Integrating technology in the classroom
Hi all! Today I was at the TIE Conference in beautiful Copper Mountain, Colorado…a seriously perfect day 🙂 Great Keynote, and learned about Digital Storytelling and learned Flash for the first time, very exciting! I’ve been going since early this morning so I will have to postpone a post with substance for later when I can form coherent thoughts. TTFN
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What it is: Only 2 Clicks is a bookmarking website that lets you store and categorize websites so that you can get back to websites in only 2 clicks. What is great about this bookmarking site is the picture preview of the page. I don’t know about you but I collect so many great sites that even my clever little descriptions don’t always jog the old memory. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words and generally I remember the site as soon as I see it. With Only 2 Clicks you can access your bookmarks anywhere anytime…even from your iPhone woo hoo! If you set Only 2 Clicks as your browser homepage, you always have your frequently visited sites in one simple place. Only 2 Clicks is very user friendly, rearrange your sites by dragging and dropping (how very Apple of you!) If you add search engines to Only 2 Clicks you can search directly from that page! You can also add a handy dandy bookmarklet to your browser so that when you find that great new reading site, you don’t have to leave it to add it to Only 2 Clicks. Equally awesome is the little tool that lets you import bookmark collections that are currently stored in your browser…so handy and making life easier. And, the cherry on the top? You can customize the look of Only 2 Clicks to match any great new pair of shoes you happen to be wearing! You have to love that!
How to integrate Only 2 Clicks into the classroom: Only 2 Clicks is the perfect solution for keeping yourself organized. You find a lot of great educational (and other sites) all the time. Why not keep them all organized in an easy to use place so that you can get back to that stellar math website you found last summer when you start your money unit? Not only is Only 2 Clicks the perfect place to keep yourself organized, you can make Only 2 Clicks the homepage for your classroom computers. Store all of the links of games and learning sites that your students use throughout the school year. Students won’t have to remember hundreds of web addresses or try to remember the name of their favorite reading website…they will know it when they see it. Students can use Only 2 Clicks as a place to collect research for projects they complete throughout the school year. Does it get any better than this? Did I mention that it has an iPhone (and iPod touch) interface?!
Tips: Only 2 Clicks also offers the ability to share your links with students or colleagues without logging in. Just choose a public web address and start sharing your categories. Is this cool or what?
Leave a comment and share how you are getting organized with Only 2 Clicks in your classroom.
What it is: Word World is an awesome site for kindergarten-first grade and especially for students who struggle with reading and letter recognition. Every time I visit the PBS kids site I find a new fun game or activity for kids. Word World is a world of fun characters that are made up of the letters that spell their name. As I said, this would be an excellent site to visit for struggling literacy students. The Word World is very kid friendly and interactive. Students will enjoy spending time on this site!
How to integrate Word World into the classroom: This is a great site to used with kindergarten and first grade students at the beginning of the school year. Word World would be a fun one to use as a whole class on a projector or interactive whiteboard. It is also simple enough for students to play individually as a center or in a computer lab setting. For struggling readers, this is a really wonderful place for some one on one therapy. Encourage struggling readers to point out the letters they see making up the characters in Word World as they are interacting and playing games on the site.
Tips: As an extension activity, have students draw their own characters using the letters that spell their name. Or, take a word field trip around school and find items that are shaped like letters. Take digital photos of the letters found in the environment and create a digital storybook in a slideshow program.
Leave a comment and share how you are using Word World in your classroom.
What it is: Buzz Lightyear in Orbit is part of NASA’s website for kids. The site uses the popular Toy Story character, Buzz Lightyear, to teach kids about the next space mission with Atlantis. It also introduces kids to the Discovery team and the mission that has just been completed. Kids can go on 5 space “missions” of their own by playing some fun educational games on the site. Games are math and science based and separated into grade level. Grades k-2 can play games appropriate for that age group and grades 3-5 can play at a more difficult level.
How to integrate Buzz Lightyear in Orbit into the classroom:
Use Buzz Lightyear in Orbit as part of your space unit or even as a current events topic. Students can read and learn about the current space missions on the Buzz Lightyear home page. The games are great for reinforcing math and science skills that you are teaching in conjunction with or even separate from the space unit. Your students will love the fun look and feel of this site and especially the familiar Buzz Lightyear character.
Tips: At the bottom of the game screen, you can download worksheets that correspond perfectly with the games and information on the site!
