Posted on April 26th, 2011 by
conardlibrary
Here are three sites that let your students explore the world in new and more visual ways. They make change, inequities and disparities across the globe strikingly apparent and shows the power of statistics displayed in graphic form.
http://www.google.com/publicdata/home
http://sacmeq.org/statplanet/
This one is the companion site for the fascinating Maps of the Real World atlas you may have seen in the library:
http://www.worldmapper.org/
No Comments »
Filed under: Math, Social Studies, Teacher Resources, Tech tips & tricks
Posted on March 13th, 2011 by
conardlibrary
As many math teachers know, http://www.wolframalpha.com/ is a search engine for finding anything you want to know that can be calculated.
At http://demonstrations.wolfram.com , interactive illustrations created by Mathematica users around the world illuminate concepts in science, technology, mathematics, art, finance, and other fields.
http://www.wolfram.com/cdf-player/ is a free download that allows access to a library of demonstrations that explain math & science principles.
At http://got.im/4PGN , in a thought provoking TEDTalk (transferred to SchoolTube so you can watch in school) Conrad Wolfram maintains “we have a real problem with math education right now,” arguing that the role of calculating is not an end in itself, but a means to an end, and should therefore be wholly computer based. As he puts it, “Math ≠ Calculating, Math >> Calculating”. He’s optimistic that “we have a unique opportunity to make math both more practical and more conceptual simultaneously,” and to get people to “really feel math”.
Finally, at http://www.wolframalpha.com/educators/ , there are lesson plans on topics ranging from quadratic equations to creative writing.
No Comments »
Filed under: Math, Teacher Resources, Tech tips & tricks, Web 2.0
Posted on January 24th, 2011 by
conardlibrary
Many people know of Wordle as a way to give words & ideas special visual impact. (See earlier post.) Here are some other word cloud generators that offer different ways to analyze & present what’s happening in a piece of text. And they’re fun!
http://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/waiting-for-wordle-free-word-cloud-options-to-use-now/
No Comments »
Filed under: English, Reading & Writing, Show/tell/publish work, Tech tips & tricks, Web 2.0
Posted on October 20th, 2010 by
conardlibrary
At http://typeit.org type accent marks, diacritics, and other characters online, then cut and paste them whenever you want.
(Thanks to Tim Cayer, LMS at Hall for this one.)
No Comments »
Filed under: Tech tips & tricks, World Language
Posted on June 1st, 2010 by
conardlibrary
you can make “cool stuff” with digital photos - motivational posters, jigzaw images, mosaics and more. My favorite is the magazine cover option – where you can add pictures, titles and graphics to make yourself or a friend a cover star. (Teachers take note – a magazine cover might be an excellent way to communicate understanding and perspective on a complex topic.)
No Comments »
Filed under: English, Math, Science, Show/tell/publish work, Social Studies, Teacher Resources, Tech tips & tricks, Web 2.0, World Language
Posted on May 13th, 2010 by
conardlibrary
These sites – some old, some new – let students and teachers communicate is creative ways.
www.glogster.com
Glog is a kind of poster – fully designed by yourself! Glog is a fancy creation from text, images, music and video – a perfect tool to express yourself.
_______________________________________________________
Make your own music video with Animoto
for example…
_________________________________
and don’t forget our old friend- Wordle
No Comments »
Filed under: Show/tell/publish work, Tech tips & tricks, Web 2.0
Posted on May 13th, 2010 by
conardlibrary
These links lead to resources students and teachers can use to enhance multi-media and Web 2.0 interactive projects (Wikis, Blogs, PhotoStories, etc.) Just a sampling – there are many more out there; such sites appear (and disappear) all the time.
