Bookr

What is it: A colleague of mine, ITS Happening, shared this with me today.  It's called Bookr.  It's a site that allows you to create photobooks from images found on Flickr.  You type in the tags of images that you are looking for and it searches for you.  You select the images that you want to use and then type in some text.  Very easy to use. Here's my example I made in about 2 minutes. I was thinking about summer already.  The only downside is that you are unable to save it so that you can edit it later.

How to integrate it into the classroom: There are many useful ways to integrate Bookr into the classroom. Here are a few suggestions.  Please feel free to suggest more.

• Retell an event in history in your own words and using images that make it a little more interesting
• Student can share an event that happened in their life that was important to them
• Students can develop their descriptive writing 
• Teachers can create a book of problems or scenarios with images to guide the learning
• Practice inferencing in a story
• Students can create a science journal over a concept just learned
• Once a narrative has been written, students can then add images to go along with it

Some Hilarious Teacher Humor

Survivor Skype

A huge "Thank You" to the teachers and students of Round Rock ISD who let us come in and take over their classrooms with our Promethean Skype project, Survivor Skype.  It was a success!  If you are interested in the details of this project please contact me!

Dynamic Periodic Table

What is it: The Dynamic Periodic Table is just that.  It is an interactive Periodic Table that allows students to select an element and choose to view photos, videos or general information about that element. I wish I would have had this when I taught 8th Grade.  You can customize the page so that you can view the Periodic Table by the atomic symbol, the electrons in each shell, an expanded view or the atomic mass. It also allows you to view various properties such as the boiling and melting point of elements.  I especially like the photos and videos.  Student typically discuss elements without ever seeing what it looks like.  A great resource to supplement your learning experiences.  Alkali metals + water = Fun!

Create A Virtual Tour With Google My Maps

What is it: Google My Maps allows you to create points of intrest, with personal descriptions on a Google Map. You can then draw lines, that include the distance, to connect your points of intrest! Google My Maps then creates an HTML code and link to embed into your blog or site. You can choose to make your map public or unlisted.  If you choose to share it with other, you can all contribute points of intrest.  Here's  a video explaining how to create a Google My Map.

How to integrate it into the classroom: Here are some suggestions on how to integrate your Google My Map into your classroom learning experiences. 

• Virtual tours of historical locations
• Students can provide feedback on a recent field trip by plotting and describing a location they visited
• Students can plan a field trip by organizing the route and providing descriptions
• Outline the plot location of a story for a writing assignment
• Create math problems that require students to measure distances
• Create geography lessons that allow students to provide descriptive feedback on locations
• Revisit a route settlers might have traveled
• Students can create a project that plots locations that their ancestors traveled

Interactive Whiteboard Manipulatives - Glencoe/McGraw Hill

What is it: Publisher McGraw Hill has a great math resource for your interactive whiteboards.  It's an web page with virtual manipulatives that student and teachers can use to introduce or reinforce math concepts from Pre K to 8th Grade.  You can customize the flash-based site to fit your learning experiences!  Choose from different backgrounds such as game boards, work mats or story boards.  You can then set up or solve a problem by choosing from a set of virtual manipulatives.

How to integrate it into the classroom: An obvious way for teachers to use this tool it to reinforce a concept previously taught.  Here are some other suggestions:

• Student explanation of how they solved homework or classwork 
• Set up as a learning or discovery station
• Student providing the instruction with their own lessons
• Students creating problems for others to solve
• Basic practice of concepts
• Story starters for Language Arts lessons
• Student collaboration on solving math problems

Word Magnets

What is it:  I've mentioned the Tripco website before and I will probably continue to mention them on my blog.  I really enjoy the interactive resources that they put out.  They're clean, easy and functional!  Here's another one that I'd like to share.  It's called Word Magnets.  Remember when you were in college and your buddy had those refrigerator magnets with different words on them and you had to arrange them into funny, and sometimes... well we'll just say we created some sentences. 

How to integrate it into the classroom:  There are so many ways to use Word Magnets! Here are a few suggestions:

• Creating Venn Diagrams to compare concepts
• Categorizing topics
• Sequencing events in history
• Creating sentences or poetry
• Alphabetizing words
• Collaborate on spelling out spelling words
• Various games
• Creating math sentences
• Completing math sentences or sequences
• Creating diagrams or flow charts
• Creating number lines
• Making graphs from collected data

Whew! I think that's enough for now.  What is also great, is that they have template already created.  You just choose which one you need and fill in the words.  You are even able to add words as you go. Enjoy this demo clip. Note: When you go to the link, give it a second or two and then a "next" arrow will appear in the lower left hand corner.

http://www.screencast.com/users/orteganic/folders/Jing/media/2c5b2593-a3f0-4153-ac2f-7a6fde19f756

How can we design the ideal learning experience for students?

Watch Dan Meyers' talk at TED on creating the ideal learning experience for students.  Math teachers takes note. This isn't an interactive resources, but something worth sharing.  Also take a look at Dan Meyer's Blog.

Stage'D

What is it: Stage'D is a digital resource that allow students to create animated comics on a virtual stage for free.  Student become the director of their own stories!  You can choose up to two characters and create a dialog between them. Customize your actors with actions, costumes and backgrounds.

Stag'D is definitely in its beginning stages, but it is great tool to use in the classroom.  It definitely introduces digital storytelling on another level. There is even a place for student to put their name as the director.

How to integrate it into the classroom: There are various ways that you can integrate this into your classroom.  Thanks to the Edublogger, iLearn Technology for some of the suggestions.

•  Re-tell a story to demonstrate comprehension
• Illustrate historical events
• Create commercials that persuade or inform
• Create social stories for students to practice dialog
• Using the visuals to help with creating descriptive narratives
• Use the characters to introduce a new lesson
• Use the story to come up with various conclusions

Take a look at my attempt at directing a play!.

http://stagedproject.com/comic?id=1273610185

Picasa In Education

If you've never used Google's Picasa (I highly recommend it) or you can't think of ways to integrate it into the classroom, take a look at this .pdf info sheet that has links and resources. Check out the link to the Picasa In Ed Wiki. This has quite a bit of inspirational classroom ideas! I've also included an Intro to Picasa video.