Category: For Teachers

Rock Our World: Using music to collaborate and change the world

Kelly Tenkely7 Comments on Rock Our World: Using music to collaborate and change the world3490 views

What it is: Rock Our World has one goal, to give students authentic global collaboration opportunities by connecting them with music.  Rock Our World has been doing just that since 2004.  Students and teachers collaborate in composing original music, making movies, and meeting each other in live video chats. Using GarageBand (Apple), each country creates a 30 second drum beat.  Every Friday, the drum created rotates to another country, where the bass guitar is added. It gets passed from country to country with another instrument added at each stop.  When it gets back to the original country, it is an original piece of music that has been created with the help of kids around the world.

While the music is being passed from country to country, students have opportunities to meet and discuss various topics of curriculum in live video chats.  Incredible companies have been involved in this project including Apple, Fablevision, Discovery, American Film Institute, Smart Technologies, NASA, Visual Learning Company, Lintor Publishing, Mariner Software, actor Will Smith and more.  Pretty impressive!

Applications for Rock Our World will be accepted for pre-kindergarten through university  in January. You can sign up for membership by providing your email address to be alerted to the exact date you can begin applying.

How to integrate Rock Our World into the classroom: This is an incredible opportunity for your students to work and collaborate with other students around the world.  Not only will your students be learning and interacting with new cultures, they will also be learning more about music.  Your students will be a part of creating a unique song by adding their piece to it. At the end, each country will have a song touched by students around the world.  How cool is that?!

It would be really neat at the end of the project to create an iMovie of the final song that includes the globe animation zooming into each country as their bit of the song is played and including a slideshow of students from each country.

Tips: Take a look at previous projects by clicking on the “Media” tab.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Rock Our World in your classroom.

Corkboard: Classroom Collaboration

Kelly Tenkely19 Comments on Corkboard: Classroom Collaboration5997 views

What it is: Corkboard is a neat little collaboration tool that I learned about on Twitter yesterday thanks to @Grade1. Corkboard reminds me a lot of Wallwisher (which has been a little unreliable lately). Best of all, it is literally a one step set up process.  Just type in the web address: http://corboard.me and it automatically creates a unique url for your corkboard.  Click to add a sticky note on the corkboard. Give students or other teachers the unique url so that they can add a sticky note. Easy!  Sticky notes can be as big or small as you like.  Click and hold down on a sticky note to move it around the corkboard.

How to integrate Corkboard into the classroom: Corkboard provides an easy to use platform for students to brainstorm, collaborate, and share ideas. Students can use Corkboard to brainstorm ideas for writing, research, and collaborating on group projects. Ask students to add their thoughts to any conversation on history, literature, science, phonics, or vocabulary corkboard.  Students could practice spelling by typing out their spelling words along with a sentence or synonyms on sticky notes. Students can share a board to discuss a book they are reading together, predictions for a class science experiment, and to share what they are learning in any subject or lecture. You could create a new corkboard each week where you post homework, resources, to-do items, etc. for your students. Students can add sticky notes to the board about what they are learning throughout the week. These Corkboards can be added to a Weblist.me so that there is a record of the whole year.

Tips: Looking for other alternatives to Wallwisher? Check out: Edistorm or Stixy. Each has a little different features!

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

Organize yourself for 2011 with the Action Method

Kelly Tenkely5 Comments on Organize yourself for 2011 with the Action Method2664 views

What it is: You know what I love about a new year? The blank slate. The empty calendar begging to be written on. The chance to take a step back and evaluate how you are working.  I am an organizer at heart. I love having everything in its place. I love label makers, file folders, planners, calendars, and software that makes my life easier.  For Christmas my little brother (always have to have the little in there to remind him of his place in life 🙂 ) gifted me with the book “Making Ideas Happen” by Scott Belsky.  I am about a third of the way through it and already loving it.  What my brother knows about me (I think it runs in our gene pool) is that I am a creative person. I am never at a loss for ideas. They flow constantly.  The problem: I think every single idea is genius. I want every single idea to come to fruition because surely no one has every come up with something so brilliant before.  Even for an organizational nut like me, this is an impossible task.  And if I’m totally honest, my organizational skills leave much to be desired when it comes to putting my ideas in their place.  Ideas are wonderful things, they make the world go round…but they are only useful as far as they are enacted. When the flow of ideas is constant, many truly brilliant ideas get pushed aside while another round of ideas rolls in.  This post isn’t really about the book.  While it is a good book, it isn’t really inspirational. It is life changing in what you do with the principles it reveals.  Blesky details his Action Method in the book.  I immediately loved this method because it works the way I think. It puts everything in its place and gives you a place to organize actionable items (things you can actually work towards completion right now), reference items (all those bits of notes and websites, and pdfs, and pictures I have EVERYWHERE…seriously my husband says I have a problem), and backburners- those ideas that aren’t really actionable yet but could be some day.  This keeps those brilliant ideas at the forefront and getting taken care of while the flow of ideas has a place (backburner) so that nothing is lost.  Sweet!  My next question was: where can I “do” the action method so that I can and will keep up with it?  Problem solved, introducing the Action Method online. You can put all of those principles to use in one beautiful interface.  Even better…you can access it on your mobile device too.  We all know that is a must in this day and age! The online Action Method has a free version which lets you do just about everything…for some extra shiny bits you can sign up for the pro plan.  The mobile version is a free download. (There is even a paper version for those of you who like to go old school…normally I am in this organizational camp but like I said, the website is right up my alley.) What is better than starting off the new year organized and with money in the bank?

