iLearn Technology

This is a cross-post of a blog I wrote on the Edubloggers Alliance social network site.  If you are a blogging educator we would love to have you join and contribute to the community.  Cross post from your blog, write original content, ask blogging questions, and meet other educators who are blogging for themselves or with students. Hope to see you all there!  If you aren’t blogging yet but have been thinking about it, join us and get the support of other edubloggers.

Blog posting is hard. No, not the actual act of posting, but the revealing of yourself to the world. It isn’t like writing for a magazine or writing a novel (those have their own challenges), because that kind of writing goes pas multiple eyes, editors, and a process to perfect it. Blogging is different. My eyes are the only ones that have read it until I hit “publish”. The perfectionist in me reads, and re-reads, and runs it through a grammar and spell check and then reads it again. There is always a moment of hesitation before you commit to clicking the publish button because in the back of your mind, you know you probably missed something.
You try to convince yourself that it is no big deal…that people don’t really read your posts anyway. At best, they probably just skim. And so, you take the leap and hit publish, knowing that you can always come back and edit any problems. Of course, that is only after thousands of eyes have scrutinized it and judged you. You are, after all, a teacher. You aren’t supposed to make mistakes.
The process is repeated day after day and pretty soon you aren’t worried about that post because there is another. The posts get pushed farther and farther down the page until pretty soon they are a distant, archived memory. That is, until someone brings an error to your attention. Maybe it is a typo, maybe a homograph used in the wrong context, maybe the error is grammatical. It doesn’t really matter, the reaction is the same…utter embarrassment. What kind of teacher are you anyway? Shouldn’t you have caught that? People are going to question your teaching capabilities, they are going to think you are an idiot for making such an obvious mistake (at least that is how my inner dialogue goes). Now, if you are like me, your immediate reaction goes something like this:
Oh sure, they can find my one, itty bitty, minuscule mistake in this post. Who are they? Did they write 3 blog posts today? Did they read AND comment on 57 blog posts of fellow educators? Did they categorize thousands of websites so that they could intelligently write supplement guides for four weeks of reading curriculum? Did they answer 63 emails today? Did they make phone calls all day looking for funding for a new iPad program (that oh-by-the-way, I wrote!)? Did they finish reading one book and start another? Did they do 3 loads of laundry and pick up shoes that their spouse has left sprinkled all over the house? Did they interact all day on Twitter, Facebook, and instant message? Did they walk the dog? Did they cook dinner and clean up afterward? Then who are they to point out my one LITTLE mistake?! All things considered they should be impressed it was only one mistake. Harrumph!
That, of course, is my initial reaction. I hate being reminded that I am not perfect. I hate being reminded that I make mistakes, that I am human. My second reaction (after a few deep get-a-grip breaths) is one of thankfulness. Thank goodness someone told me about my obvious mistake so that I can fix it and don’t continue to embarrass myself in front of colleagues!

Blog posting is good for teachers. It keeps us humble, reminds us of how scary it can be to “speak” in front of the class. It reminds us of what it feels like not to have all the right answers. How it feels to get your work back with red marks all over it, exposing your faults.

Blog. Blog because it is reflective. Blog because we need you to share what you know with us. Blog because it is good to remember how it feels to be judged by others. Blog because you have an unique view on the world and by sharing it, we all have another piece of this puzzle that is life.

Just do me one favor, when you notice a mistake on my blog don’t tell me. Ignorance is bliss and I am perfectly happy to go on believing that I am perfect. Okay, so that isn’t true. Tell me so that I can fix it, learn from it, and still claim to be practically perfect in every way (like Mary Poppins).

Beginning/Ending Sounds
Scarecrow Joe beginning sounds flipchart/game and ending sounds flipchart/game. Students drag words and their pictures to the matching beginning or ending. Pictures return to original location if incorrect. Students receive immediate feedback. Grade Level: kindergarten/first
Price: $.99

Last week I was presented with a blog award from Emily Starr who writes the Interactive Content Corner blog.  The award is meant to honor blogs that we personally hold in high regard by spreading the word about them and sharing them with others.  I didn’t act fast enough in passing my award on and got awarded again by Maggie Hos-McGrane who writes Tech Transformation, Michael Zimmer who writes The Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness Nicholas Provenzano who Writes The Nerdy Teacher and Vanessa Cassie who writes Sharp.  Thank you all, I am humbled to be included in your lists.  Now I am faced with a problem, in my procrastination you all have nominated some of my very favorite blogs and I must work on passing on to someone who hasn’t already been nominated!

I relish the idea of paying it forward and spreading the word about excellent education blogs.  There are so many talented and brilliant educators who have joined the blogosphere and added their voices to help shine a light on education, it is time that they got recognized for what they do and encouraged to keep doing it!

The rules of the award are as follows:

1- Copy and display the picture of the award given to you;

2- Link back to the blog that nominated you;

3- Nominate 10 different blogs yourself;

4- Inform the people you nominated, so they can in turn, continue the chain and spread the word about other great blogs out there.

