In the last couple of weeks we have been on some of our own excursions and have seen some great things. Our PLC side trip to the SCETV Technology Workshop in Columbia rejuvenated our interest in Web 2.0 tools. This has pushed us to go out and find some resources to share with you.
So kick back, have a cool drink and read on as we tell you about a couple of cool tools we've seen!
1. ShareTabs (http://sharetabs.com/) Have you ever taken students to a computer lab and asked them to research on already prepared websites they had to type in? Did they all scream out..."it doesn't work!"? Well, ShareTabs will take the pain away! This resource collects a list of links that you provide into a single link that conveniently displays each website as its own tab. Now the darlings only need to click and for younger students this allows them to access only the sites you want them to see.
2. Wallwisher (http://www.wallwisher.com/) This is an online notice board where everybody can announce and make notes in the same place. You may be asking...why would I use that in the classroom? Well, go to the blog of our colleague, Frieda Foxworth to find out more...she has posted specific classroom uses for many content areas... http://friedafoxworth.edublogs.org/2010/03/21/wallwisher-in-the-classroom/. This a great, immediate way to use that one extra computer you may have in your classroom...students can take turns going to it to post their note.
Looking forward to more tech travel with you all!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Literacy and iTunes: A perfect travel companion
While still in iTunes, we will focus on promoting literacy and fluency. There are a number of important pieces of literature and stories in iTunes that you can access for free...
How do you find a work you are studying with your students? You can search the iTunes Store by author, work, or genre. When your search results come up, make sure to reference the menu on the left hand side that filters your results by media type such as music, movies, tv shows, apps, audiobooks, podcasts and resources from iTunesU. On this screen you will also be able to see the resources are free and those for which you need to pay. There are a number of important pieces of literature such as poems, fables, novels, short stories, children's stories, plays, etc. for all grade levels.
Why listen to work while you are reading it in class? Jim Wright, creator of the website Intervention Central, shares why listening while reading improves fluency and brings the work to life for your students. He states that 'Listening While Reading’ allows a struggling reader to ‘rehearse’ silently a passage by first following along in the text while hearing the media read it aloud. Additionally, you can use these resources to highlight important themes, plot development, characterizations, and literary elements that you want to bring home to your students.
Here are just some of the great literacy resources in iTunes:
Lit2Go--Although you can access Lit2Go online, most mp3 resources can be downloaded into your iTunes account and easily accessed and organized. For elementary level students, you can share nursery rhymes, traditional poems, and many of Aesop's fables. Middle school students can access poetry by Emily Dickenson, stories by Edgar Allen Poe, and a number of novels. You can bring Beowulf, The Scarlet Letter, and a number of Shakespeare's plays to your high school students. Do go to the Lit2go site for connections to standards and digital copies of the books.
Librivox--Volunteer-read books in the public domain. Most works come from the Gutenberg Project.
Meet the Author--vodcasts (videos) introduces you and your students to children's books authors and illustrators. You can learn about their own childhoods, why they write and what inspired them.
One warning...there is so much to see no what content or grade you teach...but, we, your tour guides, can only get you so far...you should take the leap and have some fun exploring on your own.
If you need help getting started in the iTunes Store, click on the How To's below:
How to explore iTunes 9
How to get free podcasts
Friday, March 19, 2010
Exploring iTunes - iTunes U
One of our first stops is somewhere our students go almost daily…iTunes. Unpack your suitcases...we're going to linger a bit because of all that is here to see! Kids and many of us use iTunes to download music, podcasts, videos, tv shows, apps, etc. We are going to show you a number of resources available in iTunes and even give you some "travel documents" to help you navigate through these uncharted territories.
What kinds of resources are we talking about?...Anything, Anywhere, Anytime...according to Apple's iTune website, "it's an innovative way to get educational content into the hands of your students." For example, if you teach World War II in Social Studies, Language Arts, Holocaust, etc. you can download primary source, first hand accounts from Holocaust survivors and other people involved in WW II (see Resource of the Week below)...or if you teach Shakespeare, you can download the Tragedy of Julius Caesar to highlight individual acts and scenes...or if you teach a unit of propaganda in Social Studies or Language Arts, your students can watch vintage television commercials...or if you are teaching about animals, check out the podcast series called Terra...and last but not least, if you are teaching a novel or promoting literacy in your school, you can visit the University of Florida's Lit2Go which provides recordings of hundreds of "historically and culturally significant literature" such as Alice in Wonderland, The Works of Edgar Allen Poe, The Poems of Emily Dickinson, and Aesop's Fables. These resources include narratives, pictures, videos, and more!
Visit the Resource of the Week
Looking for WW II primary resources for your students? Well, in iTunesU you can find Remembering WW II: First-Person Accounts. This resource contains over forty-two individual video oral history narratives of WWII, told by soldiers, war brides, sisters, nurses, Holocaust survivors, prisoners-of-war, and children, from different countries and cultures, as well as from several sides of the conflict. Each video (which can be downloaded free of charge) includes a personal account with pictures and video from WW II.
To find this resource, navigate to the iTunes store and click on iTunesU on the top menu bar. Under Noteworthy , click on Remembering WWII First-Person Accounts. You will be able to download videos from the European Theater, Pacific Theater, The Holocaust, and The Home Front.
If you need help getting started, click on the How To's below:
So much to see in iTunes...and iTunesU is only our first landmark! Join us for more site-seeing as we continue our exploration into 21st Century learning!
Our first site is all that is available to you and your students through iTunesU…and there's no admission required...all the resources are free...and you don't even need an iPod!
What kinds of resources are we talking about?...Anything, Anywhere, Anytime...according to Apple's iTune website, "it's an innovative way to get educational content into the hands of your students." For example, if you teach World War II in Social Studies, Language Arts, Holocaust, etc. you can download primary source, first hand accounts from Holocaust survivors and other people involved in WW II (see Resource of the Week below)...or if you teach Shakespeare, you can download the Tragedy of Julius Caesar to highlight individual acts and scenes...or if you teach a unit of propaganda in Social Studies or Language Arts, your students can watch vintage television commercials...or if you are teaching about animals, check out the podcast series called Terra...and last but not least, if you are teaching a novel or promoting literacy in your school, you can visit the University of Florida's Lit2Go which provides recordings of hundreds of "historically and culturally significant literature" such as Alice in Wonderland, The Works of Edgar Allen Poe, The Poems of Emily Dickinson, and Aesop's Fables. These resources include narratives, pictures, videos, and more!
Visit the Resource of the WeekLooking for WW II primary resources for your students? Well, in iTunesU you can find Remembering WW II: First-Person Accounts. This resource contains over forty-two individual video oral history narratives of WWII, told by soldiers, war brides, sisters, nurses, Holocaust survivors, prisoners-of-war, and children, from different countries and cultures, as well as from several sides of the conflict. Each video (which can be downloaded free of charge) includes a personal account with pictures and video from WW II.
To find this resource, navigate to the iTunes store and click on iTunesU on the top menu bar. Under Noteworthy , click on Remembering WWII First-Person Accounts. You will be able to download videos from the European Theater, Pacific Theater, The Holocaust, and The Home Front.
If you need help getting started, click on the How To's below:
So much to see in iTunes...and iTunesU is only our first landmark! Join us for more site-seeing as we continue our exploration into 21st Century learning!
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