Talking Tech with Robin

Draw A Stickman

2012-02-17T21:21:00.000-08:00

Last week I came across Draw a Stickman. Have you seen it? On this website you draw a stickman which then fights a dragon, puts out a fire and saves itself from a shark. Honestly, it 's the craziest thing I have ever seen! You just have to see it to believe it!

My students are working on Scratch projects and many of them are creating interactive stories. I could not wait to show them! I simple put it up on my mimio and handed the stylus to my very quiet students. I soon had everyones attention and they had it up and going on their computers in no time.
The next day I had students telling me they found the app for stickman! Very Cool!

iCivics

2012-02-02T14:15:00.000-08:00

iCivics is a free, web based, game centered program. iCivics teaches civics under the leadership of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Georgetown Law School and Arizona State University. Explore the wide range of civics content from The Road to the Constitution to Winning the White House. Teachers have the flexibility to download one of many lessons, a variety of games or content for an entire semester.

Sample:

Lit Charts

2012-01-18T08:34:00.000-08:00

Take a look at a new series of literature guides I found on the web. Lit Charts are fast, smart and free.*
Charts are available for literary classics such as Romeo and Juliet, Lord of the Flies, Jane Eyre, and several more. Charts can be viewed online, downloaded in a PDF file, or accessed through an iPhone app (apps are 99 cents each). Each chart offers a side by side summary and analysis of story events making events easier to follow and understand than typical summaries. In addition, they include a color coded theme tracker to help follow themes throughout the book. Each LitChart is 10 pages or less, making them concise and easy to use.

Sample:

I Can Embed That!

2012-01-14T16:14:00.000-08:00

I have entered the exciting world of online instructional design. I have been fortunate to be able to work with the LMS (Learning Management System) itslearning. I use to know know a million sites that I could use to embed educational materials into my edmodo and schoology feeds. My skills are not as sharp as they use to be and now I can only think of a handful. Can you help?Loading...

When In Time

2012-01-07T12:47:00.000-08:00

I love making Time Lines with my students. I believe it brings their learning to a complete understanding. I know of several online timeline makers and this afternoon I discovered another one to add to my tech tool box.

When In Time is a site that allows students to make free, collaborative, multimedia, embeddable time lines. The creator of the timeline will need an account and once they start their timeline they can choose to settings for visibility, editing, and copying.

As a teacher you could set this up a couple of ways:

You could make one class account. Go into the account and set up the timelines you would like the students to work on. All students will sign into the class account, click on their assigned timelines and proceed to work.
Students could all make individual accounts. When In Time asks for an email address, however you could have students put in a fake address. (I use firstname@cougars.com) Students will need to remember the user name they set up so they will be able to collaborate with each other. (From experience: I would suggest they all set a uniform username. I use first name, last two initials.)

Here is a sample I found:

2011-12-27T18:57:00.000-08:00

I will admit it. I need a 12 step program for my addiction to Pinterest. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard; whenever you find something you want to keep you can pin it to your board. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way (and highly addictive way) to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

Have you met Charity Preston? WOW! When I grow up, I want to be just like her! Every where I look I find her. My first encounter with Charity was with her blog, The Organized Classroom Blog. She has so many great ideas and we are so fortunate that she has decided to share with us. Her blog led me to her YouTube page. I then found her on Facebook. Finally, her facebook page led me to her 51 pinterest boards! (She makes me tired just typing about her!)

I am a secondary teacher so my two favorite boards that Charity pins to are the Middle School Maestros and the High School Herd.

Sample:

OK, back to Pinterest. Head on over, say goodbye to your family, and search out what interests you!

Mathematics Illuminated Interactives

2011-12-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for websites that will get your students actively involved, instead of simply reading off of the screen?

Do you have some students who need a bit more practice then others?

Do you have students with different educational needs?

I think I have an answer for you. Have you noticed the amount of top rated FREE interactive activities the WWW has to offer? Simply do a search on "Interactive Activities" and you will be amazed at what you will find.

Today I found Mathematics Illuminated Interactives sponsored by Oregon Public Broadcasting. They offer NINE content rich activities. These are perfect for IWB, however, teachers will begin to see the beauty of using these to differentiate when students can play them on individual computers.

Samples:

Thank you Oregon Public Broadcasting!

Triptico

2011-11-26T04:53:00.001-08:00

If you are fortunate enough to teach with a IWB (Interactive White Board) you need to check this amazing, FREE resource. Triptico has been created by David Riley.

Triptico is an application that can be downloaded and installed directly on to your desktop or dock. The app includes 14 activities for use with your class and each activity allows editing so you can make it personal to your class.

Activities included are...

Word Magnets - type in words that become magnets on screen, that can be moved around and placed in order. Possibilities include sentence building, word/meaning match games, synonyms, opposites etc

Class timer - perfect tool to create a quick class timer

Student selector - enter a class list and let the app pick a student for you

Two team scorer - great for class games

Student order - Enter a class list and display in random order

Student Magnets - class lists become magnets that can be moved around

Multi-team scorer - Create up to 9 teams for a scoreboard

Find Ten - my favourite, brilliant tool to make starter, plenary activities. Challenge class to find ten correct answers on the board

Order resource - enter details and get students to rearrange in correct order

Flip timer - timer that counts up from 0 not down

Student group - names of class can be put into randomly generated groups

Text spinner - enter some text and create a spinner

Image spinner - Instead of words it uses up to 6 images

Number challenge - just like the countdown numbers game but quite a challenge. Calculators required!

Samples:

Thank you David! I use your resource daily! I believe the best part is that is sits on my dock and I often use it "on the fly." It has saved me some crazy times during those dreaded last minutes of class.

Smilebox

2011-11-24T19:16:00.001-08:00

Smilebox is a free software download that lets you upload photographs, music and video clips to create multimedia projects. Design types include scrapbooks, slideshows, Ecards, photo albums, postcards, recipes and invitations. Finished projects can be emailed, sent to a blog, burned to a DVD or printed. The possibilities are endless.

Samples

Newsletter
This is a sample of a template I made for an upcoming project in my grade 9 computer app class.

Personalize a free newsletter design

SlideShow

I put this together very quickly. I can see using this tool to present photos of students art work.

BONUS: You can apply for a FREE teachers account here which will remove all adds. A $39.99 value. THANK YOU SMILEBOX FOR SUPPORTING THE WORK WE DO WITH STUDENTS ACROSS THE WORLD!

Docs Teach

2011-11-09T09:46:00.000-08:00

Educators who use Docs Teach will find and be able to create interactive learning activities with primary source documents that promote historical thinking skills. What a great way to bring history to life!

Sample:

The ready made interactive activities come complete with a detailed lesson plan.

A New Google Presentations

2011-11-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

This is so exciting! Google Presentations is new and improved. The most noticeable improvement is transitions and animations. There are also some great new templates!

Sample:

Embedding a Google Presentation is easy. In the file menu you will find a place where you can "publish" your presentation. Once you are published Google provides you with an embed code.

InsideStory Flashcards

2011-10-21T04:59:00.000-07:00

I love this site! Take a look at InsideStory Flashcards: The world's most interesting way to learn words. These flash cards have great photography attached that will help students truly understand the meaning of the words.

The best part is that they offer basic, easy, medium and hard cards. What a great way to study for those SAT tests.

Visible Tweets

2011-10-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this WAY COOL new flash based tool I found called Visual Tweets.

