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Zoho Challenge

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Zoho Challenge1975 views


What it is: Zoho may look familiar to you if you have been with me for a while. Zoho has a great online suite of office productivity tools such as spreadsheets, word documents, and online presentations. If you haven’t ever tried out the Zoho tools, they are definitely worth a look! Zoho has a new fabulous tool for teachers, called Zoho Challenge. Zoho Challenge allows teachers to easily conduct tests online in 4 simple steps. Zoho Challenge allows for multiple choice questions and descriptive questions. Results are displayed immediately for you and your students (although this setting can be altered to fit your needs.) Time limits can be specified, difficulty levels calculated automatically, and online access to students details. Zoho Challenge also has the ability to send emails to your students with their scores. Zoho makes it simple to create multiple exams, add candidates, schedule tests for future dates, look at student performance, find out who passed the test in a quick glance, view a “report card”, and view a graphical representation of overall results.

How to integrate Zoho Challenge into the classroom: Zoho Challenge can be used for any classroom testing. It makes it extremely easy for you to grade tests and see the results graphically. Zoho Challenge will save you time and quickly show you who understood the tested material and who needs more practice. Zoho Challenge is best used in a computer lab or mobile lab setting.

Tips: Test results can be sent home to parents via email…cool!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Zoho Challenge in your classroom.

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Zoho

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Zoho2607 views

 

What it is: Zoho is a free office productivity suite. Zoho Writer is an online word processor with collaboration features. There is no download or install, just sign up to start creating documents. Zoho Sheet is an online spreadsheet application where students can create and share spreadsheets on the web. Zoho Show is an online presentation tool to create, edit, publish and show presentations. Zoho Notebook allows you to create, aggregate, and collaborate on content online. Zoho Planner is an online organizer to maintain your todo’s, reminders, notes, and attachments. Zoho Meeting allows for desktop sharing, web conferencing, online meetings, and remote assistance.

How to integrate Zoho into your classroom: Zoho is an amazing tool. Use in place of office suites that require expensive licensing. What is helpful for the classroom is the ability for students to collaborate on projects. Students can begin a project at school and easily access it later at home.

Tips: Sign up requires an email address, if your students do not have an email address, set up a special email account just for Zoho (you can set up one email address that all students use, as long as they have different usernames this shouldn’t be a problem.)

 

 

Using Technology to Differentiate Instruction

Kelly Tenkely9 Comments on Using Technology to Differentiate Instruction10384 views

|Kelly Tenkely|

One of the major benefits of using technology in the classroom is the ability to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of every student in every lesson. Just as every student grows and develops at different rates, they learn in different ways and at different speeds. Technology makes it possible to pace lessons appropriately for each student’s learning level and can be used to promote learning in the multiple intelligences.

Below you will find website suggestions that address the different learning styles in your classroom with the help of technology:

Verbal-Linguistic

These learners enjoy learning through speaking, writing, reading, and listening. In the classroom setting these students shine when given tasks such as taking notes, researching, listening, reading for information, and writing.

Websites to encourage learning for Verbal-Linguistic students:

1. http://wordle.net Allow students to express themselves creatively with words

2. http://ed.voicethread.com Capture student voices with audio, text, pictures, and video

3. http://zoho.com- A free online word processor, and presentation tool

4. http://gcast.com- Students can podcast (voice recording) online.

5. http://kerpoof.com – Students can create stories or mini-movies

6. http://www2.shidonni.com- Students create animated stories

7. http://tickatok.com Students can create stories and turn them into a book

8. http://pbskids.org/wordworld A world where words come alive

9. http://readwritethink.org 52 interactive activities related to reading, writing, and speaking

10. http://speakaboos.com Students can read stories online, record their own story and play literacy games

Logical-Mathematical

These learners love numbers, reasoning, and problem solving. These students enjoy measuring, calculating, and organizing data. In the classroom students will shine when given tasks such as collecting data, conducting experiments, solving problems, predicting, classifying, and sequencing.

Websites to encourage learning for Logical-Mathematical students:

1. http://zoho.com- Spreadsheet and data collection tools

2. http://ed.voicethread.com Capture a sequence of events in an experiment or during problem solving

3. http://emeraldisland.com A virtual world where students can experiment and problem solve

4. http://sciencecomics.uwe.ac.uk/index.php Comics about science experiments, and problem solving games

5. http://toytheater.com/index.php Math, reading, music and art puzzles

6. http://sciencemuseum.org.uk/launchpad/launchball- Logic puzzle games

7. http://mathplayground.com Students practice math skills and engage in logic games

8. http://mathtv.org Students watch a series of video word problems for math, watch a step-by-step video solution and work on follow up problems

9. http://iknowthat.com- Games that make students think: science, language arts, math, and thinking games

10. http://enlightenme.com/enlightenme/superthinkers A site the encourages critical thinking and problem solving

11. http://knowitall.org/hobbyshop A hobby shop full of logical-mathematical activities

12. http://mrsp.com- A storybook site that celebrates reading and books

Visual-Spatial

These learners learn best visually and organize their thinking spatially. They are drawn to information that is presented visually. These students love to illustrate projects, color-code, and create visuals for projects.

