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Webspiration Wednesday: Stuart Brown says play is more fun

March 24, 2010March 24, 2010Kelly Tenkely4 Comments3570 views

A few weeks ago, I instituted Webspiration Wednesday at CHC. To find out what exactly Webspiration Wednesday is, check out my original post here.

Continuing the play theme from last week’s Webspiration Wednesday, this is Stuart Brown’s take on the importance of play.

TED Talk “Stuart Brown says play is more fun”

Stuart Brown suggests that play is much more than just being a fun and joyful experience, it is intricately connected with intelligence. So, why then, do we feel the need to strip it from education? If play is such an important piece of learning and intelligence, then we should be taking every opportunity to connect learning with play. Students should enter our classrooms every day, not with a sense of dread, but with a sense of adventure and excitement at what acts of play will happen there. Play doesn’t have to stop in the early childhood classroom, play can, and should, continue into adulthood. As Stuart rightly points out, play is necessary at every point in our lives. It offers opportunities to experiment, and grow, and find new solutions. Companies like Google and Pixar are keying into the necessity of play and if the work that comes out of those companies is any indication, play works.

How do you introduce opportunities for play into your classroom? If you have a great story of play, I would love to post it on my other blog, Stories of Learning.

Webspiration Wednesday

March 17, 2010Kelly Tenkely8 Comments2952 views

Last week, I instituted Webspiration Wednesday at CHC. To find out what exactly Webspiration Wednesday is, check out my original post here.

Today we gathered over a TED Talk by Tim Brown on Creativity and Play.

Tim reminded me of something very important, there comes a point in schooling where we begin discouraging play. We ask students to sit in their seats, to fill in the circles completely with a number two pencil, and to stay on task. There is very little time in schools for play. I think that by making schools void of play, we harm our students. There is a lot of important learning that happens during play and discovery.

In the video, Tim shows some pictures inside some major design firms (Pixar and Google). At the beginning of the year, I asked students to describe what their dream school would look like. I was very sad to learn that most of them couldn’t conceive of a school that looked different. In our first brainstorming session, most of them talked about having more recess or a longer lunch and that was the extent of their wishes. I really tried to impress on them that their school could look and be structured any way they wanted. I was met with blank stares and confused looks. The problem in the first brainstorming session was that students were doing what they do all day long in school. They were trying to guess what I was thinking. They wanted to give me the right answer. But in this instance, there wasn’t a right answer, every answer was right. I showed my students pictures of Googleplex and Pixar and explained that there was a lot of work and creativity that came out of both companies. What they saw was a playland. Nearly all of my students declared that they would work at Google or Pixar when they got out of school. One of my students asked if I would help her write a resume so that Google would have it on file when she was ready to work there (she is 9). We brainstormed a dream school again. This time the students understood that there wasn’t a right answer, that the sky was the limit. Few of them included desks in their dream school, nearly all of them included animals of some kind, and most of them wanted slides and piano stairs to get from one floor to another. We collaborated on Wallwisher and dreamed together. At the beginning of the project, I told the kids the school could look like, and operate, any way that they wanted, but there were two restrictions: 1. it had to be a place of learning, and 2. they had to justify why they included everything in their school. Most of them cited an increase in creativity and innovation (we learned that word as we looked at pictures of Googleplex). One of my students wanted a huge cylinder tropical fish tank in the lobby with clear pipes branching out and winding around the school and through the classroom. She thought the fish would be interesting to study and an inspiration for learning. Another student wished for swing chairs hanging from the ceiling so that they could move while they learned. Several kids wanted dogs in the school that they could read to because, “dogs won’t make fun of you when you make a mistake reading out loud.” Once the students felt comfortable with not having one right answer, they let their imaginations run wild and came up with excellent ideas and suggestions.

We need to help kids understand that there usually isn’t only one right answer. They have been so primed to believe that every problem has one correct answer because we overload them with tests and worksheets that tell them that it is so. We squash creativity. Pretty soon they become adults who don’t know how to play and as a result, aren’t creative. How do you encourage creativity and outside the box thinking in your classroom?

