There is an increasing use and ease of access to cellular technology in the classroom. Our students are pros at using text messages to communicate with friends. Why not turn this into a proactive solution to communicating with students in and out of the classroom. Remember to get your students information at the beginning of the year. Do they have an unlimited plan? Can they accept and send MMS messages?
I understand that not every student has access to text messaging, but chances are they have a friend who does that might let them use their phone. Always require students to tell you their name and class period in a reply message so you know how to organize the SMS you receive. If students have an iPod touch, there are several free text messaging apps available to download as well. If all else fails, provide an alternative for those students.
Some of you might get complaints from parents, and that should be expecting, but share with them this simple statement: "If your kid is going to text, wouldn't you prefer them to text for school?"
1.) The most popular use is Poll Everywhere. You can create a poll and students use their cell phones to respond to the poll and it updates responses in real time. The free account keeps it anonymous, so be cautious with the questions you create.
2.) Use a site like Wiffiti and have the student's SMS appear on a screen similar to a bulletin board. The messages appear real time and you can really enhance your discussion. This might be a great tool for students who are afraid to speak up. Be mindful though that students can put in anything and you might not know who it is, so use cautiously and with trustworthy students.
3.) Create Groups and email students reminders to complete homework assignments, study for test, and work on projects.
4.) Testing is not going anywhere, so it would be a great idea to send your students some messages before testing encouraging them to do their best and eat a good breakfast. Sometimes it is the little things that make all the difference.
5.) Offer extra credit assignments. Text students extra credit assignments at night. Teachers always have those kids that always ask for extra credit. Let them know that this is the method for extra credit. You could make it as simple as asking a question and getting the answer in a reply. You could go above that and create a whole new assignment and share it via SMS.
6.) I like to watch the news every night. I like to know what is going on around the world. Our students, not so much. Encourage students to watch the news and let them know that you will be sending out extra credit questions related to the news: What is the big picture with __________? How might this impact the United States/your country? How does this relate to _________________ that we talked about _________?
7.) Share a picture MMS and have students reply with what they think the picture means, or their thoughts on the picture in 160 characters. Get creative with their "writing."
8.) On the same note, have students quote famous speeches, books, movies, music lyrics, but in SMS text. It truly is a whole other language, might else well use it to teach concepts that are more important than the usual conversations students are having.
9.) Share a link to an article for students to read. Have students respond to the article in class the next morning. You might also have them respond via SMS that night to see who is doing the assignment that night.
10.) Create a contest with your students. Ask a question and the first student or first 5 students to respond get bonus points on a test. You could do this multiple times throughout a day or weekend, but always at different times.
What ideas do you have? There are several out there I am sure. You can find more general ideas about cell phone implementation by reading the blog by The Innovative Educator who had several post at the end of November about Cell Phones in Education, I highly recommend reading those entries.
It is time to embrace what they use all the time.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Weekly Core Subjects Resources
The first full week of December and only a couple more weeks before the Christmas break. This weeks edition of Weekly Core Subjects Resources brings some interesting links and resources.
English
Spreeder is a site that allows you to create a bookmarklet and then easily read text by copying and pasting any text from the webs to improve your words per minute. A simple and user friendly site to increase your reading ability.
Repeat After Us is a site created by a student that is an online library and language lab. You can search the site by author, title, and genre. You can also search through the library based on three difficulty levels.
Mathematics
Numdic is a number dictionary. You put in a number and it will provide you a wealth of information about that number.
WebMATH is a site that helps you solve your math problems from Discovery Education. The help is divided into several different levels of math and categories to help students with math problems.
Geogebra is a well known math software available for download to learn algebra and geometry. I will avoid reinventing the wheel and point you to Free Technology For Teachers who has recently shared some valuable links to resources and video tutorials for Geogebra.
Mathematical Doodling is an interesting site with some videos where I am guessing a student turns regular doodling into mathematical formulas and functions. Kind of entertaining.
Another great site for math students and teachers provides interactives for various formulas and functions in mathematics. There are also some for science as well.