I have not tried this yet but I plan on asking my class to tweet about the most important thing they learned during the lesson and showing the results with the LCD projector and screen. How would you use Visible Tweets?

Soungle

2011-10-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

Almost all of the lessons we design today can be enhanced with sound. The question always remains as to where can we find free interesting sounds. Today I found Soungle. Soungle has over 100,000 royalty free sound effects to use in multimedia projects. No need to register and it is extremely user friendly.

Sample:

The sounds download as a .wav file and are loaded directly into your iTunes account.

Color Hunter

2011-10-10T14:51:00.001-07:00

I love color but more importantly I love it when my colors coordinate. That, however, is not a gift I was born with. I found a great web site that has helped me design some beautiful IWB (interactive white board) lessons, wikispaces, and websites.

Color Hunter allows us to search for color pallets several ways. We can enter a search term, a tag, a hex color or an image. When you enter a tag, Color Hunter searches Flickr. Once you find the color pallet you like you are provided with the hex number.

Sample:

Here is the color pallet for the tag "apple".

Here is the color pallet for the word "purple"

Here is the color pallet designed to match the photo of the rose.

I hope you will find this tool useful.

3DVinci

2011-10-09T15:25:00.000-07:00

My High School students are discovering the amazing capabilities of Google SketchUp. As usual, my students very quickly passed me up in their proficiency. A quick Google Search landed me at the site of the 3DVinci and I feel as if I have found my life jacket!

If you and your students work with Google SketchUP you should quickly head on over to the 3DVinci site. The creator of the site, Bonnie Roskes is a professional structural engineer; however, I have a sneaking feeling that teaching is her passion. It quickly becomes obvious that she is in-tune with how this amazing software can be used in our classroom and how quickly our students begin to understand the difficult aspects of 3D.

Bonnie has designed several free resources for teachers. The teacher guide is an amazing gift she is giving to educators to help us get started. I found this guide to be just enough to make me want more. She has designed and published several books to use in the classroom. I find these books to be very reasonable in priced and have ordered my first. My plan is to work my way through this book and continue to order the rest.

Sample:

Here a are a few samples of the 3D creations our students can create by following the directions in Bonnie's Model Metricks series for ages 8 - 15, based on FREE Google SketchUp software.

I have known about the Google Sketch up software for a long time; however, it all seemed so overwhelming. My gratitude goes to Bonnie Roskes for not only making this software easy to understand but also fun.

Let's keep the fact that we are having fun to ourselves. We all know school should not be fun! :)

Charlotte's Web Comic Creator

2011-10-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

Who does not love the story Charlottes Web? The amazing people at Scholastic have given us yet another great tool to work with. You have to go check out the Charlotte's Web Comic Creator. It is fun, easy and a great way to get our students involved a creative writing.

Sample:

I can only imagine the fun your students will have. Let's keep the fact that they are indeed writing to ourselves!

A Google Gold Mine

2011-10-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

Today I came across the Google Search Education Evangelism. I believe that many times we think that our students know how to search for material. If you take the time to watch the average student search, you know how important it is to teach this 21st century skill.

Like usual, anything with the word Google attached to it is top notch. The Google Search Education Evangelism are amazing lessons developed by Google Certified Teachers and the Search Education team.

The site includes lessons search basics, advanced search, visualization and query formulation, credibility and technical tools for search. The best part is they all come with a companion master lessons presentations. They are beautifully made and go hand in hand with the lesson.

Sample:

I made sure that these lessons were under Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike, so we can feel free to adapt them and use them as we see fit!

3D View in Google Maps

2011-09-30T18:59:00.000-07:00

I believe we often times overlook the AMAZING capabilities of Google Maps. Many times we get caught up the the glorious attributes of Google Earth that we overlook just what Google Maps has to offer. Unlike Google Earth, Google Maps is an internet based program that you will never need to download or update. With the use of an LCD projector it becomes a virtual Atlas.

Today I learned of the new feature 3d view. Now, in addition to seeing directions in a 2d view, our students can view them in 3d. It's like taking a virtual helicopter ride!

To test the beauty of this feature I suggest you start your destination at my favorite place in the United States, Bar Harbor Maine and end your route at Acadia National Park. Click the "3D" play button. Google maps will automatically go into "Earth View" and start your flight. You can pause your flight and look around anytime by clicking the pause button. To resume the flight just click the play button found on the lower left of the 3d view.

Sample:

I would love to know how you use Google Maps in your class? Click the comments below.

A Google a Day

2011-09-28T14:16:00.001-07:00

When that tardy bell rings it is every teachers dream to have students in their seat busy working. For those of us who are fortunate to teach in a one-to-one school or a computer lab situation using A Google a Day can quickly turn chaos to calm.

A Google a Day combines two of my favorite things, Google and trivia. The trivia question appears at the bottom of the screen along with an answer box, timer and hint. Students simply do a Google search and then check to see if they got it correct by clicking, “Show answer.” The answer is then displayed along with tips on the best techniques to search for it.

Sample:

What a great way to teach our students effective search techniques and keep their skills sharp! Thank you Google, for being a great friend to educators and students around the world!

The Eyeballing Game

2011-09-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had those last few minutes in class and you feel that panic deep inside your gut? Your lesson plan has ran short and your jokes are just not as entertaining as they used to be.

Take a look at the "Eyeballing Game" from woodgears.ca. This fun and easy game measures your success and both accuracy and speed at some basic (and not so basic) math concepts.

Sample:

Here is my attempt at a parallelogram:
(blue is my attempt, green is the correct response)

Here is my attempt at finding the mid-point of a line segment.

Next is my attempt to bisect the angle.

I believe this is a great little activity to wrap up any of our classes. Have fun with your guessing!

Academy of Achievement

2011-09-26T17:43:00.000-07:00

I don't know about your school, but it seems as if students at my school can never get enough character education. I work with High School students and often times it is difficult to find age appropriate materials.

Today I found some really great materials. The Academy of Achievement is a "Museum of Living History". In their words, the Academy of Achievement was developed to bring aspiring young people together with real-life heroes.

This site is packed full of audio, video, and beautiful still photography that we can all use to help motivate our students to become the very best at what ever they set their minds to.

Sample:

I hope you and your students will enjoy this site.
If you have any words of wisdom for me concerning building character, PLEASE comment below.

Watch Know Learn

2011-09-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those days that just amazes me! Just when I think I have discovered everything free there is to discover on the Internet, BAM, I am hit up side the head with yet another amazing find.

Watch Know Learn is a website that is stuffed full of FREE educational videos. All of these videos are so well organized that it literally takes you seconds to find what you need.

There are so many bonuses to using this site.

There are over 20,000 educational videos indexed into over 3000 categories.
Videos are available without registration and are FREE
Videos are searchable by subject, age level, titles, and ratings.

Sample:

If you join Watch, Know, Learn there are even more benefits!

Bright Storm

2011-09-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

Look what I found for my English, Math and Science teacher friends! BrightStorm is a website that provides thousands of FREE videos! These videos are all categorized by subject and are short and to the point!

A student is absent? Send them to BrightStorm!
A student needs his/her work in advance for vacation? Send them to BrightStorm!
A student needs a little extra help? Send them to BrightStorm!

Sample:

AMAZING! Thank you BrightStorm!

Quiet Write

2011-09-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

Quiet Write is an online workspace where students can write in a safe online forum. I believe the best part is that students can work in environment without distractions. There is nothing flashy and the controls disappear as you write.

