Grade Level – Page 30 – iLearn Technology

Boy’s Life Comic Creator

July 12, 2011Kelly Tenkely4 Comments4139 views

What it is: Boy’s Life Magazine is a great place to reach those boys in your class that are reluctant readers or writers. On the Boy’s Life site, you will find a Comic Creator where students can create a comic strip. The Comic Creator is easy to use, offering enough tools for boys to really customize their comics but not SO many that they get lost in the forever search of pictures. A great balance!

How to integrate Comic Creator into the classroom: The Boy’s Life Comic Creator is a great little tool to help your boys connect with writing and story telling in a way that they enjoy and understand. The tool is simple enough to use as a writing station/center on classroom computers. The comic does need to be created in one sitting, there is no way to save and come back to a comic later. Completed comics can be printed off and shared.

The Comic Creator is a great entry point into writing but could also be useful in math for creating and solving story problems. Students can create a short math comic strip that can be traded with other students to solve.

Students taking a foreign language class could practice new words by creating a comic strip story in Comic Creator.

Use Comic Creator the first week of school as a way for boys to tell all about themselves. Each student can create a comic strip that stars them as the main character. Invite other students to try to match the comic strip with the student as a fun interactive bulletin board activity (Think comics on one side, student pictures on the other and string to draw the “line” between matches).

Tips: I learned about the Boy’s Life Comic creator from The Book Chook, be sure to follow this GREAT kids lit blog! The Boy’s Life website is packed full of goodies that your boys are sure to enjoy (there is even some reading that gets sneaked in there 🙂 ).

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Comic Creator in your classroom!

Mastery Connect: Standards Based Grading made manageable

July 8, 2011Kelly Tenkely6 Comments10635 views

What it is: Mastery Connect is both an online standards tracking tool (parts of it are free) and a free iPhone/iPod/iPad app. Because the app is truly free, I’ll start with it. The Mastery Connect app is a handy way to keep the Common Core standards accessible while you teach. The app sorts the common core standards by grade level, subject and strand. This is REALLY nice for quickly locating and referencing standards. Mastery Connect the website is the real gem. The site is brilliantly designed, easy to navigate, aesthetically pleasing and best of all, it works the way you think it should. With the Mastery Connect Master Tracker, teachers can assess core standards, monitor student performance and report student progress to parents and administrators. Master Tracker makes formative assessment that is standards based manageable to keep track of. Rearrange standards in the Master Tracker based on the order that you teach them in. View only the standards you are currently assessing, and view the entire standard as a pop-up. Within Mastery Connect, teachers can create and share common assessments. Similar in feel to other social networks, Mastery Connect lets you connect with other educators to share assessments, interact and offer each other support. It is easy to expand your PLN into the space, just find teachers with similar interests and goals and start sharing!

And now for my VERY favorite part- bubble sheet scoring. Mastery Connect uses GradeCam technology to make assessment about as quick as it could be. Just hold up bubble sheets to your webcam or a document cam and it is instantly scored and entered into the Master Tracker associated with the student it belongs to and the standard it is addressing. Seriously cool. I am not a big fan of multiple choice testing (mostly because I think it is a lazy way to find out what a student knows and doesn’t give a true picture of what a student knows or can do) but I think I have figured out how bubble sheets can be used by teachers during formative assessment. Students get immediate feedback from Mastery Connect and can see where in the standards they need some extra work. Teachers can view class wide item analysis of assessment and can track progress by standard.

Students can also use iDevices (iPad/iPodTouch) with the bubble sheet app. This is connected to Master Tracker so as soon as students input answers, it shows up live. Are you feeling your assessment work-load lighten yet?

Students can also take assessments using any web browser. It really is a tool that works for schools with minimal tech, to schools that have ubiquitous tech.

Mastery Connect exports to ANY gradebook or student information system. A one touch export feature makes it about as quick as it could be!

Mastery Connect makes it quick and easy to keep parents informed of student progress. Student reports can be quickly created and emailed or printed out for parents. You can also enable parent notifications that will notify parents of student progress as it is entered.

How to integrate Mastery Connect into the classroom: Mastery Connect is actually the tracking tool we will be using at the school I am starting, Anastasis Academy. We are doing away with traditional A, B, C, D, F grades all together. I have yet to be convinced that traditional grading is productive and helpful for students (or teachers for that matter).

