Wild About Wikis!

Have you discovered the wonderful world of wikis?  A classroom wiki can be likened to one of those infommercial gadgets that has a million and one uses, except that you can get this amazing tool without even shelling out one red cent.

Whether your goal is to improve communication with parents, incorporate more cooperative learning projects for your class, more easily collaborate with colleagues, or simply integrate more technology into your curriculum, wikis are your answer.  Start by creating an account at any one of a number of free sites:  www.wikispaces.com, www.pbworks.com, www.wetpaint.com, www.pikiwiki.com, education.weebly.com, www.wix.com, just to name a few.  All are free, hosted sites that you can use online from any computer (no downloads).

Wikis can be used to easily share textual information, since the text editor in most wikis looks very much like your favorite word procesing program--no learning curve here.  Uploading images, including animated images, is usually a pretty simple task as well, making wikis easy for you and your students to use.  But, wikis allow for so much more than just text and images.  Using the html or javascript code provided by many websites, you can embed an almost limitless number of interactive elements into your wiki.


Myspace Generators & Toys

If you maintain a Google calendar, for example, you can embed your calendar into a wiki page so that important dates and events are readily available for students and parents to view.  Embed videos that your students can watch at home, or interactive maps (scribblemaps.com) that already contain images and/or videos.  Embed interactive games (classtools.net) for a fun way to get your students to practice vocabulary or math skills, or embed entire ebooks for your students who need practice reading.  You can even use a site like www.recordmp3.org/ to record the narration to the story to differentiate for those students who would benefit from hearing pronunciations while they read along.  Give your students some fun alternatives to traditional book reports by having them create projects at blabberize.com, or xtranormal.com and embed the finished product in your wiki for all to see.  Use tools like wallwisher.com, or answergarden.ch or dabbleboard.com to encourage collaboration between your students or between your colleagues.

Your classroom wiki is very much like a ball of clay, waiting to take on whatever shape or purpose that you design.  There are so many wonderful ways to use a classroom wiki, and so many wonderful elements that you can include.  Still not convinced?  Check out this blog post for a host of ideas for using a classroom wiki, and give it a try.  Before you know it you'll wonder how you ever got along without one, and you, too, will be wild about wikis!



Orkut Scrap Toys

Do You Stream on UStream?

You know, I work with very talented teachers who do some very remarkable things in their classrooms.  The trouble is, I didn't always hear about these remarkable things, because we didn't have a vehicle for sharing that kind of information.  And, if a teacher who is in school every day isn't aware of the wonderful things happening in classrooms other than his or her own, you can bet that parents are missing out on a lot of that information as well.  So, we've started taking advantage of the free streaming service at UStream.com to broadcast a weekly news program to share information with the members of our school community, and, by golly, it's catching on!

Each Friday afternoon, members of our 8th grade Tech Team become our school newscasters.  While our on-air personality reads the news from various classrooms, our behind-the-scenes techie mans the UStream controls, and changes from live video to still pics and pre-recorded videos (usually student-made iMovies) all while monitoring sound levels.  While our first few broadcasts were, admittedly, rough around the edges, they are certainly improving with each week's endeavor.  Our newscast generally includes special projects from various classrooms, school sports news, special announcements from teachers and/or administrators, and a list of students and teachers celebrating birthdays.

At first, I was very grateful that our classroom teachers were being good sports about accommodating my newest tech project at the expense of precious instructional time.  I've since some to find out from many of those teachers that their students look forward to each week's broadcast, and are more attentive during those ten minutes than any other time of the day.  So, while I'm still grateful, I'm also so happy that this project has become such an important part of our school culture that the story details I once had to seek out from teachers are now regularly being brought to my attention with requests to be included in the Friday News.  Don't you just love it when you realize that your hard work actually matters?!

Here's the scoop on how you can try your hand at newscasting with your class.
Sign up for a free account at http://ustream.tv.  Set up your channel by providing some basic information about what you plan to broadcast, your program name, and your channel name, and even upload a logo for your channel.  If you choose to use the online broadcaster, you can then be "on the air" in a matter of minutes, using just your webcam and microphone.