So, without further ado, here are my nominations- in no particular order (and yes, I did dress up for this occasion)

1. Suzanne’s Blog-  Suzanne Whitlow writes an excellent blog for her teaching staff at Shady Grove, Twin Hickory, Ridge, and Ratcliffe….little does she know how much what she writes ends up in classrooms around the world! Suzanne shares lessons, templates, and reflections on education.  All of the ideas she shares are innovative and special.

2. The Learning Blog- Todd Wandio shares his often humorous take on learning, literacy, and the classroom of the 21st century as he wades through a sea of middle school students.  His posts are always insightful and thought provoking.

3. Teacher Toys- John Fladd is the teacher I wish I had in school.  The original goal of the blog was to share classroom technology finds but the blog has become so much more.  John shares his wealth of knowledge on every subject and gives us glimpses of his classroom through lessons that he teaches, and learning interactions with students. Any teacher who has a project titled “Destiny & Diarrhea” and uses the old Sears Catalog to teach students is aces in my book.

4. Bright Ideas Blog- Judith Way writes a blog by the School Library Association of Victoria.  She writes extensively about Web 2.0 tools in the library and offers inspiration for any librarian or classroom teacher.  I have learned so much from Judith, she shares a wealth of knowledge and resources.

5. It’s Elementary- Tamra Lanning is a teacher who obviously loves what she does.  She shares ideas for using technology successfully in the elementary classroom.  I learn a little bit of everything from Tamra but especially appreciate her posts about what is happening with technology in her school…they do such neat projects!

6. Son of a Teacher Man- Geoff writes about his journey into education, he gives an honest look at education through the eyes of a first year teacher.  I appreciate his vulnerability and willing to tell it like it is.

7.  TechnoTIC- Raul writes from Spain where he shares about everything technology.  I appreciate his unique perspective and his always helpful tips about “presentation zen.”  The showcase of tools Raul offers for secondary classrooms is impressive.

8. Thinking Outside the Box- Sarah Major creates solutions for learning.  I am truly amazed at her ability to understand children and the learning process.  She offers daily inspiration and solutions for students who learn differently (don’t all children learn differently?).  I especially appreciate the visual aids that Sarah shares that help students understand difficult concepts.

9. This Week in Ed Tech- Buzz Garwood has a great tag line “On the Paper-Cutting Edge of Educational Technology”.  Buzz shares technology integration stories and resources, they are usually resources and ideas I haven’t seen elsewhere.  Each post is well thought out and through, he does all the heavy lifting for you!

10. John Spencer writes three blogs that I can’t get enough of.  All are excellent and thought provoking:

Adventures in Pencil Integration-  This is a fictional blog that takes place in the 19th century.  The blog posts may be fictional but the content couldn’t ring more true.   The premise of the blog is a 19th century teacher who is leading an initiative for one pencil per child.  The blog makes me think and rethink my stance on technology integration, makes me laugh out loud, and entertains me.

Musings From a Not-So-Master Teacher- This is the blog where John takes us on a journey of authentic learning and thinking.  He readily admits that he doesn’t have all the answers, but I enjoy journeying with him as he explores education, teaching, and learning.   John also has a collection of visual musings (cartoons and sketches) that are a must see.

Ditch That Word- John doesn’t offer a vocabulary boosting word-a-day, instead he aims at helping us ditch the words that have watered down our language and twisted it into something unrecognizable or cliche.  Ditch that word makes me laugh out loud and groan in realization of how often I use those words in my own daily language.  John is usually right on about words to ditch. Now I must figure out how to weed them out of my vocabulary

Only naming 10 is an exercise in restraint for me.  I read so many incredible blogs every day, I am surrounded by greatness!  If you are interested in jumping into blogging or encouraging other educational bloggers, consider joining the edublogger alliance.

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.

Stories of Learning is another new blog I am launching this week.  I interact with teachers every day who are innovative, creative, and doing transformative things in education.  We need to collect these stories in one place.  Stories of Learning is (I hope) a place where we can record all of these.  Write a guest post, cross post something that you have already written, I would love it all!

What it is: EdWeb 2.0 is web hosting designed with teachers in mind.  Teachers can create a free teacher website in an hour or less!  With EdWeb 2.0 teachers can create a classroom site with multiple blogs, podcasts, quick polls, videos, files, forms, announcements, calendars, add photo albums, separate information by subject area, and so much more.  The sites can be customized with your own theme, or choose from one of EdWeb’s ready made themes.  A classroom website is a great place to communicate with families, give students a place to go when they have questions outside of your classroom, and keep yourself organized.

How to integrate EdWeb 2.0 into the classroom: Post all of your class announcements, important dates, homework assignments, links, podcasts, videos, copies of papers sent home, etc. on your class website for a convenient way to stay in contact with students and families.  The site is simple to create and takes no time at all.  This is a great hour long weekend project that you and your students will appreiciate all year long.  

Tips: EdWeb 2.0 sets you up with a fully functional demo account first.  This allows you to play around and see if you like EdWeb 2.0, if you decide you want to use the website for your classroom, you make the site live (this is free).  This saves room on EdWeb’s servers for those who just want to take a look but don’t end up using EdWeb.  

