iLearn Technology – Page 69 – Integrating technology in the classroom

We Are the People We’ve Been Waiting For

April 7, 2010Kelly Tenkely4 Comments3175 views

What it is: We Are the People We’ve Been Waiting For is an inspiring documentary film that explores education in the UK and challenges us to dream of something more. Big names (Sir Richard Branson, Germaine Greer, Henry Winkler, Bill Bryson, and Sir Ken Robinson) share their experiences with education and offer new ideas for how education can be done. If you are in the UK, take advantage of the free DVD offer and get the full documentary to share with your students. Those of us not in the UK can enjoy clips of the film on the We Are the People We’ve Been Waiting For website. There are several clips from the documentary and each of them will leave you inspired and thinking about how education can be transformed. The site also features some excellent games for students to play. The first game is called “The Test You Can’t Fail”. This little quiz asks students a variety of questions and gives them creative career paths to consider based on their interests. Many of these your students may not have considered and will give them insight into the places they shine. The second game is called “Future Me”, it is a Bebo App that lets students predict their friends future.

How to integrate We Are the People We’ve Been Waiting For into the classroom: If you can get the documentary for your classroom, do so. Be inspired by the documentary as a teacher, but also share it with your students. They need some inspiration for their education and future. This film is sure to offer plenty. If you aren’t in the UK, share the webisite clips with your students. Challenge them to think differently about education. At first, they may struggle with this task (the way my students did), they expect that there is one right answer. This is a sad statement about what education has been up to this point, we have primed them to believe that there is only one right answer with a myraid of tests and worksheets that have told them it is so. Have your students take “The Test You Can’t Fail” quiz, it leads them through a variety of questions and activities. Students tell what their favorite subject is, swat or save a fly, order grocery items in order of price, connect a video game to the Internet and TV, choose what to do when they get lost, design a t-shirt, memorize a phone number, and arrange a computer desktop. When students are finished they are given a list of things they are good at, some surprises (things students may not know about themselves), and thoughts about possible career paths. It seems to work well, my results were education, computers and IT. 🙂 So I guess I am on the right track! Talk with students about their results. Do they agree/disagree? Were their items on their list that they hadn’t considered? It is good to dream with students, it gives them aspirations and goals for the future and lets them know that they aren’t the only ones dreaming.

Tips: In the “About the Film” Section, students can watch videos and read bios of the students that star in the documentary.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using the We Are The People We’ve Been Waiting For in your classroom.

A Different Kind of Webspiration Wednesday

April 7, 2010Kelly Tenkely3 Comments4628 views

Webspiration Wednesday normally consists of teachers gathering together in the library to watch and discuss an inspirational video or TED talk, followed by discussion about its implications in our classrooms. Today was a different kind of Webspiration Wednesday.

On March 10 I got a late night phone call that one of our second grade teachers had died. I was convinced that I was hearing wrong, Val was only 53 and I saw her that morning. She wasn’t feeling well when she got to school, so we called her a sub. Being that she is a teacher, she came back to school at 4:00 to write up sub plans and get everything ready for her absense the next day. Her husband and 7 year old daughter were with her, and gave her 5 minutes to get her plans laid out. Of course 5 minutes turned into 30 as she set out plans, answered emails, and wrote a morning message for her students at the board. As she was finializing plans, she collapsed. Paramedics weren’t able to revive her. Our school body went into a state of shock and mourning. The next day we had no school. Teachers gathered and cried together, and we asked a lot of questions about how best to minister to grieving kids. We brought in grief counselors and came together with our students the next day to help the students process the loss in any way that we could. As a school body we felt utterly depleted. An amazing thing happened, schools from around the country came together to support us. My PLN on Twitter immediately sent articles and podcasts for how to help children through the grief process and offered words of hope. Jason Schmidt (@jasonschmidt123) had his students write notes of hope, encouragement, and prayers for Val’s little girl. They arrived the day of Val’s funeral. A neighboring school showed us love and encouragement by providing our staff the opportunity to come together over a catered lunch. Today we broke bread together. We talked, and laughed, and reminiced together. We don’t often get that opportunity with staggered lunches and busy schedules. We were inspired today not by a video talk, but by the love showed by others. Thank you all for your inspiration, words of encouragement, and hope.

