Resource type – Page 58 – iLearn Technology

Blogging Alliance-Essential Educational Blogs

February 1, 2010February 1, 2010Kelly Tenkely42 Comments6105 views

Just about a month ago, I proposed the idea of a blogging alliance between educational bloggers. The response has been incredible. To date there are 73 educators involved from around the world. In this month of reading and commenting I have learned a great deal from these amazing men and women, I have built new friendships, and started new conversations. It has truly been an incredible experience to have educators, passionate about learning, coming together to support each other. If you are looking for some excellent educational blogs, may I recommend those in our alliance? By clicking this link, you will be offered the opportunity to subscribe to the “bundle” of blogs in Google Reader. All of the work has been done, all you have to do is subscribe! Join us in this journey of learning, exploring, and sharing. The blogs range in topics and focus from k-12 and higher ed. Even though I teach in the elementary school, I have found the blogs geared toward middle, high school and higher ed to be fantastic. I learn something new every day.

A few of the blogs are in Spanish or Portuguese, don’t let this stop you from reading them. Google Reader makes it simple to translate a blog to your language with the click of a button. As you are reading the blog, simply click on the “Feed Settings” button above the post and choose “translate to my language”. That is it! Even if you view the original blog to add a comment, Google Translate keeps the blog translated for you. How cool is that?! There really are no boundaries to learning any more.

Number Gossip

January 31, 2010Kelly Tenkely3 Comments3449 views

What it is: Number Gossip is an outstanding math tool that I learned about from the excellent blog ZarcoEnglish-Tool of the Day. Number Gossip is a search engine for numbers only. Type in any number and you will learn “everything you wanted to know about it but were afraid to ask”. For example, when I search for the number 2 I learn: 2 is the smallest prime number, 2 is the only even prime number, the smallest field has 2 elements, for any polyhedron, 2 is the number of vertices plus the number of faces minus the number of edges. I can also learn the rare properties of two, and the common properties of two. Now that is pretty cool!

How to integrate Number Gossip into the classroom: Number Gossip makes an excellent introduction to math class. Call on a student to choose a new number each day and learn all about the number. New math vocabulary and concepts will be introduced every day. Number Gossip helps students understand numbers, their properties, and their relationship to one another. When students are studying new properties, they can search numbers that fulfill those properties and find out why.

Students could create a baseball type card for a favorite or lucky number, listing all of it’s stats on the back.

Tips: I just love the name of this site, Number Gossip, doesn’t it just make you want to know more? I think students will feel the same. When you search for a number, input the actual number (2) it doesn’t recognize (two).

P lease leave a comment and share how you are using Number Gossip in your classroom.

Kerpoof: Update

January 29, 2010February 8, 2010Kelly Tenkely9 Comments4962 views

What it is: Kerpoof is one of my favorite creation tools for elementary students, it allows them to draw, create pictures, cards, books, and even movies. My original post about Kerpoof can be found here. Kerpoof has added some new features that make it worthy of another post. Students can now save their pictures, cards, stories and drawings locally (on their computers). On each canvas is a JPEG icon that will allow any picture to be saved to the computer locally. They are working on making it possible to download the movies locally soon. Kerpoof also introduced info bubbles. In the Make a Picture object library, students can drag out a picture onto the canvas. Now there is a new question mark button that shows up on an object. When students click on the question mark, a little bubble of information pops up. Students will gain all kinds of information from these little fact bubbles. They can learn everything from: who wrote Treasure Island, to learning the national animal of Australia.

How to integrate Kerpoof into the classroom: Kerpoof is an outstanding creativity program for the classroom. With there education accounts and these new features, it is even more useful in the classroom setting. Now that students can save their pictures created on Kerpoof locally, they can use their Kerpoof creations in new ways. Upload the saved JPEG to the class website, blog, or wiki, or add illustrations to a word processing program.

Use the new information bubbles to start a Kerpoof scavenger hunt. Ask students specific questions ahead of time or instruct students to research broader topics like “dinosaurs” or “Mexico”. After students have found answers to their assigned questions, they can do more in-depth research using library or Internet resources. After research is completed, students can come back to Kerpoof to create a picture, story, essay, or movie including information that they learned.

Tips: Be sure to check out Kerpoof’s lesson plans, they have just added a new lesson called “Programming Wizards” designed to teach students about how computers work and how to build, design, and test a program. Very cool.

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

Spelling City: Update

January 29, 2010Kelly Tenkely4 Comments4815 views

What it is: Spelling City is a fabulous site for practicing spelling, I have written about its uses in the classroom before (here and here). Spelling City has just added a new feature that teachers are going to love, the ability to add your own sentences on Spelling City! Now you can customize your spelling lists to fit your needs. For example, if you are studying fish and one of your spelling words is “scales”, the default sentence that Spelling City might offer is “The scales were not giving the weights accurately.” Now as you create a list, you can click on “add” and type a new sentence to fit your classroom needs. The feature is also extremely useful for homonyms (our fifth graders are using this feature this week!). For the teacher created sentences, the audio read of the sentence will be done by a sophisticated voice synthesis.

