computer lab – iLearn Technology

Screenr: Instant Web-based Screencasts

April 1, 2013Kelly Tenkely1 Comment3927 views

What it is: Have you tried to type the following into Google: “school makes me”? If you haven’t, it is a sobering reminder of the state of education as perceived by students and society. I started Anastasis Academy to change this reality for students. My hope is that one day soon, the automatic suggestions that Google pulls are overwhelmingly positive. Last week, I asked students at Anastasis Academy to finish the statement “school makes me…” I didn’t prompt them or give them any additional details about how I would be using it. The answers that we got are in the video above. Pretty cool to see how even one year of freedom in learning leads to different perspectives. I can assure you, these are not the words most students would have used about school prior to coming to Anastasis Academy. In fact, in full disclosure, we have 2 students that are new to Anastasis. They started only a few months ago. They finished the statement with “bored” and “tired.” *sigh* This was a sad moment for me. I want more for these boys. Later in the day they both happened to be hanging with me in the office for a few minutes. One of the boys asked me why I had asked the question. I showed them what happens when you type the words into Google. “Oh, that is really depressing. So why did you ask us?” I told them that I cared about what they thought because if there was something we could do differently as a school, we would do it. Both boys asked if they could change their answers, “we were thinking school in general…this place isn’t really like that.” There were no GRAND statements of how much they loved it and we are changing their world…give it time!

To create the video above, I needed to screen capture my Google experience. I’ve long been a fan of Screenium but for some reason, it has decided to throw in the towel and is not interested in recording anything but audio. Frustrating. So, I set out to see if I could find an online screencast recorder that I could use. Jackpot! I found Screenr and it is my new go-to for screencasting.

Screener is a web-based screen recorder that makes it really easy to create and share screencasts. There is nothing to install or download (always a plus!), you can record on a Mac or PC, the video plays on all devices, and it is totally FREE! Just click the record button, capture your screen and voice (if you want) and then share the link or download the video to use in other programs. I downloaded my finished screencast so that I could make a little video in Keynote with our words.

How to integrate Screenr into the classroom: Screenr is a fantastically simple tool that allows teachers to create detailed screencast instructions in minutes. This free-to-use application can capture video of anything that is on your computer screen. Audio can be included (or not) for any screencast. The resulting video can be embedded on a webpage or blog, sent to students via email, or downloaded. Screencasting is a great way to teach students how to use e-Learning tools or how to complete any computer assignment. When I taught in the technology lab, there was never enough of me to go around. Screencasting made SUCH a difference in how I spent my time with students! Students could self direct learning, or remind themselves of that one step they forgot. Instead of waiting for me to be available, students could keep working and my time was spent working to help students make connections in learning instead of just on answering process questions.

Screenr would be useful for students who want to share something new they learned. Have a student who is JAZZED about coding? Let them show off that passion by creating tutorial videos for other students. Anything that is computer based and could use some explanation is perfect for Screenr. Because you can embed videos, you can share them on a class blog or website. If you tag your videos and posts, it will be easy for students to quickly search and find what they need as they work.

Screenr can be used for more than just tutorials. Remember this video? This is such a cool, creative use of a screencast. Students could similarly show off their learning through screencasts of various programs on their computer. Just takes a little inspiration and creative thinking!

Tips: There is a pro version of Screenr, I’ve found the free version to meet all of my needs for school/classroom use.

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

Mo Willem’s Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus Lesson

September 23, 2010Kelly Tenkely3 Comments4974 views

What it is: Isn’t it great when author’s have websites as enchanting as their books? Mo Willem’s has a collection of wonderful websites starring his characters including my favorite, the Pigeon. On the Pigeon Presents website, your students will find fun games starring their favorite characters. They can learn more about Mo Willem’s books, meet the characters he has created, and even watch video interviews where he talks about his love of writing and illustrating. In the teacher’s section of the site, you will find printable posters for your classroom. On the Go Mo! site students will find Cat and her friends. Here students can play games, learn animal sounds, color online, and see Cat the cat’s gallery. Here students can see pictures that other students have drawn of cat and even submit their own. My favorite discovery of all: Mo Willem’s Pigeon has a Twitter account!