Websites to encourage learning for Visual-Spatial students:

1. http://kerpoof.com -Students can draw and create picture stories

2. http://www2.shidonni.com- Students create a character and illustrate a world

3. http://xtranormal.com- Students create and direct their own movies

4. http://knowitall.org/artopia Students interact with online painting, media arts, sculpture, and theater

5. http://doink.com Students can create animations to illustrate a concept or story

6. http://eyeplorer.com- Shows information visually on a color wheel to help students discover relations in any topic

7. http://flickr.com A picture sharing website

8. http://picnik.com – Edit photos add effects, fonts, shapes, and frames

9. http://arkive.org Students can view photos of thousands of animals

10. http://animoto.com/business/education Create videos with pictures

11. http://glogster.com/edu Create online posters to visually display knowledge

Bodily-Kinesthetic

These learners benefit from physical activity, hands-on tasks, and constructing things. These students are able to express ideas through movement. They like to act, manipulate objects, operate the mouse, take pictures, and be involved physically in a project.

Websites to encourage learning for Bodily-Kinesthetic students:

1. http://play.ekoloko.com- A virtual world that taps into mouse manipulation, typing, and manipulating objects on the screen

2. http://emeraldisland.com- A virtual world that requires mouse manipulation, typing, and manipulating objects on the screen

3. http://secretbuilders.com An enchanting virtual world where students can interact with historical figures

4. http://arsights.com Augmented reality site that lets students manipulate Google Earth objects by using a web cam and print out. As students move the paper, the virtual model on the screen adjusts accordingly

5. http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid Another augmented reality site that shows students a digital hologram of smart grid technology

Musical/Rhythmic

These learners learn best through auditory experiences. They enjoy making songs, rhythms, and patterns. These students will appreciate displaying knowledge with audio and video recorders.

Websites to encourage learning for Musical/Rhythmic students:

1. http://gcast.com- Students can create podcasts

2. http://toytheater.com Students interact with music, sounds, and patterns

3. http://viddler.com Record video with a webcam

4. http://playmusic.org Students explore and interact with music

5. http://kids.audible.com Download and listen to audiobooks

6. http://capzles.com Create timelines with audio and video

Interpersonal

These learners enjoy interacting with other students. They enjoy discussions, cooperative work, and social activities. These students will love web 2.0 tools that allow them to interact with others on projects.

Websites to encourage learning for Interpersonal students:

1. http://play.ekoloko.com- A virtual world that allows students to interact and work on solving problems together

2. http://emeraldisland.com- A virtual world that encourages students interaction for the common goal of saving Emerald Island from PiRats who want to take over the green world.

3. http://secretbuilders.com An enchanting virtual world where students can interact with historical figures

4. http:tutpup.com A site that lets students practice spelling, and math facts against other students from around the world in real time

5. http://ed.voicethread.com Students can use Voicethread to complete projects together. It also provides the ability for students to interact and comment on other student’s Voicethread projects.

6. http://twitter.com Create a personal learning community within your classroom, encourage students to share learning experiences and new information.

7. http://glogster.com/edu A web 2.0 tool that allows students to create together and comment on other students Glogs.

8. http://www2.shidonni.com Students create an imaginary world and interact with other classmates virtually. They can create worlds and stories together.

9. http://think.com Students can work on projects together, interact with other students and view other student’s learning space

Intrapersonal

These learners learn best through meta-cognitive practices. They enjoy thinking about their thinking and reflecting on learning. Allow these students to think about what they are learning with reflective tools such as blogs and wikis that can be shared with others later.

Websites to encourage learning for Intrapersonal students:

1. http://think.com Students can blog about their learning

2. http://wetpaint.com A wiki where students can reflect on their learning

3. http://pbwiki.com A wiki where students can create and reflect on their learning

4. http://eyeplorer.com- Students can search a topic of interest and take notes about their learning right within the Eyeplorer website 5. http://kerpoof.com Students can record and think about learning through story creation

Naturalist

These learners learn from interactions with the environment they enjoy field trips that involve observation of the world around them. These students will enjoy activities that incorporate nature.

Websites to encourage learning for Naturalist students:

1. http://earth.google.com- Students can explore the earth with satellite imagery, maps, terrain, and 3D buildings.

2. http://google.com/sky- Students can explore the universe including the solar system, constellations, galaxies, and the moon.

3. http://kbears.com Students explore nature, animals, and the earth through a fun interface.

4. http://arkive.org Students learn about thousands of animals and their habitats

5. http://switcharoozoo.com Students create animals, build habitats and learn about wildlife

6. http://play.ekoloko.com- A virtual world that puts students in charge of their own environment

7. http://emeraldisland.com- A virtual world that encourages students interaction with a virtual environment where they keep the planet green.