At Anastasis Academy, we are using the Common Core Standards as a framework for setting learning goals. I see these standards as the critical-mass-of-knowledge that students need to be successful in learning. Hear me say, I DO NOT believe that these standards are comprehensive of everything a child should, or wants to know. They are simply the framework that we will use to build the rest of learning around. They will help us to ensure that we have a rough road map of where we are headed in learning. Students, teachers and parents will sit down for a conference each block and use those Common Core Standards to help map out learning goals. You will notice that we don’t leave this up to teachers alone. We want our students to have ownership and a say in what their learning looks like. We don’t want the teacher to be the holder of all the keys, slowly revealing learning to students as they see fit. Instead, we want students who can look at the learning ahead of them, and offer input about how they would like to go about that learning with parents and teachers acting as guide. The Mastery Connect app will be SO helpful in this process. Everyone will be able to access those standards easily at any time they need to recall them. Brilliant.

We will use Mastery Connect a little differently than I’m sure most schools will. Instead of bombarding students with multiple choice “bubble” quizzes and assignments, our bubble sheets will be for teacher use. For example, we may create a bubble sheet based on a standard with the specific skills or content that we are looking for. As we formatively assess students, the teacher can fill in that bubble sheet either on paper or on the iPad for instant input into Master Tracker.

Tips: I have been extremely impressed with all of the Mastery Connect tools. Not all of it is free but the portion that is not free is very affordable ($4/student/year). I like that Mastery Connect offers parent, teacher and student all of the information and tools they need to understand where they are and how they are learning. The people at Mastery Connect have been dynamite, they are helpful, flexible and friendly!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Mastery Connect in your classroom!

Swiffly: Convert SWF (Flash) files to HTML5

June 28, 2011June 28, 2011Kelly Tenkely3 Comments3692 views

What it is: Google rocks my socks. The good people at Google that are dreaming up ways to change the world never cease to amaze me. Today, new to Google Labs is a little tool called Swiffy. Swiffy let’s you upload a SWF file (otherwise known as Flash) and convert it to HTML5. Sweet. This means that you can use flash content on devices without a Flash player (i.e. iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch). You know what that means? The iDevices are officially the PERFECT device thanks to Google. (No need for the list of reasons you don’t like iDevices, I’m a hardcore fan and you are not likely to change my mind with a rant. Deal? Deal.) Swiffy works directly from your web browser, I have tried it out in Firefox, Safari and Chrome. It worked in all three well! It will also work from Mobile Safari which means it will work from your iDevice. Very handy. Using Swiffy is as easy as uploading a file and clicking “upload and convert”. It couldn’t be easier.

How to integrate Swiffy into the classroom: When I was in college I had a professor that often said “The wheels of academia are SLOW to turn.” She couldn’t have been more correct. I have seen this in nearly every arena of education. Technology is no exception. Many wonderful resources are available as flash files. The problem? iDevices (the iPad, iPod Touch) are becoming more frequently used in the classroom and they are not flash friendly. Google labs comes to the rescue with Swiffy. Simply upload the flash file and convert it to HTML 5 using Swiffy. The new HTML5 files can be distributed to student devices so that learning can continue uninterrupted by something silly like file type. Very cool.

Tips: SWF 5 currently gives the best results. If possible save the SWF file this way!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Swiffy in your classroom!

Literature Map- The Tourist Map of Literature

June 22, 2011Kelly Tenkely7 Comments5379 views

What it is: Literature Map is a neat little web tool that I learned about from Samantha, an iLearn Technology reader. Thanks Samantha! Literature Map makes it simple to discover new authors. Student’s can type in the name of a favorite author and instantly get a cloud of related authors. The closer two writers are together on the map, the more likely someone will like both of them. Any of the authors in the cloud can be selected to see the authors related to them.

How to integrate Literature Map into the classroom: Isn’t it wonderful to find an author that you can’t get enough of? Literature Map helps students in the discovery of new authors based on authors they know they like. Tools like Literature Map can act as a catalyst in uncovering the love for reading. Literature Map would be a great site to bookmark on classroom computers or in the library. Students won’t be stuck in the “I don’t know what to read” or the “I can’t find anything to read” rut.

In the intermediate classroom or middle/high school classroom, ask students to choose two authors from the Literature Map to compare and contrast. Students can dig into writing style, genre and author study as they compare/contrast.

Tips: If you don’t find an author listed, you can contribute to Literature Map so that others can benefit from your recommendations.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Literature Map in your classroom!

Off-Road Algebra: Using off road motorcycling videos to learn Algebra

June 20, 2011Kelly Tenkely1 Comment3596 views

What it is: Off Road Algebra is a series of video resources focused on pre-algebra and algebra for ninth grade. This Hot Chalk unit centers around off-road motorcycle racing. There are 30 related problems for off-road algebra, each with an accompanying digital resources.

