December Holiday sites for Kids and Teachers

Priecigus Ziemsvetkus!

That is Latvian for Merry Christmas. Check out this site to learn how to say season’s greetings in multiple languages: http://www.santas.net/howmerrychristmasissaid.htm

As the calendar year is coming to an end, take this chance to share with your students how other cultures and countries are celebrating. Compare and contrast with a venn diagram, use the information for some math problem solving and find some other fun lesson plans!

- December Holiday Lesson Plans and links
http://www.education-world.com/holidays/archives/december.shtml

- Winter Holiday Round up on Factmonster
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/winterholidays1.html

- Christmas Traditions around the World
http://www.santas.net/aroundtheworld.htm

- Christmas around the world by country
http://www.the-north-pole.com/around/

- Hanukkah for Kids
http://www.theholidayspot.com/hanukkah/

- Holidays year round
http://www.theholidayspot.com/

- Track Santa, send him an email (within the browser)! This is a great site to check out on Dec. 24th! http://www.noradsanta.org/en/

How Does Technology Cause Change?

For you Kinder Teachers in RRISD, Here are some ideas for your unit on "How Technology Causes Change"

A reminder of TEKS:   The student will (content)…
• Identify examples of technology used in the home and school (13A)
• Describe how technology helps accomplish specific tasks (13B)
• Describe how his/her life might be different without modern technology (14A)
• List ways in which technology meets people's needs (14B)

Technology Causes Change – Include lists generated by students like: computers, microwaves, telephone, light bulb, air conditioning; Include technology that changes the way people work; example: broom vs. vacuum cleaner, wood stove vs. microwave.  Identify how technology is used in home and school.

POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES:

• Identify technology devices at home and at school.
• Describe how the use of tools and machines can be helpful or harmful.
• Identify materials that can be reused and/or recycled
• Model what it was like for teachers vs now and the technology changes in school. Examples – Markers weren’t invented, paste then -- now glue sticks, no Velcro on shoes.... Make a language experience chart listing out changes in technology for current kindergartners and other adults (teachers, parents, librarian). Could be an interview or could even be part of the Research strand of the ELAR-TEKS. Transfer learning to kidspiration or kidpix drawing.
• Gather information about examples of technology through a field trip around the school or just in your room and list all the technology that made life easier or better and make sure they explain why. Then they could explain what life would be like or what they would have to do if they didn't have it.
• Discuss and discover before and after pictures. Show ways people used to count and add (abacus, then adding machine, then calculator). Show how people used to get messages to other people (letters, pony express, Morse code, email, texting--also old phones vs. cell phones). Show how people kept things cold (in caves, on ice, refrigerator). And so on

Online Resources:

Activities for Students:
• Matching Game 1 Online (Matching then and now objects)
• Matching Game 2 Online (Matching then and now objects)
Teacher Resources:
• http://www.fotosearch.com/clip-art/old-technology.html (images of old technology)
• http://pbskids.org/wayback/tech1900/index.html WayBack Technology. Created for kids, to difficult for Kinder to read, but can use some ideas from it.

• http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124251060 The Jobs of Yesteryear: Obsolete Occupations.  Great images and audio of individuals who held these jobs.

Thank you to Callison Kinder Team and the wonderful ITSs and Inst. Coaches who contributed ideas!

How Does Technolgy Affect our School?

TCEA 2010 - Things to Check out

Today was my first day of TCEA Convention 2010. For those of you who are not familiar with TCEA, it is Texas Education Computer Association. Every year they have a huge conference right in downtown Austin.

I'm already collecting some fun new websites to try with teachers and students. Check them out and see what you think!

• http://www.kerpoof.com/ Great online storymaking site, very fun!


• http://www.polleverywhere.com/ I'm using this is a staff meeting, so great, can take a poll by texting in responses!


• http://www.authorstream.com/ PowerPoint online storage. Can even search already loaded PowerPoints.


• http://edu.glogster.com/ Online poster creation. Very cool! Can think of loads of uses already.


• http://www.smilebox.com/ Create an online scrapbook. Haven't tried it, but curious.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Just a few resources to help Teachers and kids appreciate and understand our furry little friend and his special day!

• http://www.punxsutawneyphil.com/interactive/ Learn some 'groundhogese" some interactive games


• http://www.groundhog.org/ Official Website of the Punxsutawaney Groundhog Club. With videos of past ceremonies, lesson plans and all sorts of facts.


• Groundhog Day QuizDid you know??  Try the Groundhog quiz to test your knowledge of the animal.


