iPod Touch in Education 01/31/2010
 If I was given a moderate amount of money to spend on technology in my classroom, I think I would quickly equip my class with a set of iPod Touch devices. These versatile gadgets have a lot of potential for education, and can be used by even the youngest students. They are tactile, interactive, and just plain fun to use. So, if your school is thinking about purchasing some too, you may be interested in one, or both, of the following articles. The Advantages of Using the iPod Touch in the Classroom will hopefully help allay any doubts you may have. If you are already using the iPod Touch, or know someone who already has them, then you may also appreciate The Top 10 Apple iPod Touch Apps for English or Language Arts Teachers. All the apps are free, and I would be happy to hear any suggestions you would have for this list. Kubbu 01/29/2010
 Kubbu is an interesting online test taking module for teachers to set online tests for their students. The basic account is free and allows you to create 15 quizzes and 30 student accounts. There are a variety of question types that can be used to create the tests - true/false, multiple choice, short answer, text box and more. I often think that my students are more motivated to do well when testing on the computer. Whether they actually do any better or not, is another question, but sometimes that change in attitude has a positive effect. If you like the trial version, you are likely to create a Pro account for more storage. The help guide is a little limited, but there are some tutorials on site to help you out. The TES i-board player 01/28/2010
 Ok, the new iPad is probably not yet on your school district's shopping list, and may not be for a few years yet. But, never fear, because the iBoard is free for everyone. Aimed at 5-7 year olds, the TES i-board player has interactive Math, Language, Geography, History and Science activities for you to try with your students. There are probably hundreds of simple, but rewarding, activities to choose from. The i-board was created for a UK curriculum, but will likely have many activities that will cross over to different curricular demands. Moonfruit 01/28/2010
 Moonfruit is another free website creator that is similar to the likes of Weebly and Webnode. Although not specifically targeted at schools, it could be a great choice to build class websites. Highlights of the free package includes drag and drop editing, ad free websites, social networking tools, and the ability to add 3rd party content from Google Maps, YouTube, etc. Sign-up is quick and easy. MangaHigh 01/26/2010
 MangaHigh.com is a new site that caters to the 10-16 year old age group and specializes in offering fun Math games to practice a variety of Math facts. There is a paid subscription based package that allows you analytics tools for charting student progress, but games can also be played for free without registering. Just follow the link above to get started. The Underground Railroad 01/25/2010
 Scholastic has a great resource called The Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery. It is stuffed full of teacher guides, printables and student activities to support any work you might be doing to honor Black History Month. Everything from reader's theaters, to slideshows can be found on this useful page. Well worth checking out, or even bookmarking for use in Social Studies at a later date. Top 5 Technology Tools for Teachers 01/24/2010
Recently I finished a series of 5 articles that listed my Top 5 Technology Tools for Teachers, and how best to use them in a K-12 classroom. Here are the links to the full series: 1.Top 10 Ways to Use Wordle in Education 2.Creating Free Online Slideshows with Animoto for Education 3. Teaching Social Bookmarking with Diigo 4. Using Weebly to Create Class Websites and Student Blogs 5. Glogster EDU: Interactive Online Posters Kidblog.org: UPDATE 01/23/2010
I emailed Kidblog with my concerns about the lack of information on their website, and the founder, Matt Hardy, responded promptly with an email that had more news and facts about them. Click the read more link to see his full reply, and you can make up your mind from there. Kidblog.org 01/22/2010
 Kidblog.org is designed for elementary and middle school teachers who want to provide each student with their own, unique blog. This looks like a pretty good alternative to Weebly and Wikis. Creating class accounts is free and there is no advertising of any kind on the site. Teachers can moderate all student activity. However, there is not much information about the people who operate it. Apparently it is made for teachers, by teachers. If you are using Kidblog.org, why not leave a comment to share your experiences with it. BBC Book Notes 01/18/2010
 The BBC's award winning website, Book Notes, has online versions of classic literature that come complete with study notes that outline themes, character traits, and plot development. Dickens, Shakespeare, Austen, Wordsworth and more are represented here, and all come with useful academic insights highlighted alongside the text. Each text is also searchable, and will save any additional annotations that you make to it. Simply highlight the text you want to annotate and a text box appears allowing you to write a comment and tag it. You need to register to use Book Notes, but no email addresses are required. Language teachers, and home tutors should find plenty of uses for this handy tool. |
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