Fun & Games – Page 16 – iLearn Technology

Calling all teachers!

August 18, 2009August 18, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments904 views

Most of us are getting back into the swing of the new school year. Classroom set up is easy for some of us and a headache for others. I am always amazed at the little things that teachers think to do during classroom setup that helps the school year run smoothly. With this in mind, I vote that we share pictures of our classrooms. Take pictures of your classroom, bulletin boards, and any great organizational methods that you use. Send your pictures to me via Twitter (I am @ktenkely) I will collect all of our pictures and post them back here. Let’s help each other in our setup to make this year the best yet!

WDCS Life Size Whale

August 9, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2585 views

What it is: WDCS Life Size Whale is a really neat concept for a website. The site displays a life size whale on the computer screen, bit-by-bit and helps students gain an understanding of just how BIG a whale is. In the upper right corner of the screen is the entire whale with a red box showing which portion of the whale students are looking at.

How to integrate WDCS Life Size Whale into the classroom: This site is really best on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Students can get an up close view of a whale. Use this site as an introduction to an ocean or whale unit. Allow students to move around the whale to view the different parts up close and personal.

Tips: Learn more about the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) by clicking on the link in the bottom right hand corner.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using WDC Life Size Whale in your classroom.

The Prince’s Rainforest Project for Schools

August 9, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2096 views

What it is: The Prince’s Rainforest Project for Schools is part of a campaign to help combat climate change by addressing rainforest destruction. Schools can take part by signing up and learning more about rainforests. The site features lesson plans, videos, fact sheets, a live webcam of the rainforest, photos, sounds, games, and assembly ideas. The idea is to spread awareness about rainforest destruction.

How to integrate The Prince’s Rainforest Project for Schools into the classroom: Support the rainforest by signing up your school and taking part in the Prince’s Rainforest Project for Schools. If you are teaching about the rainforest, make this site part of your teaching. The sounds, videos, and photos are excellent. Students can play games and complete activities that will help them learn more about animals in the rainforest. As students complete activities they can earn awards at each level.

Tips: There are great free resources on this site, be sure to check them out!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using The Prince’s Rainforest Project for Schools in your classroom.

Skype an Author Network

August 9, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments3284 views

What it is: The Skype an Author Network is doing what technology should do, connecting students to the world. The Skype an Author Network provides a way for teachers or librarians k-12 to connect authors, young readers, and books through virtual visits. Students can video chat with authors while they are reading books written by the author. There are two types of visits. The first is free and is a 10-15 minute meet the author session. The second option is an in depth visit. The length and fee of visit are determined by the author. There is a growing list of authors joining the network. Connect your students today!

How to integrate Skype an Author Network into the classroom: Set up a virtual visit in your library or classroom today. Before the visit, encourage your students to come up with well thought out questions before the visit. It would also be a good idea to test Skype on your school network prior to setting up a visit.

Tips: Check back often, the list of authors is constantly growing.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Skype an Author Network in your classroom.

The Story Home

August 9, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment13831 views

What it is: The Story Home is a collection of classic and original children’s audio stories. Every other week a new story is added by storyteller Alan. All audio stories are FREE!! The stories can be listened to right from The Story Home website or by subscribing to The Story Home on iTunes.

How to integrate The Story Home into the classroom: Students will love listening to audio stories on The Story Home. Set up a listening center in your classroom where students can listen to stories. As they listen to stories, students can practice comprehension strategies like visualization. If you have an iPod program at your school, load up the iPods with stories that students can listen to from home. Find stories that correspond with your classroom curriculum and introduce new concepts with an audio story. Use The Story Home to teach students Story Telling strategies.

Tips: Introduce parents to The Story Home so they can use it at home with their children. I learned about The Story Home from multiple tweets on Twitter. If you aren’t a part of the Twitter education community yet, sign up today!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using The Story Home in your classroom.

Tangram House

August 5, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2045 views

What it is: I love tangram puzzles, so when I found Tangram House I was thrilled. This online version of the Chinese puzzle lets students select a puzzle to complete and work with 7 tans (shapes) to fill the puzzle. The tans can be rotated, flipped, and dragged into place. The puzzles can be completed online or downloaded for free as an offline game.

How to integrate Tangram House into the classroom: The format of this website would be appropriate for an interactive whiteboard activity. Split students into teams that will take turns at the board forming the tangrams. Encourage the students who are not at the board to help out with good directions and clues for the student working on the puzzle. This is a good way for kids to practice giving and receiving quality instructions and descriptions. Tangram House could also be used on classroom computers as a math learning center or individually in a computer lab setting.

Tips: Play online or download for free and play offline.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Tangram House in your classroom.

