After attending and presenting at TeachMeet Kentucky I got more interested in the use of Skype by me and the teachers in my building. At TeachMeet Kentucky, two teachers demonstrated how they were using Turning Point in their classrooms to foster a competition between their two classes. I was immediately hooked on the idea and have taken it back to the teachers at the high schools that I work with. Below are 10 resources, articles, and links to various information regarding Skype in Education.
1.) Recently I came across to great resources for implementing Skype. The first is a great list of 50 Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom. The list is broken in to 5 different categories with links to more information or just providing an idea. This could be very useful for people like me who are interested in starting to use Skype in education.
2.) So the next question then becomes; well who would I use Skype with? Recently shared on Twitter, Skype for Educators is a Google Doc/Website that allows visitors to view educators interested in video conferencing and shares their expertise and contact information. This would be a great place to get discover fellow educators interested in collaborating. You can visit the Skype for Educators Form to provide your information as well.
3.) A similar directory is available through the comment section of a blog post on the Skype in the Classroom Blog. Also worth checking out and adding yourself.
4.) Skype an Author Network is a site dedicated to helping educators connect with authors using Skype. On the left hand side of the screen you will see a list of authors available to Skype with and provides directions for teachers and librarians to use the network.
5.) Politicians and Skype? Yes, they are interested. Here is an article about how politicians are encouraging its us as a form of connecting with constituents. It might be worth contacting your local representative and seeing if they will want to Skype into your government class. I figured this would be appropriate to include considering it is Election Day.
6.) People are always asking me just how handy Twitter and having a PLN is. Well, just today, while looking through the people I follow, one of them, EdTechSandyK shared three Skype resources that are perfect for this blog post. A great article with ideas and examples of Using Skype in the Classroom is a great read. She also Shared Tips for Using Skype in the Classroom which has some useful ideas. Finally, she shared 10 Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom which has some valuable ideas and some tools and other resources to use with Skype.
7.) A Great article from TechLearning by another member of my PLN Shelly Terrell provides links to resources for using Skype. Learning Beyond Walls: 21 Skype Resources is a valuable starting point for educators and contains many of the resources listed above.
8.) From Information Technology Schools another list, but this list focuses on Online classrooms. 10 Ways to Use Skype in the Online Classroom is for those teaching online through computers. This list is great for those in Higher Education, but with the increase in online learning for high school students and students on home-bound instruction, Skype would be a valuable tool for K-12 teachers as well to connect with those students.
9.) A Skype "Techtorial" is a PDF file that introduces people to Skype. The installation process and how to use the software. It is for older software, but the concepts are still virtually the same. This would be a good handout for teachers new to Skype and understanding what it is and how it works. There are also some valuable links within this handout.
10.) Skype for Teachers Introduction - YouTube Video
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Blekko
Still in beta, Blekko is a new search engine that uses "slashtags." The idea is that when doing a search you can use "/" to narrow down your search and help you with finding exactly what you are looking for. You can even use multiple slashtags in one search. You can even use a slashtag to limit the search to most recent information. For more information, it would be worthwhile to watch the video where the CEO explains how Blekko works and what a slashtag is.
You can also look in the slashtag directory in order to learn the types of slashtags that you can use. You can also create an account which enables you can create your own slashtags. but also allows the personalization of your own search engine. I could really see this useful for students and teachers trying to narrow down searches. It would be beneficial for Blekko to have an education directory of slashtags that educators could use.
Something tells me that slashtag will be added to Webster's dictionary soon.
Bridge URL
BridgeURL is a site that allows users to copy and paste several URL's and then organize them into a group of pages for you to use in a presentation. I have been looking for something like this. You give your list of URL's a title and then either type in or copy and paste various URL's. The site will then create a URL based on your title. You can then visit that URL and you will get a presentation of the sites which you can then click arrows through to visit them or visit them through a pop-out window. Here is one I did with popular Web 2.0 Tools just to create an example.
BridgeURL would be a great site to merge together several Web 2.0 tools to share with staff. It would also be a great way to merge several websites that you would like students to use to conduct research. You could also use this site to put together sites that teachers and students could use for copyright free images and audio.
If you create one that could be useful to my readers, share it in the comments section. Thanks!
Music and EdTech
Many subjects get left out when it comes to integrating technology in the classroom. One of those subjects is Music Education. Partly because it is not tested, and also because so many "leaders" don't see the value in music education. My argument is that apparently our politicians must never have been musically gifted.
The Technology Institute for Music Education is a non-profit organization that provides PD and technology certification in music education. Members to this site can have access to lesson plans, grant writing advice, discussion groups, and links to various resources related to music education and technology. There is a membership fee, but if you are, or know a teacher who is passionate about music and technology, this would be a great organization to be a member of.
Music Educators Professional Learning Network is a social network for music teachers. There is a discussion board, a place to join various groups, and a blog. This would be a great place for music teachers to start connecting with each other.
Music EdTech is a website created and maintained by a music teacher who is passionate about technology in music education. She has a blog where she shares experiences and resources. Another great resource for inspiration.
