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Albert, this is an awesome resource we can share with others so that we can help students or parents that are having difficulty or don't have basic computer skills. This website is very well organized and will be very helpful for them. Thank you for sharing!

Wow! This is an excellent website for students and parents. Students can practice their basic skills and parents can learn and practice their skills as well. This is definitely a website that I am going to share with students and parents.

I loved this website! I am the technology teacher for my grade level and I have used this website to teach my students the fundamentals of computers. Great website!

Great website! I will diffently add it to the teacher resource link on our campus website. Teachers and student can benefit from a large variety of lessons available on the website. This is a great tool! Thank you for sharing.

Good website! I tried one of the lessons and truly learned something new. I thought it was a scam website that says it is free and ends up charging something, but it is not! I liked the tools and resources that it provides. Thanks for sharing.

No Problem everyone. I've used this website for about a year already and it makes planning so much easier :) glad i was able to help out and good luck to all =D

Great! I went through some of the lessons and they are great opportunities for the students to practice different skills. Try this website: http://sheppardsoftware.com/. Hope you can use it. Thanks for sharing that excellent website.

Great resourceful website. I can use this to help teach my students more about computers. I can also use this resource for having students practice concepts.

One thing I really liked was the different levels of instruction. Being able to pick the level of complexity is a great tool for effective learning. Great Information!

Great website. I have shared this website with my technology 21st Century Teacher so she can do some excel activities with the students.

Alberto, this is a great PDF on Differentiated Instruction. I like how it's organized and especially the technology resources provided in this article. I also liked the Reflection questions towards the end of this guide. This was an excellent PDF resource to save and share with others. Thank you for sharing Alberto.

Differentiated Instruction is best to meet the students' needs and in order to reach the students this PDF points out to Use Choice to Engage and Motivate. By providing an array of tools that captivate students' interest the learner will engaged and learn better.

HI Alberto: Thank you for the link. I like that it offers effective technology tools in all content areas to help students demonstrate their understanding and mastery of the material they are studying. I will post this link on school website under "resources" for my campus teacher's to veiw. Thanks again!

Everyone thank you so much for the comments. I really appreciate them and I'm glad I was able to help out.

This video is why I decided to get my masters degree. It made me think about what kind of teacher I wanted to be. I decided that I wanted to be more technology based and want to learn how to help others be more engaging with students but others have gotten a different lesson from the video. What will you get from the video?

Very interesting video Adam! Thanks for sharing. There are so many flaws in the public education system that I personally think that we should start changing the way we are teaching our kids. Unfortunately it seems that administration only focuses on having students pass the standardized tests instead of focusing on getting students ready to success in life.

Great Video! He was all over the place, but made some very interesting points from the beginning of public education. I remember going to school and everyone telling us you need an education in order to have a job, which was very true. I think our educational system has changed and will continue to change. We have moved away from the textbook, which is the way we learned (paper & pencil). I remember writing definitions, memorizing speeches, and copying math problems onto our lined paper to solve equations. Now students are exposed to technology which enhances their learning in interesting ways.

The mindset of education has to change now! We are still teaching as he said, "in batches," where we condition children to one way of thinking and stifle divergent thinking. We have talked about "thinking outside the box" and "GT students", but those are the students who were not "conditioned" as we would have them be. The real world is not as we teach, we must allow our students to work collaboratively and think independently. By the same token, I believe that our teachers are victims of the very same mindset, trained to teach strategies, and deciphering questions in order to get those scores. The parent's mindset has changed as well, they no longer tell their children that education is important, and expect for teachers to do all the teaching, not realizing that a child has to have a strong foundation. We are no longer just getting clean slates, but unstructured children who are then labeled ADHD…or are they just divergent thinkers who do not conform to our way of teaching?

The video was very eye opening. Everyone can agree that their must be change to our current system of Education. What we can't seem to agree on is what those changes should be. I feel as if he spent most of the time talking about whats wrong with education and why than actually providing solutions.

I agree with all of you. this video opened my eyes to the way our rducational system is running. I guess I have always known it ran this way but I did not think that it bu us in the "batches" to be processed. I am hoping to use my Educational technology degree to change teh way I teach my students and hopefully I can get other teachers to do the same.

Good video Adam. It brings up many issues with today's education. I totally agree that it is okay to raise standards for learning, but our students were not brought up that way. We are told to teach to the rigor and wonder why the students perform so bad. It is because the higher level thinking and rigor that we are now expecting comes with time and not overnight. Our children were not taught that way and to all of a sudden raise the standards is too much at once. I am confident that it will happen, but it will take time. Another issue was ADHD. When I was in school, I never heard of such a thing. His words exactly, "it seem to be an epedemic ." There could be many factors contributing to hyper and inattentive students, but parents rarely look into alternative ways to help their children. More has to be done to provide these students with help, so they can be successful and not have to be on medicine. If we let our little ones work collaboratively, and if teachers were to have more leeway to teach in their classrooms; some great learning and discovering could take place.

Very interesting video. There was so much information about education and the economy. I agree that our students are bored in class and with school. Why are they bored??? The reason is because teachers teach the test. There is no time for fun or learing with fun things. I feel that if we teach in a fun and exciting way we will not lose the students as soon as they walk into the room. They will come to school wanting to learn and excited and wondering what they are going to be learning for that day.

Wow that was a great video. He had some very interesting points. I do feel that our students are bored in class. The teachers today are teaching to making sure that their students pass the test. As teachers I guess we need to find a way to make our lessons more interesting. That is why it is real important that we incorporate technology into our lessons. We all know that students take a greater interest when technology is involved. He had so many great points. It inspires me to be a better teacher.

