“I Learn, You Learn, We Learn” Blog

The NCES Kids’ Zone provides information to help you learn about schools; decide on a college; find a public library; engage in several games, quizzes and skill building about math, probability, graphing, and mathematicians; and to learn many interesting facts about education.  There might  be something you could use in your classroom at http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/index.asp.

Here’s a short and sweet list of just 10 ways you can easily begin to incorporate 21st Century Technology Skills in your classes. Check it out at http://techlearning.com/PrintableArticle.aspx?id=22558

Check out this jam-packed list of FREE webinars offered by Discovery Educator Network. Get ready for back to school with a visit to one , a few or all of the sessions listed below.

All sessions begin at 11 AM ET. Register Here. It’s free and easy.

Digital Storytelling Week
8/3/09
Thinking Outside the Slide: Creating non-linear PowerPoint presentations and learning centers with Discovery Education Media
8/4/09
Digital Storytelling Made Easy: Using Discovery Education Content with Animoto and PhotoStory
8/5/09
Director’s Cut: Discovery Education Media and MovieMaker (PC)
8/6/09
Director’s Cut: Discovery Education Media and iMovie (Mac)

Leadership Week
8/10/09
The Information Society is HERE: Are our schools up to the task? with Dr. Scott McLeod
8/11/09
Policies, Safety and Social Networking
8/12/09
Web 2.0 for Administrators and Others: Schools, Tools, and the 21st Century
8/13/09
Data Driven Decisions with Discovery Education Assessment

Science Week
8/17/09
Myth Busted: Easy Ways to Integrate Digital Media into Your Science Classroom
8/18/09
Getting Your Hands Dirty with Discovery Education Science
8/19/09
Differentiating Instruction with the Discovery Education Science Assessment Manager
8/20/09
More and Muir Tech Tips for Going Green

Web 2.0 Week
8/24/09
Get Your Glog On! The DE streaming Builders and Glogster
8/25/09
The Thread that Ties it All Together: Discovery Education Content and Voicethread
8/26/09
Two Roundtrip Tickets to Anywhere in the World: Designing Virtual Field Trips with Discovery Education Media and Google Earth
8/27/09
Learning Through the Funnies: Mixing Discovery Education Content with Free Comic Tools

Enroll today.

I love PhotoStory 3 and Windows Movie Maker for creating stories in the classroom; however, the UDL Book Builder deserves a few shout outs for being a free  online tool to create books and stories. Along with the tool itself, there are tips for authors, model books to explore and resources galore for creating the online books. I think I’ll have my 7th grade students create children’s books using this site as part of my Child Development unit.

Check it out at http://bookbuilder.cast.org/.

Digital Storytelling week begins at Discovery on Aug. 3. Sign up today to learn many ways to incorporate Digital Storytelling in your classroom.

Aug. 3  Thinking Outside the Slide

Aug. 4  Digital Storytelling made easy with Discovery Education Content, Animoto and PhotoStory

Aug. 5  Discovery Education Media and Windows Movie Maker

Aug. 6  Discovery Education Media and Windows iMovie

All webinars start at 11:00am ET. Click here for a complete list of webinars and registration information.

There sure is. Over at The Apple .com there are 10 great technology enhanced ideas for getting kids juiced about the dreaded book report. Why not try one of these in your classroom:

1. Let students create a cartoon version of the book they have just finished.
2. Let students create a short video clip about the book.
3. Create a virtual poster advertising the book.
4. Encourage students to create their own virtual bookshelves with Shelfari or GoodReads.
5. Book Adventure is an online reading motivation program.
6. Bookcasting is a recorded audio podcast about a book.
7. Allow students to create a timeline of events in the story they just read in an online timeline.
8. Wikis are an excellent place for students to share book reviews.
9. Excite and motivate students to read with Book Wink .
10. Voice Thread is an amazing site that allows students to create web 2.0 slide shows that become interactive and collaborative.

Read full article at http://www.theapple.com/benefits/articles/8529-10-technology-enhanced-alternatives-to-book-reports 

30 Twitter Tips for Teachers

Our district had the fantastic opportunity to host Will Richardson for his presentation of A Web of Connections.  During an informal chat session for about 40 educators before his presentation, Will mentioned and showed a little about Twitter.  The mention of this tool sparked quite a bit of interest in this group of teachers. Many of them  set up accounts and are busy tweeting with each other and have found others around the country to tweet with. I know a couple have found some interesting people to collaborate with professionally about the content area in which they teach. Some even have some interesting ideas of how Twitter can be used as a classroom tool by their students.

The problem is it is blocked in our district(surprise, surprise). Twittering by our professionals has to take place after school hours away from our district network.  In time, I think Twitter might be something that teachers might eventually have access to. In the meantime, for those teacher who wish to begin using it, here is an article I learned about that might help some beginners get started: 30 Twitter Tips for Teachers

To find teachers using Twitter who teach in the same content area as you, check out: Twitter4Teacher Wiki

In the Teacher Tools section of  DEstreaming you can find themes to fit just about any topic.  Each theme includes video segments, lesson plans, discussion guides, related resources and student activities for each grade level.

* Before clicking on the link below, open a new window and log in to your DEstreaming account.

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This weeks theme is: Early American History

From the roadblocks faced by the Constitution’s framers to the three-dimensional personalities of our country’s founders, give students a well-rounded look at early American history.

Meredith Bernadt, the newest Schenectady City Schools STAR, has been working on  a special project with her 4th grade students: Podcasts. 