Ecybermission

August 4, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment1927 views

What it is: Ecybermission is a free, web-based science, math, and technology competition for students in sixth through ninth grade sponsored by the US Army. Students compete in regional and national awards by working to solve problems in their community. The goal of the competition is to help students understand how science, math, and technology work in the world today. Each team needs 3 or 4 student members. The team members must register and join the team by December 18, 2009. Each team also needs 1 adviser this could be a teacher, coach, club leader, etc that is at least 21 years old. There are four mission challenges that a team can choose from: sports and recreation, 2009-2010 scenario challenge, environment, or health and safety. Students will research the problem they are seeking to address, write a hypothesis, and conduct experiments. An online Team-Talk allows students to meet with each other online using discussion forums, chat rooms, and instant messaging. Students can answer questions in an online mission folder that allows them to attach files such as photographs, survey questions, or a website. At the end of the competion the mission folder is submited (before February 26, 2010).

How to integrate Ecybermission into the classroom: Why not make Ecybermission a portion of your schools science fair? Students could gather into teams competing in the competion, solving real-world problems. My guess is that this competition would be a much richer learning experience than the typical volcanoes, and planet mobiles that usually show up to science fairs. As students work to solve a problem, they will build communication, collaboration, innovation, critical thinking and scientific process skills.

Tips: Get your students signed up today, registration is open from now until December 18, 2009. I would think the more time you can provide your students the better! Need an added bonus? Any team that registers with Ecybermission gets Brian Pop for free!

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

The Blobz Guide to Electric Circuits

July 31, 2009July 31, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment4203 views

What it is: The Blobz Guide to Electric Circuits is a fun, interactive website where individuals or groups of students can learn about circuits. There are 5 sections to the Blobz Guide to Electric Circuits. Section 1 teaches students about what makes circuits work, section 2 teaches about conductors and insulators, section 3 teaches about switches, section 4 teaches about changing circuits, and section 5 teaches about circuit diagrams. Each section includes a teaching portion, an activity, and a quiz. If students answer all of the questions in the quiz correctly, they get a special bonus activity after they have completed each section. The “Blobz” characters explain each section with pictures, animations, and text.

How to integrate The Blobz Guide to Electric Circuits into the classroom: The Blobz Guide to Electric Circuits is a fun way to teach students about circuits, conductors, insulators, switches, and diagrams. Students could work on this website individually, in small groups as a center activity during an electric circuits unit, or as a whole class using an interactive whiteboard. The information section might be good to go through with the whole class for some guided practice and instruction. Students could complete the activities and quizzes individually or in small groups as a center after instruction.

Tips: This site is British so some of the vocabulary may be unfamiliar (for example a flashlight is called a torch).

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using The Blobz Guide to Electric Circuits in your classroom.

Word Ahead Vocabulary Videos

July 28, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2615 views

What it is: Word Ahead Vocabulary Videos has an amazing collection of animated videos that help increase student vocabulary. The extensive collection of videos can be used for study, SAT preparation, and increased word understanding. The Word Ahead study room provides students with a distraction free environment with vocabulary videos and flash cards. New vocabulary videos are uploaded regularly. Students can join Word Ahead for free and have a new vocabulary video sent to them each day (think word of the day 2.0). Want to inspire some creativity in your classroom? Students can create and upload their own vocabulary videos. Each video is reviewed before posting to ensure appropriateness.

How to integrate Word Ahead Vocabulary Videos into the classroom: Word Ahead Vocabulary Videos are an excellent way to expand and enrich student vocabulary. The video format will help solidify new words for students. Register to get a new video emailed to you each day. Share these videos with your students as a precursor to class. Make the vocabulary video word the word of the day. Challenge students to use the word throughout the day. Word Ahead is also a great site to use with English language learners. The videos are a fantastic way for students to visually increase vocabulary development. As an extension activity, take vocabulary from class curriculum and have students create their own vocabulary video to upload to Word Ahead.

Tips: Tell parents about Word Ahead Vocabulary Videos, they are always looking for great sites to help their kids study.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Word Ahead Vocabulary Videos in your classroom.

Discover the Forest

July 27, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2908 views

What it is: Last week I wrote about an amazing interactive forest called UPM Forest Life. I found a website today that would be a great site to couple with a UPM Forest Life virtual field trip. Discover the Forest is a site that has fun games and activities for students to complete online and a great booklet to print out full of activities to complete outside. After travelling through the UPM Virtual Forest, students can head over to the Discover the Forest website and listen to animal sounds, create leaf rubbings, learn how to use a compass, and match animal tracks.

How to integrate Discover the Forest into the classroom: Discover the Forest would be an excellent follow-up activity for a virtual field trip (or actual field trip) to a forest. Students can complete the short online activities as part of a science learning center, or on individual student computers. Encourage students to use the “Find a Forest or Park Near You” feature to find the nearest forest. Students can plan a trip to the closest forest complete with a supply checklist, a map, and a checklist of wildlife to look for. If you are fortunate enough to have a forest nearby, you can print out the “Book of Stuff to do Outside” for students to complete.

Tips: This site has an excellent interactive to teach students how to use a compass, be sure to check it out! Thank you to @larryferazzo for Tweeting about this fun site!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Discover the Forest in your classroom.