• http://www.factmonster.com/spot/groundhogday1.html facts about groundhogs and their friends. Answer to the question, "Why Groundhogs?". And a  quiz to test your knowledge.


• http://www.hoghaven.com/find.html Great site with images and videos of actual groundhogs. Includes a link to FAQ

January- Martin Luther King Jr Day

 

Here are some resources for you to use with your students to help explore Martin Luther King Jr.

1. http://www.factmonster.com/spot/mlkjrday1.html MLK Day trivia and more

2.  http://askeric.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/US_History/USH0029.html A great lesson plan about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

3. Interactive classroom on MLK from the Seattle Times. Includes an interactive quiz http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/mlk/classroom/index.html

4. http://www.gpschools.org/ci/ce/elem/holidays/mlkk5.htm Collection of sites for Upper Elementary, clipart, online activities, multimedia files, lessons

5. Listen the podcast of his Speech http://media.financialaidpodcast.com/shows/ihaveadream.mp3

6. Selection of MLK powerpoints and links to templates and more http://holidays.pppst.com/MLK.html

Hawaiian Monk Seal

I was eating Breakfast, looking at the ocean and what did I see, an Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal swimming by.  Check out the video of the `Ilio holo I ka uaua', which means, "dog that runs in rough water."


What kind of writings could you have students do on such a video? Compare and contrast to animals they see on land? Could they write a story or an essay about a Monk Seal, or Endangered Animals? How does an animal become Endangered?
For more on the Monk Seal, check out: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/hawaiian-monk-seal.html
For more on Endangered animals, Look at: http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/map.html

Websites to Communicate

Using Technology to Communicate with Families

As we start off the new school year, there is so much technology to consider.  Not only do you need to consider technology in the classroom, using laptop carts or computer labs, but using technology as a communication tool with families.  As you learn more about your students and their families, take an opportunity for them to interact with you and your classroom. 

A way to let parents into your classroom is through your Teacher Website or blog.  As you are looking into building a website, think about the purpose and outline best fits your personality. Check out these resources to help you make your website fantastic! …more

How Technology Affects our Lives

How Technology Affects our Lives
This is a huge topic, and one that First Graders are learning. How do dwindle this down to a manageable size. How about how Technology Affects our School?

 From Card Catalog to Computer Searches! 

• Library: Let’s look at the library, no longer do students search through the card catalog for books, instead they find a book by using a computer and search by keyword, author or title. Books are scanned with a computer and barcode, allowing the librarian to keep track of records with ease.


• Lunch:  Lunch count sent to the cafeteria by a computer to minimize wasted food. Students don’t have to carry money around, they have an id card to scan to keep track of their bills which parents can pay in advance!


• Storing Information: Teachers are able to store lesson plans and student records for years. No longer is it one handout that you can’t change, digital resources can be manipulated to fit different students. Attendance tracking throughout the school and even across a whole district now is made much easier with computer software.


• Communication: Emails from teacher to teacher, and home to parents make communication fast and efficient! Teachers and schools have websites where they can share information of upcoming events and even post newsletters instead of always sending home paper copies.


• Collaboration: Students and teachers can share files and resources with each other. Share thoughts and ideas through digital journals and blogs. The sky is the limit with how much technology collaboration a class can do with others.

As you are thinking of how Technology Affects YOUR life. Consider the following questions:
 How do you retrieve information from technology?
 How can technology be used to organize your thoughts?
 How can you use technology to demonstrate ideas?
 How can technology be used in measurement?
 How can technology be used to solve problems?

Animal Webcams!

Take advantage of a chance to do a virtual field trip!  Take your whole class to a tiger's cave, or underwater without leaving your classroom!  Check out these fantastic webcam resources:

National Zoo http://nationalzoo.si.edu/

n  Live web cams to specific animals at the zoo.

n  Also has links for kids.

WEBCAMS http://www.lisd.org/technology/itswebs/elem/curr/webcams.htm

n  See live webcams of animals in various habitats.  Choose from Africa came, Sea Otter, Kelp Forest, penguin, Tiger, Ocean cam and much more!

San Diego Zoo  http://www.sandiegozoo.org/kids/index.html

n  Has a kid territory with FAQ and answers.  Some great images, science projects

Seaworld  www.seaworld.org

n  Has some videos and lesson ideas for teachers

Kidport Science  -- Life in the Sea http://www.kidport.com/GradeK/Science/SeaLife.htm

n  Images and information on various sealife

Wildlife Channel -- www.hancockwildlifechannel.org  
  n  Has fabulous cameras set up in bald eagle nests.  Thanks Ms. Ludden! 