I agree with Georgina and Jessica. Students do get bored, because of the "tunnel vision approach" we are often forced to implement in the classroom. The focus on state testing has kept many of us from teaching our students to truly think critically and problem solve. Technology is an excellent way to engage our students and promote higher-order thinking skills and collaboration. If students are motivated, with meaningful and engaging lessons, I believe they will strive to be life-long learners.

Yes, students are bored these days, however, I don't blame teachers necessarily -- it's the system we're all in. They are victims of circumstance here. It's all about accountability and the test. I think technology may be the light at the end of the tunnel, because it's engaging, fun, and besides being a way of bringing their outside world interests into the classroom, technology isn't going anywhere. So many excellent points to support what we all already know. Good job.

What a powerful presentation. It really hits close to home. I have a 5th grade son who I feel this was written for! Divergent thinking - YES! They're not all little products off an assembly line. I completely agree traditional education has conditioned students not to be creative and taught them there is one answer. Some of even the best kids are just totally turned off to school. I really appreciate the presenter's view point. Very often I express my concern with the so called epidemic and wonder why there are so many students who have been diagnosed with ADHD. To see the trend follows the trend of standardized testing is amazing, scary, and really disheartening. Thank you for sharing this great video.

Definitely video games aren't the enemy, if anything, I think it's one of the greatest educational models that allows application, analyzing, and even synthesizing of skills. It makes peer tutoring possible, it allows participant take control of their learning, and is one of the greatest intrinsic motivators around. If anything, we should be jealous.

Great article, and with the fact that "Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that, when released in higher than usual amounts, goes beyond the synapse and flows to other regions of the brain producing a powerful pleasure response" that alone is the motivator for our young children. I concur that a student is highly motivated with any and all video games, but as with everything else there are cons. An educator must progress monitor and individualize instruction, eventually teaching our students to monitor their own progress with their assignments and get that dopamine feeling for achieving those goals, as they do when they reaching certain stages in a game. I believe that video games are very popular, and definitely a motivator for any lesson. I incorporate the use of iPads to stimulate their learning by assigning research or having students listen to a video (in lieu of direct instruction) then follow directions to complete an assignment. The mere fact that they are taking the iPads and gravitating to their favorite place in the library on their own, is a strong motivator in itself. The results are that they are excited, and that assignments are completed fairly quickly. They are not "bored"

I myself am a life long gamer. I try and incorporate games into my lessons when I can. The hard part for students sometimes is when to put the game down and get on with the lesson at hand. Some students get fixated on a game and can not put it down and then their studies suffer. I would like ot learn more on how to insert more games into my lesson.

I've read about some games that I can use in math, 1) LURE OF THE LABYRINTH: LABYRINTH is funded by the U.S. Department of Education with a primary goal of enhancing pre-algebra mathematics learning, and a secondary goal of improving literacy. 2) MOLECULAR WORKBENCH provides interactive, visual simulations to aide in teaching simple and complex science concepts, such as dynamic molecular structures. 3) SIMCITY: the objective is to design and create a thriving, sustainable city. 4) STARLOGO: The programming possibilities are seemingly endless, and numerous teachers in math and science have created an array of applications with it

I have used some of the following games to enhance the lessons: 1. The Cisco Binary Game for them to practice in computer the translation between decimal numbers and binary. I'm currently holding a contest on who can get the top score to get some extra credit points. 2. The Cisco Packet Tracers is an interactive game in which they guide their character as he battles in cyberspace to get from destination a to b. 3. Whyville will be used the way we used it in class. Experiment with different games to earn clams. Ultimately the clam total will be the basis for their grade. 4. City One is game that shows how to sustain a city that faces different problems. 5. http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/ Site for elementary games. 6. Timez Attack a program for using addition, subtraction and division. 7. http://tux4kids.alioth.debian.org/index.php Typing, Math and Paint free programs for elementary and Jr. High kids. 8. Webonauts is a game that can be used for elementary and Jr. High students to introduce them to media literacy and citizenship

One way I use gaming in my classroom is by using the program Study Island. This program incorporates games online with concepts my students are learning in the classroom.

Juan, I would have to begin by saying that I am a firm believer in "playing to learning" and "learning by playing". Whether I incoporate a technology game or a traditional game, I am always "playing" in my classroom. I love to see my students get excited about learning and that is exactly what games do, they build excitement! The online games I utilize are endless, but here is a brief list: *internet4classrooms.com: a variety of games, lessons, and interactive white board activites for all grades levels. I usually allow the students to select a game of their choice that is related to the content being taught. *iknowthat.com: a variety of games. I assign a particular game and allow the students to play individually or in pairs. *mathplayground.com: great games and videos to reinforce math concepts *neok12.com: great list of science videos and games. I usually project the videos and then allow the students to participate in a corresponding game using the whiteboard. *mangahigh.com: great math site. The games are very engaing and provide the students with a challenge. *reflexmath.com: excellent way to build math fact fluency *spellingcity.com: an excellent source for practicing spelling words In closing, I would have to say, that my students really love the "Fling the Teacher Games", so I frequently search for them online and use the whiteboard to play them in the classroom.

On the subject of traditional games, this past semester I created some bingo (chalupa, loteria) playing cards to introduce computer parts to the students. They loved it and were really entertained by it.

Games can be a great resource to education. What is the best though is when AAA publishers get involved. The Valve game company recently put out an educational version of its popular Portal game. Making the game itself free to teachers and students along with tool to create new puzzles to teach math and physics concepts. www.teachwithportals.com

Think Through Math is one site I use for indivual games. My students really enjoy Hooda Math and I use Brainpop's game for the whole class. I can definitely see the instrinsic reward system going on. They want to do well to "win", they're having fun and learning in the process. Some of the sites the District subscribes to (Stemscopes, ICORE, Think Through Math) track student mastery. I am able to set up lessons that include instruction as well as games and set a mastery level that must be met before going on to the next level. This is a great help. Regarding traditional games - bingo is still a big hit and a great way to reinforce multiplication, division, vocabulary, etc.

