Group items tagged

Part 1 of 2 blog about how 21st century thinking is different.

Thinking of Teaching is a teacher blog that is full of ideas that can be used in the classroom as well as freebies

This website creates word clouds and is often used to begin concept mapping or brainstorming. Students can list words that connect with each other and create a visual. Word clouds can be altered by size of the words, color, and shape.

Thank you Kelsey for posting this, I've seen these word clouds on websites and other places but didn't know how to make them. Now I don't have to look any further. I think this resource will be something that I could use in my classroom. It may be a tool used so students can see what words they use most in their writing or for a poetry unit. It is definitely something that I can see myself using for graphic works, either on a blog, yearbook page, or poster. This is something that I feel both students and teachers can use, but mostly students. I know there are similar sites out there, but not sure what they are.

I love this cite to do word wall words and other things. I used it a great deal last year but had forgotten about it. It is not only a good resource for the teacher but the kids love it to. Thanks for refreshing my memory on this site.

Collaborize Classroom is an online Web2.0 tool that allows teachers to facilitate and create distributed learning communities for their classes.  This is a forum for students to blog on questions from class and extend their learning beyond the classroom.

Hmmm, have never heard of this before, but I like the look of it! I think it's great that a site like this can offer a UDL twist to online work for students, while also cutting down on grading time for the teacher. As a TA this semester, I have finally seen firsthand the incredible amount of time that goes into grading! I never understood why teachers hated it so much, but...I do now! I'm sure most web 2.0 classroom discussion tools have this sort of tracking feature for grading purposes (like ELearning here at UNI, for example). I love that this is a free tool! I do wonder how successfully students would utilize threaded discussion or other online learning environments such as this one in K-6 environments. I think it would be fun to experiment with and perhaps do some serious research and publishing on the results of such an experiment. All about being a teacher-researcher, and this is certainly something I could see myself trying to bring into my own classroom, especially if I was ever teaching in a flipped classroom environment...

I like the setup of Collaborize Classroom and definitely see the advantages of using it in the classroom. Unfortunately, I think our students are overwhelmed with new LMS systems, web 2.0 tools, and websites that they would probably not be very receptive to this site. If CC was easily integrated into a LMS interface, then I would consider using it, but at this point I will keep it on my radar for future use.

A great source for collaborative tools for both teachers and students. One of the coolest parts of GFE is the lesson plan search!! Can easily search for what you're looking for in a lesson plan and come up with many ideas and outlines to get you started.

Google for Educators is a very good tool for teachers to use, i liked the way it organized, it is easy to research and find what you want, classroom videos are awesome tools to use.

Just FYI: sorry if this gets posted twice. I accidentally posted these far before the assignment was due, and wanted to ensure they are still visible on the group.

This resource is from Capella University and their teachers are teaching many different tutorials about math and science. This resources gives tips and tools to better teach  in the classroom . 

What a wonderful and credible resource! After exploring the site I think I would mainly use these as a resource for myself as a teacher. But I do think some of the tutorials may be appropriate for upper elementary grades and on. In a way, this reminds me of the Khan Academy website. If you can't remember how to do something or if you need a new way to teach something then this would be an excellent tool to turn to.

If you haven't heard of Khan Academy I definitely think it's worth checking out. I'm under the impression that it is popular for many, many students. Who knows, maybe your students will be visiting this website that delivers free lessons on a variety of subjects! Even better, maybe it will you help create content specific knowledge.

This website is great our students visit either the app or website on a daily basis. Its just not for math, we have students looking up science and english. Its also a great resource if you are thinking of flipping your classroom.

This social networking blog by Pam Dyer has some really great infographics (think like graphics that actually provide relevant information in an educational way) that lend themselves to starting awesome classroom conversations. Talk to your students about social networking, the benefits and pitfalls of Facebook, why Instagram is taking over, and how to avoid being a terrible Twitter user. She does a fantastic job providing relevant and important information to the average consumer, but it impacts educators even more. Check it out for a good read!

