wikis!

Wikis are a fun way to create classroom type websites for a variety of topics. I started to create one for my future classroom for parents and students (and myself) to communicate outside the classroom and share ideas. I quickly realized that I was setting it up much like I am my final project! I have attached the link for a general outline (which I'm sure I'll come back to later) but ideally I'd like my final googlesite page to be the same type of idea!


I love the idea of creating a wiki for a classroom website and adding my blog to it for daily updates for families! I want my students families to be active in their education and will use tools like these to invoke as much participation as I can!


Wiki

Puzzle and Crossword makers

There are so many sites out there that allow you to create your own puzzles and crosswords. I think this is a great way to assess knowledge that is a lot more fun than taking a test. Some sites even allow you to make the puzzles/crosswords into a fun shape which is different and fun for students as well. I think sites that allow you to create your own word puzzles are a great resource for teachers to have.


They could also be fun for students to create. Say they are working in small groups and each group is assigned a certain topic to research and relay back to the class. They could then as a group create a fun puzzle for the rest of the class to do to show what they've learned!


I strongly believe in fun and interactive games in the classroom. I personally like games that have hidden messages or meanings. For example, creating a puzzle that makes a certain shape (ex: a heart) in the end, when all the right words are found and colored in! Just a little something to look forward to in the end to keep students engaged on the task!

classtools.com

This website offers some more game templates for teachers to use in the classroom! It was fun to see the different templates they had. I had a hard time picking a template because I had to create and envision my topic first. Once I came up with a topic it was easy to find a template that worked for me. There were a lot of different games than I've seen anywhere and I really appreciated the variety.


Since I am interested in teaching the younger grades I have made a simple matching game. I figured it is a great way to assess knowledge as well as improve their fine motor skills as far as moving a mouse and sorting on the screen goes! Here it is! Simple!

Click here for full screen version

proprofs.com is another fun site for making games. Here is a fun little hangman game I made for younger children with the theme of colors! Could be a fun rainy day activity or even a TGIF game in the classroom

Colors hangman game » hangman games

Classroom newsletter

I used letterpop.com to create a digital newsletter for my future classroom! It is a lot of fun. The site offers several templates, both fun and professional.


The most frustrating piece was trying to figure out how to get it into this blog. I couldn't figure out how to save the image or get it to embed. Once I saved the image it saved the template without the words. Even when I tried to copy the link and add it here it would redirect you to the wordless template again. I was finally able to take a screen shot (although it is missing a little of the top and bottom)although when added to this blog it was tiny (as seen).


I TRIED! SO FRUSTRATING!

Voicethread.com

voicethread.com is a site for interactive voice messages. This is a great classroom tool for in the computer lab or even for families to communicate from home. One thing to be aware of is the fact that not everyone has access to computers and the tools needed to access this kind of site (much like it was in our class today).

Could also be used as a tool used to get to know all the students in the classroom on the first day of school. Students can all have their pictures taken and record themselves talking about there interests. Students can go home and share these with their families.

I'm sure there are other ways to incorporate this tool into the classroom. Just need to be creative and try it out!

Glogs

Glogs are a fun way to make interactive posters. glogster.com allows you to create one of these posters. These can be fun to use as an online bulletin board for students and their parents to keep up with what is going on in class each week! I chose to use the site to create a classroom bulletin for students to participate in classroom jobs. I thought this would be a fun way to get students involved in the classroom! I also have job "applications" to go along with it!



I like the way it turned out for the most part. I just wish I had legitimate information to add to the bulletin board instead of theoretical ideas at this point. Since I do not have my own classroom it is hard to create useful classroom tools that I can use again, however I do see how to tie these resources into everyday lessons!

Alternatives to online story telling

There are so many sites out there that allow you to create animated stories, story books, etc to relay information. I love the idea of incorporating these into the classroom both for personal use and for student creations. It provides new and exciting ways for children to share what they know with the class. I am excited to be able to use all of these sites and resources in my own classroom. Most of the classrooms I have been in, observed in and taught in have not used technology and resort to the typical text books, quizes and book reports for student assessment and work. How boring. I know I love using creativity to show what I've learned. I get excited when I get to use powerpoint, imagine how excited students would get with these new options!


Of course, you do need to be careful about content. And there should be class rules about what is appropriate and what is not for the classroom. But students and teachers should have fun with learning and assessment. School should inspire you to continue to learn, not put a damper on your learning and creativity.