How to integrate Mo Willem’s Websites into your curriculum: If you are a Mo Willem’s fan like I am, you will be thrilled to introduce your students to his site starring his characters. Mo Willem’s has been a Caldecott Award honor for several of his books. His first, in 2004, was Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. I used this book to teach my younger students about the Caldecott award, and to help them identify shapes. Since I was in the computer lab, I taught my students to draw the pigeon using computer drawing applications. This was a great way for my students to learn how to use digital drawing tools, while creating Caldecott worthy results. The students pigeon’s always turned out fantastic and looked so much like the original that the kids felt like they too could be Caldecott honorees. If you are interested in my lesson, you can purchase it here. Mo Willem’s collection of websites would be a great tie-in to the drawing lesson and help students connect to their favorite characters.

Tips: The videos on the Pigeon Presents Get to Know Mo page are really well done and will give students and inside look at how author’s develop characters.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Mo Willem’s Websites in your classroom!

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16 of the Best Internet Safety Sites for Kids

August 26, 2010Kelly Tenkely31 Comments36606 views

This is the time of year when I am usually introducing Internet Safety to my students. Internet safety is something I really stress in the computer lab. We hit it strong in the beginning of the year and revisit it several times throughout the rest of the year. If you are using the Internet with students, Internet safety needs to be covered.

Below are the tried and true sites that the students enjoy each year.

1. Netsmartz Kids– Netsmartz is a big hit every year with elementary students. It teaches Internet safety through fun characters, games, songs, and videos.

2. Disney’s Surfswell Island– an interactive island where students learn about Internet safety with Disney characters. Students go on an Indiana Jones type adventure with Mickey and his friends as they learn about Internet safety.

3. Privacy Playground- The First Adventure of the Three Cyber Pigs- a game designed for ages 8-10 where students help the Cyber Pigs navigate websites, marketing plys, spam, and have a close encounter with an unfriendly wolf.

4. Safety Land– An interactive city that teaches Internet safety. Students help the Safety land hero catch a bad Internet character by searching buildings in the city and answering Internet safety questions.

5. Safe Surfing with Dongle– Students learn about email, chat, playing games, and having fun online in this interactive movie/game.

6. iKeep Safe– A kid friendly Internet safety program that follows a cat named Faux Paw and her adventures in the Internet. The online books and videos teach kids basic Internet safety, how to handle cyber bullying, balancing real life with screen time, and the risks and dangers of downloading. These are high quality!

7. Welcome to the Web– An interactive site that teaches students about the Internet through challenges and activities. Students learn basic concept of the Internet, navigating and visiting websites, staying safe online, all about browsers, copyright, and how to search.

8. Faux Paw and the Dangerous Download– Another video from iKeep Safe, in it, Faux Paw learns that downloading is a great way to get information, but only when it is done the right way. The video teaches a valuable lesson about illegal file sharing.

9. Internet Safety with Professor Garfield– Lesson on online safety, cyberbullying, and fact or opinion and forms of media. Each section includes a video, game, and quiz.

10. The Carnegie Cyber Academy- Students join the Cyber Academy and complete several missions to equip them to be good cyber citizens and defend the Internet.

11. Common Sense with Phineas and Ferb- This short video helps students learn cyberspace rules and online safety tips.

12. Think U Know Cyber Cafe- a virtual environment where students can practice their online safety smarts. In the cafe, students help virtual kids make good choices when using email, texting, instant messaging, web browsing, creating an online personal space, and chatting in a chat room.

13. NS Teens– Older students learn about cyberbullying, email, IM, chatrooms, gaming, revealing too much, social networking, and other Internet safety tips through videos, games, and comics online.

14. The Bully Roundup– An interactive online board game where students test their bully smarts.

15. Child Net- games, resources, and more for primary and secondary students to learn about Internet safety.

16. Stop Bullying Now!– A site to teach students how to deal with a bully through videos, games, and tips.

How about you, do you have favorite Internet Safety sites that I missed?

