iKnow Social Learning

 

What it is:   Wow, I just spent two hours playing on and reviewing this site and could have spent the rest of my day here!  iKnow Social Learning is a social networking study tool created by Cerego in Japan.  The site brings social networking to studying and learning in a really inventive way.  Students (or you) sign up and are asked what languages you know, and what languages you want to learn.  Then you are led through a short questionnaire about your interests.  Study recommendations are made based on the questionnaire.  Courses are available to enroll in (all free) to help you study and learn.  The courses are created by Cerego and its partners or by other users.  After logging in and filling out the introductory information, you are taken to a personal homepage.  The homepage shows courses that you are enrolled in, your profile, friends, progress, a message center, and any items created by you.  Courses are personalized language learning tools.  Courses are geared for learning English and Japanese with more languages coming soon.   Current English courses created by Cerego include vocabulary development, and SAT study prep.  Courses created by users include everything from introduction to binary to the first presidential debate speech.  There are three modes of study options for each course.  The iKnow study section says the word aloud, gives the definition, and part of speech (if applicable to the course) and then uses the word in a sentence, and gives students the opportunity to practice spelling the word.  After the study session, students are quizzed on the vocabulary.  The next study section is called Dictation.  In this section a sentence using the vocabulary is said aloud, students type the sentence (using correct spelling) as it is said.  This is great for memorization, spelling, and those typing skills.  The last study section is called Flash Study and provides students with a beat the clock type game to improve speed and accuracy.  The current provided courses are appropriate for intermediate English language learners, and high school and college students.  However, iKnow allows for users to create courses (called lists).  With the ability to create lists, the iKnow study site could be used as early as second or third grade and up.   As a teacher, you can create lists for your students to study based on your curriculum.  The lists are very simple to create and you can attach sound, video, and images from Flickr Creative Commons (integrated) or upload your own images.   Students have access to all courses they have enrolled in, an online journal, and their study results.  Each course shows who created the course or list, the level of study, the number of items to learn in the course, the recommended length of study, and the privacy setting on the course.  After a student enrolls in the course, their progress is tracked to provide students with exactly the practice they need.  iKnow has the capability of connecting and integrating with other social networking platforms like Twitter, Skype, Delicious and Facebook (and a substantial list of others!)  The high school, college, and professional age group will appreciate the integration capabilities.  As you can tell by the length of this post, I am extraordinarily impressed with this site and the study options it opens up for students (and teachers!).  

 

How to integrate iKnow Social Learning into the classroom:  iKnow Social Learning is the best study tool I have seen in a while!  I love the way that it encourages students to study together, challenge each other, and create solid study habits.  iKnow Social Learning is an amazing way to learn and taps into multiple learning styles with each study session.  Auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners will all benefit from this site!  Because teachers can create lists (courses) of study, you can create interactive study guides for your students based on your curriculum.  The current courses on iKnow Social Learning are too difficult for the elementary and middle school crowd.  I created a list of my own for third grade vocabulary, it was simple to put together and students would benefit from the properly leveled guide.  Younger students may not use the social aspect of the site as much, but the study options would be perfect for creating and setting up on a classroom computer,  as a center or to use with students in a computer lab setting, or even just to suggest for home use.  The layout of the study sessions makes it ideal for vocabulary words, math vocabulary (or expanded notation), history facts, spelling practice, learning a foreign language, and science vocabulary.  I think that iKnow Social Learning would also be a great place for PLN (professional learning networks) to challenge each other, collaborate, and learn.  Personally, I think with this setup I could know Italian by Christmas 🙂  This is a really incredible tool, I can’t say enough about it!

 

Tips:   Right now the language options for iKnow are English and Japanese but Cerego has just opened up development for 188 additional languages, many more language options will be available shortly.  Sign up for an account today (you can even sign in with your Google or Yahoo account) to check out my course called 3rd Grade Vocabulary.  You can also add me as a friend: ktenkely.  My warning to you, this is addictive learning!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using iKnow Social Learning in your classroom.

Websites with a Cause


What it is: I have posted before about a website called Free Rice.  This vocabulary game has the added benefit of donating rice to help end world hunger.  For each correct answer, Free Rice donates 20 grains of rice on your behalf.  This isn’t the only website with a cause.  Aid to Children is a vocabulary game like Free Rice, for every correct answer $.25 are donated to children in need through World Vision.  Free Poverty is a world geography game.  See how many cups of water you can donate by testing your knowledge about the world.  Each correct answer means that 10 cups of clean water have been donated on your behalf.  Free Corn is another vocabulary game like Free Rice, for every 25 visits to the website, 1 kernel of corn is donated.  Free Kibble is a trivia game.  Every day your students play Bow Wow Trivia 20 pieces of kibble are donated to Animal shelters to help feed their hungry dogs.  Free Kibble Kat also donates 20 pieces of kibble per player each day…this time students are raising kibble for cats.  

