Proud Daddy

Here is another video of my daughter using technology.  This time she is using an iPad.  She is already well versed in how to run the iPod, so running the iPad was super easy for her.  I'm not just showing this to show off my daughter, but rather to talk about the iPad.  I have had the iPad for 2 days and the educational possibilities are endless.  There are so many cools apps for all ages.  She is playing a matching game in this video.

Wiki's in the Classroom

Using a Wiki in the classroom can be a very powerful tool.  Since we use Google at school, I have not had to use a wiki in the classroom this year.  There are so many different services to create a wiki, but I have found Wikispaces to be the best.  Here is an example of my Sociology wiki.  I no longer teach sociology, but made the site for a student who was taking an independent study course.

If you would like more information on how to use a wiki with your students, let me know and I can go into greater detail.

Check out the video below if you don't know what a wiki is.

Generational Differences

Here is a video of my 3 year-old daughter playing the harmonica on the iPod, behind her is her 90 year-old great grandma playing her harmonica.  I thought this was pretty neat, plus I get to show off my daughters harmonica playing skills :)

Google Life Photo Archive

The Google Life Photo Archive is an awesome collection of Life photos.  I guess the website says it best

"Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google."


If you don't click on the link, here is a screenshot of what the site looks like.

History of Christmas

With Christmas just around the corner, the History channel has put together a nice collection of resources to show your students the history of Christmas.  They do a good job to not just concentrate on the Christian holiday, but examine the history of Santa, Christmas traditions, etc...  Check it out here and show your students one of the videos...we all know the day before a big break is CHAOS!

NumberNut is NUTS!

It would have been nice to have had NumberNut when I was going through school.  This site has games and activities that cover a variety of Math topics from basic math to advanced math.  I am going to start using this site with my three-year-old to go over the basics of counting and start some addition with her, and who knows, I might actually do a little advanced math practice :)

Google Body

The Google Body Browser is an amazing tool for the science classroom.  You can easily see all the layers of the human body, rotate the person, see labels, etc... Check out the video on it to see if it is right for your classroom.

Note: You need the Beta version of Google Chrome for it to work.

ToonDoo

I have loved ToonDoo since the beginning.  ToonDoo is a comic creator.  You can make a single comic, book of comics, or create your own TooDoo character.  As a history teacher, I have my students use this all the time. Many times I give them the option to create a ToonDoo or a presentation.  I usually get about 50/50.  The kids that do the comic book, do an awesome job and are so creative.

My students just email me the link to their ToonDoo and that is how I grade their books.  Many free comic creators are limited in characters and props, not this one!  There are SO many different things to choose from.  Play around with it before you have your students use it to get a better understanding of how it works.

Not so delicious anymore! (maybe)

Rumor on the web is that delicious will be shutting down in the future.  No date has been set and some of the rumors are said to be disputed.  We do know that Yahoo has laid off a bunch of people within the last week.  If you are a delicious user, no need to worry though.  I have found an alternative that seems to be just as good.  Diigo is a social bookmarking, highlighting, sharing tool all wrapped into one.  I have not been able to fully explore Diigo yet, but it looks good.

If you need to get your bookmarks out of delicious, go to the settings tab in the upper-right corner.  Export your bookmarks as html.  When you get to Diigo, you can upload your delicious bookmarks right into it.  There might even be a link that says import your delicious bookmarks.

Curious

I am curious as to how you are using this site. What do you enjoy about this learning community? What would you like to see changed? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks to those that are continuing to use this site. I will continue with it as long as people are using it.

Gotta Love the iPad!

I thought some of you would rather enjoy a little music video rather than a new tool. Thanks to Beth for sending me this video. I can't wait until my iPad arrives!

Goo What...Goofram

Now I know what you are thinking...why do all these things have weird names?  Goofram is a combination of Google and Wolfram Alpha.  I don't think I need to explain what Google is, but I might need to explain Wolfram Alpha.

Wolfram Alpha is a search engine like you are not used to.  When you search something, it doesn't give you sites to go to, but rather information about that topic you have entered.  For example, if I put in Abe Lincoln, I am going to get results that show me biographical information about Abe Lincoln, not sites to go to.  If I search a math equation, it gives me the answer, plots it for me, etc...  This is a great tool for Math or Science.  If you don't check out Wolfram Alpha, tell someone about it, because it is a pretty cool tool.

