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Technology Tuesday - Web Curation

The internet is crowded with tons of resources and ideas.   How do you manage all the content you find online?  Do you add it to your favorites?  Do you add a link on your website?  Or have you taken advantage of one of the web 2.0 tools out there that help you curate your links in a way that make them accessible, ready to share, and ready to use.   Here are 5 of my favorite Web Curation Tools that are available for free.

1.   Pinterest –have you heard of it?  I know most of you have since I see your pins all the time.   Pinterest is a web curator site, or another way to organize your links that is social and visual.   You set up “boards” to which you “pin” websites. Each board can have a theme and you can look through other people’s boards (if they make them public) for more ideas.  Other users can follow your boards, like your pins or re-pin your pins onto their own boards.  There is a section labeled Education that displays people’s pins(website finds) that have to do with education.

I have created an account on Pinterest dedicated to educational resources.  If you would like to check it out (or follow them) go here:  http://pinterest.com/techrobin/

If you need an invite to Pinterest, please let me know!

2.  Livebinders  - http://www.livebinders.com/ - collect all your resources, images, videos, pdfs, websites, and group them into a “binder” where students have easy access to the websites that you have.  Inside the binder you can divide the content into tabs and each tab can have sub-tabs.  Students can create accounts and add the binder to their own collections or create binders on topic assigned to them.

 Examples:

• Algebra 


• Social Studies


• ELA – Hunger Games


• Science 


• Technology & Web 2.0 for Educators


• Art 

3.  Linoit - http://en.linoit.com/ - An online collaboration tool in the form of Sticky Notes.  Create a bulletin board of ideas and files on any topic.  Organize ideas and resources be rearranging the sticky notes on the board.  This is an easy, visual ways for students to find the resources or information they need.  This can also be a great collaboration tool as students add in notes (if you allow that) and collect ideas.

4.  Diigo - http://www.diigo.com/user/robiny - Diigo is a bookmarking website that allows users to create groups, share links and have discussions.      Researching biomes?  Give the websites you find a specific tag and gie that link the to students so anytime you add more resources their list is updated without having to add a link to your website.

This is a resource that I have been using for a long time and still love it.  I can add bookmarks from school and still retrieve them from home.   They also have apps that are useful for mobile devices.

 

5.  Wall Wisher - http://www.wallwisher.com/ - another online bulletin board that has been around for a while.  You can add stickies that contain text, images or links to websites.   This tools is great for collecting images of a certain topic and them having students use those images for their projects and since the kids can help add in the resources, this can be a great collaboration tool.

Technology Tuesday - Supporting Differentiation in the Classroom

Differentiating Content:

Here are a few tools to help in finding content suited to the different levels in your classroom.

Twurdy - http://twurdy.com - Need to find content to help in differentiation in the classroom?   Twurdy searched the internet and labels results with a readability score.  The darker orange the background of the result is the higher readability level it has.  This would be great when searching  for materials for struggling readers and for the gifted students who need more of a challenge.   The have their own scale system so be sure to check out the feature to turn the age level to understand their system.

Google Reading Level - Google also has a search filter that will sort results based on Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Reading Levels.   Type in your search term(s) and then click on the reading level you want to focus on to see the websites that fall in that category.

Text Compactor  - http://textcompactor.com/ - Create a summary of your text by pasting in the passage, drag the slider to show how much of the text you want to keep in the summary and then view the results.   You can also cut and paste the results into a text to speech program or into a language translator to help process the information even more.  This could be used for those ELL students or for struggling readers to comprehend the text.  Or use it in the writing process as students pasting in their own writing and determining if the created summary really reflects what was intended by the student.

Sweet Search - http://www.sweetsearch.com/ - A search engine designed to give results based on analyzing the credibility of the website so students will have access to information that is more accurate than random sites.   This website also contains widgets that you can place on your website so that students can use it as a launching point for searches in class and at home.

