Category: Web2.0

NoteSake

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on NoteSake4334 views

What it is: NoteSake is an online note taking tool for students and teachers. Students (or teachers) can take and organize notes online. This makes it easy to access notes from any Internet connected computer. NoteSake also provides students or teachers with the ability to collaborate in groups. Students can take notes for a group project in NoteSake and share with other group members. NoteSake is a God-send for the student who missed a class due to an illness…other students or teachers can share the notes from the day with the student who was absent. NoteSake offers several options for organizing notes; organize by name, date, class, or custom tags that the student adds to the notes.

How to integrate NoteSake into the classroom: NoteSake can be used to teach students how to take and organize notes. Aside from taking everyday type class notes, NoteSake is ideally suited for taking notes while completing research projects. Students can research on the Internet, in the library, or from home and access their notes any time they need to. No more forgetting where all the research papers are stashed. NoteSake also makes it easy for students to collaboratively gather information for projects. NoteSake makes it easy to share notes with others, absent students no longer have an excuse!

Tips: NoteSake requires a valid email address to activate your account. If you teach students who do not have an email address, you could use a teacher email for activation purposes.

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

Drupal

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Drupal1861 views

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.

Exploratree

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Exploratree2398 views

What it is: Exploratree is a free web resource where teachers and students can download, use and create interactive thinking guides (graphic organizers). Thinking guides can be used to support independent or group research projects, students can think and plan easily. Thinking guides can be used collaboratively and shared for group projects. Exploratree has several ready-made thinking guides. Students and teachers can add to these guides or create their own from scratch to meet a specific classroom need. Ready made thinking guides include: tracking an enquiry, futures wheel, lotus blossom, from a different angle, thinking boxes, plus- minus- interesting, scamper, thinking actively in a social context, reverse planning, is/is not, complete reversal, compass rose, facts or opinions, making meanings, compare and contrast, knowing trees, digging up roots, traffic lights, examine existing and new ideas, using the essence, question things, a day in the life, and possible/probable/ preferable futures.

How to integrate Exploratree into the classroom: Exploratree is a wonderful replacement for traditional paper/pencil graphic organizers. They are easy to use, navigate and include some amazing features that just aren’t possible with paper graphic organizers. As a teacher, you can set up the sequence that you want the thinking guide to be revealed, so that you can stage the thinking activity. Each portion of the organizer is revealed as students are working. Students can fill out the thinking guides online as they complete a project or teachers can create a thinking guide that fits a classroom activity and print them out for student use. Students can submit thinking guides so that they can be edited and reviewed by peers or a teacher with comments. Think about using Exploratree for ALL subjects. Students can use thinking guides to explore the scientific process, for KWL type charts, to predict what will happen in literature they are reading, to plan a story or report, to explore a historical figure, to organize thoughts before a writing assignment, in social studies as a current event organizer, to think about choices and possible outcomes, to show mathematical processes, to explore a topic using different senses or points of view, sort facts and opinions, and a day in the life of a notable figure just to name a few.

Tips: Exploratree is in its Beta form so they are open to input and suggestions from educators. If you don’t see a feature you could use in your classroom…go ahead and suggest it!

Weebly

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on Weebly3165 views

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.

Gabcast

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Gabcast2349 views


What it is: Gabcast is a podcasting and audioblogging website that offers an easy way to create and distribute audio content. The most amazing part of this resource is that students can actually use a touch-tone cell (yes I said cell phone, put them to good use!) or land line telephone to make their recordings. Gabcast also provides worldwide access to the sevice through VoIP. Once a student has mad a recording and had it published, a newsfeed is automatically updated to alert subscribers (like other classrooms, students or parents) to your channel.

How to integrate Gabcast into the classroom: What makes Gabcast so ingenious to me is that there is no need for fancy equipment (i.e. immediate computer access or microphones) to record a quality podcast. If you don’t have a classroom computer, or want to be using the computer for other activities or centers, Gabcast is a perfect solution for creating podcasts. Gabcast is an outstanding alternative to more ‘traditional’ methods of podcasting. Students could also easily create podcasts from home since the only equipment needed is a telephone. Use Gabcast to create a weekly radio type broadcast for the rest of the school or learning buddies, create audio books for other students, or for interviewing others. Bring along a cell phone on field trips and record audio clips (like of animal sounds at the zoo). This tool would be wonderful for auditory learners. The possibilities with Gabcast are nearly endless.