Science - See link above as well.
Chemicool is another site offering an interactive Periodic Table of Elements as well as the history of the Periodic Table.
Tree of Life Web Project is a site that explores how life is developed. You start at the trunk of the tree and then expand into the different branches.
CSI The Experience: Web Adventures is a great site for teachers who have units or even an elective class for Forensic Science. The shows CSI really has exploded student interest in Science, and this site brings the experience to life.
The Human Touch of Chemistry is a great site with information and interactives related to the study of Chemistry. You can learn about famous scientist, everyday chemistry, the history and future of chemistry as well as other neat resources.
51 Science Experiments for Kids - A list of some videos to share with students.
The Science Resource Center is a site with, well, resources for science teachers. Resources are divided by subject matter. All resources are open to be reproduced, but at the same time, they provide the ability for users to submit their own materials for other teachers.
Top 20 Podcast for Science Lovers
Social Studies
Edinformatics is a site for education in the information age. One of their sites is the Greatest Inventions of All Time. I always taught a unit on inventions and the impact on society. This site would have been very useful for that unit.
50 Amazing Museum Exhibits You Can Enjoy Online is a great resource to bring what could be an expensive field trip into the classroom. The museum exhibits are broken down into 4 different categories.
Chronicling America is a site by the Library of Congress and it is intended to provide historic American newspapers. You can view pages from the newspaper from all the way back to 1860-1922 from about 25 states. You can also information about newspapers from the 1960-present. Click here for a list of all the newspapers available.
Top 20 Podcast for History Lovers
Here is an extra link in continuation with podcast, the Top 40 Podcast for Teachers, and the Top 50 Podcast for Learning a Foreign Language
English
Spreeder is a site that allows you to create a bookmarklet and then easily read text by copying and pasting any text from the webs to improve your words per minute. A simple and user friendly site to increase your reading ability.
Mathematics
Numdic is a number dictionary. You put in a number and it will provide you a wealth of information about that number.
Geogebra is a well known math software available for download to learn algebra and geometry. I will avoid reinventing the wheel and point you to Free Technology For Teachers who has recently shared some valuable links to resources and video tutorials for Geogebra.
Mathematical Doodling is an interesting site with some videos where I am guessing a student turns regular doodling into mathematical formulas and functions. Kind of entertaining.
Another great site for math students and teachers provides interactives for various formulas and functions in mathematics. There are also some for science as well.
Science - See link above as well.
Chemicool is another site offering an interactive Periodic Table of Elements as well as the history of the Periodic Table.
Tree of Life Web Project is a site that explores how life is developed. You start at the trunk of the tree and then expand into the different branches.
The Human Touch of Chemistry is a great site with information and interactives related to the study of Chemistry. You can learn about famous scientist, everyday chemistry, the history and future of chemistry as well as other neat resources.
51 Science Experiments for Kids - A list of some videos to share with students.
The Science Resource Center is a site with, well, resources for science teachers. Resources are divided by subject matter. All resources are open to be reproduced, but at the same time, they provide the ability for users to submit their own materials for other teachers.
Top 20 Podcast for Science Lovers
Social Studies
Edinformatics is a site for education in the information age. One of their sites is the Greatest Inventions of All Time. I always taught a unit on inventions and the impact on society. This site would have been very useful for that unit.
50 Amazing Museum Exhibits You Can Enjoy Online is a great resource to bring what could be an expensive field trip into the classroom. The museum exhibits are broken down into 4 different categories.
Chronicling America is a site by the Library of Congress and it is intended to provide historic American newspapers. You can view pages from the newspaper from all the way back to 1860-1922 from about 25 states. You can also information about newspapers from the 1960-present. Click here for a list of all the newspapers available.
Top 20 Podcast for History Lovers
Here is an extra link in continuation with podcast, the Top 40 Podcast for Teachers, and the Top 50 Podcast for Learning a Foreign Language
Find something useful? If not, check out my previous Weekly Core Subjects Resources Posts
You might also be interested in my publications to learn about various Web 2.0 Tools to use in the classroom.