Hi Marivel: I really like the website, I especially like the "Daily Dose of the Web" link that offers many learning sites to help engage the student in learning while playing games, working puzzles that help exercise the brain which we all know is a very important muscle to workout!.... I will for sure place this link in our campus website for our students to use. Thank you so much....Blanca

Great link, Marivel. I really liked that the website is divided by grade level and different objectives. I tried several links and find many of the links to be useful in keeping our students engaged. This website would definitely help in helping us create 21st century classrooms.

Marivel Garcia, the list of technology tutorials available for students is awesome! I really liked the one titled, "Using Powerpoint-Animating text" and "Keyboard shortcuts". The students will really like how these tutorials are presented and how easy it is to follow the instructions. Overall, this can be a great instructional unit that students who don't know how to use powerpoint can be trained on following the links at their own pace. This is also a great resource for parents who want to learn how to use powerpoint but never had the chance to learn it before. This is a Great Resource to have,. Thanks for sharing!

Using this website is a great tool for newbies! I believe introducing this to students early on would help provide the "help" when struggling inserting a new slide, setting transitions, or keyboard shortcuts. It may even help digital immigrants transition into using technology. This may provide the confidence they need before creating or incorporating another technology. =-)

Wow I am vrey amazed from looking at the website, great article and yes I do agree for technology newbies this is a great resource website to use. Technology is growing everyday and it's hard to keep up with technology and by using a resource website like this one, I'll really take advantage of this resource for following teachers who are not technology savy.

This is a great place for getting students to create a PowerPoint. I have taught elementary students how to create a PowerPoint the past three summers. I will be using this website with my students in the future because it is easy to follow.

Thank you for the link. This is a great tool for students and teachers to use to get familiarize with the Powerpoint software and other Microsoft tools. There are many teachers in my campus that did get the training to use Powerpoint or Excel or Word when they started teaching, so I believe this website will help learn a few trick in using the software. Thanks again. Blanca

Awesome website.....step by step instructions for students. Good way of learning how to teach the students and students how to follow the online training.

The website provides very good tips and points to consider when creating a PowerPoint. There are times when we want to add so many things to make our presentation, according to us, presentable. In the end we just end up with too many things that distract our viewers.

Greaty website! I especially like the step by step instructions that it gives for the audience to view.

Thanks Marivel! This is a great way to layout the most important aspects of powerpoint. It's a great resources to bookmark in my favorites. Thanks for sharing.

These are great strategies. I love how they suggest for teachers to involve kinesthetic movement, hands on activities and providing experiences as a way to make teaching the content meaningful and easier to recall. By creating student-centered learning activities, the teacher will reach a greater population of the students through the use of incorporating several learning styles. Learning modalities need to be considered for the lesson to be effective.

In my experience tip #2 has been my greatest challenge in my classroom. Implementing an activating stratetgy to activate student thinking is very crucial to capture their attention and curiousity which will then trigger learning. The challenging part is making the time and carefully planning each activity and following lesson timelines at the same time.

Mari I completely understand. Time gets away from even the best teachers. I am a coach and this is the issue I have most difficulty with on the field (that and yelling). I always carry my watch with me and set timers. Some teachers use simple kitchen timers to keep both the teacher and the students on task. It helps both know there is a limited amount of time to complete tasks. It keeps the class moving and students engaged.

I really enjoyed the article Vincent, I'd agree with limiting lecture because student's haven't developed a cognition level of grasping information in one sitting. So breakout sessions work best along with collaborative group work discussions. The way I've learned to keep a class engaged is use a timer system online and students are aware of how much time is left. From experience I noticed that time flys by fast.

Vicente, thanks for sharing! I agree that those are ten of the basic steps we as educators can take in helping or students become successful. I believe that sometimes we as teachers are pressured in keeping up with our timeline, that we're teaching more than one lesson, making it harder for students to learn and retain what was taught. If there wasn't so much pressure in standardized testing, perhaps we would be able to better reach all our students and not feel inclined to teach the "bubble" kids. Graphic organizers are a must in my classroom. Not only does it better illustrate for all students, but it also assists those students who need the visual and have modificiations. All the other key points listed make me believe that this is geared towards PBL. I think it's great! Students will still be required to use higher order thinking while still conducting a student-centered activity. Great job Vincent. I'll be sharing these tips with my fellow co-workers.

This was a very interesting article about how to get underperforming students to improve. The one tip that would be a challenge for me would be the movement on a daily basis. I only teach math to my fourth grade students and I try to get my students to use manipulatives as often as possible. When they use the manipulatives I do tend to become stressed due to the movement of the students. I know it is good for them to move around and I will try to implement this tip more often in my classroom.

lI like this article because it gave each step and then the author explain it futher. Making each of the step a "Non-Negotiables" is sometimes difficult. But once you practice doing them in each lesson I'm sure you can change with time making each day better and each lesson engaging.

Vincent, great article I really appreciate all of the valuable tips for engaging students in the learning process, a way as to actively involve each student. I do incorporate a few of these tips with my students, and I agree that it will keep the students in control of their learning. Nonetheless, using these tips will make the students aware of the content that is expected to be learned on each subject area.

I really appreciate all of the valuable tips for engaging students in the learning process, and I am aware of how each can be used. However, my huge frustration is in the fact that in a self contained classroom it is so difficult to plan for each class subject in such a way as to actively involve each student. I try my best, but it really is a challenge. I do incorporate a few of these tips with my students, but I guess more time would make all the difference.

