Technology and the Teacher

Best Halloween Decoration Ever!!!!

2011-10-22T21:58:00.000-04:00

Check This Out!

2010-11-09T23:12:00.002-05:00

Some Cool Links

2010-10-18T22:40:00.000-04:00

Recommended Links:
The following list of links are recommended for you to use to create games, puzzles, and other interactive activities that can be used in the classroom. Most of these resources are free!

Quizlet - An awesome site that allows you to create flashcards. It then generates games using the flashcards you have created. Sign up for a free account.

Spelling City - Another excellent site that generates worksheets, games, puzzles, and much more for your spelling terms.

Quia - This site is a great site that allows you to create games, quizzes, etc. It will also track student progress. You can assign tasks for a grade. It does, however, cost $49.99 a year. They offer a free membership for one month.

Blogger - This is a great site where you can create a class website. You can create pages that never change using blogger. You can have your students blog to emphasize writing. To update your blog, it can be done from school, emailed from your own email, and even texted from your phone. The best thing about blogger is that it is free. You can also utilize Edublog and Wordpress as well. These are free sites as well that allow you to create free blogs.

Sample Blogs:

Mrs. Cowan's Class - This was a class blog that was used as a means of communicating with parents.
Teaching With Technology - This is a great blog with many resources for utilizing technology in the classroom.
Mrs. Taylor's Class - Another class website utilizing blogger.
Loretto Tech Talk - A blog intended to help teachers utilize technology in the classroom.
Cowan's Panthers - A blog that was maintained by students.
Proud Panther's Journey - A blog dedicated to the traveling class mascot. Students are encouraged to write and take pictures.
Technology and the Teacher - Another blog intended to help teachers use technology in the classroom.

Wordle - Just a neat site that allows you to generate word clouds.

Wiki Spaces - Create a website free using WikiSpaces. You can even submit your site as an educational site and Google will remove the ads for you.

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives - A great resource for math teachers. This site allows you to use manipulatives on your computer and the best thing about it is that it is free!

TeacherLed - A wonderful site with many resources for the interactive whiteboard.

Triptico - A site that contains many interactive resources that can be adapted to any classroom.

Google Earth - An excellent resource for taking virtual field trips all over the world. You can download the program and load it onto your laptop. You can then visit anywhere all over the world. They now have a portion dedicated to visiting ancient Rome as it was in 320 AD.

Wallwisher - A site that allows you to post "notes", collect ideas, generate topics, and so on. Imagine being able to create your writing chart on the computer and printing it for future.

ZimmerTwins - A site that allows you to make a movie with the Zimmer twins.

VoiceThread - Upload PowerPoints, graphics, photos and much more. You can then add voice to the presentation. If you indicate that you are using it for classroom use, you will be allowed unlimited voicethreads.

Slideshare - Share presentations with others. You can even embed these presentations onto your class website.

DocStoc - Share documents and embed them into your websites using this free resource.

Glogster - A great site that allows your students to create virtual posters, reports, etc.. You can sign up for up to 200 accounts for free.

JenuineTech - An excellent site that allows you to participate in all sorts of projects.

StudyZone - An excellent website that contains many games/links for all sorts of strategies and skills.

Pete's PowerPoint Station - An excellent site that has PowerPoints already made and organized by skill and subject area.

Flickr

2010-01-03T12:06:00.004-05:00

I know it has been a while since I have posted but I found something that I think deserves sharing. As classroom teachers, we often take pictures in your classroom of things we are doing. I admit that I am a shutterbug. I love to take pictures of what the class is doing and share those pictures with the parents. I usually use Photobucket but have recently discovered that Flickr allows you to post your pictures directly to the blog without having to upload them separately. This can really make your life easier when it comes to sharing. You can write your blog as you post the picture without having to go through the posting process twice.

Flickr is also awesome because if your school is a Mac school, you can also upload photos directly to Flickr from iPhoto (and even Facebook but that is another entry). I think I may be playing with my Flickr account even more now. Check out my Flickr page as well as some groups that I belong to. Enjoy and happy snapping!

My Flickr Photostream

Project 365 through Flickr

My Project 365 Blog

Guess where Santa is?