Once you're ready to be a little more adventurous, download the free desktop application at http://www.ustream.tv/producer, and you can plan a more multi-faceted program by uploading still images, videos and music for inclusion in your live broadcast.  UStream Producer will even give you the option of recording your live broadcast so it can be viewed on the UStream website at a later date by anyone who may have missed the original broadcast, or who simply wants a rerun.  You can even upload a series of images to run as a slide show any time your channel is offline.  Worried about security?  UStream will allow you to password protect your channel, so you don't have to be concerned about who's seeing what you're putting online.

Now, as with any free service, there will be limitations as to how fancy you can get.  For example, with UStream using two cameras or creating a picture in picture broadcast is just for paid subscribers.  Too bad, you're thinking, right?  Not to worry--there's a work around for that.  Download the free program CamTwist at http://camtwist.en.softonic.com/mac (I think PC's use manycam.com) and you can create some pretty sophisticated newscasts.  Include weather data at the bottom or your screen.  Add a logo or message while broadcasting live video.  Even show a movie as a picture in picture while your anchorman reads the news story.

I can't stress enough how fun and exciting this will be for your students.  While adding the extras can be a little intimidating, and will require some practice, a basic webcast can be done quickly and easily.  Even your most reluctant writers and readers will want to step up to the plate to be a part of your news broadcast!  And best of all, everyone in your school community will know about the wonderful things your students are learning.  How cool is that?!

Edmodo Makes Educating Easier

You know, sometimes I get so accustomed to relying on a particular resource that it just becomes part of my normal daily routine, and I forget that it may still be completely foreign to teachers who aren't tethered to a computer all day long.  Such is the case with one of my very favorite web resources.  If you haven't already discovered the wonderful world of Edmodo.com, prepare to be intrigued, excited, and ultimately delighted.

Edmodo offers a secure platform through which you can interact with your colleagues, students, and if you choose, their parents as well.  Create your free account, and the site will generate a class code that you can share with your students.  You will be able to use the site to post assignments for the whole group, or differentiate and send specialized instructions to individual students.  You will be provided a calendar on which you can post due dates and other important information your whole group will need, and registered students can customize for themselves with their own important dates.  There is also a library feature that will allow you to post documents, images, links and even embedded videos and podcasts, etc., so that your students can immediately access the resources they will need for a particular assignment, without ever leaving the Edmodo website.  Additionally, students can upload their own documents to a personal "backpack," eliminating the need for carrying those flash drives that are so easily lost or left in the wrong place.  Depending on the settings that you select, you can also use Edmodo to conduct class discussions and polls, build and assign quizzes, and post grades online.

One of the most versatile features of this site, I think, is the ability to not only attach files and links, but to embed html as well.  This means that you can also embed interactive elements that will take your Edmodo site from useful to extraordinary!  If you are a language teacher, for example, you can use a site like Vocaroo.com to record yourself speaking the vocabulary lesson, and embed it in Edmodo so your students can hear the correct pronunciations while they study at home.

                           

As if all of that wasn't reason enough to give Edmodo a try, consider this.  When your students complete any digital assignment, whether word processing document, slide show, podcast, movie . . . whatever, they can turn their finished assignment in to you through Edmodo, so you can eliminate carrying piles of unnecessary printouts and your own oh-so-easy to misplace flash drive.  And, if you happen to be lucky enough to team teach a class, Edmodo provides one of the simplest ways to share everything with your partner teacher and make life a little easier for both of you.

I highly recommend giving Edmodo a try.  I'm sure you will come to appreciate a resource that is simple to use, yet robust enough to handle just about all of your instructional needs.  And, your social-media savvy students will undoubtedly appreciate the instant familiarity of a classroom resource that looks and feels so much like one that they would not normally associate with school work.


Click here to access an excellent guide to using Edmodo in your classroom.  Perfect for new users!

Get Your Group Grokking

Is there anyone who got through their elementary school years without the frustration of asking a parent or teacher for help spelling a tricky word, only to be told to "look it up"?  While I understand the idea of teaching someone to be resourceful and independent, in some respects determining who would know the answer to your question is being rather resourceful, don't you think?  In any case, sometimes it's nice to be able to get a straight answer from Grandma, instead of a dictionary from Mom.

