Category: Primary Elementary

Speakaboos

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Speakaboos5495 views

 

What it is:  Some websites are so impressive that I immediately spam all teachers in my address book with them.  Speakaboos is one of these sites for me.  I learned about the site from the Free Technology for Teachers blog (I highly recommend it for middle and high school teachers).  Speakaboos is a collection of online children stories read by celebrities (although this is not what impresses me).  Each story is read aloud with flash illustrations and the words on each page for read-along.  The stories are captivating and include popular titles like Arthur and Curious George.  This highly engaging website has some other features that make this one of my favorite website finds of the year.  When you sign up for a free membership, Speakaboos offers a free story download.  The download is a swf (flash) file but can be converted with a site like Zamzar to make it iPod ready (aka mobile learning!).  They plan to add more free downloads throughout the year.  Parents can also purchase individual stories iTunes style for $0.99.  Speakaboos  has a feature coming for parents, students, grandparents, teachers, etc. to record their own stories!  Speakaboos offers several activities for students including a diary to write in, a place to create their own story, games, ecards, and printable coloring pages from their favorite stories.  Speakaboos is in beta version right now so some of the above features are not yet  active.  

 

How to integrate Speakaboos into the classroom:   Speakaboos stories and activities are a fun and engaging way to develop students reading, writing, and speaking abilities while learning basic computer skills.  The Record your own Story feature is a wonderful way for students to practice fluency, it is also a great feature for struggling readers who can listen for mistakes that they make during reading.  Older students could make recordings for their younger reading buddies to enjoy.  The ability to download select stories for free is amazing for an iPod reading lab.  Speakaboos is a great reading or writing center for students to visit in the one or two computer classroom.  It would also make a nice whole class read along using a projector.  Speakaboos offers free story guides for teachers to help lead discussions on each story.  The guides come complete with themes to help reinforce the story message and offer questions to check general comprehension, discussion, and personal extension.  There are also printables that you can use with your class in conjunction with the Speakaboos site.

 

Tips:   Membership on Speakaboos is free and provides access to the free downloads.

 

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

Wikipedia School

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Wikipedia School13944 views

 

What it is:  Wikipedia is often the first place students head when faced with a research project.  While Wikipedia can be an excellent resource, content can be vandalized and is not always student appropriate.  Wikipedia School is a free, hand checked, non-commercial selection from Wikipedia.  It has about 5500 articles and is the volume of a twenty volume encyclopedia.  It will fit on a DVD and can be downloaded for free thanks to the SOS Children’s Villages website.  Topics were chosen that would be of interest to students and in accordance with the UK National Curriculum (but are appropriate for any English speaking country).  

 

How to integrate Wikipedia School into the classroom:  Wikipedia School is a nice alternative to using the Wikipedia website in a school environment.  The ability to download Wikipedia School to DVD means that it can be used on computers that don’t have Internet access.  Students can search freely and you will have the peace of mind knowing that with Wikipedia School, students won’t stumble on inappropriate content.  Subjects for search include: art, business studies, citizenship, countries, design and technology, every day life, geography, history, information technology, language and literature, mathematics, music, people, portals, religion, and science.  There is an outstanding selection of articles and pictures for each subject!

 

Tips:  Wikipedia School can be accessed online or offline when downloaded.

 

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

NORAD Tracks Santa

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on NORAD Tracks Santa2785 views

 

What it is:   Who knew that NORAD Tracks Santa?  They do!  In partnership with Google Earth, now your students can track Santa live starting December 24th.  In the mean time, students can enjoy other fun holiday activities on the NORAD Tracks Santa site.  There is a count down to Christmas clock, Santa videos, information about Santa (including some history of the original St. Nick), Santa FAQ’s, Santa snack ideas, and Santa’s village where students will find fun Christmas themed games like light the Christmas tree (a logic puzzle), and Christmas memory.  Students can also learn about why and how NORAD tracks Santa.  This is a fun site for students to explore!

 

How to integrate NORAD Tracks Santa into the classroom:  Because this site uses Google Earth to track Santa, this may be a good time to teach your students how to use Google Earth and some map skills in preparation for tracking Santa.  The information pages about Santa and NORAD are great reading and discussion material for the holiday season.  Set up your classroom computers with Santa’s village countdown and let students take turns completing the light the Christmas tree challenge over the next few weeks.  

 

Tips:  The NORAD Tracks Santa site is available in seven languages!

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using NORAD Tracks Santa in your classroom.

Northpole.com

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Northpole.com3196 views

What it is:  Northpole.com is a fun Christmas themed website for kids pre-k through 3rd grade.  Students can work on fine motor skills with activities like connect the dots, connect the dashes, and mazes.  You will also find great Christmas time activities to help build letter recognition, sound recognition, vocabulary, numbers, ordinal numbers, right and left, and size.  Students can practice writing skills with a letter to Santa or a holiday postcard.  Northpole.com has printable awards and diplomas for students who complete the activities.  Northpole.com also has a number of online Christmas stories that students can read on their own or have read to them.  My favorite feature are the personalized stories.  Students fill in their name and some other information and Northpole.com creates a story with the student as the main character that they can immediately read online!  