2009-12-24T23:31:00.002-05:00

This is an excellent activity you can do in the classroom next year. Imagine tracking Santa using Google Earth. The kids would love it!

eBeam System Complete

2009-11-25T08:49:00.000-05:00

Our class has been fortunate to have a new piece of technology to use. We have the new eBeam Complete System. This system allows the students to interact with the computer utilizing the dry erase board. This also allows us to capture any work on the computer and even interact with websites. Below are examples of some of our work.

This is a website that we visited to practice main idea. The students read the passages and then located the main idea with each passage. The main idea was then underlined in yellow. We then discussed how each remaining sentence (underlined in blue) was a supporting detail. the students enjoyed doing this.

Our class then defined each of our reading vocabulary words. If the students were able to define the words, they were allowed to locate the words in the word search. They really enjoyed this activity.

Our new eBeam system also allows us to capture what is written on the board. This will allow us to capture any notes and post them to the class blog. This will give any student that is absent the opportunity to view what has been missed. Please check our blog daily for any additions.

Fwd: Secretary Clinton Launches the Virtual Student Foreign Service Initiative

2009-05-13T21:46:00.001-04:00

I recently signed up to receive e-mails from the White House Blog. I really like the way President Obama is utilizing technology to keep people informed and to get people involved. The program below sounds like a very interesting program. Feel free to read more about it. As a sidebar, I am posting this via email rather than actually going to the blog and posting. Blogger now has a wonderful feature that allows you to post entries from email and from texts. Check it out some time!

Secretary Clinton launched a new initiative today to allow for a rising generation of citizen diplomats to conduct digital diplomacy.

Virtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) Internships, announced by Secretary Clinton at the 2009 New York University commencement speech, are part of a growing effort by the State Department to harness technology and a commitment to global service among young people to facilitate new forms of diplomatic engagement. The VSFS Internships will be developed over the next year and will seek to harness the energy of a rising generation of citizen diplomats.

Working from college and university campuses in the United States, American students will partner with our embassies abroad to conduct digital diplomacy that reflects the realities of our networked world. By combining the talents of young people across America and the right technology, we can forge the solutions that our century demands.

Sign up to receive more information and updates on Virtual Student Foreign Service Internships.

Join the Virtual Student Foreign Service Facebook community.

Read more…

Why Google Apps for Education?

2009-05-04T18:42:00.000-04:00

A Field Trip Suggestion

2009-04-30T21:15:00.002-04:00

Well, I finally got my wish on Tuesday. I took my class to the Mac Store for a field trip. Now, this is not the make-up store I am talking about. Being the techie that I am, I was surprised when one fellow teacher wondered why I was taking the kids to a make-up store. Many other teachers had no idea of where it was that I was going. When I explained where it was that I was going, I got the normal "only you Mrs. Cowan" since I am such a techie geek.

Anyway, we spent 2 hours in the store and the kids had a marvelous time. They spent an hour creating a video using Photobooth and IMovie. Their videos amazed me to say the least. They spent the remaining hour checking out the IPhones, IPod Touch, and IPods. They were asking me about the apps, programs, and much more. The kids (and adults) really had a good time. We then walked to McDonald's for lunch. It was a really nice day.

So, the next time you are trying to figure out a field trip, may I suggest the Mac Store. Check this site out for more information.

Glogster

2009-04-26T00:15:00.001-04:00

Glogster

2009-04-24T19:52:00.009-04:00

I have recently found a site that is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME to say the least. It is called Glogster. I believe it was even featured in a recent InTech newsletter. It is WONDERFUL! I can't rave enough about this program. I have just begun to plot its uses in the classroom. It is a resource that I will definitely use this year and in coming years to inspire students, promote technology and integrate a variety of subject areas.

Now I know some of you are wondering what Glogster is. Well, I will let Glogster tell you what it is. Listed below is Glogster's own description of their site.

A web 2.0 platform that easily allows users to upload photos, videos, text, audio and more to create a unique online, interactive poster.

A new and creative digital outlet for educators to help keep students ENGAGED and make learning more fun!

A simple and easy interface designed to introduce basic concepts to students.

A series of teamwork mechanisms to allow users to publish and share their creations and to collaborate with other users on joint efforts.