Leave a comment and share how you are using Buzz Lightyear in Orbit in your classroom!
What it is: Remember the See N’ Say of your childhood? Spin and Spell is reminiscent of the See N’ Say game. This site is great for kindergarten through beginning second grade students. Students click on the picture that they want to spell and spin the wheel to spell the words. There are five categories of words that students can choose including what we eat, what we wear, in and around the home, how we get there, and the animal kingdom. This is a great site to encourage spelling and for spelling practice.
How to integrate Spin and Spell into the classroom: Spin and Spell makes a great spelling center in your classroom. Students can visit the center individually or play a game in pairs. If students choose to play in pairs, one student selects the word for the other player to spell. If the word is spelled correctly, that player gets one point. The five categories of words fit well into most kindergarten through second grade curriculum making Spin and Spell a great way to practice vocabulary and spelling during matching units. Spin and Spell is also a valuable site to send home with parents who are looking for ways to help their child with spelling at home.
Tips: Set Spin and Spell up as a bookmark on your classroom computer for easy access. When students are looking for something to do when they have finished work early, they can easily navigate to spelling practice.
Leave a comment and share how you are using Spin and Spell in your classroom.
What it is: Lookybook is amazing me today. This site, still in Beta version, is a place where kids can go to read and view picture book in their entirety. These are quality picture books such as “Alphabeasts” by Wallace Edwards and Franklin books by Paulette Bougeois. After a book has been read, it can be reviewed, rated, shared and put on a virtual bookshelf (Shelfari style), you can also purchase the book directly from this site. The site is simple to use and navigate and registration is completely free. I am so impressed, before I could write this post I spammed all of my teacher friends with this website! 🙂 Seriously, you should go take a look right now and then come back and finish reading my post..it’s okay, I won’t hold it against you!
How to integrate Lookybook into the classroom: I can think of about a million applications of a site like Lookybook in the classroom. It is truly like having a virtual library of picture books right in your classroom, but best of all, your students have the same library when they go home!! Lookybook can become part of your classroom library of books, books can be read by the whole class using a projector (no more “I can’t see the pictures!”). The ability to review and rate the book right within Lookybook is wonderful because students learn to share their reactions to a book and discuss with others. Invite students to create their own virtual bookshelves where they can share their very favorite picture books. This is a great site for struggling readers to visit at home with a parent. The possibilities of this site are exciting and I can’t wait to see how the kids end up using it! An added bonus? You bet! Lookybook allows you to embed picture books right into your own blog or webpage. You read right, you can add full versions of the picture books right to your class webpage! I ask you, does it get any better than this?!
Tips: This would be a great site to use with Book Adventure, all of the books I have searched have had quizzes on the reading motivation website.
Leave a comment and share how you are being amazed by and using Lookybook.
So after a few hours at the Genius Bar it was confirmed that my machine really was dead (at least for the time being). Apparently my hard drive failed and it caused the computer to be in a constant state of restarts without ever actually starting. Thank goodness for Apple Care and the good people at Apple and 2.5 hours later my computer is as good as new with a brand spankin’ new hard drive and a receipt that says my total is $0. I ask you, if you have to have a bum computer is there anything better than having an Apple?! I think not! So happily I am back and ready to share some great ideas for you to store up for the next school year 🙂
As a side note, I love that the Apple store had internet so that I could write a short post yesterday while I was waiting for my Genius in shining armor Matt.
So I have been missing in action for a few days. The last day of school was last Friday which means of course that the after school clean-up starts. That coupled with a dead computer has put me out of commission for a few days. I am now at the Apple store to type this up while a Genius works on my Mac…hope he can bring it back to life!!!
What it is: CreativeTechs Tips did a post yesterday about some free pinhole camera templates. Corbis is offering free PDF templates for real working 35mm pinhole cameras. These cameras are perfect for the sunny days ahead! There are six great artistic templates to choose from for an almost one of a kind camera.
How to integrate Free Pinhole Camera into the classroom: Teach your students about science, photography, and art in one shot by having them print out and create their own pinhole camera. Pinhole cameras work wonderfully on a bright sunny day…perfect as you head into summer. This is a great science project that your students will love…how many kids can say that they made their own camera?!
Tips: After the students have created their camera use them to teach the basics of photography and hold a mini photo contest in your classroom.
Leave a comment and share how your Free Pinhole Camera worked out!