I think the particular strategy that would take me longer to achieve would be limited lecture. Finding a different activity to do with them and keep them focused will be very challenging after a while.

Great article, very informative and awesome strategies to implement in my classroom. The ten interactive learning non-negotiable strategies are great when planning the lessons. I do see some resemblance to the 5-E strategies I use in my classroom, but to use all ten strategies on a daily basis might be a challenge to keep all the students engaged.

I like how each link showed what grade level it was for and there were so many to choose from too. The Building a school website was good and so is the Typing one its nice to have a varity in a keyboarding class.

I was able to explore the website it's really nice, I especially like how the learner can create a story and allow others to add or help continue the story.( invention at play ) Basically, by allowing the learner to invent and think critically it will open up the doors to life time learning. http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/ Try this website, it also has an enormous collection of Science lessons that use the method above to enhance critical thinking. It reflects on the studies done about how learning is ensured through exploration and creativity. It is a great website that follows something similar to the PBL model. The lessons pose a question and require being inventive and exploring possible solutions.

Zoom Inventors and Inventions is an interesting website for having your students discover who invented certain items. One interesting fact I learned is that the reflectors that we find on the edge of the road were originally called "cat's eye road reflector". This website states that the inventor came up with this invention because the reflection of a cat's eyes at the side of a road kept him from driving off a hill at night..

Yes, i just viewed this site on someone else's comment. I honestly enjoyed the one about building a school website. It appeared to be very user friendly and perfect for teachers transitioning into the use of technology.

This is a great website. I like that it has a collection of different websites tha have learning activities for students. I really liked the Dance Mat Typing website. It introduces and shows the students the correct way to type. thanks for sharing!

Great website. I'm actually having to present to the math department on how they can incorporate tech. into their classroom this week. This site is great to show them!!

This is an excellent website. I really like how it is set up to suggest web 2.0 tools according to what your learning goal is for technology implementation. It highlights key points about the website and rates its ease of use level. It organizes the Web 2.0 tools according to its purpose. For example, if I would like for my students to create books, magazines, posters, or newsletters online, this website simplifies my options by providing me with useful information on Web 2.0 tools that are available to accomplish this goal.

Thanks for sharing this website I will definitely have it as a resource to guide me in the implementation of technology into my lessons. My favorite part of the website is the table of technology tools with a description, example and level of difficulty. The method of organizing tools in a table allows me to have tools in an accessible format that will motivate me to use them rather than spending valuable time looking for resources and information on how to use them in separate places. This website provides additional tutorials as well that can provide guiding tools in the implementation of technology. I have also found very useful the following website: (http://education.ti.com/calculators/pd/US/Online-Learning/ ) from Texas Instruments that provides not only ready made lessons that implement technology but also free webinars to learn methods of implementation.

Wow, The way EdtechTeacher.org is set up is very user friendly. The different tabs towards the top make navigation through this site very easy. There's something here for everyone, from teachers to school leaders who are looking for ways to incorporate more technology in their campus. I really liked and found interesting the tab that reads, "Teaching with Technology/Innovate projects & Lessons". There I was able to find numerous ideas of lessons and projects using technology. This provides a valuable resource to look into different project ideas. Great Website. Thank you for sharing! Also check this website out when you get a chance. (http://www.p21.org/)

Awesome, I definitely like this site: (http://edtechteacher.org/index.php/teaching-technology/tech-tools) there are lots of student friendly links in which students can use to integrate technology in their assignments. Teachers can also get ideas so that students can integrate technology using awesome graphic organizers. This website has on site links to go to on technology tools which are very user-friendly. Thanks for sharing! Check this website, there are awesome technology tools which teachers can use in the classroom. http://www.superteachertools.com/index.php

This website has so much information! I like that it invites teachers and administrators (Professional Development Services/Leadership and Change Tabs) to contact them to come to their campus or district to help incorporate technology to the curriculum. It has numerous links for teachers to use, and shows how technology is being used in innovative ways in the classrooms. I also like that it gives students' excerpts on actual projects and lessons that have been done. It gives really good explanations and justifications of the use of technology in the classroom. In checking out the various sites it gives, I came up with this one that I really liked http://www.4teachers.org/. Check it out, it gives you many resources for your classroom, and the blog section gives you many more websites that are very useful for teachers in all levels.

This particular site is perfect. As a reading language arts teacher I am constantly looking for ways to enhance my lessons and make them hands on. I found the Digital Storytelling ideas to be extremely useful. I have personally utilized the Comiclife and Storybird in my classroom. By using Comiclife, my students were able to create their own comic strip stories for a Figurative Language lesson and they were able to bring there lesson to live. I have also used Storybird and this is a great way to make the students bring their own creative writing to live. They are able to go through the writing process and be able to share their published work with others from all over. Love this resource...

What a great website! Thanks for sharing it with us. I loved the fact that it even breaks it down into questions and you can click on the question and it will give some suggested links. I've used storybird before and the students loved it! I also found some digital story telling websites that I have never seen before. Check this link for more additional resources http://www.pbs.org/teachers.

Wow! Impressive. This is a great website for teachers learning how to use technology in the classroom. I especially like the article called, "Beyond the Classroom with iPads & Mobile Technology". Integrating what interests our students such as ipads and iphones will provide opportunities for higher participation.

This is a great website. I like how this website provides a variety of resources that educators can incorporate in the classroom. I like how this website provides different publications and articles that teachers can access to learn how to teach using multimedia. http://edtechteacher.org/index.php/news-a-media/publications I also like how this website offers teachers to register for free webinars on how to implement iPads and other mobile devices in the classroom. And also provides recorded links of past webinars through blackboard. http://edtechteacher.org/index.php/news-a-media/webinars

This is a great website with a lot of information. It has many resources for us educators to integrate technology in the classrooom. thanks for sharing!

