Search Results for: Interactive Whiteboard

Kindle Lab

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Kindle Lab2680 views

What it is: Carrying on with the interactive whiteboard awesomeness, here is free interactive whiteboard software for your Wiimote Whiteboard. If you have a Mimio, e-beam, Smartboard, Active Board, or Promethean, this software will also work with them! Kindle Lab will run on both PC and Mac. Now, I could give you a long explanation of everything that Kindle Lab can do but I am of the mindset that a picture (or in this case video) is worth a thousand words and can do a much better job of it than I can….

 

 

How to integrate Kindle Lab into your curriculum: Kindle Lab is meant to be used to enhance all of your existing curriculum. No matter what subject you are teaching Kindle Lab, along with your Interactive Whiteboard, can bring the lesson to life for your students. The range and scope of what Kindle Lab can do for your classroom is so broad and all encompassing that for me to give you some ideas here would really be silly. Download Kindle Lab, the PDF of the Kindle Lab tools and start exploring. I promise it will be pretty apparent to you how seamlessly this could be used for any subject at any level. So cool!

Tips: At the end of the video clip above, you may have noticed another tool which is called Eduism. This is a 3-D interactive environment that was created for the classroom. It is also a free to use open source project that is meant to be used with the Interactive Whiteboards. Be sure to check it out!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Kindle Lab in your classroom.

Starship Math

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Starship Math2093 views

What it is: Starship Math is a BBC school site with fun math practice and games that teach skills such as basic geometry (3-d shape recognition), addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, weight measurement, measurement, and understanding of numbersquares.

How to integrate Starship Math into the classroom: Starship Math is a great site for reinforcing math concepts in a fun, interactive environment. The games and activities can be used on an interactive whiteboard or individually on computers. Starship Math could be used for practice of a concept or as an introduction to a new math concept. Your students will enjoy playing and learning on this site!

Tips: Check out the Teacher page for lesson plans, print outs, and suggestions for using each game on an interactive whiteboard or for individual computers.

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


PowToon: AMAZING free animation tool

Kelly Tenkely3 Comments on PowToon: AMAZING free animation tool4157 views

What it is:  I have discovered my new favorite creation site.  Holy wow this is a cool tool.  Basically, it makes you (and your students) look like rockstars when they present.  You know all of those super cool animated videos that tell a story through drawings on a whiteboard?  Now you can make those all on your own with a super simple drag-drop tool.  Meet PowToon.  It is awesome.  I’m a little addicted to playing with video creation…no joke.

PowToon has a great mission: “to address all the frustrations that people have with power point and keynote and add animation and killer design.”  You don’t have to be super tech savvy or design skills to create spectacular animated presentations.   The goal here is to help people communicate in a way that conveys ideas.  Best of all…it is FREE!  Woot!  Also, PowToon loves education, they want to help teachers and students create great content that is visually engaging, captivating and fun to make.

Right now PowToon has 5 design styles (with more coming).  Added with your student’s creativity, these animations are going to be fabulous.  Finished videos can be shared all over: YouTube, Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest, Twitter, exported or embedded.

PowToon is currently in Beta version. Sign up for an early look at this super cool creation tool.  I got my invitation within a few hours.  #bam

How to integrate PowToon into your curriculum: PowToon is a fantastic way to share ideas and story.  Communication is a vital skill.  The ability to express ideas and story in a succinct, clear manner is crucial.  Today, students have another facet of communication to learn…visual communication.

PowToon would be a great addition to the design thinking routine.  Students can use PowToon to share their ideas or to “prototype” an idea.  Students can create videos to show math processes, explanations of complex concepts, review new learning, teach others, explain processes, tell stories, or present research.  The possibilities are really endless and students will come up with hundreds of other creative uses.

Teachers can use PowToon to create animations for students.  This is a great way to present new information or ideas for discussion.

Tips: The PowToon Interactive Tour and How to Create series are very helpful to watch prior to creating your first animations.

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

Moon Zoo: Contributing to science with lunar mapping

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Moon Zoo: Contributing to science with lunar mapping2122 views

What it is: The Endeavour Shuttle launch has been delayed but don’t let that keep your students from exploring space, there are some incredible interactive sites that will make your students feel like they get to suit up as astronauts.  Moon Zoo gives students the chance to study the lunar surface while contributing to real science.  Students can get an up close and personal view of the moon viewing images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.  Moon Zoo’s mission is to provide detailed crater counts for as much of the moon’s surface as possible.  Your students can take part in actually helping to count and map out craters and features of the lunar surface.  Students can identify craters with boulders around the rim to help map the regolith across the surface of the moon.  To take part in Moon Zoo, students are shown an image of the lunar surface, the first task is identifying craters in the surface.  Students can click on the “Crater” button and click the center of each crater they see.  Next, students adjust the ellipse to stretch and move their marks so that they are the same size as the crater.  Students search for boulders around the craters, if there are any boulders students can note that by selecting “blocky crater” and marking the most appropriate description.  When finished, students can submit their work to the Moon Zoo database.

How to integrate Moon Zoo into the classroom: I love that Moon Zoo actually lets your students take part in science.  They are contributing to actual lunar research in real and meaningful ways while learning about the moon.  Moon Zoo would be a great activity to complete as a whole class in the elementary classroom.  Tell your students that they are going to be astronauts and complete a “launch” to the moon.  If you have time, students can create official astronaut badges to wear for the big launch.  Using a projector-connected computer or an interactive whiteboard, launch one of the shuttles here.  When you “land” on the moon, let students explore the surface together by hunting for craters in Moon Zoo.  Help students mark craters, look for boulders and map the lunar surface.  Each student should have a chance to make a discovery.  While students wait for their turn, they can track the crater/boulder count on a table to create a graph.  Categories can be small, medium, and large craters found and number of boulders.

Older students can sign up for their own Moon Zoo account, each studying and identifying craters on their own images.  Older students can dig into the science behind mapping craters and learn about how craters can be used to date the moon.

Want to involve your students in more contributing science?  Check out Galaxy Zoo (the hunt for supernovas), Galaxy Zoo Hubble, Planet Hunters, or the Milky Way Project.  This is such a neat way for students to contribute to the scientific community while learning more about space and the universe.

Tips: Registration for Moon Zoo does require an email address.  If your students don’t have an email address of their own, they can use a mailinator or tempinbox address.

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

iLearn Technology eStore

Kelly Tenkely10 Comments on iLearn Technology eStore1124 views

Over the years, I have had numerous requests to sell my lesson plans, flipcharts, etc.  Today I am excited to announce the grand opening of the iLearn Technology eStore.  In the store you will find technology infused lesson plans complete with resources and templates, ebooks, Promethean flipcharts, and even great freebies!  I will be adding to the store regularly so check back often.

To kick things off you will find the following in the iLearn Technology eStore:

  • A beginning of the year lesson to teach students about the rules and policies for using school technology and a Responsible Use Policy.  Make learning the rules of the classroom fun by using interactive jigsaw puzzles.  In this lesson package you will find: lesson plan, step-by-step jigsaw puzzle guide, Keynote and PowerPoint templates, and a sample Responsible Use Policy.  [wp_eStore_buy_now_fancy id=2]
  • Free and premium flipcharts including an Expectations for the Computer Lab flipchart, el/le ending sounds flipchart, and beginning/ending sounds flipchart.
  • Free eBooks and guides including: Build a Wiimote Whiteboard in 3 easy steps, Pages ’09 Toolbox, iLearn ezine, iLearn vol 2. ezine, Contractions card game, and a Winter Olympics lesson plan.
[wp_eStore_fancy1 id=10]