Snag Films, www.snagfilms.com,  has been around for a little more than three years and has grown to host over two-thousand documentaries. As a teacher you may be reluctant to use many online resources wondering if there may be material that is inappropriate for classroom viewing. While a cautious approach is always best there are myriad resources online that can be excellent fuel for classroom discussion and research.

According to their Web site,”SnagLearning features carefully selected films from SnagFilms’ award-winning library of over 1,600 documentaries that are appropriate for students from middle school and up. Our titles cover nearly every classroom subject and many are produced by well-known educational sources, including PBS and National Geographic. The goal of this site is to highlight documentaries that make for engaging educational tools. We will also feature guest teacher bloggers as well as special programming stunts like Q&As with the filmmakers.”

This is a reassurance that you will not be wasting your time by previewing some of the offerings at SnagLearning. I have highlighted a few below:

http://learning.snagfilms.com/film/alienated-undocumented-immigrant-youth In this video the story of a young woman who is an illegal immigrant is juxtaposed with the opinions of the immigration reform lobby. Several related questions are presented with the video to promote thought and discussion.

http://learning.snagfilms.com/film/aquafinito The people in this video discuss the environmental issues associated with the preference for bottled water over tap water. They uses statistics, a taste test, and several interviews to make the point that tap water is just as good for drinking and better for the environment than tap water.

http://learning.snagfilms.com/film/little-shaolin-monks This 40 minute documentary follows young boys being trained in the Shao Lin Temple. It includes footage and interviews that show various aspects of their lives.

http://learning.snagfilms.com/film/3-points Tracy McGrady travels to Darfur and relates the experience of growing up in a country torn by violence and civil war to his own childhood in Auburndale, Florida. His perception changes through the documentary.

These are just a few examples of what is available at Snag Learning, learning.snagfilms.com. Take a moment to check out this excellent documentary resource and find something that might help your students better understand the art, culture, geography, music, languages, history, math, science, and politics of the world in which they live.

The following article gives some quick and easy ideas on how you can start incorporating more technology into Math lessons.

Math instruction can be enhanced by the techie teacher

by Marilyn Western
http://www.edzone.net/~mwestern/elemath.html

Math is such a large part of the school day – and technology can enhance what you’re already doing. If you haven’t already thought of some of these activities, you might want to try one or two on Monday morning.

Have you explored the spreadsheet capabilities of your software yet? My first graders know how to open a spreadsheet file and add more data. They love to create different charts based on their spreadsheet – line, bar, and circle graphs. We have several ongoing spreadsheets – morning temperatures, daily sunrise and sunset, the growth of an amaryllis plant.

Students also make up their own survey questions to ask individuals during free centers time first thing in the morning. They place the data they collect into a spreadsheet and have a chart ready for morning meeting.

To make sure they ask all students in the class, my surveyors choose a partner to help. This helper has a clipboard with a special class list which contains pictures of each student next to the name. I’ve laminated this sheet, so the helper simply checks off the student with an overhead marker after that student has answered the survey question. Great software for student generated surveys is The Graph Club by Tom Snyder.

Want an exciting way to get those younger students really into counting numbers? Bring your class and a 35mm camera outside and take pictures of your students on the playground equipment, but do it systematically. Start out with one student on a swing, then two on the jungle gym, three on the slide, etc. The last picture will be of your whole class (however many that happens to be). After the pictures are developed, you can either set them up as a number center (match the picture with the number word) in a pocket chart, or assemble pictures plus words on a bulletin board or in a photo album for “reading.”

Older students equipped with a digital camera (must have the strap around their neck to avoid dropping accidents!) can go for a walk seeking patterns or shapes. Import these into a slideshow program and you have a powerful student-created teaching tool. Or use the digital camera to capture images of students acting out story problems (Carol had seven apples and got five more from Joey. How many does she have now?)

What is more Math-like than using calculators? With the easy availability of calculators today, one would assume that kids would know how to use this technology. But if you’ve ever watched a student enter numbers, you’d be quick to notice that calculators are now held in two hands and thumbs are used to enter data.

Hmmm. Just what does that remind me of??? Unfortunately, it seems kids are much more at home with game consoles than calculators. Some teachers believe that calculators should not be used – the emphasis should be on learning those number facts. Others feel that calculators are a real part of everyday living and kids should be able to use them when needed.

Personally, I feel that students should have a mix and be taught how to choose the most appropriate tool to use, whether it’s a calculator or their brain. Calculators are a neat way to introduce skip counting (2 + 2 + 2 + 2…) and multiplication (five 2’s is ?).