 

Differentiating Product

This is easy with Web 2.0 technology tools.  Students do not need to all create the same product, but choices can be given to allow them to choose a method that is more in alignment with their intelligences.  All these tools help students create.  According to the Digital Bloom's taxonomy - creating is on the high end of the spectrum of critical thinking tools.  You don't have to be an expert in all of these tools.  Tutorials already exist in youtube or by talking to other teachers who have the how-to papers ready to go.  Students are ready to learn the program to accomplish the product so let them try!

Create:

• Videos : Animoto, MovieMaker, PhotoStory,


• Webpages: Google Sites, Wix, Weebly, Wikispaces


• Interactive Timelines: Dipity


• Interactive Posters: Glogster


• Interactive Presentations: Voicethread, Prezi, Thinglink


• Audio presentations: Podcasts with Audacity

This list is not comprehensive, but this should get you started.

Management of Differentiated Products:

Worried about grading all these different products?   With the design of a good rubric grading can be easy as the content should always be what you are looking for no matter what the packaging is.   Rubistar is a great place to start in designing a rubric.

Tammy Worcester had a great idea of how to gather all the links/products into one place with a digital dropbox.  Using a google form, create a place for students to turn in their links for easy access to all products posted online.

Example:

Resources:

http://cooltoolsfor21stcenturylearners.wikispaces.com/Flexible+Learning+Paths

Technology Tuesday - February 28th

Twiddla ( http://www.twiddla.com) is an online virtual whiteboard where folks can get together to mark up a document, website, image, or white board for group collaboration.  Chats can also occur to allow folks to contribute and collaborate without being in the same room.  Try it out:  http://www.twiddla.com/767721  I uploaded the BYOT infographic and you can color on the page or circle images, draw, etc.   In your classroom this would be a great way to have student collaborate on word problems, projects, analyzing literature, etc.  As professionals you can use it to plan events or lessons with teachers from across campus, or from other campuses.    Did I mention it is free and no sign in is required to use the site.

 

Linoit - (http://en.linoit.com/) I LOVE this site!  This creates a virtual bulletin board with various backgrounds.  Place sticky notes with due dates, images, videos, etc.  This could be a great launching pad for your classroom if you display this on your screen at the beginning of the period or a place to organize resources for a project.  Items can also be added from a iPhone/iPad (no android apps at this point).  Items can also be added by email.

Main

 

PBS Learning Media (http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/)  is a collection of all things educational on the PBS website.  The categories include Arts, ELA, Health/PE, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Professional Development.   Resources can also be searched for by grade level, media type and resource type,  A login is required, but access is free.   resources include interactives as well as videos, documents, audio and pictures.  A wealth of resources worth checking into.

 

Science Links:

Periodic Table of Elements (http://www.periodicvideos.com/index.htm) - videos for each element, some more entertaining than others but does a good job of explaining the properties of each element and getting a good glimpse of what they look like.

Web Adventures ( http://webadventures.rice.edu/) - created by Rice University this teachers science through role play and web games.  Topics include infectious diseases, impact of alcohol on the body, the neuroscience approach to substance abuse, become a  member of CSI and learn to solve crimes with forensic techniques, and explore science as an apprentice.  Well-done and thought out this site deserves a look!

 

Technology Tuesday: Free Classroom Tools

In the training I attended yesterday the presenter used some pretty slick digital tools to time activities and choose people to call on.  Although that software was for sale, I also know there are some free alternatives that will do some of the same things.  Here are a few to explore before spending your money:

Triptico:  This is an installation, but once installed you have access to classroom timers, random number/name pickers and spinners.  All of these tools can be created ahead of time and saved on your computer for access use later on. Files can also be shared, so if teacher A creates a great spinner, then that file can be shared to Teacher B, C, D, etc without a problem.  This program also has several other templates including quizzes, scoring, and games.

ClassTools.net - offers free tools that do not require a download.  It has a classroom timer complete with your choice of soundtrack to run during the countdown.  It also has a random name/number picker for using to pick what student in each group you would like to call on.  These would have to be created as you need them and cannot be saved for future use.  You may want to save any lists you create in a word doc to be able to copy and paste over for quick access.

Online_Stopwatch:  Is also a free online tool that does not require a download.  This timer will count up or down and will go full screen to gain attention of the students.  This is one of my favorites to use!