 

How to integrate Northpole.com into the classroom:  Use the outstanding activities on Northpole.com during the holiday season to teach and reinforce fine motor skills, alphabet, numbers, reading, and writing.  Set up your classroom computer as a personalized story generator.  Throughout the week, allow students to read a story about themselves during silent reading time.  

 

Tips:  The teacher page at Northpole.com gives a great break down of the site so you can find exactly what you are looking for.

 

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

Kids’ Science Challenge

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Kids’ Science Challenge3492 views

 

What it is:  Kids’ Science Challenge is a nationwide competition for 3rd- 6th graders to submit experiment ideas and problems for real scientists and engineers to solve.  Teachers or after school science programs can enter their classes for this contest that will inspire students to find the fun in science.  The deadline for entry is January 31st, 2009 so get this one in before the holiday break!  The grand prize winner will win a visit with the scientist or engineer to work with them to solve the question or problem proposed, along with possible appearances in Kids’ Science Challenge videos and Pulse of the Planet radio programs.  Other prizes include: a tour of the flavor lab, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream party, science kits, Kids’ Science Encyclopedia and Science books, visit to the SETI institute, telescope, personal planetariums, celestial seeker, a visit to a skateboard engineering workshop, a visit to your school from a pro-skater, a week at camp Woodyard, a skateboard, a physics workshop, a research cruise, kayak, handheld digital microscope, and more!  If that isn’t incentive to give it a try, I don’t know what is!  The first 1000 entrants get a free science activity kit.  The Kids’ Science Challenge website is a great place to explore even if you won’t be able to participate in the challenge.  Students are introduced to real scientists through video, can play science games, and find additional activities including downloadable science projects.  

 

How to integrate Kids’ Science Challenge into the classroom:  Invite your students to explore the Kids’ Science Challenge website and then journal some original questions, problems, or experiment ideas that are related to one of the four fields of science including flavor science, water quality, skateboard engineering, and the search for life in outer space.  This is a great opportunity to use technology creatively to present the questions and problems that students have and want solved.  Think blogs, websites, video, or podcast.  

 

Tips:  Be sure to check out the great lesson plans for the k-12 classroom to use for each of the scientific fields explored on this site.  The lesson plans are aligned to National Science Education Standards.

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Kids’ Science Challenge in your classroom.

Tools for Educators

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Tools for Educators3210 views

 

What it is:   Tools for Educators is an awesome site, so awesome that I am surprised I haven’t run across it sooner!  Tools for educators offers templates for teachers to create their own board games, word searches, dice, cross word maker, bingo cards, domino maker, spelling and reading worksheets, handwriting worksheets, certificate maker, vocabulary handouts, listening test worksheets, and word bank worksheet.  All templates are extremely customizable, fast and easy to use.  And did I mention it is all free?!

 

How to integrate Tools for Educators into the classroom:  Tools for Educators is obviously a great site to use to customize worksheets, games, etc. based on your classroom curriculum.  Even though the site is geared toward educator use, I have had students use it last week to create their own custom board games, dice, and dominoes.  The students loved creating games, rules, and question cards for their games (they made these with a Pages template I created).  We have a parent day where families can come and play the games the students have created.  So much fun!  Definitely check out this site, I know you will be inspired to create something wonderful!

 

Tips:   There are a lot of Google ads along the right side of the screen.  When using with students, use the opportunity to teach them about web advertisements.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Tools for Educators in your classroom.

Voice Thread Update

Kelly Tenkely3 Comments on Voice Thread Update5324 views

 

What it is:   Voice Thread is an amazing site that just keeps getting better!  Voice Thread is the site that makes outstanding web 2.0 slide shows interactive and collaborative.  You can read my original posts about Voice Thread here.  Voice Thread came out with an outstanding new update yesterday, the ability to take your Voice Thread’s with you via an iPod!!!  Whenever you export a Voice Thread, you now have the option to download a full sized, high resolution movie version or one that has been formatted to go directly onto you iPod, or iPhone- how sweet is that?!  Additional new features include the ability to clone your Voice Thread so that you can have a backup copy or a copy of the same Thread to use with different audiences.  Voice Thread now supports Microsoft Office 2007 formats when uploading into your Voice Threads with Microsoft Photo Story 3 video supporting coming.  

 

How to integrate the Voice Thread Updates into the classroom:  So, why am I so excited about the new Voice Thread features?  The ability to save a Voice Thread onto an iPod or iPhone opens up a whole new realm of possibilities in the classroom.  Now you can create learning activities with Voice Thread that are portable for your students.  You can extend your students learning day with a Voice Thread based on your curriculum and the students needs using an iPod.  Math explinations,  sight words, phonics, and read alongs can all be created with Voice Thread and uploaded onto the iPod.  Create a reading buddies program with pictures and sound using Voice Thread.  To find out more about the Reading Buddies program click here.

