Recently in Tips & Tricks Category
PinkMonkey
PinkMonkey is very much like Sparknotes and Cliffnotes, except that it has slightly more detailed summaries.
FlashCardExchange
Known as the “worlds largest flashcard library”...you can create your own Flash Cards or study using the hundreds of pre-made flashcard sets covering a variety of different subjects.
LectureFox
LectureFox is a great place to go for free university lectures. Choose a category and see a list of lectures from various colleges, including MIT and Yale.
PrintablePaper
With PrintablePaper, you never have to worry about running out of “special” paper. As long as you have a printer, you can print graph paper, lined paper, and even Cornell paper. Download 400+ different papers, all for free.
Evernote
Evernote is a note taking application. Get notes synced to the desktop, the web, and even your iPhone.
For the rest of the applications...read on.
Xpedition Hall
Uses maps and other geographic tools to explore information from a spatial point of view. Shows that different map projections distort or emphasize geographic features, and how maps can illustrate many kinds of information.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/expeditions/hall/index.html?node=20
Eternal Egypt
http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_website_action_key=action.display.home&language_id=1
Multilingual Math Glossary
http://www.glencoe.com/apps/eGlossary612/grade.php
Explore Madagascar
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/madagascar/explore/
Art Wonders
http://www.huntington.org/Education/artwonders.html
Weather Dude-The Seasons
http://www.wxdude.com/page19.html
Wordle
http://www.wordle.net/
Why Wordle
http://techlearning.com/blogs/24518
Guess the Wordle—this is internationally interactive
http://guessthewordle.pbworks.com/
All of these point to new ways that students have expanded their learning using technology. In fact, some have suggested that Bloom's Taxonomy be revised to include creativity as the ability to merge all other learning and develop new thinking about problems. Most digital projects fall under this category...particularly those that challenge students to become writers, musicians or artists.
Bloom’s Taxonomy revised for the Digital Age
http://techlearning.com/article/8670
Technology also provides new and different means for students to "bypass" the system.
Hi-Tech Cheating
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/hi-tech-cheating
Try these apps & websites for more interactive fun!
For iPod Touch users: ALGEBRAPREP-FACTORING
More info... http://www.pearsoned.com/pr_2009/081209.htm
Get the app....go to the iTunes Store and search for Algebra Prep
The AlgebraPrep: Factoring application is available for iPhones and iPod touches on the iTunes App Store. It has practice tests and video tutorials designed to provide supplemental help for students in or out of class. Each app in the AlgebraPrep series focuses on a key algebra topic and features a practice test to help students build skills and gain confidence. After completing the practice test, students move on to ten-minute “mini tests” to apply what they’ve learned in a more challenging framework. Price: $2.99
DISNEY ONLINE KERPOOF STUDIOS —this is cool
http://www.kerpoof.com/
Students can use Kerpoof to create original artwork, stories, animated movies, and much more. Students can easily and safely share their creations with their classes under their teachers’ direction. Kerpoof can be used to facilitate lessons in any subject, from art to zoology; and from creative writing to introductory computer programming. The Kerpoof Web site also has ready-to- use lesson plans. Price: free
ONE is a grassroots campaign and advocacy organization backed by more than 2 million people from around the world and every walk of life who are committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. At ONE, we achieve change through advocacy. We hold world leaders accountable for the promises made to the poorest people, and we press these leaders to support better policies and more effective aid and trade reform. We also support greater democracy, accountability and transparency in developing countries so these resources can be effectively deployed. Read more...
The Dark Sky Society welcomes you. Our members support educational and legislative efforts to eliminate light pollution. Light pollution is defined as:
Glare, light trespass, and 'up' lighting contributing to sky glow, by unshielded, misplaced, excessive, or unnecessary outdoor night lighting
By eliminating light pollution, we can conserve energy, reduce glare, maintain our desirable community character, safeguard our wildlife in their natural environment, and restore our view of the starry night sky. More about Dark Skies.....
"A powerful opportunity for people around the world to connect with language partners."
Livemocha is an e-learning Web 2.0 startup founded by a group of experienced and successful entrepreneurs based in the Seattle area. Livemocha addresses a $20 billion worldwide language learning market fueled by rapid globalization, immigration and travel. Livemocha is a first of its kind web based language learning solution integrating online instructional content with a global community of language learners. For more info....
It's important to stay together.
Free calls, video calls and instant messaging over the internet. Plus great value calls to phones anywhere in the world.
Skype was founded in 2003 by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis. Skype created a little piece of software that makes communicating with people around the world easy and fun. With Skype you can say hello or share a laugh with anyone, anywhere. And if both of you are on Skype, it's free.Skype is available in 28 languages and is used in almost every country around the world. Skype generates revenue through its premium offerings such as making and receiving calls to and from landline and mobile phones, as well as voicemail and call forwarding. Skype, based in Luxembourg, has relationships with a growing network of hardware and software providers and is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY). Read more about Skype...
In November, not two weeks after winning the election and still two months from becoming commander in chief, Barack Obama brought the government into the 21st century. Or at least that was what we were told when he released his first Web video address as president-elect. The clip, billed by some as a modern fireside chat, was embedded as a YouTube video on Change.gov, the incoming administration's Web site. Sitting in a leather chair, framed slightly off center from his chest up, Obama delivered a three-minute talk on the economic crisis, vlog style. Read more...
Urban Biodiversity
Nature is in cities?
Isn't "urban nature" an oxymoron? People live in cities! Nature is "in the country!"