8. http://nationalzoo.si.edu Students can view live video of animals, view photo galleries, and visit exhibits

9. http://wdl.org/en Students can take a virtual field trip around the world and through time

10. http://vistazoo.com Students can create virtual tours of the world by combining pictures, video, audio, and objects in 3-D

The multiple intelligences can be met and enhanced through the use of technology. Many technologies overlap and address several of the intelligences at once. With a little creativity and planning, you can create rich lessons that will meet your student’s needs and let them learn at their own pace and level.

 

Kelly Tenkely is the founder and administrator of blended learning school, Anastasis Academy in Colorado. Learn more about blended learning at the 5Sigma Education Conference.

Originally posted at The Apple

12 Tools for Blended Learning- The Apple

Kelly Tenkely8 Comments on 12 Tools for Blended Learning- The Apple4653 views

A year ago I wrote this article for The Apple, it just got published yesterday 🙂  I have a few tools I would add to this list.  The first is Wiggio, you can read more about it here.  The second is Vyew, you can read more about it here.  Since the article was written a year ago, some of the tools are no longer available or have changed a little bit.  Drop.io just got bought out by Facebook and the service has been discontinued so that is no longer an option.

Read the original 12 Tools for Blended Learning article here.  If you are unfamiliar with The Apple, they are a social network platform for teachers that is connected to Monster.com.  The apple shares educational news stories, education articles on every topic, forums, collaborative areas, educational job postings, lesson plans, resources, and more. Definitely worth checking out!

Kelly Tenkely | TheApple.com

With H1N1 lurking in our schools and the possibility of pandemic illness, there has never been a better occasion for blended learning. Blended learning occurs when schools and classrooms mix traditional face-to-face teaching, with online instruction and interaction. Aside from the flu, there are other great reasons to create an e-learning environment for your classroom.

Natural disasters, weather, school closings, long term student illness, struggling learners, English language learners, and students who are entering your classroom mid-way through the school year would all benefit from a blended learning environment. This type of e-learning brings a continuity to learning that is not otherwise possible.

Additionally, a blended learning classroom prepares students for a future that is largely virtual. Students are able to go back and review lessons and learning at their own pace. Students who may lack support at home from parents or family members will have access to on demand learning. Parents will gain a better understanding of what is happening in the classroom and, as a result, will be more equipped to assist their child’s learning. Blending your classroom can save you time and energy by making your classroom more effective and efficient.

Making the transition to a blended learning classroom doesn’t have to happen overnight. Post teaching and learning materials online a little at a time, systematically increasing your offerings. This makes the progression for students, teachers, and parents seamless. Begin by providing instructional materials that were used throughout the school day online. Gradually add extra options such as online collaboration, assignments, grading, and lesson materials. Should your school need to go completely virtual due to school closure, the groundwork will have been laid to make it possible.

There are several free programs that help make e-Learning possible, choose the one that best meets your classroom and school needs.

1. Edu 2.0  http://edu20.org

Benefits: Edu 2.0 is a complete e-Learning solution. It is completely free to use with no hidden costs or advertising. Classes can be taught public (open to the world) or private (specific to the students in your classroom). A comprehensive gradebook is provided complete with weighting, statistics, and graphs. Online quizzes can be created that include a variety of question types. Messaging is built in and has the option of email integration. Within Edu 2.0 students and teachers can create public or private blogs and wikis.

Students have the ability to network with other students and teachers in your school. Each user has a personalized homepage with a to-do list where students and teachers can easily track to-do items. Since Edu 2.0 is web hosted, it can be accessed from any browser, there is no download or install required. It is easy to create and share lesson plans. Assignments are equally easy to give, track, and grade online. Online debates are hosted to spark discussion and encourage critical thinking. Threaded discussion forums have email and RSS integration. Edu 2.0 has a great privacy policy, it was clearly designed with schools in mind. An integrated calendar displays upcoming events, lessons, and assignments that are due. The site is intuitive and a relatively quick learn. The resource section of the site contains 15,000+ community contributed resources and lesson plans to use. Built in rubric builders make it easy to quickly and consistently score projects online.

Attendance gets tracked and teachers can optionally award points for consistent online attendance. The built in chat feature allows for real time group discussions. Create custom news feeds for classes with the built inRSS reader. Each student can create and keep an online portfolio of their best work. The site is multi lingual and available in 10+ languages. If you have a student user who has their language set differently from yours, all messages are automatically translated through Google Translate. Transcripts of all student grades are available and pull directly from the built-in gradebook. Conduct surveys from within Edu 2.0 and collect results. Multimedia can be added to any lesson including audio, video, photos, and slide shows. The format for building lessons is very simple to use, if you use a word processor you can use Edu 2.0.

Drawbacks: Edu 2.0 may be difficult for students younger than third or fourth grade to navigate independently. Younger students would require some adult assistance.

