Edutopia Learning Resource

Edutopia is a website that discusses evidence-based learning strategies which are shared to help improve education.  This site offers Free Classroom Guides and Educational Downloads for Parents and Educators.

These are PDF documents that the website offers:
  • How to Thank a Teacher
  • Mobile Devices for Learning: What You Need to Know
  • Six Tips for Brain-Based Learning
  • Ten Tips for Classroom Management
  • Top Ten Tips for Teaching with New Media
  • Summer Rejuvenation Guide
  • Top Ten Tips for Assessing Project-Based learning
  • Home-to-School Resource Guide
  • Think Green Guide

A Parent's Guide to 21st-Century Learning

The website  “Edutopia” has many free guides and downloads for educators and parents. One such guide is A Parent’s Guide to 21st-Century Learning”. It is a guide to help parents understand what collaboration, creativity, communication and critical thinking would look like in the classroom.

Register for a free account in order to access the PDF download.
http://www.edutopia.org/parent-21st-century-learning-resource-guide

21st Century Learning

The Next Lesson and The Third Teacher
The board that I work for has changed their IT department name to 21st Century Learning and AICT. Their focus now is not only on the delivery of software but in understanding of 21st Century teaching and learning.

The members are focusing on the principles of the NeXtLesson and the Third Teacher.

Teachers are presented with a guide to assist them on The Next Lesson which focuses in

  • knowledge construction, 
  • Collaboration, 
  • Self-Regulation, 
  • Real-World Problem Solving & Innovation, 
  • Use of ICT for learning
  • Skilled communication.  
This guide describes six rubrics that describe each of the above skill for students to develop.

This framework will help educators   “identify and understand the opportunities that learning activities give students “in order to build skills that will better prepare learners for their future in the 21st Century.

The learning is done in partners.

Click on the image of the guide to read about how to implement 21st century learning in your classroom:

Partners in Learning Network will assist you to connect with other teachers and to a database of 21st Century activities. http://www.pil-network.com/Resources/LearningActivities









The third teacher is the environment the students are in, in order to collaborate, share, and work together. Changing how students learn.
From Capacity Building Series, it outlines what the Third Teacher is and the following video will demonstrate what it would look like:



I had the opportunity to attend a Symposium on 21st Century Learning last December and during my course in January to delve through what the NextLesson is and how to create one with the assistance of my instructor Mario.

33 Ways To Use Blogs In The Classroom

Click on link to read a list on using Blogs in the classroom.
http://web20intheclassroom.blogspot.ca/2008/10/ways-to-use-blogs-in-your-classroom-and.html

The Digital Classroom

Online Universities.com Blog has the following Infograph that I found to be interesting.

View PowerPoint from an iPad

My daughter purchased Quick Office app to do PowerPoint presentations from her iPad.  I decided to search around for an app that can produce PowerPoint presentations for Free.  Slideshark is such an app that a PowerPoint can be shown from an iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.  https://www.slideshark.com/

Socrative .... Edcanvas ...... Quiz Taking

Socrative is a student response system that allows teachers to create games and quizzes.  "Students interact real time with the content."  Socrative runs on laptops, smartphones and laptops.  Very easy to register and login.
(Thanks John and Mario)

Edcanvas now allows a teacher to "Add Quiz" on an empty canvas tile, and add questions and answers.  Then it automatically grades the quizzes for you.  I mentioned what Edcanvas is in my March 22nd post.

Socrative and this section of Edcanvas create, "Formative assessments and it helps you guage student understanding after a lesson."

Infographs ..... easel.ly

Easel.ly is a free online tool that allows you to create and share visual ideas.  All that it entails is to create a canvas, drag and drop a theme, edit and customize.  Then save and share your work.  http://www.easel.ly/
(Thanks Sandra)

Wordmover for Poem Creation

Wordmover allows students to manipulate words on their ipad. It is a Read Write Think app created by the National Council of Teachers of English. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/word-mover/id572997152?mt=8


Read Write Think has some lesson plans on using this app. http://www.readwritethink.org/search/?sort_order=relevance&q=using+word+mover+app&srchgo.x=-323&srchgo.y=-484&old_q=

Evolution of Music... video mashup

This youtube video is called Evolution of Music.  It has a medley of songs throughout history.  It begins with an 11th Century song right through to 2010.


