iLearn Technology – Page 50 – Integrating technology in the classroom

LEGO Education Magazine-Free!

December 15, 2010Kelly Tenkely10 Comments3885 views

What it is: LEGO Education has some truly fantastic resources for classrooms. LEGO Club In-School Edition Magazines are free to schools and designed for first, second, third, and fourth grade students. The 2011 LEGO Club In-School Magazines have two themes: Ancient Egypt and Space Exploration. The magazines can be ordered in two versions. For first grade students, LEGO Club Junior includes puzzles, easy-to-read comics, and fun building challenges. For students in second, third, and fourth grade, LEGO Club focuses on basic reading, critical thinking games, and building ideas. Each magazine comes with a custom teacher’s guide that include fun hands-on activities, classroom tidbits, and articles about how to create a LEGO Smart classroom for your students.

How to integrate LEGO Education Magazine into your curriculum: These fun magazines will have your students learning about and exploring Ancient Egypt and Space Exploration in new hands-on ways. Your students will love the building challenges, comics and reading material, and activities that pique their curiosity. Use the LEGO Club Magazine as an introduction to a unit on Space or Ancient Egypt, or offer the activities in the magazine as extension activities.

Tips: Magazines are packaged in groups of 50, 100, and 200. Consider ordering the magazine for the entire grade or school.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using LEGO Education Magazine in your classroom!

Google Science Fair

December 15, 2010Kelly Tenkely3 Comments2321 views

What it is: On January 11, 2011 Google will be launching Google Science Fair. Google has partnered with NASA, CERN, National Geographic, Scientific American, and LEGO group to create a new global competition. There isn’t much information about the logistics of the science fair just yet, but right now you can sign up for fun and free resource kits for your classroom or school and a reminder notification when the Google Science Fair registration opens. The kit comes with bookmarks, stickers, posters, and more.

How to integrate Google Science Fair into your curriculum: Even though there aren’t many details about what the Google Science Fair will look like yet, rest assured with the partners involved it is sure to be an incredible learning experience. This is a global competition and should have ample opportunity for your students to connect with and learn from others around the world.

Tips: Sign up today to receive the Science Fair kit and receive a reminder when registration is open.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Google Science Fair your classroom!

Where’s George: Track US currency

December 15, 2010Kelly Tenkely2 Comments2226 views

What it is: Where’s George is a neat site that lets your students track the travel of dollar bills through circulation. Users of the site mark their bills with the website address, and follow the adventure of their money. On the Where’s George site, students can enter the serial number on the bill, enter their current zip code and learn about where their bill has been. If your bill doesn’t have a tracking history, you can start tracking it. Add a short note about the bill including where it was found, what condition it is in, etc. Students and classes can choose to receive an email when the next person finds and records the bill’s next location. In addition to tracking bills, you can view a report by zip code, state, bill denomination, or county.

How to integrate Where’s George into your curriculum: Where’s George is a great site to use as part of a money or currency unit. Let your students track their money and watch the journey of their money unfold. Students can track their lunch money, donation money, or sports club money. Track a dollar with your class for an entire school year. Enter the dollar serial number as a class at the beginning of the school year, record information about it, and write the Where’s George web address on the dollar. Use a class email address to track the bill throughout the year. Map where the dollar travels. Toward the end of the year, have your students write a story about the adventures their dollar has had, including the places it has visited, and the kind of people they imagine that it met on its travels. This is sure to spark some creative stories!

*** When using the site with students make sure to preview where the bill has been before sharing with students, sometimes those bills visit some interesting places that may need to be screened (i.e. strip club). Always preview first!

Tips: Need a different currency to track? Check out this page to find your country’s currency (Europe, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Russia, Switzerland, India, South Africa, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Germany). There is also a neat site called Book Crossing that tracks books that you have read and released. Cool!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Where’s George in your classroom!

December #ProjectPLN: Favorite webtools

December 14, 2010Kelly Tenkely1 Comment14258 views

It is here! The December issue of #ProjectPLN is ready to share. In this issue we asked everyone to share their favorite web tools. The resulting collection is great! It is always fun to see what tools others couldn’t live without and how they use them to improve learning in their classrooms.

As a side note congratulations to my partner in crime Nick Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) who will be presenting 2 poster sessions at ISTE 11, one of them being a session about #ProjectPLN! Congratulations Nick, very excited for you!

projectpln10 – Project PLN Issue 4

Create Your OpenZine
Don’t forget about my favorites…you can find them on my Web 2.0 Advent Calendar. (Hint, the bird is your ticket back to the home page 🙂 )

The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators: FREE ebook!!

December 13, 2010December 13, 2010Kelly Tenkely12 Comments4543 views

I am excited to announce the release of a free ebook: The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators- a comprehensive introduction to using technology in all k-12 classrooms. Think of this as an early Christmas present!