Very first place I checked out on the website was the article on the 5 mistakes people make when using iPads in the classroom, and as someone who had this opportunity last year I can say I made most of those mistakes :) Great resource for those looking to improve technology implementation on their campus.

This website has so many different areas to choose from. I mainly looked at the math links and I found Real World Math. Real World Math is a website where you can find helpful lessons. Some of the lessons also deal with project based learning.

I found the area of Teaching for 21st Century interesting because it states that successful integration in schools requires on going staff development. In addition, it has information on a cohort program that teachers are invited to get enroll in order to learn more about technology.

Wow, teaching Math, not my best subject and this website is perfect for those like me. I always felt like math did make me nutty but these sites will definitely simplify lessons for better understanding. Great Website. Thanks for Sharing!

Although I don't teach math, I have added this website to our classroom page for students to use when they need a review or assistance in Math. Thanks for sharing!

This a great math website. The glossary has excellent vocabulary that alot of our students need. I have shared this website with my 21st Century math teachers and they use it as additional resource for their math classes. Thanks for sharing.

I have added 3 stickies in the site: http://edudemic.com/2012/08/50-education-technology-tools-every-teacher-should-know-about/ I would like your feedback on what tools have been useful to you in your classroom? How have they worked for you? Or have not worked for you? Have fun navigating through the 50 Education Technology Tools!!!!!!

Watch this you tube video on how the Secretary of State announces the Education Technology Plan and back in 2010 invited educators to post how technology has impacted their classroom. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR_lBt4jjow ENJOY!!!! Technology is evolving in this world at a fast pace, we just have to keep up with it. Have an AWESOME week!

Sara, I liked the organization of this page! These 50 educational tools are essential. I must say that I really liked the "Social Learning tools" and the "Useful Tools" because I have used many of them before and they work very well. It's great to have a page like this as a resource when deciding on what tools use. Thank you for sharing!

Sara, I have used several of these educational tools to present new materials to my studends and to compliment my lessons. However, since my students are kindergarteners, they are not able to fully manipulate these tools to create their own work. I feel that by exposing my students to these tools that I am doing my part to educate them and be computer literate. This composite of websites is a great list for teachers to explore. Thank you for sharing this website.

Hi Sara, I use Prezi to engage the students in a new form of presenting information to the classroom. It's fun to use and it offers so many different elements that Powerpoint does not. I also did a prentation for the campus teachers on how to use Prezi in their classroom and the results of the training were very sucessful and eye-opening. The teacher were happy to learn a new tool they can implement into their classroom curriculum to help keep student learning fun and engaging. I think it's a great tool to use in any classroom. Blanca

I have used several of the tools that are listed on this website and it is great to have them on one major site. I have used Prezi and Edmodo. These tools have been great to use for my students. They benefited and enjoyed the interaction that they experienced from both of these web 2.0 tools.

This is a great way to organize all these tools, through our program I have had the opportunity to utilize most of them but I have not yet exposed my students to all of them and I am really looking forward to being able to enhance their learning. Thanks for Sharing....

This is a great site! I've bookmarked it and already started going through my mental checklist of what I have used and what I'd like to use. It's a great way to see what's out there and how I can better use those tools in the classroom.

I was hoping this was something that I wouldn't have to pay out-of-pocket. I did see how you mentioned there being an app for the ipad. I'm goign to look into that once I log-off. I have "checked out" the ipad for a few weeks and apparently, the other two on campus have yet to be checked out. I believe teachers are having difficulty in how to use them in class. I on the otherhand have been trying new apps, programs, and reasons to keep the ipad in my classroom. LOL

Lucero, this "Interwrite PAD" seems like an awesome idea to have. The ability to teach interactive lessons from different places in the classroom would be great! The best part is that it comes with the software ($249) value. The battery life on this technology is also incredible. Up to 40 hours of continuous use without recharging it. That's a whole week! Having and using this "Interwrite PAD" would be awesome. Thanks for sharing!

Lucero, I wish all campuses had the luxury of devices like the Interwrite PAD. Interactive lessons would work out best if students had ease of access instead of being restricted to a certain area of the classroom. This device seems to be able to provide engaging activities for the students and I would jump at the possibility of having the opportunity to incorporate the Interwirte IPAD into my lessons. Hopefully our school districts will continue growth in technology and purchase these devices for educations everywhere.

Lucero, my school district has purchased an Interwrite Pad for all of the elementary teachers at my district. I have been able to use it for the past three years and find that it keeps my students engaged in the lessons that involve the Interwrite Pad.

Wow! this is something my students can really gain from especially in my reading class. We are in the process of purchasing IPADS for our students and we are all looking forwards to it. Thanks for sharing.

This is an excellent equipment for all teachers to use in their classrooms because you can actively monitoring your students while you teach your skill. Also another benefit for gthis interwrite pad is that a students can also put his or her response to the question being ask by the teacher. Great information. Thanks for sharing.

Powerful! It is created by educators, and gaming is the ultimate motivator for many of our students. I can see this working, but the teacher must have an end goal in mind, and truly understand this tool. Thank you for sharing!

I have heard of Minecraft but haven't had the chance to play it myself. I didn't realize how big it has become. It seems like it could be a useful tool for learning much like whyville is. Is the educational version free?

My son LOVES minecraft. I could definetly see ways of incorporating it into the classroom. I could see a group project on how to build something to overcome an obsticle. I had never thought of minecraft as an educational device before but now I think I am going to login with my son and see what can come up with.

I have heard of Minecraft but never new that teacher's were using it in the classroom for teaching purposes. I believe if there is a teacher who uses it in the class and has great results from it then that teacher should share her experiences with other teachers. I would definitely look into it if I knew it would help the students in their learning.