What a great idea to use as part of a biography lesson, demonstrating music through the ages or asking the kids to do their own video mashup as a project.

Text students with ...... Remind101

My daughter knows that I am always looking for free web tools, so she brought Remind101 to my attention because her teachers are using it as well.  Remind101 is a safe way for teachers to text students, keep in touch with parents and keep phone numbers anonymous. If there is something school related that you wish to remind your students to complete, just text them the information.  (Click on image.)

Thanks Sandra M. for verifying that this is the site.

Kodu Game Lab...... Game Creation

What I found interesting about Kodu Game Lab is that students can create games without the worry of having design or programming skills.  This is good for creativity, collaboration and problem solving.

Teachers and students can take part in a Skype Lesson
labshttps://education.skype.com/projects/2428-microsoft-kodu-game-labs

Unfortunately it is not a web based program but a download.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/download/details.aspx?id=10056

This is a Youtube video that demonstrates how to use program in 1 of 4 tutorials. You can go to youtube to  view all 4 tutorials. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg_jeN5AcPs

Skype in the Classroom

Post revisited from Dec/12:

Bring the outside world to your classroom using technology!! You can request to invite an organization, author, classroom.... to visit your class through Skype. This virtual technology brings experiences to the classroom where perhaps some students may not be able to experience otherwise.

Connect your classroom with teachers from around the world.  Post a request for someone to visit on a certain topic.

https://education.skype.com/


BBC Teachers Teaching Resources

I  have many times visited BBC Teacher for games, videos,and  lesson ideas. I had posted this link on my student blog back in April, 2011 and forgetting to add it here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/

BBC Bitesize ....... video clips

There is a  link within BBC Teachers called Bitesize with videos, activities and lessons.

 It is a section for teachers on various topics from ages 5 - 11 that have very short video clips.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/index_flash.shtml

This Bitesize link shows topics on Science,  Math and English.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/

Class Dojo....... Real time behaviour management tracker

An AQ colleague uses Class Dojo for his class.  It is a behaviour management program to make it easier for teachers to keep students alert and on task. It awards and records real-time feed back. Parents can keep track of their children's progress for the day and month.  This encourages student ownership of behaviour.
Click on picture for link.
You can view video on how to set an account up.
Thanks Jamie.

Dogo news

Dogo news is an American kids site that empowers students to safely work with  digital media.   Teachers create a class page and invite students to work on lessons created using current events, news and non-fictional articles written for kids from this site.
Click on picture.....

Citation Machine

Citation Machine is an interactive on line tool to help create reference information for school essays. It will help students cite any of their sources without difficulty.
Evelyn from my AQ course introduced this site to me.
http://citationmachine.net/index2.php

Kidblog...... Blogs

Kid blog is an alternative to Blogger for kids.  Teachers can sign up and create a secure classroom blogging community for their kids.  Teachers have total control of the blogs and user accounts. It is for K-12 students.
     Step by step instructions, including video tutorials, on using Kid Blog. The link also includes teaching ideas http://integratingtechnologyandwriting.wikispaces.com/KidBlog

ThumbScribes

ThumbScribes is a community for creating collaborative pieces of writing.  You can create privately, invite friends or leave it open for anyone to join. Contributions can be submitted through IM or Twitter as well.

https://www.thumbscribes.com/login.php?l=signup

CommonSense Media

Common Sense Media is a site that has cross curricular units that address digital literacy and citizenship topics in an age appropriate way.
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/scope-and-sequence

Youth Privacy.......... Social Smarts


Like Media Smarts, Youth Privacy is a site from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada where students can learn to become better informed about safety and proper use of Social Media and the Internet. There are lessons and tools to help students with privacy when using digital technologies.
http://www.priv.gc.ca/youth-jeunes/index_e.asp

Caine's Card Board Project

The 4 Cs of 21st Century Learning are: Creativity, Communication, Critical Thinking and Collaboration.  "Project Based Learning emphasizes creative thinking skills by allowing students to find that there are many ways to solve a problem."  One of my peers from night school introduced this phenomenal video which sparked a wave of cardboard creativity in kids around the world.  This video was also the start of a new foundation called, "Imagination Foundation" to foster creativity in more kids.



