Peace Corps WWS

World Wise Schools is a program that connects Peace Corps Volunteers serving around the world with classroom here in the US.  There are amazing opportunities to build pen pal programs, get lesson plan ideas, gain cultural awareness and have bundles of fun!  It's competitive to get paired with a pen pal so apply early and be ready to wait....but it will be worth it! 

Games for Learning

I found all of these sites from a local school's website.  Looks like these are supported by a bunch of current teachers:

Starfall - This is a great site to help reinforce ABCs, reading, writing and spelling skills.  The children love playing the games and I learned a few fun facts about American myths that I didn't know before scanning some of these stories.

SolPass - A site to help students study key curriculum standards for the SOLs.  The website has specific pages for elementary, middle and high school students.   You need a password and account to use this site but it is also possible to request a trial log-in.  Check with your local school system to see if they subscribe to this site.  It's $200 a year so you may be able to convince your school if they don't currently subscribe.

Multiplication.com really does manage to make math fun.  I played the airplane game called 'Flying High' and had a blast customizing my plane.  There are many options to choose your level and even the pacing changes. 

Even More Technologies

Time 4 Learning - is a website full of lesson ideas for parents who a homeschooling their children.  This site is full of supplemental resources, ideas and the activity finder tool.  This is a good site for teachers struggling for linking curriculum.

Kids Encyclopedia by Britannica is a great tool for students to do research.  It has the option of breaking down searches by grade level.  This feature lets students explore articles and activities designed for their academic level.  There is a section for parents to learn more about what their students are covering with curriculum summaries.  They do require a subscription but you can also get downloadable versions.  


I don't know why some of the font is highlighted.  I never clicked anything so I don't know how to undo it.


Education Technology Grant information can be found at this site http://www.ed.gov/edblogs /technology/grants/ .  This site offers a lot of options for educators to apply for more technologies, research funding and more!

Three New Technologies

Gatorade.com has a lot of inspiration films, facts and ideas about athletics.  It is a great site for PE teachers to explore.  It has ideas for motivating athletes and information for students who are interested in professional sports.

http://www.sequoiarecords.com/free-music.html is a great site for getting calming music.  It is great again for gym teachers for stretching exercises or for a classroom teacher to play in the background.

Dole.com is a fun site for recipes but also the Nutrition Institute.  I plan on using this site in my health lesson plan for this class

Amber and I made this video about how to make s'mores.  If you weren't hungry before I bet you will be soon


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July 10th Posts

National Geographic for Kids is all sorts of fun for students and teachers alike.  Many of the topics covered on this site include several different multimedia options.  There are photos, videos and maps.  The website is user friendly and easy to search.

Education World has loads of worksheet resources for teachers.  The worksheets are organized by topic or category and clumped together in a logical fashion.  This website can save teachers hours of time by doing a smart scan of what is already prepared and available.

http://xkcd.com/ is an online comic that covers a bunch of educational topics.  Search a topic and several options will appear.  Of course, read the comics before hand and ensure they are appropriate but what students wouldn't want to get hooked on science with a comic?

NOAA Educational Resources

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) offers a large array of educational videos, activities, lesson and tools for all sorts of atmospheric and geographical phenomena.  The neatest section I explored is all about tsunamis.  This is a great website teachers could use if current events are discussing natural disasters.  As we dive deeper into hurricane season, teachers can introduce severe weather conditions with the free resources provided on this site.

Free Lesson Ideas from the Government

The Federal Resources for Educational Excellence has a fantastic websites full of great ideas.  And I mean FULL of ideas.  The site is arranged by subject matter and then specific topics.  For example, there is a US History Subject section but included is that is famous people, business, government and more!  Each of these subgroups are broken down into specific content matter.  Topics are also broken down by category: animations, primary documents, photos and more.  Everything is organized well and the links to more and more resources seems endless.  A great free resource for teachers.

Literature Games

Scholastic Kids is a great website that combines technology with literature.  This site is a good resources for language art teachers.  It gets students involved with the characters on a different level than the simple imagination of a person reading a novel. Some of the games are just for fun but some are also informative and teach good lessons.  I also found a great game about the challenges of being the president for my curriculum class assignment.  

Please sir, I want s'mores

Amber and I are planning to make a how to presentation on building the most delicious fire-side treat we could think of...s'mores.

1. Whittle a stick
2. Collect fire wood
3. Build a fire
4. Get graham crackers and chocolate
5. Roast the marshmallows
6. Combine the ingredients
7. Wash hands
8. Put out the fire

Background music could be fire crackling

GeoGebra is a geometry teacher's lifeline. This free software is available for both the student and teacher of goemetry lesssons. Not only are there tools to build, measure and compare shapes but there are also great options for sharing projects. Teahcers can create assignments online that students can access in the library or where ever they chose to do theit studying. To take the networking a step further there are GeoGebra institutes to link local users into communities.