Smart Notebook:  If you already have a smart slate or smart board in your room, check out the Notebook Gallery section and do a search for a spinner.  The default is for 4 sections, but that can be changed as can the labels and colors.   They also have a random number generator that can be used to randomly pick numbers in the number range that you set.  These can also be shared amongst the other smart slate users on a campus.

I also know several of my staff has iPads or other devices they bring to campus on a regular basis.  Check out the app store to find free apps for timers to use.

If you know of any other good tools to share (or apps), please leave them in the comments below.

 

QR Codes - Revisited

I have posted about QR codes before, but after seeing them everywhere at TCEA I thought they were worth revisiting!

I recently sent this QR code out to my staff after being inspired by this post by a friend of mine.  I got about a dozen folks to respond, several who said their phones weren't smart enough and some who tried to find the hidden image inside the square.  If nothing else it got people talking about QR codes on campus a little more.

To continue the conversation I thought I would compile  a few ways that QR codes could be used in the classroom based on what I heard at TCEA 2012 Convention and have read online.

Why QR Codes?

QR codes are an easy way to get a information to a device that is able to read the code.  You can use a smartphone or a tablet device that has an QR reader app (i-nigma is a good one). or a computer with a webcam as we have set up in the library on campus.  (See http://www.dansl.net/blog/?p=256 for details on how to set this up.)  QR codes can contain:

• Short pieces of text


• website address (including online videos or mp3s)


• email address


• phone numbers

 

How to Create QR Codes:

Several QR creator websites exist and are free to use.  Some of my favorite are:

• QR Code Generator:  http://qrcode.kaywa.com/


• QR Hacker - http://www.qrhacker.com/ - allows you to "bling" up your code with icons and color choices.

If you are going to get serious abut creating QR codes for websites, check out my tech idol Tammy Worcester's site for how to generate QR codes using a google spreadsheet.

Note:  Large pieces of text or large addresses create detailed codes that can be hard to read.  Use URL shorteners to create simpler codes that can be read by more devices like goo.gl, bit.ly or delivr.

Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom:

1. Famous People Posters:  Place a QR code on a poster of a famous person in your room that links to a video about them.


2. Famous People Part 2:  Link the QR code to a video of a mouth that when you place the phone over the mouth it looks like the poster has come to life and is talking to the student.


3. Fine Arts:  Link the QR code to an mp3 of the musical piece they are learning so students can listen to the the music from their modible devices.


4. Math Problems:  QR code can link to a video tutorial on how to solve that type of math problem.  Websites like the Khan Academy can help with the video content to link to.


5. Art Work - Create a mp3 file that explains the art and the concept behind it and link the QR code on the displayed art piece to the file.


6. Share Apps - have an app you want your class to use?  Make a QR code that links to the app store and place it in the classroom for students to scan and download the app.  Be sure to include two codes - one for android and one for apple.


7. Link to your homework site:  QR code in the classroom can link directly to your teacher web page so kids can easily get to it in the classroom on their own devices.


8. Link to resources for assignments:  Place a QR code on a powerpoint and project for students to be able to find the document or website they need to complete the assignment in class.


9. Library:  Place QR codes on books that link to reviews, book trailers, interviews with authors, etc so kids can learn more about the book before they read it.


10. Promote a School Event: Create a website that promotes the a school event and place QR codes in places on campus where students can use their devices.


11. On Assignments:  Place QR Codes on the assignment with the text answers so students can check their answers as they go along or to give hints to how to answer the question.


12. In the window of your Classroom:  Link to the class website so passerbys can view what is happening in your class with possible links to student work.


13. Scavenger Hunt:  Place QR codes around the room (or school) that go to information or contain clues for a class scavenger hunt on your subject matter.


14. Link Analogue to Digital:  Place a QR code on a draft of student work that links to the final product to show the learning process.


15. Make Displays Interactive:  Add QR codes to a display to make more information available to those viewing.


16. Link to Maps:  Place a QR code to link to a particular place on the map based on the current unit of study.  Kids can explore the area as they learning.