Kid Pix Deluxe, HyperStudio, PowerPoint or ClarisWorks can be used for more than just report presentations. When you look at these programs through a mathematician’s eyes, you’ll come up with even more unique projects. The cut, paste, rotate tools allow the creator to form unique tessellations, patterns, and symmetrical designs. You can find a series of tutorials on how to tessellate at Tessellation Tutorials.

Students at any level can create Math shows – math vocabulary, definitions, and illustrations, or numbers, numeral, and illustrations, or counting by 2’s, 3’s, 5’s, or illustrating patterns (The ABBA Show), or a series of pictures that students draw around a specific shape. Inspiration can be a handy tool when students are brainstorming everything they know about a number or math concept.

Draw programs have lots of math possibilities also. Try creating a template (a master copy) of a 100 chart. Students can look for number patterns by coloring squares as they count by 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, etc. Or drag and match objects to determine if the number available is odd or even. Or illustrate place value by using a stamp to show 1’s, make it larger for 10’s, and even bigger for 100’s. Or divide pictures into fractional parts. Or illustrate combinations of numbers.

Scan coins and save in Kid Pix, then set up a template of stamps with price tags. Students can copy and paste the correct amount of coins for each “purchase.” Glyphs are fun to do in any draw program also. I start them out with an outline and list the direction key on the template. Students can either do this individually (if they can read the directions) or set it up as a center with a reader available. Print out and display for collecting data about the class.

And, oh! The Internet sites devoted just to math!

1. Cool Cat Teacher Blog – If you love to surf around the net for interesting and educational blogs, then you’ve probably stumbled upon this Cool Cat Teacher. Not only did this blog win an Edublog award for the “Best Teacher Blog” in 2008, it was also a finalist in the same category between the years of 2006 and 2009.

2. Making Teachers Nerdy –  Subtitled as “Tech Integration Tips and Web Links to Increase Your Teacher Nerdiness Levels,” this unique blog is full of insightful tips for teachers on how to integrate technology into classrooms and/or how to improve their teaching methods.

3. Two Writing Teachers – Winner of the “Best Teacher Blog” for the 2009 Edublog Awards, this site is full of advice and writing tips for teachers and writing nerds.  The blog is authored by two elementary school teachers who are also writing a book together which is set for release this Fall.

4. Dy/Dan –  This blog has two Edublog Award nominations under its belt: (“Best Teacher Blog” in 2008, and “Best Individual Blog” in 2007), and was also the winner for the 2007 “Best New Blog” award. Author and ninth grade teacher Dan Meyer was recently interviewed on CNN as part of their “Chalk Talk” series.

5. The Teaching Palette –  With a specific focus on the arts, this blog provides various video tutorials and instructions for art teachers, or teachers who would like to become more knowledgeable in art instruction. It was the winner of the “Best New Art Teacher’s Blog” in 2008, and was also listed as one of Scholastic Instructor’s Top 20 Educational Blogs.

6. Nashworld – Nominated as the “Best Teacher Blog” for the 2008 and 2009 Edublog Awards, as well as the “Most Influential Blog Post” in 2009, this blogger (who is also a biology instructor), creates discussions through his interesting blog posts which include quotes, lyrics, songs, videos, and pictures.

7. NYC Educator –  This blog won first place for the 2006 Education/Homeschooling Blog, was nominated as one of Edutopia’s top 10 Edublogs, and was #73 on OEDB’s Top 100 Education Blogs. The author writes about various educational and political topics concerning education in New York City.

8. This Week in Education – This blog is an excellent resource for those who want to read up on the latest in educational policies, news, trends, and politics. Author Alexander Russo is a freelance education writer, former Senate education staffer, and media critic.

9. Creating Lifelong Learners – Elementary school teacher and Apple Distinguished Educator Matthew Needleman educates his readers on how to integrate technology such as video production and podcasting in elementary schools.

10. Tween Teacher – This brand-spankin’ new blog is written by Heather Wolpert-Gawron, a middle school teacher who also contributes to Teacher Magazine and blogs for the George Lucas Foundation’s Edutopia. Her site is full of interesting and humorous posts which range from teaching methods to technology tips.

11. Spencer’s Scratch Pad – This site is more than just a blog, it is also a library for various educational videos, pictures, podcasts, and resources. Blogger/author/teacher John Spencer describes his blog as “musings from a not-so-master teacher,” and his posts are as much creative and hilarious as they are informative.

