Dozens of free web tools and ideas that can pack a technology integration punch and kick those lessons up a notch Are you tired of delivering the same old
Beth Dichter's insight:
How can we create more engaging lessons? Using technology may provide an assist. and this post shares 8 ways you can leverage technology to help your students learn and to have creative lessons. The areas discussed are:
* Incorporate Student Input and Gather Feedback
* Gamify It
* Let Students Create
* Get Interactive
* Have Students Collaborate
* Project Based Learning
* Simulations
* Bring in a Guest or Two
Each area provides links to a variety of tools and resources.
Enjoy our HTML 5 interactive infographic that exaplains why infographics are so successful
Beth Dichter's insight:
Have you wondered why infographics have taken off over the years? This interactive infographic shares "13 reasons why your brain craves infographics." It also provides links to 17 resources. Below are two reasons that are shared...click through to the interactive resource to learn the rest!
* Did you know that "people following directions with text and illustrations do 323% better than people following directions without labels." (The research was specific to labels on medicine and looked at comprehension rate of text only labels and labels with text and pictures."
* What helps us recall information. This infographic says that people remember "10% of what they HEAR, 20% of what they READ, 80% of what they SEE and DO."
The Exploratorium has just "released Sound Uncovered, its second free iPad app, which the creators showed me during a visit to the unfinished museum. As I explored the app's exhibits, the tablet disappeared in my hands. When you launch this app, you're in the museum, no matter where you are...It takes 40 years of user experience wizardry to build a museum app this amazing."
Beth Dichter's insight:
The Exploratorium now has two free apps for the iPad. The first one released is Color Uncovered and now Sound Uncovered. According to this post "both "buffet-style" collections of short, multi-sensory exhibits. You can select from a table of contents or swipe through like a magazine. The first was Color Uncovered, which uses properties of the tablet's display to demonstrate properties of light. The new app, Sound Uncovered, uses both the speakers and microphones, as well as text and video explanations, to show off some of the surprisingly bizarre properties of sound."
I have found many wonderful resources on the Exploratorium website, and suspect that both these apps would be great to have on iPads used in schools.
Wordwall is an interactive activity maker which allows teachers to make resources to use with a whole class. You can use them on an interactive whiteboard, or just with a projector. Word Wall allow...
That's right, you may download WordWall for free with one caveat. At this point you need to be located in the UK or in the US. Read through the comment section looking for the 2nd one from Danny. This comment provides additional information (including the fact that if you are in a private school in the US or a Canadian school you should contact Josh at WordWall).
To explore a bit of what you will get if you choose to download this go to http://getwordwall.com/.
From the first known school (in the year 2000 BC) to the Apple iPad and beyond, it's all in this interactive history of education timeline.
IWhen you click on an event additional information is available. According to this post there are 85 entries on the timeline and the plan is to continue to update it. To go directly to the timeline, brought to you by edhistory.com go to http://edhistory.com/.
Judy Willis, a neurologist & middle grades teacher, says adolescent brains learn more through interactive, interdependent group work.
Did you know that "peer group influence plays an important developmental role in the psychosocial process of separation from parents"? What does this mean to teachers of middle school students? That "interactive, interdependent group work" helps middle school students "build happy, learning brains."
This post will help you learn more about brain science, successful group work, how to plan for success, provides some researched-based guidelines and more.
When it comes to adolescents brain development in our western society today we can rely on school systems to play a large role in this. In this article is talks about how cooperative work groups in middle schools are the best ways for children to learn (Willis, 2012). I found this article to relate very closely to an academic journal I read comparing social development in pre schoolers in a values education program (Dereli-Iman, E, 2014, p.263). In the experiment of the academic journal researches found that children put into the values education program had better social development and less behavioural issues (Dereli-Iman, E, 2014, p.263). Even though this article of cooperative groups deals with middle schools students, it proves to say that cooperative learning groups gets all children involved, and forms for the greatest levels of conceptual learning (Dereli-Iman, E, 2014, p.263). In the text book Exploring Psychology in Modules, they state that day care is an area that has a huge impact on a child's development (Myers & Myers, 2008, p. 148). As Whetten stated, good quality child care is a warm and stimulations place for children, and poor child care is boring for this children making them unresponsive (Myers & Myers, 2008, p. 149). From these three articles you can see that schooling for children plays a huge role in brain development, and it is important to make sure they are in a good environment. Thought the author of this article, Judy Willis did not use a lot of scientific reasoning and proof in her article I found her findings and background to be very impressive. It would have made the article a little bit better if she would have added in some statistics to back up her reasoning about cooperative groups (Willis, 2012). A possible diverse group that would be effected through cooperative learning are kids from other countries who do not speak the foreign language. If a child was put into a cooperative group and was not able to converse with the other children it could possibly lead to negative outcomes for that student.