The National Association for Music Education is another site for music teachers where they can become members and therefore access tons of resources. They don't focus solely on EdTech, but they do have resources available for music teachers. The site is broken down by various music education subject matter as well to help teachers find resources.
The Technology Institute for Music Education is a non-profit organization that provides PD and technology certification in music education. Members to this site can have access to lesson plans, grant writing advice, discussion groups, and links to various resources related to music education and technology. There is a membership fee, but if you are, or know a teacher who is passionate about music and technology, this would be a great organization to be a member of.
Music Educators Professional Learning Network is a social network for music teachers. There is a discussion board, a place to join various groups, and a blog. This would be a great place for music teachers to start connecting with each other.
Music EdTech is a website created and maintained by a music teacher who is passionate about technology in music education. She has a blog where she shares experiences and resources. Another great resource for inspiration.
The National Association for Music Education is another site for music teachers where they can become members and therefore access tons of resources. They don't focus solely on EdTech, but they do have resources available for music teachers. The site is broken down by various music education subject matter as well to help teachers find resources.
Weekly Core Subjects Resources
I got a lot of good resources over the past week. You can see my previous post of Math Resources to share with your math teachers. I also plan on having a Music and EdTech Resource post later today as well. For now, here are some resources for across the curriculum.
Science
Virtual Cell Animations is a site that offers visitors the ability to view and display animations of working Cells. There are over 15 different animations available for you to view. If the online video player does not work, then you can download the videos as well. There is also a guided "fly through" to get a complete understanding of cells. Highly recommend that you share this with your science teachers.
Social Studies
- Playing History is a site that offers users the ability to learn history through playing video games. There is a big movement in video games in education and Playing History might be a great option for your students. I am impressed with many of the options available.
- The Living Room Candidate is a museum of media that provides archive footage of U.S. President's campaign commercials. The commercials date back to the 1950's.
- Avalon Project, shared by Free Technology for Teachers, is a site that provides links to various primary source documents in law, history, and diplomacy dating back all the way to before medieval times. The project is by students at Yale University.
- You might be interested in viewing If It Were My Home, which I did a blog post about last week. Very interesting resource for Geography teachers.
Math
Another great resource shared by Free Technology for Teachers is the Math Open Reference site that provides resources and manipulatives for Geometry. If you have access to a SMARTBoard or Airliner, this site would be a great addition to your lessons.
English
Lexipedia is a site that creates an interactive diagram for synonyms. It is a fancy Thesaurus. At the same time though it provides definitions and allows you to see the synonyms for different parts of grammar. Lexipedia would be a fun way for students to learn synonyms.
Vocab Sushi is a site that allows students to log in and learn words that repeatedly on the SAT, GRE, and ACT. There is a video on the front page that does a great job of explaining how the site works and ways that students and teachers could use it in the classroom. The site does a good job of updating based on a students level of understanding.
Art
Art-Cyclopedia is kind of like a Wikipedia for Art. It has tons of information and could be very useful in learning about artists, styles, and techniques. ArtLex Art Dictionary is another site that allows students to search for anything related to art broken down alphabetically.
Hope you find some useful resources!
Science
Virtual Cell Animations is a site that offers visitors the ability to view and display animations of working Cells. There are over 15 different animations available for you to view. If the online video player does not work, then you can download the videos as well. There is also a guided "fly through" to get a complete understanding of cells. Highly recommend that you share this with your science teachers.
Social Studies
- Playing History is a site that offers users the ability to learn history through playing video games. There is a big movement in video games in education and Playing History might be a great option for your students. I am impressed with many of the options available.
- The Living Room Candidate is a museum of media that provides archive footage of U.S. President's campaign commercials. The commercials date back to the 1950's.
- Avalon Project, shared by Free Technology for Teachers, is a site that provides links to various primary source documents in law, history, and diplomacy dating back all the way to before medieval times. The project is by students at Yale University.
- You might be interested in viewing If It Were My Home, which I did a blog post about last week. Very interesting resource for Geography teachers.
Math
Another great resource shared by Free Technology for Teachers is the Math Open Reference site that provides resources and manipulatives for Geometry. If you have access to a SMARTBoard or Airliner, this site would be a great addition to your lessons.
English
Lexipedia is a site that creates an interactive diagram for synonyms. It is a fancy Thesaurus. At the same time though it provides definitions and allows you to see the synonyms for different parts of grammar. Lexipedia would be a fun way for students to learn synonyms.
Vocab Sushi is a site that allows students to log in and learn words that repeatedly on the SAT, GRE, and ACT. There is a video on the front page that does a great job of explaining how the site works and ways that students and teachers could use it in the classroom. The site does a good job of updating based on a students level of understanding.
Art
Art-Cyclopedia is kind of like a Wikipedia for Art. It has tons of information and could be very useful in learning about artists, styles, and techniques. ArtLex Art Dictionary is another site that allows students to search for anything related to art broken down alphabetically.
Hope you find some useful resources!
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