Resource type – Page 91 – iLearn Technology

Creative Park

September 4, 2008Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2566 views

What it is: Creative Park is a great free creative resource library for teachers and students. Creativity is such an important part of child development but also an important aspect of 21st century learning and thinking. Creative Park offers teachers and students awesome resources for putting that creativity to use. The website offers ideas and templates that can be coupled with your lesson plans. Projects range from 3-D paper crafts (like airplanes, the Great Pyramids, a globe, dinosaurs, and the Leaning Tower of Piza, etc.) There are great special collections including an Architecture museum, circus land, and science museum. Creative Park also features calendars, art crafts, a digital photo gallery, and scrapbook area.

How to integrate Creative Park into the classroom: Lets face it, teachers don’t have the largest budgets in the world to buy manipulatives and learning displays. Creative Park can help ease some of this burden by giving you free high quality paper crafts that your students can assemble. I love that this taps into following directions and creativity for students. Students can use these materials to make class dioramas or displays. This is also a great stop for those indoor recess days. Keep your kids busy creating when they have to be cooped up inside. Use the scrapbook pages to create custom class memory books. Each student can create their own as a keepsake for the end of the year (my students LOVE their memory books each year). The greeting section is wonderful for elementary teachers who are in charge of covering every holiday and making sure that mom and dad get a card from their child. Many of the materials available on this site would be perfect for bulletin boards. The creative activities would also liven up classroom parties. This is a fun site to sit and explore!

Tips: Stock your printer up with paper and ink for these projects.

Leave a comment and share how you are using Creative Park for your classroom.

Lite-Brite

September 3, 2008September 3, 2008Kelly Tenkely4 Comments3982 views

What it is: Some websites just make you smile. Lite-Brite is one of those sites for me, I am a child of the 80’s so the Lite-Brite holds a special place in my heart! The site is exactly what you would expect, an online version of Lite-Brite. No fancy moving flash animations, sound effects, etc. Just 9 different color pegs to choose from and a Lite-Brite board.

How to integrate Lite-Brite into the classroom: Lite Brite may not appear to have much educational value upon first inspection, but being that I love Lite-Brite, I knew there had to be a way to use it in the classroom. In the primary and secondary classroom, the Lite-Brite would be a great place for students to practice “writing” their spelling words using the colored pegs. Any time you can give students a new medium for practicing spelling words or math facts, it is a good thing. Write out math problems using the Lite-Brite and students can take turns solving the facts. Create a class picture using an interactive whiteboard. Keep points on the Lite-Brite when playing a class game. I think even older kids could appreciate the Lite-Brite from an art perspective. It just gives one more medium for students to express themselves. I have yet to find a kid who uses the Lite-Brite site and doesn’t leave with a smile 🙂 Kindergarten students can practice “writing” the alphabet by forming letters with the colored pegs.

Tips: The Lite-Brite site doesn’t have a save option so make sure that for the true creations, you have a printer hooked up to memorialize them.

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

iKeep Safe

September 2, 2008Kelly Tenkely3 Comments6093 views

What it is: iKeep Safe is a website and program I have used every year since I started teaching technology. As I was writing up lesson plans for the upcoming week, I realized that I haven’t ever posted about this outstanding resource. iKeep Safe is a kid friendly Internet safety program. It features a cat named Faux Paw who has adventures on the Internet. There are videos, downloadable and printable books, and games for kids. All are centered on teaching kids to be safe online. There are free guided discussion sheets for you to go through with your students, quizzes, coloring pages, etc. This program is the perfect way to introduce Internet safety in your elementary classroom without worrying that the content is too mature for your audience. The online books and videos teach kids Internet safety basics, how to handle cyber bullying, balancing real life with screen time, and the risks and dangers of downloading. Students learn about these concepts with fun cartoon characters and engaging stories.