The event calander lists workshops and classes in various locations users are welcome to attend. The services provided on this site seem to be endless.

Coursera

Coursera is free an online learning center for continuing education in various fields.  Most courses consist of online lectures, assignments, and quizzes and last several weeks.  Leading universities like Princeton, Stanford and the University of Michigan all sponsor courses on this site. This is more of a tool for the teacher to expand their content knowledge skill then for the students themselves.

Check out the link above if you are even slightly interested in explore this site more because once you click the link you will likely want to register for everything.

Puzzlemaker @ Discovery Education

Puzzlemaker may be the coolest technology I have reviewed so far.  My co-workers are already completing their themed word search during lunch break.  This is a fantastic educational tool for creative lesson plans.  Teachers can individualize all sorts of puzzles to meet the specific requirements of the lesson.  And it's just so much fun!

Potential Lesson Plan

The Virginia Standards of Learning for 4th grade health class states students need to be able to explain the effects of malnutrition (standard 4.1(c)).

This is a huge health problem for students worldwide but also in the United States.  It is a current event topic and a life long obstacle for many.  Students need to be aware of what malnutrition is, how to prevent it and symptoms of it.

Check out the health standards for Grade 4 at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/health/index.shtml 

Technology Posts

Dropbox:

Having just survived a computer heart attack, I love the idea behind dropbox.  I was ready to hold a funeral for my computer when it was resuscitated at the last minute.  I have a lot of my things backed up but if I was using dropbox at the time I would have been much less stressed during my computer's time in the ICU. 

Dropbox is an online data storage system.  It links files to an account.  This account can be access with whatever devices you link to it: computer, phone, whatever.  It's a great tool for sharing and collaborating on files also.  It's a way to save documents and pictures in the cloud of technology storage. 

Facebook & Twitter

Social networks like facebook and twitter are great ways to get connected.  As an educational tool, they bring teachers and administrators together.  Facebook invites may be a way to approach the next staff meeting.  Tweeting about the lunch specials is a possible way to disseminate information quickly.

An entire class could have a facebook page and communicate with their parents on facebook.  Liking the school on facebook or following there tweets is a great way to get families in with school spirit.

Sharing thoughts, pictures, events, and everyday activities on these social networking sites gives everyone immediate access to information.


Google Drive:
A collaboration and storage tool that is offered free to all google accounts.  This is a priceless tool as it takes google documents to the next level.  It is similar to dropbox in that it is like a back up for all documents but a step above.  You can share documents and items in google drive with other users.  Group projects, team assignments and long term storage have never been easier.

My website in the making

https://sites.google.com/site/preventhivinamerica/

Not an Avatar like the movie

Avatar Me

Personal Learning Networks

"Sharing is caring" we say at work all of the time.  This is also the main principle of connectivism and Personal Learning Networks (PLN).  People with similar interests or from like occupations can share, learn and teach others using PLNs.  This makes the benefits of joining a PLN endless.

If I were to participate a PLN I would probably look for one about bicycling.  I know there are many PLNs about education and that would be the most appropriate answer to which PLN topic I would follow if I were to pick one but I love bikes!  I would love to know more about bike maintenance and parts.  I would like to be able to talk knowledgeably about all types of bikes.  Brands, components, quick repairs and enough to give others recommendations.

Some of the best places to locate people with similar interests as me would be on Facebook, twitter and tracking other blogs (including bike shop and company's blogs).  Even outdoor stores like REI have good resources and venues for virtual learning and exchange.

The validity of PLNs is still under some debate.  It is similar to other questionably cited virtual tools like wikis where not all information can be proofed by a certifiable expert.  I am willing to wager a bet that someone who loves a topic enough to share their knowledge about it probably has a pretty good background on the subject.  That's just my optimistic spin on things.

Flickr

Flickr is a site dedicated to sharing photos.  This is a great tool for displaying students' work or projects to their parents, between classes or even abroad.

Flickr and other similar photo sharing sites connect people.  Putting a human face to education is important.  It reminds us in the field why we are doing what we are doing.  This is a venue to share and relish in our successes.

The various privacy settings and invitation levels creates a safe environment for this sharing to happen.

Google Earth

Google earth is one of the most fun google apps I have ever played with.  As a learning tool, it is a great way to explore various ecosystems, navigation tools and geometry skills.

To take things a step future, there are also tools to explore the planets, the moon and more!  Zooming through the galaxies is fun with Google Earth.  The 3D models bring distant planets into the classroom.  I bet more kids than ever want to grow up to be astronauts.

Even history teachers can use Google Earth in their lessons.  The historical imagery is great.

If you want to download Google Earth check out this link.