From TCEA 's TechNotes Issue 5.28.13 : End of the Year Reflections and Celebrations It's time for students, teachers, and administrators to celebrate and reflect on all of the successes and learning that has taken place this school year. Here are a few great ways to do just that. This is a wonderful, one-page School Year Reflections sheet for students from teacher Laura Candler. When the students are done, encourage them to paste this in the back of their yearbook or add it to their "memory box" at home to look at in the future. Four different activities for student reflection can be found at this website , including a Hope Chart, a Closing Circle, a Reflection Letter, and classroom awards. Here's a whole Pinterest board on ways to celebrate student success at the end of the year. Help your English Language Learners celebrate the end of the year with these great ideas . Teachers and administrators might want to use the questions in this article to reflect on their own practices and learning the past year. Everyone gets busy the last few days of school, so make sure to schedule time for this important professional growth activity. Gracey, Lori. (2013, May 28). End of the Year Reflections and Celebrations. In TCEA TechNotes 05.28.13. Retrieved from http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=m9qjeadab&v=001ok9oKmGhv2U5_lrxZU30IqyIIA0ldZAVFIhdCV9rgZ7mYo1Vh2XjuobFoCeO2mZwbXn0Q1smlQkJ06GwE2Le ttrjmcf7uuXte4pb7Km2ANxPFPwBWKrZbEr_x4VqIuCezzeu4q_ai2lwR1GmG1j4AeUXfxMw_INTnOkcxAYECFw joyLbF_4Lbo_mIuW4J2zzo1EKIIbNkFkcpO8DNGrhTlEiRWodvOJ0IiLwiQi53n-mtmPaLxllcGhuUxkBeX5K5Fp9NZIMH xmHI0boKVbLc_Kwpzd4vgfombPcvYXD_R19almHN8L4A%3D%3D
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I have been meaning to write a post on research resources that are appropriate for Elementary students, until I came across this awesome post on Squidoo:
http://www.squidoo.com/k12interactiveresearch The article starts out with the Kentucky Virtual Library's " How to Do Research ," an interactive page that describes the entire research process. Then it goes on by linking to some research paper guides and examples on Write Source , Scholastic , and TimeforKids.com .
The treasure in this post is found towards the end - a list of search engines and resources that are kid-friendly such as
KidsClick!
(described as "a search engine for kids written by librarians"),
Awesome Library
,
NoodleQuest
,
Fact Monster
,
IPL2
(Internet Public Library 2),
the US Library of Congress
, the
CIA World Factbook
,
MrDonn.org
,
Word Central
("Merriam-Webster's dictionary and thesaurus for kids"), and
OneLook
(an online dictionary).
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You know about the show. How about their site? "Between the Lions" is one of my most favorite shows that I shared with my own kids. I love reading, and this show absolutely helped my own kids develop a love for (and of) reading along with "Reading Rainbow" and other educational shows.They have a site (free -- it's by PBS) that is wonderful and chock-full of material and resources that teachers and parents can share with their kids. It has videos for learning early literacy, phonics, and phonemic awareness as well as animated videos of stories old and new. Games are available, if that's your thing too.
Special shout-out to the awesome Mrs. Dana Ashbacher of Crenshaw for sharing this site with me! |
Edutecher is one of my favorite resources for Instructional Technology. The author, Adam Bellow, is an accomplished teacher who shares sites and mobile apps on this site. It is searchable and categorized by subject area and tags.
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Every year Google holds a contest for K-12 students to draw a "Doodle" that is centered around a given theme. This year is pretty easy: "My best day ever..."
The winner gets to have their artwork as the Doodle on Google's homepage for a day AND a $30,000 college scholarship. The winning school gets a $50,000 technology grant. Go to http://www.google.com/doodle4google/entry.html to learn more, and to download or upload your entry. |
Not many people know about this, but Study Island has a lot more to offer than just STAAR practice! We have had access to flash cards and animated videos of lessons, but now we can access the Teacher Toolkit. There are lesson plans, animations, "virtual lab," teacher videos, educational videos, project-based learning, and even Khan Academy videos for Math, Reading, Science, and Social Studies.
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"
Cool Tools for Schools
" is a veritable treasure trove, a plethora of plenty, a panoply of instructional technology. It is a wiki dedicated to collecting the best web tools for use in the classroom -- neatly organized so you will not be overwhelmed. Each category is organized in tables with a brief description for each tool. Check it out at cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com
Special shout-out to ECU's Tech Guy Patrick Burke !