Problem 1: Conversion between gallons and liters

Problem 2: Miles per gallon

Problem 3: Gallons per mile

Problem 4: Velocity x time = distance, Part 1

Problem 5: Velocity x time = distance Part 2

Problem 6 (not available)

Problem 7: Comparing decibels

Problem 8: (not available)

Problem 9: Slopes and Ramps, Part 1

Problem 10: Slopes and Ramps, Part 2

Problem 11: Playing catch up, Part 1

Problem 12: Playing catch up, Part 2

Problem 13: GPS Axis

Problem 14: GPS conversion

Problem 15: GPS distance

Problem 16: Mixing Gas and Oil

Problem 17: Margin of Victory

Problem 18: Lap Time Math

Problem 19: Trac Turn Angles

Problem 20: Number of Revolutions

Problem 21: Inside and Outside a Wheel

Problem 22: Choosing between mean and median

Problem 23: Cylinder Volume

Problem 24: Comparing the Volume

Problem 25: Graphing the Ride

Problem 26: Acceleration, Part 1

Problem 27: Acceleration, Part 2

Problem 28: Acceleration, Part 3

Problem 29: Calculating with the contact patch

Problem 30: Tire Aspect Ratio

How to integrate Off-Road Algebra into the classroom: If you have spent any time in a math classroom, I’m sure you have heard something to the effect of, “why would we ever need this in real life?”. It is a good question. Learning should look like life…after all, isn’t that the point? Off-Road Algebra helps students understand how the concepts they are learning in algebra are related to life through the world of off-road motorcycles. Math is more than just filling in the correct answer on a test. Math is everywhere and we need to help students see that.

These videos walk students through off-road motorcycling problems so that they can make the connections between the classroom and life beyond the classroom. There is a printable PDF that you can download that has thorough explanations and answers for all 30 problems. You can also find a correlation between the math problems and standards.

Use these videos with your whole class using a projector-connected computer or interactive whiteboard. Video is ideal for math because it gives students the ability to pause, rewind and replay as needed. Using an IWB with built-in IWB software, students can annotate over the desktop to solve equations as the video plays.

The videos are a great alternative to the standard math textbook, offering video explanations of how to solve a variety of problems. Students can use these to support work in the classroom or at home. The videos could make a quick-stop center activity in the one or two computer classroom.

Tips: Be sure to check out Hot Chalks other real-world math problems.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Off Road Algebra in your classroom!

A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods

June 16, 2011Kelly Tenkely2 Comments6319 views

What it is: The Periodic Table of Visualization Methods is a brilliant collection of visualization methods for displaying, understanding and using information. The periodic table is broken down into data visualization, information visualization, concept visualization, strategy visualization, metaphor visualization, and compound visualization. Each “element” of the table includes information about the element such as if it is a process visualization or a structure visualization. Each “element” also includes cues about what kind of thinking the visualization requires (divergent or convergent). As you move your mouse over the table, an example of the “element” pops up. As I said, brilliant! The Periodic Table of Visualization is an excellent way to help students (and teachers) understand and explore visual literacy.

How to integrate A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods into the classroom: A Periodic Table of Visualization is a great place to start helping your students understand how to decode visual information as well as how to create visual representations of information. I’m a HUGE fan of infographics, graphic organizers, charts, graphs, mind maps, etc.- definitely a visual learner! Students often come across visual information graphics in their reading for the classroom. Unfortunately, we don’t always spend time helping students understand that visual information because we are SO focused on the text. The Periodic Table of Visualization gives you a one-stop-shop to discuss the different kinds of visual data, helping students understand how to “read” and decode that information. These are great critical thinking activities because they ask students to process information in a different way. Use the Periodic Table with an interactive whiteboard or projector-connected computer to expose students to examples of different types of visual information. Talk about each one and how information is being conveyed. If you have interactive whiteboard software, use the annotation feature to “stamp” or keep track of the different kinds of visual data students come across during the year in their reading. Make it a year-long goal to find an example of each type of visualization. This will keep your students looking for and engaging with visual literacy.

Take it a step further and encourage your students to create their own information graphics and visualizations. After some learning that was completed, ask students to choose one of the “elements” from the table of visualization and create their own graphic or table.

