Category: Internet Safety

Glogster

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on Glogster3559 views

What it is:   Glogster is a great creativity site who’s tag line is “poster yourself”.  A ‘glog’ is basically an online poster web page.  Students can combine text, pictures, graphics, video, and audio to create an interactive online poster.  Glogster has a very simple to use interface.  The final glog can be hosted by Glogster or you can embed it into a wiki, blog, or class web site.  

 

How to integrate Glogster into the classroom:  Glogster is an awesome way for your students to display knowledge.  Instead of creating a poster for a presentation, students can create an interactive glog to display information.  Glogster can be used for history, math, language arts, book reports, science, social studies, and for public service announcements.  In fact, I am having a hard time coming up with a subject that couldn’t use Glogster in some capacity.  Students can create these online posters to display any knowledge or learning.  You really have to see this site, the creativity that it allows for will get your wheels spinning.  Once you start using Glogster with your students, you are going to think of all kinds of new applications.  Because Glogster has the ability to handle audio, students can create podcasts (using Audacity, Garageband, G-Cast or Gabcast) and upload the content into their glog.  So cool!  I really love that students can share their school work and accomplishments online with classmates, family, and friends.  Give your students an authentic audience and their work will dazzle you!

 

Tips: You can check out a quick sample glog that I created here about Internet Safety.

 

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

iKeep Safe

Kelly Tenkely3 Comments on iKeep Safe6085 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.

KidZui

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on KidZui2266 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

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Jigsaw Planet15726 views

Computer Lab Rules4 - online jigsaw puzzle - 9 pieces

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.

Animoto for Education

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Animoto for Education5247 views


What it is: There are some really neat online tools that I find that live in my Google Notebook for a long time (I have upward of 800 links for educational websites yet to post to iLearn Technology…and growing daily!) Some get pushed aside for my newest cool find, and some move to the bottom of the list because, while they may have educational value, they are not intended JUST for education and may have some questionable user created content that I wouldn’t want my students to stumble on. Animoto was one of these sites for me. It is an amazing and COOL tool but wasn’t necessarily geared just toward education. I got a fun email today that Animoto now has an education only site! Animoto for education is a site where students can create compelling and impressive digital content quickly and easily. It is the perfect addition to your classroom’s digital storytelling kit. It is very intuative and easy to use, in no time students have digital videos that they created! This is also an amazing place for you, the teacher, to create a video that will bring your lessons to life. You can post or embed videos on your class site or even, are you ready for this?, download for in class presentations. Animoto for Education makes it simple to mix audio and visual for a dynamic, unique presentation in no time. It is so easy to use that students could create a complete animoto presentation in one computer class.

How to integrate Animoto for Education into the classroom: Animoto for education is a great place for you to teach from. Make any lesson come to life with audio and visual, use at the beginning of the day as a ‘teaser’ for what your students can look forward to learning each day or use to teach complex concepts in history, math, science, or character education. Students will respond to new media in the classroom. Allow your students to display knowledge of a concept using Animoto. Use Animoto for Education for a beginning of the year get to know you activity. Students can each create an Animoto showcasing who they are through pictures and music. Animoto presentations are quicker to create than traditional PowerPoint type presentations making them ideal for digital storytelling in the classroom setting. Because Animoto is completely web-based, students can create videos from school and continue working on them at home. The ability to download videos is outstanding…students could save their work for offline viewing too!

Tips: Children under 13 can’t sign up for their own account. To use Animoto for Education with your students you can register your students with dummy accounts using dummy email addresses. Animoto is private to your school. This means that other people can’t come accross student videos or contact students through the site.

Leave a comment and share how you are using Animoto for Education in your classroom.

Updated Websites

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Updated Websites2402 views

Over the past week I have been re-vamping my websites.  Tenkely.org is a site that I created for my students to use.  I have pages for first through fifth grade with links to all of the sites that we use in class throughout the year.  I also have a page for parents about how my classroom runs and tips for keeping kids safe online.   The teacher site for tenkely.org  has also been completely re-done.  I added TONS of new goodies for teachers.  Obviously, I created these sites with my students and colleagues in mind but I hope that they are a source of inspiration for you too!  I am already keeping tally of links that aren’t working right so if you run across any, leave a comment so I can get them fixed up.