The following is a home video shot from whale watch on the Navatek off Oahu, Hawaii, 02/10/07. Blows, dives and breaches! Mother with calf. 

 

Awesome Interactive Math Sites

Ok, you caught me, I was playing games on my computer.  Math games.  Check out some of these cool Math sites, would be great on an interactive white board, or having individual students on a computer.

Great Interactive Math sites to check out!

• Math Playground


• Math Games


• ICT Games, numbers and literacy


• Polygon Playground


• Learn Angles through sport


• Interactive Measurement


• Place Value Pirates

Interactive Fraction sites:

• Name that Fraction


• Fraction Match


• Fractions, basics, equivalent and more


• Pizza Fractions


• Visual Fractions

PicLits

www.piclits.com  This is a cool site and great way to have students get creative with poetry, complete sentences, keywords and more.  Users have a chance to matches images with carefully selected keywords or can write "freestyle".  Check it out with your students, and create your own PicLit!

See the full PicLit at PicLits.com

It's Science

In honor of Science Fair week here at Gattis Elementary, I thought I would share some science sites that are full of great ideas!:

Experiment of the Week: Sign up for a science experiment of the week.
If you have the time for the science lesson, but not enough time to research and find a steady supply of really engaging science experiments, sign up for a science Experiment of the Week. Each week, a new science experiment will be e-mailed to you.

Bubbles! Do bubbles have sides?  Find out more about Bubbles: http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/tf/books/bubbles.html

Yucky Body Site http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/body/
This site let's you know why all those want to know where eye gunk comes from, what is a funnybone, and what causes bad breath.  Those human bodies do some crazy stuff!

Technology I'm Thankful for

 I was talking to my five year old nephew, Caleb this weekend and we started talking about inventions.  What was an invention, why did someone make them, then we started taking turns saying an invention we liked and why we liked them. That conversation inspired this blog:

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Technology I’m Thankful for:

1.     Cell Phones: One price for a call to someone down the street as someone in Conneticut or Kansas, fantastic!  I remember when as a college student I got calling cards to call anyone out of the city I was living in.  Now I can call and text to so many people and afford it!  And when I’m at the store, I can call the house and get grocery ideas.

2.     USB: The number of peripherals since the invention of USB has become incredibl.  No longer is it get one type of cable for one device.  USB has introduced us to a whole new world of computing options. Digital cameras, scanners, web cams, all of these fantastic things would not be nearly as widespread as they are today without USB.

3.     Digital Cameras: What a fantastic idea!  Now I can share pictures with my friends and family via email or facebook, or shoot them a cd chuck full of pictures.  When my nieces and nephews are born and I’m not in town, I can see them the same day!!  Remember the days of film camera?  I would never get a great shot, or have film for a year before developing it.  Then if someone wanted copies, another trip to the store and cost.  I love digital cameras!

4.     Inexpensive Internet: I feel like everything is at the tips of my fingers with internet. It’s so much easier to communicate with others, and the ability to find resources is amazing!  What does a word mean? Why is my washing machine leaking? What recipe can I make with bananas, cornflakes and chocolate chips? Being able to find and share resources quickly has opened the doors to so many possibilities.  And even non-geeks can afford it!

5.     Online Travel Agent:  I used to call a travel agent, or would be with my Dad at the airport to book tickets. Now I can go to Kayak.com and put in the days I want to fly and ask for a buzz and everyday I get an email telling me the cost of flights on the days I requested.  Being able to compare prices quickly I think helps keep the prices down (in some ways).

 

 

My final invention is not a technology one, but one Caleb and I both agreed on.  Chocolate Cake!  The invention of chocolate cake was actually begun as a catalyst for eating chocolate in 1674 in Europe.  So to all my nephews and nieces; Caleb, Joshua, Evelyn, Julia, Nathan, Amberly and Jacob, I look forward to talking about more inventions (or eating chocolate cake) next week at Thanksgiving! Love you à, Aunt Angie   

To everybody else, Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are the cousins all together.  I talk to each through cell phones, they are all snapped with many digital cameras, have parents that blog about them & do lots of plane rides to see each other!

More than Just the Facts

http://www.factmonster.com/

Factmonster has been a favorite kid friendly educational site of mine for years!  It has so much information, you can create a webquest about things you find just on this one site. From dictionary, math games, quizzes, world news, people facts and other cool stuff! 