A secure, private, safe platform that can be monitored directly by teachers.

A valuable learning tool that can be integrated with several core subjects including math, science, history, technology, art, photography, music and more.

A tool that fosters advancement of skills as students progress through grade levels.

A virtual, digital, educational platform that transcends age, gender, background, subject matter, grade level, school type, location, etc.

(Courtesy of http:www.glogster.com/edu)

In other words, it is a FREE resource that will let you teach the students by integrating all subjects and using technology. You can register for an educational account at Glogster. Once you have an account of your own, you are eligible for 200 student accounts.

Initially, I will be using Glogster to have the students write "How To's." I also plan on using Glogster for report writing and responses to literature this year. I will also do "Getting to Know You" activities next year using Glogster. As I come up with more uses and examples, I will be sharing them here. In the meantime, check out some of the links and video below for even more information.

Sample Glogsters:

Environmental Heroes

Room B-7

International Children's Digital Library

2009-03-25T17:52:00.004-04:00

Well, I was recently saddened by an email from one of my favorite sites, Lookybook. To my dismay, I discovered they had shut down. For those of you unfamiliar with Lookybook, it was an awesome sight that allowed you to read some picture books on-line. It even allowed you to post a book to your blog if you wanted to share it with the class.

Unfortunately, like all good things, it had to come to an end. Then I checked my email today and discovered my mother-in-law had sent me this wonderful site. It is called The International Children's Digital Library. It is a free site that allows you to read a wide range of books in many different languages. You can look up fairy tales in Spanish, folk tales in German, and much more. It is awesome! I have not explored it much but I plan on checking it out. Let me know what you think.

GarageBand

2009-03-16T22:39:00.002-04:00

I found this podcast I made with my students several years ago and thought I would share. It was a report on the red panda. Feel free to take a moment to listen to it. It took minutes to make using GarageBand.

Click Here

IPhoto

2009-03-16T22:13:00.005-04:00

Using the latest version of iPhoto, I was able to create the video below. It took mere seconds. Check it out!

I uploaded pictures from a recent trip to the Oriental institute in Chicago, Illinois into IPhoto. I added the music from ITunes which takes a matter of seconds. I then exported the slideshow as a quicktime video. Tada! A 4 minute movie! I am unsure of the program you would use on a PC to do this but IPhoto and ITunes are wonderful resources on a Mac. This video will serve as a resource for our current unit of study in ancient civilizations.

Adding Blog Gadgets

2009-03-07T06:58:00.005-05:00

I previously posted a blog entry on creating a blog. Once you have created your basic blog, take a chance and check out the video above. You can add all sorts of gadgets to your blog very easily. Blogger already has hundreds, if not thousands, of gadget that you can add simply by clicking the plus sign.

Once you have selected your gadget, you can easily move it in the layout portion of your blog.

So, check out the video below to see how you can add a widget to your own blog.

Check It Out

2009-03-04T22:05:00.001-05:00

This was done by middle school students. Check it out!

Blogs in Plain English

2009-03-02T20:03:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow our school will be offering training when it comes to blogging. I know many teachers are apprehensive about using technology, especially a blog. However, blogs really are easy to use once you get started. Believe it or not, I just started using blogs in October of 2007. By December, I had learned how to add widgets and all sorts of other goodies to them. Blogs really are easy to use once you get started.

First of all, you need to figure out who your blog is for. My first blog was designed with my students and their parents in mind. I wanted something that I could update easily from school. My website is great but I can't update it at school because the network does not allow access to Yahoo (my service provider). I wanted something that I could quickly add things from school and that is where Blogger came in. We can access Blogger from school. So, I started a blog account.

If you have the time, click on the take a tour option under the orange create a blog button. The tour explains a blog, its uses, and much more. Once you select to create a blog, you will be asked to provide an email address, a password, and a blog title. You will then be prompted to name your blog and make up an address. Blogger will check on the availability for your

address.

Once you have selected a title and address, you will then be prompted to select a template.

Pick a template and then you are ready to begin. This should be enough to get you started. Feel free to visit my other blogs to grab widgets or get ideas. Thanks for stopping by!