If you are visiting this blog for the first time and would like to subscribe to the RSS Feed you can do that here. To learn about RSS Feed and Google Reader, watch this great RSS in Plain English video
2010 Edublog Awards - Voting is Now Open
One of the best ways to discover some great educational blogs is to visit the Edublog Awards. After weeks of nominating voting is now open. You can vote for blogs, tweets, wikis, social networks, audio and video categories. There are 23 categories that you can vote for. You can see my nominations here.
The Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness has been nominated in two categories and I am completely humbled to be included with these other great bloggers and educators. You can vote for The Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness for the Best Resource Sharing Blog and Best Educational Technology Support Blog.
Check out all the other great categories and case a vote! Thanks for your vote!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Juxio
Juxio is also available as an iPhone App which also means that you can import photos from your phone to use in your slide show. To get a better idea of how Juxio works, check out some featured Juxes and hints on how to use the software. I did not see anywhere to embed the Juxes; that capability would be very useful because of how the program works.
You can create an account using your Facebook profile, but that does give them your information, otherwise you can create a login or you can start creating Juxes without an account. Sign up requires name, email and password.
Friday, December 3, 2010
10 Alternatives to Standard Professional Development
In an age of budget cuts several schools are cutting access to funds for professional development, my state of Kentucky included. There are several other ways for teachers to receive professional development. The thing is, most teachers steer away from other forms of professional development because "if I don't get hours or paid for it, I don't want to take the time to do it."
Stepping outside of the classroom has allowed me to examine my own teaching strategies and abilities. I have realized that all the professional development I went to while still in the classroom has not been near as beneficial to the alternative "professional development" that I have been participating in since becoming a technology integration specialist. Some of the alternatives listed below I have done and am doing, others I have been thinking about doing. I firmly believe that if I go back to the classroom I will be a better teacher for these methods of professional development.
1.) Write a Blog - This has been one of the most beneficial changes to my professional growth. It allows me to share and reflect. For teachers, it is something that is simple and provides a way to share what is going on in their classroom and reflect on what is working and what is not. The majority of educators spend very little time actually reflecting on their learning. Encourage teachers to blog as a form of professional development. Encourage Administration to provide a certain number of hours if teachers keep a blog.
2.) Connect to Twitter and Build a PLN - Just the other night during #edchat when the topic was professional development I commented that it was the most beneficial form of professional development I have ever had. It allows a connection with other professionals and discussing topics related to education and developing a network of educators who teach similar subjects and have a passion for kids.
3.) Join Various Social Networks - The Educators PLN, Classroom 2.0, Technology Integration in Education, or several other Ning type networks are a great starting point. This is how I originally got started. This is the first step towards professional development that I took. I encourage the same.
4.) Attend and Present at Conferences - In 6 years of teaching I never attended a conference. I might have attended some Professional Development, but never a conference. Attending 3 separate conferences in the past year and a half has been very beneficial. I also never presented at a conference, I have done that twice. This has opened up so many more thoughts about what I do and what other teachers are doing. The great thing is that there are several free conferences as well to help with costs.
5.) Create a Mini Conference at Your School or in Your District - The standard PD is losing steam. In every school there are teachers doing great things with their students, and not all necessarily using technology, that could be shared with other teachers. The idea here is to convince those teachers to share what they are doing with the rest of the staff.
6.) Have a Student Led Professional Development - Students are doing great things, sometimes without the teacher asking them to as part of a project. Allow opportunities for students to teach teachers how they use technology. Open teachers eyes to what our students are doing. Some might be a great artist, or good with a camera, or build creative things, or use technology in a creative way. Provide time for students to lead Professional Development.
7.) Start a Google Reader Account - Another great aspect of my own professional development. I have connected with other great bloggers and it has allowed me to read some great educational material. Another great aspect is the commenting on blogs that can occur which only increases the effectiveness of a Google Reader Account.
8.) Create a Professional Facebook Account - Everyone is on Facebook. Other educators, educational professionals, education companies and software. The other great feature is following blogs on Facebook. With a separate Professional account it would allow you to also connect with parents, current and former students.