Thanks John.

Edcanvas

Earlier I posted a lesson using Edcanvas.  Edcanvas allows you to gather information and resources into one place to make lesson delivery easy.  I visited it again and I noticed that there is now improved options in the text editor.  They have also launched a new feature that allows you to add audio to your canvas. Teachers can also set up a class and  Edcanvas can tell you which students viewed your lesson and give you detailed reports about their participation.
View an Edcanvas lesson on an earlier post.....

 For Educators:  
In the Edcanvas Blog post, the Edcanvas team write the following:
Many teachers have asked us to add the ability to annotate their canvases with sound, and others have asked us to give their students the same ability. Now, you can add audio clips anywhere in your canvas! Use audio comments to
1.       Read out material to make it easier for auditory learners to understand concepts.
2.       Add another level of instruction on top of your canvas.
3.       Require students to voice their opinion or speak aloud translations instead of just writing it in a comment.

Google Docs, Google Drive


Five years ago I was introduced to Google Docs.  Just recently I was re-introduced to it and I was impressed at the upgrades made since.  It is offered by Google which is found within Google Drive.  Google Docs offers:  Document, Presentation, Spreadsheet, Forms and Drawing.
Google Docs allows users to create documents online while collaborating in real-time with multiple users. Each person you give permission to can edit or view document. There is a chat box that would allow you to communicate with other collaborators.  A history of work is saved.  You can have access anywhere and store files safely.  Just sign in with a gmail account to Google Drive and begin.

Thanks Mario for reminding me of Google docs.

Padlet

Post Revisited:  On an earlier post I mentioned Wallwisher.  This online tool is now called Padlet.
Padlet can be used for teaching, noticeboards, discussions, quizzes, lists, watching videos, etc.  You can share, export, email and print your wall.
There is an app available for this site.

Another Example:


Definition Poem

My Special Ed and ESL students wrote a Definition Poem.  Once they completed their draft they published it and learned to add an image from Clip art behind their text.  They were very happy and pleased with their finished product; that they learned something new on the computer. 
(All images are from Microsoft Word Clip Art)







Teach Your Monster To Read

A free game to practice the first steps of reading.

Reading Bear

Reading Bear is aimed for children learning to read from ages 4-7.
It is a free website that anyone can use in conjunction with a class lesson or on its own.  This site combines text and audio with pictures and videos to help students sound out words and view what each word means.
These lessons allow students to interact with lessons and lessons have videos to support it.  If you only wish to view the videos, WatchKnowLearn has them available for anyone to view on their site.  To link to the videos only:  http://www.watchknowlearn.org/default.aspx

This is an introductory video that demonstrates how the program works.


Reading Bear:  http://www.readingbear.org/

Wix

Create your own  free website:

Wix has many templates to choose from.  It features drag and drop function and there are tools that allow you to customize the site to your needs.
http://www.wix.com/

Web also has similar features as Wix.  http://www.webs.com/

For Educators:
Students can create their own website.... a  number of possibilities.

SpongeLab

An earlier post revisited: Spongelab.  There have been upgrades and changes since I last mentioned this.  Sponge lab is an open and free science learning community.  Spongelab is interactive and the media is available for anyone to use.



http://www.spongelab.com/

Science Daily

Science Daily is a source for latest research news.  There is also a search box where you can enter a keyword or phrase to search the archives for related news topics, the latest news stories, reference articles, science videos, images, and books.  This website is updated several times a day with breaking news.

Prelinger Archives

Several years ago I attended a workshop that was focused on Differentiated Instruction. Several weeks ago my night school instructor reminded me of the same website that I was introduced to from this workshop.  Prelinger Archive is an open directory of videos (including historical), music and other media.
http://archive.org/details/prelinger


For Educators:
Students can create Mash ups of the media from this site.

Using QR Codes in the Classroom

I am always trawling the net to find new and innovative ideas to use in the classroom.  I have known about QR codes for some time now and decided to begin creating a short list on how to use them in the classroom.

For Educators:
 Instead of having students type in a long website, create a QR code to make it easier for them to visit the site.  For example, creating a QR code to the Edcanvas lesson I created for my class. They can view the canvas on a mobile device or an ipad.  