When you are finished writing you have the option to publish with a unique URL. Now, here comes the great part. You have the option to allow responses to your writings. You will be able to add your comments when students allow the response option and share the URL with you. Students also have the option to "unpublish" after you have shared your comments.

Sample:
http://www.quietwrite.com/writing/61759/talking-tech-with-robin-quiet-writetest

In order for a student to publish, an account is needed, however, the process is very quick and clean. Another bonus...it automatically saves! I believe this is another helpful tool in our tech tool belts.

Sumo Paint

2011-09-04T15:26:00.000-07:00

Have you seen Sumo Paint? It is a free full-featured, robust online image editor. I believe that Sumo Paint is simple enough for younger students to use and sophisticated enough for our older students.

Sample:

I used Sumo Paint to design this poster for our Welcome Back to School Rally.

My colleague, Eric Pletz, used Sumo Paint to design the header for his HS art web site.

Sometimes I am amazed at what I can find for FREE on the Internet. Sumo Paint is one of those things. With a nice compliment of brushes and filters, you can create complex, multilayered designs. That's worth the price!

Quiz Star

2011-08-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

I have found another amazing FREE quiz maker! Quiz star was designed for quizzes but I am also using it for simple surveys.

Creating a quiz is simple and the great part is that all of the results are stored on your Quiz Star account.

Sample:

Here are some advantages to using Quiz Star:

quizzes are scored automatically
quiz scores given in both raw score and percentages
quiz scores can be downloaded to teacher computer using a spreadsheet format for easy grading and printing
able to incorporate images and other documents into quizzes
individual instructions can be included for each question
students (and parents) can access their own account to review old quizzes and to take assigned quizzes
teachers are given their own account to view classes, quizzes, and quiz reports
quizzes can be given in multiple languages (Yeah for our foreign language teachers)

Google News

2011-08-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

This year I have decided to start my ninth grade computer applications class with an exploration of the news, using Google News. Google News is a computer-generated news site that aggregates headlines from news sources worldwide, groups similar stories together and displays them according to each reader's personalized interests.

When I first introduced this idea to my students I heard little grumbles all around the classroom. I proceeded to tell them that this was "not their mothers news website." They can personalize their pages. I built up the fact that it is their responsibility to personalize the page for their individual preference. ( They love the fact that they are responsible to decide what to read.)

Let's take a look at the Google News Page.

The Google News page has a "Personalize" button at the top right of the page. I gave my students the freedom to set their news preferences.

I also take it a step further and allow the them to use the "add any news topic" box.

I understand Google did not design Google News just for my students; however, my students feel as if they did!

Google Cow

2011-08-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow Wait Until You See This!

On January 5, 2011 I introduced you to the Google Body Browser. Today while I was teaching our Summer Tech Academy I revisited the site. I don't know why I should be surprised, but the good people at Google have been busy again!

The first difference I noticed is there is now a male model. They have also added helpful features like "pin" and "transparency."

HOWEVER! You just will not believe what else. They now have included a cow. Holy Google Cow!

Sample:

REMINDER: GOOGLE BODY BROWSER WILL ONLY WORK WITH THE UPDATED VERSION OF FIREFOX AND CHROME.

Awesome Highlighter

2011-07-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

Awesome Highlighter is a convenient tool for educators to use to point students in the right direction. With Awesome Highlighter , you can instantly share important parts of any webpage with your colleagues or students. It allows you to highlight text on a web page and then gives you a short link to the highlighted page .

Another great feature is that you can attach a virtual post-it note to the selection you highlighted. We could send our students to an article and attach a discussion question directly to the post.

Sample:

http://awurl.com/yuizvPbLR#first_awesome_highlight

I can think of a few ways to use Awesome Highlighter in class:

Students could use the sticky-note feature to summarize the article.
Teachers can use it to show important parts of their online lessons
Teachers can demonstrate how to scan a web page for important information with a visual cue for students.

Can you add any ideas to this list?

Math Matters:Off-Road Algebra

2011-07-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

I found this very cool video series that connects the world of Off-Road Motorcycle Racing to Pre-Algebra!

Sample:

There are 30 related problems for off-road algebra, each with an accompanying digital resources. You can find them here.
Problem 1: Conversion between gallons and liters
Problem 2: Miles per gallon
Problem 3: Gallons per mile
Problem 4: Velocity x time = distance, Part 1
Problem 5: Velocity x time = distance Part 2
Problem 6 (not available)
Problem 7: Comparing decibels
Problem 8: (not available)
Problem 9: Slopes and Ramps, Part 1
Problem 10: Slopes and Ramps, Part 2
Problem 11: Playing catch up, Part 1
Problem 12: Playing catch up, Part 2
Problem 13: GPS Axis
Problem 14: GPS conversion
Problem 15: GPS distance
Problem 16: Mixing Gas and Oil
Problem 17: Margin of Victory
Problem 18: Lap Time Math
Problem 19: Trac Turn Angles
Problem 20: Number of Revolutions
Problem 21: Inside and Outside a Wheel
Problem 22: Choosing between mean and median
Problem 23: Cylinder Volume
Problem 24: Comparing the Volume
Problem 25: Graphing the Ride
Problem 26: Acceleration, Part 1
Problem 27: Acceleration, Part 2
Problem 28: Acceleration, Part 3
Problem 29: Calculating with the contact patch
Problem 30: Tire Aspect Ratio

The site is offered to us through Hot Chalk. What a great way to integrate real world problems with math class!

Screenr

2011-07-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

SCREENR

AMAZING.......FREE........EASY

Sample:

When you are finished all you do is publish and save!

THIS UPDATE JUST IN!!

WOW WOW WOW!

The amazing people at Screenr are offering an embed code that will work on our ipads!

Simply click the "get embed code" after you finish publishing.

Shmoop

2011-07-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

Have you seen Shmoop? In their words "Shmoop will make you a better lover (of literature, history, life)." When you take a minute to look around Shmoop, you will be simply delighted!

These are not your "Mothers Literature Guides"...Shmoop makes learning and writing more fun and relevant for students in the digital age.

Take a look at this sample: The Great Gatsby

As you can see, the teen-friendly language hooks the student right away. However, that is just the first taste of what Shmoop is all about. These amazing educators go on to actually find connections between The Great Gatsby to Twilight, Desperate Housewives, and The Sopranos. How's that for a hook?

Shmoop is a site designed by educational experts in more the ten subject areas, including Literature, Poetry, Shakespeare, Bestsellers, US History, Civics, Economics, Biography, Music and Pre-Algebra. You will be ecstatic when you discover all that Shmoop offers you and your students to help stimulate those creative juices!

Shmoop writers come from Ph.D. and Masters programs at Stanford, Harvard, and Berkeley. On behalf of Middle School and High School teachers around the world.....THANK YOU!

BONUS: Shmoop also offers test preparation and teacher resources.

Culture Crossing

2011-07-03T17:12:00.000-07:00

Today I stumbled across a fantastic resource for students and teachers who are interested in the study of different cultures. Culture Crossings provides the basic demographics, but it also shares details about communication style, dress, gestures,and more. The section that really got my attention is the student section where we can read about how students in other countries receive their education and socialize.

Sample

Culture Crossings will be an outstanding resource for students and teachers who seek to understand and become aware of the life styles of people in other countries.

Educaplay

2011-06-29T20:07:00.001-07:00

You will flip when you see the educational possibilities that are available to us through the new web site educaplay! AMAZING!

