With technology moving out of the lab and into the classroom, it's becoming a challenge for some teachers to infuse their teaching with tech tools such as websites, educational games, simulations, iPads, Chromebooks, GAFE, and other geeky devices that used to be the purview of a select group of nerdy teachers.
"LivingTree is the easiest way for teachers to communicate and coordinate with parents and students (in 40+ languages), all in a single, secure application that's available on all devices."
This is new to me. The multiple languages makes it interesting.
"The project was created in 2010 with a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world. Now with five years under our belt and more than 500,000 connections made in 60 different countries, we realize we are on to something larger than us so we look forward to continuing the global connections.
The premise is simple; we pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible. Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be. Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible. The scope and depth of the project is up to you. In the past we have used Twitter, Skype, Edmodo, our wiki, email, regular mail, Kidblog, Tackk, and any other tools we can think of to make these connections. teachers get a community of other educators to do a global project with, hopefully inspiring them to continue these connections through the year."
"International Dot Day, a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration, began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds' book The Dot on September 15, 2009.
The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to "make her mark". What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe.
And each year on International Dot Day - with the help of people just like you -the inspiration continues. What started as a story in the pages of a book is transforming teaching and learning around the world as people of all ages re-discover the power and potential of creativity in all they do.
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Great website for 4th to 8th graders to design their own games. Teachers can create logins for a list of students and monitor their progress. Approved on Common Sense Media with 5/5 stars. I usually introduce this to my grade 5 students.
This is normally a premium service by using this teacher registration link all students within a class can have a free fully-functional account within the school. Students can use assigned activities at home.
"The U.S. National Gallery of Art hosts more than 25,000 images of famous and not-so-famous works of art." from Richard Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers.
There are multiple tools that can be accessed. The Interactive Fruit Machine is best used with the sound turned off. Teachers can save class lists to be used over and over The Time can count down from seconds to one hour.