Not to Be Missed: The Power of VoiceThread

Image from tgbarrett 

Biology teacher Stacy Baker created a PowerPoint of tips to help her students with blogging. She uploaded this tutorial to Voicethread and added voice, comment boxes, and more. On Voicethread, viewers looking at the PowerPoint or other uploaded media can also add comments. Definitely view on Voicethread Stacy's: Blogging Tutorial. While viewing and listening to the PowerPoint on Voicethread, you'll glean ideas for helping students with blogging as well as learn about how Voicethread works and what its capabilities are. Would you consider uploading one of your PowerPoints to Voicethread and making use of some of the features you see in Stacy's work? What functions of Voicethread impress you? What helpful hints did you take away from the tutorial about helping students with blogging?

Here is a link to a Voicethread on poetry created using third graders'. Picture Writing. In this Voicethread, you will see children's pictures and poetry. Use the arrow key to advance through the presentation. On each slide, you can wait to hear the voices individually or you can click on the sidebars' images to jump around to hear or see others' comments.

You might consider uploading to Voicethread a PowerPoint you created or images you have and then using Voicethread's features to embellish your work.  Think about how you can use Voicethread in your teaching. What ideas do you have now that you have viewed two Voicethreads?

The Browse feature on the Voicethread homepage will allow you to select other samples to check out. If you find ones you like, let us know and copy and paste the URL to share your findings with others.

Image URL on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kardon/2674272852/

Textbooks Versus Laptops: A Parody

Check this parody created by 7th graders in Erin Klein's class. Feel free to leave a comment after watching the video. Do you think the students did a good job of getting their point across? Was a video a good medium for conveying their message? Did watching this video give you ideas for videos you might have students in one of your classes create?



Also, feel free to leave a comment on Twitter for the teacher, Erin Klein, and consider following her on Twitter at  @Mimadisonklein

PowerPoint Posted on SlideShare: Blogging, Forums, and Wikis with Some Tips for Success

Found this PowerPoint on SlideShare tonight, and thought I would share it for several reasons: to illustrate SlideShare as a site for sharing educational resources, to see the power of PowerPoint to create a helpful tip sheet in a graphically appealing way, and to gain some tips about how to introduce students to collaborative tools like blogs and forums. Post a comment after you view the PowerPoint. Have you checked SlideShare recently for PowerPoints you might adapt for your teaching? Is this PowerPoint helpful to you?

Kid's comments and posts

View more presentations from Jacqui Sharp

Use the right arrow to advance through the show, or click on the full screen option and advance as you would with any PowerPoint show.

Book a Day Almanac



If you teach elementary school or language arts at any grade level, or are just curious about the stories behind famous books, you will enjoy the Book-a-Day Almanac. Today, the feature was the story-behind the popular children's book, Curious George. Tomorrow, the site will post information about the Diary of Ann Frank. The site is maintained and updated daily by Anita Slivey, an editor at Horn Book, a well-known publishing house in the  field of children's literature. You can subscribe to Book-a- Day-Almanac through Twitter, Facebook, or through a subscription feed. Check out the site, and let us know what you think.


Both images from http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?
blogID=514578381741352890



Why Make Movies in the Classroom?



ilovefreesoftware.com



 I have blogged about Animoto before, in a post Pronto Videos, but thought I would check in again to attract new users. Unlike PowerPoint, PhotoStory 3, MovieMaker, or iMovie, a quick movie can be made with Animoto within a few seconds. Simply gather some photos or use a bunch of any images you have saved, upload them to Animoto, select music from the site or add music you have on hand, and Animoto does the rest. You don’t have much control over editing the final project, but the product is achieved quickly and nearly effortlessly. What are some ways the site could be used in the classroom to stimulate student creativity, critical thinking, engagement, collaboration, and so forth? Have you used it with students? Would you use it with students?

Animoto in its basic version is free, but there is also available an Animoto free package for educators with upgrades that allow teachers and their students to use the site's more advanced features. They're samples of videos teachers and students created. Scroll down on the educators’ pages to find these. Check the Civil Rights video set to the song “Amazing Grace,” for example. I just found this beautiful photo exhibit on the site: Art 2011, created by Mary Anne Reilly, of artist Mark Isham's work. The video has been viewed 124 times, though it was just uploaded a few hours ago. Take a look!

