Qwiki - A Multimedia Learning Adventure

Qwiki is a new online multimedia encyclopedia that you must see to appreciate.  You can easily view and hear multimedia presentations on many topics by searching for your topic of interest.  Here is the Qwiki for the Castillo De San Marcos, in my favorite city of St. Augustine, FL.  Enjoy this "new" learning experience!  The site "keeps it simple" and you will navigate and learn its features quickly.

After you watch a Qwiki, you can embed it as I have done in this blog.  You can also get a link to the presentation so you can build a list of Qwiki's for your classroom lessons.
I love the fact that you can hear the narration as you read along. This provides another tool for your ELL students and those with reading disabilities. While watching the Qwiki presentation, you can click on a picture and see the source, along with related Qwiki's on the topic. The narration stops when you click one of the pictures and resumes when you click out of it. I also appreciate the simplicity of seeing the image source as a quick way to demonstrate proper citation of images to students.

There are Qwikis on many historical topics, along with topics of personal interest.  History teachers could check the site to support textbook topics. If your students are not able to take their textbooks home, Qwiki could supplement and extend your lessons, anywhere and anytime.  Because the topics are wide ranging, this tool can be used by all teachers.  I checked out the Qwiki's on simple machines and they were informational and engaging.

Qwiki allows you (and your students) a new way to experience information.  I have included their mission.  In previous blog posts, I've written about a number of  digital storytelling tools that teachers can use.  Add Qwiki to your storytelling toolkit! It is a new, engaging way to learn about a topic.

The ultimate goal is for subscribers to create their own Qwiki's, so stay tuned.
Qwiki features link.  http://blog.qwiki.com/2010/10/21/welcome-to-qwiki/


I am enjoying my Qwiki experience so far and I see tremendous potential for it's use in schools.  I can't wait to begin sharing this with educators.  Check it out and share your thoughts about using it.

Do you think Qwiki will become a verb as has happened with Google?

Know It All - Interactives for Every Subject and Level

Know It All is an interactive web learning portal that was developed by South  Carolina Educational TV through grant funding.  If you use an interactive white board or even an LCD projector in your class, you have to search this site.  The url is:  www.knowitall.org

They include links to virtual field trips, games and puzzles, and so much more.  You can also sign up for a free newsletter.

This site is well developed and worth a peek.

A few "keeping it simple" things I really like about this site.

• The site layout is clean and simple.  
• It has tabs with resources for students and  parents & teachers.
• You can search by subject,  by grade level and alphabetically.
• The site has interactives for elementary through high school so there is something for all teachers.
• You will find dozens of quality interactive actvities and lessons.

You can access the site areas as a "guest" or you can join FREE with a user name and password. 

One of the sites I have used is Hobby Shop, a math and science interactive website.
There are several activities.  i am sharing screen shots of the microscope interactive with the human bone cells.

You click on objects to move through the activity.

You can choose to view onion cells or human bone cells under the microscope.

You make microscope adjustments and here is the result. Obviously, it is more engaging when interactive but I hope you get the idea.



On the site, you can read more information about S.C. Ed TV and the funding for this web portal.  I hope you find somthting you can use in your classroom and that you share the website with your students.

Consider sharing how you use Know It All on a blog comment below.

You Could WIn a Computer Lab

Discovery Education and CDW-G are sponsoring a contest and the sweepstakes prize is a wireless computer lab.  There are monthly drawings for other prizes.  Employees of public, parochial and private schools in the United States are eligible to enter.  Registering is easy (keeping it simple).

While you are on the Discovery Education website, check out the free resources and materials that Discovery Ed provides for educators. 

You won't win if you don't enter!!  

Secret Millionaires Club from AOL Kids - Tech Teaching FInance!

The Secret Millionaires Club is a video-based and interactive game website, sponsored by Toyota, that provides students with real life finance information and learning opportunities in a game format.  Students can manage a portfolio of virtual money and learn from none other than Warren Buffett.  I learned about this site from a special education math teacher in the NYC schools.  She uses the Secret Millionaires Club with her 8th grade students.  Thanks to Alessandra for sharing this great site with me.

Financial literacy is a topic that more students should learn.  My adult children have expressed their wish that they were able to take a course in budgeting and money management.  With packed curriculum and loaded schedules in schools, this website appears to fill a gap while engaging students through interactive games. 