This blog lists top documentary films for teachers or students to watch. Teachers can use these documentaries as a means of providing more information to students. The documentaries may not be suitable for all ages.

This site could have great potential, especially for high school science and social studies classes, based on the topics of the movies listed. It is great that you can watch the documentaries immediately and for free. Students might find this a useful resource for another type of research materials for projects. In my subject areas, I wouldn't use most of these, because we usually need to watch things in the target language, but some of the cultural topics might be relevant, such as some French speaking African countries, art, etc. I haven't ever thought to look for free documentaries online, I suppose there are more sites to check out!

Wow, what a great site. This is something that I think can really come in handy. There are often times when I or my fellow teachers are looking for something to help expand understanding or make connections with something they are learning. There is a large variety of categories to pick from and not just science and social studies. I think this definitely is a site for teachers, but I could see students using this site too for school projects. I'm going to be passing this one onto my fellow teachers. Thanks Kelsey for a useful resource.

Google Earth is an instructional tool that I use often as a social studies teacher.  However, it can be used across content areas.  For example, it can be used to highlight the geographic connections to the settings of novels, or to take students on virtual field trips to science museums.

I agree with you that this is a great tool that is something that can really enrich student learning. I can definitely see myself at most grade levels using this tool one way or another. I would be interested in experimenting more with the program and finding creative ways to implement it into lessons.

I really enjoy using Google Earth in the classroom. The capabilities of Google Earth and Google Maps (especially with the most recent update) give my students a chance to see places they may never get to see in their lives. I think we are going to spend more time focusing on the use of Google Earth or Maps in my upcoming Global Studies classes.

Article from EdTech magazine featuring Edina Schools in Minnesota. Discussion is based around their initial 1:1 pilot program and eventual decision to move towards BYOD after that.

"Clearinghouse"

This is a wiki of all sorts of tools which can be used by both teachers and students in the classroom for everything from drawing to writing, to presentations, to really almost anything you can think of. Expansive listing.

This looks like a great resource. I was just thinking the other day how can I use the technologies and programs I don't know a thing about. This has it broken down really well and includes a summary with them. Very user friendly!

Just FYI: sorry if this gets posted twice. I accidentally posted these far before the assignment was due, and wanted to ensure they are still visible on the group.

Excellent information which contains "the process and methods of design, adapted specifically for the context of education." 

This is a great, but controversial article about iPads being used in schools.  Read between the lines and see what you think!

This web 2.0 tool is a great tool to use to communicate with parents and students via text messaging.  We continually talk of the need to meet students/parents where they are at with today's most commonly used forms of communication. I think this is perfect tool to use to connect with them. 

May be review information for most of us in this group, but still a way to affirm why using social media can be extremely beneficial. 

As said above, it may be review information for us, but I think it's a great article, especially to those who you may talk to about social media and think it's not worth their time, it's something you should show them. Social media is definitely a great way to progress professional development.

A great education blog from an awesome source - CNN.  Good articles abound on this website and are easily categorized into columns as well.

If you don't yet follow this blog on Twitter or Facebook then you should! Always some great stuff about education, schools, and well written overall. An awesome resource for a good Sunday morning read.

This site is a great resource to help keep up on what is going on in education at all levels. I especially liked the recent article entitled, "5 Things Teachers Want Parents to Know". I really don't think this site is just for teachers but I think teachers will be the ones to use the site most. Teachers are very busy and don't always have time to read several news feeds to get our educational news, so its nice that its all right here.

**This is an "extra" bookmark I wanted to include because I thought it related to the modules we were working on.** Be sure to watch the video & listen to what the interviewees have to say. It will make you think! Is technology complicating our lives? Are people evolving to be addicted to technology? Does technology distract us? The "story highlights" on the left side of the article are also very interesting.

An intuitive concept mapping web 2.0 tool that promotes asynchronous learning.