2. Hot Chalk http://hotchalk.com

Benefits: Hot Chalk’s free learning management system generates daily teacher and student activities while providing a safe and secure online environment where teachers, students, and parents can interact. Hot chalk offers a grade book, online lesson creation, automatically graded quizzes, and an extensive library of digital content. Search Hot Chalks large database of pre-made lessons or create your own. Students can complete and turn in assignments online in one easy stop. Teachers can comment directly on student assignments. The digital content in Hot Chalk’s library is aligned with standardized curriculums and comes from sources such as Globetrekker, National Geographic, PBS, VEA, and more. Hot Chalk is easy to learn and use for both students and teachers.

Drawbacks: Hot Chalk doesn’t contain as many built in options as some of the other e-learning solutions. This is not an all-in-one solution if you are looking for collaborative projects, blogs, wikis or more complex quizzes and tests. Hot Chalk does not advertise to students during the school hours, however the site is advertisement driven to keep it free.

3. Moodle  http://moodle.org

Benefits: Moodle is an open source course management system that provides a virtual learning environment. Moodle is made up of action modules that include forms, wikis, databases, etc. that allow a teacher to build richly collaborative communities of learning around a subject matter. It can be used to deliver content to students and assess learning through assignments and quizzes. Moodle is a robust system and has nearly endless options for customization and implementation. It is comprehensive in its offering of gradebooks, collaborative tools, lesson building abilities, and assessment. Teachers have the option to fully conduct online courses, or simply augment face-to-face class time. Moodle works on all computing platforms including Mac, PC, and Linux. Moodle has extensive documentation and knowledge communities to learn from.

Drawbacks: Moodle is an open source software that has to be downloaded and installed on a web server. It is not as intuitive as Edu 2.0 or Hot Chalk. Moodle would be difficult for younger students to navigate and understand.

4. Think Quest  http://think.com

Benefits: Oracle’s Think Quest is an online environment where students can learn, work together, and manage an online presence in a safe environment. Teachers can assign learning projects for students to work on collaboratively. Other teachers can easily be invited to participate in the online learning projects. Each teacher and student has their own pages where they can create an online presence using text, pictures, multimedia, votes, debates, messaging, and brainstorming. These pages are simple enough for even very young students to create and contribute to, and offer a great introduction to blogging. Think Quest has a library of 7,000+ ready made projects created by teachers from around the world. Think Quest was created for students in k-12 and has no advertising. It is password protected and teacher monitored. Teachers can set up their class to be private so that students can only view other pages of students in their class or public to see what other students from around the world are doing. Think Quest promotes critical thinking, teamwork, communication, creativity, the use of technology, and self-direction. This is a nice option for elementary schools or primary students. It is browser based making it accessible to anyone with an Internet connected computer.

Drawbacks: ThinkQuest is limited in its offerings as a virtual school. There are limits set on file sizes of multimedia that can be used on student pages. There is no built in gradebook and no central location for students to submit work.

The above e-Learning solutions can be supplemented with additional opportunities for one-on-one interaction between teachers and students. Record the live class activities, lessons, and tutorials for on demand learning.

5. Skype- www.skype.com

Benefits: Skype is an excellent way for teachers to connect with students over the Internet. Skype provides a free platform for chatting, audio or video messaging, and screen sharing. Skype sessions can be recorded and saved for future reference. A Skype session would be an excellent way to connect with students to deliver teaching, read a story together, or discuss learning.

Drawbacks: Skype does require a download and students must register with a username and password to use Skype. Skype is not a closed network, this means that students could use Skype to communicate with people outside the classroom.

6. Pal Bee- www.palbee.com

Benefits: Pal Bee is a free online service where you can set up meetings in real time to collaborate online. Pal Bee offers video and audio abilities and provides a virtual whiteboard where students can share ideas. Sessions can be recorded and stored online with Pal Bee.

Drawbacks: Pal Bee limits meetings to 9 people at a time so you may have to split your class into sections.

7. UStream- www.ustream.com

Benefits: Ustream allows you to stream video live. Create a UStream channel for your classroom and stream your lessons live. Students can tune in to view teaching and ask questions or add input via text chat within the UStream channel. You can record your live boradcast for future viewing.

Drawbacks: If you don’t direct your students directly to your UStream channel, they will see feature highlight videos created by other users. These are not necessarily education friendly.

8. Wall Wisher- www.wallwisher.com

Benefits: Wall Wisher is a fantastic little web application that provides a virtual bulletin board of sorts. Teachers can pose questions or ideas for students to answer or think about. Students are sent the unique wall URL and can leave virtual sticky notes answering the question. Students do not have to login to use Wall Wisher, a simple double click allows them to add any thoughts they need to the wall. The platform is very simple to use but provides the opportunity for discussion and collaboration between students.

Drawbacks: Each sticky note is limited to 160 characters making in depth answers difficult on this site.