9.) Subscribe to Journals - There are several free educational and EdTech journals available for educators. They are also available in eJournal form as well. They can be emailed to you for easy reading. Journals share great thoughts and ideas, as well as links to resources. Remember they are free, and a previous post will provide links to several.
10.) Peer Observations - A great way to reflect on teaching is to see other teachers teach. Talk to your principal about shadowing them when they are doing their observations. Another option is to email principals at other schools and ask about going to observe those teachers. The only cost will be a substitute unless the teacher is willing to use their own days and then possibly get hours.
Here is another great post on Professional Development from The Educational Technology Guy
So what other methods of professional development have you engaged in?
Stepping outside of the classroom has allowed me to examine my own teaching strategies and abilities. I have realized that all the professional development I went to while still in the classroom has not been near as beneficial to the alternative "professional development" that I have been participating in since becoming a technology integration specialist. Some of the alternatives listed below I have done and am doing, others I have been thinking about doing. I firmly believe that if I go back to the classroom I will be a better teacher for these methods of professional development.
1.) Write a Blog - This has been one of the most beneficial changes to my professional growth. It allows me to share and reflect. For teachers, it is something that is simple and provides a way to share what is going on in their classroom and reflect on what is working and what is not. The majority of educators spend very little time actually reflecting on their learning. Encourage teachers to blog as a form of professional development. Encourage Administration to provide a certain number of hours if teachers keep a blog.
2.) Connect to Twitter and Build a PLN - Just the other night during #edchat when the topic was professional development I commented that it was the most beneficial form of professional development I have ever had. It allows a connection with other professionals and discussing topics related to education and developing a network of educators who teach similar subjects and have a passion for kids.
3.) Join Various Social Networks - The Educators PLN, Classroom 2.0, Technology Integration in Education, or several other Ning type networks are a great starting point. This is how I originally got started. This is the first step towards professional development that I took. I encourage the same.
4.) Attend and Present at Conferences - In 6 years of teaching I never attended a conference. I might have attended some Professional Development, but never a conference. Attending 3 separate conferences in the past year and a half has been very beneficial. I also never presented at a conference, I have done that twice. This has opened up so many more thoughts about what I do and what other teachers are doing. The great thing is that there are several free conferences as well to help with costs.
5.) Create a Mini Conference at Your School or in Your District - The standard PD is losing steam. In every school there are teachers doing great things with their students, and not all necessarily using technology, that could be shared with other teachers. The idea here is to convince those teachers to share what they are doing with the rest of the staff.
6.) Have a Student Led Professional Development - Students are doing great things, sometimes without the teacher asking them to as part of a project. Allow opportunities for students to teach teachers how they use technology. Open teachers eyes to what our students are doing. Some might be a great artist, or good with a camera, or build creative things, or use technology in a creative way. Provide time for students to lead Professional Development.
7.) Start a Google Reader Account - Another great aspect of my own professional development. I have connected with other great bloggers and it has allowed me to read some great educational material. Another great aspect is the commenting on blogs that can occur which only increases the effectiveness of a Google Reader Account.
8.) Create a Professional Facebook Account - Everyone is on Facebook. Other educators, educational professionals, education companies and software. The other great feature is following blogs on Facebook. With a separate Professional account it would allow you to also connect with parents, current and former students.
9.) Subscribe to Journals - There are several free educational and EdTech journals available for educators. They are also available in eJournal form as well. They can be emailed to you for easy reading. Journals share great thoughts and ideas, as well as links to resources. Remember they are free, and a previous post will provide links to several.
10.) Peer Observations - A great way to reflect on teaching is to see other teachers teach. Talk to your principal about shadowing them when they are doing their observations. Another option is to email principals at other schools and ask about going to observe those teachers. The only cost will be a substitute unless the teacher is willing to use their own days and then possibly get hours.
Here is another great post on Professional Development from The Educational Technology Guy
So what other methods of professional development have you engaged in?
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