I had heard of it, but now you have peaked my curiosity. Let me play, I mean research it and see how I can use it in class.

Have I heard of it??? I can't get my son off of it! I do not have any personal experience using it as a teaching tool, but I have been reading up on the education version. The website http://minecraftedu.com/ contains sample lesson plans and activities guides, along with a forum and chat discussion group. I am excited about "Quiz Blocks", which is a feature that will be added soon. I have on the other hand utilized the program as an incentive for a student who is currently on a BIP. When he earns the required points, he is able to use the program for 15 minutes. He loves it (almost as much as my son) and I have already seen an improvement in his behavior.

I hadn't heard of Minecraft before, but it looks like a very interesting game. I watched the video and it seems to be a very powerful tool that could be used by teachers to foster students' creativity. The crafting system could also be used to impove students' basic math skills. Minecraft could definitively be used in geometry classes since everything is made up of cubes and students would understand and review the concepts of volume and area.

I had not heard about it until now. I can see how it can be engaging to children. I think middle school and high school children would probably find it very engaging. Since students will want to play it, it would be an excellent learning tool. I would like to learn more about it.

Dara, my two sons (11 and 7) love Minecraft!! Like Heather, I can barely get them away from it. I agree with Ana in that gaming is a fantastic motivator. What I've seen is what we call games aren't really what the students had in mind; however, Minecraft is definitely a game. I've not used it in a lesson, but the vocabulary (resourses, gravel, sand, distance mined, etc) my sons are using when they are playing has peaked my interest in using it in math and science lessons. Minecraft can most definitely be used as an incentive.

Dara, my son loves the game; my students love playing the game. Do they know the game is educational; I don't think so. Which is the beauty of it all. Learning should be transparent, it should be fun; students should enjoy learning and if using games like Minecraft be used in the classroom for education or for behavior incentives students would enjoy learning in a different way. Dara, great topic selection because it would be a great way to reach students in their own element or enviroment.

My son downloaded this app in his IPAD and I also purchased the game at Game Stop for $20.00 for the XBOX 360 online. He has already created our 3-dimensional home using Minecraft. He has built our entire square footage of our home, the garage, and the yard. It is so awesome, but I don't know how he does it because the 3-D makes me dizzy. I could not do it. He is so creative and I think someday he will become an engineer because he has always loved legos and loves to build things!

It is incredible how sometimes we as educators hide in our comfort zone without realizing all cool educational material out there in the world, I agreed this game can be helpful if it is used for educational purposes. Specially in this era of students where technology is no longer strange or difficult to use.

This game is very popular in the high school setting as well. Whenever students come together in an online community good and bad things will happen. This game is a good way to introduce collaboration and netiquette. Here is a link on how to use minecraft https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_uJDeTX9eEAPLBSgcWH0Iq5AG3VBWkDVnB7Ccs8je1s/edit Also here is a blog from a teacher who uses it in lessons: http://minecraftteacher.tumblr.com/ and an excerpt from one way to use it in class. "One lesson, for example, challenged his students to divide up into teams and build houses. As Levin explains the task: They were given a few raw materials and tools, but NOT enough to complete the job. Only enough to get started. They had to decide how to divide the work amongst themselves. Who would gather resources? Who would build? Would one team member be the architect and take a leadership role. Or would everyone take a turn doing each of these tasks?

Will you be willing to blow up the gradebook and try this innovative way of grading student's performance in your class?

I am willing to blow up the grade book. This will require to lay a foundation of work that students will find interesting and that covers the requirements for the course. A lot of preparation needs to be done by the teacher ahead of time. It will be up the students to select their work and what final grade they want.

Sounds like PBL again. If the methodologies of teaching must change to teach and prepare students for our ever changing world, perhaps that is another thing that needs to change. In PBL we are using a standard based rubric, and we use a point system1-4. Teachers were quick to ask how they can convert these numbers to grades, but do we really need to? On the other hand, Juan is right, we need to be very well prepared, and have daily progress checks and be sure that a student masters the skills necessary. Either way the accountability of the teacher/guide is immense. I prefer PBL with all the 21st century skills to prepare them for real life.

Sometimes, I can see these effects in my own classroom. As STAAR approaches, we tend to increases the number of mini-marks (practice tests) that students take. Struggling students usually have the attitude of, "I failed last week, and I will probably fail again", whereas, high achieving students think, "AGAIN...I am so bored!". By focusing on the learning, I think children will be more enthusiastic and motivated to learn. In addition, I have seen how grades promote competition between students, which is not always beneficial. I appreciate how Ana referenced PBLs. PBLs are an excellent way to refocus our attention on the heart of the manner, which is student achievement!

I've been saying this for a long time now, and I all I've gotten thus far are weird looks. How do you like me now! I'm going to use this as a reference to support what I've been saying all along. And yes, it does look like a PBL model in the sense that we'd measure student achievement more individually. The problem is that we don't have buy in from from administration and colleagues, YET, which makes it difficult to get student buy in when not everyone is aboard. I like it very much, and yes, I would be willing to blow up my grade book.

I would love to do this BUT if the students are being judged on scores to get into college then I will have to give them scores. I teach juniors and seniors and they are all worried about their grades so they can get into college. Until the system changes I am goingot have to give grades. What is funny is my higher level students want grades. They are always asking about their grades and how they can bring up their grades. They associate school with grades and that is what is important to them. We as educators need to be associating learning with school not just grades. I think this is a great idea but I can not get rid of the gradebook yet. Here is to wishful thinking.