The Stacks

April 6, 2010April 6, 2010Kelly Tenkely2 Comments2260 views

What it is: Scholastic has so many fantastic resources for the classroom. There is a new addition to the Scholastic website called The Stacks. The Stacks is currently in BETA but is already packed full of goodies that will have your students excited about reading. The Stacks is a place for students and their friends to connect around reading. The site is geared toward 9 to 15 year old students. Students can check out and discuss the various books that they are reading. This is a great place for students to discover new books that they may enjoy, or to connect over books that they have already read. Most of the books featured in The Stacks have an accompanying website where students can read what other students thought about the book, play related games, and take quizzes. These mini sites are very well done and so engaging. When I was in elementary and middle school, I often wished that my favorite books wouldn’t end. I remember getting toward the last pages of the book and feeling disappointment over having to say goodbye to the characters I had come to love. I would have been ecstatic over the mini websites that kept my favorite characters alive, making the book last and last. Students can also learn more about the authors of their favorite books in The Stacks. Students can play games that are related to the books they are reading. They can choose from arcade games, quizzes and polls, puzzle games, make your own games (including choose your own adventure virtual stories), writing games, ecards, and downloads that can be printed for offline play. Students can create their own profile on The Stacks, allowing them to customize their profile and background.

How to integrate The Stacks into the classroom: The Stacks will have your good readers excited to read more, and your reluctant readers enthusiastic about reading. Allow your students to use The Stacks to find new reading material, and to interact with other students about the books they are reading. Many of the activities would make nice extensions to your curriculum. The choose your own adventure game would be fun to play as a whole class on the interactive whiteboard. If you have clickers (student response systems) have your students vote on the choices throughout the story. The writing games will lead your students through a variety of writing exercises teaching them how to build a story, write a report, write journal entries, and create their own comics. The Stacks has some great offline activities for your classroom. Print out crosswords, connect the dots, coloring pages, word searches, calendars, trading cards, and more. All of the printables tie in directly to the books students are reading. This is a FUN social media site centered around reading and books. The books are familiar and popular reads for students and should create a reading buzz in your classroom.

Tips: The Stacks does not require a login unless students want to create a profile. When students register for The Stacks, they are not asked for any personal information or email, making it appropriate for even elementary students.

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

Poetry Idea Machine

April 5, 2010Kelly Tenkely1 Comment4020 views

What it is: April is national poetry month, the Poetry Idea Machine is sure to help you infuse your classroom with some inspired poetry writing. Students learn about different kinds of poetry by selecting from Haiku, Limerick, Cinquain, or Free Verse. The Poetry Idea Machine takes students through the steps of making each type of poetry. The Poetry Idea Machine makes an excellent introduction to types of poetry and will have your students writing their own in no time.

How to integrate Poetry Idea Machine into the classroom: The Poetry Idea Machine does a fantastic job of introducing students to different kinds of poetry. After students learn about the poetry, they have a chance to create their own poem with the Poetry Idea Machine interactive. In my classroom, I use the Poetry Idea Machine with the whole class using the interactive whiteboard or projector. I invite students up to create their own poems as we talk through the process. Choose one type of poetry each week so that students have an opportunity to practice writing the poems. During the week, give your students time to write their poems, allowing them access to the Poetry Idea Machine on classroom computers as an idea center. Let students work in small groups to create unique poems using the Poetry Idea Machine.

Tips: Read poems by Jack Prelutsky, Karla Kuskin, and Jean Marzollo for inspiration. Ask students to determine which type of poem each is based on what they have learned with the Idea Machine.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using the Poetry Idea Machine in your classroom.

The World of Peter Rabbit

April 2, 2010Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2695 views

What it is: Beatrix Potter has captured the imaginations of countless children with her classic Peter Rabbit tales. The World of Peter Rabbit is as enchanting as the stories, bringing Beatrix Potter’s incredible artistry to life. The whole site is fashioned into a virtual popup book where students can meet the characters, watch videos of the stories, play games, and find fun things to make and do offline. Students can play a game of find Peter (before Mr. McGregor does!), take part in an Easter egg hunt, collect snowflakes to earn special downloads, help Peter find his way through a maze, and play a vegetable picking game. Students can read character descriptions of each of Beatrix Potter’s characters and even watch video clips of Peter Rabbit. Students can also create their very own interactive Peter Rabbit puppet show. They can star in the puppet show by uploading a picture of themselves or a favorite pet.

