Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Google for Teachers I & II
Click to launch the full edition in a new window
Publisher Software from YUDU
Click to launch the full edition in a new window
Publisher Software from YUDU
These are two resources that walk you through many possible uses for Google in the classroom including creating a personalized search engine, Google sites, Google Alerts, Google Docs, Google Maps and a few others. Each resource includes step-by-step instructions and ideas for applications to education. Check it out!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Museum Box!
This is going to be something I do with SEEK students in the near future. It looks like a lot of fun. It did take a while to get signed up (10 days). I will let you know how it goes. I registered under RWE, so if you would like to add your name as a teacher so that you can manage your class, try clicking on the teacher tab at the top right of the site. If you can't sign up as a teacher... let me know and I can add you manually.
Welcome to Museum Box, This site provides the tools for you to build up an argument or description of an event, person or historical period by placing items in a virtual box. What items, for example, would you put in a box to describe your life; the life of a Victorian Servant or Roman soldier; or to show that slavery was wrong and unnecessary? You can display anything from a text file to a movie. You can also view and comment on the museum boxes submitted by others. More...
Our inspiration
Thomas Clarkson The project was inspired by the anti-slavery campaigner - Thomas Clarkson, who did exactly as described above.
Thomas Clarkson's Box He carried around a box of items (ranging from African produce to diagrams of transportation ships) to illustrate his arguments during his campaign.
Create your own
Museum Box
Click START above to begin creating your own Museum Box. You can add text, images, video and sound to the side of the cubes. To save your box you will need to register.
Teachers:
- Lesson guidance and instructions for use are available in the Teachers Area
- You can Register your school here.
Super Book of Web Tools for Education
This resource is so loaded with value that I will add a poll where you can vote for a resource that you would like to hear more about. I will post about the resource and the suggestions for implementation provided by the authors (and any I might be able to come up with).
Please check it out! You can download it free here!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Prezi and Animoto
Here is some examples of student work from Prezi (http://prezi.com/ )and Animoto ( http://animoto.com/ ) to use within the classroom.
Prezi is a great tool to use within the classroom. Prezi is a web-based presentation application and storytelling tool that uses a single canvas instead of traditional slides. Text, images, videos and other presentation objects are placed on the infinite canvas and grouped together in frames. The canvas allows users to create non-linear presentations, where users can zoom in and out of a visual map. A path through different objects and frames can be defined, representing the order of the information to be presented. The presentation can be developed in a browser window, then downloaded so that an Internet connection is not needed when showing the presentation!
Here is a student example for the country of Jordan in the Middle East by Jordan Jamieson:
Animoto is a great tool for a presentation mode to use within the classroom. It can turn your photos & videos into a pure amazing product. Animoto automatically produces beautifully orchestrated, completely unique video pieces from your photos, video clips and music. Fast, free and shockingly easy.
Here is a student example by Sallie Myers of the African country Ethiopia:
Ethiopia
If you have any questions just let me know! :)
Prezi is a great tool to use within the classroom. Prezi is a web-based presentation application and storytelling tool that uses a single canvas instead of traditional slides. Text, images, videos and other presentation objects are placed on the infinite canvas and grouped together in frames. The canvas allows users to create non-linear presentations, where users can zoom in and out of a visual map. A path through different objects and frames can be defined, representing the order of the information to be presented. The presentation can be developed in a browser window, then downloaded so that an Internet connection is not needed when showing the presentation!
Here is a student example for the country of Jordan in the Middle East by Jordan Jamieson:
Animoto is a great tool for a presentation mode to use within the classroom. It can turn your photos & videos into a pure amazing product. Animoto automatically produces beautifully orchestrated, completely unique video pieces from your photos, video clips and music. Fast, free and shockingly easy.
Here is a student example by Sallie Myers of the African country Ethiopia:
Ethiopia
If you have any questions just let me know! :)
Monday, December 13, 2010
Using Poll Everywhere in the Classroom
Every wondered what everyone in your class or meeting was thinking about a topic, but never felt you could get a good feel for what they were thinking because only a few attendees would answer your questions? You might think to use a classroom response system or “clicker,” but what if you don’t have the money for a system? I’ve actually been using two methods. I have a classroom response system and regularly use my classroom response system, ActiveInspire from Promethean but I also use a free-ish service known as Poll Everywhere. I say free-ish because it is free for up to 30 responses per question, so for most school classrooms this is perfect. If you are looking to poll larger audiences there is a fee attached.