Richard Byrne from Free Tech 4 Teachers is the brilliant mind behind this ebook. About a month ago, he approached some of your favorite educators and bloggers (myself included…still can’t wrap my brain around that 🙂 ) to contribute to an ebook. Today is the release and I have to say, it is pretty amazing!! I just finished reading through the finished product and have bookmarked some new tools, had my jaw dropped by Silvia Tolisano and her AMAZING Skype guide, and been inspired all over again by fellow educators and administrators. I am honored to be a part of this incredible resource and guide. Contributers include: Steven Anderson, Adam Bellow, Richard Byrne, George Couros, Larry Ferlazzo, Lee Kolbert, Patrick Larkin, Cory Plough, Beth Still, me (Kelly Tenkely) and Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano. Thank you Richard for the outstanding idea and for acting as editor and pulling it all together!

You can read the ebook in it’s entirety embedded below, by following this link, or download it here.

Taking over the Internet one blog/website/social network at a time

December 9, 2010Kelly Tenkely8 Comments4221 views

Did you know that I am other places around these interwebs other than iLearn Technology? It’s true! Sometimes I have to remind myself that not all of my readers have been with me since 2007 hanging on my every word (I know, I’m shocked too) and may need a refresher from time to time on where else they can find me.

I used to be a computer teacher and technology integration specialist. These days I am still working in education as a consultant, offering PD, writing, and working on starting a school. When I was a computer teacher, I taught elementary and made this website for my students. It is separated by grade and subject and has my very favorite websites (at the time- I haven’t updated it recently) on it. These are what I used most often with my students and needed fast access to. I bet you will find some fun websites you can use with your students, or pass it along to your students knowing that everything they find there will be a safe place for them to be.

Tenkely.org

I write another education blog that is a collection of my dreams for what I want education to be. It is called Dreams of Education, not as many followers there but great conversations!

I freelance write for The Apple on occasion about a variety of topics, usually technology, always education.

I keep a blog where I record great stories of learning, it is called Stories of Learning (imagine that!)

I keep a blog all about iDevices (iPods, iPads, iPhone) apps and their uses in education it is called iPad Curriculum.

I have a Facebook fan page for iLearn Technology.

I write with other incredible bloggers on Cooperative Catalyst and Confident Teacher.

I am an Apple fanatic and have written two magazines about using Apple products in education. (I wish I had time to do some more of these!)

I am on Linked In here (I’m not very active there but check in on occasion when I remember to).

I am on Twitter here (I am good about checking in here).

I have created a few websites that I used with my students but will share with you including:

Typing

Internet Safety for Parents

iVerb Project

Web 2.0 Advent Calendar

(I’m pretty sure I have more of these floating around but this is what comes to mind at the moment- I tend to make a website for EVERY project I have going at any given time :))

I do keep social bookmarks but use a platform that doesn’t seem to be free to use any more (except for me?) Simply Box.

When in doubt, search ktenkely it is the name I use everywhere on the interwebs.

A few tips and tricks for iLearn Technology- if you are searching for ANYTHING type in the keywords into my search box…9 out of 10 you will find something great! Don’t know exactly what you are looking for? Do a multiple category search (find it to the right of this post in the sidebar). Select items from as many of the drop downs as you would like and click “search” Every post or tool that matches that criteria will come up. I sort posts according to Blooms Taxonomy level, grade level, subject, and resource type. Go ahead and give it a try, I know you will find something you can use!

iLearn Technology has a store- in it I sell lesson plans, flipcharts (for use on the Promethean), and my Bloom’s Taxonomy images (Peacock, Umbrella, Tree, and Pin wheel). They are all $.99/ download. I use this money to keep my blogs and websites going. I add to my store occasionally so check back every once in a while for some new finds.

I am a Promethean certified trainer (although it has been 6 month since I have done a training!) I keep my Promethean resources here.

I hope in all of these resources you find something that is helpful for you!

Figment: Writing community for students

December 8, 2010December 9, 2010Kelly Tenkely4 Comments6187 views

What it is: Figment is a brand new website and writing community for students 13 years old and older (middle or high school only!). This is a place where students can read student writing, share their own writing, connect with other student writers, and discover new stories and authors. Students will find a community of writers and readers who like to share collaborate, and discuss a variety of topics in the online forum.

How to integrate Figment into your curriculum: Do you have students who can’t get enough creative writing time? Figment is a perfect match. Students who love to write can join a community of other students who enjoy to write. This is a great place for them to share their writing, read other students writing and learn how to give, and accept, critiques and recommendations on their writing. This is a great place for students to analyze and evaluate each other’s writing. Have a class of creative writers? Send all of your students to Figment to share their writing with other students. Your students can learn and practice providing constructive criticism and netiquette in Figment. Working with another class from another school, district, state or country? Send both sets of students on Figment as a platform for sharing and discussing their writing.

*There is no teacher portal for Figment, if your students are using Figment in school, be sure to sign up for an account and monitor your students use of Figment.

Tips: The sign up requires an email address, twitter account, or Facebook account. Make sure your students have one of the three before using Figment in class.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Figment in your classroom!

