One of my favorite websites to use with my students (They love it as well!) is
www.iknowthat.com
This website has Interactive games and activities for children in grades K-6. The games practice academic skills with fun flash programs and immediate feedback on the students' accuracy. Go to the "Teacher's Guide" to look at specific games/activities and what concepts they cover. This section also gives suggestions for how to use the different games with multiple grade levels.
LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Assignment #4: A Few of My Favorites...
I am posting JUST three of my favorite websites for this assignment. Man, I don't think I can narrow them down - I love collecting and organizing websites, as my classmates will find out during class this weekend! ;)
WEBSITE #1:
One of my favorite, non-education-related websites:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/
I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, and this website has given me so much information & inspiration! They have a techniques section which combines everyday products like baby wipes and stamping supplies to make some phenomenal effects! Other great sections to browse: gallery (!!!), forums (fun games happen on the message boards!), and resources (where you will find some of the tutorials I was referring to).
WEBSITE #2:
http://www.learningpage.com/
Membership is free (for now, anyways) and the resources here are great! My students (from 1st through 5th grade) love the Tommy Tales stories, which I used as an end-of-the-day read aloud. There are 30+ Tommy Tales stories, each building characters and little details. They are printable, so it is easy to make copies for the students, or just a classroom set.
We also used the theme sheets to learn Science concepts last year. That was fun!
WEBSITE #3:
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/
This is an extremely useful site for educators of K-12 students. Make sure to check out the "Links" section!
Other resources include:
-Assessment Assistance
-On-Line Practice Modules
-Daily Dose of the Web
-In-School Integration Support (Staff Development Opportunities)
-"Searching" (Search Engine Links)
WEBSITE #1:
One of my favorite, non-education-related websites:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/
I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, and this website has given me so much information & inspiration! They have a techniques section which combines everyday products like baby wipes and stamping supplies to make some phenomenal effects! Other great sections to browse: gallery (!!!), forums (fun games happen on the message boards!), and resources (where you will find some of the tutorials I was referring to).
WEBSITE #2:
http://www.learningpage.com/
Membership is free (for now, anyways) and the resources here are great! My students (from 1st through 5th grade) love the Tommy Tales stories, which I used as an end-of-the-day read aloud. There are 30+ Tommy Tales stories, each building characters and little details. They are printable, so it is easy to make copies for the students, or just a classroom set.
We also used the theme sheets to learn Science concepts last year. That was fun!
WEBSITE #3:
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/
This is an extremely useful site for educators of K-12 students. Make sure to check out the "Links" section!
Other resources include:
-Assessment Assistance
-On-Line Practice Modules
-Daily Dose of the Web
-In-School Integration Support (Staff Development Opportunities)
-"Searching" (Search Engine Links)
Assignment #1: Blogging Thoughts
Here are my comments on some of the blogging-related articles...
Article:
Cool Tools on the Web ("The Educator's Guide...")
My Thoughts:
Whoa. I feel like a technology dinosaur when I read this kind of article. I thought I was somewhat technologically savvy before. Oh well. There's a lot more to learn, and each day/month/year something new is happening on the web, so I may just have to accept the fact that it's going to be a lifelong learning process!
I really love the idea of pod casting. I teach students that are still learning English, and this would be a great tool for them. Now, some of them don't have Internet access at their houses, but many go to the library and could hop online there. Sometimes, their reading assignments are a bit lengthy and overwhelming for them. Wouldn't it be great if they could go to our classroom blog and read along while I, or another student, read the passage? And that's just one way we could use pod-casting.
One more thought: I read the little box with the 2005 Teacher Survey results and it struck a little bell. I don't remember exactly when, but I filled out a survey with questions like this and more either in 2006 or 2007. Pretty cool. Those surveys and results do actually get processed and posted somewhere! (And I will have been a part of shaping the percentages!)
Article:
Blogs & Teaching ("The Educator's Guide...")
My Thoughts:
First thought: What is an auto-summarizer? Let me go to my too-often used reference source and "google" it... Hold on a moment, please... Oh. Okay. I went to a website that would auto-summarized any copied and pasted text and it summarized my above article thoughts into three sentences. It didn't make much sense, but I get the idea of what it does now. Hmmm...
It was interesting to read a professor's perspective on using open-ended blogging with his college students. He made a point that I agree with; he said that he could find out a little more about the students who weren't so vocal in class. I teach students that are amazing writers with advanced thoughts, but are also the most hesitant to share with the whole class. I would like to see them find their voice through blogging with our class.
I can see the benefits of using blogging in the classroom, and I know it has been done with middle school, high school, and college students. I would like to read more articles about elementary school teachers who use blogs with their students and the considerations for that age group.
Here are some links to articles posted on blogging with elementary-aged students:
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech/tech217.shtml
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/voice/voice123.shtml
http://www97.intel.com/odyssey/Story.aspx?StoryID=302
http://itc.blogs.com/thewriteweblog/2004/11/who_says_elemen.html
Article:
Cool Tools on the Web ("The Educator's Guide...")
