Kidblog...... Blogs

Kid blog is an alternative to Blogger for kids.  Teachers can sign up and create a secure classroom blogging community for their kids.  Teachers have total control of the blogs and user accounts. It is for K-12 students.

●     Step by step instructions, including video tutorials, on using Kid Blog. The link also includes teaching ideas http://integratingtechnologyandwriting.wikispaces.com/KidBlog

●     Ways to use blogs in your classroom  http://blog.simplek12.com/education/15-awesome-ways-to-use-blogs-in-your-classrooms/

ThumbScribes

ThumbScribes is a community for creating collaborative pieces of writing.  You can create privately, invite friends or leave it open for anyone to join. Contributions can be submitted through IM or Twitter as well.

https://www.thumbscribes.com/login.php?l=signup

CommonSense Media

Common Sense Media is a site that has cross curricular units that address digital literacy and citizenship topics in an age appropriate way.
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/scope-and-sequence

Youth Privacy.......... Social Smarts

Like Media Smarts, Youth Privacy is a site from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada where students can learn to become better informed about safety and proper use of Social Media and the Internet. There are lessons and tools to help students with privacy when using digital technologies.
http://www.priv.gc.ca/youth-jeunes/index_e.asp

Caine's Card Board Project

The 4 Cs of 21st Century Learning are: Creativity, Communication, Critical Thinking and Collaboration.  "Project Based Learning emphasizes creative thinking skills by allowing students to find that there are many ways to solve a problem."  One of my peers from night school introduced this phenomenal video which sparked a wave of cardboard creativity in kids around the world.  This video was also the start of a new foundation called, "Imagination Foundation" to foster creativity in more kids.



Thanks John.

Edcanvas

Earlier I posted a lesson using Edcanvas.  Edcanvas allows you to gather information and resources into one place to make lesson delivery easy.  I visited it again and I noticed that there is now improved options in the text editor.  They have also launched a new feature that allows you to add audio to your canvas. Teachers can also set up a class and  Edcanvas can tell you which students viewed your lesson and give you detailed reports about their participation.
View an Edcanvas lesson on an earlier post.....

 For Educators:  
In the Edcanvas Blog post, the Edcanvas team write the following:
Many teachers have asked us to add the ability to annotate their canvases with sound, and others have asked us to give their students the same ability. Now, you can add audio clips anywhere in your canvas! Use audio comments to

1.       Read out material to make it easier for auditory learners to understand concepts.

2.       Add another level of instruction on top of your canvas.

3.       Require students to voice their opinion or speak aloud translations instead of just writing it in a comment.

Google Docs, Google Drive

Five years ago I was introduced to Google Docs.  Just recently I was re-introduced to it and I was impressed at the upgrades made since.  It is offered by Google which is found within Google Drive.  Google Docs offers:  Document, Presentation, Spreadsheet, Forms and Drawing.
Google Docs allows users to create documents online while collaborating in real-time with multiple users. Each person you give permission to can edit or view document. There is a chat box that would allow you to communicate with other collaborators.  A history of work is saved.  You can have access anywhere and store files safely.  Just sign in with a gmail account to Google Drive and begin.

Thanks Mario for reminding me of Google docs.

Padlet

Post Revisited:  On an earlier post I mentioned Wallwisher.  This online tool is now called Padlet.

Padlet can be used for teaching, noticeboards, discussions, quizzes, lists, watching videos, etc.  You can share, export, email and print your wall.
There is an app available for this site.

Definition Poem

My Special Ed and ESL students wrote a Definition Poem.  Once they completed their draft they published it and learned to add an image from Clip art behind their text.  They were very happy and pleased with their finished product; that they learned something new on the computer. 
(All images are from Microsoft Word Clip Art)

Teach Your Monster To Read

A free game to practice the first steps of reading.

Reading Bear

Reading Bear is aimed for children learning to read from ages 4-7.

It is a free website that anyone can use in conjunction with a class lesson or on its own.  This site combines text and audio with pictures and videos to help students sound out words and view what each word means.
These lessons allow students to interact with lessons and lessons have videos to support it.  If you only wish to view the videos, WatchKnowLearn has them available for anyone to view on their site.  To link to the videos only:  http://www.watchknowlearn.org/default.aspx

This is an introductory video that demonstrates how the program works.


Reading Bear:  http://www.readingbear.org/

Wix

Create your own  free website:

Wix has many templates to choose from.  It features drag and drop function and there are tools that allow you to customize the site to your needs.
http://www.wix.com/

Web also has similar features as Wix.  http://www.webs.com/

For Educators:
Students can create their own website.... a  number of possibilities.

SpongeLab

An earlier post revisited: Spongelab.  There have been upgrades and changes since I last mentioned this.  Sponge lab is an open and free science learning community.  Spongelab is interactive and the media is available for anyone to use.



http://www.spongelab.com/