Top Tech Tips #3- Kidblog in the Classroom

The third most popular post this year was Kidblog in the Reading Classroom.  This post highlights many of the great ways you can use Kidblog in your classroom and it also includes some great resources to help you get started using this tool.  I have also prepared some instructional videos to help you get started as well.  They are located on the Kidblog organized technology resources page. 

This site is a great tool for the classroom and we will be offering a session on it at our Ed Tech Camp on June 10th.  Matt Hardy the co-creator of Kidblog is joining us to share why blogging is important, how to best use Kidblog in the classroom, and to highlight some of the new features.  Please sign up for this session to take part in this great learning opportunity. 

Also, please let me know if you are interested in using this tool next year.  I would love to plan how this could be utilized in your classroom.

Evernote in Education Part 2

Evernote is one of my favorite tools both in my personal life and professionally.  In this post I am compiling resources that will help you get started using Evernote as a tool both as teacher and to help organize your life.  I have listed resources below that will provide you with plenty of information on how to use Evernote and how other teachers are utilizing this tool.

Evernote in Education Livebinder - This online binder is filled with tons of great resources and ideas to help you get started using Evernote.

Evernote for Teachers - Evernote itself has created a page for teachers.  This page includes programs that Evernote works with and also has an hour long webinar about Evernote for teachers.

Pinterest Board of Evernote in Education -This Pinterest board has tons of great resources to get started using Evernote

The Ultimate Simplified Guide to Using Evernote - This final resource is a simple guide to using Evernote for instruction and how your students can use it as well.

Remember Evernote is one of many tools out there, but this free tool has many implications for data collection, goal setting, and instruction.  I would love to meet and plan how you could use this tool in your classroom.

Educational Video Sites

Over the past few weeks I have posted ways in which you can use YouTube videos safely in your classroom.  This week I want to share a few alternative video sites that you can utilize in your lessons.  These sites allow you to search by standards, content, and grade level.  Video is such a powerful instructional tool and I hope these sites can save you time while you are trying to find videos to use in your lessons.

PBS Learning Media:
PBS LearningMedia provides you free access to videos, interactives, audio, photos, and in-depth lesson plans.

WatchKnowLearn:
WatchKnowLearn has thousands of K-12 educational videos which are organized and free to use in your lessons.

Knowmia:
This site has over 8,000 video lessons which are tailored for high school students.

2 sites full of K-12 Interactive Resources for SMART Board

I usually do not post huge lists of resources, but this Livebinder and website are definitely exceptions.  We have so little time in the day and sometimes finding time to create our own resources can be difficult. These websites have tons of interactive resources organized by topic that you can use on your SMART Board.  I would highly recommend checking these out!

1. http://bit.ly/SIVXCI
2. http://bit.ly/S5IIuR

Scholastic Thanksgiving Resources for K-12

Scholastic has developed a collection of many great resources to help students learn about the Pilgrims, Native Americans, and the first Thanksgiving.  The first step is go to the Sign-Up/Home page and register your class.  You will receive a diary letter from different Thanksgiving characters in your email inbox during the month of November. 

The voyage on the Mayflower section allows students to take an interactive journey that the pilgrims experienced or they can tour the ship. 

 

Scholastic also provides implementation plans for K-2, 3-5, and 6-12 to help teachers use these resources effectively in their instruction. 

Finally, Scholastic has partnered with Plimoth Plantation to produce three video tours of Plimoth Plantation, a Wampanoag homesite, and a Pilgrim homesite. They will also be adding a Mayflower virtual fieldtrip.  This is a great set of resources which will bring Thanksgiving to life in your classroom through technology.

 

This following video I found on History.com.  It shows the Pilgrim's route they took and deconstructs the Mayflower.  



2 Tools to Help Eliminate Distractions Around YouTube Videos

YouTube is wonderful tool to use in your classroom.  What isn’t so great: all of the garbage that can come along with it (i.e. advertising, comments, related videos…in short-distractions). Here are two resources that will allow you to safely view and share YouTube videos without all the garbage.

YouTubeXL- This is a service that YouTube provides that lets you watch videos on large screens without the ads and comments.

Safe Share TV is a fantastic way to share You Tube videos with your students. Safe Share TV removes all distracting and offensive elements that surround a video on You Tube and allows you to share the video with a unique link. Safe Share TV also gives you the option to crop videos before sharing them.

Implementation:

• Spark interest in certain topics
• Make real world connections to various topics
• Explain concepts to students

(adapted from original post found on http://ilearntechnology.com/?p=4695)

Utilizing YouTube and Discovery Ed Videos in Your SMART Notebook Lessons

Video is a powerful tool that you can use within your classroom for many purposes.  Today we are going to focus on how to put these videos into your SMART Board lessons so you can easily access them during your instruction.  Our distritct has access to Discovery Ed and the other type I will show is YouTube.  I will show how these videos can be downloaded and embedded, and also include some implementation ideas.  Please remember when you are using a video this way that you should give credit within your lesson to the original video creator.  This is a great way to model digital citizenship to our students.

YouTube:

Discovery Ed:

Implementation Ideas:

• Create lessons utilizing videos for discussion or to build anticipation for the content
• Build your SMART Notebook documents to include these videos to avoid buffering/having them become unavailable
• A great way to have students create presentations so they can use video without having to wait to view it during the presentation (remember to cite the video)
• A way to include only the segments of a video you want within your instruction instead of having to search and find the exact spot within the video

2 Tools to Integrate in 5 Minutes or Less

Wonderopolis

Wonderopolis is a great tool to engage students with high interest nonfiction text.  Each day a new "wonder" is added.  Each post will include a video, 3 questions, and information to answer each of the questions.  I know this tool may not be a new one, but I wanted to include some ideas for integration.

Integration ideas:

• This site provides a great way to practice reading with the question in mind.  This is a great tool to use as a shared reading piece where you model/practice using the 3 questions to focus your reading.  Some of the "wonders" can be at a high reading level so keep that in mind as you integrate it.  
• Use it as a station where students can read about the different wonders answering the questions they provide. 
• This site provides high interest reading material and will encourage your students to read nonfiction.  Now this list is not be exhaustive, so please leave a comment sharing a way you are using this tool in your classroom.  

Primary Wall

Primary wall provides a space to collaborate, share, and work together in real time using sticky notes.  This is an easy program to use and students can all be engaged in the discussion and you can view their ideas on your SMART Board.  You can also lock this site and students can access it from home.  Each wall comes with an embed code which allows you to post on your blogs or websites.

Integration ideas:

• Exit slip-students can reflect on class and post it to the wall.  This can be used the following day for discussion or reteaching. One technique is the 3-2-1 summarizing technique.  This technique was designed by Rick Wormeli.
• Brainstorming-students can post questions, things they have learned, research around a topic.  The cool paret is then you can sort their thinking on the SMART Board after you have collected it.

STEM Resources-Lesson Plans, Activities, and More

I came across this site last year and thought it would be helpful in the implementation of STEM in some of our buildings.  This site provides lesson plans, resources, and activities to use in your classroom.  There are some great ideas for any grade level and I hope this site can be helpful in your planning.

 

eGFI-Dream Up the Future