9. Screen Toaster- www.screentoaster.com

Benefits: Screen Toaster is a browser based screen recording tool that allows teachers to create detailed screencast instructions in minutes. This free to use application can take a video of anything that is on your computer screen. Audio can be included (or not) for any screencast. The screencast video is given a uniqueURL that can be embedded on a webpage or blog or sent to students via email. This is a great way for teaching students how to use e-Learning tools or any online assignments.

Drawbacks: This site requires a robust Internet connection for video creation.

File sharing websites make it easy for your students to access large files, word documents, or pdfs. They are also an effortless way for students to turn in assignments.

10. Drop.io   http://drop.io

Benefits: Drop.io makes it easy to put anything (pictures, audio, or documents) in an online environment where it can be accessed by others to collaborate and share. The documents can be accessed from the web, email, fax, or as an embedded widget. In just two clicks users are able to create personal sharing points, upload content via web, email, MMS, phone and fax. Each ‘drop’ is non-searchable and non-networked, does not require an account and can be password protected and set to expire after a period of time. This makes it very convenient for teachers and students to exchange files and documents online.

Drawbacks: Although Drop.io offers a free account, some of the functionality of a premium paid account would be useful in the classroom.

11. Google Docs- http://google.com/docs

Benefits: Google Docs is an online document, spreadsheet, presentation, and form creation tool. Google Docs are all stored online and can be easily shared with other Google Doc users for collaboration or to turn in an assignment. The layout of Google Docs is very intuitive and closely resembles office suites that students would be familiar with. Google Docs is a free online office suite.

Drawbacks: None

12. Zoho- http://zoho.com

Benefits: Zoho offers a complete range of free online productivity and collaboration applications. These include email, word processor, spreadsheets, slide shows, document management folders, wiki, note taker, online organizer, group chats, web conferencing, database, project collaboration, and a repository to share documents with other users. All Zoho applications work together seamlessly. This is an excellent alternative to software based office suites. Students and teachers can create and share documents online easily.

Drawbacks: None

Even if you never have a need to take your classroom or school into a completely virtual environment, blended learning will allow your students self guided learning opportunities where they can build communication and collaboration skills. These free tools will organize your classroom in new ways and provide learning that extends beyond the confines of the classroom.

Lightning Bug

Kelly Tenkely9 Comments on Lightning Bug11057 views

Picture 1

What it is: Lightning Bug is a fantastic resource for the writing classroom.  The tag-line of Lightning Bug is, “Your writing partner, helping you write a story from beginning to THE END”.  That is exactly what it does.  For each stage of the writing process, students have access to excellent guides and resources to aid the process.  Students can get help finding a story idea, developing the idea, and finishing the story.  Students can even have a look at what kind of writer they might be based on their personalities.  Lightning Bug has a great collection of writing resources.  Students can explore author blogs, search for character names, get some exercises in creativity, get help with grammar and spelling, and even get help for publishing their written work.  The teacher resources are equally helpful for teaching writing.

How to integrate Lightening Bug into the classroom: Lightning Bug is a great resource to have going on your classroom computers as a writing/publishing center.  Students can visit the site to get help with every stage of writing.  This is an excellent site to send home and alert parents to, it would be enormously helpful for at-home writing projects.  If you have access to a computer lab or 1 to 1 setting, allow your students to walk through this website as they work on any piece of writing.  The site is organized really well and easy to navigate independently.  Be sure to take a look at the teacher resources.

A few of the recommendations for the writing process include worksheets such as mind maps.  Instead of using a worksheet for students to map their ideas, consider using online tools that will let students organize their thoughts and collaborate with others as they write.  Try using online mind mapping tools such as Creza’s Mindomo or  Comapping.  Students can use tools such as Zoho, Google Docs, or Kerpoof to collaborate as they write.

Tips: Many of the ideas and resources found on Lightning Bug are useful for digital storytelling.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Lightning Bug in your classroom.

15 Tools to Help You Go Paperless

Kelly Tenkely11 Comments on 15 Tools to Help You Go Paperless4716 views

Cross Posted at The Apple

Kelly Tenkely | TheApple.com

Schools are notorious for enormous copy budgets.  Between parent/home communications, student work, and staff communication, schools are drowning in a sea of paper.  Transforming the school into a paperless environment is eco-friendly, budget friendly, and can increase productivity.  With all of the free online options, going green is easier than ever.

Paperless students and teachers:

1. Spelling City www.spellingcity.com

Spelling city is a free online environment where students can practice and study spelling words.  Instead of handing out a paper spelling list at the beginning of each week, give your students a link to Spelling City where they can find the weeks spelling words.  Sign up as a Spelling City teacher (free) and enter spelling lists.  Students can get onto Spelling City and find spelling lists by searching the teacher name.  Spelling city will teach your students the spelling words by saying the word and then using it in a sentence.  Students can practice their spelling words by playing games with the words, there are several games to choose from.  Spelling city will even give practice spelling tests to students.  For a small fee, teachers can set up record books and give the final spelling test online.  Put an end to copies of spelling lists and send your kids online.  You will save trees and students will get great practice with their words.