Print What You Like

August 13, 2010Kelly Tenkely12 Comments7020 views

What it is: I don’t know about you, but printers can be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, if you have one, your students are able to print out their work and finished projects; on the other, printers also make for a lot of wasted pages and ink when students (or teachers) are printing from the Internet. Print What You Like solves this problem by letting you format any web page for printing. No more pages of ads, empty space, and the extras that you didn’t want. Print What You Like works in three easy steps: 1. Go to Print What You Like and paste the URL of the page you want to print, 2. Edit the page, 3. Print it! Very easy and a great way to cut down on paper waste! I like that there is nothing to download with Print What You Like, it runs directly from your browser. You can make the page you are printing more readable by changing font size and typeface and removing the background. Print What You Like gives you the ability to combine multiple web pages by editing them and printing them as one document. You can even save your modified page as a PDF or HTML document…so cool! If you sign up for the service, you can even save the changes you make to a page so that other pages from the same site are automatically formatted the same (I’m thinking this would be great for recipe sites!).

How to integrate Print What You Like into your curriculum: Introduce students and other teachers to Print What You Like for printing web pages. Post instructions for using Print What You Like next to classroom computers, printers, and in the computer lab (I have attached the instructions card that I created for Print What You Like below. Feel free to print it out and use it in your classroom or computer lab). Make it even easier to use Print What You Like and add it to the bookmark bar in your favorite browser or add the bookmarklet editor directly to your browser.

Tips: If you have a website that students are constantly printing from, consider adding a printer friendly button that creates a printer friendly version of your website with the click of a button.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Print What You Like in your classroom!

Welcome to the Web

June 24, 2009June 30, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment5225 views

What it is: Welcome to the Web is an interactive website that teaches students all about the Internet through challenges and activities. There are seven sections of activities and learning on Welcome to the Web. The first section teaches students how to use the site. Section 2 teaches students about the basic concepts involved in the Internet, it also gives some valuable practice navigating and visiting websites. Section 3 is all about staying safe online by following SMART rules, student understanding is tested using interactive activities and fun quizzes. Section 4 helps students learn more about their web browser and its features. In section 5 students will learn how to search effectively and safely in search engines. Section 6 helps students understand copyright. The last section invites students to compete in a challenge that requires them to use all of the skills they learned to catch the creator of a computer virus. When the challenge has been completed, students can print out a certificate of completion. Each section of this site comes with accompanying worksheets to be used with the site. These don’t have to be used in order to use the site effectively. Throughout the site, students can ‘hover’ the mouse over an underlined word and a definition will pop up.

How to integrate Welcome to the Web into the classroom: Welcome to the Web is an excellent road map to the Internet. Every computer lab should use Welcome to the Web to help students understand the Internet and use it effectively. The way the site is broken down into sections is extremelly helpful for a computer lab setting where students may not be able to get through the entire site in one day. Start each class for 7 periods with Welcome to the Web. If you don’t have a computer lab, students can learn about the web as a class using an interactive whiteboard or projector. Encourage all students to participate on the journey. Make a big deal of completing all of the sections on this site. I like to make my students an Internet Driver’s licenses when they have shown their understanding of Internet safety rules. This would be a great site to tie into other computer lessons!

Tips: Welcome to the Web is part of Mark Warner’s excellent site Teaching Ideas.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Welcome to the Web in your classroom.

iLearn ezine issue #2

May 27, 2009June 4, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2214 views

Open publication – Free publishing – More macintosh

iLearn ezine debut

May 27, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2493 views

Well, I had planned to have this issue of iLearn completed months ago….better late than never! This issue has articles about 21st century literacy, iPods in education, technology lesson plans, 100+ of the best FREE educational apps for the iPod, and tips for managing a computer lab.

Popling

April 28, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments3180 views

What it is: Popling is a free website and desktop application. Their motto is “Learning without Studying”. The idea is to make your own Poplings (flash card sets) and every few minutes (you determine the amount of time) while you work at the computer, a window pops up on the screen with your question. Click on it to see the full question. That is all there is to it, studying without really studying.