Searching for information online very often becomes an equally frustrating situation.  We direct our students to a favorite search engine, which in turn shows them other places to search for their answers.  Then, instead of sorting through information, they are sorting through websites, often times skipping the most useful sites because it's simply too arduous of a chore to read a page dense with text to find the one or two facts that would be useful.  Don't get me wrong--searching and reading for details are wonderful, necessary skills, no doubt.  They're just not always the skills we're trying to teach or practice in a particular lesson.  Sometimes we shop through every aisle of the store to see what looks good, and sometimes we simply need to grab the milk and get out.

When you need your students to quickly gather facts for a lesson or project, try directing them to instaGrok.com.  Using instaGrok to find information will have your students spending less time searching, and more time learning.  And, it offers some pretty handy tools for both you and your students to help keep everyone on track and well organized.  Let's take a look.

Enter your search term and the program will immediately begin "grokking."  What you'll get when the grokking is done is a mind-map of topics related to your search term, and lists of facts, websites, videos and images to help you fill in the blanks.  (Be sure to click on More in any category to see LOTS more!)  If you take a few minutes to create a teacher account at the site, your students can register as members of your class, and have access to a handy journal where they can pin the facts and images they need, as well as a list of websites they've visited so they can revisit if necessary.  The website will also maintain a history of searches so your students can be working on their Social Studies project one period, their Science project the next, and have the ability to quickly and easily switch between the two at the same site.  Not sure that little Javier in the back row is still on task?  Check your My Class tab and see exactly what each student in your class has been doing, and where they've been searching.  Take a look at their journal entries, and even make notes/comments for each student to see.

As if all of that isn't enough, instaGrok also allows the user to adjust the difficulty level (grade school, high school or college level) with a simple "flip of a switch," and will generate appropriately leveled multiple-choice quiz questions based on the user's research activity.

This website will put an unbelievable amount of information at the fingertips of your students in a very short amount of time.  Be sure to direct your students to instGrok.com the next time you want them to spend their time grokking instead of searching.  You'll be very glad you did.

BTW:  Just because this was posted on April Fool's Day, please don't assume that talk of "grokking" is a lame attempt at pulling your leg.  Check the dictionary, really, and see if you can begin to grok the meaning of the word grokking.

We Give Books: Visit, Read, Donate!

Teachers are busy people, without a doubt.  Still, given the opportunity, most teachers I know will go out of their way, no matter how busy they are, to find the time to do a favor for a student or a friend or a colleague, or even a stranger.  It's what we do--we're "good-doers" by nature.  That's one of the reasons we're always so busy, I think.  We somehow find a way to do things for others in addition to the million things already on our own plates.  Wouldn't it be great if the things that we ordinarily do on a daily basis could benefit someone else without taking any additional time or energy?  Get ready to be a very excited good-doer, because now they can!

Check out http://wegivebooks.org.  Simply by reading the books available online at the site, you can not only teach and entertain your students, you provide books for needy children at the same time.  Doing good couldn't be simpler.  Sign up for a free account, select a literacy campaign who will receive your donation, read one of the many books online, and when complete, press a button to donate a book.  That's it!

The collection of books changes occasionally, and yes, most of the collection is currently for students aged 10 and under, but that means that they're short and easy to read in just a couple of minutes.  Now I know what you're thinking, you junior high teachers.  Why bother if there isn't anything for students of a higher reading level?  With a little creative thought, these books could be the basis for a bigger, more sophisticated project appropriate for your upper grade students.  As an example, in my computer classes, students have the opportunity to use the Smart Recorder on their computers to record themselves reading a story from the site.  The finished stories, now in movie form, are then uploaded to our UStream channel (more about this website another day) where they can become part of our weekly school news broadcast, and are available for viewing by primary classes.  Be sure to check the Resources for Educators link at the We Give Books site for more project ideas and, of course, resources.  There's something here for students of all grade levels.