The latest video episode is "Going Mental for Rental" and teachers students business techniques to consider for a rental business.  Warren Buffet offers words of wisdom about learning and earning.
The site is easy to navigate so the developers are keeping it simple.  I love the simple to read stock market prices that scroll across the top of the page.

In addition to the cartoon videos, the site offers money games like Earnings Expedition and Compounding Connections for older students and Lemonade Stand and Catch the Money for younger kids.  They will also learn more about Warren Buffett, his company and how he made his fortune.

The trivia game provides students the opportunity to answer questions based on past video episodes. This question ask students to define algorithms.

There are more advanced activities such as portfolio management but I am keeping it simple by sharing the basics today.

If you have middle or high school kids, share the site with them and if you teach, check out the site.  There is a lot packed into the site and I see it supporting more than just math.
I would love to hear what you think.  Maybe the next Warren Buffet is sitting in your class today!

Ideas and ISTE NETs - Keeping It Simple

Curriculum Ideas for Technology Integration, is a blog post on edtech Vision by Colette Casinelli. 

This list connects practical classroom activities to the ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for students.  If you are looking for a manageable number of ideas to consider for your next classroom project or lesson, you will enjoy this post that keeps it simple.

As you develop a classroom lesson or project, look at the NETS for Students and I have blogged about the NETS in previous posts.  As you read the list of ideas, you may find some that you have already implemented in your class.  Decide which technology standard your lessons are supporting.

It is very important to reflect on your classroom practices and evaluate the quality of the assignments and/or classroom activities you develop for your students.  Use Ms. Casinelli's post as a jumping off point or a connection to NETS and your current practice. If you are just dipping your feet in the water of technology integration, this post should expand your understanding of quality practices that are linked to the NETS.

Leave a comment on edtechvision.org if you find the information helpful to your practice and professional learning.  Share your thoughts and keep learning

Article - Could "Remote School" mean the end of snow/ice days?

I read this article from the Gainesville Times in Georgia and had to share it.  Much of the US has been gripped with snow and ice recently.  I was working in New York City yesterday and after about 9 inches of snow, the schools were open, leaving students "wishing" for their first snow day of the year.  Georgia has been dealing with ice and snow so this article applies at many levels. 

Teachers in this Gainesville, Ga school are expanding the boundaries of school by using the Internet to communicate with students, share lessons on online learning platforms, record videos of their lessons, blog with students, and provide online quizzes.  I know some readers may worry about student access to the Internet and that is a valid concern in some communities.  However, as the digital divide shrinks, the possibilities for providing quality lessons during weather related closures or illness is definitely something schools are using. 

I hope this article piques your curiosity.  Are the schools in your area dabbling in online learning, using Web 2.0 tools for communicating with students, blogging, creating multimedia presentations to share with students?  These are the tools and tips I am sharing in this blog, although I haven't been writing from the perspective of using them for remote learning.  But, they would work for that purpose and I aim to keep it simple for my blog readers.

Providing remote lessons and content is not difficult and can be done using free tools.  This blog is an example of a tool you could use with students.  Pose a question in your blog and require your students to answer.  It doesn't matter where they do it or when! 

Share a comment on the article and if you think it could mean the end of "days off."  

Storyline Online - Hear Betty White Read A Story

Storyline Online is an wonderful, FREE site that is produced by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. Members of SAG read children's books on streaming video and there are activities and downloadable teacher resources for the books.  The teacher resources provide additional research, links, and books on the story topics.

Betty White reads Harry The Dirty Dog. You click "Let's Read It." A window opens that allows you to  choose your Internet connection speed and the video of the book begins.  You also have an option to have captions on or off.

 Storyline Online producers keep it simple.  The site is clear and easy to follow.  The extension resources are written clearly and directions for opening and closing windows make it easy to nagivate. 

There are a number of famous readers including: Amanda Bynes, Tia & Tamera Mowry, Elijah Wood,
and former Vice President Al Gore, just to name a few.

I am always looking for resources to support oral reading and I really like this site.  I hope you check it out and that you find it useful in your classroom.  If you share useful website with parents and students, add this one to your list!  Getting families to read and listen together is a wonderful extension to the classroom. 

