Fun & Games – Page 13 – iLearn Technology

Create Your Own Storybook with Learn Direct

November 4, 2009Kelly Tenkely3 Comments15906 views

What it is: Kids can be the star in these online storybooks with Learn Direct. Students can type in their name and be a character in the book. On each page their are options for customizing the story. Students can adjust pictures and certain sentences in throughout the story. After students have customized the book it can be read online, saved as a pdf or printed out. These fun interactive stories will make reading time fun for your beginning readers (kindergarten through 2nd grade). Learn Direct also features a fun little virtual world where students can play word and reading games. Students have to solve word puzzles to navigate through the world.

How to integrate Create Your Own Storybook with Learn Direct into the classroom: These online stories are a lot of fun. The ability to customize them will make them a winner in the classroom. Use the Storybook with an interactive whiteboard and have students take turns customizing the story. Set up the Storybook on classroom computers as a center activity during literacy or reading time. Students can save or print out the books to share with others or take home. The word games in the virtual world would be fun to play and solve as a whole class with the interactive whiteboard or play in pairs on classroom computers as a center.

Tips: There are some great tips and resources for parents about reading with their kids on the Learn Direct site. Check out the Scared of Words? page and then pass it on to your parents.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Create Your Own Storybook with Learn Direct in your classroom.

Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin

November 3, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2210 views

What it is: You really can’t beat free clip art and this collection of clip art beats all I have seen for the classroom. Phillip Martin has created a great educational collection of free clip art for classroom use. Great features: it is easy to use (when you click on a subject or topic you are taken straight to the clip art selection, this is not true of most free clip art sites), there are no advertisements flashing and taking you to other clip art sites, all of the clip art is perfect for educational use, and the clip art is really great quality. This is seriously one to bookmark right now!

How to integrate Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin into the classroom: This clip art is ideal for educational use, there are so many great images that would liven up any worksheet, blog, class website, newsletter, slide show, flipchart, notebook, or classroom wall. The clip art would make creating a bulletin board a snap.

Tips: If you Phillip Martin (who created the clip art) has the following on his website: I would like to relocate to New York City. So, I’m asking for some networking here. You’ve seen the art. Do you know a private school that needs an art teacher ? Or, I could turn to publishing with Children’s books, magazines, literature or for museums, UNECSO or the UN. Or I could paint murals in hospitals or private nurseries. I’m open to suggestions. Are you connected?

If you can help him out please do!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin in your classroom.

Simple Timer

November 2, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2173 views

What it is: Simple Timer is just what you would expect based on the name, a simple timer (imagine that). The timer can be projected or used with an interactive whiteboard during classroom activities or work time. There is a timer and a count down feature. To time an even just click the ‘start’ button, you can pause and restart the timer at any time. To set a countdown timer, just set the time you would like the timer to countdown from and click the start button.

How to integrate Simple Timer into the classroom: Simple Timer can be used in a variety of ways. I like using timers with my students as a motivator. For example, “Let’s see how quickly and quietly we can put everything away and line up.” Each time you line up you can try to beat the previous time. I add 10 seconds if someone is talking. This is also a great way to make tasks manageable for students who struggle with focus. If they can see a visual of how much time is left with one activity it is much easier for them to continue through to the next activity.

Tips: If you have a student who has trouble staying on task, put them next to a classroom computer with their own timer or countdown clock. This way you can set it for shorter intervals for that student. Each time they have made it to the count down they can stand up and stretch before beginning the next activity.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Simple Timer in your classroom.

Picture Book Maker

October 29, 2009October 29, 2009Kelly Tenkely4 Comments4433 views

What it is: Picture Book Maker is a fun little online picture book creator (bet you couldn’t have guessed that from the name!). What makes this picture book creator unique is the great illustration elements that students can use in their story. The illustrations look hand drawn with crayon and can be adjusted to fit the story. Each picture has actions, these are multiple poses of the same character. Even the text looks like it is hand written. All of the characters for the story are animals (this site comes from London zoos). There are also several backdrops and props for students to include in their story. When the book has been completed, it can be saved to the gallery, sent to a friend via email, or printed out.