Webspiration Wednesday

March 10, 2010Kelly Tenkely14 Comments4139 views

Today I instituted Webspiration Wednesday at my school. I have noticed over the years that second semester seems to be lacking motivation and morale January through March. Maybe it is because winter is STILL dragging on, maybe it is because it feels like a long stretch before spring break, or maybe it is because the complaints of the year are really settling in. I have noticed this phenomenon in all the schools I have been in. During last weeks #edchat on Twitter, I learned that low morale is a common problem that most schools face. As we talked about ways to boost morale, I thought about the ways that my amazing PLN boosts my morale every day. They encourage me, give me new ideas, and reignite my passion with the great links they share. I wanted to bring some of that to my school. I wanted teachers to have a chance to laugh together, and enjoy each others company, and get away from the teachers lounge which can end up being a place to gripe about everything that has gone wrong that morning.

Last night, in a moment of divine inspiration, I decided that it was high time for Webspiration Wednesday. So, this morning I sent out invitations to the entire staff to join me for Webspiration Wednesday lunch in the library. Teachers trickled into the library, lunches in toe, and we sat down and watched a TED Talk together. I chose “Sir Ken Robinson Says That Schools Kill Creativity”. It was a great Ted Talk to start Webspiration Wednesday with, not only is Sir Ken Robinson inspiring, he also has a great sense of humor. He had us laughing together (which as it turns out is a great stress reliever) and thinking about school and our students in new ways. After the video had ended a spontaneous and lively discussion ensued about those kids that we have in our classrooms that we are stifling. We offered each other ideas for giving them room to be creative. It was fantastic. We all left are short 25 min. lunch feeling refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the day. I wonder if the students noticed a difference in teacher attitudes after lunch? I plan to hold Webspiration Wednesday every week and have asked my PLN on Twitter to join in using the hash tag #webspirationwednesday if they come across inspiring articles, videos, lessons, stories, etc.

Now a disclaimer, I did not ask permission to start Webspiration Wednesday. I just did it. Sometimes I think it is better to ask forgiveness (if need be) than to ask permission. In our #edchat discussion, we talked about who should have the responsibility to boost morale in a school. My answer was everyone has that responsibility. I decided to take my own challenge and be the one who tried something new, something different. Will you be that person at your school? What boosts your morale? What have you seen work well in the school setting?

Below is the TED Talk that we watched together, I believe you will find it inspiring.

I have said it before, and I will say it again, my PLN (Personal Learning Network) on Twitter has been a great source of joy, encouragement, and friendship. I have never met 98% of my PLN in person, and yet they are always there for me, cheering me on and offering suggestions when I fail. If you haven’t made the leap into the world of Twitter, I highly recommend it. If you are looking for a top notch group of educators to follow, may I suggest the Edublogger Alliance group? Once you are on Twitter, be sure to join in on #edchat. There are two #edchat conversations that take place every Tuesday. I can feel myself getting smarter as I learn from the BEST educators in the world every Tuesday. Just follow the hash tag #edchat and be sure to add it to the end of your Twitter messages to participate. I can promise that you won’t be disappointed.

If I am speaking Greek to you, take a look at @shellterrell’s posts about #edchat and PLN’s. She will have you joining in the conversation and fun in no time!

Math Live

March 2, 2010Kelly Tenkely11 Comments4065 views

What it is: In honor of World Math Day (which takes place tomorrow 3/3/10) I decided to pass on a fantastic math website that I learned about from The Techie Classroom Blog (one of the amazing blogs taking part in the edublogger alliance). Math Live has a collection of animated cartoons that teach students math concepts. 3rd through 6th grade students can learn about numbers, patterns and relations, shape and space, and statistics and probability. These cartoons are extremely high quality and teach key math concepts through story. Students can watch videos on place value, multiples, factors, primes, proper fractions, equivalent fractions, comparing and ordering fractions, comparing and ordering decimals, addition and subtraction of decimals, multiplication of whole numbers, division of whole numbers, multiplication and division of decimals, patterns, area and perimeter, volume, time, triangles, polygons, sides, tessellations, ordered pairs, displaying data, probability and estimating. The videos show students real-world applications of math concepts. The videos are chunked really well and stop periodically so that students can think about and discuss their thoughts on the math concept. The videos have outstanding visuals that explain the concepts succinctly. Each video is accompanied by an Activity Sheet (read worksheet), an assessment, and Teacher/Parent Notes. The Teacher Notes include a great section with “Common mistakes students make” to help teachers avoid common pitfalls when teaching. They also include great ideas for additional practice of the concepts. Math Live gives students an excellent animated, interactive math glossary. As students are viewing a video lesson, they can access either the master glossary (with all of the sites vocabulary) or visit the lesson glossary (with only the vocabulary from the lesson). I am really impressed with the glossary.