100 Most Common Engish Words - A Callenge

Here is a challenge for you and your middle or high school age students.  Can you guess the 100 most common English words?  Quizicon has developed this interactive quiz that is quite a challenge. You have 5 minutes to complete the challenge.  You simply click the "start" button and type your word choices in the text box.  Words appear in the chart, if they are part of the 100!  This site keeps it simple.
It has one purpose.  In addition, you can check out scores and statistics.  That would be a good classroom conversation.

Give it a try and share it with a colleague.  I was amazed at the words that were included.  Good fun but a good learning exercise too.

Hope you check it out and, as always, leave a comment if you use the site with your students.

Twist Our Words - Creative Videos

Twist Our Words is a very creative British website that allows you to create sentences that are turned into a video.  British celebrities speak your sentence one word at a time.

 After you create your poem, sentence or group of words, you can share it with friends by email or embed it into a website or blog.  That is what I have done below.  This site keeps it simple. 





Below is my simple video.  I hope you check out Twist Our Words with your students.  This is a fun learning tool.  Pass it on if you like the site!

Teacher Tube: A Few Finds

TeacherTube offers educators access to videos and it probably is not blocked in your school like youtube.   Keep it simple searching led me to the three videos I am sharing with you today.  You can join TeacherTube at no cost and then you can eliminate the ads that play before a video begins.

If you are looking for a video to support your curriculum or your own professional development, check out TeacherTube as a resource. Enjoy my video picks for today.  Leave a comment, if you use TeacherTube or if you like what you see here.  
The Money Song



A Walk Through Ancient Egypt


School Technology - 21st Century Skills

Sharing Tech Thoughts for 2011

Happy New Year blog readers!

As we begin the new year, I wanted to share some quotes that I think have a good message for everyone who works in a school.  I hope you find inspiration in the words of these authors and other educators.  In keeping it simple, I found these quotes on http://edquotes.wikispaces.com/, http://synthesizingeducation.com, and http://www.brainyquote.com.

In 2011, keep learning and relearning, challenging yourself and your students, engaged and engaging, and understanding that as you learn and try new technologies, it will not always go the way you planned.  Nor will it be perfect.  Embrace the messiness and believe in your importance.

“The technology itself is not transformative. It’s the school, the pedagogy, that is transformative.” - Tanya Byron

"The illiterate of the 21st century won't be those who can't read & write but those who can't learn unlearn & relearn" - Alvin Toffler

“Indeed, the role I give the computer is that of a carrier of cultural 'germs' or 'seeds' whose intellectual products will not need technological support once they take root in an actively growing mind.” Seymour Papert

'How do we recapture the magic and myth of education? ... to enable teachers to believe in their importance...so teachers and the public can rediscovers the hope schools once held?'
Deal and Peterson 

From the journal of the National Association of Teachers, 1907: “Students today depend too much on ink. They don’t know how to use a knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil.”

"Technology, like art, is a soaring exercise of the human imagination."   Daniel Bell 

"Part of the problem is when we bring in a new technology we expect it to be perfect in a way that we don't expect the world that we're familiar with to be perfect."   Esther Dyson

The Gift of Time

Frequently, teachers ask me how I have time to find, research and learn technology integration ideas, tools and techniques.  I have learned some strategies that save me time and I thought, in the season of giving, I would share a few comprehensive lesson plan websites that are high quality and easy to navigate.  My goal for this blog is to help keep things simple as readers delve into expanding their technology integration with students. 

There are many quality lesson plan websites and teachers will need to decide whether or not modification of someone else's lesson plan is necessary.  That supports the "art" and "science" of teaching.  That being said, here are some resources for you to consider as you plan your next unit or a lesson.  The websites are free, searchable by curriculum, and printable.

• Read Write Think from the Verizon Foundation  

Thinkfinity from the Verizon Foundation

Scholastic's  Lesson Plans - Lessons for K-12 and adult education

 Awesome Library

 I hope these sites will provide you with helpful, quality lesson plans that effectively link to your standards, curriculum maps, etc.  These are just four of many quality lesson plan websites.  If you already use other lesson plan sites, please share them in a comment.  Also, if you find the sites that I have shared are useful, take a minute to share how the resources helped you in your teaching.  

Happy holidays to all who read my blog.  Thank you and Happy New Year.  I look forward to continuing my "keeping it simple" blogging in 2011!