Go! Animate is another site I blogged about in the past. This site is different from Animoto. Instead of uploading photos or images, users work within the site to create characters, text boxes, and sounds, a bit like creating an animated movie. The site involves a bit more work than using Animoto, but some would argue it allows for more creativity and engagement and is excellent for telling a story or broadcasting information. This site would be good for creating stories collaboratively, with each student role playing a character in the script and writing the text boxes. There are some samples to view on the site. Check a couple to see how the site is different from Animoto.

Consider how you might use Go Animate! in your teaching. Do you think students would like the site? Would the site in your opinion support learning? How might it be used?

The 35 Best Web 2.0 Tools Chosen by You

from http://edudemic.com/2010/07/the-35-best-web-2-0-classroom-tools-chosen-by-you/

The 35 Best Web 2.0 Tools Chosen by You is a list generated by teachers. It's a must-see list. Review it for what you are using and what you might be using. You'll likely find at least one new tool to enhance your teaching and professional development. These are all tools that teachers are presently using to enhance their teaching and enrich the lives of their students as learners. You'll get a good feel of what is out there for your taking.

Okay, enough preaching, but take the time to review the list, and post a comment. What on the list is one of your favorites and why? After checking out some new ones to you, let us know what you might consider implementing in the future.

Why Are We Wasting Money on Interactive Whiteboards?

Image from: funmusicco.com

Numerous educators have questioned the value of interactive whiteboards. One outspoken educator is Bill Ferriter, a 6th grade language arts teacher, who has been named a Teacher of the Year in North Carolina. He has posted several articles speaking against these whiteboards. Recently in May, he posted this one: Why Are We Still Wasting Money on Whiteboards? In this post, he mentions a school principal who invested $18,000 on 6 interactive whiteboards. Ferriter offers several suggestions of how this money could have been better spent to put technology directly into the hands of students. Review his list, and determine if you agree with his priorities. If you were a school principal, how would you spend $18,000 for technology? Do you think we are wasting money on interactive whiteboards? If you use them in your teaching, what positive effects have you seen on student learning that make them worth the investment? On the other hand, have you found that they sit idle or are used as simple chalk boards? What on Ferriter’s list of technologies would you opt for, if at all, over the purchase of interactive whiteboards?

There are plenty of comments following Ferriter’s blog. Take some time to read what others have also had to say about interactive whiteboards. Do you agree with the commentaries? Which ones speak to you?

If I Die Young....

For an assignment in an English class in a high school where YouTube is not banned, students need to find a song they like, play the YouTube in class, and then analyze the song as poetry. For instance, they have to find examples of alliteration, metaphors, similes, personification, and so forth. What value do you see in an assignment like this one? Does it suggest YouTube should be banned in schools? This is a song, "If I Die Young," with the YouTube, that one student chose, and she will be doing her oral presentation analysis in class tomorrow. Do you think it is a waste of time for students to analyze song lyrics and play a YouTube of it in class? Would you have enjoyed this assignment when you were a high school student?

Let Students Teach the Class

Adapted from Alan November (pp.188-193), Curriculum 21 (ASCD, 2010) by Heidi Hayes Jacobs.

In one class, a teacher, Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, did just that by having her students create math tutorials. The concept that one learns by doing was directly applied. Check out her teacher's blog, "Is It Worth It? Student Created Tutorials?" Here she explains how she used this approach, and includes her student-produced videos.

Would you consider creating such video tutorials in your own classroom? If so, for what concepts would you want students to do so? How would you organize the project? How would you assess student work? If you would not have students create video tutorials, why not? What was your response to the tutorials that the 4th graders in Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano's class produced?

Blogging with Students

There's plenty of resources available about how and why to integrate blogging into the classroom. Several blog posts in this Computers in the Classroom blog address the topic. Thus, in addition to resources listed in this specific blog, check out the index to find more resources on blogging in the classroom. Here I offer resources for using blogging with students in a variety of settings.

In this video, 4th graders talk about blogging and what they blog about and what writing for a blog is like for them. It is worth watching to hear about the benefits of blogging from their perspective.


Here is a very short video with just words and captions on why let our students blog:






For those of you who teach elementary school and are interested in using KidBlog, here's a very short video about how to use this blog.



For those of you interested in using Blogger, here is a short video about how to use blogger to set up classroom blogging.



This video discusses the why and how of blogging. Although focused on higher education, it points out numerous ways blogging supports student learning.




