Everything's in the Name! Learning Chocolate?

Web 2.0 tools have some unusual names and Learning Chocolate is one of those.  The Learning Chocolate website says the site provides a fun way for students to memorize vocabulary in an interesting and efficient way.  They suggest that trying their games students will enjoy learning, like eating chocolate.

The creative name enticed me to check out the site and learn more!  The interactive games are intended for ELL students but provide excellent vocabulary, spelling, memory practice.  Students can review vocabulary with audio and games include matching, fill-in, dictation, and a help button.

The tool provides clear audio support for the vocabulary and offers translation and audio support in English, Spanish, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese.  The audio support is clear and the audio feature is a way to engage students and increase differentiation efforts and it is widely supported that increasing vocabulary supports reading comprehension.

Keeping it Simple

This site has a clear, easy to understand interface. 
There is a registration however, you do not need to register in order to use the site.
There are more than 70 categories of vocabulary words.
Text to speech feature is clear.
The site can be used for speakers and learners of multiple languages.

The power of a well developed vocabulary is connected to academic success.  Learning Chocolate is a tool that can help all students develop their vocabulary skills.  I encourage you to check out the site and comment on this post.

ProProfs Quiz Tool - Free! But, check out the deal of the day!

Welcome to my blog.  If you are interested in a easy to use quiz tool that is free but has an upgraded version, keep reading.  ProProfs is a good choice for quiz creation and I just found an offer on their website that is worth sharing.

ProProfs offers an educational price for the upgraded version of the tool.  The pro cost was $10.00 per month but the site says $2.97 per month until October 8th.  You can read the differences between the free and upgrade.  If I were assessing students regularly, I would definitely spend $2.97/month for this tool. Check out the details for yourself but if you use a free quiz/survey tool, this price drop might make it worth upgrading.

Click here to take my Easy Practice Quiz   This will show you question types and you will get a feel for the tool.  The tracking feature and quiz analytics are features that I have found important. 

Proprofs supports my keeping it simple philosophy.  Give it a look and post your comments.

Certifiates, Certificates, WOW!

If you are looking for an easy to use certificate maker website, this one's for you.  It's certificatestreet.com
This is their education section.  You can check out the other types of available certificates.

Keeping it simple

• There are pages of available certificates but you can type what you are looking for in a search box
• This is what I found for music certificates
• You can vote and rate the certificates and check out your certificate's rating by others.

• When you find a certificate that meets your needs, you can view or download it.
• See the download button on my example.  This will save the certificate to your computer.  Then you can add the appropriate name, date.
• The file is a PDF and the file will remind you that you won't be able to "save" your names.  You will need to print each certificate, if you need multiples.

I appreciate the fact that there is no registration or log-in required but, you can follow certificatestreet by providing an email address.  They also have a blog you can follow.

• Everyone likes to be recognized and this tool makes it easy for you to print great looking certificates.

Hope you find this site useful.  

Teachers - this one's for you!

     

Can't Help But Engage With Ten Frame

Ten Frame from NCTM's Illuminations website is my keeping it simple share for today.  I'm working with teachers at a K-4 school tomorrow and when I clicked on the Illuminations link tonight, I had to share Ten Frame with you.  The Illuminations homepage says this is the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, NCTM's vision for school mathematics.  Their lessons, activities and websites are high quality and worth checking out.

If you can't use this in your classroom, have some fun and solve the math problems with ladybugs, stars, apples or chips.  There are many other interactive learning activities on the Illuminations site.  I'm sure you can find one that meets your needs.  The speech component is great for ELL's and provides good reinforcement.  Ten Frame would work as an individual or group activity on computers or if you have an Interactive White Board.

If you are looking for activities to support your home/school partnership, share Ten Frame and Illuminations with your families.  Happy counting! 

Blogging with Kids

If you are reading my blog, you know a little about blogging.  Blogging with kids is a wonderful way to engage them in the writing process, support Bloom's Taxonomy and model 21st Century learning.  I could go on but I hope you get my drift.

