Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, January 29, 2010
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
Even if you’re not teaching students to read or write biographies, this site can be helpful. SweetSearch Biographies is a search engine that “offers profiles and outstanding search results for thousands of famous – or infamous – people”. Results are gathered from sites that have been evaluated and approved for use by students. Students can type in a name or search through categories, using filters to narrow the search. Each entry includes links to more information as well as to the sources used to compile the entry. The reading level on this site is more suited for secondary students, but elementary students should be able to find the basics. Next time you or your students need to research a person, give this site a try. (http://www.sweetsearch.com/biographies)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
Skimming a webpage to find relevant information can be a chore for teachers and students alike. When doing research online, there is a keyboard combination that will allow you to highlight a particular term each time it appears on the page. On a Windows computer, hold down Ctrl+F and on a Mac, use Command (or Apple) +F. This will open a text box somewhere in your browser window. Type in a term and press “Enter” (“Return” on a Mac). For instance, on this page about photosynthesis try Ctrl+F or Command+F, and in the search box that appears type in the word sugar and hit “Enter”. The word sugar will be highlighted each time it appears in the text. This search tip can save you and your students a lot of time when searching a page full of text.
Fact ~ Just a bit of information
It’s almost February…and for a short month stuck in the middle of winter, there’s a lot going on. Click on the links to find resources about Black History Month, Groundhog Day, the 100th Day of School, The Vancouver Winter Olympics, and Presidents’ Day. I’ll keep adding more as I find them.
Have a great weekend,
Anne
Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, January 22, 2010
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
Have you ever tried to email a picture to someone or upload one to a webpage, only to find out it’s too big? The size does not refer to the physical dimensions of the picture or file, but to how much memory it takes up, measured (usually) in megabytes (MB). Large image files are great if you will be printing an 8 x 10 copy of the picture, but for email or online use a smaller size (lower resolution) will be better. Fortunately there are several ways to reduce the size of an image. On a Mac, you can reduce image size in either Preview or iPhoto. On your teacher computer you can use Microsoft Office Picture Manager (right click on a picture and choose “Open with…”). There are also many free online services that will allow you to upload pictures and resize them. Try out Picnik or one of the others on this list. If you need help using any of these tools to reduce the size of your images, just let me know. (http://www.picnik.com/app#/home/welcome ; http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/30-free-online-multimedia-photo-audio-video-editors/ )
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
Text2Mind Map is an easy-to-use online tool that allows you to type an outline on a topic and with the click of a button, turn it into a concept map. Once created, you have options such as moving items on the map and changing colors and sizes. When you’re finished you can download a copy of your map as a jpeg file. This could be a quick and easy way to capture a word web or other concept map in class. This is a map I made quickly of the schools in the district. (http://www.text2mindmap.com/)
Fact ~ Just a bit of information
Today marks the end of the first semester…the halfway point of the school year. Looking ahead, are there any projects coming up in this next semester that you’d like to approach in a new way? There are lots of choices of technology tools that can give your students a new way to find information or to show what they’ve learned. While I do spend most of my time at the elementary level, I’m always happy to work with middle and high school teachers and students as well. Please don’t hesitate to email me if you have a question, need some help, or would like an extra pair of hands in the room while you’re using technology with your students.
Happy Halfway!
Anne
Last week’s TGIF featured a video site from the UK that provided videos sorted by curricular areas. I thought I had tested the site to be sure that the videos were accessible on the district network, but I was wrong. Because most of those videos are hosted by YouTube they are blocked on our network. I apologize for sharing a resource with you that you can’t use. I’ll do a better job of checking this in the future.
Thanks to Josh Schaffer at Upper Allen for pointing this out for me. I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer for you.
Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, January 15, 2010
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
Toolkit A-Z for Education is an alphabetical list of technology tools that could be helpful to teachers at all levels. A brief description for each entry lists whether it’s hardware, a downloadable application, or a web-based product. Most are free. It might take some time to scroll through all the entries, but I’d suggest bookmarking this one. (http://sites.google.com/site/ptcweb2/toolkit-a-z)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
Virtual tours and field trips are a great way to bring the world into your classroom. This site features 100 Incredible & Educational Virtual Tours, including museums and cities around the world. These tours can be used to give students a quick look at something to build their background knowledge or allow for a more indepth look at a place they’re studying. Just as an example, click here for a quick tour of Mt. St. Helens. (http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2010/01/100-incredible-educational-virtual-tours-you-dont-want-to-miss/)
Fact ~ Just a bit of information
One of the biggest discussions surrounding the use of technology in education is keeping students safe online. Sharing and collaboration are good things, but students (and adults) need to learn what’s appropriate to share and what could end up hurting them. This short video from Common Craft provides a simple explanation about how to protect your reputation online. Even if you don’t share it with your students, the video can give you some background knowledge so you can have conversations with them about the topic. (http://www.commoncraft.com/protecting-reputations-video)
In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King…, have a great long weekend!
Anne
Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, January 8, 2010
Happy New Year!
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
In reviewing my Delicious network this week I came across Interactive Websites for Grades Pre-K-12 and thought it might have something to offer each of you. The links are categorized by subject across the top of the homepage. While each entry indicates the appropriate grade level, secondary teachers will want to be sure to scroll all the way down the list as there is a link to additional resources for grades 6-12 at the bottom of each page. The Assessment category contains links to a variety of test practice resources. (http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/interactive.htm)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
Videos and more videos…can we ever have too many choices? Teaching Videos comes from the UK with a mission of providing a “place where teachers can view and share educational videos that can be used in the classroom.” This site seems to be new and some of the categories aren’t too well populated yet, but there are still many great resources here that could be used as activators or other lesson elements. If you’ve got a few minutes and want something to make you smile, check out this one from the category of Geography. It’s about 4 minutes long, but you don’t have to watch the whole thing to get the idea. (http://www.teachingvideos.co.uk/index.php/home)
Fact ~ Just a bit of information
There’s much discussion in the ed tech world these days about exactly which “technology skills” students should be taught. With both software and hardware changing so rapidly, teaching minute skills in specific applications seems a waste of time, as a month from now there will be a “new way to do it”. Instead, some feel that we need to teach general skills that are used across platforms and applications and then give students many opportunities to use those skills in their daily work. Click here to see just one list of such skills. This is by no means an exhaustive or definitive list…just ideas that have been put out for consideration. It’s a wiki, so feel free to offer additional ideas. Do your students have the skills listed? Do you? (Don’t feel badly if you don’t…I learned a thing or two reading this list!) (http://schoolcomputing.wikia.com/wiki/Implicit_Computing_Skills)
Have a great weekend!
Anne