Yukon's Virtual School is monitored by a certified Yukon/Oklahoma teacher. All courses presently offered in Yukon's Virtual School are also offered face-to-face, but the e2020 environment provides flexibility to meet unique student and family needs. Students enrolled in online classes through Yukon Virtual School are required to have their own computer at home with Internet access. Some Yukon students are currently enrolled in some face-to-face classes at the high school, and other courses offered via e2020. Yukon Virtual School offers flexible choices for Yukon students who are homebound for medical or other reasons, need a virtual credit recovery option, or are interested in taking one or more courses through an online format. Because of Yukon's participation in the Canadian Valley Technology Consortuium, e2020 curriculum is also being utilized by some Yukon High School teachers to provide interactive, digital curriculum and a "blended learning" environment for students. Check out the podcast shownotes for more information and related links. Please share your feedback and questions for Amy and others to answer regarding our Yukon Virtual School.

(direct mp3 download)