For Teachers – Page 63 – iLearn Technology

World Math Day 2010

February 3, 2010Kelly Tenkely4 Comments3901 views

What it is: Hooray!! It is World Math Day time! This year World Math Day will be held on March 3, 2010. For those of you who are unfamiliar with World Math Day, it is a day when students from around the world compete in an online environment in live games of mental arithmetic. Each game lasts for 60 seconds and students can play as many as 500 games, earning points for every correct answer. The students who answer the most questions show up in the Hall of Fame. This is an absolutely free event to take part in. Students can train for World Math Day every day leading up to March 3rd by participating in arithmetic competition. For those of you home school readers, World Math Day is also open and free to you! The competition is designed for students 5-18 years old. This year has a little bit of a new format (the change is fantastic!) with multi-levels for all groups. Teachers, parents and media are also invited to participate for the first time. Last year 2 million students from 204 countries participated and correctly answered more than 4 million questions!!

How to integrate World Math Day into the classroom: World Math Day is a fun competition to involve your students in. It helps build mental arithmetic and numeracy. Students from around the world compete in this competition to find out which country has the top mathematicians. Students have a great time working to get their country to the top (nothing like a little National pride!). My students beg to be involved in World Math Day each year. We spend extra time in the computer lab and on classroom computers preparing for the day. Students answer mental math questions appropriate to their age level. This is a phenomenal way to get some fact practice in!

We make a big deal out of World Math Day and let students have an extended math period to compete on March 3rd. You could use World Math Day as a Math Olympics for your class and have and opening and closing ceremony for your class, school, or representing your country.

Tie World Math Day into your social studies curriculum. As students compete against other students from around the world, the other student is represented by a flag. My students are always very curious to learn more about the other countries and cultures represented. It would also be fun to start a map in Google Earth where you put place markers on the countries that students have competed with.

The platform is open, register your students and start training today!

Tips: If you would like to find out more about past World Math Day competitions check out my posts 2009 here and 2008 here. There are rumors of a World Math Day iPod App coming soon, check back with the official site for more information.

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

Blogging Alliance-Essential Educational Blogs

February 1, 2010February 1, 2010Kelly Tenkely42 Comments6106 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 Comments3450 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 Comments4963 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.

I have, Who has Contraction Game

January 28, 2010January 28, 2010Kelly Tenkely8 Comments3635 views

What it is: Today I was looking for fun interactive games for students to play to practice “not” contractions. I have used iKnow That: Alien Word Mine to practice the not contraction, but was looking for another opportunity for students to practice. I searched for some fun activities and came up blank. I decided to make an offline game that students could play as a class called “I have, who has?”. In this card game, each student chooses a game card. Each game card starts with the separate words (for example: can not) and has a contraction (for example: aren’t). Students stand in a circle holding there game card. Choose one student to begin by reading their card: “I have can not, who has aren’t?” The student holding the card with “are not” responds: “I have are not, who has don’t?”. Play continues until all matches have been made.

How to integrate I Have, Who Has Contraction Game into the classroom: There are several ways to play the I have, Who has Contraction Game. The first way is to play as a class, with students reading the cards aloud and creating matches. The game could also be played more like a dominoes game where students match up all the cards end to end with the correct contraction match. I have, Who has can be played for multiple subjects. For math facts the cards could read “I have 5+5 who has 12?” The student holding “5+7” would respond “I have 5+7, Who has 9?” and so on. This game can be adapted for matching states and capitals, math facts, parts of speech, vocabulary practice, etc. Students have a great time playing “I have, Who has?” as a class. It is a fabulous listening game and helps practice a variety of learning.

Tips: I have attached my Contraction Game here. Download and play with your students!

Leave a comment if you have found other contraction games that your students enjoy or your adaptations of “I have, Who has?”

The Eco Zoo

January 27, 2010Kelly Tenkely2 Comments3190 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.