Go Animate 4 Schools

December 7, 2010Kelly Tenkely4 Comments4776 views

What it is: I am really excited that Go Animate finally has an education version! Go Animate is a tool I have written about before (actually I wrote about Domo Animate which is powered by Go Animate.) Go Animate 4 Schools offers teachers 100 students accounts for free. It operates within a secured, private environment where students and teachers can create animations and interact. The moderation interface keeps teachers up-to-date with all of students creations. The Go Animate Studio makes animation easy, use backgrounds, props, and characters to create an animation masterpiece. The drag and drop interface is easy enough for all ages. Students can create their own characters which provides an endless supply of unique characters for each story. Private Social Networking tools teach students how to use social networks for sharing and commenting in a safe, controlled environment.

The Free Go Animate 4 Schools account includes 1 teacher account, 100 student accounts, 2 min animations for students, teachers have the ability to create characters, unlimited music upload, 6 text-to-voice voices to choose from, students get 50 text-to-voices a month, and unlimited mic recording.

Go Animate 4 Schools also has a Plus account with some additional benefits including unlimited accounts, unlimited time limits for animations, students can create characters, moderation, group management, 16 text-to-voice voices to choose from, up to 200 text-to-voices a month, unlimited image, video, and swf uploads. The School Plus Account starts at $12 a year (not breaking anyone’s budget!) you can request a quote for your school from the Features page.

How to integrate Go Animate 4 Schools into your curriculum: Allow students to present their knowledge creatively using Go Animate 4 Schools instead of requiring the traditional report, diorama, or poster plastered with pictures and information. Students can create an impressive alternative book report by creating an animated book talk, interviewing a character from the story, or re-creating an important scene in the story. Students can display their knowledge about a historical figure by “interviewing” the historical person of interest or an eye-witness of a historical event. Students can write a screen play and then transform them into animations. Animations are also a great way to illustrate vocabulary words and story problems in math. In the foreign language classroom, students can create short cartoons practicing the new vocabulary they are learning. The possibilities are endless! Hold a Go Animate premier party day in your classroom so that students can watch each other’s finished animations and learn from their peers.

Don’t forget that you (the teacher) can use Go Animate too! Animate introductions to lessons, special notes to your students, or complex concepts. If you are like me, this is the time of year that inevitably comes with a cold and a day without a voice. Use Go Animate characters to do that talking/teaching for you. Students will love the change of pace and it will save you from an even sorer throat.

Tips: Be sure to check out the Lesson Gallery for some great ideas for using Go Animate with your students.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Go Animate 4 Schools in your classroom!

iLearn Technology Change the World: Vote for your favorite Donor’s Choose Project

December 7, 2010December 15, 2010Kelly Tenkely40 Comments2697 views

**** UPDATE The poll has closed due to the OVERWHELMING number of votes, however, your vote can still be counted! Please leave a comment with your name and the project you would like to cast your vote for. Voting ends on December 20, 2010. Thank you!

In September, I joined @adambellow’s Change the World project here on iLearn Technology donating 1 penny for every unique visitor that I had on iLearn Technology in a little over a month. Right before Thanksgiving I announced the amount I would be donating ($400) and have since received some generous donations to add to mine. I asked you all for your Donor’s Choose projects that needed funding. The results are below and it is time to start voting! Send this post to all of your family and friends until December 20 and ask them to vote. Depending on the winner, I may be able to fund some runner’s up as well. It isn’t too late to add a donation, you can help us fund even more! Please contact me or leave a comment if you would like to help fund one of these awesome projects!

The time has come to start voting for the Donor’s Choose project(s) to fund!

2010 Edublog Awards- Thank you!

December 6, 2010December 6, 2010Kelly Tenkely1 Comment1890 views

The 2010 Eddies (Edublog awards) are here. This is the 7th year of the Edublog Awards. Last year I won an award for Best Educational Tech Support blog. I couldn’t be more honored. The Edublogs are a truly special award because you have to be nominated by those who read your blog. It is truly humbling to be nominated by all of you, who I hold in such high esteem, for an Edublog Award. This year I (or a project I was involved with) was nominated in several categories. Of course I would love your votes, but looking at the line up, there are so many incredible blogs to choose from I will understand if you don’t! Regardless of who you vote for, be sure to check out the blogs, conversations, and people nominated. You are bound to discover some new and wonderful people to follow and conversations to join in.

You can click on the badges below to vote in each individual category.

iLearn Technology was nominated for Best Individual Blog:

I was nominated for best individual tweeter- ktenkely (this category shocks me the most!)

Best Group Blog- Cooperative Catalyst (I am honored to be one of the contributors to this blog!)

iLearn Technology was nominated for Best Resource Sharing Blog:

I was nominated for two Most influential blog posts – Do you want to form an alliance with me? and Twitter Academy:

iLearn Technology was nominated for best educational tech support blog:

The Reform Symposium (of which I was an organizer) is nominated for Best Educational Webinar Series:

The Reform Symposium was also nominated for Best use of a PLN:

Thank you for the nominations and votes, but more importantly, thank you for the ways that you support and encourage me every single day through comments, tweets, RT’s and sweet notes, I appreciate my readers more than I can say!