Category: Teacher Resources

Educational Videos

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on Educational Videos4225 views

 

What it is:   Educational videos can be expensive, out of date, or hard to find.  Happily there are a few sites working to make it easier to access educational videos for free.  PBS has always been known for their great educational material.  They have hosted videos on their site for some time but they were not located in one place where they could be easily sorted through.  Now PBS has PBS video, all the great PBS material in one easy-to-search place.  You can browse these videos by program, topic, or keyword search.  All videos are on demand, I have been impressed with the quality!  Another great website for on demand free videos is American History in Video by History Education.  American History in Video has more than 5,000 titles in its collection!  The videos allow students to analyze historical events, and look at the events over time through commercial and governmental newsreels, archival footage, public affairs footage, and important documentaries.  Students and teachers can search videos by year, historical event, people, places, subjects, and by keyword.  This is an outstanding collection of free on demand history video!

How to integrate Educational Videos into the classroom:   Video is an amazing medium for teaching.  It brings textbooks to life and helps students to relate to history and science in new ways.  Kids often find history boring and I believe one of the reasons is that they haven’t had enough life experiences to relate what they are learning to prior knowledge.  Video helps them make connections that reading a textbook can’t do.  Use these videos as an introduction to learning, as a reinforcement during learning, or embedded in lessons. 

 

Tips: Always make sure you watch a video in its entirety before showing it to a class.  Sometimes content may not be age appropriate or as on topic as you would have guessed.

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Educational Videos  in your classroom.

APTE Curious Minds Click

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on APTE Curious Minds Click2520 views

 

What it is:  The APTE Curious Minds Click website lets students and teachers create e-puzzles that can be sent and played online.  You can create your own online Crosswords, Word Scrambles, Anagrams, and Secret Codes.  These puzzles can then be played online and sent as an email.

How to integrate APTE Curious Minds Click into the classroom:   Create your own online puzzles for students to play based on any curriculum or subject you are studying.  Puzzles are a fun way for students to practice new vocabulary, spelling words, and new content.  Students can create their own puzzles based on curriculum for classmates to solve.  Students will love creating puzzles for their classmates and solving puzzles that have been created for them.  

 

Tips: In addition to creating your own puzzles, you can solve puzzles that others have created.

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using APTE Curious Minds Click  in your classroom.

The Greens

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on The Greens9658 views

 

What it is:  Earth Day is tomorrow!  The Greens is a great site to get your students thinking about the earth and going green.  The Greens is a collection of 10 short flash movies that teach students important concepts for taking care of our planet.  Episodes touch on topics such as: paper use, recycling, composting, conservation, consumption, pollution, and energy.  The goal of The Greens is to instill environmental ethic in students.  Teachers can download a Greens activity guide (pdf form).  Students can use the carbon calculator to calculate their carbon footprint.

How to integrate The Greens into the classroom:   This is an awesome site to generate conversation on Earth Day (or any day!).  The Greens episodes are short enough to use several in class and can be used as discussion and idea starters for students.  Watch the videos in class and discuss ways that students can be greener at school and home.  Download the activity guide for some great extension activities.  Set up a “green” center in your classroom where students can watch an episode and write down ideas of implementation in their own lives.  Share these ideas at the end of the day.

 

Tips: The video episodes require a Flash Player (this is a free download if you don’t already have one). 

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using The Greens  in your classroom.

Simple Science

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Simple Science11609 views

What it is:  Simple Science is a collection of informative science music videos for use in the elementary classroom.  The videos can be used to reinforce science learning objective and science concepts.  The videos can be watched from the website for free or purchased on DVD.  Simple Science video topics include: adapting, micro organisms, forces, changes, dissolving, how we see, changing circuits, keeping healthy, life cycles (flowers), gasses, water cycle, sun, earth, moon, changing sounds, moving and growing, habitats, keeping warm, solids vs. liquids, plants, friction, teeth, circuits and conductors, materials, rocks and soil, magnets and springs, light and shadows, air, atoms, DNA, Earth, electricity, insects, and magnetism.  The format reminds me of School House Rock.  Lyrics for all songs can be downloaded for students to follow along.

How to integrate Simple Science into the classroom:   Simple Science videos are perfect for introducing or reinforcing science concepts.  The songs and videos break down science concepts so they are easy to understand.  Use Simple Science with a projector for whole class instruction or set up a science center on classroom computers where students can stop by and watch the videos.

 

Tips: The Simple Science website did not work for me using the Opera browser. I was successful with the links using Firefox.

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Simple Science  in your classroom.