You will see an option for pricing on the EdWeb site, this is an upgraded account with some additional features.

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

Teaching Tips has a new post called 50 Useful Blogging Tools for Teachers. These tips and tricks will get you up and blogging in no time. Check out the post here.
If you have an education blog, share with the class and leave a comment telling us where we can find you!

What it is: Okay, if you have shied away from creating your own classroom website in the past, today is the day to take a deep breath and plunge in.  Wix is the most amazing online website builder I have ever seen.  Why is it so amazing?  1)  It is simple to use and learn, you truly don’t have to know anything about website development. 2) It produces amazing results with a small amount of effort, I am really blown away by the possibilities here. 3) The sign up process is completely painless.  4) You have an unbelievable amount of control when you are feeling creative (still extremely easy!). 5) It is free, and what could be better than free for a teacher?! 6) It is web-based which means that you can update your website from anywhere.   I could go on and on about Wix.  I put it in my list of sites to visit this week when I ran across it and I am so glad I came back to it today while I was waiting for computers to clone…it made my day (maybe even my week!)

How to integrate Wix into the classroom: Well, if you haven’t already guessed by the description above, Wix is the perfect tool to use to create a classroom website for your students.  Post classroom rules, homework assignments, links for your students, units you are working on, school information, parent newsletters, etc.  Wix is also a great place for your students to create a website.  They will go nuts with this (trust me!), Wix is one of those assignments they will continue to work on at home without being asked!  Instead of having students display knowledge of a subject in traditional ways, invite them to create a website about it where they can be the classroom “expert” on the subject.  Be sure to ask your students what non-school websites they are creating too (I know from experience they will take off with this!) you will get to know your students more personally by viewing websites that they create both in and out of class.  You could also create Wix websites as a class if you have limited computer use.  Have your students prepare a website to teach other classes about a subject that they have been studying.

Tips: I created a website using Wix today from sign up to publish it took me a total of 5 min.  Seriously!  I have never used this program before, that is how easy it is to use.  Take a look at my site and see what you think: www.wix.com/ktenkely/ilearntechnology.

Leave a comment and share how amazed you are with Wix.

ChitChat Educational Network seems to have been shut down.  If anyone is aware of what happened to them or where they moved to, please leave a comment.  What a bummer!

What it is: ChitChat Educational Network is knocking my socks off right now! I cannot believe that such a comprehensive COOL site is completely free! This one is definitely a must see! ChitChat is “an educational network where teachers can share real course content, make free class pages, and develop interactive online assignments.” But thats not all…ChitChat also provides teachers and students with tools such as flash cards. Teachers can create flash cards for students to study with and automatically receive data on each student in the class. ChitChat also offers a place for students to submit assignments online. This is classroom 2.0 on steroids! After students have submitted an assignment, teachers can provide feedback right in the assignment along with the grade. ChitChat provides a secure “drop box” for teachers to collect electronic documents. Only the teacher and student who submitted the assignment have access to it.

How to integrate ChitChat into the classroom: ChitChat makes it easy to connect with your students and continue learning outside of your classroom. Students can learn, submit assignments, collaborate, and see scores online. ChitChat will also be well used as a place to share content with colleagues. Use as a professional development community within your school or to share lessons with teammates.

Tips: Blended Learning is a new buzzword you should know. A Blended Learning Environment mixes traditional classroom instruction with online coursework. ChitChat is the perfect tool to use for Blended Learning.

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

What it is: Drupal is an open source (free) content management platform. This free software package (downloaded) allows teachers to easily publish, manage and organize a wide variety of content on a website. Teachers can use Drupal to create discussion areas for their class, as a content management system, for blogging, as a collaborative learning environment, for classroom social networking, a classroom forum, newsletters, podcasting, online picture albums, and file uploads and downloads.

How to integrate Drupal into the classroom: Make your classroom “classroom 2.0″ with Drupal. Encourage student collaborative learning, discussion, and outside the classroom self-guided learning. Drupal helps teachers to teach 21st century skills by providing the platform to do so. Use Drupal to build an online classroom community where students and parents can interact with one another and you. Post assignments online. Students can download and upload assignments. This will bring a whole new aspect of parent involvement in your classroom!

Tips: Drupal handbooks (on the website) are a wealth of information for using Drupal.

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

What it is: Weebly is a place to create free websites and blogs. Weebly makes it extremely easy to create a website or a blog because of its drag and drop interface, ready made designs, ability to customize content simply, and the drag and drop approach to organizing pages. These websites are easy to create and have great looking, professional results.

How to integrate Weebly into the classroom: Teachers, use Weebly to create a class website. Here your students can explore topics that you are studying in class, view any assignments that are due, see class pictures, read newsletters, and find content related links. A class website can become the hub for any classroom. Post all current information on your class site, pictures of field trips you have taken, add links to websites you are using in class, other 2.0 resources that you are using such as mind maps, update your classroom blog, etc.  This is a great way to boost classroom-home communication.   Weebly makes it so easy to quickly create and update pages, it is the perfect platform for classroom webpages.

Tips: Weebly has a great live demo where you can try the site out before signing up for a free account.