How to integrate Popling into the classroom: Popling is a little goodie that could help students in their learning. Set up classroom computers with Poplings about any subject. As students are working they can also be practicing math facts, vocabulary, geography, etc. Better yet, have students create the Popling sets! In the computer lab setting, create Popling flash cards that will quiz students about Internet safety, terminology, or short cuts while they work. It is like sneaking in extra learning, gotta love that! Encourage students to use Popling as a study tool at home…they can study for tests for weeks without it feeling like studying. Install Popling on your interactive whiteboard or projector connected computer. As you are teaching, have related questions popup. This will keep your students engaged watching for the next Popling.

Tips: Tell parents about Popling, they are always looking for great ideas for helping their kids with studying.

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

Scotch: Science Fair Central

March 31, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment3173 views

What it is: Scotch Science Fair Central is a website collaboration between Scotch brand products from 3M and Discovery Education. The site is a wealth of free resources for creating innovative science fair projects. The site leads students step by step through creating a science fair project starting with choosing a project idea. Students can search through multiple science topics in life sciences, earth science, or physical science. Within each of these topics is several subcategories and then ideas based on a testable question, what is tested, and what data is collected. This site is very comprehensive and will have your students thinking like a scientist in no time! The site then leads students through the steps of differentiating their project between investigations and inventions so they can choose the appropriate project type. Step two actually leads them through the investigation or invention process depending on which project type was chosen. Step three takes students through the process of creating the actual presentation portion of the science fair project. There is a great section of parent resources as well as a section for science fair coordinators.

How to integrate Scotch: Science Fair Central into the classroom: Science fair projects have the potential to teach students a lot. They learn organization, responsibility, the scientific process, observation, testing, inquiry, problem solving, and critical thinking. Science fair projects are extremelly worthwhile when they are accompanied by a quality process that students can follow. I remember years when the science fair meant quickly pulling something ‘scientific’ together (two cans with a string in between to show sound travel) with very little gained from the project. This was due in part to being assigned a science fair project without understanding the basis of how scientists work and think. Scotch: Science Fair Central solves this dilemma because students are led step-by-step through the scientific process and along the way learn how a scientist thinks. Before you assign a science fair project, spend a day in the computer lab with students and let them go through this site and begin to plan their science fair project. I love how this site is organized into different types of science because it gives every student the opportunity to find a project that they are interested in and motivated by. If you don’t have access to the lab, set up a science fair planning center on your classroom computers or guide your students through the site with a computer and projector. If you are a science teacher, take a look at this great resource and use the planning guide to plan a school science fair.

Tips: Be sure to send this site home to parents, they will appreciate the parent section as they help their child at home.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Scotch: Science Fair Central in your classroom.

Custom Guide

January 8, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments4364 views

What it is: Custom Guide is a website that offers free quick reference cheat sheets for using technology (operating systems and applications). The guides are two sided and remind me of Cliff Notes. Custom Guide allows you unlimited distribution rights and they make great support handouts. References include: Microsoft Access, Excel, FrontPage, Internet Explorer, InfoPath, Office, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project, Publisher, SharePoint, Visio, Windows, Appleworks, Mac OS, Entourage, Acrobat, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, Photoshop, Elements, and Firefox. My one problem with Custom Guide is that it is REALLY outdated for Mac guides. I suppose that for some schools this would be okay since it can take a while to adopt newer technology and some of us are working with dinosaur computers and software, but for me it is no good. Custom Guide also offers free online learning with interactive tutorials and you can even create your own custom courses.

How to integrate Custom Guide into the classroom: Custom Guide would be very useful for the computer lab setting. Print out and laminate the most used applications and operating system sheets. Bind with a single ring and keep next to each computer. As students have questions or issues, they can consult their cheat sheets for the answers first. This is also nice for non-computer teachers who are using the computer labs or classroom computers with students. The cheat sheets give them an added level knowledge quickly and easily. If you are a computer teacher or a teacher who is known for using technology in your classroom, you undoubtedly get frequent questions about how to use applications from your colleagues. I don’t always have time to sit down and give mini lessons, having these cheat sheets on hand could be a big help for those times.

Tips: Even though the Mac Custom Guides are a bit outdated, the guides they do have are very handy. When you sign up for a free account, you can ask for updates to be sent to you when they add a new guide. In the mean time, Apple has some great support guides for their products.

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