Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, Oct. 30, 2009
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
Homework Hotline provides resources to students to help with homework, but many of them could help teachers in the classroom as well. There are short videos on a variety of subjects that can be viewed online or downloaded for use offline. The “Needed Knowledge” section provides students with a list of links to sites that might help them with research. The site is produced in New York, so some of the content is specific to that state, but there is still much that can be useful to our students. The resources are probably more appropriate for elementary and middle school students, but could also be useful to our English Language Learners at any age and others who just need some extra help. (http://homeworkhotline.org/)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
When I first came across this site I wasn’t overly impressed…until I played with it for a few minutes, that is. Word Magnets is a very cool web application that allows you to create “magnets” with letters, words, numbers…anything you can type…and move them around on a
background. The highlight (in my opinion) is that there are many different backgrounds to choose from, including tables, Venn diagrams, numbered lists, and a variety of graphic organizers. This would be a great way to have students practice any kind of sorting activity, Word Splash, sequencing…the list goes on. You can copy and paste the text into Word Magnets or add magnets once you’ve chosen your background. The only problem is that you can’t save your work. When you’re finished you can take a screenshot though, as I’ve done here. Give this one a try! (There’s a short little promo that runs when you first enter the site. I haven’t found a way to skip that…but it’s worth waiting through it!) (http://www.triptico.co.uk/flashFiles/wordMagnets/Word%20Magnets.swf)
Fact ~ just a bit of information
Don’t forget that we turn our clocks back an hour this weekend. Your computer at school will update automatically, so there’s nothing you have to do there. The clock in your classroom should update on its own, but if it doesn’t, Rick Freer will be around on Monday to take care of it. Enjoy the extra hour!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Anne
Just a reminder to my elementary friends, I’m constantly on the lookout for links to informational and interactive websites that fit your curricular needs. Some of these searches come at the request of specific teachers, but other times I literally stumble upon something that I think would be useful. Rather than email you all when I find a new link or continue to add every new link to my webpage, I’ve been using my Delicious bookmarking account to collect and organize these sites. This week I added quite a few new math sites and some sites about reading strategies. Some of the sites are for teachers, but most are activities for the kids. When I add a new site, it appears first on the list, but you can click on the tags at the right side to see only bookmarks about a particular topic. If you find something that you’d like to use with your students, please add the individual links to your own webpage. Please don’t just link directly to my Delicious account. There are too many choices there and the kids would be overwhelmed. If you need help adding links to your webpage, just let me know!
Also…if you have some good sites that you find useful with your students or that you think other teachers would like, please share them with me! I’ll add them to the list so that we can all benefit!
Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, Oct. 23, 2009
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
Tech-Ease is a website produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology. It features “just-in-time” answers to many classroom technology questions. Topics range from hardware and software to managing technology in your classroom. There are also Classroom Practice Videos, featuring real teachers in real classrooms. This is a great place to find answers or to look for ideas. (http://etc.usf.edu/te/)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
I know many of you have used Google Earth, and I’ve mentioned it here before, but have you tried a Google Earth Tour? Google Earth allows you to easily create a virtual trip from place to place, making as many stops along the way as you wish. At each stop you can include information about the location, including pictures and links to sites for more information. You can even create an audio narration of the tour. This is a great way to allow students to learn about historical journeys or the path of a book character. Create a tour to use as an activator or have students create one as a unit’s culminating activity. Click here for a quick tutorial on creating Google Earth tours, created by a friend of mine in a neighboring district. Thanks, Karen!