Free (or cheap) music for educational use:
www.podsafeaudio.com/
www.beatpick.com/
http://magnatune.com/genres/
www.ccmixter.org
http://freeplaymusic.com/ – Instrumental Music
http://ccmixter.org – All kinds of music
www.findsounds.com/ – Sound Effects
www.coe.uh.edu/digital-storytelling/tools.htm – Tools for digital storytelling
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/04/30/30-creative-commons-sources/ Creative Commons Media – music, images, video and more
Free Images for educational use:
www.fotogenika.net/modifica/igallery.asp
www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.uk/static/cs/uk/11/clipart/home.html
www.coe.uh.edu/digital-storytelling/tools.htm – Tools for digital storytelling
Remember – no matter where you get your media, you must cite your sources!
No Comments »
Filed under: Show/tell/publish work, Tech tips & tricks, Web 2.0
Posted on February 22nd, 2010 by
conardlibrary
Here’s a perfect way to share those YouTube videos at school that you are normally blocked from…
Our district (like many) block YouTube access, but SchoolTube is allowed (it’s moderated). You can now grab the URL of any YouTube video and “upload” it to SchoolTube. Now while at school we have a way of showing videos to students that we were prevented from before…just think of the possibilities!
You’ll find this new option during the upload process. Create your free teacher-based account first and you’ll be able to use this new feature.
(Thanks to Pat Drago for forwarding this tip from Rob Zdrojewski, Technology Education Teacher, Adobe Education Leader, Director, AmherstTechTV.org )
If you’d rather save the YouTube video to your own flash drive or computer, there are several ways to do it. The attached document prepared by Tim Cayer at Hall describes the steps to follow. (Thanks, Tim.)
Capturing Videos
No Comments »
Filed under: Tech tips & tricks, Web 2.0
Posted on November 9th, 2009 by
conardlibrary
To access this amazing collection of videos and other interactive resources, go to: http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/
Login using your user name and password.
If you are a new user, you need this passcode: 9929-27BA
Search by grade level or subject and look for a video that you may want. DO NOT PLAY THE VIDEO DIRECTLY FROM THE SITE! Click on the little clock face to “add this clip to the queue.” It will be downloaded overnight and you will find it on the V drive the next day. There, you can create your own folder of videos, share videos that you or others have already downloaded, save videos to your desktop to make it easier to play them (& less network dependent!) For more detailed instructions, contact tobey_mintz@whps.org
No Comments »
Filed under: Tech tips & tricks
Posted on June 3rd, 2009 by
conardlibrary
Photo Story allows you to combine photos, music, narration and motion to create simple movies that bring your images to life. Since the program is a part of Windows, it can be downloaded & installed for free on most computers.
In addition to the program itself, before you can create your project you need to gather the different elements you will be using and save them together in a folder on your computer. These are:
- Your selection of digital images – your own or some that you’ve collected from online sources. You may also need to create a single all black .jpg using PowerPoint for use at the end for your “credits” (i.e. citations). This can be done easily in PowePoint – and then saved along with the rest of your images.
-
Your music – which can be in WMA, MP3, or WAV format. You can skip this step if you just want to choose from the music tracks that Photo Story offers.
-
A microphone - with a USB connection that allows you to record or transfer your recording directly to your computer.
-
Your “script”: that is, a rough draft of what your narration will say - and any words or titles you would like to appear at the beginning, end, or elsewhere in your story.
The attached instructions were designed to help students create short, simple ”Book Trailer or Commercial” Photo Stories. As you experiment with your own project, notice that there are several additional options such as “customize motion” to consider. Each of these steps includes a “learn more about” link that leads to helpful directions.
photostory-instructions
PhotoStory Resources
This WEB 2.0 Toolbox offers links to free music and images for educational use:
http://www.whps.org/school/conard/library/Web%202.0%20Toolbox.asp
Photo Story tutorials & help sites to try:
http://millie.furman.edu/mll/tutorials/photostory3/index.htm
http://www.bama.ua.edu/~moore164/tutorial.htm (very basic)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/tips/firststory.mspx
Examples: Produced by students at Olympia High School in Greece, NY
http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/oly/library/teachers/gianotti/APllinkpage_06.htm
I’ve also attached a basic rubric for assessing student projects — followed by one for students assigned to evaluate or extract information from projects produced by their peers.
photo-story-rubrics
No Comments »
Filed under: Tech tips & tricks