How to integrate Spelling City into the classroom: Now that Spelling City allows teacher generated sentences, you can customize your lists for students even more. Have students generate sentences for the weeks spelling words and vote on which sentence should be included on Spelling City. This is a great way to involve your students in thinking about word meanings and uses.

Tips: Spelling City has a premium membership that has been approved for funding by Adopt-a-Classroom.org. You can use the Adopt-A-Classroom service to ask for donations to cover premium membership.

Leave a comment and share how you are using Spelling City in your classroom.

The Eco Zoo

January 27, 2010Kelly Tenkely2 Comments3189 views

What it is: The Eco Zoo is an impressive 3d environment where students can meet different “animals” that will give them some ideas about taking care of the environment. Each of the critters has a virtual pop-up book that tells a little about the character. Each character has an environmental quirk, like one who is always turning off the lights to save energy, and has a little story that will get your students thinking about the environment. The site is available to view in both Japanese and English.

How to integrate The Eco Zoo into the classroom: The Eco Zoo is a great site to travel through as a class when you are studying the environment, ecology, or eco-friendly solutions. This site is ideal for an interactive whiteboard or projector connected computer. As a class, travel up the tree, visiting each animal along the way. Ask students to guess what environmental issue the animal is passionate about. Have students brainstorm ideas of ways that they could be friendlier to the environment as it relates to each animal. This would be a great site to guide classroom discussion and spark some new ideas.

The look of the site is very unique, students will love the virtual popup books! Students can also explore this site on their own on classroom computers or in a computer lab setting. As they view the different animals, students can create character cards about the animal, listing the environmental passion, and ideas of how they can be more environmentally friendly.

Tips: This site was created in Japan so some of the English is a little awkward, or the humor missed.

Leave a comment and share how you are using The Eco Zoo in your classroom.

5 of the BEST Virtual Field Trips

January 26, 2010Kelly Tenkely12 Comments4934 views

Kelly Tenkely | TheApple.com (Posted at The Apple.com)
Field trips can be amazing learning experiences. They provide students with the opportunity to actively participate in education, offering learning possibilities that aren’t readily available in the classroom. Unfortunately, it isn’t always practical or possible to take students on field trips. Tight budgets, location, transportation, time, and resource restrictions can keep your students school-bound. Virtual field trips can fill this void. Virtual field trips have come a long way from the page of links they used to be. Now students can explore the world with simulations that are so realistic, they will believe they have left the classroom. Below are five of the best virtual field trips on the web:

Virtual Field Trip #1:

Smithsonian Museum
Not all cities have access to an incredible natural history museum like the Smithsonian. This virtual tour is the next best thing to taking an actual field trip to the Smithsonian.

The Smithsonian Virtual Museum is truly remarkable. Students can ‘step’ into the exhibits and take a tour through the entire museum in a 360 degree environment. The virtual museum is made up of panoramic pictures of the actual exhibits inside the Smithsonian. Using their mouse, students “walk” through the museum room by room. They can zoom in, look left and right, look up and down, and walk forward or backward. Camera icons throughout the museum show students hot spots where they can get close to an exhibit panel. As students explore the museum, they will see: the ocean hall, ancient seas, dinosaurs, early life, fossils, plants, mammals, African cultures, the Ice Age, Western cultures, reptiles, insects, butterflies, bones, geology, gems, and minerals.

Students can explore the various exhibits on individual computers in a computer lab setting or life size with an interactive whiteboard or a projector. Split your students into groups and assign them an exhibit to explore and take notes on. After students have explored and become the ‘expert’ on their exhibit, project the Virtual Smithsonian Museum on an interactive whiteboard/screen. Explore the museum as a class. As you enter an exhibit, invite the group who explored the exhibit to act as tour guides.

Even if you have access to a natural history museum for field trips, the Smithsonian Virtual Museum is still incredibly useful. Prepare for a field trip to your local history museum by visiting the virtual museum. After the field trip, students can compare and contrast what they saw at the local museum with the Smithsonian.

