Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, May 28, 2010
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
Read the Words is an online resource that will convert text to speech. Free accounts allow you to create recordings up to 30 seconds long. The finished recordings can be downloaded or embedded on a blog or webpage. This could be a great way to create audio files for students who have problems seeing or reading text. There are several voices to choose from and you can adjust the speed of the recording as well. (http://www.readthewords.com/Default.aspx)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
Students are good at making lists and even putting items in a list in order. Take this activity a step further and have your students construct support for their decisions about the ranking of the items on the list. Intel Education’s Visual Ranking Tool allows teachers to create a group of items for students to sort. Students can then add comments to each item defending their reasoning for the order. Students (or groups) can then share their lists and see how they compare. See the site for helpful information about using this tool, including project examples and instructional strategies. (http://educate.intel.com/en/ThinkingTools/VisualRanking)
Fact ~ Just a bit of information
Last week I sent a reminder about backing up your files to the network before you leave school for the summer. Another tip is to check to be sure that you don’t leave any CDs or DVDs in your computer’s disk drive. If your computer is being replaced, those disks will likely be gone forever.
Happy Memorial Day!
Anne
Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, May 21, 2010
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
Students are sometimes more motivated to write when they know they’ll be publishing their work in creative ways. ZooBurst is a new (very new!) site that allows users to create virtual pop-up books. Choose from clipart pictures in their library or upload your own. Add speech bubbles as well as text that appears at the bottom of the page. There is even an “augmented reality” option for viewing the books on computers that have webcams. This site is so new that this is its alpha release (like a first draft). You have to request a free account to create a book, but anyone can view the books. The site says that they’re working on special features for educators, but for now teachers can create one account and login for their students. At this point there doesn’t appear to be any way to make books private, so I would recommend that you not include photos of students or use their whole names. If you’re looking for something different to end the year, give ZooBurst a try! (Click here to see a ZooBurst book that I made.) (http://alpha.zooburst.com/index.php)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
Eyeplorer.com describes itself as a “graphical knowledge engine”. Type a search term into the box in the middle and hit return. Eyeplorer searches for information related to the term and displays each bit as an “eye spot” on the circular chart. Each wedge of the chart organizes the information into categories. The size of the “eye spot” indicates how much information there is about each item. Click on an “eye spot” to read more about it. If you create an account, you can also drag the information onto a notepad at the side of the window so that you can save what you’ve read. Currently, Eyeplorer‘s searches are limited to information from Wikipedia, but the site claims that additional data sources will be available soon. Eyeplorer.com could be an interesting way to build background knowledge and activate thinking by showing students the connections between concepts. (http://en.eyeplorer.com/show/)
Fact ~ Just a bit of information
It’s getting to be that time of year again….time to make sure that all of your files are safely saved in your network folder (H drive) and not just on your computer’s hard drive. Some of our teacher computers will be replaced this summer and you don’t want to risk losing all your files. If you need help, just let me know.
Have a great weekend!
Anne
Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, May 14, 2010
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
Simulations can be an effective way for students to apply knowledge and skills they’ve learned throughout the year. Big Picture Small World has a page dedicated to games that involve students in real world problems such as world hunger, global climate issues, energy, and world politics. High school and middle school students can use these games as a way to explore these issues and learn more about our world. (http://www.bigpicturesmallworld.com/funstuff/biggames.shtml)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
Admongo is a new site from the Federal Trade Commission designed to teach 8-12 year-olds about advertising with the goal of making them “more discerning consumers of information.” The site features an interactive game that takes kids through a variety of advertising scenarios and teaches them about strategies that advertisers use. There is also a curriculum developed with Scholastic, Inc. that focuses on using critical thinking skills. This could be an interesting way for students to practice extending thinking skills such as compare/contrast, error analysis, and constructing support. (http://www.admongo.gov/admongo.html)
Fact ~ Just a bit of information (or something fun)
Having students do a book report to wrap up the year? Check out this list of 10 Technology Enhanced Alternatives to Book Reports to try something new. If you want some help, just let me know!
Have a great weekend!
Anne
Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts
Friday, May 7, 2010
Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students
Kubbu.com is a new tool teachers can use to create practice activities for students. You can sample activities shared by other teachers or create a free account and make your own. You can share your activities with your students in two ways: by giving them a link to the activity or by creating individual student accounts for them. If you create student accounts (which don’t require a student email address, by the way) you can track their progress. Activity types include matching, sorting, multiple choice, and crosswords. (http://www.kubbu.com/)
Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology
When working on vocabulary or writing, particularly when writing in other languages, or in Math and Science classes, the traditional “English” keyboard often doesn’t provide all the marks and symbols that you need. On our Macs, there’s an easy way to find out how to make those special characters. On the menu bar at the top of the screen, click on the flag icon and choose “Show Keyboard Viewer”. A small keyboard will appear on your screen (click the green button in the top left corner to make it a little bigger). If you click on the “Option” key on that keyboard, it will show which keys will make selected symbols or characters when the Option key is held down at the same time. For instance, if I want to put the accent on resumé, I type resum then hold down the Option key and the e (the accent will appear) and then type the letter e (the e will be placed under the accent). If you or your students need to type special characters, this Keyboard Viewer can come in handy.
Fact ~ Just a bit of information (or something fun)
You’ve probably used Dictionary.com as a reference tool, but did you know that they also have a variety of word games? I’m not always a fan of “arcade” style games for learning because too often they’re more about the “game” than the “learning”. But these word games are challenging, yet fun. For instance in Clockwords, players have to type words to fend off bugs that are trying to steal an inventor’s secrets. You can type any word you want, but using the letters shown at the bottom of the screen gives you additional power. This game could challenge students at any level. (http://dictionary.reference.com/fun/)
Have a great weekend and Happy Mother’s Day, Moms!
Anne