Rubric creation sites

I really liked rubistar.com It was very simple to use. Had multiple pre-made rubrics and categories as well as allows you the freedom to create your own. Very helpful and final product looks really nice and easy to follow. I like how simple and quick it was. Much easier than creating a new one from scratch for every assignment. A handy resource tool for teachers to have

There are several other websites out there for rubric creations. You can just google it and find one that works for you. I just liked the ease of this one.


Here is a sample I made for critiquing google sites.

Jogtheweb.com

I was not a fan of jogtheweb.com. I prefer stumble upon. The one thing I did like about jogtheweb is that it shows the upcoming sites in the left hand column. With stumble upon I like that you can choose multiple interests at one time and it will pull up sites from any of those categories. Jog the web didn't seem to have this option. It appeared to have one topic and if you wanted a new one, that you would have to go and create a new search.

Maybe I need to research more into jog the web, but I am comfortable with stumble upon. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Online voice messages

There are several sites out there that use sounds/songs that you can add your own personal message to. I think this would be really fun for all ages. I really liked http://www.kakomessenger.com. I like the idea of personalizing the message.

I also really liked acapella.tv they have fun animated vocals as well for you to personalize.

My favorite site so far would have to be xtranormal.com. This site allows you to create your own movies with automated voices to vocalize whatever you would like it to say. Could be a great way to begin a class, teach a song or introduce a lesson. In my case, I will be using this video as the opening for my google site!
Could also be fun for students to use for presentations! Just a fun way to incorporate technology into the classroom!


Enjoy!

Google Earth Tour

Google earth provides a lot of opportunities for students to explore the world from the comfort of the classroom. Teachers can create images for students to place on the map (ex: habitats) or students can create their own tours and placements! Can be a lot of fun for students because it provides a new and exciting way to learn.


It could also be fun for recreational purposes. Perhaps someone wants a tour of where you live and what your city is like, this is a great way to show them around. Or even to explore places outside the US that you've always wanted to visit.


Here is an image of my tour, with push pins for my sites. The places are listed on the left!

Jigsaw puzzles!

Jigsawplanet (and other sites) allow you to upload photos and create a jigsaw puzzle. This could be a great way to wrap up a lesson. Create a coloring sheet jigsaw that children put together on the computer and then print out and color. Could even be for a journal cover for a specific lesson! I love this site, not just for teaching, but it is a lot of fun to play around with!


Go check out one that I made!


JigsawPlanet.com - Free Online Jigsaw Puzzle Games

Alternate homepages

Pageflakes is an alternative to Google home pages. You can customize what you want on your homepage just like Google. The thing I didn't like was that you couldn't customize layout, colors, etc. to fit yourself. It was very boring. I prefer Google, or even Google chrome because you can change colors and themes!


Here is what pageflakes looks like:

Spelling help!

http://www.spellingcity.com/teacher-spelling-resources.html is a great way for students to practice spelling at home or at school! A nice alternative for students who really enjoy technology and like interactive study tools. The site provides sentences and says the word for you! It's just like being in class! A great way to prepare for the way tests are actually delivered!

Online study tools

Quizlet allows you to make flashcards and create a mini quiz. Could be used in the classroom or even at home for students to study on their own! I think online study tools are a great resource for all students. I just became familiar with them now (my senior year of college) I wish I had known about them sooner!



Animal sounds


There are a lot of websites out there that allow you to create study guides. My personal favorite is flashcardmachine.com. I like that you can add images as well as just text. It has been very helpful throughout college.

One great way to incorporate online study tools in the classroom, especially with older grades, is to create classroom study sets so students can log on at home and know what is expected for them to study for upcoming tests/quizzes. It takes out the element of guessing what is important!

I'm not sure how I would incorporate this with younger grades. Perhaps create flashcards to assess what kids already know prior to a lesson. Could be used with smart board or iclickers to make them interactive! Could also be a fun "get to know you" activity on the first day of class! Put names/photos, or fun facts on cards!

Webquests!

Webquests allow students to explore the internet to learn about new topics, resources, etc. There are a lot of websites out there that present school appropriate webquests.


1) http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic4.htm#2: I like this site because they have pre-made collections for all grades or even has the option to break down webquests by grade level. You can then see webquests broken down by subject! These are great as they are, or you can explore them and create your own based off of ideas that you see!

2) http://bestwebquests.com/: This site is broken down by subject and age in a table format which is really easy to maneuver. Gives directions for what students should be exploring in regards to each topic!

3) http://questgarden.com/author/overview.php: This one is community based and allows people to share their webquests and constantly build webquests they already have! The only downfall is you have to subscribe. Has a great way to search for web based curriculum.