Here is the Action Method as described on the website:

The Action Method organizes your projects into all of their most basic elements

  • ACTION STEPS are tasks that need to be completed. Each Action Step should start with a verb: “Call Y,” “Follow up with X,” “Buy a gift for Z.”
  • REFERENCES are notes, links, files, sketches – any information related to a project that gives context to your Action Steps.
  • BACKBURNERS are the brilliant ideas that you want to come back to later, but are not yet actionable.
  • DISCUSSIONS enable you to manage ongoing conversations across all of your projects with anyone that works with you. All relevant communications (shared documents, solutions to problems, feedback, decisions) are in one place.
  • EVENTS are the key occasions/meetings/milestones/etc toward which you (and your team) are working. Events can be used to coordinate deadlines for Action Steps, aiding project management.

Pretty cool right?!  I really like how the Action Method lets you track discussions and delegate tasks easily. Very handy! Need more convincing? Companies like Apple use the Action Method…you know something is working for them!  I don’t know about you, but the thought of having everything organized in one place is giving me some major warm fuzzies right now!

How to integrate the Action Method into your curriculum: The Action Method website and app can be used to organize your school life.  I constantly have ideas for new lesson plans, projects, websites, etc. that I want to use with students.  These can be easily organized with the Action Method.  Create a new Project for each unit or educational focus.  Action items can be the individual lessons and resources that you are going to complete for that unit.  Add any resources you need in the references section.  Saw a cool idea on Twitter that you want to use in your classroom but aren’t sure how it will work just yet? Add it to your backburner so you can go back and review it later.  The Action Method could very well be the only planner you need!  Create discussions with teammates and colleagues (or Twitter colleagues) directly in the program. Delegate tasks  to others on your team or even parent volunteers.

The Action Method could be used to help middle school or high school students better organize their lives and learning.  It would be especially useful for students who help chart their own learning plans.  The site does require an email address (with confirmation) to sign up.

Tips: You can learn more about the Action Method in the book Making Ideas Happen.

Happy organizing!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using the Action Method in Your classroom.

LiveBinders: Chemistry!

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on LiveBinders: Chemistry!2948 views

What it is: LiveBinders is one of my favorite ways to quickly gather and share information with others.  Whenever someone asks me for a collection of resources, I immediately start gathering them in a LiveBinder.  I have written about LiveBinders in the past, you can read those posts here and here for ideas of how to use LiveBinders in your classroom.  A few days ago a friend asked if I had any good Chemistry websites I could recommend.  I had a few but thought I would call on my Twitter network for their favorites.  This Chemistry LiveBinder is the result.  Thank you PLN for all of your help and recommendations, as usual they were spot on!

How to integrate LiveBinders: Chemistry into your curriculum: If you teach Chemistry (or have a friend who teaches Chemistry) this binder is a great one to pursue! I separated resources into videos, periodic table, games, simulations, and websites.

Don’t teach chemistry but are interested in using LiveBinders?  Here are some ideas for using LiveBinders in your classroom:

Live Binders can be used as online digital portfolios for students.  Any Word or PDF documents that they create can be added to a binder along with any web content that they create.  The binders are easy to keep track of and share.  Each tab can represent a year in school and each subtab can represent a subject within the school year.  The Live Binder can easily be used from year to year creating a digital portfolio. Live Binders can be placed on desktops so that students don’t have to type in long URL’s to access a website.  Everything can be organized and easily updated in a Live Binder for students to access the web through.  This is a great time saver for the computer lab or classroom computers.   Create your own ‘textbooks’ for students to access as a Live Binder.  You can easily add content to it and students can access the materials from any Internet connected computer.  Create an assignment Live Binder with all worksheets and classroom materials.  Students can access any classroom materials from home, no more lost papers!  Students can create Live Binders to keep themselves organized as they complete research projects.  Students could turn in a final project as a Live Binder that includes all of their web research, notes, and final written work.  Live Binders would be a great way to go paperless at your school.  Create a binder with important school information, meeting notes, calendars, etc. for school staff to access.