Here are links to two blog posts and articles to help you think further about blogging with students:
"14 Steps to Meaningful Blogging with Students"
"Blogging with Elementary School Students"

Also, I just found this web quest that a teacher created to introduce her students to blogging. Check out the web quest for ideas about how you might introduce blogging to your students, even if you have been using blogging and are looking for new ideas:

Web quest: "Blogging: It's Elementary"

Please add comments about which of the above resources were useful to you and why.  Also, let us know about additional resources available online about the power of blogging with students. If you blog with your students, tell  us how the experience has been going and how you might make changes in  the future. Let us know what blogging platform you are using and why.

The Atlantic Launches Twitter-Based Book Club

Still not convinced Twitter is right for you. Do you believe in the power of book clubs even if you are not a member of one? Well, The Atlantic Monthly, has launched an online book club, and the first selection, based on online voting, is Margaret Atwood's Blind Assassin. The club launches today, June 1, with online discussion beginning on Twitter at #1book140. Atwood herself on Twitter (@MargaretAtwood) indicates she won't join in, but she does have close to 2 million followers on Twitter.

Read about this powerful combination of book clubs and Twitter in the articles "The Atlantic Launches Twitter-Based Book Club and "Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin Chosen As Inaugural Title for Twitter Book Club."  To find out more about The Atlantic Monthly-Twitter, check: "Everything You Need to Know to Participate in Our Book Club."

And if you are still a Twitter doubter, think about how it brings people together, whether it is through book clubs and reading, or hundreds of other means. If you have heard of ways in which Twitter has contributed to literacy, social justice, helping others, and so on, let us know what you know about how Twitter is bringing people together for the good of humanity. For those of you looking for additional insights into the power of Twitter, check this post: "Is Twitter a Waste of Time." As you scroll through, you will find examples of how Twitter has helped humanity as well as some tips about how to use Twitter successfully.

Maine's 10-Year Laptop Project Huge Success

Evan Glidden, foreground, and Taylor St. Hilaire, both 13, use a laptop computer to work on a project in the hallway at Auburn Middle School, photo is one of three images in the article:http://ht.ly/56jSM 

Ten years ago, in 2001, Maine legislators approved funding to put laptops into the hands of all 7th and 8th graders and all teachers 7th through 12th grade. Local taxes helped to continue the program for students in the high school grades. Both students and educators 10 years later report the expenditure reaped significant educational benefits. For more information on this state-initiated laptop project, check this article: Ten Years After Laptops Come to Maine Schools, Legislators Say Technology Levels the Playing Field. Note also the article finds that New Hampshire which did not fund such an initiative has seen a reverse effect. What's your response to the article?

Photo from the article at: http://ht.ly/56jSM

One of the Best Web 2.0 Tools: Evernote

Image from macthemes.net

Want to take notes, capture pictures, do some writing, and be able to access all of your saved work from any computer. You don't need a portable drive. You can save it all with Evernote. In fact, this blog post was  saved in Evernote, and I just copied and pasted it here. Evernote is fast becoming my favorite Web 2.0 tool.

Wondering how to use Evernotes, check "10 Evernote Tips for School: Education Series" and also "10 Tips for Using Evernote."

Here's more information "The Many Purposes of Evernote."

Evernote. also works on your smartphone. Can't go wrong! Can access anything you save from just about anywhere on the Net. If you have not tried Evernote., try it today.

Digital Technologies and Cell Phones in Schools

Video: Digital Technology in the Classroom : Watch the Video!

The scale tilts. More and more educators call for cell phones in schools. Recently, the National Education Association endorsed their use; see the article Get Smart!

 10 Proven  Strategies to Break the Ban and Build Opportunities for Student Learning with Cell Phones enumerates practical and pedagogical reasons for cellphone inclusion.

Though digital technologies like laptops find their way into schools, there's still plenty of bans on cellphones. But what about the schools where laptops and desktops are scarce? How can cellphones close the digital divide?

After checking these sources, what's your position on digital technologies and cellphones in schools? Are the arguments in these sources one-sided?

50 Sites in 60 Seconds

50 Sites in 60 seconds is a not-to-be-missed slide presentation of excellent websites to use for integrating technology tools into your teaching. Go through the slide presentation, and note which sites you know and which you want to check out. There's plenty here to keep you busy and to give you excellent ideas for sprucing up your teaching. With the summer coming, it's an excellent time to play, explore and think about what new tools you want to integrate into your teaching and how you might use them to spark student engagement and learning. Enjoy, and let us know what you find. Post a comment.