How to integrate Math Live into the classroom: Math is a hard subject for many students. It can be difficult for students to understand how math relates to real life. Math Live videos are a great way to help students break down math into manageable pieces. It illustrates each concept very well. Students who struggle with math are going to LOVE this site. It allows them to pause, rewind, and revisit concepts as many times as they need to so that they can master a concept. These videos would be an excellent way to introduce new math concepts to the whole class using a projector or interactive whiteboard. They can also be used as a math center on classroom computers or individually in the computer lab. Keep Math Live handy for students struggling with these concepts or to quickly access math vocabulary in the glossary.

The list of concepts covered is limited, as an extension activity, have students create their own math movie using a tool like Xtranormal or Kerpoof Movie.

Tips: Send Math Live home to parents, these videos could be a tremendous help for homework time. Often parents struggle with explaining math to their children, this could be a big help!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Math Live in your classroom.

Neo K12

March 1, 2010March 1, 2010Kelly Tenkely13 Comments4713 views

What it is: Neo K12 is an outstanding online collection of educational videos, lessons and games for students in grades k-12. Neo K12 believes that “kids learn best by ‘seeing’ the real world.” They have created this site with that belief in mind. Neo K12 has cataloged the best free online educational videos from the Internet in one place. Each video is watched and reviewed by k-12 educators to ensure their accuracy and appropriateness for students. Subjects include physical science, life science, human body, earth and space, social studies, math, English (including phonics, stories, and grammar), and fun videos such as time lapse, slow motion, arts and crafts, learn magic, music lessons, and sports lessons. In addition to videos, Neo K12 has Web 2.0 tools. The School Presentation tool is a mashup of Flickr and Wikipedia, and allows users to create and share presentations online. To create a presentation, students choose pictures for their presentation from Flickr, read and article about the subject from Wikipedia, and then add text to their presentation. When the presentation is finished, it can be printed or viewed online as a slideshow. Quizzes, games, and puzzles on Neo K12 are an interactive way to improve learning. Teachers can create and share videos playlists complete with notes and instructions for their students.

How to integrate Neo K12 into the classroom: Videos provide excellent opportunities for learning, they make it possible for kids to visualize and build a model in their minds. This helps them to better understand key concepts and can stimulate curiosity in a subject. When students or teachers search a subject, they are given a list of related videos, quizzes, games, and puzzles. When a teacher creates an account, they can create a complete assignment within Neo K12 that includes instructions and notes for the students. Students can complete the assignment by watching videos, playing related games and creating a School Presentation that shows understanding. The presentations are easy enough for even young students to create. Primary students can skip reading the Wikipedia article and just choose pictures and add some captions about facts they learned from a video they viewed. These videos are a great way to introduce new learning, expand on previous learning, or to spark curiosity in a topic.

Many of the educational games and puzzles would be great for an interactive whiteboard as whole class activities. They could, of course, also be used as classroom center activities, or completed individually in the computer lab. The jigsaw puzzles can be used as teasers to introduce a new topic. The jigsaw puzzles use incredible images from Flickr. Have students take turns coming up to the interactive whiteboard to put puzzle pieces together. Students waiting at their seats can take guesses about what new learning you will be doing in class.

Tips: Create a free Neo K12 account, you will receive a dashboard where you can store videos, games, presentations, quizzes, and add notes and instructions. You get a unique URL for your dashboard to share.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Neo K12 in your classroom.

Internet Safety with Professor Garfield

February 23, 2010Kelly Tenkely11 Comments8782 views

What it is: Professor Garfield has offered an array of interactive games and activities for kids. I learned from blog Educadores Digitales that he has now teamed up with the Virginia Department of Education and the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia to help students protect themselves online. Internet Safety with Professor Garfield is offering lessons on online safety, cyberbullying, and coming soon: fact or opinion and forms of media. Each lesson is composed of three parts, watch, try, and apply. In the “watch” section, students watch a video starring Garfield and his friends. The video teaches an important Internet safety lesson. In the “try it” section, students are given a chance to play a game that checks for understanding and redirects thinking if students missed a concept. In the “apply it” section, students help a character from the video to make wise Internet safety decisions.