Tips: Educators are making some really fantastic LiveBinder collections, if you are looking for a specific subject or topic, search LiveBinders, someone may have already created the perfect go to guide!

Yep, that is my smiling face you see in the banner at the top of LiveBinders, I am going to be joining LiveBinders and Dean Mantz on January 12 on learncenteral.org for a live podcast.  I hope you will join us too!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using  LiveBinders: Chemistry in your classroom!

iLearn Technology Top 10 Posts of 2010

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on iLearn Technology Top 10 Posts of 20102824 views

As 2010 winds down, I thought I would do a quick recap of the top 10 most popular posts on iLearn Technology this year (because who doesn’t love a good top 10 list?):

10. My Macmillan McGraw Hill Treasures reading curriculum supplements for 1st-5th grades.

9. My iLearn Mac in education ezines

8. 31 of My Favorite Digital Storytelling Sites

7. Interactive Advent Calendars

6. 16 of the Best Internet Safety Sites for Kids

5. My Promethean Quick Tips (page)

4. My Um-Bloom-ra Blooms Taxonomy Umbrella

3. 14 Online Interactive Advent Calendars (including my Web 2.0 Advent Calendar)

2. My Bloom’s Taxonomy Bloomin’ Pinwheel

1. My Bloom’s Taxonomy Bloomin’ Peacock

As it turns out, your favorite posts are my lists and content that I created…nice!

Remember you can buy a pack of all of my Bloom’s posters here ($.99). Or get the Bloomin’ Peacock on a variety of items.  All sales in the month of December will be donated to a Donor’s Choose project.  ***UPDATE:  Bloom’s Posters are now only available through my Kickstarter project!

 

I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and holiday season; I hope it is filled with family, good memories, love, and of course…technology! 😉

Responsibly: Gift Wine to Fund Education

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Responsibly: Gift Wine to Fund Education2271 views

What it is: Responsibly is a new way to gift your friends, released just in time for the holiday season.  Purchase Responsibly wine for your friends and 100% of the purchase price gets donated to a Donor’s Choose project.  Talk about killing two birds with one stone!  It works with 3 easy steps:

1. Go to Facebook and choose which friends you want to gift.

2. Friends are encouraged to pay it forward by gifting their friends.

3. Funds are matched and donated to fund a Donor’s Choose project.

Cool huh?  I love gifts that are further reaching than just the physical gift given.  Not only will you be spreading cheer to your friends, you will be spreading cheer and learning to classrooms and students everywhere.  That is a big deal.

From the about page (because I couldn’t have said it better myself!):

Responsibly is creating a platform for social philanthropy. We have created a mechanism that allows individuals to simultaneously share with friends and give back to society. We at Responsibly believe that doing good and feeling good do not have to be mutually exclusive. By connecting products in which 50% of the price tag funds corporate matched projects validated by Donors Choose, we can proudly say that 100% of whatever you spend at Responsibly.com will go towards helping our children get a step closer to the gaining access to the education they deserve. Coupling this with the social network that Facebook has created, hopefully, you can help inspire others to contribute to this cause.

One of the things that continues to astound me is the way that social networking is being used to change the world.  I see this on a regular basis through Twitter, organizations like Donor’s Choose, TED and the movements that it spurs, and now Responsibly.  Genius I tell you!

What are you waiting for?  Head on over to Responsibly now and start gifting, spreading the word, and making the world a better place.

Side note: I am talking with Responsibly about how they might be involved in helping to make #TwitAcad (scroll down for all posts that mention this)  a reality.  Now we are talking!

Reform Symposium 2011 FREE Worldwide Virtual Conference/Professional Development

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on Reform Symposium 2011 FREE Worldwide Virtual Conference/Professional Development2546 views

Everyone could use FREE professional development.  As an organizer of the Reform Symposium, I wanted to personally invite you all to our annual Reform Symposium Conference for New Teachers (but don’t be fooled, it is really for ALL teachers), which will take place on Saturday, January 8th, 2011.  You can attend this worldwide conference from the comfort of your home or anywhere you have Internet access.  We have some of the best educational speakers in the world involved. This conference provides you the opportunity to connect with educators and professionals in the field of education worldwide.  Over 2400 educators from 59 countries attended our last conference in July.  This year we will focus on interactive presentations that help teachers with creating engaging classrooms and lessons, building relationships with students, improving literacy, working with interactive whiteboards, and much more.  This year we look forward to 2 keynote speakers, 18 presentations, and open discussion on classroom management, a panel discussion on parental engagement, a mentor program, and an open lab for hands-on support in helping you continue your professional development in online educator communities.  You have never attended a conference quite like this one!  Join us for one session or multiples.