17. Attach Codes to a Physical Model:  Place codes on different parts of the model (like a skeleton) to identify parts and important pieces of information.


18. Choose your own adventure reading:  Create a story online and have participants scan their choice on what to do next to have them move to a different part of the story.

 

References:

Barrett, Tom. "35 Interesting Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom." 35 Interesting Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. <https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AU9h6PB8vipdZGM3dHB3c2tfMjA0ZDk1Zj

Technology Tuesday: Infographics

Infographics are all the rage. I have seen them on blog postings, shared on facebook, pinned on pinterest, printed in papers and in magazines. Basically they are a graphic representation of information. Think about USA Today, they have been doing this for years, taking data and displaying it with bright colors and images to make a point and display the data in a way that is easy to understand. Several subject areas TEKS require students to be able to read data from a chart, graph or image and draw conclusions. Infographics are a way to do that.

For those of you that are visual learners here is a great video on Inforgraphics as a Creative Assessment:



Infographics as a Creative Assessment from Kathy Schrock on Vimeo.

Examples of Infographics:

• Huge Collection of Infographics and an analysis of each one: http://www.coolinfographics.com/


• Getting More out of Google Infographic: http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2011/11/23/infographic-get-more-out-of-google.html 


• Examples of Infographics concering Education: http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/tag/education


• Constant Celocity Infographic: http://www.slideshare.net/gabud/constant-velocity-infographic (student created and uses QR codes to extend the learning beyond the page)


• Kathy Schrock's Infographic Topic List: https://sites.google.com/a/kathyschrock.net/infographics/infographictopics to get you started researching

Use infographics in the classroom:
Search google using "infographics" and your keywords to see what is available on the internet. Use the projector to display and discuss the information available on the infographic.

Taking it a step further:
Students could make their own infographic as a creative assessment using Excel for the charts and graphs and Publisher for the layout of the information. What a great way to report on a country or a historical event, or any topic that is organized around data of some kind.

Students have to

• choose the appropraite data


• graphics to help visualize the data


• organize the information to tell a story or get their point across.

Other Resurces:

• Kathy Shrock is an expert on technology, resources and education and she has compiled a list of resources in creating an inforgraphic: https://sites.google.com/a/kathyschrock.net/infographics/links


• Blog article on using and creating infographics in the classroom: http://www.slideshare.net/gabud/constant-velocity-infographic

Technology Tuesday: January 17th

Cool Resources:

I Fake Text - http://ifaketext.com/  - create screen shots of fake text message conversations to simulate conversations that could have happened.  Ideas include:  2 characters from a story, 2 historical figures, practice dialogue for a foreign language, practice using new vocabulary in sentences, and include these in your powerpoints to get student's attention.  Step by step guide and ideas can be found at: http://www.tammyworcester.com/TipOfWeek/TammyWTechTipOfWeek/Entries/2012/1/3_Tip_109_-_iFake_Text.html

Triptico:  http://www.triptico.co.uk/  - This does require a download to use (which the district now approves).  This resource allows you to create interactive resources such as Word Magnets, class timers, class lists with random name pickers, score boards for class games, matching squares for vocabulary or quotes, order sequence activities, spinners, question quizzes, and more.  This is a great resource if you have a smart slate or just want to use your projector in ways that are more interactive for the classroom.   If you want this installed on your teacher machine, fill in the tech help form to get on my list.  https://sites.google.com/site/rrmstechcenter/Home/tech-help-request

Apps in Education:  http://appsineducation.blogspot.com/2012/01/apps-for-teachers.html  - Check out this blog entry for a list of great apps (apple) for teachers to have.  The list breaks down the app, what it costs and what it does.  The website also has iPad lists for certain subject areas as well.  Great place to start if you are wanting to check out apps for your device.

Android Apps - http://kathyschrock.net/androidblooms/  - Not to leave Android users out - here is a list of android apps and how they rank in Bloom's Taxonomy.  This list is put together by Kathy Schrock and is a great list to work from.