I love the way that a Periodic Table collects and organizes information. Currently I am working on the first unit of inquiry for students at Anastasis Academy. From first through eighth grade, all of the units are focused around community. I thought it might be fun to create our own periodic table of community. Each student can add an “element” that makes up community. Instead of just pictures popping up on our periodic table, I thought students could add video, photos, text, or audio. Each student will add to the community periodic table and we will use this as part of our school code of conduct. Here is what I am thinking: Each student will learn about community and choose a method of sharing what they learned (video, audio, text, photo). They will create their “element” using their iPad and add it to their online portfolio at edu 2.0. I can easily access all files from one place (edu 2.0) and add the projects to a periodic table of elements that I create on Wix.com. I’ll link from the Table to the student projects and voila, a Periodic Table of Community. I’ll let you know how it works in practice 🙂

Another related idea: create a Periodic Table of Students during the first weeks of schools. Add each student’s picture to the periodic table along with their class room number and initials as their Element information. This can be printed out and turned into a bulletin board for the classroom or shared on an interactive whiteboard or projector-connected computer with parents at back to school night. If you have “star” students in your classroom (or VIP) you might add the student picture to the periodic table when it is their week to share and shine.

Tips: Thank you to my friend @artysteph26 for sharing this awesome resource on Twitter yesterday. Thanks Steph! **Reminder: if you don’t have a personal learning network on Twitter, I highly recommend spending some time on that this summer. That small time investment is worth it’s weight in gold I tell ya!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods in your classroom!

Google’s Me On the Web- keep track of your digital footprint

June 15, 2011Kelly Tenkely1 Comment3850 views

What it is: Me On the Web is a new tool from Google. Announced just today, Me On the Web is part of the Google Dashboard that allows you to set up custom Google Alerts for your name in news articles. This was always possible with Google Alerts but now those alerts are coupled with tips and resources for helping students manage their online identities. Now everything can be tracked from one central location instead of scattered around in different places. Me On the Web is easy to set up, just visit your Google Dashboard to get started.

How to integrate Me on the Web into the classroom: There was a day when you could get away with not knowing and following your digital identity, that day is no more. We all carry digital footprints, and now more than ever it is vital for us (and our students) to know how to manage those digital footprints. Teaching students about their digital identity is the first step, Google’s Me on the Web takes that a step further by helping students manage their online identities through Google Alerts and helpful tips. Students must have an account with Google to fully utilize the Me on the Web features. After students have their account set up, they can create a set of Google Alerts related to them. This could be their name, email address, a sports team that they play on, the name of the school they attend, etc. Students will quickly see just how big a memory the Internet has and get a first hand look at their digital footprint and learn some strategies to take care of it.

If you are working with younger students without Google accounts (and most likely with a smaller digital footprint) you can share the School’s digital footprint or if you are brave (and after you know what will come up), your own. This gives even young students a good idea that their digital lives are not private and that what is shared their needs to be managed.

Me On the Web is a great way to begin discussions about social media, character education and respecting yourself and others.

Tips: Google even shares a section about how to remove content from a Google Search. Here is a hint, it is not as easy as just managing your identity PRIOR to needing to remove it. Good choices my friends, good choices. Anthony Weiner could learn a thing or two- just sayin’.

**By the way, if you haven’t seen the Google logo in honor of the lunar eclipse, it is definitely worth checking out- today only! 🙂

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Me On the Web in your classroom!

Current.im: a private daily journal 140 characters at a time

June 14, 2011Kelly Tenkely5 Comments4258 views

What it is: Current.im is a site I learned about from @MZimmer557 on his excellent blog, The Weekly Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness. Current.im let’s students keep a private online journal 140 characters each day. The journal couldn’t be easier to use, students login with a username and password that they create, and type their 140 characters for the day. Current.im keeps a daily record of these bits of writing along with a time stamp. The Current.im is truly private, this isn’t a social sharing site where students (or teachers) are writing for an audience. It is a wonderfully simple tool created for one thing: recording daily thoughts.

How to integrate Current.im into the classroom: Current.im is an easy way to record writing daily. The limit is 140 characters making it easy to keep up with and add to everyday without being overwhelmed by the blank sheet of paper. Current.im can be used as a journal where students reflect on daily learning, a year-long creative writing project that students add to 140 characters at a time each day or a personal journal. Because students are only responsible for 140 characters a day, this is a fast activity that could be completed as a center on classroom computers. If your students don’t have access to computers where they can keep their own Current.im accounts, keep a class journal/story/reflection by compiling thoughts together using an interactive whiteboard or projector-connected computer.

One of my favorite year-long projects in the computer lab was having students take a picture of themselves using PhotoBooth every computer class. At the end of the year, students took all of their pictures and created a stop-motion type video combining all of the pictures into a movie. The result was a short movie where they could see themselves grow up that school year. Current.im would be a fantastic addition to this project. Students could start each class period with a picture of themselves and a quick 140 character update to go with the picture. At the end of the year not only will they be able to see their growth, they will be able to read reflections and thoughts they had throughout the year. This is great for one school year but can you imagine doing this EVERY year of school from k-12 as part of a digital portfolio? How neat would that be?! This is truly a 2 min. time commitment each day. Easy.