I'm with some of the others who commented - I would love this but..... I completely agree grades lead to a reduction in everything from interest (student and teacher) to quality of learning and teaching. It seems all the research in the world doesn't change the way students and teachers are assessed. Remember portfolio assessments? Portfolios assessed the learner as a whole and looked at growth over the year. Much like PBLs, as other mentioned, it measures student achievement individually. Like Albert said, there isn't buy in yet. We are a grade driven system. Students, parents. administrators, etc. associate success or failure with grades. I would love to blow up my grade book and focus on student growth!

I would love to blow up the grade book. Every week I am picking up 15 grades per week because I am self-contained and teach all subjects. Sometimes it is so overwhelming and time consuming. Although, it does measure whether or not the students are mastering the objectives. With grades we are constantly re-teaching objectives that students did not get in conference tutorials and keep on teaching new objectives. It feels like the teachers, students, administrators are so worried and stressed over grades, numbers, benchmark scores, and percentages for data. Especially with STAAR, we are so consumed over numbers!

Due to our lack of funds or low funds; it seems like a good concept. However, many things would have to be worked out before something like this could be implemented. Like taking into consideration that working with different devices will be a challenge because some may not be compatible with certain software. If implemented appropriately BYOD could work.

With the appropriate Internet bandwidth, policies, web 2.0 tools and software, it can be done. But like Cora mentioned it is going to be a challenge to address all of the issues associated with so many plataforms being available to students. To get started, a definite must is bandwidth. Then moving forward in setting up a wireless access point that is locked.

My school has had a BYOD policy for the last year and a half. Well, actually they have had the students bring their own device but we really do not have a policy to go with it...yet. Many of our students bring their laptops and tablets to school but our network is HORRIBLE. The teachers can barely access the internet let alone the students. Our district says we will be getting a new network this summer (we will see), and then hopefully we can use more content on the internet. I love using what others have come up with and posted on the internet I just want to be able to get to it easily.

I agree with what you all are saying. In my school district they implemented the BYOD for our high school and 9th grade campus. The teachers received no type of training and were basically told when school started that we would be implementing it. We are having issues with internet access and supposedly our network is up to par. The teachers on our campus have mixed feelings because they feel alot of the students are just using their phone for texting or to get on social websites. Since students with phones can get on the internet without accessing the school's internet. The most importantly alot of teachers are having issues on how to use all these different devices. Since there are so many devices it is almost impossible to know how to use them all.

I think BOYD can be a good thing. It's not quite a good thing just yet. The district I am in created new guidelines for BYOD policies mid year last year. The reason I say it can be good thing is it's not really being implemented like I think the district thought it would. Even though we are well into the first year of the policy, students don't take advantage of it like they could. I do have a few students who bring a device almost daily to read from, but my own daughter, for instance, doesn't want to take hers out of fear of losing it. I think other share her fear; however, the fear the district had of students abusing the new BYOD policy never matierialized. In fact, it's as if less students bring devices now that they are allowed to than when it was against the rules. Figures. :)

I can definitely see BYOD as a possibility in the middle and high school setting, but as an elementary teacher, there would be more barriers than just network speeds and compatibility issues. Most elementary students wouldn't really have access to laptops, smartphones, or tablet computers. While they might be able to use these things at home, I doubt most parents would let their 9 year old bring the family $500 iPad to class everyday. Additionally, as others have said before, there would have to be a really solid policy put in place for the use of these devices to avoid the whole plan backfiring on educators. The internet can be a dangerous and scary place for those who don't know what they're doing as well as the obvious scenario of students just browsing facebook or something similar instead of completing an assignment.

Like many of you have pointed out, I too believe that there are lots of kinks that must be worked off before BYOD can be truly successful, but I also believe that the open-minded, willingness of the districts to integrate technology is a step in the right direction. Our district will be implementing BYOD and I am excited to see how it unfolds. I realize that teacher monitoring is crucial and planning will be key, but I think it will benefits the children in the long run,

I did not even know what BOYD was till I saw this video. It sounds pretty interesting. I believe that any teacher who is interested in technology will "buy" in to it. My only concern is what happens to those students who don't own any tech devices they can bring to school. At the school where I am at the students are from very low income families but then again somehow, someway they find money to own these things. Yet, there are parents who refuse to buy the expensive devises. What happens to those students?

I think that BYOD is a good thing, because the student is familiar with his/her technology device. Sometimes when I have to use the school laptops, they have different features that I need to ask questions. If I had brought my own laptop, I would have completed more work and been more comfortable using my own technology. I do agree with Juan, we do need appropriate Internet bandwidth, policies, web 2.0 tools, hardware/software in order to incorporate BYOD in your school.

I think BYOD is a great thing, however, it's not that easy to get all parents on board, and I think it's even more difficult to get other teachers on board. Even one technology device is difficult for teachers who are not technologically inclined to prodide assistance in, and having many different devices can be overwhelming for those teachers. The concept is right on, however, there are some issues that need to be addressed first like teacher training and getting parent "buy in."

BYOD has been implemented at our campus with the upper grades. The students enjoyed bringing their own device and were eager to share their favorite applications. The teachers were surprised to see how many students owned their own devices.

BYOD is great idea in implementing technology in the curriculum..I think that will motivate students to learn more..at my district they'll be implementing BYOD this coming year and I'm very excited about it. I know the students will be taught to use their own device but the right way. They will be more involved with classroom discussions and participate more, since it'll be done with their own device.

Hi Gayle, I am glad you where able to post. I know you have been having trouble. In regards to your response, I agree that PBL are an excellent way to build depth-of-knowledge. Thinking is a skill that I believe needs to be modeled and taught. Students do not come into my classroom knowing how to think. Often times, they want me to think for them. If I continue to do this, I am doing a disservice to my students. I have to step back, release control, and allow them to take charge of their learning and PBLs are a great way to do this!