How to integrate Websites with a cause into the classroom: Each of the above websites offers a wonderful opportunity to teach students to look outside their own needs to the needs of others.  Use these websites to teach your students compassion, about other cultures, and about helping those less fortunate.  The websites will also be a great way for your students to practice vocabulary or geography.  Encourage your students to play these games from home when they are “bored” or just for fun.  See how much rice, money, corn, water, or kibble you can raise as a class.  Use these figures to teach graphing and charting.  You can also use the sites to teach persuasive writing.  Students can create a “commercial” for the site, a poster advertising the site, etc.  (I found a commercial that I made as an example for my students on Free Corn…small world!)  Using these websites with my class taught me just how compassionate and concerned my students are.  It was wonderful to see my students come together around a common goal. Using these websites with a cause in your classroom is a real life character education lesson!

Tips: Bookmark these sites on classroom computers, kids who finish their work early can sit and play one of the games while they wait for the next activity.

Leave a comment and share how you are using Websites with a cause in your classroom.

Spin and Spell

What it is: Remember the See N’ Say of your childhood? Spin and Spell is reminiscent of the See N’ Say game. This site is great for kindergarten through beginning second grade students. Students click on the picture that they want to spell and spin the wheel to spell the words. There are five categories of words that students can choose including what we eat, what we wear, in and around the home, how we get there, and the animal kingdom. This is a great site to encourage spelling and for spelling practice.

How to integrate Spin and Spell into the classroom: Spin and Spell makes a great spelling center in your classroom. Students can visit the center individually or play a game in pairs. If students choose to play in pairs, one student selects the word for the other player to spell. If the word is spelled correctly, that player gets one point. The five categories of words fit well into most kindergarten through second grade curriculum making Spin and Spell a great way to practice vocabulary and spelling during matching units. Spin and Spell is also a valuable site to send home with parents who are looking for ways to help their child with spelling at home.

Tips: Set Spin and Spell up as a bookmark on your classroom computer for easy access. When students are looking for something to do when they have finished work early, they can easily navigate to spelling practice.

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

Free Rice

What it is: Free Rice has two goals: to provide English vocabulary to everyone for free and help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free (this is made possible by the sponsors on the site). Free Rice is a sister company of www.poverty.com. Free Rice began in October 2007 and to date has donated over a billion grains of rice. Students play a vocabulary game online. For each word they get correct, 10 grains of rice are donated. If a student gets a word wrong, the words get easier. If the student gets the word right, the words get harder.

How to integrate Free Rice into the classroom: Free Rice is a wonderful vocabulary game for the classroom. I love the added lesson about helping those who are less fortunate. Free Rice would be the perfect game to play during the holiday season…particularly around Thanksgiving. As our students give thanks for plentiful food and nutrition, they can play a game to help others get much needed food and nutrition. Visit the FAQ page to find out more about how the Free Rice program works and how rice is donated. This vocabulary game could also be a great way to teach students how to use the dictionary. As students get an unfamiliar vocabulary word, encourage them to look the word up (online or “old school”).

Tips: Use Free Rice as a math lesson, students can document the number of grains of rice donated each month. Use these figures to introduce graphing and charting skills (among others!).

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

Mindomo

 

What it is: Mindomo free web-based mind mapping tool that delivers the capabilities of desktop mind mapping software in a web browser with no software to install or maintain. Students can create, edit, and share mind maps with teachers and other students.

How to integrate Mindomo into your classroom: Students can use Mindomo to create mind maps for all subjects. Students can create character diagrams, comparison charts, story diagrams, vocabulary word diagrams, timelines, effect of events, experiment maps, food pyramids, scientific processes, life cycles, and more. This tool will be valuable for your visual learners!

Tips: Students have to sign up for a free account to use Mindomo they will need a email address to complete registration process.

 

 

Vocabulary

 

What it is: Vocabulary is a website where students can build spelling, reading, phonics, and vocabulary skills while playing games. The word games provide a motivation to manipulate, examine, and interact with the core building blocks of communication. There are six games to play and hundreds of options for each game. Games include: Hang Mouse (like hangman), Crossword Puzzle, Word Search, Vocabulary Quiz, Picture Match Game, and Word Scramble.

How to integrate Vocabulary into your classroom: Use the Vocabulary website to introduce new units, during phonics or center time, or as practice during a unit. The Vocabulary website offers multiple levels of each game and many themes.

Tips: Search this site for vocabulary words that tie in with your specific classroom and school themes. The site is appropriate for first through eighth grade. Find the levels that are most appropriate for your students.

 

 

Airtight Interactive

 

 

What it is: Airtight Interactive is a Flickr connected program that allows students to search a word and see various other words associated with the initial word.

How to integrate Airtight Interactive into your curriculum: Use Airtight Interactive to build word maps for association. When students are given a new vocabulary word, they can create a map using software such as Inspiration with a definition, synonyms, antonyms and the word used in a sentence. Airtight will give students a starting point to understand how words are associated.

Tips: Be sure to search words that students will search before letting them loose on Airtight Interactive. Because Airtight is Flickr connected, pictures aren’t always school appropriate.