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"3 Tips on Integrating Technology in the Classroom Former Gov. Bob Wise discusses Digital Learning Day and how high school teachers can embrace technology. By Laura McMullen Jan. 25, 2012 SHARE Integrating technology into a high school classroom isn't a one-step process. "You can't just slap a netbook [computer] on top of a textbook and say, 'Great, now we have technology," says Bob Wise, former governor of West Virginia and president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, an advocacy organization. Wise says that digital learning starts with teachers, whose performance is enhanced by technology-not the other way around. That's also the idea of Digital Learning Day, which the Alliance is spearheading. The first annual Digital Learning Day falls on February 1 and will celebrate innovative K-12 instructors who successfully bring technology into the classroom by assigning online course content, using adaptive software for students with special needs, and utilizing online student assessments and other digital tools. Educators, as well as parents, students, librarians, and community leaders, can learn about classroom innovations and get new ideas by chiming in during the virtual National Town Hall meeting held on Digital Learning Day. [Learn how a new iPad app is revolutionizing textbooks.] "The whole intention of Digital Learning Day is to really celebrate teachers and good instructional learning practices," says Sarah Hall, director of the Alliance's Center for Secondary School Digital Learning and Policy. And good teaching, especially the kind that involves working with evolving technologies, sometimes requires good advice. Hall and Wise shared the following ideas for effectively using technology in the classroom-not just on Digital Learning Day, but anytime. 1. Plan ahead: There has to be a comprehensive strategy in place to implement technology into the school system, Wise says, and the teachers have to be involved in the planning stages. "When a schoo

This is a ning where art educators can share ideas and project. 

Here is a good game for equivalent fractions! This does take a little getting used to -- I shared this with my students early on in their study of equivalent fractions. I think this may be more useful as students have more knowledge with the subject -- would be confusing otherwise...

This is a great blog on activating prior knowledge, so important when expecting full comprehension and engagement from students! It is amazing that the simplest things can make the biggest difference in the classroom, each student has something unique and valid to offer, we as teachers need to make sure we give them the opportunity to share what they know and discuss what they are learning.

Faces of Learning is a collaborative, solution-oriented site that seeks to answer the questions: What does an ideal learning environment look like? and How do we create more ideal learning environments? It is a blog as well and there are many shared stories of learning experiences. There is an interactive 'learner sketch' to determine your own (or a student's) strengths and weaknesses. You can record your own story too.

With Scratch, you can program your own interactive stories, games, and animations - and share your creations with others in the online community. Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively - essential skills for life in the 21st century.

"Best Practices for Using Technology in the Classroom Technology in the Classroom When using technology for teaching, there are four basic principles to be kept in mind: Alignment: Technology should be used for a purpose-not for the sake of being flashy and not as a distraction from other forms of pedagogy. Carefully consider the ways in which video or other media that you share with your class are aligned with your learning objectives. Consider the technology that is most closely in alignment with your teaching skills and the needs of your students-if you don't like to teach with Power Point, consider giving students a handout outlining the main points of your lecture and listing major concepts to assist them in note-taking. Accessibility: Be sure that the technology that you intend to use is accessible to your students. While computers are virtually ubiquitous, and students living on campus have ready access to computing labs and other technology on campus, do consider whether or not your students have access to technology that you want them to use. Also, consider your own access to technology: make sure that you are familiar with all of the technology that you use and that media technology in your classroom is functioning correctly before the class. Plan ahead. If you are going to show a film, for example, don't wait until you walk into class to find out if the player in your classroom supports your DVD's regional format, or you will find yourself scrambling to come up with a lesson plan that does not include the film. By checking the regional format in advance, you will be able to have a matching-format DVD player delivered to the classroom by Technology Services. Assessment: As with lectures, discussions, and labs, provide your students with guidance when dealing with media technologies. If you are showing them a film, provide them with the learning objectives that you have for them in watching the film. Consider giving them a short assignment to be fil

"Five Ways Teachers Can Use Technology to Help Students Posted: 05/07/2013 8:34 am Follow éducation , Classroom Technology , Open Source , Public Schools , Teacher Technology , Technology In The Classroom , Technology News SHARE THIS STORY 57 273 34 Submit this story By Darrell M. West and Joshua Bleiberg Thomas Edison once said, "Books will soon be obsolete in the public schools... our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years." Amazingly enough, however, one of our nation's most important inventors was proven quite wrong. The American education system has a remarkable resistance to innovation and the classroom experience has changed very little in the 100 years since Edison's prediction. Advances in information technology have revolutionized how people communicate and learn in nearly every aspect of modern life except for education. The education system operates under the antiquated needs of an agrarian and industrial America. The short school day and the break in the summer were meant to allow children to work on family farms. Schools have an enduring industrial mentality placing students in arbitrary groups based on their age regardless of their competencies. Technology has failed to transform our schools because the education governance system insulates them from the disruptions that technology creates in other organizations. The government regulates schools perhaps more than any other organization. Rules govern where students study, how they will learn, and who will teach them. Education regulation governs the relationships of actors in the system and stymies the impact of innovative technologies. Furthermore the diffuse system of governance creates numerous veto points to limit innovation. To overcome these obstacles, we must persuade teachers that technology will empower them and help their students learn. We argue that there are five strategies for successful teacher adoption of education technology and that these principles will he

This is the blog of a second grade teacher who provides insight on various common core standards and shares many resources related to the common core. She provides 2nd grade writing rubrics related to the common core standards.

One of my coworkers works for this family and I cried when she shared this video with our classroom teachers. The family made this video because their son/brother has Autism and they wanted to educate the public about the impact of Autism. The boy's sister wrote a song for her brother and performs the song along to slideshow of family pictures. 

After reading chapter two of Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts I was slightly hesitant about starting a blog for the school. The author mentioned this website as a good resource for parent letters and student guidelines. This is the homepage wiki for Bud's resources, but there are many good links shared on it. Good luck!

This is a brief blog entry describing the "circles" feature of the new Google+. It describes how it can be used for the classroom. I'm so excited for the possibilities!

A middle school teacher shares how shy students benefit from twitter!

You may have seen this, but I thought this was great as a way to teach young elementary students internet safety.

Another engaging activity about what to share on-line and protecting your computer from a virus is http://home.disney.com.au/activities/surfswellisland/ Surfs Well Island by Disney. I found the tip that you should never tell an on-line friend the name of your baseball team very interesting.

Can load in through Facebook

This is a great site to download activities that others have already made on Boardmaker. It works for assistive technology and on computers. You need to have the Boardmaker software at your school though.

Do you know of any sites or blogs that focus on technology specifically to assist special Ed teachers?

This looks like a very interesting tool...

ZooBurst is a digital storytelling tool that lets anyone easily create his or her own 3D pop-up books. On this site students can create their own digital storybooks. Students can also use this site to write reports and to deliver presentations. They can choose the 3D images from the large collection of library clipart that is provided on Zooburst. They can also add chat bubbles to these images. These books can be shared with others through a hyperlink.