How to integrate Internet Safety with Professor Garfield into the classroom: This is an excellent place for elementary students to begin learning about how to keep themselves safe online. I make it a point to visit Internet safety throughout the school year. I always start out my year with a few weeks that are focused on and dedicated to Internet safety. I make a big deal of the activities that take place during those weeks. At the end of the Internet safety unit, my students take an interactive quiz (usually using our ActivVote system) so that I can gauge their understanding. Each student must pass this quiz in order to receive their Internet drivers license for the year. Professor Garfield’s Internet Safety is the perfect addition to the Internet safety week. The videos and activities are fabulous! Revisit the site throughout the year so that students are reminded of the safety rules they agreed to follow at the beginning of the year. I find that mid-year students start to get critical of each other. The name calling and bullying seems to start up every February. This is a great time to reintroduce Cyberbullying, and the lesson on Professor Garfield is a great way to do this.

In the lab setting, each student can go through these lessons at their own pace. Students will receive immediate feedback from the activities if they have any misunderstandings.

If you are a classroom teacher without a regular computer lab time, use an interactive whiteboard or projector to watch the videos as a class. During the try and apply, turn the questions into a class discussion and choose the answers together.

Tips: Internet Safety with Professor Garfield has lesson plans and unit quizzes, an Internet safety certificate that can be printed at the end of the unit, and a printable poster for your classroom to remind students how to stay safe online.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Internet Safety with Professor Garfield in your classroom.

Science Storybooks

February 18, 2010Kelly Tenkely6 Comments4658 views

What it is: Science S torybooks is a great collection of online animated picture books that help teach science in a way that is fun and engaging. There are a lot of animated books to choose from with topics such as applied sciences (electrons, light, etc.), the Universe Cycle (planets, constellations, etc.), Plate Tectonic Cycle (lavas, earthquakes, etc.), Rock Cycle (gems, dinosaurs, etc.), Water Cycle (clouds, weather, etc.), and the Life Cycle (organisms, human biology, plants, the natural environment). The books don’t just tell about science, they take students on a science journey using story. This makes the reading more accessible and student friendly than your typical science book. There are also some very entertaining science songs. I particularly enjoyed the Electricity song…but then I get a kick out of things like this (I think the kids will, too!).

How to integrate Science Storybooks into the classroom: These animated Science Storybooks are the perfect way to introduce your students to new science concepts. They will give just enough information to leave your students wanting to explore some more. The books can be read as a whole class using a projector or interactive whiteboard, or set up as a center on your classroom computers.

I have a group of fifth graders this year who are convinced that they are the cast of High School Musical, they are constantly breaking out in song (it is really something, they all join in and know the words to any song). I have a feeling that my fifth graders would really get into the songs on Storybooks, singing along karaoke style. If it helps them to learn new science concepts, I can’t think of anything better!

Science Storybooks may inspire your students to come up with their own science storybooks. Students could create science storybooks as a slide show, in Animoto, Kerpoof, Shidonni, Storybird, and a host of other sites. As part of the science fair projects, students could create a story to accompany the project that would explain the science involved. And for my fifth grade musical cast, they just may want to come up with their own science song using Myna, Audacity, or Garageband.

Tips: There are some additional science lessons and worksheets for each topic of science, you can use these in conjunction with the stories as needed.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Science Storybooks in your classroom.

NBC Olympics: Science of the Olympics

February 11, 2010Kelly Tenkely14 Comments3130 views

What it is: The winter Olympics start tomorrow and students around the world will be watching and rooting on their favorite Olympian, sport, or country. The Olympics offers some fun new learning opportunities to the classroom. Olympic Science is one such opportunity. NBC has several Olympic science videos in which students can learn about physics, motion, energy, biology, chemistry and math. Videos include Slapshot Physics, Aerial Physics, Figure Skating, Snowboarding, Alpine Skiing, Skates, Mathletes, Bobsled, Motion Inside the Body, Short Track, Modern Skis, Suit Up, Curling, Ski Jumping, Safety Gear, and The Internal Athlete. These videos walk students through the actual science that is taking place in the winter games.

How to integrate NBC Olympics- Olympic Science into the classroom: My students are always shocked to learn that there is a lot of math and science in athletics. These videos show students exactly how closely science and math are entwined in everyday life. Olympic Science videos are for students who are forever asking the question “how am I going to use this?” (and shouldn’t they all be asking this!). In the bottom right hand corner of the Olympic Science site you will find more science data. These are quick facts about the science in the sport. I really enjoy using video in the classroom, students can watch, rewind, pause, and re-think the concepts they are seeing. Combine the Olympic Science site with a Wallwisher where students describe the science in the sport, or create a Wordle with new science vocabulary that students learned.

