Math and Technology

Technology has the opportunities to teach math in a completely new process. Conceptually, we can teach without students fully understanding the process first.They can learn it by see the concept visually, then applying the rules through a computer program.

TED, the idea blog has a video about Conrad Wolfram talking about teaching kids real math with computers. It is an excellent video, it is seventeen minutes longs but should be watched by anyone who teaches math or doesn't like math.

Another good video is from TED, Dan Meyer, Math Class Needs a Makeover and here is his blog which is full of math lessons that shows he practices what he preaches.

Cyberbullies and Digital Parents

Every now and then I run across an article that hits me. Here is one from Yahoo that makes even a techie parent of real good kids, ages 13 and 14, sit back and think, "Am I doing enough to monitor my kids?" Take a look here.

LaCUE (Louisiana Computer Using Educators)

Last week was the Louisiana educational technology convention. I presented a session on Friday so I was able to go that day. My coworker and I presented a session called The ART of Integration which about integration the arts into the content area. K-8 is required by the state to have one hour of arts instruction per week. It can be visual arts, music, theater, or dance.

Integrating the arts into the classroom has many benefits. Here are just a few:

•Apply Gardner Multiple Intelligences

•Address different learning styles

•Engage Learners

•Reignite passion for teaching

•Make something old new again

•Authentic and meaningful to students

•Allow for differentiation of instruction

I showed the Bucket List which has some Web 2.0 tools perfect for integrating the music such as podcasting sites like Vocaroo, Podomatic, Podbean and Audacity (which is downloadble sofware) but I also showed image sites that manipulate photos to emulate artistic styles like Impressionism, Mosaics, Contemporary, etc. such as Be Funky, Picnik, Big Huge Labs, etc.

An excellent resource is located in Resource section of the Bucket List. At the bottom is a list of local, state and national museums websites that teachers can access for actual and virtual tours, information, establishing partnerships, etc.

To make sure teachers have the art resources, there is a section marked PE and Arts. In this section, there are links for music instruction and links for visual arts instruction. There are also several links to websites that have arts instruction integrated into the content area. These websties, like the Kennedy Center Arts Edge allow you to search by grade level, type of art, and content area.

The best part of all of this is that everything is free or are mostly free. Yes, there are some excellent resources that are not free that I haven't mentioned but teachers don't have the money for other stuff.

Since the conference, I found this post of 50 Amazing Museum Exhibits You Can Enjoy Online.

It doesn't have to take a lot time, effort, or money. You don't have to become to that "crazy art teacher" and may be pleased with your results.

Targeting the Specifics

Sometimes you have to target the specifics. There are a couple of websites that will let you target specific skills, like maybe you have a student who needs help with identifying slope, or a student who needs help with counting syllables in words.

Here are a some sites that break down what you need exactly.

The BBC site below has lessons, printables or just skills games that coordinate with the specific skill you are targeting.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/

The following sites are from the Utah Education network and are broken down by grade levels. Click on the grade levels, choose a subject and then a skill. It will take you to an interactive list of skills based games and activities.

http://www.uen.org/7-12interactives/

http://www.uen.org/3-6interactives/

http://www.uen.org/k-2interactives/

Making Online Books

There are many ways to have your students express themselves digitally. Having your students write and publish books online empowers them and motivates them to write and express themselves more freely. There are several websites that will allow students to create a book online, for free of course.

StoryBird.com – Storybird is a site that uses graphics to create the story. This site focuses on the art first and lets the creative process flow from the students after they have selected their graphics. Real artists upload their art to the website and students add pages, select the graphics then add the text. The stories are published onine when they are finished.

ZooBurst.com – Zoo Burst creates virtual “pop-up” books. All images have to uploaded into the pages of the book so any graphics used will have to be saved ahead of time. As the pages open, the images pop up. The text is shown by clicking on a button and stories are published online when complete. Additional features such as audio will require a fee.

Batalugu.com – Batalugu will allow the user to create and publish online a book with images and text. The focus is a professional look that has a real published appeal with copyright and book dedication information. The final product is published online and shared but coming soon can be purchased in hard copy.

Simplebooklet.com – Simple Booklet is a website that allows for the creation of multi-media storybooks with text, images, video, links in a very user-friendly format that all students can use. Once complete, the book is published and viewed online or can be printed. The website has a basic level free account and higher level accounts that require a fee.