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Every one of our K-4 teachers has a Hitachi StarBoard interactive slate in their classroom. Not only is it a lightweight tablet they use to control their computer, it has the same functionalities of an interactive whiteboard (such as a SMARTBoard or a Promethean Board) at a fraction of the price. This device enables them to walk around and even pass it on to the students -- both things you cannot do with a big whiteboard nailed to the wall.
Image from http://us.hitachi-solutions.com Here is Touchboards' demonstration of the StarBoard and below it links to download or access the User Guide, Hitachi StarBoard Teacher Resource Center, and a PDF of a Quick Guide on using a Lumens Document Camera and the StarBoard: |
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Kerpoof is an online multimedia creation site from Disney. On Kerpoof, teachers and students can create animated movies, cartoons, storyboards, greeting cards, and more. Not only is it feature-rich, it also has tons of teacher resources and ideas. An account is not required to use it, but users will benefit more with one -- all for the low price of free. Check it out at kerpoof.com
Here are two videos, the first one a tutorial by a teacher, and the second one a demonstration by Kerpoof: |
Have you ever needed a photo for your paper or presentation but were afraid of running into copyright issues? Here are three great sites that might help: Tech4Learning's Pics4Learning is a simple and straight-forward site. Self-billed as a "safe, free image library for education. Teachers can use the copyright-friendly photos and images for classrooms, multimedia projects, web sites, videos, portfolios, or any other project in an educational setting." To learn more, go to www.pics4learning.com
Fotopedia is a website and an iOS app that is slick, fancy, and gorgeous. When you go to the site, you will be greeted with a "reminder" that features their app on an iPad and an iPhone with a "Download" link. When you click on the link, it will take you to the iTunes App Store. When you press the Right direction key on your keyboard, it will take you to their other features such as "Retina Display" support for Apple products, the Fotopedia magazine, their service on Flipboard (a mobile magazine reader), and finally, a search box. This is where you type your search term. Try it at www.fotopedia.com
Finally, there's the unfortunately-named morgueFile. Don't worry, it's not a collection of morbid photos from a morgue. They explain that a morgue file is "popular in the newspaper business" and is merely "a place to keep post production materials for use for reference." This site offers free high-resolution photos for public use. To learn more, go to www.morguefile.com
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This year, some of our teachers are trying something new. It's called ClassDojo, and it is really cool. Here it is a brief video explaining what it is and some ways to use it:
You can learn more about ClassDojo by going to http://ClassDojo.com |
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Educreations is an interactive whiteboard app for the Web and the iPad. You can use your computer or an iPad to record a lesson, annotate a photo or PDF document, or write a simple text message. With this app, you can have your own Khan Academy! Somebody said, "Educreations is like today's 'Etch-a-Sketch!'" But I disagree. You can not only draw or write using Educreations, but you can also record your voice as you demonstrate a lesson or teach a concept, insert a photo or PDF and record your annotation, and upload the resulting video to the Educreations website and share it with your students, parents, and the world! Here's a brief video by iTutor demostrating the app and explaining how to use it:To learn more, go to their site at www.educreations.com |
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Fight off summer brain drain with Bill Nye and Sophia.org -- and you might win an iPad! For details, go to sophia.org/summer-challenge THE Journal also has an article with information on this program. |
We set up a page to access tips and resources on how you and your kids can stay safe online. Please go to the "Online Safety" page under "Parent Resources" on the navigation pane on the left or click here . |
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Just when I thought that there is no end to the reasons why I love Bill Nye (THE Science Guy, natch), here he is to #ThankATeacher with a heartfelt message about all teachers. Watch the video on YouTube or through GaggleTube . Also, "The Big Bang Theory's" Mayim Bialik shares why she became interested in Science (she really has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience) and thanks all the teachers in her life on YouTube (or GaggleTube ).
Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman of The Mythbusters also thank the real teachers in this brief video .
"There is no other job more important than education. It is the foundation of our democracy. By seizing on what's working, and recreating those successes from one classroom to the next, we can make it better for everyone."-George Lucas
(Full article on Edutopia .)
What would it take to make America's most important profession also America's most valued profession?
On the flipside, here are great reads (from the same author) on your way back to the real world:
Ruined the mood? Okay, this YouTube playlist ought to fix that:
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Mrs. Blaser, our awesome Science teacher, emailed me this morning and said she wanted to take her students on virtual field trips next year so I shared with her some links and resources I have used in the past. It reminded me that I haven't posted anything on that topic so here it goes.