How to integrate iKeep Safe into the classroom: iKeep Safe is a great place to start Internet safety. I would recommend making Internet safety a top priority the first month of school before kids are online for class. In my classroom, students are introduced to Faux Paw at the beginning of the school year. We watch and discuss the Faux Paw cartoon, read and discuss the books, and finish by taking the free downloadable quiz. Students must pass this quiz with an eighty percent or better in order to get their “Internet Drivers Licenses”. I talk a lot about how using the Internet is a privilege, not a right. This is just like driving a car. So in order to be online for other subjects, students have to demonstrate that they know the rules of the Internet by passing the quiz. They can lose their Internet drivers licenses at any time by mis-using the Internet or not following the rules. I also have the kids create a rules poster for them to hang next to their home computers. Students also get an assignment to go home and tell their parents the Internet rules. This has to be signed off on in order to use the Internet. I find that we can do a pretty good job of keeping kids safe at school, but at home parents aren’t doing enough to make sure that their kids are safe. Whether or not you are the computer teacher, make sure that your kids know how to keep themselves safe online. Be an adult they trust who they can come to with any cyberbullying problems, if they see inappropriate content, or if someone is trying to contact them inappropriately.

Tips: Never been trained in Internet safety? Be sure to visit the educator page of iKeepSafe, the training materials are wonderful!

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

Statetris

September 1, 2008Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2750 views

What it is: Statetris brings one of my all time favorite Nintendo games into the education realm. Statetris mixes aspects of the game Tetris and geography. Instead of positioning typical Tetris blocks, students position states or countries to their proper location. There are 3 levels to play Statetris. The easiest level gives students the shape and name of the state or country. The medium level gives the students the state or country that rotates with the name of the state or country. The hardest level gives students the sate or country rotating without a label. The medium and hard levels can be very difficult because you get a state or country that isn’t straight up and down but may be rotated. Students can play Statetris with a map of the United States, Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, and UK.

How to integrate Statetris into the classroom: Statetris is a great place for students to learn and practice geography. The familiar game platform is popular with students and will be a fun way to memorize geography locations. This is the perfect place for students to study before a geography test.

Tips: Save this site in your bookmark bar for easy access. This is a great site for kids to visit when they complete work early and are looking for extension activities.

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

EdWeek Maps Website

August 29, 2008Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment1558 views

What it is: I heard about EdWeek Maps Website just after writing my post “Up On My Soap Box”. The Editorial Projects in Education Research Center (that is a mouth full!) launched a feature of its EdWeeek Maps Website that allows you to access and download a detailed report and map on high school graduation rates for every school district in the United States. You can look at individual districts, their graduation rates and trends, and compare it with state and national figures. It is VERY interesting to browse.

How to integrate EdWeeks Maps Website into the classroom: This may be a good site to share with students starting in middle school. Open up for discussion why students think the graduation rates are what they are. Take the opportunity to show your students how important education is and more importantly how critical it is that they learn to learn. If our students can be life long learners we have reached our goal!

Tips: Share this site with fellow teachers, administrators, community members. Lets come up with a way, together that we can change education so that we live in a community where education is valued.

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

WizIQ

August 26, 2008Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2123 views

What it is: WizIQ is a virtual classroom platform where you can teach and learn. You can teach for free or earn money teaching. The WizIQ is free to use, has no downloads (it runs in your web browser), and works on Macs, Windows, and Linux. WizIQ provides a place to find, share, or upload PowerPoints on educational subjects and topics. The sessions are intuitive to use and can be scheduled for individal students or a group. The virtual classroom provides a place to teach and learn live online. Everything launches in a few clicks with…NO downloads! With WizIQ you can network with students or teachers, send a personalized invite to your contacts right from WizIQ. Share educational content in the form of slideshows, pdf, and online. When you start a session with students, you have access to a shared whiteboard space, live audio, video, or both, flash file sharing, and text messaging. Sessions can be recorded and saved for students to view again and again.

How to integrate WizIQ into the classroom: WizIQ is a great place to start experimenting with virtual classrooms. It has a simple to use interface, requires no downloads, and is free. Record lessons that you are doing with your class so that they can go back and review the lesson online at their lesiure. This puts students in control of their own learing. Interact with students during live virtual sessions. WizIQ is also perfect for students who were absent, have a long term illness that prevents them from being at school, or students who know they will be attending your school for half of the year.

Tips: You can make money by setting up and teaching in a virtual classroom (and lets face it, we could all use a little more of that!) Your classroom will be visable by search engines and open to students from accross the world. Don’t let the technology scare you, this is simple to use (even my fellow elementary teachers can get in on this one!)