2. Tut Pup www.tutpup.com

Every month teachers all over the world print out hundreds of fact practice worksheets.  Tut Pup is an outstanding free math-fact practice website.  It is a competition between students from around the world.  As students practice their math facts, they can see how they measure up with other students, motivating them to work at their math-facts and speed up.  Students are matched up with other students from around the world where they play fact games and compete in real time to see who best knows their stuff.  There is nothing more motivating than a little healthy competition!  The site doesn’t collect any personal information from students, they are provided generic login information.  Tut Pup helps students build math fact skills in the areas of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, algebra, or a mixture of those skills.  Tut Pup is highly motivating, takes into account different learning levels, and builds a variety of math-fact skills.  Each student can work on math facts at their ability level.  Lower level students are engaged and feel successful, and higher level students are challenged.  This site will have your students asking, “can I play this game at home too?”  When have you ever had a student ask to practice math facts at home?  Students truly love the competition of this site and get the added benefit of increasing their math-fact recall skills without running up the copy quotient.

3. Popling www.popling.net

Popling’s motto is “Learning without studying”.  This website allows you to create virtual flash cards that pop up on a computer screen every few minutes (teachers determine how often) while students work on the computer.  Classroom computers can be set up with Poplings about any subject.  As students are working on the computers they can also be practicing math facts, vocabulary, geography, etc.  These flash cards are a great way for students to study without creating sets and sets of 3×5 notecards.

4. Knowtes www.knowtes.com

Knowtes is a flash card based learning community that allows teachers and students to build flash card decks online.  The flash cards can then be studied online.  When cards are added to a Knowtes deck, it becomes due at optimized intervals.  The Knowtes ‘Adaptive Learning Engine’ adjusts how frequently cards should be studied based on how well students know them.  Knowtes decks can be easily shared between teachers, students, and peer groups.  Each student gets their own study room where they can organize their decks and study.  The study rooms include helpful tips for studying.  Cards can be created with text, images, audio, and video.  This is a great way for students to study sans 3×5 note card.  These are truly smart flash cards, if a student consistently gets an answer wrong, it requires them study it more than those that they consistently get right.  What paper note card can do that?

5. Soshiku www.soshiku.com

Soshiku is a web tool for students that helps them manage their assignments.  Soshiku keeps track of when assignments are due and can even notify students by email or SMS (text message).  With each assignment students can save notes, manage tasks, attach files, and share messages with assignment partners.  Soshiku is organization for this generation, paper planners are so 1996.

6. mySchoolog www.myschoolog.com

mSchoolog is a free web-based application that helps students organize their school life easily.  Students can organize and share notes, to-to lists, appointments, store documents and files, and add lessons.  Students learn valuable responsibility and organizational skills without toting around extra papers and purchased planners.  Students won’t have the “I lost my planner” excuse any more!

7. Live Binders www.livebinders.com

Live Binders is an online 3-ring binder.  It allows students and teachers to combine web content with PDF and word documents in an online binder.  The binder can be organized into tabs and subtabs and be embedded on blogs and other websites, or downloaded to a computer desktop.  Live Binders can be used as an online digital portfolio for students.  Because the Live Binder is online, students can access their binder from school, library, home, or any Internet connected computer.  Teachers can use Live Binders to create classroom ‘textbooks’ that combine relevant online content, teacher created worksheets, and notes.  Assignments can be added to classroom Live Binders that contain all of the instructions, related materials, and links to related content.  Students can easily access the binders from home, no more lost papers or assignments turned in looking like they went through World War III.  Students can create a Live Binder to keep themselves organized as they complete a research project.  When the project is finished, students can turn in the final project as a Live Binder that includes all web research, notes, and the final written work.   School handbooks for staff and parents can be saved as a Live Binder.  Rather than making paper copies of school handbooks, they can be distributed by a single link and easily updated as needed.

8. Zoho www.zoho.com and Google Docs www.google.com/docs

These online services allow teachers and students to create and share documents online.  They also provide the ability to collaborate on documents.  Online document creators are fantastic for student writing and lesson planning.  There are no papers to store and sort through, and they can be easily accessed by any Internet connected computer.

Paperless communication:

9.  Sign app now www.signappnow.com

Sign app now makes it easy for schools to create online signup sheets.  The site is so simple to use; in 3 easy steps teachers can create signup sheets for classroom volunteers, field trips, lunch orders, school duties, committees, and a myriad of other tasks that require a signup.   Create a sign up sheet by giving the sign up sheet a name, filling in the email address that the signup sheet should be sent to, and your name.  Sign App Now creates a unique link that can be emailed to everyone that has the option to signup.  When parents or other staff members receive the form, they click on the link and fill in their name.  That is it!  An email is sent back to the signup sheet creator with those who have signed up.  No more shuffling paper signup sheets around!