Educaplay is a platform we can use to create FREE multimedia teaching activities. Take a look at my samples.

Matching

Jumbled Sentence

Jumbled Word

Cross Word Puzzle

Riddle

Fill In the Blank

In addition to these activities you can also create

dialogue
dictation
quiz
map

I think this site is authored by Spanish speaking educational technologists. I had a tiny bit of problem with the language in the directions. It was definitely worth the troubles!

You need to take some time to look at this site. BRAVO Educaplay!

APA Wikispace

2011-06-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

I believe that writing, like reading, is an enabling skill that has a direct impact on academic proficiency. My school is beginning the process of requiring all students to write in APA/MLA format. I want to help facilitate that process so I designed an APA * reference wikispace.

The wiki is located at http://edge-apa.wikispaces.com/.

My next step is to design a wikispace devoted to the MLA style of writing.

Please feel free to use this wiki or pass it on.

DISCLAIMER:

* I WAS NOT BORN AN APA QUEEN AND DO NOT CLAIM TO BE AN APA EXPERT! If you see something that I stated wrong, please let me know!

In fact, when I asked my twitter pln for an APA expert, @theory249 said "Those don't exist.... they are mythical creatures! Not even the writers of the books are experts!" #loveit ☺

Dimensions

2011-06-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

Dimensions, from the BBC, takes important places, events and things, and overlays them onto a map of where we are located. It really brings home the human scale of events and places in history. e

Sample:

If the moon was centered on my school, this is the area it would effect.

If the great wall of China started at my school, it would span more then eight states.

This visualization tool will empower out students to envision history and current events in a new way!

Crocdoc

2011-06-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

Take a look at Crocdoc....the more I look at it, the more amazed I am.

Crocdoc allows us to review a Word document, fill out a PDF form, mark up an image,and more.....all online, all for free.

Here is the amazing part.....using Crocdoc we can invite our student(s) to collaborate in real time on the paper, return it to them via email or embed it on a blog or wikispace. If you are a Edmodo or Schoolgy user you could embed it directly into their accounts or share with the entire class!

Sample:

Here is a paragraph one of my students turned in. Using Crocdoc it was easy for me to annotate her paper and return it to her.

This is a sample of a photo that one of my students took. I needed to tell her that she should crop her subject.

Crocdoc is an amazing, FREE tool we can all us!

Myna (Garage Band for EVERYONE!)

2011-05-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

One of my very favorite thing about using a Mac computer is Garage Band. In fact, Garage Band was the software application that made me a Mac believer. I quickly found that not only did I like Garage Band, my students LOVED Garage Band.

Here is the problem: Garage Band is a Mac only application. My students love Mac computers, however, not many of them have them at home. I have been asked a million times "Can I get Garage Band at home?" Up until now, I have had to say no. However, I have finally found an answer.

I have found a FREE web based audio editor called Myna. This editor is so Garage Band like that my students found it effortless to use.

Dare I say this may be, close your ears Steve, better then Garage Band? Why? Because this is web based, students can start working on a project a school and continue working on it at home.

My school year is coming to a close and I have no time to plan a project with this application; however, I can imagine using Myna to

produce weekly podcast
record substitute plans
create digital stories
record foreign language projects

Do you have other ideas?

Snack Tools

2011-05-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

Many educators today are finding the benefits of blogging in our classrooms. Some of us have our students blog while others are using this web 2.0 tool to communicate with parents. Either way, you can NEVER have too many tricks up your sleeve.

Have you seen Snack Tools? Snack Tools are FREE apps to improve your blog or website. A big bonus for us; they all come with an embed code that we can use in our Edmodo, Schoology or wikis. The site offers a suite of six tools; bannersnack, podsnack, tubesnack,photosnack, quizsnack and flipsnack. They are ALL incredibly fast and easy to use.

Sample:

FlipSnack: (Before creating my FlipSnack I had to create one PDF by merging my PDF files using http://www.mergepdf.net/. )

flash video player

QuizSnack:

web polls

TubeSnack:

flash video player

PhotoSnack:

picture slideshow

BannerSnack:

banner maker

How Fun Is This? Did I tell you they are all FREE?

OMGoogle

2011-05-11T05:07:00.000-07:00

I had the incredible opportunity to go to "Ohio Goes Google" mini conference this week. My one take away is as follows: You can never know EVERYTHING about Google.

One session I went to was about Google Earth. I have taught Google Earth many times and am still not comfortable with all of the bells and whistles. The best thing I learned about Google Earth was about the Google Earth Blog. By subscribing to this blog you can stay current on all of the offerings of Google Earth.

Sample:

(This is taken directly from the Google Earth Blog)

GeoEye has just released some brand new high-res imagery of the flooding that is happening near Cairo, Illinois, due to the rising Mississippi and Ohio rivers. You can view it yourself using this KML file.

Here is a 3D model of Osama bin Laden's Compound. Download the KMZ file here.

Educators of every subject should take some time this summer to look into Google Earth to see how it can enhance your curriculum. You will not be disappointed.

Embed Plus

2011-05-06T09:30:00.001-07:00

I have found another great web 2.o tool that I think all teachers should know about. Embed Plus is a tool that allows you to annotate YouTube videos and create scenes you can skip through like you would chapters on a DVD.

Sample:
I added two markers and three annotations to this video. It was VERY easy to do.

Original Video

Embeded Plus Video

This is an amazingly cool tool!

Slide 280

2011-05-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

Have you notice how much our students depend on You Tube? When they are working on a project for me, that seems to be one of the first questions that comes up....can we add a You Tube Video?

Recently, one of my computer apps students came to me asking for help with his science project. He was AMAZED that his science teacher expected him to do his project on a piece of cardboard when he had all of his web tools he could use. PRECIOUS! He decided to put his entire project on a powerpoint. He worked hard on his project and was very proud until he got to the point where he wanted to upload a You Tube video. MAJOR PROBLEM!!!

SLIDE 280 TO THE RESCUE!
I told him about Slide 280 which is a great web 2.0 tool where we can create and present beautiful presentations with a bonus. We can now EASILY include photos and movies to our presentation directly from popular web services like Flickr and YouTube. It works like a dream.

Sample

Bonus: A saved Slide 280 comes with an embed code!

Living Sasquatch

2011-05-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

Augmented Reality! Augmented reality uses built in web cameras to create the illusion of a hologram with certain 3D programs and websites. Living Sasquatch is one of my favorites because it allows you to make a movie.

Sample:

Now, it looks like we are sitting here just having fun in the lab. Honestly? Yes, it is fun; however, I promise we will be seeing more Augmented Reality soon.

In fact, I found a video of an iphone app that uses Augmented Reality to help New Yorkers find their way through the complicated subway system.

Do you use Augmented Reality Apps in your class?

Math Caching

2011-04-29T12:19:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are geocachers. In a very small nutshell, geocaching is an outdoor activity in which we use our GPS receivers to hide and seek containers called "geocaches" or "caches".

When I stumbled across the Math Caching site I knew it was going to be something exciting. The website Mathbits brings us this challenging game that will have your students applying their math skills without even realizing it.

Sample:

Math Caching is a challenge where you solve mathematical problems to find hidden “boxes” on the Internet. Each box reveals clues to the location of the next one. Levels include: Basic Math, PreAlebra, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Trig, and PreCalculus. When you are finished, there is a certificate to print. To help students keep track of their work, there are also worksheets that go along with each level.

