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/

Science Daily

Science Daily is a source for latest research news.  There is also a search box where you can enter a keyword or phrase to search the archives for related news topics, the latest news stories, reference articles, science videos, images, and books.  This website is updated several times a day with breaking news.

Prelinger Archives

Several years ago I attended a workshop that was focused on Differentiated Instruction. Several weeks ago my night school instructor reminded me of the same website that I was introduced to from this workshop.  Prelinger Archive is an open directory of videos (including historical), music and other media.
http://archive.org/details/prelinger

For Educators:
Students can create Mash ups of the media from this site.

Using QR Codes in the Classroom

I am always trawling the net to find new and innovative ideas to use in the classroom.  I have known about QR codes for some time now and decided to begin creating a short list on how to use them in the classroom.

For Educators:
 Instead of having students type in a long website, create a QR code to make it easier for them to visit the site.  For example, creating a QR code to the Edcanvas lesson I created for my class. They can view the canvas on a mobile device or an ipad.  

I went on the web to see how others might be using QR codes and I stumbled upon a blogger (Monica Burns) who has other ideas listed as well.
She writes:
How QR codes can make a difference in the classroom

 1. Eliminate the Frustration of Long Web Addresses

Instead of asking students to type in a long web address where they could easily make mistakes, a QR code will take them straight to a website. It's easy to type in USAToday.com, but directing students to a specific article might require them to type in a combination of case sensitive letters and numbers. QR codes are perfect for students of all ages, but especially for children with special needs and those students who are easily frustrated.

2. Take Students Directly to a Designated Website

We all want to avoid using search engines that might bring our students to the wrong website. This direct approach also limits their exposure to similar sites that might not be kid-friendly. You can create a list of QR codes for websites to make Internet research easier for students.

3. Save Time

Instead of waiting for each student to type in a long web address, they can all quickly scan the QR code. You won't have to waste valuable minutes from your lesson because all students will be on task and viewing the correct website in seconds. Try projecting the QR code on the board or printing just one QR code for each table of students to save yourself the time of making extra copies.

4. QR Codes are Easy to Make

Websites like Qurify.com allow you to generate your own QR code for free. Copy and paste a long web address, and they’ll create a code that is unique to that particular website. You can save, print and distribute the QR code to students.

5. Change Up Your Normal Routine

I love to keep things new and exciting for my students. Try creating scavenger hunts that will get your students to visit a variety of websites to gather information on a topic. Get students engaged and moving by placing QR codes in different parts of your classroom or school building.

Webquest

In an earlier post, I had mentioned using Webquests in my classroom.

What is a Webquest?
A webquest is a classroom based inquiry lesson format in which the work is all web based.  View this youtube video that discusses what a Webquest is.  It is a guided inquiry and scaffolded learning structure using WWW .



These are some webquest sites:

/http://www.webquest.org/                 http://questgarden.com/         http://questgarden.com/search/

QR Codes...... What are they?

What is a QR Code?

Quick Response Codes are a type of two-dimensional barcode that can be read using smartphones and dedicated QR reading devices, that link directly to text, emails, websites, phone numbers and more! You may have even got to this site by scanning a QR code! (http://www.whatisaqrcode.co.uk/)

There are many QR Code generators online.  Thanks to M. Addesa for this one particular site.  Click on QR code for the web address.

Publish books using Page Flip Flap

Click on the image and it will take you to the Webquest project that the two girls created using page flip flap.   This Webquest project is discussed two posts below.

As I mentioned in my August, 2011 post, Page flip flap is an online tool to convert work into an online book with page turning effects.  Teachers can use this site to create an e-book of their students' writing for parents and others to view.  

Book Trailer lesson using Edcanvas

The grade 4 students are currently working on the elements of a story. Once they finish reading their novels they will be ready to work on the second part of this unit. (Some students will be using picture books.)  The students will each create a book trailer using movie maker or photostory.  I created a multi-media presentation lesson in order to get them started.  I used Edcanvas to organize my lesson.  I also posted this canvas onto the student blog so that once the students are home, they have a place to refer to while they are working on their Book Trailers.