Pages Tutorial

January 23, 2010Kelly Tenkely15 Comments3197 views

Learn English Kids

January 19, 2010Kelly Tenkely6 Comments4982 views

What it is: Learn English Kids is a website especially for students who are learning English or need some remedial help in language development. Created by the British Council, Learn English Kids has fun games, songs, stories, and offline activities to help students learn English. All of the activities are created so that they can be done independently or with family members or friends. In the listen and watch section of the site are animated stories and songs, many have accompanying activities to use in the classroom. There are also videos and online activities designed to build listening skills and comprehension. In the read write section are downloadable materials designed to help develop reading and writing skills. The make section features online activities in which students can create something. There are also arts and crafts directions to download and videos of children creating things. In the explore section are additional resources and websites for English language learners. The game section features several games broken down into language games, fun with English, little Kids games, and games to play with friends. Students learn basic English vocabulary, alphabetical order, phoneme matching (matching phoneme to its sound), hieroglyphics, months in a year, famous landmarks, seasons, recycling, ancient Egypt, animal habitats, around the world, bugs, Chinese New Year, Christmas, cities, colors, computers, countries, currency, daily routines, days of the week, dinosaurs, directions, environment, fairy tales, food, Great Barrier Reef, health, holidays, human body, maps, money, nature, numbers, Olympic games, pets, planets, plants, school, solar system, space, sports, technology, weather, just to name a few.

How to integrate Learn English Kids into the classroom: Learn English Kids is a comprehensive resource that can be used in your classroom in a variety of ways. The site was designed specifically for English Language Learners (or ESL students) but is appropriate for primary students or students who need some remedial language building. The site has been created to be navigated and used independently and many of the activities would be perfect as a center that students can visit. The games are outstanding for vocabulary and language building. Listen and Watch has an impressive collection of songs that are traditional children tunes like Hickory, dickory dock, teaching songs that help students remember things like months in a year, and themed songs. Each song is accompanied by a pdf of the lyrics and a print activity. There are several well made short stories for your students to read along with. The animated stories can be read with or without audio. Each story comes with the ability to print and includes accompanying activity suggestions. Kids Talk features videos of kids answering a variety of questions. The Listen and Watch section also has a place for students to practice their listening skills. Students watch an animated video and listen to what the characters say. Then they are asked to interact with the activity according to what they heard. These activities are great for ELL, but would also be excellent for students with sensory integration problems. In the Read and Write section, students read a passage and are given follow up questions that they can write about themselves. These would make an excellent writing center for students who need some prompting to write. In the Create section students can create online stories, characters, etc. There are also some offline printable activities and suggestions of things to create. This site features so many great resources, it will keep you ready with activities for your students. Every one of the activities/songs/read alongs are high quality and engaging. Students will love this site! I cannot stress enough that this site has something for every student, not just English Language Learners. My kindergarten and first grade students really enjoy using this site.

Tips: This site could take you hours to explore to find all of it’s hidden treasures. If you are looking for a specific game, story, or topic, you may want to click on “Site Map” at the very bottom of the webpage. Here you can sort through all of the resources by topic, finding exactly what you need quickly. What a great website!! Be sure to check out the Teacher page where you will find lesson plans, resources, and guidance for teaching your ELL students.

Leave a comment and share how you are using Learn English Kids in your classroom.

Learning 2.0 A Colorado Conversation

January 18, 2010January 18, 2010Kelly Tenkely3 Comments3236 views

What it is:

“Education is conversation. Conversation creates change.

The future of education does not exist in an isolated world of theory conveyed through abstract conference sessions. Instead, it exists in conversations that begin with a robust learning network that is ever-expanding and just-in-time. Learning 2.0 is not the beginning of this conversation, rather it is a stopping point; a time to talk about the visible difference that we all seek. We read. We reflect. We write. We share. We learn. Come join us for a day of conversation about learning and technology.”

Learning 2.0 A Colorado Conversation is “ a conference/unconference/meetup for teachers, administrators, students, school board members, parents, community, and anyone else who is interested in education. There is NO COST for attendees to join the conversation.” Participants can attend in person or virtually. This year Learning 2.0 takes place on Saturday, February 20 at Loveland High School. Learning 2.0 is in it’s third year. I attended for the first time in 2009 and throughly enjoyed the conversation, learning, and collaboration. You can’t beat the price (free) and even luch is included (who says there is no such thing as a free lunch?!). Sessions range from leadership, classroom practice, to professional development. Round Table discussions end the day (I am hosting one of these).

Tips: Be sure to register for the event here and add your name to the attendee list here. I look forward to the conversation and hope you will join us (in person or virtually).

Are you joining the conversation?