Cities abound with wild nature! In fact, a large percentage of Earth's biodiversity exists in urban or urbanizing areas, which are often adjacent to larger wild areas. It is more accurate to say that cities are in nature! Cities are embedded in the natural environment - the geology, watershed, climate and biodiversity - of whichever place on Earth where they develop. Read on....The ability to communicate face to face and hold the attention of others is a vital human skill, says Greg Philo of the UK Guardian. Is new technology damaging our ability to communicate? Fingers flying, people can blog, email, enter chat rooms and even vote together. But, as we type our trillions of words, something is being lost. Facebook is not the same as face to face and, as our virtual skills increase, he wonders if our ability to communicate using speech is on the decline.
He muses that the great tragedy, of course, is that the phone was invented before the computer. If it had been the other way around, internet forums would now be buzzing with the exciting news: "Have you heard (type, type, type)? There is this amazing new gadget (type, type). Now you can talk directly with people (type, type, type). And they can, like, hear your voice. Without all this flipping typing." Read on....
From a different point of view, there is a growing concern that modern democracy is in danger because citizens lack interest in politics and are little informed of political affairs and important policy issues. With the rise of new communication technologies, new deliberative potentials are being explored. Online interactions may enhance the scope of political deliberation while maintaining deliberation's beneficial effects. The referenced study reviews theories of deliberative democracy and computer-mediated communication (CMC) in an attempt to understand those new deliberative possibilities. An experiment was conducted to compare the relative outcomes of a deliberation performed in face-to-face and computer-mediated settings. The results suggest that both online and face-to-face deliberation can increase participants' issue knowledge, political efficacy, and willingness to participate in politics. More here.
Email-free Fridays? Some companies in the UK are introducing email-free Fridays to encourage interaction between employees. Read on...
Additionally, Karl Cushing of Computer Weekly offers ten tips for better emails:
1) Keep e-mails short and to the point, and use subject lines properly
2) Re-read the message before sending to ensure it is relevant and clear
3) Use the 'cc' and 'bcc' functions appropriately: does that person really need to be copied in on this e-mail?
4) Never add an attachment unless it has been requested and always include the information in the body of the e-mail where possible
5) When attaching Word documents, do so in the 'rtf' (rich text file) format to remove any scripts and macros
6) Compress large files before sending as attachments
7) Never reply to spam, under any circumstances
8) Archive e-mails effectively and realistically, keeping only the ones that are truly relevant
9) Avoid overuse of the 'High Priority' or 'Urgent' labelling of e-mails, because it loses its value or meaning
10) Ensure that the person has the necessary application to open the attachment you are sending (and ensure the file has no viruses)
MPA has recently established guidelines for email to help foster communication between parents, teachers and others. Look for more information on this topic.
The new school year brings change and adjustment. But how is that different from EVERY year? As teachers we thrive on change. We relish the chance to renew what we teach, reestablishing the bonds between our students and ourselves, experiencing once again the “why we do what we do†feeling.
Alvin Toffler said, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.†With all due respect to Mr. Toffler, I’ve always loved the title of Gilda Radner’s book, “It’s Always Somethingâ€. This speaks directly to my experiences and it is especially true of technology. Moving forward means change will happen. But it is change built on all the incremental changes that have occurred in the past. Think of it as adaption in the best Darwinian sense. According to Wikipedia, adaptation enables living organisms to cope with environmental stresses and pressures. In technology, seeking out new ways to connect with students or becoming more self-reliant in using technology are examples of technological adaption.
Here are a few ideas to foster change this year…or maybe just have fun.
LibraryThing
Enter what you're reading or your whole library—it's an easy, library-quality catalog. LibraryThing also connects you with people who read the same things. One of the best applications of this is that you can easily publish your list so that other people…i.e. students…can see it. Check out who’s using LibraryThing at MPA:
- Upper School Reading Blog
- 5th Grade English: The Pushcart War Book Blog
TheFreeDictionary.com allows you to create your own personal homepage by adding and removing, dragging and dropping, and "using or losing" existing content windows. In addition, you can add your own bookmarks, weather information, stock market tracker, and RSS feeds from anywhere on the web. You can publish “word of the dayâ€, “article of the dayâ€, “quote of the day†or other related news on a blog or webpage using RSS feeds.
TheTech.org
The Tech is singularly focused on inspiring the innovator in everyone it reaches. Check out the online exhibits covering everything from gas mileage to an imagination playground.
TeacherPlanet.com
TeacherPlanet features over 330 theme based resource pages including worksheets, and a free story DVD entitled “Real Kids, Real Stories.†Check out their calendar of events.
SongsforTeaching.com
We can’t all be Mozart but there is help for those of us who are musically inept. This site contains thousands of pages for you to peruse -- many with lyrics, sound clips, and teaching suggestions. Top educational pros offer practical suggestions based on the latest in brain-based learning. Innovative teachers share their classroom pointers and extension activities using children's music.
Reading Workout
K-3 Reading resources from the Manatee County school district in Florida.
Education World
Word of the day, teaching resources, sample lessons games and puzzles. This site is a wealth of classroom and teacher resources.
Educator Reference Desk
This collection contains more than 2000 unique lesson plans written and submitted by teachers from all over the world. These lesson plans are also included in GEM, which links to over 40,000 online education resources.
Our Favorite Cheat Sheets
And what good teacher doesn't know about cheat sheets? Hmm? Well, this is a site FOR ANYONE who has forgotten how to do something...hence the name, cheat sheets. Check it out!