My Thoughts:
Whoa. I feel like a technology dinosaur when I read this kind of article. I thought I was somewhat technologically savvy before. Oh well. There's a lot more to learn, and each day/month/year something new is happening on the web, so I may just have to accept the fact that it's going to be a lifelong learning process!
I really love the idea of pod casting. I teach students that are still learning English, and this would be a great tool for them. Now, some of them don't have Internet access at their houses, but many go to the library and could hop online there. Sometimes, their reading assignments are a bit lengthy and overwhelming for them. Wouldn't it be great if they could go to our classroom blog and read along while I, or another student, read the passage? And that's just one way we could use pod-casting.
One more thought: I read the little box with the 2005 Teacher Survey results and it struck a little bell. I don't remember exactly when, but I filled out a survey with questions like this and more either in 2006 or 2007. Pretty cool. Those surveys and results do actually get processed and posted somewhere! (And I will have been a part of shaping the percentages!)
Article:
Blogs & Teaching ("The Educator's Guide...")
My Thoughts:
First thought: What is an auto-summarizer? Let me go to my too-often used reference source and "google" it... Hold on a moment, please... Oh. Okay. I went to a website that would auto-summarized any copied and pasted text and it summarized my above article thoughts into three sentences. It didn't make much sense, but I get the idea of what it does now. Hmmm...
It was interesting to read a professor's perspective on using open-ended blogging with his college students. He made a point that I agree with; he said that he could find out a little more about the students who weren't so vocal in class. I teach students that are amazing writers with advanced thoughts, but are also the most hesitant to share with the whole class. I would like to see them find their voice through blogging with our class.
I can see the benefits of using blogging in the classroom, and I know it has been done with middle school, high school, and college students. I would like to read more articles about elementary school teachers who use blogs with their students and the considerations for that age group.
Here are some links to articles posted on blogging with elementary-aged students:
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech/tech217.shtml
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/voice/voice123.shtml
http://www97.intel.com/odyssey/Story.aspx?StoryID=302
http://itc.blogs.com/thewriteweblog/2004/11/who_says_elemen.html
Here I come, blog-world!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Assignment #2: Technology in the Classroom
Lesson #1
Grade Level: 1-12 (I plan to use it with 5th & 6th grade)
Subject: Communication Arts
Title of Lesson: 100 Things to do with Books
Website:
Actual website: http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/resources/resources/books.html
Technology Integration:
This website gives teachers & students so many inventive ways to respond to any book. I would select a variety of activities, allowing for different learning styles & differentiated instruction, and then let the students choose 1 or 2 from the list. They would either complete their response on the computer (using Word, KidPix, or Kidspiration) or we would scan/photograph their completed response. I would then post their responses on our class website (which I will create during the course of my masters program!) so that parents & family could view the finished project.
Lesson #2:
Grade Level: 3rd & 4th Grade
Subject: Language Arts
Title of Lesson: Charlotte's Web: A Webquest Designed by Kate Smathers
Website: http://www.west.asu.edu/achristie/547/03WQ/kate/cwwq.index.htm
Technology Integration:
This webquest is a great starter, even if I wouldn't use this particular book with the students. (Although with the movie out, it would be a fun book to do!) I like the way Kate has vocabulary from each chapter along with a link to Word Central (website) to look up the words in Webster's online dictionary for kids. The activities engage a number of different learning styles and there are fun links with related educational activities (like the interactive quote quiz or the Charlotte's Web millionaire game). The student would have to comprehend what they read to score well on the links I just mentioned, so it would be a great way to check story comprehension. Cool site!
Subject: Language Arts
Title of Lesson: Charlotte's Web: A Webquest Designed by Kate Smathers
Website: http://www.west.asu.edu/achristie/547/03WQ/kate/cwwq.index.htm
Technology Integration:
This webquest is a great starter, even if I wouldn't use this particular book with the students. (Although with the movie out, it would be a fun book to do!) I like the way Kate has vocabulary from each chapter along with a link to Word Central (website) to look up the words in Webster's online dictionary for kids. The activities engage a number of different learning styles and there are fun links with related educational activities (like the interactive quote quiz or the Charlotte's Web millionaire game). The student would have to comprehend what they read to score well on the links I just mentioned, so it would be a great way to check story comprehension. Cool site!
Lesson #3:
Grade Level: 4-6
Subject: Science/Art/Technology
Title of Lesson: Claymation Critters
Website:
Technology Integration:
What a fun project! Students do some mini lessons on Claymation and then choose an animal to research. Along with their research (some or all of which could be completed on the Internet), they create a clay figure and take digital photographs of the clay animal in a sequence of positions. Sounds like fun & ties in with our district's Science curriculum.
Intro
Whoo-hoo! This is my first blog ever! I will eventually be posting assignment responses here, but for now I'll just introduce myself into the blogging world.I just switched grade levels, moved schools, am teaching new curriculum, am starting my masters, and change is good, right? For the most part I am really enjoying the freshness of it all (although my head hasn't caught up yet), and I am thrilled to be learning and sharing new technology tools. I have so many cool ideas spattered around my head, and I'm sure there are resources to help me get those out, organized, and shared with others!
Thanks for taking the time to read my VERY FIRST BLOG ENTRY EVER!!
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