Explanation of Wolfram Alpha


Goofram brings Google and Wolfram Alpha together.  You can see your search results on the left side of the screen, and see the Wolfram Alpha results on the right side of the screen.  I think I have found my new search engine (even though Google Chrome as eliminated the need to go to the actual search engine page).  Check out Wolfram Alpha before you check out Goofram.

P.S. Sorry this post was a little later than usual...Got a little tied up after school :)

Chrome Apps

The Google Chrome web browser came out with its newest version a couple weeks ago, and it is AWESOME! 

Here is the link on how to update Chrome depending on if you are a Mac or PC.

The new Chrome brings in the App world!  There are hundreds of things to choose from in the Chrome Web Store.  I literally spent a couple hours browsing through the many different apps and found the ones that were best for me.  Check out the video for more information.

Clicker is Clickdiculous

I am really really excited.  Clicker is a web service that will allow you to watch a variety of television shows, web clips, movies, and music.  I HIGHLY recommend using this tool.

Educational Use: Easily bring tv shows into your classroom.  There are many times I am at home watching a program and see something that relates to my classroom but didn't tape it, or it isn't on YouTube, THIS IS YOUR ANSWER.  If you already use Hulu, this is Hulu on steroids.  Check it out!

Rethinking the Library to Improve Information Literacy | Edutopia

This was an interesting blog article in Edutopia. Very intriguing to think about how/what a school library should look like. What are your thoughts?

Rethinking the Library to Improve Information Literacy | Edutopia

Dabbleboard

Where do I start!  TIES was a great experience, and I have TONS of new resources to share.  I will start with Dabbleboard.  Dabbleboard is an online whiteboard.  It is extremely easy to set up, and even easier to use!  See the video below for a short tutorial of what it actually is.

This would be a great way to do collaborative writing assignments.  This can also basically be done with Google Apps!

TIES Bookmarks

I am back from TIES with TONS of ideas.  I want to share my Delicious bookmarks from the conference.

Click HERE for my TIES bookmarks.

TIES Keynote

Sir Ken Robinson gave the keynote this morning at the TIES conference. Here is basically what he talked about. Great speaker, and did an awesome job! Check it out!

Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere is an awesome tool that allows a teacher to instantly poll the class.  Students text their response and their answers or responses go straight to the site, and you can display those right on your board.  Watch the short tutorial video below to get a better understanding of it.

I am at the TIES conference in was at a presentation on using cell phones in the classroom, and this was presented.  We all did it, and it was so easy.  I might have to try this one in my class!

TIES Education Conference

I will be attending the TIES Education Conference Sunday-Tuesday.  Many of the breakout sessions I have chosen concentrate on Web 2.0 and cloud computing.  I am looking forward to gathering more tools and information to share.  If I get a little blog crazy over the next couple days, I apologize!  I'm pretty excited to go, as I have been unable to every year because I have been coaching basketball.  No basketball=great opportunity!

While I am gone, my 8th graders will be working on their colony sites, and I have encouraged them to use the chat function within Google Docs to ask questions.  I will be on my laptop at the conference, and hope to be available for them while I am still gone.  I have told them to email me with questions if I don't respond to the chat.  Should be interesting to see how this goes :)

Google Sites

Google Sites is an awesome FREE tool.  Users (with Google accounts) can create free websites.  I use Google Sites for my classroom page.  It is extremely user friendly, easy to use, and you can get as advanced with it as your are comfortable.  You can create your own classroom page, pages on different topics within your subject area, or have your kids create websites (if they have Google accounts).

I have had students create sites on topics like Weather & Climate and right now my 8th grade students are creating sites on the Colonies.  I use it as a replacement for creating presentations...kids LOVE it!

Generational Differences

Watch the first minute of this interview with Jay Leno.  This was on lastnight, and as I was watching a thought crossed my mind.  Generational differences...YouTube versus the Cookbook.  The student versus the teacher, should it be a change in the way we think and teach.  Wikipedia versus Encyclopedia, Google versus Dictionary.  It is an interesting topic to ponder!