The Reform Symposium virtual conference has opportunities for continuing education credits, connections with educators around the world, an amazing lineup of raffle prizes (including prizes to EVERY educator who registers for the conference), and fantastic keynotes and presenters.

Check out the Reform Symposium website here or download the brochure here.

Please pass the word about this free conference, print out the brochure and stick it in the teachers lounge, stick it in teacher’s school mailboxes, and pass this post on to the administration at your school.

We hope to see you all there!

And the winner is: Donor’s Choose Project Funded!

Kelly Tenkely5 Comments on And the winner is: Donor’s Choose Project Funded!2696 views
The voting is finished and the winner is (drum roll please) Gerard Dypiangco and his students are receiving Tag Readers!  In November I took the Change the world Challenge.  For every unique visitor to iLearn Technology I vowed to donate a penny to a worthy charity.  I settled on funding a Donor’s Choose project and had you all help me out by voting for the project that should be funded.  Voting ended today (it was close!)  Please take a look at the project below.  I am happy that I could help fund this project, as you can see from the comments on this post, Gerard is not only an incredible teacher himself, his mother created a legacy of incredible teaching.  Thank you Gerard (and all of you teachers out there) for the ways you impact the world each and every day.  What you do matters.
Want to have some fun this holiday season? Hunt for and fund a Donor’s Choose project with your family.  You won’t believe how good it feels to change education one classroom at a time!  Need a suggestion?  Start by funding the projects featured in this post.  Linda Yollis and her class came a close second place.  I would love to help Mrs. Yollis to purchase microphones for her classroom.  Through the end of this year, purchase anything from the iLearn Technology Store and 100% of that purchase will be donated to this project.  Or if you are feeling extra generous, you can head directly to Donor’s Choose and help complete funding…only $172 to go!

My Students: What do you do when you are reading a book and come across a word that you do not know? You might crack open a dictionary or try to look up the word online. But what if a devi…

My Project: Many of my third graders are reading at or near grade level, which is great. But I still have a sizable number of students who are reading one to two years below grade level. … more»

My Students: What do you do when you are reading a book and come across a word that you do not know? You might crack open a dictionary or try to look up the word online. But what if a device could read the unknown word for you? What an amazing thing that would be!

I teach third grade in a primarily immigrant and working class neighborhood in southern California. Most of my students are learning English as a second language, a couple of them are receiving special education services, a group of students are identified Gifted, and ALL of them love to learn.

My Project: Many of my third graders are reading at or near grade level, which is great. But I still have a sizable number of students who are reading one to two years below grade level. They want to become fluent readers but have not yet acquired the skills necessary to become good readers. What they need right now is more practice reading and listening to stories.

One way to accomplish this added exposure to reading and listening is through the Tag School Reader System, which includes four Tag Readers and four copies of six different books, including Arthur Writes a Story and Honey Saves the Day!: A Story of Young Abe Lincoln. The Tag Reader is a handheld learning tool that provides audio feedback to a student. The device can read the story, pronounce a particularly troublesome word, or provide story context and background information. The Tag Reader can also provide a student with practice of necessary skills such as compare and contrast, cause and effect and sequencing.

With these Tag Readers my students will be provided with on-demand reading assistance when needed. Gradually my less fluent readers will begin to become confident readers as they work at their own pace. Eventually these students will become independent readers, able to read on grade level with their peers. These once struggling students can become readers for life. Thank you.

My students need a LeapFrog Tag School Reading Center Set and a set of rechargeable AAA batteries.

Project Funded! Congratulations Gerard and students, we can’t wait to see what you will learn next! Please be sure to share pictures and stories with us!

Friday Recap: packed full of inspiration and freebies

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Friday Recap: packed full of inspiration and freebies14866 views

This is a SPECIAL Friday because for many of you, it represents the kick off to the holiday season and a little vacation time.

Here is a recap of what I’ve been up to when I haven’t been blogging at iLearn Technology:

Edublog 2010 Award Winners

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Edublog 2010 Award Winners3209 views

The Edublog 2010 awards were held this week. Alas, I didn’t bring home any Eddies this year but I wanted to point you all to the winners (all wonderful additions to your Google Reader).  Congratulations to all who won!  Don’t forget to check out the original list of nominees (also wonderful additions to your Reader).

To all who nominated and voted for me, thank you so much for your support and encouragement- you all make me feel like a winner every day and I appreciate that!