Seeing the world may not be as hard as it used to be before the age of mass transit, and certainly before the Wright brothers risked life and limb to achieve what Daedalus and Icarus could not. However, the biggest hurdle now is money. It is prohibitively expensive to go around the world on your own, let alone to take 22 young learners (and their chaperones) with you. Here comes the internet to the rescue! Virtual field trips are the most economical, efficient, and - if you know what you're doing - safest way to remedy this quandary! Here are some of the best resources I have used in the classroom. It is a short list (and I am saving everything Google for another post) but they are all good.
While it may not be the prettiest and most "Web 2.0"-looking site out there, TechTrekers is a veritable treasure trove of virtual field trips. They have links to virtual field trips that range from an active volcano to zoo webcams.
When I first came across Tramline a couple of years ago, I honestly thought it was a tram/trolley transit company -- even after going to their site and seeing that logo. It turns out that they are a software company that developed "TourMaker" back in the mid-'90s. Don't be fazed, though, it IS a wonderful resource for virtual field trips that were "created and added by educators... developed as a free resource to K-12 educators everywhere."
The Utah Education Network has a
page
dedicated to virtual field trips across different subjects:
Similarly,
The Teacher's Guide
has a
page
on virtual tours of museums and exhibits. While not as long and comprehensive as the other sites, it is an interesting and diverse (if not eclectic) collection.
So, what are you waiting for? See the world! Enjoy and have a safe trip! |
"Discovery Education is Proud to Salute Your Important Work" Click here for Adam and Jamie's message.
Retrieved from http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teacherweek/2012.cfm |
Returning teachers, please take a few minutes so your voice can be heard regarding this important matter:
"Please keep in mind that laptop/macbook must either be locked up at school every night, or you can take it home if you have homeowners insurance."
Shauntel Cooley
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The internet, the last bastion of true freedom, independence, and self-expression, is truly one of the most important inventions in history. However, just like the real world, it can be a dangerous place. It is critical that we all learn how to protect ourselves and our children from malevolent elements lurking on the web. The government has set up " On Guard Online " to help in this regard. They have information and resources on avoiding scams, securing your computer, mobile apps, and more for almost everybody. Click on the link above or the image below to go to the site:
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The Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) offers free distance learning programs. Here are the details:
TWA Distance Learning Programs are… · OFFERED AT NO COST TO YOU!
Ø May 1 - Urban Animal Encounters: Urban Occupants! Ø May 8 - ASI: Animal Skull Investigation Ø May 17 - BATS: LIVE on the BIG Screen! Ø May 22 - Urban Animal Encounters: Skunks and Armadillos!
Viewing Distance Learning Programs: - Visit Connect2Texas ( www.connect2texas.net )to view our program calendar ( please choose Texas Wildlife Association in the dropdown menu ), class descriptions, and to register. - Sites must create a Connect2Texas profile, which includes basic questions about your school as well as connection information (please consult with your school/district technical contact). If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Thanks,
Texas Brigades - Program Coordinator
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Paradigm Shift: the Open Education Revolution Silicon Valley, the land of pie-eyed technology geniuses and idealistic venture capitalists, has trained its eyes (and dollars) on a critical component of civilization: education. Here are four of the most promising startups:
No less ambitious than Coursera and Minerva, Udacity was founded by three roboticists (two of whom work at Google and are Stanford professors) who were inspired by Khan Academy and wanted to do the same with college-level education. Udacity started with two courses, Building a Search Engine (taught by Google employees!) using JavaScript and Introduction to Robotics, and courses are being added as instructors and material become available.
UPDATE: I missed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's MITx, for which the maiden course is called " Circuits & Electronics 6.002x ." Described as "an experimental on-line adaptation of MIT's first undergraduate analog design course: 6.002. This course will run, free of charge, for students worldwide from March 5, 2012 through June 8, 2012." Prerequisites are a high barrier though, as students are required to have taken an AP level physics course in electricity and magnetism as well as be adept at basic calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations.
Additionally, ComputerWorld has a fascinating article rounding up some of these online education shakers. |
The Minerva University
Codecademy
Is learning a new language on your bucket list? Perhaps you have always wanted to become more worldly and sophisticated? How about impressing your friends with your German? Or maybe order Italian speaking Italian? Here comes the BBC with Languages, where you can do one or all of these for free!