Oh…and if you got a new computer this fall and need to install Google Earth, we have it on the network for you. Go to: \\mech15\Extras\GoogleEarth. As always, let me know if you need any help. (https://kditzlerteacherresourcepage.wikispaces.com/Google+Earth)
Fact ~ just a bit of information
Once in a while I decide that the “F” should stand for “fun” instead of “fact”….this is one of those times. Have fun carving a virtual pumpkin! No smell, no mess. But no seeds to roast, either. (http://www.ncs-tech.org/pub/carve_pumpkin.swf)
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Anne
Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, Oct. 16, 2009
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) is a collection of teaching and learning resources from a variety of entities including the National Park Service and PBS. Click on a subject area to explore what’s available. The site also has an RSS feed, so you can subscribe and be informed automatically when new resources are added. (http://www.free.ed.gov/index.cfm)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
Have you taken a look at Inspiration or Kidspiration lately? This software is available on all our student Macs across the district (Inspiration for 6-12; Kidspiration for K-5). The software allows you to quickly and easily create a wide variety of graphic organizers including lots of graphics for all curricular areas. Print them out or save the file for students to use electronically. Click here for some links to sites that offer ideas for using Inspiration and Kidspiration in the classroom. (http://delicious.com/areardon222/Inspiration_Kidspiration)
Fact ~ just a bit of information
Several teachers have asked me about this lately, so I thought I’d share it here. JourneyEd offers great deals on software for PA educators and students. There are limits on how many copies of a title you can buy and you do have to provide proof that you’re a teacher or student (a copy of your ID, for example), but the prices are usually worth it. We have this site listed on the Technology Department page, but here it is again. Reminder: this service is provided as a courtesy to educators for their own personal use. Software that you purchase may not be installed on District-owned equipment. (http://www.JourneyEd.com/Select)
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Anne
Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, Oct. 9, 2009
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
I generally try to avoid mentioning the “cool” factor when I tell you about these sites, preferring to focus on their ability to enhance teaching and learning. But this one has both! Wallwisher.com is a site that provides space for people to share thoughts on a common topic. A teacher can create a wall with a question or topic and then give the link to students. The students add their thoughts on virtual “sticky notes” that can include text as well as links to websites, images, or videos. Students do not need to register. Teachers simply provide a name and email address to register. Click here to visit my TGIF Demo Wall and give it a try. I can think of lots of ways you might be able to use this with your students, but I want to see what you think…so share an idea on the wall! (By the way, you can also subscribe to a wall using its RSS feed, so you can easily keep track when students add new notes. You’ll find the RSS link under “Do More…” at the top of the page.)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
The Smithsonian Channel’s website offers short, online video excerpts from some of its shows. While the collection is not as extensive as some video sites, the short clips I previewed were of high quality and would make great activators. There’s no option to download the videos, but they play well from the site. (http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/site/smithsonian/video/)
Fact ~ just a bit of information
Last year one of the TGIFs included a link to Zamzar.com, a site that allows users to download videos from online sites and convert them to different file formats. Many of you have commented that it’s been useful in allowing you to show your students clips from videos that appear on You Tube or other sites that are blocked on the District network. Unfortunately it appears that Zamzar may be infected with viruses/malware, so we have blocked Zamzar indefinitely. Please try either Keepvid or Movavi if you need to download or convert a video. Both are free and easy to use. Also, be careful if you use Zamzar on your home computer. (http://keepvid.com/, http://online.movavi.com/)
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Anne
Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, Oct. 2, 2009
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
That Quiz is a site that offers free online quizzes on a variety of subjects at all grade levels. There are options to set the number of questions, difficulty, use of a timer, etc. Students can take the quizzes without having to create an account. Teachers don’t need to create an account, but if you do, you can create and design your own quizzes, assign them to students using a link or a test code, and track your students’ progress. The site seems easy to use and could provide teachers with a quick way to develop differentiated assessments for students. (http://www.thatquiz.org/)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
Thinking about extending your students’ thinking? Check out these resources from AEA 267 in Iowa. Click on each Extending Thinking Skill to find a page of resources related to teaching that skill. Permission is granted for educational use of all of their materials. (http://www.aea267.k12.ia.us/cia/index.php?page=thinking_skills#glance)
Fact ~ just a bit of information
I’ve had a few requests for after school technology sessions to help teachers earn additional Act 48 hours. I welcome this idea, as I’m always looking for ways to help teachers grow. Based on interest we can offer sessions on a wide variety of topics. Perhaps a grade level or department would like to design a series to meet their specific needs. We can schedule flexible times to try to meet the needs of our various daily start and end times. If you would be interested in a series of before or after school technology sessions, please leave a comment or email me.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Anne