10.  R Campus www.rcampus.com

R Campus is a great one-stop shop for everything school related.  R Campus is a collaborative environment that utilizes the Open Education Management system that makes it easy to build personal and group websites, manage courses, e-portfolios, academic communities, build rubrics, connect students with tutors, and host a book exchange.  All of these tools are completely free for students and faculty to access.  R Campus is an excellent way to organize classroom life and to help keep students organized.  Everything in R Campus is integrated, making management seamless.  Students stay well informed and communication opportunities grow…all without paper!  Students can showcase their learning with the e-portfolios.  Teachers can easily communicate, assist, and assess throughout the year as the e-portfolios grow.  Rubrics creation is fast and can be shared online with both students and other teachers.  This collection of resources is excellent for communicating with parents and students, grading, and organizing your classroom without hundreds of copies.

11. Twitter  www.twitter.com

Twitter has become more popular lately with the addition of tweeting celebrities.  Twitter can also be used as a communication tool between home and school.  Create a classroom Twitter account where students and parents can quickly get information about your classroom.  Tweet homework assignment directions, reminders about upcoming class events, short memos about the happenings in your classroom, etc.  Twitter should put an end to the little paper notes that travel between school and home.  Those little notes often get lost in the shuffle anyway!  Twitter is also an outstanding place for teachers to build a network of educators that share ideas and best practices in the classroom.

12. School Notes www.schoolnotes.com

Teachers can use School Notes to quickly create notes for homework and class information and post them on the web in seconds.   Parents and students view notes by entering the school zip code.  This is a great way to stop the flow of little notes that get sent home for daily updates.

13.Qlubb www.qlubb.com

Qlubb will change the way you communicate and interact with parents. Qlubb is a free site that features event calendaring, signup sheets, to-do lists, automatic event and task reminders, photo sharing, member rosters, and a bulletin board. Everything is very intuitive to use, parents and teachers will have no problem jumping in and using Qlubb for home/school communication. This all inclusive communication site will keep you from sending papers home.

14.  Shelfari www.shelfari.com

Shelfari is a virtual bookshelf where teachers can recommend books to their students.  Instead of sending home paper reading lists, create a virtual reading list with a virtual bookshelf.  Shelfari goes beyond book recommendations, it is a great way to discover new titles, discuss books, start an online book club, and share what you are reading with others.  Teachers can share lists with students.  Students can create bookshelves of their own where they can display what they are reading, leaving comments and a rating for the book.  Shelfari is the perfect place for students and teachers to connect about reading without paper reading logs.

15.  Engrade www.engrade.com

Engrade is a free online gradebook and record keeper that allows teachers to manage their classes online as well as post grades, assignments, attendance, and upcoming homework for parents and students to see.  The Engrade suite provides a gradebook that automatically calculates grades and provides tools for custom grading scales and weighting assignments, an attendance book that automatically emails parents with absences, a homework calendar for students and parents, and online reports where students can view their grades, homework and attendance in real time.  With paper versions of gradebooks, assignment and attendance keepers, the printed copy is the final word.  Because Engrade is web based, teachers can update grades and homework assignments from any Internet connected computer.  Less to carry between school and home equals happy teachers.  Engrade is a secure, password protected site so there are no concerns about privacy or security of grades.

Going paperless doesn’t have to be a chore, in fact these tools will make classroom management and communication significantly easier to keep track of.

How do you go paperless? Share your ideas below!

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10 Technology Enhanced Alternatives to Book Reports

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on 10 Technology Enhanced Alternatives to Book Reports6609 views

Traditional book reports can kill the love of reading, keep your students motivated and still assess their understanding with these 10 technology enhanced alternatives that I wrote for http://theapple.com.  

Kelly Tenkely | TheApple.com

The most dreaded word in school reading for students: book reports. Teachers assign them, viewing them as a necessary component of assessing reading comprehension. Book reports can be a contributing factor to ‘readicide’. “Read-i-cide n: The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools.” http://stenhouse.com/html/readicide.htm. So, how can we as teachers continue to monitor our students understanding of reading material without killing the love of reading? Enter technology. Technology can help bring some excitement and creativity to the traditional book report while still displaying students understanding of reading.

1. Let students create a cartoon version of the book they have just finished.

Use a tool like Creaza http://creaza.com, Piki Kids http://pikikids.com, or Kerpoof http://kerpoof.com to inject a little fun into the book report. Students can create a short cartoon or comic strip summarizing the book they just read. Encourage students to include key characters from the book as well as the problem and solution. If there are no appropriate background templates to fit the book they have just finished, students can tell the story in the form of an interview between two characters or choose a cartoon character to review the book. This alternative to book reports is particularly appealing to boys who are already excited about graphic novels.