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Take your class to the Scandinavia Wildlife Park in Denmark, and watch Siku - LIVE! http://explore.org/#!/live-cams/player/siku-cam-1
OR See all the fish and other marine life in a 142,000 gallon, three-story high Aquarium of the Pacific off the coast of Catalina Island in Long Beach, California! http://explore.org/#!/live-cams/player/aquarium-pacific-live-cam-2 OR Look at moon jellies in the Vancouver Aquarium! |
I came across an interesting article that began with a discourse: moving teachers from teaching to facilitating. Here is the most compelling part for me: "…two middle school teachers from Fleetwood, PA, described how last year they began using math and reading benchmark assessments to identify and address areas of need with fifth-grade students. One of the teachers, Patti Herman, said the five classroom teachers turned to the benchmarking function of Web-based software from Study Island to assess the students' strengths and areas for improvement to help assign specific topics the students would focus on. Teacher Candace Hall said the teaching team set up a six-day cycle of "Target Time" for focused Study Island usage in math and reading. (The software is state-specific, so the students were working on material developed with the Pennsylvania Assessment Anchors in mind.) "Although the state benchmark is that 76 percent of the students should be advanced or proficient, the Fleetwood team was encouraged enough by the progress they were making with students that they gradually upped the ante to 90 percent, Hall said. "By differentiating instruction based upon student needs and using the benchmark tests to direct instruction, the school was able to jump from 59 percent proficient at the beginning of the school year to 91 percent advanced and proficient in May 2011, they said. "This gives me real-time data I need as a classroom teacher," Herman said, "so that I know what to focus on with each student. I know so much more about them." "Hall added that administrators and teachers shouldn't have students sit in front of a computer all day. "Technology does not equal a teacher," she said. "You have to take the time to learn the technology, but you have to maintain your role as an expert on the subject matter and tools."'
Retrieved from: http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/03/27/technology-moving-teachers-from-front-to-center-of-the-classroom.aspx |
The iTunes App Store serves up almost a million apps (if not more than by the time you read this), and thousands of those can be used in educational settings. However, searching for apps that you can use in your classroom is harder than finding a semicolon in a program's source code. Enter the Texas Computer Education Association, or TCEA. They maintain a list of apps they have tested and recommend for use in the classroom in a Google Docs spreadsheet.
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Programming project comes to primary schoolsVolunteers have kicked off a project to set up after school clubs that teach young children how to programme computers. Called Code Clubs , the sessions will aim to instil the basics of computer programming into children aged 10-11. The clubs will be built around practical hands-on tasks that will include children making games and eventually controlling robots. It aims to have 25% of the UK's primary schools running a Code Club by 2014. (Read the rest of the article here .) Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17740143 Visit Code Club's site: http://www.codeclub.org.uk |
Here are some resources and activities for Earth Day: http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbuswebcast/resources.htm
Or if you just need the direct link to the video itself:
Lots of Earth Day videos and resources:
http://www.teachertopia.info/earth_day.html
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Square Off is a space-themed game on BrainPop for practicing and understanding perimeter and area. Developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the object of the game is to surround spaceships in a rectangle to make them yours. Check it out at
brainpop.com/games/squareoff Other great Math games can be found on the NCTM website at calculationnation.nctm.org/Games |
From the TCEA TechEdge Newsletter: TSU in San Marcos is hosting a FREE conference for educators on Saturday, April 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Conference strands include idevices, global learning, and 21st century education. No registration is required; just show up and learn!
More information about the conference is available here . If you can't attend in person, join them online for the virtual conference . |
When I was in the classroom, authentic learning experiences and assessment were a big deal to me. It meant a lot more than paper-and-pencil assessments, and it certainly is worth a lot more than high-stakes state tests. However, it got really burdensome and overwhelming to manage all of the student work portfolios.
Here comes Three Ring, an app for Android and iOS to the rescue. How does it work? Using the app on your Android device, iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, you take a picture of student work and it instantly (and securely) uploads to their site. The site suggests that the app can be used to organize student work, create digital portfolios, share exemplars, and enable formative assessment:
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ICT Magic by Martin Burrett is one of my favorite Instructional Technology wikis. It's mostly for UK teachers and certainly not the prettiest, but it is packed with instructional resources, more than you know what to do with. Here I am embedding a presentation from slideshare on 20 little known web resources for teachers:
20 in 120 seconds (The slowed down version)
View more PowerPoint from ictmagic |
Jenny Eather, the creator of " A Maths Dictionary for Kids " has outdone herself. She created another section on her site for teachers, and this one is a much-needed resource. She put together " Maths Charts ," a site where you can print all sorts of charts you would need for teaching and learning mathematical concepts. Check it out at www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/mathsCharts.html
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ChronoZoom (Beta) is an astounding timeline web app from Microsoft Research. It is a stunning interactive timeline of the 13.7 billion year history of the cosmos up to modern times. You can move the slider up top, zoom in and out, and learn a tremendous amount of knowledge about the known universe. Check it out at chronozoomproject.org