How to integrate Picture Book Maker into the classroom: Picture Book Maker is a fun way for students to publish stories online. I love how the stories look like they were created by children. Students can pick animals to write a story about, the penguin could be used as a spin off of Mr. Popper’s Penguins. After they are finished writing their story, it can be printed out or sent in an email to parents. Picture Book Maker would be a good platform to create a story as a class using a projector or interactive whiteboard.

Tips: Be sure to visit the gallery of stories to see other student’s creations.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Picture Book Maker in your classroom.

Binary Game

October 29, 2009October 29, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment3093 views

What it is: Binary Game is a fun Tetris like game where students can learn about and practice binary numbers. Students are given a target number that they must match by adjusting the 1’s and 0’s. My fellow computer teacher tried to teach me about binary numbers last year with a binary clock he has (yes we are geeks!) but I didn’t fully understand until playing this game. Students will have the concept down in no time!

How to integrate Binary Game into the classroom: This is a great little game to fill in those extra minutes in the computer/tech classroom. The Binary game helps students understand the concept of Binary Numbers and could be a great introduction to a more in-depth study of computing.

Tips: This site runs in Flash, make sure your player is up to date.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Binary Game in your classroom.

Word Magnets

October 29, 2009October 29, 2009Kelly Tenkely6 Comments15058 views

What it is: Word Magnets is a fantastic little website that lets you type or copy and paste words into a field and create virtual word magnets out of them (think of the popular word magnets sold for refrigerators). After you have typed in the words to transform into magnets, you can choose a “magnetic” background for your words. There are several backgrounds to choose from including grids, venn diagrams, time lines, arrows, stair steps, targets, boxes, numbers, alphabet, circles, webs, flow sequences, tables, present/absent, and many more. After you choose your background, students can create sentences, sort, and interact with the virtual magnetic words. Words can be added to the board at any time and the color of the background and size of the magnets can be adjusted.

How to integrate Word Magnets into the classroom: The background options for your word magnets are really the highlight of this website. You can do everything from word sorts, to venn diagrams, to practicing alphabetic order. Create tables; sort words by their root, prefix, or suffix; link ideas; practice building sentences; create a time line of events, take attendance…the possibilities with this site are endless! If you are going to use this site for taking attendance, I would suggest creating a master list in a saved word document that you can copy and paste from (this will save you from re-typing names every morning). This is an excellent site for an interactive whiteboard or to use as a center activity. This is an easy way to create customized interactive lessons for your classroom. Because you enter the content, this site is appropriate for any grade level.

Tips: One thing I wish this site had: the ability to save. If you want to save words to interact with over and over, create a document that you can copy and paste from. If you want to save a copy of the word magnets after students have interacted with them, take a screen shot of it.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Word Magnets in your classroom.

Fantastic Flexible Foldables

October 25, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments4596 views

What it is: I love online activities that students can take part in, but because most of us don’t have the luxury of a 1 to 1 school setting, good old paper manipulatives are winners in the classroom. Fantastic Flexible Foldables is a collection of mini math books and games that you can print out and create with your students. You and your students can create a fraction mini-book, a factors and multiples mini-book, a fortune teller fractor game, a geometry tetraflexagon, an integer infinity square, Flippers (fraction, decimal, music), and lines trihexaflexagon. These foldables help your students to interact with and practice math concepts that can be difficult to grasp apart from manipulatives where they can see the problems worked out. The Flexible Foldables by Carol DeFreese are well thought out and have step by step picture instructions for folding and using these with your students. Carol has also generously provided blank foldable templates that you can download and use to create your own foldables.

How to integrate Fantastic Flexible Foldables into the classroom: These foldable templates really are fantastic. They are a wonderful addition to the math classroom. Even if you don’t focus on any of the skills that Carol has created foldables for, download her blank templates and create foldables that will help your students learn difficult math concepts. These foldables will help your students visulaize and interact with math in new ways. This is an incredible resource and even more incredible that it is free! Sometimes the best part of technology is the way it allows for the sharing of ideas and teaching methods… this site is proof of that!