Virtual Field Trip #2:

UPM Forest Life
A field trip to a forest is a wonderful way to learn about tree species, ecosystems, habitats, and animals. The UPM Forest Life virtual field trip will have your students believing that they are actually in a forest smelling pine trees.
UPM Forest Life aims to teach about forest sustainability. It does this by inviting students to take a virtual hike through a forest. The forest is made up of panoramic pictures of an actual forest. Students can zoom in, look up and down, left and right, and ‘walk’ through the forest with their mouse. Students start their field trip with a virtual tour guide. As students ‘hike’ through the forest, they will click on hot spots that reveal videos of forest life, pictures with information, and sounds. Throughout the forest are opportunities for learning about forest planning, harvesting, regeneration, re-spacing, thinning, transport, recreation, training, berry picking, bird watching, hunting, fishing, natural forests, valuable habitats, deadwood, forest structure, water, native tree species, and the various animals that call a forest home. This virtual field trip is impressive on individual computers and amazing when viewed as a whole class on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector. Allow students to take turns acting as forest rangers. They can click on various videos, pictures, and information embedded in the forest. Students can record their observations of the forest, trees, animals, and sounds they experience in an observation journal.

Virtual Field Trip #3:

Moon in Google Earth
The moon is no longer off limits for field trips! Students can visit the moon virtually using Moon view in Google Earth. Google Earth makes for excellent virtual trips around the world; in Google Earth 5.0 you can also take your students to the moon.
Moon in Google Earth makes it possible for students to take tours of Apollo missions to the moon, from takeoff to landing – all narrated by Apollo astronauts. Students can explore 3-D models of landed spacecraft, zoom into 360-degree photos of astronaut footprints on the moon, watch rare TV footage of the Apollo missions, and, of course, explore the surface of the moon. Take your virtual field trip to the moon as a class with an interactive whiteboard/projector, or send students on their own mission to the moon using student computers. Assign groups of students to an Apollo mission to explore. When the ‘astronauts’ return to earth, they can tell other students about their mission to the moon or write a newspaper article about their journey.

Virtual Field Trip #4:

Planet in Action
Real field trips don’t allow for adventures like a helicopter ride above the Grand Canyon, an expedition to Mount St. Helens, or a helicopter tour of Manhattan or Disneyland Paris. Planet in Action makes all of these possible with the help of Google Earth.
Planet in Action is an outstanding way to bring learning to life. Students can take a guided tour of the Grand Canyon, Mount St. Helens, Manhattan, or Disneyland Paris or take control and explore on their own. These journeys are incredibly lifelike on an interactive whiteboard/projector. Take your whole class on a virtual helicopter ride above famous landmarks that they are learning about in class. First, watch the recorded tour and discuss the different landmarks as you see them. Then ‘hire’ a student helicopter ‘pilot’ who can navigate a trip for the class. On individual computers, students can create postcards of their virtual field trip or create their own virtual tour that can be saved and shared with others or with Planet in Action. As students fly above the landmarks, a Google Map will show them exactly where they are in the virtual tour.

Virtual Field Trip #5:

AR Sights
Most students probably won’t have the ability to travel to the pyramids or the Eiffel Tower for a field trip.
Augmented Reality makes it possible to see these landmarks, and more, using Google Earth in 3-D.
Augmented Reality requires a webcam, browser add-on, and a printout provided by the AR Sights website.
After a simple graphic is printed out, it is held up to a webcam. Students will see a landmark spring to life right before their eyes on the computer screen. As the printout is tilted, twisted, and moved the landmark moves accordingly. Students can view the famous landmark in 360-degrees, 3-D, and up close. It is truly incredible!
AR Sights makes it possible to view Google Earth right in a web browser and then zoom into places of interest, looking at them in 3-D with Augmented Reality. Students can ‘fly’ around Google Earth, when they find a place of interest, they will hold the printout up to the camera and explore the landmark. This is an amazing visual method for learning about geography and famous landmarks. If you only have access to one webcam, use it with a computer connected to a projector or interactive whiteboard for whole class exploration.

Geography, budget, and time are no longer field trip restrictions. With virtual field trips, students can explore the universe using a computer. These simulations are so realistic that your students will believe they have traveled the universe, actively participating in their learning.

Kids Interactive-Whales

January 25, 2010January 25, 2010Kelly Tenkely11 Comments3960 views

What it is: The stories in our 3rd grade reading curriculum are all about whales this week. I found this great interactive about Whales put together by the Australian Government Department of the Environment for the students to explore. In the Kids Interactive-Whales, students board the Discovery where they can explore 5 different rooms including the science lab, the research center, the office, the library, and the bridge. Each room has an “expert” that will help the students as they explore the room. As students explore each room, they can take notes by saving text to a clipboard. In the research center, students learn about whale migration, the effects of whale hunting, watch video footage of whales, take an up close view of whale pictures, learn about whale sounds, and even report a whale sighting. On the bridge, students will learn about the rules for viewing whales from land, listen to sounds that different whales make, learn about sonar, steer the boat, learn about the whales that live in Australian waters, learn the rules about watching whales from a boat, and learn the best time to go whale watching. In the underwater library, students will use the database to look up facts about whales (they can take notes on their clipboard), use a dictionary to look up unfamiliar terms, learn about the history of whaling, see how whale populations have suffered, and see pictures of whales that can be used in a research project. In the office, students can watch whales through a portal, read about Australian whale preservation, read a brochure, and view a timeline of how whaling activities have changed throughout the years. The science lab is the last room on the Discovery. Here, students can learn about what whales eat, take a closer look at the anatomy of whales, play a game to practice identifying whales, find out how whales are important to the ecosystem, learn about the difference between whales and dolphins, learn about the research that scientists do, and take a closer look at whale statistics.