ClassTools.Net

2009-02-18T21:26:00.004-05:00

The other day I was "twittering" when I stumbled across a neat website. A fellow teacher had posted another teacher's website. Several sites later, I stumbled upon this gem. It is called Classtools. It is a site that allows you to create cool games for your blog or website. There are no passwords required, no signing up and best of all, NO FEES! Remember, free is a wonderful thing!

You can create a game using your vocabulary words, science terms, math facts, etc. It is easy and as usual, best of all, it is free. I created a game requiring my students to identify the type of polygon based characteristics. It took me a minute or two to enter the terms into the program. The one thing that I did notice was that the program requires a minimum of 10 questions and answers. All you have to do is enter your question followed by an asterisk and

then your answer. You can type your questions into word first and then paste it to their site.

Then, once all of your questions and answers are typed in, you can click on the disk picture to save your quiz for later use. You can also click on the wheel symbol to get the code to embed your game within your site. You can also click play to play the game at that time. You are even given the option to password protect your game so it can't be modified by anyone else.

Click here for full screen version

The game above was the one I made for identifying various polygons. This is just an example of what you can do with this tool. Like I said, you can use your reading vocabulary terms, science terms, science facts, history facts, and so much more. Take a few moments to check the site out. They have many resources that I have yet to explore. These games are just a small portion of what can be found here. Happy surfing!

Spelling City

2009-02-10T20:47:00.003-05:00

As many of you can probably tell, I surf the net on a regular basis searching for new and exciting resources. Well, about two months ago I came across a resource that turned out to be very handy. It is called Spelling City. This resource is wonderful! It is engaging, exciting, easy to use and best of all, it is free! There are instructional videos on the site that will show you how to add words to a list, how to take a test, and how to print worksheets. Did I mention that it is free?
All you need to do is sign up for an account. Once you have activated your account, you are ready to begin. You can input your students' spelling list in a matter of minutes. I usually post links to my class blog and then my students can practice their new words each week. It really is easy to use. So, if you have a few minutes, check it out. You may even want to pass it on to your students' parents.

DocStoc

2009-02-07T08:56:00.003-05:00

Reading Inventory - Get more Business Documents

Like so many teachers out there, I love to create files or documents for classroom use. I enjoy adding my own touches to them such as graphics and word art. Well, like so many other teachers out there, I have file folder after file folder on my desktop full of all of these goodies I have created. One of the main reasons I pay for unlimited space on my website is so I can store and share many of these files. I wanted parents, teachers, and students to have access to the files such as newsletters, forms, etc.

Well, Nicole recently published some documents she created on her own blog. I was curious as to how she accomplished this so I checked out the site. It is called DocStoc. It is currently in Beta form which means it is still in the testing stage. I am sure eventually, like so many other resources out there, it will eventually become pay for use. However, in the meantime, it is FREE and it is a nifty tool. You can embed documents within your blog, website, etc. You can share your site with fellow teachers so that you may exchange files and so on. Check it out!

Wildlife Filmmaker

2009-02-03T05:17:00.009-05:00

A twitter colleague recently posted a link to National Geographic's Wildlife Filmmaker. I played with the porgram a bit and found it to be fun. It is very easy to use. To make your own movie, all you do is click and drag. You can video, sound clips, music, and captions. It is entirely up to you. Suppose your students are doing a report on animals. They can add their own information and it could be a means of digital reporting. You can then save it to your delicious account. I hope eventually they will allow for the videos to be embedded within a web site but in the meantime, give it a try. It is as easy as 1, 2, and 3.

YouTube

2009-02-01T09:13:00.003-05:00

Last week, my class read an article about the polar bears and how Global Warming is affecting them. The article they read came from Scholastic News, a wonderful resource for incorporating current events into the curriculum. Well, it has been proven that background knowledge impacts reading comprehension. The more experiences a child can pull from to connect to a text, the more he/she will comprehend from the text.

I try to keep this in mind whenever teaching a new concept in class or reading a new story. Students with limited background knowledge will not retain as much as students with a wider range of experiences. So, how do I, as a their teacher, help them to overcome this disadvantage? Well, this is where YouTube ( or TeacherTube or any other video streaming site) comes in. Now, when I mention YouTube to other teachers, the vast majority respond that Youtube is not exactly the most worthwhile source of information.