As a teacher, consider commenting on one of my blog posts or another blog you read.  Your comment can be one of support, thanks or a question about the content of the post.  You don't need to share your name and your email address is NOT published.  Blogs can be set up so that the author can approve (or delete) comments.  Many teacher bloggers set up their account with approval of blog comments.

One FREE blog tool that is easy to learn and teach is kidblog.org  It was built for teachers and they really "keep it simple" so it gets my vote.

Here is an article from a veteran teacher who supports blogging with students.  Check it out!

I look forward to your comments and hope kidblog might be a tech tool you use.

FREE Post-It Notes - Online

 Are you a post-it user?  Do your students like using post-its in your class?
 
I found an easy tool that allows you to create a post it note and save it to your computer.  I inserted it to this post as an image.
Post-It Note Generator does not require a registration or email.  Students could easily use it.

Keeping it Simple

There are 5 easy steps for creating your post-it.  Lots of fonts to check out.  The default font is handprint.   You can also adjust your words up/down & left/right, if you choose.
Note - Step 5 is a bit misleading.  You can save your note by clicking it, right-click, save as, re-name and save to the location of your choice.

Have fun with this tool.  Try creating a post it for your class homework and display it for students.  Or, try listing student names for groups using .  It's fun to see your name on a post it note!

Interactive Lessons from BBC

Teachers can get frustrated when web2.0 tools don't work, shut down, etc. BBC is a site that I have found to be very stable and the games are high quality and engaging. Interactive activities are beneficial on many levels and this is an example of a grammar challenge on the BBC website. BBC has math and science interactives too.

Keeping it simple.

The site has clear directions and no registration is required. 
The games provide feedback and there is a "help" button that supports independence and self-direction. 

Give it a try!

5 Reasons to Embrace Ed Tech, An Article by K. Walsh

Those of you still asking why can get a clearer understanding of the need to embrace technology, here are 5 reasons for you to consider.  My favorite is #2, "the power to engage." I have found that engaged students are learning and that once students disengage, it is difficult to motivate them to re-engage. 
http://bit.ly/9iMgO3

This article keeps the reasons and rationales simple and Ms. Walsh states that teachers don't need to be experts on every tool and type of technology.  You can also create a PDF of the article if you want to share it with colleagues.  A PDF file takes away the "extra" stuff on a page and helps you keep it simple.

I hope you take a few minutes to engage with this article and see if you are hugging technology, for the sake of your students. 

As always, let me know what you think. 
 

My Favorite Curriculum Integration Video

I like to share this video with teachers when I  hear, "I can't!"  This 4-minute video is worth your time and is heart warming, along with being a great example of what young kids can do with adult support.  I would love to see a video of the same students in 10 years.  I would expect this small project will still be a vivid memory for them and isn't that what we want and need for students to keep them engaged and believing in their power to learn and grow. 

I congratulate the folks who assisted this group of Washington, DC elementary students in adding to the body of information on Wikipedia.  It's not about the technology, it's sound pedagogy.

Enjoy!

Building Legacy with Wikipedia from Brian Mull on Vimeo.

Follow-Up to Tagxedo Post on 9/14

Last week, I shared a word cloud site, Tagxedo.  Although I am not a fan of 100+ slide presentations, I have an Tagxedo resource I want to share.  Here is 101 Ways to Use Tagxedo.    If you've checked out Tagxedo and find it a useful resource, here are some ideas on how to use it.  You are bound to find one or two you like!! 

Enjoy!

E

What Do You Get When You Combine Words and Pictures? PICLITS!

I came across Piclits, inspired picture writing, when I attended a Classroom 2.0 webinar in the spring.  I checked out the site and immediately wanted to share it in my work.  I love great photography and the Piclits folks definitely have the best pictures to start your creative juices flowing.  The next thing that I really liked are the "categories" of parts of speech.  This site provides a easy way to view and "play" with parts of speech. 
Here is my Piclit for today!  

Keeping it simple

• Check out the Pitlits website
• Use the arrows to change pictures or click "explore the gallery."  As I said, the photographs are amazing!
• Try dragging words from the word bank into a picture.  The drag and drop feature is so easy to use.
• Check out the "learn it" tab from the tool bar at the top of the page.  There is much more to learn about this tool.
• Decide if you want to join the site with an email and password.