2. Let students create a short video clip about the book.

Creaza http://creaza.com, Kerpoof http://kerpoof.com, and Xtra normal text to movie http://xtranormal.com are all great online tools that allow students to create short movie clips. Students can create an interview type show where they interview characters in the book, create a short movie trailer for the book, or actually have characters act out portions of the book.

3. Create a virtual poster advertising the book.

Think about movie posters, they give just enough information to give you a taste of what the movie will be about. They also contain information such as the title of the movie, the major actors, and a rating. Students can use Glogster http://glogster.edu to create an online book poster that acts as an advertisement for the book they just read. Students should include the title and author of the book, key characters, use pictures that support the story line, and create a tag line that will make others want to read the book.

4. Encourage students to create their own virtual bookshelves with Shelfari http://shelfari.com.

Shelfari is not only a great alternative to book reports, it is also a nice alternative to reading logs. Shelfari allows students to display books that they have read on a virtual bookshelf. This site enables students to connect with other students and teachers, sharing book recommendations and reading reviews. Shelfari provides the ability to create online book clubs and discussions. Inspire students with similar interests to start a book club where they read and discuss together. When students finish reading a book they can add it to their bookshelf, rate the book, and write a short review of the book for others to read. The collaborative component makes it easy to keep up with what students are reading and to measure understanding. It also allows teachers to recommend books to students based on what they are currently reading. This is a great way to keep your students engaged in their reading and ensures they will always have great suggestions for new books to keep them reading.

5. Book Adventure http://bookadventure.org is an online reading motivation program.

Teachers create student accounts on Book Adventure. In the student account students can research books based on their reading level, age, and interests. They get a convenient printable list of books that match their level and interests. The list includes the ISBN, Title, and author. This makes it easy for students to head to the library and hunt down new reading material. After students have read a book, they can log onto their Book Adventure account and take a 10 question multiple choice quiz based on the book they read. Students can take each quiz multiple times and must get 8 or more questions correct to earn points to purchase prizes from the Book Adventure store. Each students score is automatically sent to the Book Adventure teacher gradebook along with the number of times the quiz was taken. Students earn and save up quiz points to purchase fun goodies from the Book Adventure store. Students can get everything from a 6 month subscription to Highlights magazine to a chocolate bar from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. This is a completely FREE program for students and schools to participate in. Book Adventure has a great teacher area with ideas for encouraging reading as well as certificates to print out to recognize good readers and notes for parents with the students latest reading progress.

6. Bookcasting is a recorded audio podcast about a book.

A bookcast is a movie trailer-like audio review of a book that students can create and share with one another. Free online tools such as Audacity http://audacity.com, G Cast http://gcast.com, or Pod Bean http://podbean.com make recording audio and sharing simple. Bookcasts let students be creative and provide them with a great sense of audience. It has the added benefit of acting as a book review to excite other students about reading. Before students create their own bookcast, find some radio movie trailers of current kids movies online for students to listen to as an example.

7. Allow students to create a timeline of events in the story they just read in an online timeline.

Capzles http://capzles.com is an interactive timeline creator. Students can add photos, video, audio and text to their timeline to support telling the story sequentially. Themes, colors, backgrounds, and background music can be added to further personalize the timeline. Timelines have the ability to be shared with other students and teachers.

8. Wikis are an excellent place for students to share book reviews.

Wetpaint http://wetpaint.com, PBWorks http://pbworks.com, and Zoho Wiki http://zoho.com/wiki are outstanding online wikis where students can write reviews about books they have read and share them with other students. Create a classroom book review wiki where all students can logon and add books that they are reading with reviews. The wiki could act like a classroom review column for books. Students can both contribute and read book reviews. By the end of the school year you will have a wiki full of great book reviews! Before students contribute to the book review wiki, read some movie reviews from the local newspaper. Encourage students to point out key elements of a good review.

9. Excite and motivate students to read with Book Wink http://bookwink.com.

This incredible website motivates students in 3rd to 8th grade to read using fun podcasts and web videos. The video book talks range from 3-4 min. in length and introduce students to a topic or genre and the books that exhibit the topic well. Students can watch a video and then search books by grade, subject, author, or title. After students read a book, they can create their own book talk using a web cam or video camera. The student book talks could be shared on websites like Viddler http://viddler.com or Fliggo http://fliggo.com so that other students can watch and comment on the book or topic.

10. Voice Thread http://voicethread.com is an amazing site that allows students to create web 2.0 slide shows that become interactive and collaborative.

This is a great place for students to discuss common genres and books online. Students can create a slideshow summary of their book with pictures, audio, and text. Other students can leave text, audio, or drawn comments on the book reviews. Voice Thread would be a great place to begin online classroom book clubs.

Technology brings interest back into reading and helps students continue to find reading that they enjoy while providing the teacher with feedback about student reading comprehension. These are great alternatives to book reports that will keep your students from ‘readicide’. Most of the above tools have the added benefit of being able to be embedded into a classroom blog, website, or wiki. All student projects can be collected, organized, and viewed in one place. It doesn’t get better than this!