 

Technology Tuesday - November 29th

This year I was trying to share resources that I found on twitter each Tuesday.  I found this to be a little exclusive and was wanting to allow resources i found from some of my favorite blogs as well.  So I am expanding from Twitter Tuesday to Technology Tuesday.   Flexibility is always nice to have.

 

Technology Websites to Check out:

Flipsnack - http://www.flipsnack.com - Think about the online ad papers that you can flip through. This sites creates those kinds of interactive files. Save your files as a pdf file or scan papers into one pdf file and then load it online to create a virtual flipbook. Various styles to choose from. The free account does has limits, but a nice option to make a virtual book of directions or from the kids work. Books are embeddable and can be shared by URL. Check out my sample at: http://snack.to/5PpNF6

7 Web 2.0 Animation Tools: http://www.markbrumley.com/2011/06/20/7-web-2-0-animation-tools/ - This blog posts reviews 7 different ways to create animations. Great site to check out the options!

Human Anatomy - http://www.biodigitalhuman.com/ - offers 3d Models of the human body. Different body systems can be turned on to show up at a time and the body can be freely rotated to see the different angles.

Documentary Tube: http://www.documentarytube.com - a collection of documentaries available online. Search by subject such as science, history, biography, disasters, or travel for instance. I saw a cool one created by BBC on how the memory works and another one about Hitler's children. The quality of the video is low when expanded full screen, and the site links you to amazon to purchase the documentary on DVD. Reminder: As always preview the video, check to see who produced the documentary and what agenda it had before showing anything to students.

Cool Apps:

Sock Puppets: http://itunes.apple.com/ve/app/sock-puppets/id394504903?mt=8  (Apple only) Create 30 second sock puppet shows for free and the recordings can then be uploaded into Youtube. You can purchase more recording time, backgrounds and puppets inside the app. Read a review of the app here: http://www.tammyworcester.com/TipOfWeek/TammyWTechTipOfWeek/Entries/2011/11/15_Tip_107_-_Sock_Puppets_App.html

Twitter Tuesday - September 20th

Bloom's Taxonomy

Webtool divided out by Bloom's taxonomy - great resource to find new tools

@shannonmmiller and @mrplough07-Tools for Teaching Students at the Top of Bloom's Taxonomy: https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhsgv8zv_4143np48dg

Digital Storytelling Tools

@cossie29: Updated- Digital Storytelling Tools on @scoopit So many fantastic tools out there to encourage a passion for writing!  http://www.scoop.it/t/digital-storytelling-tools

QR Codes in the Classroom

@SadlierSchool: Using QR Codes in the Classroom via @edutopia http://t.co/qFeULjNj #edchat #edtech @dgrice @rjacklin @dawblack :)
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/qr-codes-education-mary-beth-hertz?utm_source=housead&utm_medium=post&utm_content=blog&utm_campaign=qrcodesinclassroom

Flipped Classroom -

Firsthand accounts of teaching in a flipped classrom.

@haikulearning: 7 Stories from Educators About Teaching in the Flipped Classroom (via Emerging Ed Tech) http://t.co/9xO5dXlT #edtech  http://www.emergingedtech.com/2011/09/7-stories-from-educators-about-teaching-in-the-flipped-classroom/

A great infographic explaining what a flipped classroom is and how it developed.

subatomicdoc: The Flipped Classroom [Infographic] via @Knewton #meded #edtech  http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/

Twitter Tuesday - Sept. 6th

Hashtags make twitter searchable.  They begin with the pound sign and are followed by text – ex. #tgif.   Anyone can create and add a hashtags to their tweet.  Conferences will designate a hashtag for their attendees to use so others attending the conference can keep up with the back channel conversations on twitter.    You don’t have to be a part of twitter to search for hashtags – just go to twitter.com and enter in the hashtag to search for any posts that contain that tag.  Some of my favorite hashtags to search for educational resources are #edchat and #edtech.

Here are a few articles that caught my attention on twitter this week.

