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Leon Math Movies

What it is: Leon Math Movies is a part of the I Know That website that I have posted about in the past. After introducing this to a new set of second graders today I knew I needed to write about this specific part of I Know That. The kids absolutely love Leon Math Movies and it helps them practice their math skills (truly they will play this one at home without being asked). It is a great way to reinforce math facts and give some great math fact practice. Best of all it can be adapted to whatever math skill they are learning. They can practice counting, skip counting, all levels of addition, all levels of subtraction, multiplication, division, and a mix of addition and subtraction. Leon is a chameleon that goes on adventures (think Indiana Jones), as the cartoon plays, students have to solve math problems on the on screen PDA to help Leon during his adventures. The storylines and graphics are really well done and fun. Students can choose from 3 math adventure movies and any combination of practice they need. When they finish an adventure they can print out a certificate showing their math fact progress. So much fun!! How to integrate Leon Math Movies into the classroom: Leon Math Movies are perfect for any classroom or lab configuration. The movies are fun for whole class participation on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector, call students up one at a time to help Leon by solving math problems. This is also a good one to set up on the classroom computers as a math center that students can visit throughout the week. Or, you can use it in the computer lab setting with each student playing individually. If you live in an area where you can assign this one for homework, I guarantee you will have full class participation! Tips: There are banner ads on the I Know That website, I use these as an opportunity to talk to my class about what an ad is and what the advertisers want us to do. There is also an option to register before playing a game. I always tell my students to choose the “Maybe Later” option so that we don’t have to worry about keeping track of usernames and passwords. Please leave a comment and share how you are using Leon Math Movies in your classroom. Technorati Tags: math, addition, math facts, subtraction, multiplication, division, counting

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Stixy

Posted by admin | Posted in Middle/High School, Primary Elementary, Secondary Elementary, Teacher Resources, Web2.0, Websites, web tools | Posted on 08-02-2010

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

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What it is: Stixy is a fun and easy way for students and educators to collaborate online.  Stixy reminds me of Wallwisher, but has many more options for sharing.  Start out with a blank virtual bulletin board.  Use the Stixy widgets to add content or functionality to your board, positioning them anywhere.  Users can add notes, photos, documents, or to-do items.  After content has been added to a board, it can be shared with others of your choosing.  Those that have been invited to the Stixy board can be given permission to add content, upload, or edit.


How to integrate Stixy into the classroom: Stixy is an excellent tool for the classroom.  Use it as a communication tool for your students.  Create a classroom board where you post homework, resources, to-do items, etc. for your students.  Students can, in turn, submit assignments via the document upload, add notes asking questions of the class, and participate in online discussions.    When working on group projects, students can create a Stixy board where they can collaborate virtually.  Here they can post ideas, research findings, and deadlines for the group.

Stixy can also be used as a virtual portfolio for students.  Ask each student to create a Stixy board for the year (or per semester, trimester, or quarter).  Throughout the year, students can add their content and learning to the board.  Teachers, other students, parents, and family members can be invited to view the board throughout the year.  Students can view their learning and progress in one place and parents, teachers, and other students can leave feedback and encouragement on the Stixy board.   This virtual portfolio can “travel” with students as a body of evidence.  I would prefer getting a virtual portfolio of learning over a report card of grades any day!


Tips: Stixy does require that users have email addresses.  If you are working with students that have not been assigned a school email account, you can use a service like tempinbox.com or mailinator.com to set up an account.  Stixy does not specify a minimum age requirement for use and does not require any personal information for use.


Leave a comment and share how you are using Stixy  in your classroom.

Comments (12)

Lydia Leimbach said on 08-02-2010

What a great tool…and just what I was looking for as we approach vacation! Will be trying this out from a “design team” project approach with 8th graders to create, make an image of, and share specs of a product with classroom colleagues. Great find!
Nicholas Provenzano said on 08-02-2010

I’m not sure how you find the time in the day to comment on so many blogs and update yours with great finds. I’m going to do my best to keep up.

This looks fun! I was gearing up to use Wallwisher in class and now I might hold off to get a handle on Stixy.

Keep bringing the good stuff and I’ll keep using and sharing. As always, keep up the great work. :-)

admin said on 08-02-2010

It is a balancing act for sure! I think it is important to support my fellow edubloggers, commenting is a great way to do that. (NOT to mention the HUGE benefits I get from it….AKA the learning!)
Susan Stephenson, the book Chook said on 08-02-2010

I am using Stixy with a bunch of people who are organizing a Literacy Blog Tour for March. (Share a Story- Shape a Future blog has the info; would love you to join in if you have the time).

It has worked well as far as collaboration between people all over the world has gone, because it’s fairly intuitive, it’s colourful, and it’s easy to comment on others’ ideas.

The only feature I would like to see( I don’t THINK it’s there) is an email alert to be sent when the wall is updated.
Ed said on 08-02-2010

I agree with the above comment Kelly! And loved your response. Thanks for the support :)

Stixy looks like a really good tool. I will have to explore it properly later, as I use wallwisher with my class but it has its limitations.

Have you tried edmodo? That’s definitely one of my favorites.
Richard Byrne said on 09-02-2010

Kelley,
Stixy is great. I’ve been using it for a couple years. I like to arrange my thoughts and notes visually and Stixy is great for that purpose.
Richard
Judith said on 09-02-2010

I really like Wallwisher, so Stixy sounds even better. Thanks for including how to integrate Stixy into the classroom!
admin said on 09-02-2010

Susan, having an email alert would be a nice feature, maybe we can put that bug in their ear? :)

admin said on 09-02-2010

I do like edmodo a lot!
Melissa said on 09-02-2010

Great site! Thanks for sharing all the great ideas! I am seeing a collaboration workshop using Stixy and WallWisher along with some others sites.
Vanessa said on 16-02-2010

Wow.. this is a great site and great tools to use to integrate technology into the classroom!

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