Basic Math

Pre-Algebra

You can find all levels here.

BIG BONUS: A teacher answer key (including the URL addresses of all of the boxes) is available upon request from a school district email address. roberts@mathbits.com

Issuu

2011-04-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

Recently my class did a "Six Word Story" project. I was just so amazed at their work and wanted to share it on my parent blog. I had over 100 word docs so I started searching for a cool tech way to display them. I found Issuu! With Issuu you can create a really savy looking web-magazine.

Sample:

Click on "Open Publication"

Open publication - Free publishing - More story

HINT: I converted the Word Docs to PDF's and merged them using merge pdf. It would only allow me to merge 10 docs at a time. I merged groups of 10 and then merged those together. Yes, it took a little time, but it was worth it.

Handwritten Fonts

2011-04-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

I found a new blog today. It's like a birthday gift! The blog is called "The Rapid E-Learning Blog" and it is stuffed full of fun technology tips. The author, Tom Kuhlmann, makes me want to sit down with him over a steamy cup of Java and a warm blueberry muffin and start absorbing his knowledge and enthusiasm.

The first post I read was about the power of fonts. I have never really given this topic much thought. I am a "Georgia 12 pt" gal and have been happy........till now!

Sample:

I am quickly becoming a fan of adding in some "handwritten" fonts.

Picture this....... A student hands in a paper and you want to add some comments. Let's take a look both ways.

Now I ask you? Which would you rather read?

Here is the fun part! We can make our own handwritten fonts! Mr. Kuhlmann demonstrates how in this easy to follow video. BUT WAIT....IT GETS BETTER!

He has given us a gift of his handwritten fonts, ready to download and use.

AMAZING!

Thank you Mr. Kuhlmann. You are the best! J

Math by Design

2011-04-18T12:37:00.000-07:00

Put on Your Thinking Caps!

Maryland Public Television should be on the TOP of every math teacher's Christmas card list! Wait till you see what they have for you!

On the Math by Design website, you will find two interactive environments, Flossville Town Park and Windjammer Environmental Center. While visiting students will build a skateboard ramp, cover a picnic area, dig out a pond and more.

These are amazing interactive sites that you need to see to believe.

Sample:

Flossville Town Park

Here is the link to the teacher's page that includes standards, lesson plans and more.

Windjammer Environmental Center

Here is the link to the teacher's page that includes standards, lesson plans and more.

Bonus: Make sure you visit the "Math in Action" videos that demonstrate how math is used in everyday life from decorating cakes to designing landscapes or creating beautiful sculptures.

Stixy

2011-04-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

My very good friend Kathy Korty told me of a new site today. Stixy is a new way for students, educators, parents and others to collaborate online. We start out with a blank virtual bulletin board. Using the Stixy widgets we can easily add content or functionality to our board, positioning them anywhere. We can add notes, photos, documents, or to-do items. We also have several options when it comes to sharing with others. After being published they can be private or public with or without rights to add or remove files.

Sample:

This is a new program for me so I set up a sample Stixy. The first thing that came to my mind a student portfolio.

http://www.stixy.com/guest/116665

A Paperless Classroom: Set up a Stixy to

Give and receive assignments
Assign Web-Based tasks
Display a collection of writing prompts
Display a Classroom Calendar complete with a To-Do section
Gather thoughts from the class: Which book would you like to read next?
Create a board full of questions on a new curriculum topic

What other ideas can you think of?

Online Timers

2011-04-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

One of the best classroom management tools I have in my tech tool belt is my collection of online timers. Timers help my students work on their time management skills, as well as helping me pace my lessons.

Samples:

http://www.fieryideas.com/flash/timer.swf

http://www.online-stopwatch.com/online-stopwatch.swf

http://www.online-stopwatch.com/eggtimer-countdown/full-screen/

http://www.timercountdown.net/1-hour/

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/Stopwatch/

http://classtools.net/education-games-php/timer/

Do you have a timer that you use?

Flubaroo

2011-04-09T16:01:00.001-07:00

I am always amazed when I find something new and exciting while surfing the net. I wonder how it is that I am on the web everyday and have not already seen everything. Today, while reading the posts from my Edmodo friends, Mrs. Lyon introduced me to a gem! I can't wait to tell you about it.

I believe that the forms in google docs has been a great gift to educators. If you have not taken time to explore how to use forms to give assessments in your class you owe it to yourself to stop what you are doing and go investigate. ( If you need help you can always email me at pharesr@gmail.com)

I use google forms routinely to assess my students; however, up until now the grading process has been possible, but messy.

Enter Flubaroo! Flubaroo is a free script that you can use grade the quizzes that you administer through Google Docs. You will find a very simple step-by-step tutorial here.

Sample:

Here is a sample of a spreadsheet of answers after students have taken your quiz.

After running the script, which is an incredibly easy process, you will be presented with this grading option screen.

Then you will asked to provide which submission you would like to use as your key.

It's that simple! Before you can say "WOW" your assessment is graded.

That is worth the price. FREE! However, there is so much more!

Now a new worksheet called "grades" has been produced. The last row shows the percent of students who got each question correct, with overall low-scoring questions highlighted in orange.

Through the flubaroo script add on you can now view a report about your assessment.

If you collected email addresses as one of your questions, you can also email the results, complete with correct answers, directly to the student.

I have three words.....A-MAZ-ING!

I could not find a name to give credit for this amazing script so I contacted the "help" address. Here is the response I received.

"My name is Dave Abouav. I am a part-time night school teacher, and also a Google employee. I developed the idea for Flubaroo based on my own needs as a teacher, with little time for grading. Fortunately, at Google we are allowed to spend up to 20% of our time on side-projects, and so I chose to use my time to develop Flubaroo. You can read about it on the Google App Developer blog here:

http://googleappsscript.blogspot.com/2011/04/grading-made-easy-using-apps-script.html

Thank you Dave Abouav for this brilliant time saver!

ShutterCal

2011-04-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

Can educators use this service?

January 1st I made a resolution to take and post one photo everyday for the next 365 days. I never imagined how much I would enjoy my resolution. Somehow, this little act, helps me concentrate on all of the good things in my life during this time of educational uncertainty.

Through my twitter PLN I learned of a great service offered by ShutterCal. ShutterCal 365 is a calendar-based daily photography project. The developers of this brilliant website have made it easy for their users to upload and journal about their photos. I knew that word, journal, would get your attention.

Sample:

Recently, I had a discussion with Scott from ShutterCal. He is one of the original developers of the website and is very helpful. I asked him if he had ever considered a ShutterCal 184. I suggested that there may be educators who would be interested in using their service for the 184 days we are in session. (Ohio Schools)

Teachers could assign a daily student photographer to take one photo of the day. The photo can then be uploaded to the site during the evening so the student will be able to journal about it the next day.
If you are fortunate to teach in a lab that is equipped with web cams, students could take a photo of themselves and journal daily.
Art teachers could have an artist of the day and post a photo of their work.
Teachers could have a student of the day and post their photo. The student would be responsible to journal about themselves.

ShutterCal offers a monthly printing service that I believe educators and parents will be interested in. I wish I had a photo journal of my first year of teaching. How different would my photo journal look then it does now?

So, what do you think? Can we use this service? Please let me know in the comment below.

Twurdy

2011-04-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

Twurdy is a a search engine that will display your results by readability level. A nice tool for teachers who are differentiating their instruction.