Tar Heel Reader

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Tar Heel Reader4268 views

What it is: Tar Heel Reader is an excellent website that is “a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces (i.e. switches, alternative keyboards, touch screens, and dedicated AAC devices). The books may be downloaded as slide shows in PowerPoint, Impress, or Flash format.”  There are hundreds of books on a variety of topics.  In addition to the ready-made books, you and your students can create your own Tar Heel Readers.  Students can add pictures to their readers from Flickr or by uploading their own images.  Each of the stories can be read silently, or read to students with a child, male, or female voice (computer).

How to integrate Tar Heel Reader into the classroom:  Tar Heel Reader is a great place for beginning or struggling readers and English language learners.  Each of the stories has the option to be read silently or read aloud.  Use Tar Heel Reader to create custom stories to motivate your struggling readers.  You can include pictures of people they know, subjects they love, and make them a character in the story.  The stories can be read online or downloaded in multiple formats.  Because the stories can be downloaded as PowerPoint presentations, they can be opened in Apple’s Keynote and put on an iPod (Nano, Classic, or Touch) for mobile reading.  Students will love searching the Flickr collection and creating their own stories on Tar Heel Reader.  Older students can create books for younger grades describing science concepts (think weather, food chain, plant cycle, etc.).  This is also a great site for students to use during National Poetry month (April) to create poetry.  Use Tar Heel Readers as a ‘big book’ that your class can read together using an interactive whiteboard or a projector.  Set up a reading listening center during silent reading time with Tar Heel Reader on your classroom computers.  

 

Tips: Create a favorites page for your students.  Although the site has been created for beginning readers, some books may be inappropriate for your students.  There is a section of books for teens that are beginning readers.  Note: to create a book of your own you will need to register for free.  You will need an invitation code.  I requested a code in the comment section and got a response within 10 minutes of my comment.  You can send me a request Tweet http://twitter.com/ktenkely and I will send you an invitation code.

 

I learned about this site from Larry Ferazzlo’s excellent blog.  Thanks for highlighting this great site Larry!

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Tar Heel Reader in your classroom.

Teacher Led Interactive Whiteboard

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Teacher Led Interactive Whiteboard3507 views

What it is: Teacher Led IWB is a collection of resources for use with an interactive whiteboard.  This is an outstanding collection of 46 math tools and games, 3 geography maps and map makers, 6 English tools and games, and two multipurpose games.  The collection is visually appealing and helps teach key concepts visually in each content area.  There are too many great resources to go in depth here, I recommend heading over to Teacher Led IWB and taking a look right now!

How to integrate Teacher Led IWB into the classroom:  This collection is VERY impressive.  The tools and games are perfect for whole class instruction and practice in math, geography, language arts, and creating custom activities for other subjects.  Most of the tools are designed for the elementary classroom but there are some that can be used in middle school as well.  

 

Tips: If you have an interactive whiteboard, go to Teacher Led now and check out these awesome resources!  

 

 

Leave a comment and tell us which of the Teacher Led resources you have used in your classroom.

Selenia Science Comics

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Selenia Science Comics4083 views

 

What it is:  Selenia Science Comics is a fun way for students to learn about science concepts through investigations linked to comics.  The comics and investigations focus on science inquiry and materials and their properties.  Downloadable resources are provided with information on learning outcomes, background to support scientific inquiry, scientific principles behind the experiments, guidance on the investigation, and an equipment list.  Each of the investigations is linked to a online comic that poses a problem which the student is invited to solve.  There are six  comics with investigations including investigating dissolving, cooling, glue, leaks, air resistance, and hardness.  The site also features online games for students to play including wordsearches, quizzes, picture Sudoku, and spot the difference (like hidden pictures).  

How to integrate Selenia Science Comics into the classroom:  These Science Comics are an excellent way to get your students interested in science and thinking like a scientist.  Through fun comics, investigations, and experiments students learn about key science concepts in a way that will grab their attention and make science exciting.  Students can read the comics individually, in groups, or as a whole class with a projector or an interacitve whiteboard.  Following the comics, discuss what the problem to be solved is, gather ideas for solving, and perform an investigation as a whole class or in groups to solve the problems.  This solve the mystery approach to science is perfect for students inquisitive minds!  Wordsearches and Quizzes on the Science Comics site are fun for students to complete in a computer lab setting or as a center on classroom computers.  Students can play the picture Sudoku or Spot the Difference individually or broken into teams as a class with an interactive whiteboard.  After students have seen the Selenia Science Comics and performed a few investigations, they can visit a site like Kerpoof or Animoto and create their own science comics about other concepts they are learning.  