Reluctant to Use Twitter: Don't Be

While poking around a biology teacher's blog, Stacy Baker's blog, I found this great Prezi on how and why teachers should get on the Twitter bandwagon: Using Twitter in the Classroom. Check out the presentation. Let us know what you think. Why shouldn't teachers join Twitter? Why should they? How can Twitter open windows of opportunity? Why is Twitter one of the best free professional development opportunities available to teachers? What tips can you offer teachers for getting over the learning curve of using this incredible tool?

Assuming you now have a Twitter account and are looking for educators to follow, check this twitter list: "All nominees in the 2010 Edublog Awards category for Best Individual Tweeter! These tweeters have been around for a while, and regulary post on Twitter.

Looking for literary authors to follow on Twitter, check this resource: Literary Tweets: 100+ of the Best Authors on Twitter




Here's a cute video to entertain you about using Twitter:


Nancy White & Suzy - An Intro to Twitter from CommunityMatters on Vimeo.

Back to this blog a few days later....Just found this posting about how a high school social studies department is using Twitter: Developing a department Twitter feed. Increasingly,Twitter is making its way into the educational setting for both teacher professional development and for integration into the classroom, though teachers are more likely to use the school-safe site Edmondo for microblogging.

Twiiter logo from: Image from: jhuskisson.com

Top 100 Tools for Learning and Best of the Web

Okay, what are some of the top rated tools for learning? Each year, lists come out, and one such list is published by Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies. Its 2011 Top 100 Tools for Learning gives top billing to Twitter, third year in a row.  YouTube comes in second followed by Google docs and Skype. Skim the list. Which tools are your favorites? Which have you been meaning to try? Which are ones you have not considered, but pique your interest?

Other online lists of top winners include The Best of the Web, which offers links to find educational online websites across grade levels and subject areas. Check it out. Let us know what you like. There's plenty to explore, given most of the links go to gateway sites, listing a host of resources.

Image from: jeffreyhill.typepad.com

Tablets Yes, E-Books Maybe

The article Tablets Yes, E-Books Maybe in today's Inside Higher Education reviews the status of tablets and e-books for college learning and includes student response to the possibilities. Data from large-scale student surveys show mixed reaction, but most students believe tablets hold the potential to revolutionize the way they learn. Check the article as well as the comments posted at the end, and also use the links in the article to access additional information. Then weigh in on your opinion about tablets and e-books and their place in higher education. How soon do you think tablets and e-books will replace paper textbooks, if at all? What changes do you think will occur in higher education for students in the future?

Kids Love Blogging

Interested in seeing examples of how elementary school students use blogging, how their blogging meets curricular standards, and learning more about this blogging project created by a California teacher, check out these resources:

Garrison Elementary Students Create Digital Blog Portfolio

Kids Like Blog Site

This second link will take you to a page to learn about the teacher, the program, the curricular standards, as well as a link to Examples, which has links to two students blogs created with Blogger. One student's blog, The Blog of Hooverneb showcases both writing and drawings. Another student's blog, Official Blog of a Soccer Star is written by a student who writes: "There are many jobs in the world, but there is one that really catches my eye. I want to be a WRITER!"

Another exciting site to check out is one with links to find class blog sites maintained by elementary school classes.  Check this page Fellow Bloggers to learn about teachers using KidBlog with their students. You can access the class blogs and even write comments on the kids' blogs.

Photo Credit by the teacher, Jon Schwartz, Garrison Elementary School Students

Resources for Teachers

The Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness blog maintained by a secondary teacher contains four excellent blog posts that list a plethora of resources by subject area. In all cases, descriptions of the resources are given with hyperlinks to immediately access them. The resources available apply to  teachers grades K-16. You can spend hours exploring all the resources offered. Take a look at one of the pages to find a long list of possible sources applicable to teaching and learning.

Resources for English

Here you will find general resources as well as resources on Writing, Reading, American Literature, and British Literature.

Mathematics Resources

Gives about 40 general resources followed by resources for the areas of algebra, geometry, calculus, and trigonometry.

Science Resources

General resources followed by resources categorized as earth-space, biology, chemistry, and physics.

Social Studies Resources

Categories resources by history, geography, economics, and arts/humanities.

In total, the resources available from these blogs should keep high school and middle school teachers happy with the quick access to a variety of valuable resources for integrating technology into their teaching. Let us know which resources you find particularly helpful to your teaching.