Tips: Gabcast is a toll free call, visit the overview page for the toll free phone number for your country. You can embed Gabcast on your school, or classroom website or blog.

mySchoolog

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on mySchoolog729 views

What it is: mySchoolog is a free, online web-based application that helps students organize their school life easily. Students can organize everything about their school life with mySchoolog anytime, anywhere they have Internet access. Students can organize and share notes, to-do lists, appointments, store documents and files, and add lessons.

How to integrate mySchoolog into the classroom: Help your students organize themselves in a fun, easy way. Students can take control of their assignments, grades, and homework. This is a great way to teach your students responsibility and organizational skills. Teach students how to use mySchoolog in the computer lab or projector setting. Students can update their mySchoolog organizer in class, in a computer lab or library, or from home.

Tips: mySchoolog offers students some amazing extras including a calculator, periodic table, conversion tables, calendars, activity vs. calorie calculator, logarithms and more. Stay tuned for coming features including the ability to access mySchoolog from a cell phone, and email all mySchoolog features.

WordPress

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on WordPress1526 views

What it is: You may have noticed that iLearn technology has a brand new look. In the past, I have used iWeb to create and update my blog. However, as I added more and more posts, my MacBook Pro started getting bogged down by the enormity of it. I needed a solution… enter WordPress. WordPress is a free online blogging tool that makes my life simpler because it is easy to use and can be edited and updated online. Now my blog is portable! I can update anywhere that the mood strikes (provided that I have Internet access). I also have some new features. Check out the categories! If you are looking for a specific technology idea, narrow it down by searching through the categories. My RSS feed is also working…finally! So much to celebrate. Check out WordPress for your own blogging needs.

How to integrate WordPress into the classroom: WordPress makes it easy to create your own classroom blog. Blog about your classroom. Parents will love to read a daily synopsis of what their child has been working on in class. Turn your weekly newsletter into a blog. Parents and students can access past newsletters quickly and easily with the WordPress categories. You can also use classroom blogs to blog about different themes and units you may be studying. Working on a space unit? Use the blog to continue classroom discussions. Students can leave comments right on your blog! Create a blog about a book that your class is reading together. You can write posts about different characters, genres, etc. and your students can leave their comments about each. This is web2.0 at its finest!

Tips: Don’t be discouraged if you have never blogged before. WordPress will guide you every step of the way with print outs and online tutorials and guides.

 

 

edu2.0

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on edu2.03129 views

 

What it is: Web 2.0 resources are amazing, I love the potential for connecting students and teachers in a new way. edu 2.0 is an incredible free tool that allows teachers and students to connect and interact outside of the traditional classroom. This is, in essence, a virtual classroom.

How to integrate edu 2.0 into the classroom: edu 2.0 allows teachers to add a new dimension to teaching. Post private classes online, upload daily lessons, keep a student roster, student attendance, a calendar, assignments, grade book, graph scores, start a class forum, chat, wiki, polls, and feeds, create surveys and quizzes that can be completed online. This is a great way to extend teaching, teach students how to use web 2.0 tools, offer tutoring and out-side of school teaching, and offering courses to home school students or small schools who may not have the resources to offer specialized classes.

Tips: This is an amazing FREE resource, be sure to participate in the edu 2.0 forum. Graham, the creator, is extremely open to new ideas from teachers and often creates new features and implements them quickly based on user suggestions.

 

Letter Pop

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Letter Pop1625 views

 

What it is: Letter Pop is a web-based newsletter publishing center. Best of all, Letter Pop is free! The newsletters are easy to create, just add text and pictures.

How to integrate Letter Pop into your classroom: If you don’t have a publishing program like Pages, this is the next best thing. Students can use Letter Pop for mini reports, class newsletters, and book reports. Teachers can use Letter Pop to create their weekly or monthly newsletters or for back to school letters.

Tips: Letter Pop is integrated with flickr.com making uploading pictures to your newsletter even more convenient.

Google Lit Trips

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Google Lit Trips3862 views

 

What it is: Google Lit trips is a new way to teach literature. Using Google Earth, students discover where in the world the greatest road trip stories of all time took place. This is interactive learning at its best! Google Lit Trips include books such as By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleishman, My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, Traveling with P.G. Wodehouse, The Aeneid by Virgil, Candide by Volatire, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Night by Elie Wiesel, The Odyssey by Homer, and Blood Meridian by Comac McCarthy.

How to integrate Google Lit Trips into your classroom: Use these virtual trips to make literature come alive for your students.

Tips: These Google Lit Trips are best used for upper elementary through high school.