Looking Back at 2010 Via New York Times Quiz

With less than two weeks left in 2010, you may want to end the year or begin next year with a look back.  What is news today can be forgotten so quickly and I am sharing one resource for you and your students to take a minute to look back and see what you remember.  Today's New York Times offers an online quiz about events they covered or wrote about during 2010.   

News Quiz | Farewell, 2010

By ANNISSA HAMBOUZ and KATHERINE SCHULTEN

 

 

Also, check out the retrospective that includes detailed lesson ideas that correlate to the events/quiz questions.

Your students can take the quiz on line or you can print the quiz from the PDF link.  

Those of you who teach English language learners, try the Google translate.  You can translate the site to dozens of languages.

 

 The quiz offers teachable moments and offers students an opportunity to check their knowledge of current events.  The authors keep it simple so you can focus on the importance of retrospective teaching ideas.  They offer 9 ideas with links.  In addition, they provide links to a number of other retrospectives for 2010.   Congratulations to Annissa Hambouz and Catherine Schulten  for this well developed look back at 2010.

 

 PDF version of the quiz. The link is provided on the quiz site.                                                              I hope you find this activity helpful and interesting.  I encourage you to share your thoughts or ideas on retrospectives in the classroom. 

Making Math Relevant with YummyMath

I baked cookies this weekend so Yummy Math is a perfect site to blog about today.  Two educators, Bill Marks and Leslie Lewis, created this site that offers downloadable lessons (doc and pdf) using real world examples.
The tabs on the left are the topics they cover.  They include food math, holidays, sports, geometry, and several more topics.

The web layout keeps it simple to navigate around the site.  In addition, the lesson documents are well done and offer clear examples that you can use with your students. Below is a screen shot that shows part of the "Not Enough Mashed Potatoes"  lesson and problems that students would solve.  It even includes a recipe.  Now that's real world!

As I have said before in this blog, I am a believer that teachers do not need to reinvent the proverbial wheel for quality instructional material.  Sites like YummyMath offer teachers well-developed, creative material for your lessons under Creative Commons Attribution.  It is important to credit the authors when you use the material and the link will provide you with more information.

I hope you find YummyMath worth checking out and that you look for ways to incorporate real-world math into your instruction.
    Have a wonderful week!

Algebasics - Free Math Tutorials with Audio

Frequently, I learn about new websites and online tools from teachers. In my work in technology integration, I  am always looking for new ideas, integration strategies, tools, websites, etc.  Today, I shared vocaroo.com with a group of teachers and at the end of my demo, a teacher asked me if I had heard of algebasics.  This is a website she uses with middle school special education students and her students love it.  High praise made me curious so I checked it out and I am sharing it with my blog readers.

I love the algebasics motto, "show me how, now!" When kids don't know something, isn't that what they want?  This website provides free, audio supported solutions to math problems in 16 algebraic topics.  The site keeps it simple. 


This is the list of content on the algebasics website.





This is what students see under the sections.  There are three simple stops, as you can see in this screen shot.  You need audio, select an example and click on it to play. 

The solutions are clear and easy to understand in English.  If you are math teacher, I hope you share this site with your students.  I like that fact that students can listen and watch the example being solved as many times as they need or like. 

This is what you see when the problem is being solved.  It is not interactive but rather like an audio book of basic algebra examples with solutions. The site shows you "how," as their motto says.

Algebasics is now on my list of best tutorial math sites and I hope you check it out to see if it meets your needs.  If you don't teach algebra, pay it forward by sharing it on to a colleague. 

Connecting Standards to Practice

In this blog, I've shared tips and tools to help teachers integrate technology into the curriculum. Today, I am sharing a post by Collete Cassinelli, Tech Curriculum Integration Ideas.  The post offers specific activities that connect to to the International Society for Technology In Education (ISTE), National Education Technology Standards for students.

• Creativity & Innovation
• Communication & Collaboration
• Research & Information Fluency
• Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
• Digital Citizenship
• Technology Operations & Concepts

Ms. Cassinelli's post keeps it simple while providing educators with concrete examples, using easy to access tools.  I'm not about re-inventing so I am paying it forward by sharing her thoughts in my blog. 
Consider posting a copy of the ISTE NETS for Students in your classroom.  This will provide you a ready reference as you align lessons and activities to your curriculum standards.

