Great article about the role blogs can play in improving students writing ability.
"I believe it's important for students to have their writing read by more people than just their teacher. When they know that their families, their classmates, and people from around the world can read what they write, the impact is measurable. Students pay closer attention to everything from the mechanics of writing to word choice to structure to clarity."
Excellent article about why emphasizing effort and behavior qualities has a powerful impact on student learning, motivation, and attitudes towards school.
A concise look at the role homework may play in student learning and academic achievement. Two key quotes:
"Our results hint that maybe homework is not being used as well as it could be," Maltese said.
"The results from this study imply that homework should be purposeful," Tai said, "and that the purpose must be understood by both the teacher and the students."
From Infotopia:
"Infotopia is an academic search engine accessing only trusted websites previously selected by librarians, teachers, and library and educational consortia. Infotopia is recommended for students, teachers, and especially, homeschoolers. Infotopia was created by, and is maintained by, Dr. Michael Bell, former chair, Texas Assocition of School Librarians, and Carole Bell, former middle school librarian and director of libraries."
From Free Technology for Teachers:
"Using Blubbr you can create interactive quizzes that are based on YouTube clips. Your quizzes can be about anything of your choosing. The structure of the quizzes has a viewer watch a short clip then answer a multiple choice question about the clip. Viewers know right away if they chose the correct answer or not. Creating a quiz on Blubbr could be a good way to develop review materials for your students."
"Google Forms allows teachers to collect information quickly and effectively which is what the goal should be for utilizing new technology in the classroom. Rather than illegible entry or exit slips, Google Forms allow teachers to know exactly what their students know at the beginning and end of a lesson."
From Glogster Edu:
"Glogster EDU is the leading global education platform for the creative expression of knowledge and skills in the classroom and beyond. We empower educators and students with the technology to create GLOGS - online multimedia posters - with text, photos, videos, graphics, sounds, drawings, data attachments and more."
Over 150,000 historical maps that can be downloaded, viewed, and analyzed by students in Google Earth. A great resource for learning about the past and how our world has changed over time.
With over 56 million videos, there is something helpful here for all grade levels and subject areas. A great resource to find teaching materials to use in your classes!
Videos created by educators about all kinds of effective teaching strategies, instructional methods, and uses of technology for learning. There are resources here for all grade levels and subject areas.
Google Earth can be used for learning in many ways and in all the subject areas. Check out this guide created by Richard Bryne for helpful tips and lesson/project ideas.
Short, informative, and easy read about how to promote successful online discussions in the classroom. Also has good ideas about how to get students to practice writing/reflecting in an informal way.
An excellent 2.5 minute video about how to use Google Docs effectively for learning. Teacher explains how her method of using the technology helps her teach writing and collaboration skills.
A great list of helpful Twitter resources. There is something in here those just getting started with Twitter, advanced users, and everyone in between. Twitter is a great way to network and learn about new ideas for your classroom/teaching.
From Explain Everything:
"Explain Everything is an easy-to-use design tool that lets you annotate, animate, and narrate explanations and presentations. You can create dynamic interactive lessons, activities, assessments, and tutorials using Explain Everything's flexible and integrated design. Use Explain Everything as an interactive whiteboard using the iPad2 video display. Explain Everything records on-screen drawing, annotation, object movement and captures audio via the iPad microphone. Import Photos, PDF, PPT, and Keynote from Dropbox, Evernote, Email, iPad photo roll and iPad2 camera. Export MP4 movie files, PNG image files, and share the .XPL project file with others for collaboration. Explain Everything has been designed for use in educational, business, and entertainment settings."