12. I Want to Teach Forever – Written by a teacher and for teachers, this blog provides great teaching tips such as how to improve communication between teachers and students, as well as the latest in technology and politics.

13. EdTech Solutions: Teaching Every Student – This blog is written by Karen Janowski, an Assistive and Educational Technology Consultant whose soul passion is to “remove the obstacles [of] learning for all students.”  The site is packed full of teaching tips, such as how to deal with dyslexia, or how to increase interactivity in the classroom through technology.

14. Engaging Parents in Schools – With a specific target audience of parents and teachers, this blog provides helpful tips and articles about how to improve relationships between teachers and parents. Written by a high school teacher in Sacramento, this blog is essentially a “follow-up” to a book titled “Building Parent Engagement in Schools.”

15. Gotham Schools –  Editors and staff reporters at the GothamSchools’ newsroom update readers on the latest in NYC politics, such as budget cuts and teacher’s unions, and write about various researched articles, surveys, and statistics. The sole purpose of this publication is to provide more insight on how to improve New York City’s urban schools.

16. Building Successful Parent-Teacher Partnerships –  This blog is a great site for parents who would like to become more involved in their child’s education, as well as for teachers needing tips on how to strengthen parent-teacher relations.  The blog’s author Natalie Schwartz also published a book in 2008 titled “The Teacher Chronicles: Confronting the Demands of Students, Parents, Administrators and Society.”

17. Computer Science Teacher –  Blogger Alfred Thompson has experience teaching computer science to K-12 students, and has written textbooks which educate high school and middle school students on Visual Basic. His blog is full of technology tips on how to use Visual Basic, Microsoft Excel, C++, and much more.

18. Bud the Teacher –  This interactive site is authored by a former high school teacher Bud Hunt, who blogs about social issues in the classroom as well as the latest in technology.  Hunt is also an instructional technologist for the St. Vrain Valley School District, and a teacher-consultant with the Colorado State University Writing Project.

19.  Teacher Leaders Network: Teacher Voices – Nominated as the “Best Group Blog” for the 2009 Edublog Awards, this site is written by multiple authors and teachers. There are a wide variety of post topics which include personal stories, interesting reads, or how to improve your teaching skills.

20. Practical Theory –  English teacher and Technology Coordinator Chris Lehmann covers various educational, technological, and political issues on his blog. His postings range from his personal beefs with the education system, to videos covering educational conferences and lectures.

The following information was taken from http://www.onlinedegrees.org/the-top-20-teacher-blogs/

It’s not teen lingo implying something lewd or an abbreviation for Pot Luck Club, but it can be just as exciting as sharing your favorite dish for lunch. A PLC or Professional Learning Community can be as close as the lunchroom or a wide-ranging a global group of professionals meeting online. Regardless of who comes and where they are from a PLC can be your most valuable asset when it comes to solving problems and coming up with fresh ideas.

If you don’t have a PLC or want to go “beyond the lunchroom,” All Things PLC, http://www.allthingsplc.info/, is a great place to start. You can, of course, find groups on Facebook, and hastags like “#edtech” on Twitter, but those places also have many distractions. Check out the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE) Ning, http://vsteonline.ning.com/, or Classroom 2.0, http://www.classroom20.com/, to meet other educators interested in finding effective ways to use technology in the classroom.

Take advantage of the ideas and voices that are out there, ready and excited to share their experiences. And, take the opportunity to share your own successes and ideas with a larger community.

1.  Fur.ly – URL shortener for multiple URLs – great for webquests

2. Tubechop.com – share a clip of an online video from youtube

3. Blipsnips.com – comment and edit online videos

4.  Viewpure.com or quiettube.com - simplify youtube videos (get rid of all the other ads and such)

5.  zamzar.com – file converter

6.  vocaroo.com – voice recorder

7.  dropittome.com – file sharer

8.  morguefile.com – public image search engine

9.  pics4learning.com – educational public images

10.  blabberize.com – fun way to make a picture come to life and give your students the chance to record just what they want the image to say

11.  Into the Book – An interactive website that allows students to answer questions using specific reading skills. Students create a free login.

The SOL’s are quickly approaching.   Help relieve the pressure by having some practice time on the comptuers.  There are many ways that students can prepare for the SOL testing using the computers.  It is very important to have the students practice on the computers so they are comfortable taking the exams.  Here are some sites to help you and your students.