I think webquests could be a great way to get students to explore topics while safely surfing the web. By giving them specific sites and an agenda to follow it ensures students stay on task and visit appropriate sites. It's a fun way to get students to explore topics in a hands-on way while also incorporating the internet!

Videos in the classroom

I am uncomfortable downloading videos for teaching purposes. I love the idea of streaming video and using videos appropriately. There are several interesting sites for videos for teachers!

www.schooltube.com
www.teachertube.com
www.discoveryeducation.com


These are great sites for educational videos to stream or download if you feel comfortable doing so. There are all kinds of resources out there for videos that are classroom appropriate! Search around. These are just the few I liked.

Web based bookmarks

I think it is great to have alternative ways to bookmark websites. However I prefer having them bookmarked through firefox for the convenience of having them on the page I'm looking at. I don't like the idea of having to open a new site to get to my links. I understand that computers crash, but that is why I keep a copy of all of my bookmarks in my Google documents! Online bookmarks are just not for me! But I encourage people to look into other alternatives since everyone has different things that work for them. You need to find what works for you and is comfortable!

Readfresh!

I really like readfresh. It is a great alternative to bookmarking sites. It gives you a visual of the site and is a great way to organize sites you visit often. Especially blogs you follow. It helps keep them all in one place!


Readfresh

Livebinder

Here is a livebinder I have created! You can add sites that you like. Honestly I think it is just like opening tabs in firefox. It was fun to explore, but I don't think I would use it in the future.

Educational sites

Simplybox.com

This is a site where you can place bookmarks to sites. Unfortunately I was not allowed to 'box' anything. I kept getting an error sign and it would not work. It seems like a great idea if you can get it to work!

Custom Google searches

Google allows you to create a customizable search engine that allows you to choose the sites you search from and in a way filters material for you. This could be a great idea in the classroom to allows students don't come across inappropriate material. You can always add sites to your custom search engine to encompass the topics being covered that day.

Here is one I created for helpful teacher websites!

Alternative search engines

There are a lot of alternative search engines out there besides Google. Some of them focus on just images, videos etc.

Here are a few of my favorite alternatives that I have found:

1)http://uk.forestle.org/: I liked this search because it is also for a good cause! It is set up just like Google however each search saves a rain forest!

2)http://www.mugurdy.com: My favorite thing about this site was that it doesn't just give you the website to click on but it shows you the page! I feel like this is very helpful and can save a lot of time going to useless sites.

3)http://www.spezify.com: This search engine is kind of fun. It is set up like mugurdy as far as showing you the page, but I like that it looks more like a bulletin board! Includes music, tweets, articles, etc. Has a lot of alternatives to just web pages.

smartboard resources

There are several resources out there for smartboards. Most are flash animation or interactive ways for students to learn the material. I really enjoyed the sites that used music where I got to compose (maybe that's because I was a vocal major for 2 years prior to deciding on education). My goal is to teach and incorporate music into my teaching in new ways, and these sites/games are a great way to do this!



http://www.artsalive.ca/en/mus/activitiesgames/ --> let's you compose songs! But only for 3 measures and without proper time signatures!


http://incredibox.fr/ --> we were showed this in class, not very educational but definitely fun!

Thinklinkr!

We used thinklinkr.com to create a collaborative document. It's a nice alternative to google docs which is fun! It worked much better than the collaborative whiteboards. It could be fun to incorporate in the classroom, or even in PTA or similar meetings to get all different view points heard. Interactive writing is fun!


We used it to define differentiated instruction as seen in the classroom! Take a look! Apparently you can still collaborate and change the document in this blog. I feel like I'm going to screw it up on accident! So be careful.

Scriblink!

There's this fun link called scriblink.com it's an interactive whiteboard! It is kind of fun, but I'm not sure how practical it would be in the classroom. It's more for fun. Could possibly be adapted for younger children to teach them shapes, colors, etc. Or maybe to create a type of poster to share with the class? I'm not really sure how I'd incorporate it into the classroom, especially at the elementary level. But it was fun to play with!

My first smart board experience

This week we were supposed to create 3 lesson plans using the smart notebook software. While I enjoy the software, I was very frustrated. I felt as though everything took a lot longer than I thought it should. I spent 3 hours solid on one lesson. I also had several problems with the interactive tools and text motions not saving like they were supposed to. I had to redo several components and try to save again and still not getting them to work. They would work until I closed them and when I'd reopen them it all disappears..



Frustrated!