How to integrate The World of Peter Rabbit into the classroom: I can’t remember the last time I was so utterly captivated by a website. The site is absolutely beautiful and true to Beatrix Potter’s classic characters. If Beatrix was still alive, I imagine this is the site she, herself, would have built. Introduce your students to the classic Peter Rabbit tales with this site. My students fell in love with the characters and were eager to hunt down the books in our library. Invite your students to star in their own puppet show, each show will be unique as students make decisions about what will happen to their characters. Allow students to view each other’s puppet shows. After reading through character descriptions, students can write their own Peter Rabbit tale, staying true to the character traits they read about on the site.

Tips: Students can learn more about Beatrix Potter by visiting “The World of Beatrix Potter“, they can even explore her home in the Lake District with an interactive map. Beatrix Potter would make an excellent subject for an author’s study.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using The World of Peter Rabbit in your classroom.

ESA Kids

April 2, 2010Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment3613 views

What it is: The European Space Agency (ESA) has a great website for kids. ESA Kids has fabulous, kid friendly information about the Universe (the story of the Universe, the sun, the planets and moons, the galaxies, comets and meteors), Life in Space (astronauts, space stations, life in space, exploration, are we alone?), Lift Off (launchers, orbits, mission control, spacecraft, new ways to space), Useful Space (TV and phone, know where you are, space spin-offs, weather, health), and Earth (climate change, natural disasters, protecting nature, water world). This site is absolutely packed full of information and awesome images. Students can “work in a lab” where they can build papercraft globes and spacecraft, try reading space maps, and learn fun space facts. Students will also enjoy the space themed games and puzzles, online coloring book, quizzes, and downloads. Each month, a new story about space is added to the News section, keeping students up to date about what is happening in space exploration.

How to integrate ESA Kids into the classroom: When I am hunting for space related websites, I usually begin with NASA. ESA Kids is being added to my must visit places for all things space. The site is organized well, very kid friendly, and has fun activities that students can take part in. Use ESA Kids for space research, when learning about the weather, climate change, and natural disasters. After students have some background knowledge about space and space exploration, have them visit the Lab and choose a papercraft spacecraft to print and build. Students can write a story about their spacecraft, including facts that they learned on the ESA Kids website. They may even write a fictional story about their visit to space that includes factual elements that they learned in the Life in Space section. Be sure to visit the Useful Space tab, I think students will be surprised at how many common items are linked to space and space exploration.

Tips: Be sure to visit this site often, the news is updated every month with current space events.

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

LEGO Smart Creativity Contest

April 1, 2010Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2293 views

What it is: LEGO Education is looking for 10,000 contestants for its 2010 LEGO Smart Creativity Contest. You can sign your classroom up to participate from now to July 2010, challenging your students to be LEGO Smart. When you sign up, you will receive a free LEGO Smart kit to use for the contest. Beginning in August 2010, your students will be challenged with a variety of activities that will encourage them to think creatively.

How to integrate LEGO Smart Creativity Contest into the classroom: Take a look at the activities from last year, there are math, geography, science, collaboration, and social studies projects. The activities are all a lot of fun. The contest is a fantastic way to get your students thinking outside the box, in new and creative ways, while working together to accomplish tasks. Your students will be working collaboratively, solving problems, and creating solutions. Students will be demonstrating their understanding of technology, math, engineering, science and math. I have yet to meet a child who doesn’t enjoy LEGOs.

Tips: For most of us, the contest won’t start until the next school year, sign up today and have some awesome activities ready for next year.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using LEGO Smart Creativity Contest in your classroom.