I like both systems, Poll Everywhere and my hardware based Promethean system. However, there is something about Poll Everywhere that makes it more accessible to more students and more teachers. Students typically respond using a text message, however there are options to respond via the Poll Everywhere website via a question specific URL or through services such as Twitter or various smartphones. Poll Everywhere also allows for questions to be integrated into a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation with responses pulled live from PollEverywhere’s website (or they can be viewed live on the website.)
The questions are easy to set up and manage and the instructions for replying to questions are relatively easy to understand (you wouldn’t think you would have to explain texting to teenagers but they have messed it up a few times!) Each question has a unique keyword so responses end up where they are supposed to go. There are multiple types of questions MC, text, etc. There are also several different formats for showing student responses (the one shown here is the standard setting.)
Here are a few ways I have been using them in my classes (and one video example, MAKE SURE YOU ARE LOGGED IN PAST THE CONTENT FILTER FOR YOUTUBE!)
-I use daily journals in each of my classes and I typically only call on a few students to share their responses (using the Class Cards iPhone App to randomly select students and track their participation points for journals), but on days that I want to see what everyone has answered I use Poll Everywhere. It is quicker than getting out and setting up the classroom clickers if we aren’t using them that day.
- I used Poll Everywhere before I got text response clickers. If I had a question somewhere in the lesson I would let students respond using Poll Everywhere.
- One use I really like is having students give responses to questions or ask their own questions about reading assignments or the like OUTSIDE of class. Every teacher has been there when you’ve given an assignment and on the following day ask, “Do you have any questions?” and you only get blank stares or one word responses. This way students respond while they are reading, it has helped to get more thoughtful responses and more meaningful questions.
I am looking for a few more ways to use this service in my classes. Again, one of my major goals is to use technology like this to connect with students outside of the classroom and at the point where learning or questions happen, even though I am not physically present.
Any suggestions about how else to use this tool?
I like both systems, Poll Everywhere and my hardware based Promethean system. However, there is something about Poll Everywhere that makes it more accessible to more students and more teachers. Students typically respond using a text message, however there are options to respond via the Poll Everywhere website via a question specific URL or through services such as Twitter or various smartphones. Poll Everywhere also allows for questions to be integrated into a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation with responses pulled live from PollEverywhere’s website (or they can be viewed live on the website.)
The questions are easy to set up and manage and the instructions for replying to questions are relatively easy to understand (you wouldn’t think you would have to explain texting to teenagers but they have messed it up a few times!) Each question has a unique keyword so responses end up where they are supposed to go. There are multiple types of questions MC, text, etc. There are also several different formats for showing student responses (the one shown here is the standard setting.)
Here are a few ways I have been using them in my classes (and one video example, MAKE SURE YOU ARE LOGGED IN PAST THE CONTENT FILTER FOR YOUTUBE!)
-I use daily journals in each of my classes and I typically only call on a few students to share their responses (using the Class Cards iPhone App to randomly select students and track their participation points for journals), but on days that I want to see what everyone has answered I use Poll Everywhere. It is quicker than getting out and setting up the classroom clickers if we aren’t using them that day.
- I used Poll Everywhere before I got text response clickers. If I had a question somewhere in the lesson I would let students respond using Poll Everywhere.
- One use I really like is having students give responses to questions or ask their own questions about reading assignments or the like OUTSIDE of class. Every teacher has been there when you’ve given an assignment and on the following day ask, “Do you have any questions?” and you only get blank stares or one word responses. This way students respond while they are reading, it has helped to get more thoughtful responses and more meaningful questions.
I am looking for a few more ways to use this service in my classes. Again, one of my major goals is to use technology like this to connect with students outside of the classroom and at the point where learning or questions happen, even though I am not physically present.
Any suggestions about how else to use this tool?
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