Tips: The Science of the Olympic Games was produced by NBCLearn, part of NBC News that brings news, events, and issues into the classroom. There is a great video collection that includes Word Roots (an animated series that explores the roots of English words), Common Errors in English Usage (animated videos that uncover common errors in English grammar and usage), and Mini Documentaries (hundreds of 2-6 minute documentaries on American history, economics, culture, and political cartoons).

Please leave a comment and share how you are using NBC Olympics-Olympic Science in your classroom.

Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010

January 15, 2010Kelly Tenkely7 Comments3088 views

What it is: The Winter Olympics are just around the corner and Vancouver has created a website to track all things Olympics. Vancouver 2010 has excellent information and links for your students to explore. On the website, students can learn about each of the winter games sports, the medals, the athletes involved, current news relating to the Olympics, photos, videos, and more. My favorite features is in More 2010 information. Here you will find the 2010 Olympic torch relay route. The torch is tracked on an interactive map. Students can follow its journey from October 30 to February 12.

How to integrate Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010 into the classroom: Vancouver 2010 is a well made site where your students can learn more about the winter Olympics that will be taking place in February. There are some great little videos that will teach students about each event, photos of the Olympic events, historical medals of the different countries, schedules of events, and much more. The Olympic games is a fun time for each country, students can learn more about geography, other cultures, the Olympic games, and the history of the Olympics. Track the torch as it makes its way to the games each day. Talk about the places it has been and about this history of the torch. Create a Google Earth Map where your students can keep track of the medals won by different countries throughout the games. Assign groups of students to learn about the different competitions in the winter Olympics. Each group can be assigned to learn more about the competition using the Vancouver 2010 website and use the photographs and pictures to help them present the event to the class.

Tips: The Olympic games is a great time of year to teach about teamwork, doing your best, and supporting your country. Great tie ins for character education! Check out the education programs (More information for 2010) there are great lesson plans and ideas.

Leave a comment and share how you are using Vancouver 2010 in your classroom.

NASA Space Place

January 14, 2010January 14, 2010Kelly Tenkely1 Comment3233 views

What it is: NASA has hundreds of excellent educational resources online. NASA Space Place is another awesome site for elementary kids to explore science and space. The Space Place has fun online games, animations, projects, and fun facts about Earth, space and technology. Space Place Live is an animated talk show where all the guests are real scientists and engineers who work on space and Earth missions. Students can find out what it is like to work for NASA, how the scientist or engineer got started, and what they like to do for fun. There are currently 7 episodes that students can enjoy topics include: solar wind, satellites, weather, space missions, telescopes, engineering, the birth of stars, Mars, robots, and black holes. Even though the show is animated, the experts involved are the actual experts. NASA Space Place has a variety of on and offline games with everything from scrambled pictures, to world puzzles, crazy quizzes and board games. Students can learn more about weather, space, satellites, the environment, (and much more) through game play. There are a variety of projects and experiments on the site with step by step directions for students. These are great for the classroom, science fair, or at home on a rainy day. Space Place makes finding games, animations, and projects related to your curriculum easy arranging the site by subjects. Use Space Place when you are learning about planets and the solar system, stars, galaxies, and black holes, laws of the universe (light, motion, gravity), the Earth, and space technology. Space Place has several storybooks that can be viewed on or offline.

How to integrate NASA Space Place into the classroom: Because of the wealth of resources on this site, there are a variety of ways to use it in your classroom. The animations are a neat way to bring expert scientists and engineers into your classroom. Share an animated video a week as your students explore the solar system and universe. The games reinforce learning, use them as a center activity on the classroom computers as they relate to your curriculum. Many of the games encourage exploration and trial and error (these are my favorite kind of learning games for students). Students can explore the Amazing Facts section of the site and then complete the trivia game to test out their understanding. In the project section, you will find experiments and science crafts. Choose some of these to complete as a class or assign each student a different project to test and share with the class. Projects would also make an excellent stop during science fair time. Use the Space Place Storybooks as animated flipbooks online as a class with a projector/interactive whiteboard, or print them out for your classroom library. The books could be used as an online reading center on your classroom computers as well. These stories are sure to capture your students imagination!

Tips: Be sure to check out the educator page on NASA Space Place, it is packed full of good ideas, newsletters, printable images of space for bulletin boards, space related articles, math related articles, printable posters, and podcasts to download. With the renewed push for STEM education, there has never been a better time to include sites like NASA Space Place to excite and engage your students.

Leave a comment and share how you are using Nasa Interactive Timeline in your classroom.