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

ict Numeracy Games

August 25, 2008Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment1902 views

What it is: ict Numeracy Games are created by educator James Barrett. These flash games are excellent for primary and beginning secondary elementary students to practice math. You will find game themes for number facts, counting, bridging through ten, time, shape and measures, greater than and less than, multiplication and rounding, money (this is UK money), addition, subtraction, odd and even, place values, doubles, and equivalence. Each math or numeracy theme has several games to play for practice. Each is interactive and has instructions for integrating the game into the classroom. All great ideas!

How to integrate ict Numeracy Games into the classroom: The ict Numeracy Games are perfect for use with an interactive whiteboard or projector and whole class instruction. Several of the games are also great practice for students working on individual computers. The games are all very engaging. They teach and provide practice for basic math skills. This is a great stop when you are looking for an interactive activity to practice a math concept. The descriptions next to the game are very helpful and you are bound to find new ideas for integrating technology into your classroom.

Tips: There are advertisements on this site but they are unobtrusive, your students probably won’t even notice. The games are high quality enough that this shouldn’t be a deterrent.

Leave a comment and share how you are using ict Numeracy Games in your classroom.

EdWeb 2.0

August 22, 2008Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment4459 views

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.

KidZui

August 21, 2008Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2271 views

What it is: KidZui is a web browser made just for kids. It has access to over 800,000 websites, pictures, and videos that are reviewed by teachers and parents who don’t just approve content, but also categorize it for age appropriateness and by topic. Kids will be able to get to all of their favorite sites (and more) in a safe, engaging environment that rewards learning and teaches independent learning skills. Parents and teachers can get weekly emails that keep you up-to-date with what kids are searching on KidZui. KidZui is free for the basic account, they also offer a membership account that gives some nice additional features. KidZui is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems.

How to integrate KidZui into the classroom: KidZui would be a great web browser to have on classroom computers in the elementary school setting. Students would be able to easily access all the information they need online without being exposed to inappropriate content. The interface is very user friendly and teaches students great search skills as well as teaching great learning skills.

Tips: I often have parents asking me what they can do at home to keep their kids safe online. KidZui is an excellent recommendation, the parent reports are a great way to keep parents involved in their children’s online activities.

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

Jigsaw Planet

August 20, 2008August 21, 2010Kelly Tenkely1 Comment15729 views

What it is: Well, it is the first week of school which for me means that it is rules week. Every teacher has to go over the rules at some point and it is usually met by major groans from students. This year I approached rules week differently. I used an awesome site called Jigsaw Planet to turn my rules into jigsaw puzzles. Jigsaw Planet is a site that makes it simple to create custom jigsaw puzzles. Just upload a jpeg image to the site, choose how many pieces you want, what shape you want the pieces to be and Jigsaw Planet does the rest. You instantly have a custom interactive puzzle for your students to play! The puzzles can be saved for your own account, shared with students via a url, or embedded into your classroom website for easy access.

How to integrate Jigsaw Planet into the classroom: Jigsaw Planet puzzles are AMAZING to use with an interactive whiteboard! Each puzzle is timed as you put it together, split students into teams to see which team can complete the puzzle the fastest. Instead of the typical PowerPoint type presentation to teach students facts, create a puzzle for them to put together and have them read the fact once the puzzle has been completed. Turn your classroom rules into a series of jigsaw puzzles for students to put together. Honor your star student of the week by creating a puzzle of that student, just take a picture of the student and upload to Jigsaw Planet. Put the puzzle of the student on your classroom website to honor them. Students can use Jigsaw Planet to create their own puzzles. This is a great place for them to study, they can upload spelling words, math facts, maps, etc. Students will love creating their own jigsaw puzzles, if they have their own blog or website they can embed the puzzles right into their online space. If you have a projector or an interactive whiteboard, have students create a puzzle all about them. They can create a collage of things they like in a presentation program, take a screen shot of it, and upload the puzzle to Jigsaw Planet. Students can put together each other’s puzzles and guess who the student is based on the pictures. This would be a great getting to know you activity!

Tips: I split students into two teams. Each team would complete a puzzle using our new Mimio interactive whiteboard, the fastest time was the winner of that round. When the puzzle was completed, students would read the rule and we would discuss in depth. This made rule day fun for the kids and much more enjoyable for me!

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