Only 2 Clicks

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Only 2 Clicks2228 views

What it is: Only 2 Clicks is a bookmarking website that lets you store and categorize websites so that you can get back to websites in only 2 clicks. What is great about this bookmarking site is the picture preview of the page. I don’t know about you but I collect so many great sites that even my clever little descriptions don’t always jog the old memory. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words and generally I remember the site as soon as I see it. With Only 2 Clicks you can access your bookmarks anywhere anytime…even from your iPhone woo hoo! If you set Only 2 Clicks as your browser homepage, you always have your frequently visited sites in one simple place. Only 2 Clicks is very user friendly, rearrange your sites by dragging and dropping (how very Apple of you!) If you add search engines to Only 2 Clicks you can search directly from that page! You can also add a handy dandy bookmarklet to your browser so that when you find that great new reading site, you don’t have to leave it to add it to Only 2 Clicks. Equally awesome is the little tool that lets you import bookmark collections that are currently stored in your browser…so handy and making life easier. And, the cherry on the top? You can customize the look of Only 2 Clicks to match any great new pair of shoes you happen to be wearing! You have to love that!

How to integrate Only 2 Clicks into the classroom:  Only 2 Clicks is the perfect solution for keeping yourself organized. You find a lot of great educational (and other sites) all the time. Why not keep them all organized in an easy to use place so that you can get back to that stellar math website you found last summer when you start your money unit? Not only is Only 2 Clicks the perfect place to keep yourself organized, you can make Only 2 Clicks the homepage for your classroom computers. Store all of the links of games and learning sites that your students use throughout the school year. Students won’t have to remember hundreds of web addresses or try to remember the name of their favorite reading website…they will know it when they see it. Students can use Only 2 Clicks as a place to collect research for projects they complete throughout the school year. Does it get any better than this? Did I mention that it has an iPhone (and iPod touch) interface?!

Tips: Only 2 Clicks also offers the ability to share your links with students or colleagues without logging in. Just choose a public web address and start sharing your categories. Is this cool or what?

Leave a comment and share how you are getting organized with Only 2 Clicks in your classroom.

Search Me

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Search Me2221 views

What it is: I have been testing the Beta version of a new search engine called Search Me for the past few months and today the public beta was released for everyone. Search Me is really unique…it lets you search webpages the way that iTunes cover flow works. Their motto is “You’ll know it when you see it.” The engine is very easy to use and brings up great results with the ability to narrow down a search by category. For example, when I do a search on “dogs” It brings up the websites to browse through as well as icons to narrow down my search and gives me options of searching “dogs”, “pet stores”, “hunting”, “pet health”, “savings and bargains”. This is a great engine for teaching your kids how to search effectively for what they are looking for. The best part is the cover flow like feature that lets you flip through actual websites. Yellow squares appear on each site where your search word pops up and when you hover over a site, the site description pops up. There are safe settings so that adult content is automatically filtered out and you can flag a website as inappropriate right from the search results without actually traveling to that website.

How to integrate Search Me into the classroom: Search Me is a really great way for students to perform searches on any subject. They get instant feedback based on the sites that come up if their key words were too broad, narrow, etc. They can also preview sites right away and can often tell if it is what they are looking for without actually traveling to the website. The ability to narrow down a search by category is also a great option! Try Search Me out with your students, I know they will love it!

Tips: Search Me has a free tool bar that can be integrated into your web browser with the click of a button making it simple for kids to perform a search in one step.

Leave a comment and share how Search Me is working for your students.

Diigo

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Diigo2274 views

What it is: Diigo is a site I learned about from David Warlick’s 2Cents blog. Essentially Diigo is a social bookmarking site like Delicious or Digg but it has some features that are great for educational uses! Diigo lets students and teachers actually highlight, sticky note, and share the web. You can access and search your findings from any computer or phone. This is an outstanding research tool for students and allows for collaboration on any website they may be using.

How to integrate Diigo into your curriculum: Do your students work on group research projects? If so introducing them to Diigo could be a great time saver and collaborative tool for them. Students can highlight important facts on the website and leave virtual sticky notes for each other about points of interest. Teachers, you can use Diigo to create a field trip around the Internet for your students. Just set up bookmarks on any subject you are studying and highlight pertinent information and leave sticky notes about tasks that should be completed on each website. Cool! You could also use Diigo personally as a way to share sites with family, friends, and colleagues.

Tips: Diigo is free to try so set up an account and take it for a test drive today!

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

Cyber Smart

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Cyber Smart2064 views

What it is: Cyber Smart is free technology curriculum for use in a technology classroom or as part of the regular classroom curriculum. The SMART in Cyber Smart stands for Safety and security, Manners bullying and ethics, Advertising and policy, Research and information fluency, and Technology. The curriculum is very complete and easy to follow. Best of all it is completely FREE! In addition to the comprehensive curriculum, Cyber Smart also offers a free tool bar (seriously handy) as well as professional development.

How to integrate Cyber Smart into your curriculum: The Cyber Smart curriculum is perfect for the technology classroom, media center, and even your regular classroom as part of other subjects such as character education or when teaching research.

Tips: Make sure the sites recommended by the Cyber Smart curriculum work in your classroom before working it into your day…some of the sites get blocked by filters.

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