How to integrate Kids Interactive- Whales into the classroom: Our 3rd grade students study whales every year in both reading and science. This is an excellent interactive to send kids through to help them build background knowledge about whales for future reading or study. This is also a great place for students to begin a research project about whales. Students can save notes to a virtual clipboard as they learn and explore each room. The clipboard can be printed out and used as research notes. The interactive is packed full of good information and activities. Set up your room so that as students file into the room, they feel like they are boarding the Discovery ship. Choose students to act as tour guides for each of the 5 rooms. Using a projector or interactive whiteboard, have the tour guides lead the class through each room. Students who are at their seats can take notes about whales and ask the tour guides questions. If you have access to a computer lab setting, students can explore the site individually. Create a guide of things to search for as they complete their tour, make it a scavenger hunt for information.

Tips: As an extension activity, encourage students to learn about whaling practices and preservation in their own country.

Leave a comment and share how you are using Kids Interactive-Whales in your classroom.

Pages Tutorial

January 23, 2010Kelly Tenkely15 Comments3196 views

Discovery’s Make a Quake

January 21, 2010Kelly Tenkely3 Comments4230 views

What it is: Our fifth graders are going to be reading stories about extreme nature next week. To build background knowledge about extreme nature, I was on a hunt for some sites that would teach them about different natural occurrences and include an interactive where they could explore the occurrence first hand. Discovery has an nice interactive on earthquakes called Make a Quake. Students are able to create their own earthquake in a virtual simulator. Students enter a simulator that lets them choose the kind of ground that their building is built on, the preventative measures that have been put in place, and the magnitude of the earthquake. Then they begin the quake to test out different scenarios.

How to integrate Discovery’s Make a Quake into the classroom: This is a great site to help students understand how different factors determine the impact of an earthquake. Allow students to explore this interactive individually on classroom computers or in a computer lab setting. Encourage them to take notes about what combination causes the most damage and which combination causes the least damage. You could also complete this simulation as a class using an interactive whiteboard or a projector. Invite students up to adjust the different factors (ground, prevention, magnitude). Ask students to make predictions about what will happen to their building. Begin the quake to test their hypothesis.

Tips: Students can learn more about past earthquakes by learning more about 1906: The Great Quake Cover-Up and view a photo gallery of earthquake destruction.

Leave a comment and share how you are using Discovery’s Make a Quake in your classroom.

National Geographic Forces of Nature

January 21, 2010Kelly Tenkely1 Comment4915 views

What it is: Our fifth graders are going to be reading stories about extreme nature next week. To build background knowledge about extreme nature, I was on a hunt for some sites that would teach them about different natural occurrences and include an interactive where they could explore the occurrence first hand. National Geographic has a great collection called Forces of Nature. Here students can explore a natural forces lab where they learn about the extreme nature. Students can learn about tornadoes, volcanoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Students learn what the force of nature is, what causes them, their characteristics, the damage that they do, how they are forecasted, and then have the opportunity to actually create the force of nature virtually. Students can also view an interactive map that shows hot sites where the forces of nature occur, and read case studies of actual events.

How to integrate National Geographic Forces of Nature into the classroom: Set up a science or reading center where students can read and learn about each force of nature. Allow students to interact with the activities to control their own tornadoes, volcanoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Choose a “weather forecaster” for the class. Using an interactive whiteboard or projector have the forecaster change the elements that lead to the force of nature. Ask students at their seats predict what will happen with the force of nature. Are conditions right for a tornado/hurricane/earthquake/eruption? The forecaster will test out conditions to find out what happens. Ask students to explain the occurrence and why their predictions were correct or incorrect. If you don’t have access to an interactive whiteboard or projector, students could complete this activity in partners on the classroom computers. This is an excellent visual aid for the science classroom, it is like an interactive text book.

Tips: National Geographic has a great Forces of Nature photo gallery (found below the interactive) where students can see high quality photos of tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, and earthquakes. The earthquake interactive is a timely addition to the classroom with the recent earthquake in Haiti. This is a great way for kids to understand exactly how the earthquake occurred.

Leave a comment and share how you are using National Geographic Forces of Nature in your classroom.