Scratch Workshop
Check out these great Scratch Resources. Scratch is an awesome free program created by MIT to teach basic programming language to kids. Scratch has lots of classroom potential.
Lots of resources and links to resources
Scratch Lesson Plans
Scratch Cards
Scratch Resources
ScratchED
Lesson Plans- Teach Net
Great Elementary Lesson Plans
Workshop Design Guide
Math Exploration
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
You gotta' love Google!
So do you Google? I thought I was a strong Googler, if I may. However, I have been only just scratching the Google surface. Google is really an amazing playground of technology resources. Some thing are just for play, while others can really enhance student learning. Let's take a look....
Google docs
Google docs is now an online storage place that is free. You will probably become addicted to Google docs, for professional and personal use. Google allows you to use all of their tools and bells and whistles without having to switch over to gmail.
Google docs
Google docs is now an online storage place that is free. You will probably become addicted to Google docs, for professional and personal use. Google allows you to use all of their tools and bells and whistles without having to switch over to gmail.
Sketch Pan
I found a great site for sketching and animation online. I spent about 20 minutes and created this animation. I really can't draw, but this is me climbing a tire obstacle on an adventure race I participated in recently.
This is really easy to use and totally free.
This is really easy to use and totally free.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Interactive Student Blogs
How can you transform those boring paragraph format blogs? Add a voki or an interactive quiz! Use the many free Web 2.0 options out there. Let's talk quizzes.
I recently had my 3rd and 4th grade Gifted and Talented students complete a research project on a topic of their choice. While I was interested in their research, my primary goal was to teach them how to use some great web 2.0 tools so that we can start blogging our way through the school year.
Blogging is a great way for students to highlight their work and it allows parent interaction and it is easy to do collaborations and more. I loved this project. The students spent more time on vokis, learning the blog dashboard, categorizing posts and importing graphic and videos than actually researching their topic. Overall, it was a great success and I am looking forward to the next project where content is king.
I recently had my 3rd and 4th grade Gifted and Talented students complete a research project on a topic of their choice. While I was interested in their research, my primary goal was to teach them how to use some great web 2.0 tools so that we can start blogging our way through the school year.
Blogging is a great way for students to highlight their work and it allows parent interaction and it is easy to do collaborations and more. I loved this project. The students spent more time on vokis, learning the blog dashboard, categorizing posts and importing graphic and videos than actually researching their topic. Overall, it was a great success and I am looking forward to the next project where content is king.
Password Management
Web 2.0 is the greatest thing ever! Especially when you consider the advanced technology available to us today. And the best part about it- a lot of it is FREE!
Recently, my third grade class went green and completed a Gifted and Talented Project all online! No papers, no posters, no mess! They blogged their projects using Dabbleboard for brainstorming, edublogs to record information and Voki to add that cool factor! They also have an e-mail account for communication purposes. That adds up to a really cool project and 4 username and password combinations!
So what is a frazzled GT/Technology teacher to do? How do I manage all of those passwords? Or better yet how do I teach the students to manage their own passwords?
My solution was to have each student maintain a file in their e-mail inbox draft folder. They opened a new e-mail and then listed all of the websites and passwords. Then they save the e-mail as a draft with the subject line "Password Management." So next time they ask me, "What's my password?" I can direct them to their own system of management, thus saving me a few more hairs from early gray.
Of course, I have access to the password for the e-mail accounts and blogs, because I am the administrator of those accounts. But for those really great web 2.0 products out there, the students have to log in and create an account. I can't imagine trying to manage all of those log ins and passwords. Personally, I have to keep a large rolodex with all of my various passwords and usernames.
Recently, my third grade class went green and completed a Gifted and Talented Project all online! No papers, no posters, no mess! They blogged their projects using Dabbleboard for brainstorming, edublogs to record information and Voki to add that cool factor! They also have an e-mail account for communication purposes. That adds up to a really cool project and 4 username and password combinations!
So what is a frazzled GT/Technology teacher to do? How do I manage all of those passwords? Or better yet how do I teach the students to manage their own passwords?
My solution was to have each student maintain a file in their e-mail inbox draft folder. They opened a new e-mail and then listed all of the websites and passwords. Then they save the e-mail as a draft with the subject line "Password Management." So next time they ask me, "What's my password?" I can direct them to their own system of management, thus saving me a few more hairs from early gray.
Of course, I have access to the password for the e-mail accounts and blogs, because I am the administrator of those accounts. But for those really great web 2.0 products out there, the students have to log in and create an account. I can't imagine trying to manage all of those log ins and passwords. Personally, I have to keep a large rolodex with all of my various passwords and usernames.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Dabbleboard- Cool whiteboard app and interactive teaching tool
This is a great online tool for brainstorming, drawing and collaborating. This tool comes complete with video chat and everything. Registration is free and you can save all of your work. Check out one great thing we can do with Dabbleboard.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Create a Graph!
I found a great online program for graphing. It is called Create a Graph from NCES (National Center for Education Statistics).
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/
Check it out. This program is very simple and easy to manage. I used it to graph paper airplane distances and hang time with my 2nd graders this week. They easily understood and I was able to explain the difference between the x and y axis.
Student are able to manipulate data and choose from 5 different types of graphs. The program allows some manipulation of font and color. Additionally, the program produces pdf versions of student graphs. They can also get an image file to post on the web! Very cool and easy to use. Try it some time.
Friday, February 12, 2010
TCEA 2010
I just spent the last three days learning technology at the 2010 TCEA convention in Austin, Texas. After sitting through so many presentations and seminars, I have decided to step up and get into the blog thing for real! So here it is. Blogging.
I will be posting links, lesson ideas and generally great things that I have learned here over the next few days. We had a blast and learned a lot. My brain is on overload.
I will be posting links, lesson ideas and generally great things that I have learned here over the next few days. We had a blast and learned a lot. My brain is on overload.
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