Tips: Files on the Fantastic Foldables site are in pdf or .doc formats.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Fantastic Flexible Foldables in your classroom.

Kids Numbers

October 22, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment1854 views

What it is: Kids Numbers is a website from the Kids Knowit Network (they also have spelling, biology, history, etc. sites). Kids Numbers is a free collection of resources for the math classroom. Math skills include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, telling time, mixed skills, geometry, and Algebra. When you select a skill to focus on, you will get a week by week break down of skills to practice and accompanying online games and activities. There are games to play and mini tutorials to go through that will teach the foundational skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Everything on Kids Numbers is research based and designed by teachers to increase your students math abilities.

How to integrate Kids Numbers into the classroom: I love the way the mini tutorials on Kids Numbers teach students foundational math skills. They are easy to follow along and perfect for your visual learners. Throughout the tutorial students are asked to participate by counting, sorting, etc. There are games aligned to each skill that act as a practice area for the skill. This is a great site to keep on your classroom computers as a math center year-round. Students can use Kids Numbers to learn new skills, review skills that have been taught, or practice skills that they are learning in the math classroom. Kids Numbers could be an excellent homework helper for students who are getting hung up on the basics and need a little extra help.

Tips: Kids Numbers does have advertisements on their pages. Help your students identify the advertisements and use this as a learning opportunity about what an ad is and what they are used for. Identify the differences between advertisement links and game and activity links on the site.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Kids Numbers in your classroom.

Kids Spell

October 22, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments2435 views

What it is: Kids Spell is another fun website for students to practice their spelling words on. Students can choose to practice their own spelling words or practice spelling in general with the “select a spelling list” feature. Kids Spell gives students a place to create their own spelling list and provides a unique url where they can access the list again and again. After students have entered their spelling words, they can choose to practice them with eight games.

How to integrate Kids Spell into the classroom: Because Kids Spell creates a unique URL to access saved spelling lists, it is an easy way for students to practice spelling from school or home. Just link to the spelling list from your classroom website, blog, wiki, or in your weekly newsletter. Bookmark the URL on classroom computers and create a spelling center that your students can visit throughout the week during literacy. Students can use the Kids Spell generic spelling lists to help them practice for a spelling bee type competition.

Tips: Be sure to let parents know about Kids Spell, they are always looking for new ways to help their children study. Games make spelling practice throughout the week much less painful!

Related Resources: Spelling City, Spelling Wizard, Spellitis, Word Safari

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Kids Spell in your classroom.

Inkless Tales

October 20, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment9494 views

What it is: Inkless Tales is a neat literacy website with a mission statement that I love: “You can do anything. Try, try again. Don’t give up. Experiment. Write, draw, explore, and more!” Inkless tales has features that will infuse your literacy classroom with life including: an animated alphabet, coloring pages (for print or online), online games, offline fun (finger puppets, downloads, crafts), Mother Goose rhymes and riddles, online stories to read, poetry to read, poetry to listen to, poetry to write, Inkless tunes, tongue twisters, and a place to learn science. Inkless Tales is an absolute treasure trove for the primary classroom.

How to integrate Inkless Tales into the classroom: Inkless Tales was created by author Elizabeth Williams Bushey with the goal of bring quality literacy content to children around the world in an online environment. She has hit the nail on the head with this site. Inkless Tales makes an excellent literacy center on classroom computers. Students can visit the Inkless Tales site to read, practice their alphabet, play learning games, etc. Inkless Tales also makes an outstanding poetry center where students can read, listen to, and write poetry. The animated alphabet would be fun to use when learning letters on a projector connected computer or an interactive whiteboard.

Tips: I learned about Inkless Tales from @2sparkley on Twitter, an educator you must follow!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Inkless Tales in your classroom.