Videos to get them thinking and talking…

Two great lists of videos were put out this past week and I just had to blog about them.  Showing a variety of videos this year has been one way I’ve really gotten my teachers, administrators, and students to think and talk about new ideas in technology and education.  The two lists below are great resources and I’m so thankful to Scott McLeod and Alec Couros for putting them out there! 

Top 20 TED Talks podcasts for busy school administrators

80+ Videos for Tech. and Media Literacy

Enjoy!

 

Technorati Tags: videos,media,literacy,technology,education,tedtalks,instructional

YouTube Playlists

I’ve found recently that one of the greatest tools for me is the YouTube Playlists.  I’ve started making playlists of all the videos I use for different projects, trainings, and ones I just find fun!  The playlists are a great way for me to keep everything organized and quickly find my “favorite” videos for any particular situation.

Here are some of my YouTube Playlists:

Advisory Videos http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5C6F8F69036B0356

Digital Storytelling http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=60469B44B5339F7C

Public Service Announcements http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=2099C40BB5F641A3

Stop Motion Animation http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E80B3D6E5E96908E

Trainings – General http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=3BC479598A375B43

Technorati Tags: instructional,technology,video,youtube,playlist,organization,education

Sunday Morning Learning

I’ve so enjoyed watching the Classroom 2.0 Live and Future of Education events.  Being in India it is difficult to participate live but it has now become a Sunday morning ritual to download the latest session and watch it with my morning coffee.  If you are like me and can’t make the live events you can still watch the entire Elluminate sessions.  I like to download the Recording (full) so that I can follow along with the chat also.  It is almost as good as being there!  It’s nice that you can pause and take notes, check out websites, or um start to write a blog post about it!

Classroom 2.0 Live events are archived and available at http://live.classroom20.com/archive.html. 

Future of Education Interview Series are all archived and available from the Future of Education Ning.  You can use the search to find past sessions.  Also, once you join the Ning you will receive emails about events and you can use those links to find the archive.

Ted Talks is another of my favorite sites for a Sunday morning the talks are on a variety of issues and are fascinating! Ted Talks: Ideas Worth Spreading

Image Attribution
Image: 'Elementary love'
www.flickr.com/photos/10997674@N07/2339258030

<---Cross post from Katie Christo's Edublogs site--->

The Collaboration Cycle

I just read a fabulous post with an amazingly great resource... the Collaboration Cycle is one of the better ways I've ever seen to explain our role as Instructional Technology Facilitators to teachers and staff at a school. I love that it is a cycle... here is the original post: http://mscofino.edublogs.org/2008/08/28/going-full-circle/
Enjoy!

Summer Tech Conference '08

We just finished our BCPS Summer Tech Conference '08! It was fabulous. We had a huge response and doubled our numbers from last year. Participants also enjoyed the conference and we have received great feedback that we will be posting on the wiki soon. To see what we did and get resources from our sessions go to the wiki! http://stc08.wiki.burke.k12.nc.us/

SMARTen Up!

An interactive whiteboard allows you to "drive" your computer from touching the board, rather than from behind your computer. When I was teaching third grade, I wrote a grant and had a SMART Board in my classroom. It truly changed the way I taught. Having the board (and a projector) in my room encouraged student engagement in the lessons. It provided a chance to reach different learning styles, including my kinesthetic learners, who could interact with an activity by touching the board.

One example I often give when I talk about the impact the interactive whiteboard had on my students is this: I was teaching some low-level readers (who were often turned off from reading and were difficult to engage in comprehension skill activities). I would put a reading passage on the screen for the students to read. Then I would ask a comprehension question. I would ask a student to answer the question, but in addition to the answer, the student had to come to the board and underline the proof. I watched as my students who hated to read anxiously waited to be called on to answer the question so they could interact with the board. And it wasn't a phase; all year long, students were excited about using the board to interact with lessons. I, too, enjoyed the interaction the board afforded me. Instead of standing behind my computer to guide a lesson on the screen, I was able to be at the screen, "driving".

SMART Boards are not the only interactive whiteboards available. There are others (for example, ActivBoards, and Interwrite Boards.) My favorite is the SMART Board, but that may just be because I'm comfortable using it.

Below are some interactive whiteboard resources. Some are just for SMART Board, others are generic, and others are simply links to interactive sites that you could use even if you don't have an interactive whiteboard.

Education section of SMART Technologies website: http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-us/

• Teacher's Hub has sections for "Getting started" and "Enhancing skills"
• Educator Resources includes Lesson activities, online classroom resources, software resources, etc.
• Training Center- Free Training Materials
• SMART Exchange- Community area, including a forum and downloads.