Kerpoof.com – Kerpoof has multiple projects that can be completed, a storybook only being one of the selections. The user chooses a theme to create the book and pulls from a bank of graphics to write the story. Once complete, the story can be saved or printed.

Letting the Site to the Work!

WebQuests have come a long way since they were first created. Zunal is probably the easiest place the find and make WebQuests.

Not sure what they are? It is a self-quided lesson on the web that includes all of the resources for project-based learning incorporating technology. Zunal makes it painless for the beginner and a dream for the experienced user.

There are templates to choose from, you can attach unlimited files and videos from sources like YouTube, add tables, create quizzes and it is all FREE. There are currently thousands in the database already made, ranging from kindergarten level to higher education. There are some in Spanish and French or you can make your own WebQuest.

Civics....Cool? No way!

Yes, there is a cool Civics web site out there just waiting for you to go and take a look. Even it you don't teach civics and want to teach your students some research skills, debate skills, law and order, what rights really are,etc. you have got to check this site out.

It is interactive, authentic, real, fun, and where was it when I was in school. Oh, not only is it free, but it has curriculum units, and lesson plans. The only thing it doesn't have is chocolate.

The court case was realistic in that it used a real case that involved a real student with a real outcome.

http://www.icivics.org/

Get Them Cranked

Graphic Organizers

All of the sites below are free and have the ability to brainstorm, create a bulletin board, "post it", graphic lists, map ideas, and any type of graphic organizer you can think of.

Bubble.Us

Creates "bubbles" on a page and creates idea maps where you can brainstorm ideas.

Lino it

Lino It is a sticky & canvas service that requires nothing but a Web browser; put on images, URL's for video.

Notaland
You can create multimedia graphic display of brainstorming, presentations, scrapbooks, and enjoy an interactive chat on a whiteboard format.

Wall Wisher

Wall Wisher starts with a blank board, click to put on "stickies" and add text, audio files, embed video or images to create quick and easy graphic organizers.

QUICK IDEAS FOR THE CLASSROOM

1. What do we know, need to know, want to know about....
2. Make a word map of a vocabulary word of antonyms, synonyms, examples, images, etc.
3. Everyone post an example of the following...(what begins with the sound "b", a cone, a strong modifier is the story, an herbivore, a WWII ally, etc)
4. Post classwork/homework/project assignments
5. Independent writing, put up a topic on a current event (once a week) and have the students post responses, then do free writing.
6. Book Reviews
7. Students post work with a link to any website, i.e. blog, video presentation site, avatar site, etc.
8. Where were you born? Where would you like to visit? Add images, audio, video or links to websites.
9. Summarzing student learning
10. Reflecting and Sharing...enough said.

Family STEM Night?

I remember when I taught fourth grade many years ago I organized our first Family Math Night. It was great. We had more families than we could shake a stick at. It was such a great experience and a great turn out that we did one for Reading and Science and even tried slide one in for Technology.

I saw a video about a school who did a STEM night (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) at their school. Normally, when people hear the "E" word (engineering), they think of a special high school for nerdy kids, their eyes glaze over, and images of space ships fly in their heads. But I was impressed. This school made it not only relevant, but they made it accessible, fun and approachable. Did you know one form of engineering can be designing a better way to stand in line at Disney World?

We need to take the mystery out of STEM and by doing this STEM night, that is exactly what this school did. It is not always building a bridge over San Francisco Bay. It could be something else more accessible. Take a look at the video have the mystery unfold.

http://www.schooltube.com/video/971631350b96ad35c6c8/Shepardson-Family-STEM-Night

Share Tabs the new Trackstar? Maybe not, but...

Remember Trackstar? It was great. You could make your own list of sites and put some annnotations for a lesson. The problem I always had with Trackstar was that it was temperamental and I lost my lessons.

Enter Share Tabs. Share Tabs is real easy to use. You just copy the URL's and it creates a website for you instantly. I was trying it out and made a link with 30 sites in a few minutes. You can't add annotations like you did in Trackstar, but you can put any site you want, like a wiki or blog with all of your lessons' resources and instructions. Check it out and see what you think. This is the link Share Tabs and this is what I made http://sharetabs.com/fqj, which is a few Web 2.0 tools that I was working with.

No Ning!

Well the free ride is over! I am moving the Bucket List to my blog until I can find a new home. Since Ning is no longer going to be free, it will have to go somewhere else. You can look for me on Twitter, tzelden. I update regularly and I will still post to the blog regularly.

Education is a life long process...free or not.