Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, December 18, 2009
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
Want to learn more about some of the topics I write about each week? The K12 Online Conference is a collection of professional development sessions posted online by teachers and educational technology professionals from around the world. Now in its fourth year, the “conference” allows teachers to access sessions on their own schedule. Topics are varied and are delivered online via videos with supporting links. The 2009 conference started two weeks ago, but all presentations are archived (as are presentations from the past three years). I love this format for professional development because I can choose the topics that interest me the most and view them when I have time. If you have a few minutes and are interested in learning more about any facet of educational technology, you can check out the schedule here. (http://k12onlineconference.org/)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
A little “holiday cheer” from the Learning Focused Connections Newsletter (that has nothing to do with technology…)
The Twelve Days of Learning-Focused
by Laurian Phillips
On the twelfth day of Christmas, Learning-Focused gave to me:
12 Students Summarizing
11 Thinkers Thinking
10 Graphic Organizers
9 Acceleration Lessons
8 Frayer Diagrams
7 Pairs – a – Sharing
6 Vocabulary Strategies
5 Teachers Planning Collaboratively
4 Word Walls
3 Differentiated Tasks
2 Student Rubrics
And a big, giant Student Learning Map.
(If you’re not already receiving the Learning Focused Connections Newsletter via email, you can subscribe here: http://www.learningfocused.com/connections-signup.php)
Fact ~ Just a bit of information
I’m sure we’re all looking forward to the long holiday break. Before you leave next Wednesday, please be sure to shut down your teacher computer and any student computers that are in your care. Also, please unplug all laptop carts. This will save some electricity over the break and give the machines a rest as well.
Since we won’t be here next Friday, this is the last TGIF for 2009. I wish you all a happy, restful break. See you in 2010!
Anne
Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, December 11, 2009
Just a note before you start reading… I spent Wednesday and Thursday of this week at the Google Teacher Academy in Washington, DC. To say it was fast-paced would be an understatement. My head is still spinning! I learned a lot, but more importantly I met a lot of really amazing teachers from around the country. Since I haven’t really had time to “debrief” and think about much else yet, you’ll notice a decidedly “Google” slant to today’s TGIF…
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
Need to do a quick calculation or unit conversion? Use the Google search box. Simply type in an equation – right where you’d type in a topic you were searching for – and hit “Search”. Google does the calculation for you. (Use the * to show multiplication.) Want to know how cold this morning’s 20 degrees F is in Celcius? Type in “20 degrees F in C” and see what you get. Very handy tools… right at your fingertips. http://www.google.com/
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
We’re all familiar with graphic organizers. Google has a word map concept built into its search. After searching for a term, click on “Show Options” then look for “Wonder Wheel”. A word map will appear, offering suggested topics about that term. Students can click on those topics, narrowing down to what they’re really looking for. The search results on the right side of the window change to reflect the refined search.
Fact ~ just a bit of information
I’m always intrigued by the way Google changes its logo to recognize special events or holidays. You can find an archive of all the special logos here. Have your students look up the logo for a particular date and discuss its significance. You’ll also find many logos that don’t appear on our search page here in the US, as they recognize holidays and events in other countries. The logo shown below was displayed in Vietnam on November 20, 2009 in honor of their National Teacher’s Day. (http://www.google.com/logos/index.html)
Have a great weekend!
Anne
Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, December 4, 2009
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
I have no idea how it took me so long to find this site. TeachersFirst is truly a GEM! Mouse over the tabs at the top of the page… Classroom, Professional, etc…. to find links to amazing resources for K-12 teachers. One of my favorites is the Content Matrix, which lists web resources by subject and grade level. All resources are vetted by teachers and are free. In addition, for each resource they tell you what level of technology skill is required to use the resource and provide ideas for using it in the classroom. Please give this site a look. I think you’ll like what you find. (http://www.teachersfirst.com/; http://www.teachersfirst.com/matrix.cfm)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
Judging from the number of emails I get asking about downloading and converting videos found online, it seems teachers are always on the lookout for videos to use in the classroom. Videos can make great activators and also work well to provide “real” examples of concepts. Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo’s blog (which I’ve referenced before), here’s another great source for video clips to use in the classroom…Movieclips. This site provides thousands of clips from popular Hollywood movies and they are searchable by categories such as mood, character, theme, and setting. The videos can be watched online (and are NOT blocked by our filter!) or embedded on your own website (let me know if you need help with that). Due to copyright restrictions, there’s no provision to download the videos, but the clips are short, so showing them as streaming video shouldn’t be a problem. The quality is excellent! Here’s an example from my favorite movie of all time. (http://movieclips.com/)
Fact ~ just a bit of information
Speaking of videos…a few weeks ago I told you that we had to block Zamzar due to concerns about viruses. That threat appears to be over, so Todd has once again opened access to Zamzar on our network. If you experience ANY problems with its use, please let us know immediately.
Have a great weekend!
Anne