Notebook lessons and SMART Board Resources

• Notebook lessons http://technology.usd259.org/resources/whiteboards/smartlessons.htm
• Notebook lessons http://www.lakelandschools.org/EDTECH/Smartboard/smart-files.htm
• Teachers Love SMARTBoards Blog- Tons of ideas and resources!
• SMART Board Podcasts
• Scholastic SMART Board Links and Resources
• Engaging Learners the SMART Board Way
  

Interactive Whiteboard Resources

• The Whiteboard Blog Interactive technology in the classroom
• Whiteboard Resources (see links at the top for level and subject area)
• Internet 4 Classrooms SMART Board Resources
  

Interactive Websites

• Donna's Interactive Curriculum (Elem)
• Interactive Sites (compiled by Donna Murray and Katie Christo)

(cross posted on Explore the Possibilities)

FREE Typing / Keyboarding Practice

Want an alternative to purchasing keyboarding practice software?

Here are a couple of FREE keyboarding sites for children:

Keyboarding Skills Course http://www.e-learningforkids.org/Courses/Keyboarding_Skills/index.html (Click “Skip Intro” to go straight to the instructions/course.

Dance Mat Typing from BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/ Includes 12 stages.

Also, TuxType is a free typing tutor download for children. http://tuxtype.sourceforge.net/

You CAN take it with you! Workshop Resources

This workshop was all about portable drives and the free applications that can be loaded on them.

Online resources from my You CAN take it with you! workshop.
http://katiechristo.pbwiki.com/PortableApps

Digital Storytelling Workshop Resources

“We are our stories. We compress years of experience, thought, and emotion into a few compact narratives that we convey to others and tell to ourselves.” - Daniel Pink A Whole New Mind

Online resources from my Digital Storytelling workshop
http://katiechristo.pbwiki.com/Digital+Storytelling

Free Images, Clipart, Primary Source, Sound and Audio Resources

It is always hard to find the best "free" resources to suggest to teachers. Below you will find links to three pages where I have begun to compile these resources. Let me know if there are any I should add!

Photos, Images, and Clipart http://katiechristo.pbwiki.com/Photos,+Images,+and+Clip+Art

Primary Sources http://katiechristo.pbwiki.com/Primary+Sources

Sounds and Audio http://katiechristo.pbwiki.com/Sounds+and+Audio

Weather Resources

Weather Dude http://www.wxdude.com/

Web Weather for Kids http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/

Edheads Weather http://www.edheads.org/activities/weather/index.htm

National Geographic Forces of Nature http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/

Weather Channel Kids http://www.weatherclassroom.com/

Practice your basic math facts online!

Here are some great resources for practicing basic Addition, Subtraction, and Multiplication facts!

Best of the Best
Arcademic Skill Builders has GREAT Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication Drill and Practice Activities! Check out: Meteor MultiplicationAlien AdditionMinus MissionMultiplication Grand Prix – which can be played against other online players or you can setup a 4 person game with a password

Addition and Subtraction
Hoot’s Addition and Subtraction
Math Magician Addition
Math Magician Subtraction

Multiplication
Camel Time Table
Multiplication Roll Over
Math Magician Multiplication

Resources similar to Starfall

If you haven’t checked out Starfall go here: http://www.starfall.com/

Between the Lions http://pbskids.org/lions/games/

Clifford Interactive Storybooks http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/

CrickWeb http://www.crickweb.co.uk/

Game Goo http://www.cogcon.com/gamegoo/gooey.html

Interactive Phonics and Word Study Center http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/phonics/student.cfm

Interwrite Resources

Free Interwrite Lessons and Activities Correlated to State Curriculum Standards- Go to http://www.interwritelearning.com/resources/lessons.php- Click on the Browse Lessons Correlated to State Curriculum Standards

Free Interwrite Tutorials and How-Tos http://www.gtcocalcomp.com/erc/interwritetutorials.htm

Background Image Library http://www.gtcocalcomp.com/erc/interwritebackgrounds.htmYou can download these and use them as backgrounds when making an Interwrite Activitiy

Interwrite Supporthttp://www.interwritelearning.com/support/index.php

Penguin Resources k2

The World of Penguins http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/penguins/

WebCams of Penguins http://www.penguin.net.nz/viewing/webcams.html

March of the Penguins National Geographic http://www.nationalgeographic.com/marchofthepenguins/index.html

Kidzone Penguins http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/penguins/index.htm

SeaWorld Penguins http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Penguins/home.html

National Geographic Kids Critters – there are a couple penguins on here!http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/Adelie-penguin

Fun and Facts about Penguins http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/penguins/main.html

Penguin Theme http://www.cdli.ca/CITE/penguins.htm

New Zealand Penguins http://www.penguin.net.nz/