There's something very satisfying about taking a two minute break from your work, enjoying a silly little story, and knowing that someone, somewhere is benefitting from your moment of literary escape.  So, when you have some time, visit, read and donate.  In the meantime, enjoy my effort at storytelling.  Something about this little book really spoke to me.  (I know the words are completely unreadable in this view of the video.  Visit We Give Books to read the text for yourself.)

Triptico: Interactives for Any Board

On a beautiful day like today (80º and sunny in Chicago, mid-March) I'm reminded of the expression, "the best things in life are free."  Although usually the things to which this statement refers are in the realm of the philosophical, on the rare occasion, some of life's freebies can be quite tangible.  Such is the case with the gems from Triptico.

If you are lucky enough to have an interactive whiteboard in your classroom, be sure to seek out the treasure available free for the taking at http://triptico.co.uk.  With a single multi-platform download, you will get a collection of more than 20 interactive resources that are versatile, customizable, inspirational . . . invaluable!  (What?!  No IWB in your room?  All you really need to take advantage of many of the Triptico resources is your computer and a projector.  Honest.)

Upload a class list and make use of the Student Selector, Student Order and Student Group applications.  Use the same class list to create Class Magnets for taking attendance or organizing teams for games or projects.  Ready to play a review game with your class?  Be sure to start the Flip Timer or the Hourglass, and one of the Team Scoreboard apps.  Have a little extra time to prepare?  Create some custom activities for your class using the Text and Image Spinners, a Random Task Generator, quiz generators, matching games and so much more.

  

Like any real treasure, this resource may require a little more digging than your average search, but once uncovered will have definitely been worth the extra effort.  And, best of all, this is one chest that will still be full no matter how many treasure-seekers claim it as their own.

PowerPoints with Personality

Whether you love 'em, hate 'em, or fall somewhere in between, PowerPoint presentations have become something of a staple in every teacher's bag of technology tricks.  Some of us create our own PowerPoints to present curriculum content, some of us have our students create them to show they've learned the curriculum content, and some of us do a little of each.

Now, conventional Powerpoint wisdom tells us that as a general rule, less is more.  PowerPoint slides are, essentially, visual aids, and should not contain every word you intend to convey to your audience.  Most of your presentation should come from the presenter--as spoken word.   (If you've never seen it, take a minute to watch the "Life after Death by PowerPoint" video below.  It's definitely good for a giggle or two.)

Well, for seasoned professionals like us, that shouldn't be too much of a challenge.  Teachers are, after all, paid to speak extemporaneously in front of an audience on a daily basis.  But for our students, on the other hand, not reading directly from the presentation can be quite a challenge.  Fortunately for all of us, there are web resources available to improve the presentations of the shy, shyer, and shyest of students.

Present.me is a web tool that allows you to add a video narration to your PowerPoints, creating a presentation that is the next best thing to (sometimes even better than) a live address.  Your slides and narration appear side by side and are easy to synch perfectly for a flawless presentation.  Not only is this a good solution for eliminating the nervousness many students experience at the prospect of speaking in front of their classmates, it's also perfect for the teacher who wants to be sure every point of context is delivered, even in his or her absence.  (Wouldn't every teacher want him or herself as their own substitute?!) Recorded presentations can also be posted online so that even the students who missed class can hear every word that was delivered while they were gone.

Students too shy to appear on video?  MyBrainshark.com is the perfect solution for the shyer set. Audio narration can be added through this website, as well as some nice background music for effect.  (Read lots more about MyBrainshark, and see a sample presentation in the January 29th post of this blog.)

Now what about those students who tremble at the mere thought of speaking into a microphone?  Yes, there's even a solution for the shyest of your students:  HelloSlide.com. Using the Hello Slide website allows students to add narration to their presentations by simply typing what they want to say.  Sure, you can tell it's computer-speak, but it is far more natural than many computer-voices I've heard.  This website will even allow you to choose the language the narrator will speak, and the accent, to my untrained ear, actually sounds pretty realistic.

So there you have it--something for everyone.  Never again will you have to stare at the back of a student reading word-for-word from the text-laden PowerPoint presentation proudly projected on the wall of your classroom.  Now, if we could just as easily address the rest of these egregious talk taboos.