 

Cell Phones –Texting Help

Remind 101:  A texting Service for Teachers

@laurieyingling: Remind101 - safely text message students and stay in touch with parents #edtech via @remind101
http://remind101.com/
Students and parents can sign up to receive text messages from the teacher.  Teachers never see the kids’ numbers and the kids never see the teacher’s numbers.  Think of this as another way to do a newsflash, especially fi you don’t use teacherweb.   And it is free!

 

Technology Websites:

VoiceThread
@mr_avery: The unveiling of my brand new blog, Tech Tutorials and the first post about how to use VoiceThread! #edchat #6thchat
http://techtutorials.edublogs.org/2011/08/31/voicethread/
This blog explains Voicethread, gives video tutorials as well as examples and ideas for classroom integration.

Educational Articles

 

Scienctific America Podcast:  Drawing Helps Students Learn

@sciam Doodles And Drawings Help Cement Concepts #EdChat #SciChat
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=doodles-and-drawings-help-cement-co-11-08-29
60 Second podcast linking drawing to better comprehension in students

Several Ways To Help Students Become Better Listeners – an article by Larry Ferlazzo.
@tcbird1: Response: Several Ways To Help Students Become Better Listeners #edchat #elemchat http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2011/08/response_several_ways_to_help_students_become_better_listeners.html?cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS1

45 Ideas for Class Blog Posts
@web20classroom: Over 45 Ideas For Class Blog Posts: #edtech
http://edte.ch/blog/2010/09/25/10-ideas-for-class-blog-posts/
a good list of ways to put more life into your class blog and/or website.

Twitter Tuesdays

I have been on twitter for several years now and have found it a great way to build my own Personal Learning Network (commonly refered to as a PLN).   I have found several people to follow that are also interested in educational technology.  Those connections lead me to new resources to share with you.   Each Tuesday this year I want to share some of those resources with you along with the original tweet  and who sent the tweet.  I have tried to group these resources into categories so that you can quickly go through and find ones that may be helpful to you.

Here are a collections of resources that caught my attention this past week on Twitter:

General Sites:

ConceptBoard - @addthis  Conceptboard - Realtime Teamwork & Collaboration Software http://t.co/YZ6KCl4

• Create interactive whiteboards that can be shared

Moodle -  @moodlenews: 47 Interesting Ways to Use #Moodle in the Classroom (started by @TomBarrett)  http://www.moodlenews.com/2011/42-interesting-ways-to-use-moodle-in-the-classroom-started-by-tombarrett/

•  A google presentation that lists different ways you can use moodle in the classroom.

 Language Arts

 The LightingBug -   @TCEA: Lightning Bug is a writing resource website with interactive elements for tween and teen writers. http://www.lightningbug.com.au/index.htm

  Math

SumDog - @briandvorak: Classrooms can enter the Sumdog contest: Sumdog - Free math games #edtech #math sumdog.com

• Math Games – can hold class competitions and play against players in other areas.


• Teachers can register for accounts and upload students.   Basic skills are covered, but might be appropriate for intervention classes

Social Studies

iCivics.Org - @PBSLrnMedia: New Free Online Game Lets Students Run a County #edtech http://ow.ly/65BE9

This website has free online games for students to learn how to:

• run a county government


• control the budget of the federal government


• be president for four years


• run a law firm that specialized in constitutional law firm


• Be part of a supreme court decision

An account does need an email, but I was able to use the +1 trick with gmail.

Twitter Part 3: Taking it a Step Further

So far the talk has been about composing a summary statement.  What about having a conversation?  Twitter is a place where ideas can be thrown out to the world and others can respond.   So how can be that used in the classroom?

Ideas for twittering in the classroom:

• Role Playing Tweets: Have the class take on the role of a famous person or literary character and then compose tweets from that point of view.
  
  
  
  • What would the framer's of the constitution have tweeted while negotiating the Bill of Rights?
  
  
  • What would the states have tweeted as the Union began to fall apart leading up to the Civil War?
  
  
  • How would Scout have reported on the trial in To Kill a Mocking Bird?
  