Sample

Scale City: Proportional Reasoning

2011-04-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

Your secondary math students are going to LOVE Scale City! While students explore interactive "roadside attractions" they are learning about the mathematics of scale. Each "attraction" includes a short video and an interactive activity. This fun web activity has been made available to us by the Kentucky Department of Education.

Sample:

"Dinosaur Land"

One-dimensional scaling: Using proportions and the known height of an object to find an unknown height.

"Louisville Slugger Museum"

One-dimensional scaling: Using similar triangles and shadows to find an unknown height.

"World of Mural Painting"

Two-dimensional scaling: Seeing what happens to area when the dimensions of murals are increased proportionally.

"Greetings from Miniature Land"

Three-dimensional scaling: Increasing the dimensions of a house by a factor of 10.

"Greeting from the World Chicken Festival"

Scaling up recipes and a skillet to cook for a crowd.

BONUS: Don't miss the "Teacher's Diner" where you will find lesson plans complete with handouts and other resources.

Gliffy

2011-04-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

Gliffy is everything a concept mapping tool should be. First, it is FREE! Second, it does not require an account or download! It reminds me a lot of inspiration with the exception that it is FREE!

A few of the things our students can make are:

Concept Maps
Flow Charts
Floor Plans
Network Diagrams
Interactive Venn Diagrams

Sample:

To introduce my students to this tool I had them make a quick floor plan of their bedroom. Honestly, this took them about ten minutes.

Next, I asked them to make a simple chart to demonstrate their knowledge of Microsoft office.

I believe that Gliffy is an amazing site that we should all take a look at. Did I mention it was free?

Google Public Data Explorer

2011-03-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that all states have some type of standard that addresses the issue of students being able to read, and interpret charts and graphs. The incredible people in the Google Labs have designed the Google Public Data Explorer. When you first look at it, it is a cool tool. When you take a second look, you are blown away!

Sample:

I decided while having my students working on this standard I would also take this opportunity to discuss unemployment . My hope is that I will be able to build some empathy for those students who have two working parents and some comfort for those who don't.

First we are presented with a typical line chart.

Next, we see our bar chart. Typical, except check out the play button!

Next, we can look at a Map Chart.

Finally, we have a bubble chart.

Time and time again, Google amazes me. When I think back about how I learned to read charts and graphs, from a textbook, I am just simply delighted.

Google Wonder Wheel and Timeline Search

2011-03-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

I want my students to use Google, however, I want them to use it effectively and efficiently. One of the best kept secrets that Google offers us is the Google Wonder Wheel and Timeline Search. When students search using these tools their results are narrowed down and presented in a way they can better understand.

Sample

The subject is "hurricanes." A student types in the word "hurricane" into google and gets 69,100,000 hits. What's a student suppose to do? (Mine would open a new tab and play a game.)

Compare that with the results a student would get if they would use the Google Wonder Wheel search. (Wonder Wheel can be found on the left hand side of the page. If you do not see it, click "more search tools.) Now we're talking. They can see their search results in a visual map. They can really start to narrow down their search.

Compare that with the results a student would get if they would use the Google Timeline search. (Timeline can be found on the left hand side of the page. If you do not see it, click "more search tools.")

The first thing the student will see is a graphical representation of all of the hurricanes that occurred during the years 1900-2011.

From there, we can teach our students to drill down their results by clicking on a decade.

From there, students can drill down to a year and month.

What did we do before Google? Was there life before Google?

Do you have interesting ways to use Google search tools in your classroom?

Scribble Map

2011-03-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

Scribble Map is just about the coolest thing since sliced bread! Scribble Maps is just what it sounds like, a web site that lets you scribble over a Google map.

But wait, it is SO MUCH MORE!

You can also

annotate
draw
add shapes
add place marks with titles and descriptions
add images
add a legend

But wait, there is MORE!

You can also

print
embed
save as a JPEG
save as a GPX file (GPS File)
save a KML file (Opens in Google Earth)

Sample:

The Great Miami River flows through the city I live in. I had my students trace the Great Miami all the way to the Ohio River.

Scribble Mapsgreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

Now my brain is just spinning with ideas on how we could use this application with our students. How will you use this amazing tool?

Bonus: Make sure you sign up for the Scribble Map Pro account to get some extra goodies.

Study Blue

2011-03-25T06:49:00.000-07:00

I have been looking at StudyBlue for a couple of days. The more I look, the more impressed I am. I believe this may be a great tool for our students to use. Study Blue is a brilliant online note taker and flash card maker. Study materials are accessible anywhere that students have an internet connection and even from their phone or ipods. That is hitting our students right where they live. Think about it, they can study anywhere they have their phones or ipods!

Sample:

Take a look at these Twitter flash cards: http://s.tudy.it/msgjzxu

Bonus:

Matt Messinger, matt@studyblue.com, from Study Blue is an amazing resource and is ready,

willing and able to answer any of our questions. I asked him what would

be the benefits of having ateacher account.

There are several benefits for teachers (and students). All features
of StudyBlue are always available for both teachers and students.

1) Users (both teachers and students) can easily create a flashcard
deck and share it with their students/peers -- using the Share button
on the site.
2) Users can press a button to automatically convert a flashcard deck
into a multiple choice / true/false quiz. StudyBlue grades the quiz
automatically and then students can share their quiz grades with their
teachers. Saving teachers from needing to grade.
3) Teachers can post their lecture notes and powerpoints for their
class to access.
4) Teachers can store all of their course materials for their classes,
so they can access them each term.
5) Students can study a flashcard deck and get reminders via text
messages to study that deck again.

I hope you will have time to check out this fantastic 21st century learning tool.

Science Web Adventures

2011-03-23T13:49:00.001-07:00

Looking to hook your students into science? These "web adventures" as they're called by Rice University are interactive games about science that just may do the trick.

Samples:

CSI: The Experience

Infectious Disease: Solve a Medical Mystery

Alcohol & Alcoholism: Solve an Alcohol-related

Drug Abuse: A Plaguing Problem and Nothing to Rave About

Text Layout

2011-03-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

This is SO MUCH FUN! Text Layout allows you to put in a word or sentence and then converts it to a rebus! I used this today in class for a bonus question. My seventh grade kids got a kick out of trying to solve the puzzle and have asked for more.

Sample:

Can you imagine how much fun it would be to give kids their spelling words this way? How about the answers to a test question. How will you use this fun tool in your classroom?

Study Stack

2011-03-21T11:03:00.001-07:00

I found a new tool for my "tech tool belt" today. Study Stack is an online flash card maker that brings this 20th century study tool into the the 21st century world. Once you have your words and definitions entered in your students can choose between eleven activities to begin their studies. (Study Stack has a wealth of saved stacks from other teachers ready for immediate use.)

If you are an Edmodo or Schoology user you can embed these stacks directly into your student news feed.

Samples:

Please Note: I had to adjust the sizing of the embed code to fit on my blog. They are full size when you use the full size embed code.

Study Stack

More educational activitites at StudyStack.com

Study Table

Flashcards and educational games by StudyStack

Bonus: There's an app for that!

I promised this was 21st century learning. Study Stack offers our students an easy way to upload their stacks to their cellular devices.

Proportion Land

2011-03-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

Wait until you see what I have found for my math teacher friends! Proportion Land is a online amusement park that has students reasoning their way through eight interactive exercises. Students explore and apply proportional reasoning skills to solve a variety of science-based, real world problems.

Sample

Each exercise has five sections; engage, explore, explain, extend and evaluate.