I went on the web to see how others might be using QR codes and I stumbled upon a blogger (Monica Burns) who has other ideas listed as well.
She writes:
How QR codes can make a difference in the classroom

 1. Eliminate the Frustration of Long Web Addresses

Instead of asking students to type in a long web address where they could easily make mistakes, a QR code will take them straight to a website. It's easy to type in USAToday.com, but directing students to a specific article might require them to type in a combination of case sensitive letters and numbers. QR codes are perfect for students of all ages, but especially for children with special needs and those students who are easily frustrated.

2. Take Students Directly to a Designated Website

We all want to avoid using search engines that might bring our students to the wrong website. This direct approach also limits their exposure to similar sites that might not be kid-friendly. You can create a list of QR codes for websites to make Internet research easier for students.

3. Save Time

Instead of waiting for each student to type in a long web address, they can all quickly scan the QR code. You won't have to waste valuable minutes from your lesson because all students will be on task and viewing the correct website in seconds. Try projecting the QR code on the board or printing just one QR code for each table of students to save yourself the time of making extra copies.

4. QR Codes are Easy to Make

Websites like Qurify.com allow you to generate your own QR code for free. Copy and paste a long web address, and they’ll create a code that is unique to that particular website. You can save, print and distribute the QR code to students.

5. Change Up Your Normal Routine

I love to keep things new and exciting for my students. Try creating scavenger hunts that will get your students to visit a variety of websites to gather information on a topic. Get students engaged and moving by placing QR codes in different parts of your classroom or school building.

Webquest

In an earlier post, I had mentioned using Webquests in my classroom.

What is a Webquest?
A webquest is a classroom based inquiry lesson format in which the work is all web based.  View this youtube video that discusses what a Webquest is.  It is a guided inquiry and scaffolded learning structure using WWW .



These are some webquest sites:

/http://www.webquest.org/                 http://questgarden.com/         http://questgarden.com/search/

QR Codes...... What are they?


What is a QR Code?

Quick Response Codes are a type of two-dimensional barcode that can be read using smartphones and dedicated QR reading devices, that link directly to text, emails, websites, phone numbers and more! You may have even got to this site by scanning a QR code! (http://www.whatisaqrcode.co.uk/)

There are many QR Code generators online.  Thanks to M. Addesa for this one particular site.  Click on QR code for the web address.

Publish books using Page Flip Flap

Click on the image and it will take you to the Webquest project that the two girls created using page flip flap.   This Webquest project is discussed two posts below.
As I mentioned in my August, 2011 post, Page flip flap is an online tool to convert work into an online book with page turning effects.  Teachers can use this site to create an e-book of their students' writing for parents and others to view.  

Book Trailer lesson using Edcanvas

The grade 4 students are currently working on the elements of a story. Once they finish reading their novels they will be ready to work on the second part of this unit. (Some students will be using picture books.)  The students will each create a book trailer using movie maker or photostory.  I created a multi-media presentation lesson in order to get them started.  I used Edcanvas to organize my lesson.  I also posted this canvas onto the student blog so that once the students are home, they have a place to refer to while they are working on their Book Trailers.

Ancient Civilization Webquest......lessson and student work

I gave my students the opportunity to learn about their choice of an Ancient Civilization.  So I assigned an independent study unit where they investigated and learned about the civilization of their choice. My students completed a Webquest. Each small group (2-3 students) had a different topic from the next group. I gave each group specific links where they read information, played hands on virtual games, listened to podcasts, viewed short clips and so on. The students were given over a month to complete their unit.  They were given the opportunity to decide on how to present their findings to the class. They could have chosen any method of presentation, such as moviemaker, photostory, brochure, powerpoint, web based timeline, time capsule and scrapbooking.  I  taught the students how to use all these tools prior to this assignment.  I decided to showcase the scrapbooking project.  The following are images from a scrapbook that two of my girls decided to produce for their Ancient China project. 
Image of cover of Scrapbook on Ancient China assignment


Garfield Comics

Online comic strips featuring Garfield. http://www.garfield.com/

This link is where you can create your own Garfield comic strip http://www.garfield.com/fungames/comiccreator.html

National Geographic Kids

 A good source for non-fiction text. My students have used the creature feature section. This online site has many things to explore and learn.  http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
 

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