In addition, I encourage you to visit the ISTE website.  You will find a wealth of information and ideas to support integration of technology and your professional learning.

If we teach today as we taught yesterday, 

 we rob our children of tomorrow.

                                John Dewey

Thank you for taking time to read my blog.  I hope you find something that you can use and practice. 

Teachers Should Like Google's New Search Option

Last Friday, Google added reading levels to its search tool.  Click to read more. Barry Schwartz wrote this blog about the new reading level option and he keeps it simple.

In the advanced search, you can choose basic, intermediate and advanced reading results for your search.  The "advanced search" option is located to the right of the search box.

This new option offers teachers more options for teaching search skills and helping students find appropriate sites for research projects.  I shared the option at an elementary school today and the teachers felt that it would help them find resources for students that they could read and that they could use in their lessons.  There are additional features in the advanced search that allow you to delineate the file format in a search.  This is another way to narrow your search and can yield more of what you are searching for.

I hope you add the reading level option to your search bag of tools and that you share it with your students.  Try it and see how it works for you.  Write a comment about your use, what your students think about the option or any questions you have.  Happy searching!

 

Two Tips for Today - - It's Follow-Up Day

Today I am following up on two recent posts.  On Monday, I shared two contests that are available to students.  Here is another essay contest that is being shared.  Students in grades 3-12 are eligible.  They need to write 100 word essay about technology and the grand prize is $10,000.  http://tweentribune.com/essay
I quoted Wayne Greszsky in my Monday post and I believe his words ring true in all aspects of learning.  He said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."  One of your students could come away a winner and even it they don't, learning to limit an essay to 100 words is a 21st century skill worth exploring and supporting.  Check out this 100-word essay contest and share it with someone if it won't work for your students.  Pay it forward!  100 words for a possible $10,000!  This is keeping it simple.

                                                       *   *   *   *   *   *   *    *  

My second follow-up is to my post from December 2nd: "Don't Get Stuck in 1.0" in which I shared a blog post by Nicky Hockly.  The post about Web 1.0 was the first in a series and I am sharing her next installment about Web 2.0, the "read, write web."  Ms. Hockly keeps her explanation simple and I hope you recognize some of the tools she discusses.
http://www.emoderationskills.com/?p=378

crazyleafdesign.com

Have you moved on to Web 2.0 in your teaching?  Web 2.0 is about engaging students through producing with tools that allow creation and interactivity.  This is something that today's students are quite comfortable doing. 

In this blog, I've been sharing a number of these tools and I look forward to your comments about how you are using the read,write web or Web 2.0.  I hope you keep learning and trying to increase your technology tool kit.  You can do tech!

Math Playground - An Arcade of Engagement

Today's tip is a well developed math game website. 

http://www.mathplayground.com/ASB_Index.html

If you are looking for a one stop place for arcade type math games, this Math Playground link is sure to engage your students.  The site keeps it simple and provides clear directions.  The games load quickly, some can be played publicly and privately, and some support both single and multiple players.   If you create a private game, you can add a password and students can share it with friends.  Games on this page include the addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and ratio, fraction and integers. 

In addition to using Math Playground games in your classroom, this is a good site to share with parents to support the home/school connection.  Teachers frequently ask me for sites that will engage their students and this is one that I continue to recommend.  If you like this page, there is much more to the site you can explore.

Check it out and see if it will work for your students or share it with a colleague.  Leave a comment if you find that Math Playground is a hit with your students. 

Learning About Web 2.0 Storytelling - A Resource

 Today, I am sharing a wiki about Digital Storytelling that I think keeps it simple but provides information, videos, and conversation on the topic.  You can read about digital storytelling or "click" and enter a discussion on various aspects of digital storytelling.  The authors of this wikispace site, Bryan Alexander and Alan Levine, provide a variety of storytelling links and examples.  This wiki was developed after the two wrote an article in 2008, "Web 2.0 Storytelling, Emergence of a New Genre." Click the title to read the article.
 Check out this wiki to expand your understanding of Digital Storytelling and how to integrate technology into your storytelling lessons.http://web2storytelling.wikispaces.com

I hope you find this wiki resource useful and simple enough to navigate.  Try a few clicks and see what you find.
Share your thoughts in a comment.  Two years after this article was published, has the new genre emerged in your classroom or school?