I was fortunate to be able to visit the Metro School of Design, where they teach 100% PBL, and it was very impressive to walk into the classrooms to be met with an child "ambassador" who welcomed us, and asked us what we would like to know about PBL, and then took us to each group where the "project manager" explained all the protocols and what stage they were in, etc. What is impressive is that these children were so confident, and knew the process as well as the content of what they were working on. I have worked with PBL with my students, and it is frustrating when they stumble, or make mistakes as they are going through the research and establishing their "need to knows" and "workshops". Lots of progress monitoring comes into play, and although the misconception is that the teacher does nothing, the teacher has to have a solid plan to be able to have a successful PBL. We interviewed a panel of students, and one mentioned that they "once had a PBL that was not fun because we did not get to present to anyone, just us" so having them solve a real problem or present to a live audience is very important to them. I do believe PBLs are effective, but will take time to implement successfully. We should start with mini PBLs and work our way up.

In response to Gayle: I too, have stumbled when implementing PBLs. I gave students the option of using technology, and at least two groups in each class chose a video. Because our children do not have any foundation in technology, they had many "need to knows" which in turn called for "workshops". It is difficult to teach everything at once in a 45 minute session once a week. I know that in the classroom, it would be different. I suggest we limit the options to two manageable products, and if technology is involved, get another adult to help with "workshops", such as a technology teacher or the librarian. We used iPads, and created a simple video which we are going to share with Apple TV. I will bring this back and create the videos after the STAAR testing, and use them to present to students next year. Subject was "Bullying and Cyberbullying"

I agree with Juan on this one. It would be hard to try PBL during the school year with STAAR looming over our heads. As much fun as it could be, it would be hard to convince administrators that PBL can solve our problems. With that being said, I would like to try PBL once we get through with STAAR.

I believe in PBL, but I also strongly believe in buy in. It's hard to have students follow this model in a non-self contained classroom, because PBL requires giving students more independence and ownership of their learning. In most classrooms students have learned to be spoon fed, because we think it's more effective and PBL feels almost unorthodox to many teachers including the students.

PBL's is a good experience for kids to go through. At first when we started doing PBL's for our MTT classes I hated them and didn't understand them. Luckily I had a great partner,Heather Luna, to guide me through them and see how they would benifit the students in our classroom. PBL's help the students see what is really happening in the real world and that there is more to life than video games.

Problem-based learning takes a lot of teacher planning. I really enjoyed the PBL lessons we created in Dr. Butler's database. We were able to see other PBLs created by other students and take some ideas from there into the classroom. PBL is becoming more popular and more school districts are buying into it. Students can collaborate and learn from each other. Students can take responsibility for their own learning while researching and coming up with a final product/project.

Project based learning plays such a pivotal role in helping the students truly understand new concepts. When technology becomes integrated as well, even more becomes possible. I recently came across the Museum of Math in NYC and am hoping to visit it this summer. There they have all kinds of projects integrating technology to teach Mathematics in a concrete instead of just abstract manner.

Juan, unfortunately, the end of the year after testing seems like the more realistic place for PBLs. In Port Isabel we are required to use CScope and it leaves very, very little time for anything else. I do have students browse through the PBLs I created for another class even though they aren't actually doing the projects. I am looking forward to being able to actualy implement them. Edna, I think PBLs would be more effective at the beginning of the year. As you said, Students would become used to the technique; however, the problem I have is a curriculum that doesn't allow time for PBLs. Adam, I have had the same issues with misconceptions. It's a quite unnerving to let them lose, so to speak, and be in charge of their own learning when I know what I am responsible for them to know and have seen the misconceptions. I think PBLs are wonderful, but not when time is so limited and I must see to it that they learn a particular concept in a given amount of time. April, My PIISD uses CScope too and I completey understand the time constraints and limitations. I do like SCope, but it leaves NO extra time. Lupita, You're not alone. I sounds like most of us have had a hard time fitting PBLs in for one reason or another. Jessica, Presenting in different formats is one of the many positives of PBLs. I agree with you that this is an important point when considering learning styles. Isabel, I've not been able to implement the PBLs we created, but I've been able to share the content of them with my students. You're right in that they do take planning - as well as the ability to let go which I have not mastered yet! :) Brian, The Museum of Math sounds amazing. What a great opportunity. The ability to teach math concepts in a more concrete way instead of such an abstract manner is key.

Gayle, I think that when a PBL is used in the classroom one must consider what content will be taught or integrated through it. I listened to the video,but as an educator I know better. I cannot forget about the curriculum, but I can figure out ways to imbed it into my PBLs. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for the testing grades to find time to implement PBLs. I think that the beginning of the year or after testing would be the best times to try PBLs in the grade levels where time to teach the content is so critical before the test. However, I think that PBLs help children make real life connections, and they learn things in a way that it will stay with them forever.

Cora, I agree we can't forget about the curriculum, but like you, I think PBLs really help make those connections and there is real learning going on. After testing seems to be a great place for PBLs.

Problem Based Learning is integrated using all subjects to learn about a specific topic. You are applying research which requires reading and writing, analyzing your data in order to interpret or communicate your results. The students were engaged. One comment that one of the girls said was that their first wing was not that great, but went back and made the second wing better. They learned from their mistakes, which was just trial and error. In conclusion, I really liked that the students had to present in front of a real panel of experts of engineers to communicate their findings. It really holds students responsible to learn their material before presenting their data and findings.

I have seen it implemented in a school year round, and once teachers understand it, they can successfully implement it with the core objectives embedded as scaffodling activities. It has so many benefits, but the training must be thorough as what I was fortunate enough to experience. We cannot send ambassadors, who bring back info without exposing all teachers to the actual settings in real classrooms. So much information and experience is lost unless teachers see it first hand.