The Engage section has a nicely produced video to spark the students interest.

The explore section includes several interactive exercises.

The explain section includes a audio explanation of the concept.

Finally, the evaluation section is a flash-based quiz that allows students two times to get the correct answer.

We owe the Alabama Public Television for Proportion Land. It is a fantastic math site!

H.S.I. Historical Scene Investigation

2011-03-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

The Historical Scene Investigation is a great website to help our Social Studies students and teachers work with primary resources. Each module contains four sections; Becoming a Detective, Investigating the Evidence, Searching for Clues and Cracking the Case.

Each case is neatly presented with several engaging activities for students to complete.

Sample:

I hope you have a chance to take a look at The Historical Scene Investigation website. I believe it will be a great addition to your curriculum.

Twister

2011-03-14T10:19:00.000-07:00

Russel Tarr is one of my Tech Heros! This man is amazing! He is constantly presenting us with new classtools that we can use with our students. The latest tool I tried was Twister! My students really had a great time, and they learned something!

Twister is a tool that allows our students to make fake twitter pages for historical characters. The form asks for a username, a real name, a tweet, and a date. When you click "submit" your information is magically presented into a twitter-like page complete with a great photo. It's just like magic!

Sample:

I wish I could show you all of them! They were great! I had my students go and watch short videos on the biography web site to get their ideas flowing.

Thank you Mr. Russel for this great classroom tool!

The National Gallery of Writing

2011-03-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

The National Gallery of Writing is a digital archive of compositions accessible to all through a free, searchable website. This is a living archive of thousands of examples of writing from across the United States. In a nutshell, The National Council of Teachers of English have collected writings from adults and students.

Samples:

This is a screen shot of the home page where you can choose to read, contribute, or start a gallery on the National Gallery of Writing.

This is a screen shot of the search feature of the National Gallery of Writing.

There are several ways a teacher could use the National Gallery of Writing in their classroom:

Writing: Teachers can start their own gallery and post their student's writings.
Comprehension: There is always fresh and freely accessible writings for students to read. They could write comprehension questions for each other.
Modeling: Teachers can model effective writing critique of several genres by displaying a piece of writing from the gallery for the whole class and going through it line by line.

Can you think of other activities for the National Gallery of Writing?

Khan Academy

2011-03-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this astonishing FREE website for math teachers and students. Khan Academy covers everything from addition to calculus. Students log in and earn awards for their achievements. Teachers and parents can see very detailed data about the progress of the student.

Sample
Take a look at one of the reports you can see on Khan Academy. These reports tell you vital statistics, achievements and recent activities.

Here is the fantastic part. The good people of the Khan Academy have posted over 2,100 videos and they are linked to the individual self-paced exercises. The idea is if a student struggles with that exercise, help is a click away.

I can think of many ways Khan Academy can be used:

a Digital Textbook
Virtual Help: Students can watch videos directly from their smart phones
Review Day
Summer Academy
"Flip" Teaching
Enrichment or Gifted Offerings
Remediation Work
Differentiated Instruction
Snow Day Instruction
Substitute Plans

I am sure their are countless other ways. Can you think of others?

Glogster Edu

2011-03-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

I can remember when I was a student and was assigned a poster. I was so excited; I loved making posters. My favorite part was looking at that clean, white poster board and imagining all of the possibilities. I would stare at that white canvas for hours.

I believe that is the reason I love using Glogster with my students. Glogster EDU is a web 2.0 tool that allows students to creative interactive posters. Students no longer need to imagine what their posters will look like, they can preview all of the different possibilities.

Sample:

This is an interactive glogster I created for one of my "special learners". He was excited to have his very own web site.

This is a glogster I designed announce a project to my class.

I previously used glogster with a class without signing up for an edu account. The amazing people at glogster has made it incredibly easy for educators to have private, safe and easy accounts for our students.

I just can't say enough about the opportunities this tool opens for our students. I hope you will take some time to check out glogster edu.

Write Rhymes

2011-03-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

I found a really fun web site called Write Rhymes. This site allows the user to write a poem or a rap and look up the rhyming words as they type. If you are stuck on a word, you option-click on a word to find a rhyme for it. It's as simple as that.

Sample:

Student's can save, copy, or print. How much fun is this!

Prezi Collaboration

2011-03-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

My students love Prezi. This week I did a project with them that involved Type With M e and Prezi. I teach seven classes of seventh grade computer applications. I paired up students from different classes and had them collaborate on one Prezi presentation. What they did not know is that I purposefully paired leaders with followers just to see how they would behave in an anonymous online environment.

Sample:

Step One:

I set up a Type With Me document and gave access to both students. I gave them about ten minutes of two class periods to discuss what their presentations were going to be about and how they were going to divide the work load.

Step Two:

I set up one Prezi for them and made them both editors. This is so simple. Make the Prezi then exit out of it. On the bottom right of the screen you will see "Invite Editors". This gives you an unique URL to share between the two partners.

I have Edmodo accounts set up so I just shared their links on their Edmodo accounts.

In all honesty, it was a lot of work and I am not sure I would do the anonymous factor again. However, I will definitely do the Prezi collaboration and the Type with M e planning again, I just may have them choose partners and set up their own accounts.

Here is their finished project:

Intel: Seeing Reason Tool

2011-03-03T14:18:00.000-08:00

Intel brings us yet another amazing collaboration tool, Seeing Reason. Using this tool students can create visual maps of the factors and relationships in a cause-and-effect investigation. Just like the Visual Ranking Tool, the Seeing Reason tool allows for teams of learners to work together. While teams are having a conversation about their ideas, Seeing Reason allows them to organize their thoughts into a visual diagram.

Sample:

When you double click on a factor box you will see how students described a factor that relates to the topic.
When you scroll over the relationship arrows a statement is displayed about the relationship.
A blue arrow indicates that an increase in one factor causes an increase in another factor.
A red arrow indicates that an increase in one factor causes a decrease in another factor.
There is also a comment section below the box.

I will admit there is a slight learning curve to this tool, however, I believe it is worth the time. Depending on the age of your students, they may be able to follow the online tutorial.

Intel:Visual Ranking Tool

2011-03-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

Online sharing is one way to meet collaboration standards and objectives for 21st Century learning. I have found an OUTSTANDING site that allows for collaboration like you have never seen before! Intel's Visual Ranking Tool allows teams of learners to work with a list while collaborating and negotiating their reasoning. The comment feature of the tool gives them a place to record this rationale. After the teams have finished making their lists, they compare their results with other teams. Visual Ranking displays how closely the lists match and shows the correlation between two rankings. AMAZING!

Sample:

NOTE: You will need to get a free teacher's account to set your classes up and put them into learning teams. You can get your accounts here.

KML Factbook

2011-03-01T12:03:00.000-08:00

The KML Factbook is a great tool for creating mapped displays of all manner of demographic, economic, and political data.

Sample
To show you the power of this application I have chosen to look at population.

You can view the information on a Google map.

When you click on a country a comparison chart will pop up.
You can also view the information in a KML file. (Google Earth) The file will open in Google Earth if it is installed.

There are numerous data sets available and it is relatively easy to create one of your own. I could see this as a possible High School project.

Color

2011-02-25T18:39:00.000-08:00

If you are anything like me, when you design a wiki, blog or IWB lesson you NEED all of your colors to match and coordinate. I have some nice tools to share with you.