Here’s what I learned in just 4 minutes:

1.       Today  in History, November 13, 1942 they changed the minimum draft age from 21 to 18?

2.       Adeline Whitney invented Alphabet Blocks in 1882

3.       Money around the world: Ethiopia has the birr, Peru the Nuevo sol, Mongolia the tugrik

4.       I didn’t know as much about Turkeys as I thought after taking the “Turkey Day Quiz” at http://www.factmonster.com/quizzes/thanksgiving1/1.html

5.      “Raining cats and dogs.” Came from Norse mythology.  The dog is associated with wind and the cat with storms. This expression means it's raining very heavily, nothing to do with pets at all!

What can you learn in 4 minutes?

Online Cool Math Games

http://coolmath-games.com/
Students and teachers are always looking motivating ways to work on math skills. This site has fun and colorful games for a variety of ages. No download needed at school or home! Coolmath.com is a great resource for online math materials including a collection of great arithmetic, logic, and spacial awareness games.

These games are not only fun to play, but are mentally stimulating as well. Check out CoolmathGames for online fun with Math!

Did you Know?

Did you Know? – Cool Website viewing tricks: 

• You can enlarge the text on any Web page. In Windows, hold the Ctrl and the plus or minus keys (for bigger or smaller fonts)


• You can tap the Space bar to scroll down on a Web page one screenful. Tap Shift and the spacebar key together to scroll back up.


• You can double-click a word to highlight it in any webpage, document, or e-mail.


• When you’re searching for something on the Web using a search engine like Google, put quotes around phrases that must be searched together. For example, if you put quotes around “multiplication facts,” you will only get pages containing  both words and not just the word “multiplication” or containing the word “facts.”

 


Did you know?  --- Regarding Email: 


   






• When someone sends you some shocking e-mail and suggests that you pass it on, don’t. At least not until you’ve first confirmed its truth at snopes.com, the Internet’s authority on e-mailed myths. This includes get-rich schemes, Microsoft/AOL cash giveaways, or scare-tactic messages about our Presidential candidates.


• When you get an e-mail message from eBay or your bank, claiming that you have an account problem or a question from a buyer, it’s probably a “phishing scam” intended to trick you into typing your password. Don’t click the link in the message. If in doubt, go into your browser and type “www.ebay.com” or your bank’s address manually. 


• Sorry to tell you, but nobody, is going to give you half of $80 million to help them liberate the funds of a deceased millionaire…from Nigeria or anywhere else.  Do not send them any information about yourself.

Podcasting

Examples of Podcasts by Students and Educators:

Elementary Examples
http://cfbstaff.cfbisd.edu/beyond4walls/TCEA/
podcasts_by_cfb_teachers.htm
 New Teacher Hotline
http://www.newteacherhotline.com/

Ideas on Podcasting use in Education

From http://www.terry-freedman.org.uk/artman/publish/article_610.php
This is not meant to be a definitive list!

• Record lessons for students (and parents!) to access in their own time.


• Enable students to do a presentation about themselves rather than only sticking to PowerPoint!


• Create a short introduction to your school, or the course you run, for potential to access, and to let parents know what they can expect their children to be doing -- get student contributions too!


• Create a class radio station.


• Enable students to submit work in the form of a podcast.


• Create audio resources for use by sight-impaired students.


• Find and use podcasts as part of project research materials.


• Use foreign language podcasts to improve linguistic skills.


• Use podcasts to get an insight into another country's culture, or another person's daily lifestyle.


• Enable students to create dynamic presentations without the complexity of digital video.


• Subscribe to various podcasts in different subjects in order to provide extra curriculum resources at virtually no cost.


• Provide students with a different way of carrying out surveys in the local area.


• Create an audio blog of a school field trip.


• Create an enhanced podcast entitled "My summer holiday".


• Subscribe or listen to different podcasts in order to help students develop their critical faculties.


• Ask students to create a podcast to meet a real need, as part of a coursework project, for example for a local business.  

Tutorials:

Podcasting Tutorial: http://www.guidesandtutorials.com/podcasting-tutorial.html
Audacity Tutorial: http://www.guidesandtutorials.com/audacity-tutorial.html
Download Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

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Free Music for Podcasting:

• Garage Band: http://www.garageband.com/htdb/index


• cNet Free Music for Downloading: http://music.download.com/?tag=navtab


• PodSafeAudio: http://www.podsafeaudio.com/


• The Free Sound Project: http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/index.php - devoted to sounds not songs. Does require registration.

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What is Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 is a term  that was introduced in 2004 to describe a new generation of Web applications which provides dynamic user participation, social interaction and collaboration.  In a nutshell, the next step of the www.