  
  • Choose a pivotal point in a story and have the characters send out tweets  reflecting on the events and/or predicting events to come
  
  
  
  


• Class Discussions:
  
  
  
  • Summarize lab results
  
  
  • Discuss examples of a scientific theory in real life
  
  
  • Discuss math in real life
  
  
  • Class could discuss a novel, an event, or topic
  
  
  • Have people choose sides of a debate and send in tweets to promote their side
  
  
  • Students could ask questions about the unit being studied and others could post answers.
  
  
  
  

Scaffolding (easing it in)

• Have the entire class create the tweet and post it.


• Have each class period take on a character and post from that point of view to the other class periods.


• Tweet between classes in the same class period.  If Mr. Jones and Mrs. Smith have classes 2nd period studying the same topic, the teacher could have the chat on the projector screen and as a class you can decide what messages to send.  This could also include classrooms outside of your own campus.


• Divide students into groups and have the groups compose statements and responses to send.


• Have each student assume a character and post responses

Tools to Make it Happen:

• TodaysMeet - temporary chatroom - free no account needed: http://www.todaysmeet.com/


• Edmodo - a secure social networking side for schools - http://www.edmodo.com/


• Twiducate - a twitter network for classrooms - - http://www.twiducate.com/

Getting Social - in Social Studies and Language Arts

After a week at TCEA, I came home with lots of new ideas.  Here are some of them - Introducing social networking into the classroom, safely.  In this prezi i ahve a few ideas on how to integrate Twitter and facebook types of applications into the social studies and language arts classroom.



Resources:  http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2009/01/teaching-with-twitter.html;   http://www.myfakewall.com/w/Ben+Franklin_1

Web Wandering Wednesday - Jan 5

This week's web Wandering Wednesday is focusing in on a few maps that track diseases:

Google Flu Trends:  Google tracks who is searching for information about the flu and then maps that information to estimate where the flu is hitting around the world.   Click on the United States and you can see more information about each state.

Health Map - health map brings together information from various resources to try to pinpoint outbreaks of infectious diseases around the world.  You can hover your mouse over a pin on the map and see what disease is currently affecting the area and any relevant information on it including links to the sources of the information.

Cell Phones in Education - The Journey Begins

My Web Wandering Wednesday post got me thinking about cell phones in education.  Although I believe there is a place for them, the mom in me worries about what we are exposing kids to when we begin to more openly allow them and encourage them.  How many more predators have access, how many more bullying incidents can occur, how many more unwanted video clips will be turning up on youtube and how much more time will be spent facebooking rather than working?

As with any new technology there are always the questions and the concerns.  I have begin looking into what people are doing and what those results are.  How do the schools and teachers using the technology deal with the downsides and make the incorporation worth it?  The technology is coming and we must be ready.  The reality is that kids are using them in class anyway, why not direct them to use them in more productive ways?   Even with my own kids if they want to know something we get the phone out and google it.    At ages 3 and 5 this is the world they know.   What kind of technology and access to technology are they going to want when they get to middle school and high school?   If I don't learn how to use it wisely now, I will surely be at a disadvantage when my kids reach that age.

So the research begins to educate myself on the realities of cell phone use in class and not just the fears or hopes.   I look forward to the journey.

Here are 3 sites I found interesting on the topic:

Cell Phones in the Classroom - The results of a pilot program that gave phones to students and what was accomplished.  A great discussion continues in the comments following the article as well.

From Toys to Tools - "A conversation about integrating student cell phones into classroom curricula."   This is a blog site dedicated to the integration of cell phones into the classroom.  The site author also has a book out by the same name.   Lots of posts and links about phones in schools including in the recent post, statistics about cell phones and kids.

Teaching Today - Cell Phones in the Classroom - A brief overview of what is happening with phones in classrooms from a textbook publishers' perspective.

Web Wandering Wednesday - Apps

WolframAlpha - http://www.wolframalpha.com/ -  describes itslef as " the world's first and only computational knowledge engine."  Enter in a location and learn the population, elevation, unemployment rate, etc for the area.   Enter in a math problem and see the solutions appear.  The help page give examples of searches to try.  This is also available as an ap for iPhones and Androids, so download the ap on the school iPod Touch for a good resource for students.

While we are on the subject of  apps...