 After participating in the Northeast Regional Event in Troy, NY; Meredith will never be the same. She’s off and running with some great ways to integrate technology in her classroom. nr=1&&s=144961871

Look for more from Meredith at the Howe International Magnet School.

Website: Howe 10 Podcast - http://www.gcast.com/user/MsBernadt/podcast/main?

 In the Teacher Tools section of  DEstreaming you can find themes to fit just about any topic.  Each theme includes video segments, lesson plans, discussion guides, related resources and student activities for each grade level.

* Before clicking on the link below, open a new window and log in to your DEstreaming account.

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This weeks theme is: Writing Skills

Knowledge of form and function is as important to writing as it is to the visual arts. Examine the structural conventions of a range of genre, from contemporary songwriting and screenwriting to classic satire and horror.

Get a jump start on your classroom lesson plans for next week. Include DEstreaming video content and make history come alive for your students.   Visit the Calendar within the Teacher Center of DEstreaming for more videos of history during this week.**Note - Before clicking on the links below, sign in to your DEstreaming account

Science - Nov. 27  1867- Patent for refrigerated railroad car

Math -Nov.28-1866-Birthdate of Henry Bacon, engineer and architect

Social Studies  - Nov. 28  - 1520- Magellan eyes the great peaceful water

Art & Humanities - Nov. 27 -1924- First Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade

Language Arts -Nov. 24 - 1947- John Steinbeck’s The Pearl published

Health & Guidance - Nov 29 - 1975- New law guarantees children’s right to education

Famous People -Nov.26-1922- Charles Schulz, cartoonist

Nov. 27 - Thanksgiving

The image above is the first frame from the editable video: Animated Hero Classics: William Bradford:The First Thanksgiving. NEST. 1992.Discovery Education. 11 November 2008
<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>

In the Teacher Tools section of  DEstreaming you can find themes to fit just about any topic.  Each theme includes video segments, lesson plans, discussion guides, related resources and student activities for each grade level.

* Before clicking on the link below, open a new window and log in to your DEstreaming account.

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This weeks theme is: Historic Speeches

Seasonal change is an ever-present part of life in most parts of the world. How are humans affecting the changing seasons? Explore seasonal change and the impact of global warming on future seasons.

In the Teacher Tools section of  DEstreaming you can find themes to fit just about any topic.  Each theme includes video segments, lesson plans, discussion guides, related resources and student activities for each grade level.

* Before clicking on the link below, open a new window and log in to your DEstreaming account.

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This weeks theme is:  American Democracy

What are the origins of American Democracy? What is the basis for the United States system of government? How did a government ‘for the people and by the people’ originate? Investigate the foundation of the U.S. system of government - with featured video clips, lesson plans, discussion guide, and activities.

 Web Wednesday is a feature of the online “Big Deal Book”. This Wednesday’s theme is Information/Media Literacy

Check out the book for more online deals. You’ll find everything from grant opportunities to free and inexpensive finds

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Lights, Camera … Debate
Media literacy, just like any literacy, is about helping students to develop the ability to understand, interpret and communicate. Media literacy adds the ability to apply those skills to pictures and sound using a variety of tools.

An article accessible from Cable in the Classroom’s site offers advice on how to help your students use a media-literacy perspective when watching the presidential debates. A free worksheet accompanies the article. Students can fill in the worksheet with their observations as they view the next presidential debate. 

Click here for other ideas on how to integrate information/media literacy into your classroom activities.
 

From Glittering Generalities . . .
The Role of Media in Elections is devoted primarily to the 30-second campaign “spot” so common in American elections. The site is designed to provide teachers with the tools they need to introduce political campaign advertising to their students. Another goal is to assist teachers who want to help their students become aware of the unique techniques of persuasion used in these ads.

. . . to Bandwagon Appeals
A media literacy kit produced by Ithaca College called “Media Construction of Presidential Campaigns” provides middle and high school teachers with a new way to teach the history of U.S. elections. The kit allows students to learn in a way that will prepare them to think critically about historical, political and ethical issues related to media, democracy and presidential campaign messages.

With the program, students are able to parse their favorite candidate’s credibility by studying more than 150 historical media documents, ranging from bumper stickers to political cartoons, from over 26 different presidential elections from 1800 to 2004. The kit also includes recordings of old-time campaign songs and video clips.  
 

 * Web Wednesday is a feature of The Big Deal Book - Amazing Resources for 21st Century Educators

Get a jump start on your classroom lesson plans for next week. Include DEstreaming video content and make history come alive for your students.   Visit the Calendar within the Teacher Center of DEstreaming for more videos of history during this week.*

*Note - Before clicking on the links below, sign in to your DEstreaming account

Science - Sept10 -1846: Elias Howe patents sewing machine

The photo above is of a NY sweat shop.   You can find both the image and a sound of a sewing machine in  DEstreaming.

“Female Slaves of New York” picture of sweat shop.. IRC. 2005.unitedstreaming. 31 August 2008
http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/

HOUSEHOLD: SEWING MACHINE : DROP PRESSER FOOT SEW SLOW SPEED STOP RAISE FOOT CLOTHES. Discovery Education. 2008.unitedstreaming. 31 August 2008
http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/

Math -Sept 9-1914: Marjorie Lee Browne, math educator

Social Studies  - Sept 11 - 2001: Hijacked planes crash into World Trade Center and Pentagon

Art & Humanities - Sept 7 -1936: Buddy Holly, singer-songwriter

Language Arts -Sept 8 -1892- Pledge of Allegiance published

Health & Guidance - Sept 12 - 1793: First quarantine on U.S. city declared