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Mariana Mueller, our awesome District Instructional Technologist, added another awesome point to her awesomeness: collating instructional resources and posting it on one page. This way, teachers would just need to go to http://www.gisd.org/education/components/layout/default.php?sectiondetailid=26629& instead of searching high and low to use instructional resources such as software and web tools at our disposal:
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Kathy Schrock is an Instructional Technology superstar. She works for Discovery Education Network now, but she still maintains her blogs pretty regularly. I want to highlight a terrific resource on one of her blogs -- Bloom's Taxonomy and apps on various platforms :
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Let me get this out of the way: Google Apps, a suite of applications for productivity (word processing, spreadsheet, presentation) and collaboration, is unparalleled when it comes to a robust feature set, ease of use, consistency, and up-time. However, GISD subscribes to a suitable alternative: Gaggle. It does most of what Google Apps does, and with an additional benefit: GaggleTube, or safe YouTube access. Here's a caveat: logging in requires additional steps:
1. Go to http://goo.gl/5Wt1O
3. If you forgot your password, just click on "Forget your password? Click here..." 4. The apps are, quite logically, accessible on the left pane, and GaggleTube is one of them:
5. You can search for your video by typing a search phrase on the search box on top, or by clicking on "Browse All," or even clicking on a specific subject category:
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As the old saw goes, "to see is to believe." The same is true for sharing your screen for technical support, virtual conferences, and perhaps the occasional one-upmanship. Previously, join.me was the champion when it comes to easy and convenient screensharing. Alas, due to its popularity, it was not without its problems such as being blocked by many an aggressive network filter, lag or latency due to heavy bandwidth demands, and maybe to some users, the somewhat sparse instructions on its site. Here comes a challenger, and it is good: Screenleap is quick, easy, and does not require any setup or installation. All it asks of you is to allow it to let your browser run the Java runtime. Try it at http://www.screenleap.com/
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The Learning.com Marketplace offers excellent resources. Some are free, including those from the National Science Digital Library courtesy of the Texas Instructional Materials Exchange (TIME). It includes high-quality,cutting-edge digital resources to help students and teachers interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). These are real-world experiences and create excitement for today's digital learners. To access the resources, create a free account and then search for the National Science Digital Library: http://www.learning.com/texas/time/
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I hate to spring one on you, but soon all Texas teachers would need to teach their students the Technology Applications TEKS. Yes, all teachers. Here's a TCEA article on the updated TA TEKS: http://tceaadvocacy.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/ta-teks-get-an-upgrade/
Direct link to: Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Title 19, Part II
Instead of a boring list or PowerPoint, Amy Mayer put together a more pleasing presentation using Prezi: http://prezi.com/myqgmycf0isc/happy-birthday-texas-technology-applications-teks/ |
The BBC has a fantastic site for education -- http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/, one page of which is chock-full of science clips: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/index_flash.shtml
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Triptico is a desktop app that teachers and students can use with an interactive whiteboard (SMART® Board, Promethean®, StarBoard®) or any computer with Adobe Air installed. It contains a plethora of handy classroom tools that are easy and attractive.
Get it from http://www.triptico.co.uk/ |
Numberlines - an interactive number line web app for interactive whiteboards, touchscreen devices, or any computer:
Click on the image or go to: http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/numberlines.html |
Scholastic and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation conducted a survey of 10,000 educators. Here is the mailer I received, with links to their findings and the survey, should you want to take part:
How long is a teacher's actual work day? Do most teachers support tenure? After how many years? What do teachers think is the best way to improve student achievement? How should teachers be evaluated? How often? 10,000 teachers have shared their views on education. See what they have to say and add your own voice. Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation would like to invite you to be among the very first to see and comment on the Primary Sources 2012 results. You can see if you agree with your peers about the biggest challenges facing education by downloading the report and taking a brief survey. Do their solutions match yours? In this year's survey report entitled Primary Sources: America's Teachers on the Teaching Profession, teachers share their thoughts and opinions about the state of their classrooms, about school and teacher performance and the ways it should be evaluated, supported, and rewarded. Teachers talk about the realities of class size, about Common Core State Standards, and about how the needs of their students are different than they were five years ago.
Join the teacher conversation about Primary Sources on Facebook, tweet comments using #teachervoices, and make your opinion count!
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Here's a great cartoon-based site for teachers, students, and parents for practicing math skills: http://www.mad4maths.com/
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Don't know about you, but I owe Dr. Seuss (and Sesame Street) a lot. Today is Theodor Seuss Geisel's birthday, and what better way to celebrate this special day than by letting your kids read and do other fun activities? After all of your tests and other not-so-fun stuff, here are two websites to make this a funner Friday: (Click on the images below)
OR you can go directly there: http://www.seussville.com/CITH_50th/ |
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