Color Scheme Designer:

I enjoy using Color Scheme when I am starting from scratch. Take a look at how you can choose mono, complimentary, and other combinations. Once you find the color combination you like, you can click on the color for the Hex Color Code number.

Many times I like to work with a photo that has color combinations that catches my eye. If the photo I am working with is on my computer, I use Color Hunter. After uploading an image, Color Hunter will extract the colors and provide you with the Hex Color Code combination.

If the photo is from the internet I use Color Suckr. After providing the URL to the photo, Color Suckr will extract the colors and provide you with the Hex Color Combinations.

Samples:

Here are a few wikis that I designed using the color themes around photos.

http://edge-fractions.wikispaces.com/Fraction+Review

http://edge-timezone.wikispaces.com/

VocabAhead

2011-02-23T15:49:00.000-08:00

Wait till you see these interactive vocabulary videos. They are quick, yet helpful. They present a word, the definition and a scenario or sample of how the word would be used in a real sentence. If that was all this amazing site offered us it would be worth the price, (FREE), however, it offers so much more! VocabAhead also offers flashed based quizzes and flash cards.

Sample

Bonus

There's an app for that! :)

Phillip Martin

2011-02-22T16:58:00.000-08:00

There are very few times I choose clip art in the place of photos; however, when I do I always turn to Phillip Martin. He has an amazing collection of FREE clip art for educators. Mr. Martin has a keen understanding of the curriculum we all teach and designs his cartoon clip art to complement it.

Samples

Trust me....you need to go take a look at the hundreds of illustrations Phillip Martin offers.

BONUS: He also has fantastic power-point presentations.

Copyright-Free Images

2011-02-20T16:42:00.000-08:00

I believe educators need to model the behaviors we wish to see in our students. Every project we do I remind my students to always use copyright-free resources and to always cite their sources. Throughout the years I have found several great copyright-free resources. I thought I would share my top five with you.

Samples

1. http://pics.tech4learning.com/

2. http://edupic.net/

3. http://www.morguefile.com/

4. http://smithsonianimages.si.edu/siphoto/

5. http://www.fotopedia.com/

Do you know of other copyright-free photo sites? Please share in the comments below.

Quizlet

2011-02-16T11:50:00.000-08:00

I remember looking at Quizlet a couple of years ago and being interested. I used it a couple of times and tucked it away in my tool-belt. Upon a re-visit of the sight, I have to say I am amazed at the advancements!

"Quizlet is the largest flash cards and study games website with over 4 million free sets of flashcards covering every possible subject. It's the best place to play educational games, memorize vocabulary and study online."

Sample

Flashcards:

Study these flash cards | Study arts flash cards

Learn

Study these flash cards | Study arts flash cards

Scatter Game

Study these flash cards | Study arts flash cards

How Can You Use Quizlet in Your Classroom?

You can embed the flash-card sets and games directly into your edmodo or schoology feeds.
You can embed the flash-card sets onto your blog or wikispace.
Students can upload flash-card sets directly onto their ipods or cellular device. ( Iphone and Android ready)
Playing the games on the IWB is fun and challenging.
We can review vocabulary words to our state mandated tests.

Bonus: Why do the work if someone else has already done it for you? Did you catch in the paragraph above that Quizlet has OVER 4 MILLION FREE sets available? Chances are, they are setting there waiting for you to pick them up.

What a great resource!

QR Code Experiment

2011-02-15T08:08:00.000-08:00

Today I posted a QR code outside my room with no other explanation. I want to see if anyone in my building, adult or student, will know how to follow the code back to this blog.

If you attend Edgewood Middle School Congratulations! Leave a comment and I will find you with a nice big chocolate bar!

Fake Twitter Builder

2011-02-14T11:45:00.000-08:00

Who isn't a fan of Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day? His "best of" series is enough to make this tech-girl's heart a flutter. (Happy Valentines Day!) His "Best Tools For Creating Fake "Stuff" For Learning" is a must read for all. Today, I played around a bit with the Fake Twitter Builder.

Sample
My students are working on a project and a few were finished early. I asked them to use the Fake Twitter Builder to have a conversation with St. Valentine. I gave them a website that had a brief history so they could quickly gather their facts. This assignment took about fifteen minutes to complete.

I am so excited about this new tool. My mind is spinning with possibilities for assignments. The students are still researching, still writing, just in their style.

Can you think of a way to use the Fake Twitter Builder?

Elovivo

2011-02-13T17:06:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the Internet just amazes me! I suggest you take a minute to look at Elovivo. Elovivo is a multilingual dictionary. The site lets students and teachers look up the definitions to over 200,000 words and translate them into 37 languages! WOW! That is worth the price, FREE, however it gets better. Most of the words have a photo to go along with the word and a few even have a video.

Sample

I translated the word "homework" from english to portuguese.

VozMe

2011-02-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

Do you find it as difficult as I do to teach students the benefits of proof reading their writing? I can talk to them until my head falls off and they will still look at me with those sweet little "middle school" eyes and promise me they have proof read. I have found a quick and easy site that will help me prove to them that they need to work on their skills.

Sample

VozMe is a FREE text to speech converter. VozMe will allow you to make text become an audio in a quick and easy interface. You can create .mp3 files in a variety of voices or languages by typing (or copy and paste) text in the box.

I simply have my students copy and paste their text in. When the computer reads to them the mistakes become obvious to them.

If you are fortunate to have your students work on a Mac you can set this feature up through your system preferences "speech" pane.

Do you have other tricks to help your students proof read? Please comment below.

UEN Virtual Field Trips

2011-02-09T07:49:00.001-08:00

Remember the days when we could load our students on the bus with packed lunches and comfortable shoes? Remember the excitement on their faces? Being away from their lockers, books and paper was somehow magical, even if it was just for one day. Instead, they got to engage in something through first-hand observation or experience. In the words of Archie Bunker "Those Were the Days!"

Meet the Virtual Field Trip! The Utah Education Network has produced an incredible site for educators to use with our students. Organized by subject, this mammoth resource has a great selection of websites that are organized into virtual field trips in the classroom. So, whether you are visiting a 1920s farmhouse, or touring Yellowstone in the Winter, you are sure to find something that appeals to you.

Sample

Ancient Egyptian Mummies
These are the hyper links students follow.

These virtual field trips can take our students to places too far away to travel or too expensive too visit. If you are fortunate to have access to a computer lab, let your students experience these places on their own.

GFC Learn Free

2011-02-08T16:25:00.000-08:00

GCFLearnFree.org® is supported by the Goodwill Community Foundation, Inc.(GCF®) whose mission is "to create and provide education, employment, and life enrichment opportunities for people who desire to improve the quality of their lives". They have created quality, innovative online learning opportunities to anyone who wants to improve the technology, literacy, and math skills necessary for them to be successful in both work and life. The best part is that these activities are FREE!

Sample:

To get a real understanding of how powerful these lessons are, you need to go to the site and experience them for yourself. I have chosen two of my favorites to sample for you.

* To get to these activities you need to follow the "All Topics" link.

ATM: Students practice using an ATM machine in a realistic simulation.*

Please make sure your speakers are turned up.

Pay Debit: walks the learner through the process of paying for a prescription with a debit card in a realistic simulation.*

* Not all activities are realistic simulation.

I promise, I really can not tell you how exciting this site is until you experience it. I have a very good friend who works with special needs students and she uses this site before she takes them out into the community.

I hope you can find time to look at GCFLearnFree.org. Let me know what you think in the comments below.