 

Tips:   If you haven’t used Voice Thread in your classroom yet, now is the perfect time to sign up for a free account and start!

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

Jump Start 3-D

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Jump Start 3-D2888 views

 

What it is:   I got the tip off for Jump Start 3-D from a tweet by Kevin Jarrett (@kjarrett) the other night and have been having a great time exploring ever since.  Jump Start is the popular software title that makes educational home and school software for pre-k through 2nd grade.  Jump Start 3-D is a highly interactive virtual world for kids.  Each location within the Jump Start 3-D world offers fun learning adventures focused on math, reading, and critical thinking skills.  Students start out by creating a character avitar that represents them in the virtual world.  Registration is free on Jump Start 3-D for access to the basic world.  Membership for $7.99/ month has the added benefit of new games and activities added monthly, grows with students (as they get better at the games, new more challenging games are added).  I was very impressed with the free version!  

 

How to integrate Jump Start 3-D into the classroom:  Jump Start 3-D is really geared toward home use, however, I think it would make a great center in the one or two computer classroom.  The site is an awesome way to familiarize students with computer skills like mouse manipulation, clicking links, using arrow keys, etc.  As the students are playing in the virtual world they will also be building reading, math, and critical thinking skills…just what they need for a great 21st century literacy base.  

 

Tips:   Even if you don’t have room in your curriculum for the Jump Start 3-D virtual world in your classroom, be sure to let parents know about this fun site.  It is a great alternative to other video games that students may be playing at home because of all the learning skills packed in.  This site is highly interactive including video clips, highly interactive games, and sounds.  You will need a high speed connection for this site.  Jump Start 3-D does require an Internet plugin called Utility Web Player.dmg.  The install is very simple and fast directly from the Jump Start website.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Jump Start 3-D in your classroom.

Animalia

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Animalia4648 views

 

What it is: The Animalia website is based on the popular book and television series written and illustrated by Graeme Base. The website is just as impressive as the book with amazing illustrations and activities for students.  On the Animalia website, students are introduced to the characters of Animalia, the goal of the Animalia site, Animalia news, and games and activities.  The Animalia site brings students on a wonderful adventure where their goal is to collect all of the “core spores” to restore the Core of Animalia.  Students collect the core spores by going on several adventures where they will play learning games, discover, and follow directions.  Games and activities include logic puzzles, memory skills, code cracking, map reading, and listening skills.  The listening game is called Toucan Talk (which I learned about on Larry Ferrazlo’s blog) and  asks students to listen to a message in the wrong order, and change the order of words or sounds so that the message makes sense.  The site is extremely interactive.  Students will love becoming part of the adventure.

 

How to integrate Animalia into the classroom:   Animalia is like a giant online scavenger hunt where students solve problems to advance in the game.  This site would be a great one to use to teach following written and oral directions, logical thinking, and problem solving skills.  These aren’t skills that we generally focus on in isolation but the Animalia site does a wonderful job of weaving a story around a problem and inviting students along on an adventure to solve the problem.  Because students are problem solving, this would be an excellent site for students to work on collaboratively as a team.  Students can be split into teams to see who can collect all of the “core spores” first through problem solving.  What I love about watching my students interact with each other on this site, is the way that one team would solve a problem and then teach another team how they did it.  Nothing better than kids teaching kids!  For younger students, the game could be completed as a whole class with a projector or interactive whiteboard.  The clues and games will have to be more teacher directed but your students will quickly catch on and be ready to play!

 

Tips:   This site is highly interactive including video clips, highly interactive games, and sounds.  You will need a high speed connection for this site.  Bring on the bandwidth!

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

Webspiration

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on Webspiration3155 views

 

What it is: You have most likely heard about the popular visual thinking software called Inspiration (or Kidspiration).  Webspiration is a new online version of the visual thinking outlining and organizing.  Webspiration has many of the same features as Inspiration but is free to use and allows for collaborative visual thinking.  Webspiration is perfect for planning, organizing research, and completing projects successfully from beginning to end.  Brainstorming and outlining tools help students organize thoughts for papers and research projects.  Collaboration on Webspiration documents is simple and allows for same document contributing, posting, comments, and viewing changes.  Concept maps and diagrams are created easily with Webspiration.  Visual diagrams and graphic organizers, such as those created with Webspiration, help students retain information.  

 

How to integrate Webspiration into the classroom:    Webspiration is a great tool for the classroom.  Teach elementary age students how to visually organize information using concept maps, venn diagrams, and KWL charts.  Basic outlining skills can also be taught in the elementary classroom using Webspiration.  As students get older, Webspiration helps them take control of and organize their own learning.  Teachers can create concept maps and invite students to collaborate and help fill in information.  These online graphic organizers are wonderful for students, they contribute to filling it in and can access it from any Internet connected computer, iPod, or phone to study from later.

 

Tips:   Webspiration is currently in beta, if you notice any glitches or have ideas for additional features let Webspiration know!

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