In an article written in 2005, Tim O'Reilly lists on O'reillyNet a sampling of an initial brainstorming of applications that are Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0 at that time:

Web 1.0		Web 2.0
DoubleClick	-->	Google AdSense
Ofoto	-->	Flickr
Akamai	-->	BitTorrent
mp3.com	-->	Napster
Britannica Online	-->	Wikipedia
personal websites	-->	blogging
evite	-->	upcoming.org and EVDB
domain name speculation	-->	search engine optimization
page views	-->	cost per click
screen scraping	-->	web services
publishing	-->	participation
content management systems	-->	wikis
directories (taxonomy)	-->	tagging ("folksonomy")
stickiness	-->	syndication

Blogging Teachers! What, Why, Who, How?

What is it? Definition of a Blog:

Wikipedia Definition: A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.

Blogs Defined by others:

• PBS Teachers on Blogs - by Andy Carvin Internet activist, author, Edtech expert


• Blogs in Plain English Video Created by "leelefever" on TeacherTube
  [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI[/youtube]


• 6 & 7 Year Olds Define Blogs– A TeacherTube video titled, "What's a Blog, Described by 6 & 7 Year Olds". Students from Nelson, New Zealand educate you about what they think a blog is, how they use them and what they love about them.
  [flashvideo width="425" height="350" filename="http://www.teachertube.com/flvideo/1908.flv" /]

Why should Teachers have a Blog:

A blog is a web page that's easy to publish and interactive way to communicate. It can be a reflective practice for the author and readers. It’s an accessible way to share ideas, explore them and take part in a larger community. It allows others to add input to the blog in a discussion or comment form. As you think about your reasons for having a blog, decide on your audience. Are you a classroom teacher trying to reach your parents? Are you a leader wanting more collaborative communication with your peers or other proffessionals? Are you planning to build a blog for your students to contribute to and interact with each other? In essence, the reason for having a blog is communication. In the words of James Humes, “The art of communication is the language of leadership.”

• Why Should Teachers Blog?by Chris Lehmann Principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, PA


• Why Every Teacher Should Blog by Darren Draper, Technology Specialist Sandy, UT

Who's Blogging? Examples of Blogs in Education:

http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers#toc5-A wiki that contains links to multiple educational blogs. Categories include: Teacher blogs, Administrator blogs, Principal blogs, Librarian blogs and more.

• Elementary Examples
  · http://jhh.blogs.com/webwriters/ Fifth Grade Web Writers
  · Mrs. Wagner's Class- Eva Wagner's blog for her Kindergarten Class
  · http://mmiller7571.edublogs.org/ - Willard East Elementary Blog
  · http://mrsolm.blogspot.com/ Fifth Grade Blog, AZ


• Secondary Examples:
  · http://ridgeviewms.org/podcasts/ - Ridgeview Middle School initiative for podcasting
  · http://www.dawnsbrain.com/ High School Web and Graphic Design teacher
  · Durff's Study Skills Blog A blog for 7th grade Study Skills students in Maryland


• Administrative Examples
  · http://naesp.typepad.com/ ThePrincipals' Office, NAESP’s blog that connects principals with their colleagues
  · http://almostmonday.blogspot.com/- Almost Monday from Puyallup School District, WA
  · http://blog.core-ed.net/greg/ -Greg Carroll, Principal in New Zealand
  · http://principalblogs.typepad.com/lindaperdaems/ The Woodland Elementary Blog, Linda Perdaems, MN
  · http://mr-ps-blog.blogspot.com/ Leadership Blog from an Elementary Principal, AZ
  · Mrs. Marshall's Counselors blog - A counselors Blog.

How to get Started: Edublog Guides & Tutorials:

• Edublog Tutorial Video- Video on Creating an edublog account by Mark Wooley posted on TeacherTube


• Upload Images to Edublog Tutorial Video- Video on how qto upload photos into Edublog by ontanstaff posted on TeacherTube

 

What will I say? Get Inspired Reading:

a. PDF File Strategies for Educational Blogging by Dr. Soo Wai Man, Temasek Polytechnic. Very insightful.
b. http://supportblogging.com/ - a wiki that lists hundreds of edublogs, teacher blogs and student blogs.
c. http://anne.teachesme.com/about/ Edublog Insights. A blog by Anne Davis, Georgia State University. Lots of reflective thinking, links to educational blogs and ideas on blog use. In her words, "This EduBlog is a place to reflect, discuss, and explore possibilities for the use of weblogs in education."