Sure, there are PLENTY of videos on YouTube that are less than stellar. There are also plenty of videos that are worth checking out. I spent a few minutes the night before we read the article on the polar bears and global warming researching possible videos to show to the class. I found a few and emailed them to myself. I could have also posted them to my delicious account as well. The next day, I signed on in the morning and bookmarked all of the videos. This way, all of the videos that I wanted the students to see were already downloaded to my computer and ready for use when the lesson was taught. It prevented me from having to wait for the videos during instructional time.

Like I said, this process took me about 10 minutes in all between finding the videos and setting them up for class viewing. That is really not much time at all. The students enjoyed the videos and we were able to engage in a lively discussion based on what they saw. My students from last year frequently recall lessons from class that featured videos as supplements so I know it works. So, next time you are teaching a new concept, take a few minutes to build the background knowledge of your own class by using a YouTube video in your lesson. It really is fun.

Voki

2009-01-29T17:50:00.003-05:00

Get a Voki now!

I have seen this little tid-bit used on other blog entries and decided that I had to share it. You can visit Voki to create your own. Think of the uses for this wonderful (and free) little resource. you can program tests into it and allow students to listen to it at a center. You can motivate students to practice fluency by offering them a chance to record themselves reading and creating a voki character to go with the reading. You can program welcome messages, student's writing, and so much more. The uses are limitless.
Plus, it is easy to use. You can easily change the appearance, voice, features, design, and so much more. You can add it to your blog simply by copying the code and pasting it into an entry. You can copy the code and paste in on the sides of the blog as a gadget. You can record your own voice by using a microphone or a telephone. You can also type in what you want the Voki to say and change it's voice. The above Voki took me seconds to make. So, if you have the opportunity, please check it out.

Voicethread

2009-01-26T15:10:00.011-05:00

   The presentation above is a sample of a voicethread presentation created by my students. Voicethread is a wonderful resource that is free to educators. It allows you to upload photos, PowerPoint presentations, student work samples and much. Once you have uploaded your work, you are then given the opportunity to "comment" upon each slide of the presentation.
   Classroom uses are LIMITLESS! My students have used this program when sharing PowerPoint presentations. However, you could use it to have your students share a story they have written. It could also be used to share responses to stories. Photos from class could be shared (with parental consent) and commented upon. Students could do a digital report using Voicethread. You could even create a class e-post card.
   Like I said, this resource is free to educators. Visit Voicethread for further information.

Social Bookmarking in Plain English

2009-01-25T10:44:00.000-05:00

Like so many people out there, I have "bookmarked" or "favorited" many different websites on my computer. These are the sites that I LOVE to visit on a regular basis. Now I have sites bookmarked on my school laptop as well as my personal laptop.

Last year I stumbled upon a site at home that was absolutely fabulous. The next day I was discussing the website with a fellow teacher. I described all of the resources that I found and she was, of course, interested in seeing the site. However, I tried to Google it and was unable to find it. It was frustrating to say the least. The fact of the matter is that I can't access the sites on my laptop on my home computer and vice versa. Or can I?

Then I stumbled upon a video on YouTube that caught me eye. I was looking for ways of using technology in the classroom and several connections later, the video above is the video that came up. As a result, I now bookmark many of my sites on Delicious. I can now access all of my favorites anywhere at anytime on any computer. So, if you have a chance, check out the video above to learn more about social bookmarking.

Twitter in Plain English

2009-01-25T09:52:00.000-05:00

NPR recently did a report on one of the latest trends in technology called Twitter. For those of you wondering, Twitter is a free service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to that inevitable question we are all asked: What are you doing? President Obama frequently twittered along the campaign trail. Teachers, CEO's, entrepreneurs, and many more are now "twittering" on a regular basis. For more information, visit http://www.twitter.com. There is now cost for this service and you can update from home and school. You are able to search for people by name, invite friends, and much more. I have found "twittering" to be very helpful because it has allowed me to network with other teachers all over the country. Links are exchanged, ideas shared, and connections are made using this site. If you have a chance, please take a moment to join and check it out. You are welcome to follow myself or even those that I follow as well.