Quizlet - Some Good Upgrades

Quizlet was the first web 2.0 website I encountered before really understanding what Web 2.0 was.  I was always thoroughly impressed with it and shared it with all my teachers.  Since first discovering this site to create flashcards, play games, and study vocabulary, they have made some major upgrades to the website.  Here is my original blog post about Quizlet.

Here are some of the newer features:
1.) You can easily embed your Flashcards on a blog or website.
2.)  The addition of audio to allow the vocabulary to be read aloud.  Great addition for Special Education.
3.) It is easier to create and study vocabulary that contains symbols and accents.
4.) Search Preview Boxes allows users to see what the words contained in the vocabulary list.  Before, you were just clicking and hoping the list had words you were studying.
5.) The inclusion of line breaks allows you to enter more then one line for the definition.  A great addition that helps not having to study a large sentence, but rather key parts of a definition.
6.) Quizlet has gone mobile, so now you can get all your flashcards on your phone....why are we still banning these tools?
7.) Quizlet is free, but they have a Plus Account that allows photo flash cards and other features for just $10.00 a year.  Not a bad price.

Quizlet has come a long way since I first discovered it and it continues to be one of the best for vocabulary studying.  If you have never used it before, I suggest you check it out.

My Google Reader - Sharing it With You

I recently updated and organized my Google Reader account so that it would be easier for me to read all the great blogs out there related to education, educational technology, administration, and reform.  I am sure there are several that I am missing from my list, but these are the ones that I read the most.  You can see from the image below how I have organized my blogs (you can see I have some reading to do):

If you are new to having a Google Reader account and are interested in creating a great list of blogs to read, I highly recommend adding what I read to your account, or creating a new Google Reader and starting with these.  To get started, you will need to download my Google Reader Subscription that I have made available through the site Min.us.

When you download the file you will need to go to your Google Reader Settings and then click on the Import/Export tab.  You will see an "import" area.  Browse your computer where you saved the Subscription List and upload it to your Google Reader Account.

You will then have access to 167 education blogs that are worth reading.  If there are some that you are not interested in, just delete them.  The software blogs in case you are wondering are the blogs of web 2.0 websites that I use often (Evernote, Google, Prezi, etc).  The Elective Blogs are PE, Foreign Language, Business, etc.

Happy Reading!

Better Lesson

Better Lesson is a site for teachers to upload, share, download, and use lessons and activities that other teachers have used in their classroom and have had success with.  Setting up an account is as easy as supplying an email address and then getting a verification to set up an account.  When you create an account, you provide your name and password and then choose the grade level and subject matter that you are interested in.

Once you have created an account you can find lesson plans, classroom materials, and instructional resources from high-performing teachers.  Through Better Lesson you will be able to browse through a wide array of documents, presentations, full lessons, and even complete units and courses.  Share your curriculum and then connect with teachers from all over the world.  Through your profile page you will be able to browse through educators, resources, and networks.

Better Lesson seems very promising for creating a Lesson Plan Social Network for Teachers.  See the video below for more information.

An Introduction to BetterLesson from BetterLesson on Vimeo.

Synchtube

Synchtube allows you to instantly create public and private rooms where you can synchronize YouTube and Vimeo music and videos with up to 50 people. Everyone views the same video at the exact same time!  For schools that are a 1:1 program or classrooms where every student has a computer, this site would be beneficial to allow students to watch a video without having to look towards the front of the room. 

Synchtube is simple to use.  You click on the Create Room button and you are provided an area to copy and paste the video URL.  What is great about this part of the site is that it allows you to copy and paste multiple video URL's, therefore, creating a playlist of videos for students to watch.  Synchtube automatically provides an easy to share URL.  There is also a chat area which provides a way to backchannel and allow students to discuss the video as they are watching it. 

For each "room" that you create you can determine whether it is a private room or a public room and also provide a welcome message.  This would be a good place to have your lesson objective or "I Can" statement so that students know what to look for in the video and know what they need to be prepared to discuss.

A Quick Shout Out

Recently I noticed a lot of traffic to my blog coming from Warren County Schools in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which is home to my Alma Mater, Western Kentucky University.  Peaking my interest, I decided to check out the website where my site was linked.  The site belonged to a Technology Education teacher at South Warren Middle School.  Come to find out, the teacher of the class, Bryan Priddy, was actually teaching math at another middle school when I observed him while going through the teacher education program at WKU.  The phrase small world never gets old, and it was social media that helped me realize this connection.

So searching through his website I noticed that he was having his students use the links that I had set up on my blog to look through them and discuss how a teacher could use them in the classroom.  He was also discussing the eBooks, Tools for the 21st Century Teacher, that I have created as well.  It is great to see something that I created for teachers being used by students.  It is important that all these great tools on the web be shared with students and let them explore the ones that they like.  Then allow them to create a project in class using those tools. 

So here is my SHOUT OUT to Mr. Priddy's students.  Keep up the great work, maintain interest in technology, and be glad you get to have a cool class where you get to play and work with all these great tools!