Top 50 Free Education Apps:  http://www.appstoreapps.com/top-50-free-education-apps/ - pulled from iTunes - this site lists the best/most popular free apps for education.   Some seem a little more gamey than educational, but the list is worth a look.

Droid does Education - http://www.iste.org/connect/iste-connects/blog-detail/10-03-24/Droid_Does_Education_Android_Applications_for_Teachers_and_Learners.aspx - ISTE compiled a list of the best android apps for education.

Free Education Apps for Android OS - http://www.mguhlin.org/2010/07/free-education-apps-for-android-os.html - this list is broken into grade levels.

What are you favorite sites and apps?

Wallwisher in the Classroom

I started to title this blog post - A New Way to Brainstorm - but then I realized that Wall Wisher offers so much more than that.

Wallwisher is a free internet application that allows you to build a wall that then you or you and others can post notes on.   To build a wall you will need to log in with an email account but an email account is not needed to post notes on that wall.  Good news for those of us working with students under the age of 14.    Privacy levels can be set for each wall and posts can be moderated.

Once a wall is built there are a number of ways to distribute or share your wall.  Walls can be embedded into a webpage, blog or wiki.  You can link directly to the wall for users to go straight there.  It also provides an RSS feed so walls can be monitored through your RSS readers, such as iGoogle.

As I started looking for how others were using this tool I found the ideas fit into a few categories.  (This was easy to do as I took the ideas that were posted on the wall and started moving them around to create the groups!)

• Brainstorming/ Idea Gathering


• Homepages - a place to gather resources, post announcements, leave messages, provide homework help, etc.


• Skill building - note-taking, vocabulary, sorting and summarization work wonderfully on this.


• Portfolios of Student Work - either as a class or an individual.

I created a wall with all the ideas of classroom use I have found by searching the web and have embedded the wall below.  Please feel free to add to it!

Get Started:

The best way to learn to use this tool is to jump in and get started!

Go to my wallwisher sandbox and make your first post: http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/RobinySandbox

Or go to: http://www.wallwisher.com - log in and build your first wall.

Please share your ideas for wallwisher or the walls you build!

Glogster - Create an Interactive Poster

Making a poster, creating a model, or drawing a picture all help increase activity in the brain by having students take information in one form and transform it into another. Classroom Instruction that Works indicates that using nonlinguistic representations achieved a 27 percentile gain  As a history teacher I also found those assignments more enjoyable to grade than essays where they students copied information from books and online resources without ever thinking about what they were writing.

So how to make use of this technique using technology?  One way is Glogster.

What is Glogster EDU?

Glogster EDU is the educational version of the Glogster site.  Teachers and students can design interactive posters that incorporate artwork, videos, music, links to other websites, wordles, etc.

Sample Math Glog:

Teachers are given 100 free student accounts to allow students to create their own glogs under the teacher's account.  User names and passwords are automatically generated and sent to the teacher's account.

Finished products can be embedded into wikis, webpages, or teacherweb sites using the provided html embed code.  You can also link to the glog itself.

The site provides background templates and frames to get you started in all sorts of themes.

See this glog on Glogster EDU for more info: http://thilby.edu.glogster.com/glogsteredu/

(Warning - make sure you are using the EDU version for your students.  Glogs found on the original site may not be suitable for all audiences.)

Getting Started:

If you are ready to try this resource out, go to http://edu.glogster.com/register/ and register for an account.

For a step by step tutorial check out - Glogster Tutorial Page - by Traci Blazosky

Uses in the Classroom:

• Create a glog as the homepage for a class project with all the info.


• Using a projector use the glog as a the home base for your lesson or discussion in class.


• replace traditional poster board projects with a glog


• group images together to set the tone for a historical unit or a novel's setting


• gather all the notes together for a math concept so the formulas and examples are all in one place.


• Create a glog to replace a research paper. (If they are copying all the info from online anyway - why not show them how to link to those sources and write a summary that introduces the link?)

Sample Glog for To Kill a Mockingbird:

Resources:

• Hooked on Glogster by Brenda Dyck