Webspiration Wednesday

March 31, 2010April 1, 2010Kelly Tenkely9 Comments2860 views

I’ll be honest, today’s Webspiration Wednesday was a flop. I wanted to introduce teachers to Daniel Pink’s a Whole New Mind and did a quick video search to see what I could find. I came up with an interview that Oprah did with Daniel Pink about his book. It would have been great if Oprah wouldn’t have opened her mouth. I think she mentioned that she donated 4,500 books to Stanford grads no less than 50 times. The interview wasn’t great, Oprah didn’t focus enough on the book, she was leading the questions to get the answers that she wanted. A flop. On the upside, teachers got enough of a glimpse into the book that they were left wanting to read it. So even though the video was a flop, the inspiration was still there. Our local library offers digital downloads and A Whole New Mind is one of the audio books available for download. My hope is that the staff will listen to it and think about how it relates to our classrooms and education. Daniel Pink has a discussion guide for educators that is free to download on his website. In the next few weeks, I hope to show Daniel Pink’s TED Talk on his newest book Drive (also excellent).

In A Whole New Mind, Pink asks us to consider the world that we are living in. He calls the age we find ourselves in the Conceptual age. In this age, many left brain jobs are disappearing. If a computer can do it faster, someone overseas can do it cheaper, or what you are offering isn’t in demand in this age of abundance, the job will become obsolete. So then, creativity becomes the competitive difference that can differentiate commodities. Pink outlines six essential senses that need to be developed:

Design – Moving beyond function to engage the senses.
Story – Narrative added to products and services.
Symphony – Adding invention and big picture thinking (not just detail focus).
Empathy – Going beyond logic and engaging emotion and intuition.
Play – Bringing humor and lightheartedness to business and products.
Meaning – the purpose is the journey, give meaning to life from inside yourself.

As an educator, I am interested in how we can help our students develop these senses so that they can be prepared for the world ahead of them. Here is a clue: it has nothing to do with standardized testing!

Have you read A Whole New Mind? What take aways do you have for us?

If you haven’t read A Whole New Mind, I highly recommend it.

Common Sense with Phineas and Ferb

March 29, 2010Kelly Tenkely4 Comments6159 views

What it is: Phineas and Ferb are popular Disney channel characters. They have a new short video to help students learn cyberspace rules and online safety tips. Disney, together with Common Sense Media, created this fun short film to get kids thinking about cyber safety. Tips in the video include: Be careful what you put online, you never know who is going to see it; just because it’s online, doesn’t mean it’s true; not everyone is who they say they are; if you wouldn’t do it in person, you shouldn’t do it online; and get outside and spend time with real friends. These are great tips, but delivered by Phineas and Ferb they will be remembered by your students.

How to integrate Common Sense with Phineas and Ferb into the classroom: Common Sense with Phineas and Ferb is an excellent place to get the discussion about online safety and netiquette started in your classroom. The short video gives them a great jumping off point for thinking about the time they spend online. Your students could “Laser inscribe” some additional tips in a paint or word processing program. Post your students tips for online safety and cyberspace rules on a classroom bulletin board or on a Wallwisher wall. I like how short and sweet this video is, every classroom can fit in a short lesson (or several) during the year. Below the video, you can download a question sheet for students to quiz their parents about. This extends the conversation at home and encourages parents to think about their child’s online safety.

Tips: If you have colleagues that are good sports, your students could also quiz other teachers in the building with the Phineas and Ferb Cyberspace Rules of the Road quiz.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Common Sense with Phineas and Ferb in your classroom.

My Hippo Has the Hiccups

March 27, 2010March 27, 2010Kelly Tenkely1 Comment4042 views

What it is: In honor of national poetry month (April), Kenn Nesbitt is offering his book “My Hippo Has the Hiccups” as a free ebook. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I just opened a “happy spring” present! If you aren’t familiar with Kenn Nesbitt, he writes poetry that hooks kids and makes them instant fans of poetry. It is funny and engaging for readers of all ages. The ebook is available to view online or to download (can you believe it?!).

How to integrate My Hippo Has the Hiccups into the classroom: This ebook is a winner no matter what age group you teach. You can read the poems as a class using an interactive whiteboard or a projector connected computer. Because you can download the ebook, it would also be a wonderful addition to your classroom library on the classroom computers. Students can visit classroom computers with My Hippo Has the Hiccups as a poetry inspiration station. Invite your students to create their own silly Kenn Nesbitt inspired poetry. Make a class book of the silly poems and post them as a class ebook on Issuu.

Tips: You have to have the Zino Reader installed to view this ebook, it is a simple click and download.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using My Hippo Has the Hiccups in your classroom.