 

Tips: Be sure to visit the teacher page for great ideas and downloads of Investigations.

 

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Selenia Science Concepts in your classroom.

RCampus

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on RCampus3683 views

 

What it is:  RCampus is a collaborative environment that is a one-stop shop for everything school related.  RCampus utilizes Open Education Management system that makes it easy to build personal and group websites, manage courses, eportfolios, academic communities, build rubrics, connect students with tutors, and a book exchange.  All of these tools are FREE for students and faculty.  This would be a great place to organize your classroom life and keep your students organized.  Everything is integrated making management very simple.  Students stay well informed and communication opportunities grow with RCampus.

How to integrate RCampus into the classroom:  This is an outstanding place to keep your classroom organized and easily managed.  Eportfolios are a great way for students to showcase learning, RCampus makes it easy to communicate, assess, and assist througout the year as students build their portfolios.  Set up courses where you can manage everything from one central location.  Grade, communicate, and keep yourself organized with the RCampus integrated learning and course management.  Rubrics are fast and easy to create and can be printed out or used with the RCampus click to grade system that lets you grade students from the gradebook with just a few clicks.  Students  can use RCampus to find an online tutor and teachers can sign up to be tutors on RCampus.  Trade books with no fees using the RCampus book exchange.  This is a great place to swap books with other teachers and students.  RCampus has excellent tools for communicating with parents, students, grading, and organizing your classroom, check it out!

 

Tips: RCampus is free and open access, easy and quick, highly secure, collaborative, life long, cross campus, comprehensive, and user centric.  It is the total package for classrooms and schools!

 

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using RCampus in your classroom.

Scholastic Story Starters

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Scholastic Story Starters4493 views

 

What it is:  Story Starters is a fun site for students in kindergarten through sixth grade to use each day as a quick writing activity.  Students type in their name and select a grade to begin.  Students are taken to a special Story Starter machine that generates writing ideas for newspaper articles, letters, notebooks, or postcards.  They can get a new idea by keeping some elements of the idea and spinning again to change elements.   The site also features Scholastic’s Word Wizard which always floats on the webpage.  Students can type in a word or double click any word on the webpage and get a definition of the word.

How to integrate Scholastic Story Starters into the classroom:  Scholastic Story Starters is a fun website to use with the whole class or as a writing learning center.  This is a great site to use with an interactive whiteboard or projector to generate ideas for free creative writing time.  Let students take turns being the ‘spinner’ that generates writing ideas.  Encourage students to share their writing, it is neat to hear all the different ideas that kids come up with from the same story starter.  This would be a great website to bookmark on classroom computers for students to visit as a writing center that they can visit when they are stumped for writing ideas.

 

Tips:  You may have to spin a category a few times to get a story starter that makes sense.  This is very quick and easy!

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Scholastic Story Starters in your classroom.

Learning Clip

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Learning Clip3349 views

 

What it is:  Learning Clip is a site that I reviewed in Nov. 2008 that I took another look at today and was even MORE impressed than I remembered being the first time I saw it.  Learning Clip is a collection of interactive whiteboard resources for primary math.  Resources and activities include topics such as: using and applying math, understanding numbers, number facts, calculating, understanding shape, measuring, and handling data.  Each activity is interactive and encourages students involvement and discovery in math.  Each activity comes with a brief description of the activity, a pdf of notes that accompany the activity, the age appropriateness, and a corresponding worksheet that can be printed out.  Each topic has several sub-topics and each sub-topic has several interactive activities.  When an activity is loaded, a video clip explaining the math concept will play.  Each activity includes a game or interactive activity space for students to practice what they are learning.

How to integrate Learning Clip into the classroom:  Learning Clip is an outstanding resource for interactive math activities!  The video clips help students understand the math concept that can be practiced in an interactive environment.  This site is perfect for use with an interactive whiteboard and whole class or small group instruction.  Students can take turns interacting with the content to strengthen understanding of math concepts.  Learning clip could also be successfully used in a computer lab or on classroom computers for individual student learning and practice.  One thing that Learning Clip has added since I visited last is the ability to choose what currency you would like students to practice with in the Money activities.  This site was created in the UK so this feature makes it very user friendly for us Yanks. 🙂    The activities are all wonderful!

 

Tips:  Registration is required but it is free.  If you create a username and password, consider creating one that is class friendly.  This way if you do decide to use the activities in the lab setting, students will be able to logon and access activities easily.

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Learning Clip in your classroom.