Jefferson Lab
Virginia SOL Practice Test
Interactive Quizzes
SOL Pass *Paid Subscription

Other ideas to help your students practice their test taking skills is to create a Jeopardy or Who Wants to be a Millionaire game using templates.  You can get templates from your building ITL and the questions from the release tests on the DOE website.  These activites provide a fun learning situation for the students.

What do teachers need to know to successfully integrate technology? Instead of focusing on the tool, we need to move our thinking from being tool centered, or “technocentric”, to asking how technology will connect our students to the curriculum. Our initial decision in lesson design must start with the goal of learning first. Lesson design is a carefully planned combination of three types of knowledge- technological knowledge, content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge.

Technological knowledge is knowledge of operating tools. Content knowledge is knowledge of the specific concepts within a discipline. Pedagogical knowledge is knowledge needed to effectively teach. TPACK is a model that combines all three types of knowledge and recognizes that knowledge is situated, contextual, activity based and routinized. This model is the product of current researchers, Judy Harris and Mark Hofer,  from the College of William and Mary.

As part of their research on creating a practical tool to help educators in designing technology lessons which support learning first, Harris and Hofer have shared this taxonomy of learning activity types with K-12 schools all across the United States.  These activity types break down a subject into the diverse kinds of activities and thinking skills that occur. For example, in math, activity types are grouped into seven genres where students consider, practice, interpret, produce, apply, evaluate and create. Because the  art of teaching well with technology is different than teaching without technology, these guides are designed to promote thoughtful and creative instruction while also supporting standards.  Each of the taxonomies presents a brief description and examples of technologies which could be used to support that learning goal.

Check out these tools to help eliminate technocentric thinking where you go from just using the tools to the learning goals. For more information about research from Harris and Hofer, visit http://activitytypes.wmwikis.net/

K-6LiteracyLearning Activity Types

Math Learning Activity Types

Science Learning Activity Types

Social Studies Learning Activity Types

World Languages Learning Activity Types

Secondary English LangArts Learning Activity Types

I would like to start my post this month by admitting that the title is counter-intuitive. Recently I was watching this video http://bit.ly/hDa26d where Salman Khan explains how Khan Academy started and what he sees as the potential for video tutorials and online lessons. The basic premise is not new and it is relatively simple. Essentially, the idea is to reverse the roles of the time students spend at home and in school. The “lecture” takes place at home and the “practice” takes place at school. This is, of course, over simplified, and nay-sayers may point out that students often do not complete graded homework, so they are even less likely to watch a video when there is little or no accountability. That may or may not be true. Either way, the potential advantages are great, and we, as teachers, would be remiss to not at least make an attempt at something different every now and again. Take a quick look at pros and cons (and feel free to add your two bits).

Pros:
Self-paced (can pause, rewind, fast-forward, and replay)
No embarrassment about “not getting it” the first, second, or fifth time
No frustration from the speaker even after repeating over and over
Available 24/7
Ability to review old lessons any time
Speaker can do a second take if s/he makes a mistake
Teachers can borrow content from one another

Cons:
Accountability for watching?
Not everyone has internet access (burning DVDs can get expensive)
Can’t interact “in the moment” (yet)

Maybe there is more than I see on the con side (this is a blog, so you can comment), but the positive seems to outweigh the negative. Many teachers have already started putting content online to help students review, or make up missed work.

Back to the counter-intuitive title, how does this tech humanize the classroom? Ultimately, it allows teachers to spend more time interacting with students when they get to the classroom. Students have already seen the lecture; therefore, class time can be used for practice, review, and enrichment, with an expert (the teacher) available to assist.

Dimensions takes important places, events and things, and overlays them onto a map of where you are. It is very easy to use. Simply type the name of a place to get started.

http://howbigreally.com/

To read the entire article, go to http://www.edulicious.com/visualization

What’s an Infographic?

Infographics (commonly also called data visualizations) are visual representations designed to quickly, and often beautifully, explain complex information and data in a manner that makes it easy to digest and understand. They are becoming increasingly common and are being used by journalists, designers, scientists, mathematicians, teachers, and others who need to communicate concepts clearly and succinctly.  Infographics can feature combinations of pictures, charts, diagrams, graphs, tables, maps, lists, time lines, flowcharts, and more.  

The power a well crafted infographic has to simplify complicated and elaborate information is nothing short of amazing and it is quite possible that they have become the data equivalent of the age old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words”.  Given the real world uses of infographics it is imperative that classroom teachers begin incorporating these 21st century informational devices into their classroom practices. Indeed, it is quite possible that to be considered data literate in the modern world, students need to be able to read, interpret and ultimately create infographics… this is a truly 21st century skill.