Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts

Friday, March 5, 2010

Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students

Capzles is a new web tool that allows you to create timelines that include photos, videos, audio and text. Each point on the timeline can have a single piece of media or a “stack” which could include both audio and video. Finished timelines can be shared via a link. The Terms of Service require users to be 13 years of age or older and an email address is required to create an account. This would mean that elementary teachers could create an account and use this for class projects, while teachers working with older students could also offer this as an option for students to create their own timelines. I can see Capzles being a great way for students to sequence important historical events, show the steps of an experiment, or illustrate the life of a famous person.  (http://www.capzles.com/#)

Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology

According to the old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, what if the picture could actually tell the story? Blabberize is a web application that allows you to upload a picture, give it a mouth, and record or upload audio that the picture will “speak”. Click here to see some examples of how some of our elementary students are using Blabberize to show what they’ve learned about animals and to illustrate personification. (http://blabberize.com)

Fact ~ Just a bit of information

Create your own “movie clapper” like this one at fodey.com. Just enter your text and then hit “generate”. You can download your image to use as you wish. Check out the other options at the top of the page…especially the “newspaper clipping”. Students could enter a date and a headline and then a short bit of information about an event to create a clipping to illustrate a project or show what they’ve learned. There is also an online picture editor which allows you to upload an image and apply all kinds of effects…including creating a wanted poster, postage stamp, or motivational poster. Check it out! (http://www.fodey.com/generators/movie/clapper_board.asp)

Have a great weekend!

Anne

Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts

Friday, February 19, 2010

Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students

Edupic Graphical Resource is a collection of photographs and drawings that are free for teachers and students to use. You can search for images by subject area or topic. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this collection. Next time you or your students are looking for pictures for a project, check this one out. (http://edupic.net/index.html)

Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology

Interactives, a site produced by Annenberg Media, includes activities to engage students with content in a variety of curricular areas and grade levels. A few of the topics include Elements of a Story (Gr. 2-5), Metric Conversions (Gr. 6-8), and Historical and Cultural Contexts (Gr. 9-12). Each “interactive” provides content as well as “hands-on” activities. Many also include background information for teachers and links to further resources. (http://www.learner.org/interactives/)

Fact ~ Just a bit of information

In addition to videos, Discovery Education also has an “On This Day” feature. When you login, the landing page will feature an event that happened on that day in history. You can choose from subject areas such as Biographies, Arts & Humanities, Science, etc. Each entry provides a summary of the event and includes links to videos or other Discovery Ed content related to that event. You can also click on “View Full Calendar” to find events for any date. (http://www.discoveryeducation.com/)

Have a great weekend!

Anne

Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts

Friday, February 12, 2010

Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students

Teacher Tap is a “free professional development resource that helps educators and librarians address common questions about the use of technology in teaching and learning”. This site has many great links under the categories of “Tech and Learning”, “Internet Resources”, Libraries and Literacy”, and “Tech Tools”. This one is worth a look when you have a few minutes. (http://eduscapes.com/tap/index.htm)

Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology

Last spring I shared Wordle, a site that allows you to copy or type in text and create a word cloud that displays the most frequently-used words in a larger font. Wordle has become very popular, but it has some limitations in terms of your ability to customize the word cloud. Word It Out is a new site that works much like Wordle, but allows many more options. You can choose words to remove or tweak their importance. You can choose your own colors and sizes. You can save the word cloud to their site (publicly or privately) or embed it on your own site.  Students could use this site to analyze their own writing to find overused words or enter the text of a speech to look for general themes. Here’s a word cloud I made using a news article about this week’s weather…

(http://worditout.com/)

Fact ~ Just a bit of information

Make your own personalized candy heart at http://cryptogram.com/hearts/.

Have a great weekend!

Anne

Technology Gems, Ideas, and Facts

Friday, February 5, 2010

Gem ~ a website or application that might work well for you or your students

Wolfram|Alpha is a new “computational knowledge engine”. The goal of its developers is to “make it possible to compute whatever can be computed about anything.” Lofty goal. When I read the word “compute” I usually think of math, but this does so much more. Type in a math problem and it will give you the answer. Type in a word and it will return the definitions, parts of speech, word origins, pronunciation, syllabication, and much more. Type in weather 17055 and get the current temperature and conditions as well as weather history and forecasts for our ZIP code.  Since today is the 100th day of school, I typed in 100. This picture shows just a part of the results…

Wolfram|Alpha is like the old “World Almanac” on steroids. You and your students can use it to look up quick facts on a WIDE variety of topics. Give it a try! (http://www.wolframalpha.com/)

Idea ~ a way to enhance your LFS lessons with technology

Tuesday I spent the day at the CAIU for a workshop led by Discovery Education (the provider of what we used to know as Unitedstreaming).  Click here to access the resource blog used by the presenter. If you haven’t been to DE Streaming in a while, I suggest you take another look. If you’ve only used it to search for videos, look again, because it has much more to offer. Discovery Education Streaming has updated their website and is constantly adding new content in the form of videos, images, and more. We also now have the ability to create student accounts within the service. This could be helpful if you want students to find videos or other content to use in projects. The students would only be able to search for videos tagged for their grade level range (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12) or lower, keeping our youngest students away from topics that are inappropriate for them. (Remember, there’s nothing “bad” in DE Streaming, but there are things that are not age-appropriate for young children.) Teachers can also create classes within Discovery Ed and develop and assign quizzes and assignments for students in those classes. If you’d like to try these features and want some help, just let me know. Also, for the month of February, Discovery is providing a free preview of their Discovery Science and Discovery Health modules. When you login to DE Streaming, you’ll see  tabs for Science and Health near the top of the page. If you teach Science or Health, take a look. If you don’t currently have a Discovery Streaming account, contact me and I’ll send you the information you need to get started. (http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/jendorman/2010/02/02/iu15/; http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm)

Fact ~ Just a bit of information

Related to the DiscoveryEd resources mentioned above, here’s  some clarification on copyright and the use of their materials. Videos from DE Streaming can be used in classroom and school projects but can not be posted on webpages that are open to the public. Images, sound effects, songs, and other media available from DE Streaming can be used and posted publicly as long as they are properly cited.

Happy 100th Day of School!

Anne

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

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

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