Group items tagged

IF you tweet or share a to a lot of apps, this app, Drafts will connect to just about anything. Type it, then decide where to send it, or you can save your most inspirational items to tweet, Facebook, or wherever later. It links with evernote, twitter, facebook, app.net, email, messages, calendars, dropbox, evernote, bufferapp, toodledoo and more (as well as ifttt.com integration.) I'm still learning about all the ways to use this handy tool. The only thing I wish it did is that I could add to it from the web and then see it on my ipad.

Miguel Guhlin is doing what many of us are doing after the last straw - Google pulling GoogleReader. He's documenting how he's going to pull his dependence upon Google. For me, my biggest decision caused by Google is that I'll be moving to Wordpress over the summer. I do think Google Sites is next although I've received several heated emails that this isn't accurate - if you look at the market share of google sites, it is far less than that of Google reader. Yes, it is something educators depend upon but you get what you pay for. I think Google would be better served to have a freemium model -- if advertising doesn't pay for it, we'll let you keep the service if you pay. I don't know how I"d move from gmail. I just don't but if I had to, I guess I could. I don't think gmail is going anywhere, but I do have my personal email boxes going into that inbox. I agree wikispaces is far superior to Google sites. It started quite a few years a go with Google Lively and it has just continued every year. Thank you Miguel for your transparency. I hope Google is listening, many of us are still HOT about Google reader going away.As great as Feedly is, it doesn't have Diigo or ifttt.com integration yet which is a problem.

An interesting guide from edutopia for parents that you can share with your parents and PTO. They share a lot of examples of 21st century learning and as you work to build support for these things, this is a great document to share. (Full Disclosure: The digiteen project is listed for middle school - after this was listed, we saw such an inundation of schools wanting to do the project, we created the DigiTween project for kids aged 10-12 and Digiteen is still for kids aged 13+.) There are a lot of other great sites including the World Peace game, information on Skype in the Classroom, World of Warcraft in School and the Digital Youth Network. Download and share.

Solvr is an older tool and the issues that Kevin Jarrett shares here still exist, however, it is a tool that could be used in the classroom. This would be useful for prewriting and brainstorming but I agree that the potential for "shenanigans" is substantial. That said, if you have a small group, it is something you could use.

There are many who don't understand this one point. I used to have someone who required me to have beautiful lesson plans. They were detailed. I spent more than an hour a day on them. So much time so that sometimes I felt unprepared when the kids actually walked in the door. When those detailed plans were removed and I was allowed to focus on the content created for the students to use and then keep a grid (I keep links, etc. to what I'm doing) - THAT Was when real innovation happened in my classroom. Things like wikis, blogs, etc. happened after those super-restrictive requirements were taken off my shoulders. I had the wrong audience when I had those detailed lesson plans - my audience was the principal at the time. Now, I still have plans but I keep it in a grid in a book and then keep copies of what I use with students in dropbox and other places. I do far more now than then because my focus is the students. Lesson plans aren't bad. However, if you spend your time making the LESSON PLAN itself pretty and perfect then likely you're not spending your actual time PLANNING, printing, collecting, and creating what you'll be doing with your students. Also, when you do things like #geniushour and 20% time projects, you no longer have a lesson plan but a project plan which is an entirely different thing altogether. Don't fault teachers for this.  Teaching is the hardest job everybody thinks they can do and few really can.

Project connecting students and teachers of spanish.

Project that is connecting students and teachers of Spanish from around the World. There is still time!

I love this conversation from Natasha Devon, body image expert and recovered bulimic. Please read to help get inside the mind of what we're dealing with here and the messages from media (particularly to girls) about how we "should" look, "should" behave, and "should" be so we can be happy and live good lives. So much of it is manufactured unattainable hogwash, but still many of us (including me) struggle with self esteem issues that come from the fact that we aren't the "type" of person we see in the media who is a "popular" person. Criticize as you will, but it is reality for many of us. From Natasha: "I have one hour to convey the message that inspired my business, Gossip School; just one hour to emphasise the importance of self-esteem, to give these young people the tools to recognise negative messages from the media and to convince them that it is OK to be themselves, however they look."

New website for linking scientist with students. Still in beta but looks promising.

Bumper sticker noticed on the back of a van: It will be a great day when schools have all the money they need and the Air Force has to run a bake sale to buy a bomber. Now, don't get me wrong. I have nothing against the Air Force, and bombers, when used against the right people, can right some of the world's wrongs. But the point of the bumper sticker is still cogent. Why do schools have to struggle to fund their programs while millions are doled out to other causes?

Students need to be open and use open content, however, there are still questions that haven't been answered about open content that need to be addressed. How long will it take to bring these issues to the forefront? Will many higher ed institutions have to become irrelevant first? Do colleges realize that there are things they can do that will make them more attractive (intellectual property rights, for example.)

Very proud of my dear friend Cheryl Oakes from Maine who is on the Official Google blog with her work with those with disabilities. Cheryl is an amazing woman who loves children. My youngest son has met her only once (in San Antonio at ISTE) and still calls her Aunt Cheryl. She has that effect on people. Great post. "One teacher who has taken advantage of the web as an educational tool is Cheryl Oakes, a resource room teacher in Wells, Maine. She's also been able to tailor the vast resources available on the web to each student's ability. This approach has proven invaluable for Cheryl's students, in particular 16-year-old Morgan, whose learning disability makes it daunting to sort through search results to find those webpages that she can comfortably read. Cheryl taught Morgan how to use the Search by Reading Level feature on Google Search, which enables Morgan to focus only on those results that are most understandable to her. To address the difficulty Morgan faces with typing, Cheryl introduced her to Voice Search, so Morgan can speak her queries into the computer. Morgan is succeeding in high school, and just registered to take her first college course this summer."

This is my most popular post on Facebook and I still agree with the conclusions in this article.

This cool excel spreadsheet lets you put in vocabulary and quick fits the spreadsheet so you can print them out and share them easily (for those still using paper this is a great download.)

Free online resources for teachers of high quality vetted learning materials. It is searchable without an account. Register to be updated a out categories of resources of interest to you. It is currently BETA, but it still has loads of useful resouces.

As you know, teachers know everything. But there are some mere mortals out there who still need to ask questions. This is a fabulous site with over 80 specialist areas to ask questions to the cloud. The community will then help you find an answer. The areas include English and other languages, computing, maths, science, history and much more. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Cross+Curricular

A fantastic set of images from artists at the turn of the 20th century exploring what life would be like in 100 years, or the year 2000. Some are accurate, while many are still unrealized. This would make a great starter to get kids thinking about technology, culture, and thinking 100 years into the future.

If you are still waiting for snow this Christmas, practise snowboarding with this great game. Perform tricks to impress the judges. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Winter+%26+Christmas

Online tool for uploading, dissecting, and examining all of the separate images that make up a single animated gif. Good for reconstructing how an animated gif was created, and figure out just how many still images go into creating an animated gif.

ADHD, medicine abuse, and a video to show you what it "feels like" to have ADHD. This post from Huffington is a great one to share with those who don't understand this disorder. There are still so many questions to ask, especially that of if we've somehow become so desk bound that our physical bodies are crying out for more running and moving, but that is for another post.