As a teacher, Current.im can be used to reflect on teaching practice, to record daily classroom (or student) observations or to record daily success (we all need to record those!). I always joked that I should write a book about funny student antics. Of course I never wrote all of these funny stories down so alas, I have no book. Had I known about Current.im, I could have recorded these stories everyday and had the book written for me by the end of the year!

Tips: Current.im doesn’t include any terms of service so I assume it is okay for all students to use. Registration for an account does require an email address. The email address doesn’t need to be confirmed so if you have students without email addresses, they can use an @tempinbox or @mailinator account (just add tempinbox or mailiator to the end of any word to instantly create an account).

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Current.im in your classroom!

Web 2.0 Library

June 13, 2011Kelly Tenkely3 Comments2795 views

What it is: Many of us are heading into the summer vacation months, a time when our non-education friends and family view us with envy over our “2 month break”. I don’t know about you, but I NEVER had a summer where I wasn’t working on education in some capacity. Summer is a time to prepare for the next school year, dream up new projects and explore all of those things we didn’t have time for during the school year. Web 2.0 Library is a fun one to explore this summer for some new resources for your classroom tech tool box. Find web tools that will help teachers and students connect, collaborate and create. When you choose a topic, you will be taken to a login page. Click “login as guest” to proceed. Icons accompany each tool that offer additional understanding for each tool. The i give more information about how to use the tool, the @ gives activities that can be done using the tool and the video icon includes a video that teaches more about the tool.

How to integrate Web 2.0 Library into the classroom: Web 2.0 Library is a great one-stop shop for Web 2.0 tools that can be used in the classroom. These tools are well organized and the supporting information makes it a snap to find the perfect tool for your classroom. Quickly get ideas for activities, get more information about the tool and view a video about the tool. You are sure to find some new goodies that can make your classroom more connected and creative!

Tips: Don’t forget to login as “guest” to access all of the web 2.0 goodness.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Web 2.0 Library in your classroom!

Gudli: learning games for math, language, science, puzzles and fun

June 9, 2011Kelly Tenkely4 Comments6233 views

What it is: Gudli is a collection of games for kids that makes learning fun. Students can play these interactive educational games while developing skills in math, logic, memory, words, creativity and more. Gudli is free to use and a fantastic learning space for students in kindergarten, first and second grade.

Learning games include:

Math

Color Addition
Learn Shape
Color Subtraction
Number Series
Number Wheel
Add Numbers
Match Shape
Minus
How Many
Number Writing
Spider Counting
Color by Number
What Number Missing
Billing Counter
Time Zone
Table Memory
Mission Subtraction
Tick Tock Time
Quick Match
Math Story
Pattern Match
Counting Coins
Mission Addition

Language

Simple Sentences
Lead the Way
Rhyme Time
ABC Words
Word Rhyme
ABC Jigsaw
Word Trail
Sight Words
Labeling
Save Panda
Letter Blox
Word Hunt
The Blank
Opposite Adjectives
Spellathon
Scramble
Phonic Train
Googly Balloon
Alphabet Writing
What Letter Missing
Word Search
English Memory

Puzzle

Connect Pipe
US Map
Jigsaw Wonders
Stardoku
Shape and Shadow
Jigsaw Puzzle
Tetris Mania
Tricky Shuffler
Tic Tac Toe
Sliding Puzzle

Science

Butterfly Life Cycle
Grow Plant
Water Cycle
Animal Quiz
Jigsaw Safari

In the side bar student will learn fun “did you know” facts, Math tricks (like “Multiply by 9: Multiply by 10 and subtract the original number”) and grammar hints. Each game is labeled with the grade level and has a short description of the game and learning goals.

How to integrate Gudli into the classroom: Gudli is a fun way for kids to practice learning in math, English and science. These games make great center activities to support learning. The games are short enough that they can be set up on classroom computers and students can take turns reinforcing learning and skill practice. Gudli has enough games that students can play several in a lab setting where each student has a computer. Students can choose the games that best meet their learning needs.

Gudli is a great site to share with parents looking for some ways to reinforce learning over the summer!

Tips: Gudli has a brand new virtual world coming soon! Students will be able to explore a fun virtual world, “chat” with their friends, play in an interactive environment, challenge friends to games and of course learn!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Gudli in your classroom!