Group items tagged

"Storybirds are short, art-inspired stories you make to share, read, and print. Read them like books, play them like games, and send them like greeting cards. They're curiously fun. "

The time is finally here for my annual list of favorite sites of the year. This year, I decided to up my post to the top 100 instead of 25 due to the number of sites that I reviewed and due to the popularity of the post. I tried to cover a wide range of sites, from flash card creators to digital storytelling and of course, social networks, which really shined in 2011. I hope everybody enjoys the read and has as much fun reading it as I did creating it!

With only a few short weeks before break, it's tempting to let school run on autopilot until party time. This valuable learning time doesn't have to go to waste or feel like a punishment. To make these days count instead of countdown, here are a few tips and tricks to keep the energy and learning alive while having some pre-holiday fun.

"It is almost December again, which means the beginning of Advent. Advent calendars are a fun way to reveal information and "surprises" for your students to look forward to each day in December leading up to Christmas. Last year I thought I would make an advent calendar of my own using Wix. I created a Web 2.0 advent calendar by choosing 25 of my favorite web 2.0 tools for the classroom. Each day you can check out a new one. (I'll let you in on a secret, you can cheat and look at them all by clicking on the bird to get back to the calendar page…shh don't tell anyone!) "

How would you flip a classroom with iPads? For fun, here's a quick exploration of 3 ways it might happen with iPad apps. If you're already doing it, please share a link in the comments area!

Extreme Speed Booking is a fun way to build book groups/literature circles. I love this method of exposure to a variety of books, authors, and genres.

After last week's carnival (see below for previous entries), we now digging into what makes effective professional development. Allison Rowland from Envision Schools describes her and Envision Schools approach to late night fun -- planning deep and engaging PD!

Just crazy, fun stuff, alternative, people utilizing simple internet tech, commucation, fund, funny

"48 Great Ways Homeschoolers are Using Pinterest Pinterest has proven itself to be a valuable tool for so many people: photographers, designers, craft artists, wedding planners, moms, and more. It's a great place to discover interesting ideas, organize your thoughts, and pin down resources that otherwise might get lost in the shuffle. Homeschooling parents make up another group that benefits greatly from Pinterest, as they share unit studies, school room inspiration, and fun classroom project ideas. Read on to learn more about how homeschoolers are finding value in Pinterest, and some of the interesting ways they're putting the site to work in the home classroom."

As class sizes keep growing, it becomes harder and harder to find the time to look for new teaching materials, while still giving your kids the personalized attention they need (and deserve!). After all, you can only be pulled in so many directions at once, right? With that in mind, I put together this list of websites for elementary teachers, hoping that you'll finally be able add something fresh and fun to your lesson plan. Now, you don't have to skim the results of hundreds of Google searches to find a handful of useable internet resources-I've already got 101 of 'em!

A site dedicated poetry fun. Learn how to inspire students to write poetry in class. Read and rate poems written by others. Explore various poetry activities that will engage your students.

There are thousands of websites devoted to helping both. Below is a somewhat boiled down list of the best websites that are working to make education better.

As far as motivating readers goes, The 39 Clues is a smash hit. Suspenseful and exciting, it attracts both boys and girls with its gutsy main characters (who, luck has it, are a boy and a girl). It's not the hardest read, so kids won't be hugely intimidated by the wordage. What's more, it presents a card-collecting, game-playing, prize-winning opportunity. What more needs to be said? The books are interactive on many different levels. Each book comes with six cards, each of which has an identification code. Kids go to the 39 Clues website to enter the code and create an online card collection. Players can enter sweepstakes with prizes ranging from $250 to $10,000. The books are genuinely fun to read. I must admit that, although the books were a little juvenile for my reading level, that I was on the edge of my seat, reading as fast as possible to find out what happened next. And I don't even like mystery-adventures.

The Summer Challenge Tuesday, July 21, 2009 When I was little, I loved school so much that I would ask my mom to give me homework out of the encyclopedias during the summer. Well in the same tradition, I decided to offer summer homework to the teachers in my division. Totally optional, but there would be a reward in the end--four hours of professional development credit awarded upon the submission of a portfolio containing all eight challenges. To my surprise, several teachers have accepted the challenge. I have even had teachers from other divisions ask for my homework after hearing what the Early Childhood teachers were doing. They are having so much fun! They have proudly shown me some of their projects. Some say they probably won't do the portfolio for credit, but just wanted to complete the challenges to learn something new. I am linking to the project documents here if you would like to take the challenge. Summer is a great time to learn something new!

Ad that makes fun of German accents and encourages you to learn a foreign language. Hilarious!

See for yourself what the Web 2.0 buzz is all about. Aside from being highly interactive, accessible and collaborative-it's a fun use of technology! Our experts will guide you through six different ways to incorporate Web 2.0 into your classroom. Prepare yourself to learn a lot and be entertained along the way. GO EXPLORE!

I'll be posting links to creative projects on the 52 Projects Facebook page. I've been having fun on tumblr and twitter, why not join the Facebook party (where everyone seems to be spending their online time these days - so much so that even Google is worried.). I used to post more links here on the site, but it just makes more sense to post them into the social networks. It's less about blogs these days, and more about wall posts and feeds. I get it. * Share/Bookmark

PreSchool through Third Grade Students all over the world are invited to join in the fun as we use the contents of a "General Mills Lucky Charms" box of cereal to reinfoce math skills in your classroom!

"More and more websites are coming online to give students the ability to unleash their creativity in new and innovative ways. From abstract art to pointillism, students now can click and draw their way into original works of art, and today's freebie gives you a great list of places to begin. The sites are labeled by grade level to help guide you to those that best suit your students. In addition, I've added ratings to give teachers and students an idea of how much interactivity is available at each site. Some allow students to create from beginning to end, while others simply generate the final product with minimal effort. What you will not find here are basic virtual coloring sheets. I tried to find sites that would give students a chance to generate their own original works of art. What could be better? I will warn you that some of these sites will drag you in to create for long periods of time. Don't worry, you'll just be channeling your inner artist. Have fun!"

"Our Free Educational Movies bring your student on a fun and interactive journey through the world around us. Each movie begins by introducing students to the topics that they will be learning about, and ends with an online quiz. In order to successfully complete each online video, your student must watch, and then successfully answer the quiz questions with 80% or higher accuracy."