Do you think your students would engage with this creative writing opportunity?  How could you use this site to support your curriculum?  

As with all online tools, students need to understand the responsibility of online publishing, cybersafety, and protecting one's identity.  If you save your Piclits, they are published online and viewers can comment on them.  Make sure you follow your school's policy on this issue.

I hope you enjoy this tool as much as I do.  Let me know what you think.

 

You Can Do "Shmoop"

Shmoop is a resource you should explore.  From their website: 

Shmoop will make you a better lover (of literature, history, life). See many sides to the argument. Find your writing groove. Understand how lit and history are relevant today. We want to show your brain a good time. 

Our mission: To make learning and writing more fun and relevant for students in the digital age.

Who can argue this this mission?  This site has been a wealth of resources for English, Music and Social Studies teachers and now they have Pre-Algebra resources.  Shmoop resources are available free with an easy registration.   Here is the link to Twilight by Stephenie Myer  The page includes everything from an overview to quotes to teaching Twilight.

One of my favorites is the music section, with analysis of the song as you listen.  Here is a link to Jay-Z and Alicia Key's, Empire State of Mind.  Click "listen" to check out the feature.

Shmoop now has PSAT, SAT and AP exam "game" prep for a subscription fee.  I am not promoting this service.  However, you can decide if you think students would benefit from studying with Shmoop.

Teachers I have worked with are very excited about Shmoop and I hope you will check it out and see how simple it is to integrate this robust tool into your classroom.  It is easy and I know you can do Shmoop.  Happy Shmooping!

Around the World - Interactive Map of Newspapers - Wow!

 Newseum is an interactive website that brings you the front page of more than 800 newspapers from 80 countries.  

              Keeping it simple

• Website should open with a map of the US
• If you want maps from other countries, click a tab.  You'll travel anywhere from North America to Oceana to Africa.
• Click a pin and the "hometown newspaper" front page for today will open. 
• You can read from the site, print the page, create a PDF, or click to go to the newspaper's website. 

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash

Give it a try!  How do you use maps, geography, news, journalism, foreign languages, reading & writing, or tourism in your curriculum?  This site has many possibilities to support your curriculum (educator resources) and I also see this as a tool to support the home/school connection.  Get your students to share it with their parents/guardians.

Check it out and let me know how you use Newseum.

Trying Tagxedo and You Can To!

 

 Tagxedo is a word cloud tool that has some options that Wordle doesn't have right now.  I linked to my twitter account and tagxedo created a word cloud for me.  One cool feature of Tagxedo is that you can create your cloud in different shapes and you can import a picture for your cloud.  I imported my headshot.  Doesn't it look like me??  

Then, I changed the cloud to a star shape with one click.  The words are the same but the look is very different. 

Using word cloud tools is easy and can spice up your lessons, an assignment or a presentation.

Give Tagxedo a try for your class and let me know what you think.

Simple Timer - Online Stopwatch

This is a simple timer that you can save to your computer's desktop and click when you need a count down or count up.  Great for an interactive white board.  It's easy to set and could become a classroom favorite. 
Keeping it simple
Click the site below.  
Click "use the online stopwatch full screen." 
Click start for the stopwatch.  
If you want the countdown timer, click set and start when you are ready.

Check it out and let me know how you use it.  www.online-stopwatch.com

The Secret

"The secret of getting started is breaking your complex,
overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then
starting on the first one."              - Mark Twain

This was today's quote on my I-Google Page, Inspirational Quote gadget.  How appropriate for my first post on my "you can do tech" blog!  This is the secret to learning anything, including integrating technology into classroom instruction.  If you learn and practice one tool, you are on your way to becoming a 21st century educator.

I have been working with teachers for many years and for the past year, working in the NYC public schools as a technology integration consultant.  I find that it is easy for teachers to become overwhelmed and my job is to keep it simple and provide the "what's in it for me and my students" answers.  

I hope you will enjoy my sharing and you will find you can do it, whether you are a novice or expert technology user.