Sources:
Myers, D. G., & Myers, D. G. (2008). Exploring psychology in modules. New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Dereli-İman, E. (2014). The Effect of the Values Education Programme on 5.5-6 year old children’s social development: social skills, psycho-social development and social problem solving skills. Kuram Ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri, 14(1), 262-268.
Supportive middle school teaching strategies like cooperative learning, class celebrations, and community-school collaborations lower stress and increase resilience in students and create HAPPY MIDDLE-SCHOOL BRAINS, neuro-imaging shows.
Qwiki Creator allows you to create amazing interactive stories. A quick overview of the steps: * Upload images or video from your computer or search for media (media assets) * After uploading all media you will click on each piece an add title, captions, links, photo credits * Narrate your Qwiki by uploading narration or record directly * Set timings * Preview the qwiki * Publish All Qwiki's you create are stored in your dashboard and appear on your channel. Head over to Qwiki, sign up for an account, and create a Qwiki!
An interactive experience now brings Giza to you, transporting you across the world -- and through time -- to the land of the Pharaohs.
"Giza 3D, which targets academics, researchers, museums and the general public, shows how technologies can be integral to historical and art preservation...currently (the 3D site includes) four temples and the Pyramids of Khafu and Menhaure."
Richard Byrne shares a short tutorial on using ThingLink to create interactive images. ThingLink is now offering educators and students free accounts (create up to 50 images for free) or a paid plan with 500 images at a discounted price. How might you use ThingLink. He suggests that it "could be used by art students to identify and tag important elements of a picture, drawing, or photography...could also be used in history classes to have students identify important places in a battlefield like Gettysburg." What ideas do you have for using this tool?
"SideVibe is a breakthrough Web solution for teachers that lifts the traditional paper handout to a online interactive guide taking students through explorations of learning with Web content."
This site has recently removed the cost for teachers and students. You can go directly to their site with this link: http://www.sidevibe.com/.
Explanation: What does the universe look like on small scales? On large scales? Humanity is discovering that the universe is a very different place on every proportion that has been explored. For example, so far as we know, every tiny proton is exactly the same, but every huge galaxy is different. On more familiar scales...
No matter what subject they teach or what age group their students fall into, all teachers face the same basic challenge: They have to find a way to actively engage students in the learning process. Today’s learners tend to respond best to interactive teaching methods, so many instructors have integrated technology into their lesson plans. …
Beth Dichter's insight:
The five proven ways to engage students are:
* Use Responsive Technology- There are many ways to have students respond to questions throughout a class period. One that is free that you may want to check out is Socrative.
* Define Objectives - Make sure there are clearly define goals that are written in student-friendly language. And be prepared to make quick changes if the responsive technology shows the need.
* Add Context - The post explains this as having a pre-assessment question to help gauge the existing topic knowledge, followed by a question part way through the period to help see the students understanding. At the end of the period a final question (post assessment) would help see if the students are understanding the concept taught.
* Keep it Simple- Make sure that your presentation material is simple. Too much information on a slide may be too much for the students to understand. Remember that visuals are critical and classroom discussion will also help students learn new material.
* Make it Interactive - With technology it is easier to keep students engaged, but make sure to change things up throughout the lesson. There are many great resources online that help with this, and many have been explored in this Scoop.it.
Do you have unique strategies that you use in your classroom? Share them by adding a comment!
An excellent article: Engage student using these methods.
1. Use Responsive Technology - not just tech for tech's sake, such as writing answers. Use tech that demands a response.
2. Define Objectives - Tell students what they need to be able to do, know, learn, show. And tell them early on, so they get time to practise it before you assess.
3. Add Context - Make it connect with what they know already. Look for prior learning (the old KWL chart is great for this!)
4. Keep it Simple - Your presentation and the way the content is delivered should be simple to access.
5. Make it Interactive - With technology it is easier to keep students engaged, but make sure to change things up throughout the lesson and the term!
This interactive website allows you to explore climate change from the following perspectives:
* By region (and it is global so you click on the location you want to begin)
* By theme (and there are seven themes):
- Food Security
- Food Emissions
- Climate impact on production
- Climate impact on people
- Adaptation
- Mitigation
- Policy and Finance
Quoting from Larry Ferlazzo's post Big Facts is "intended to provide a credible and reliable platform for fact checking amid the range of claims that appear in reports, advocacy materials and other sources. Full sources are supplied for all facts and figures and all content has gone through a process of peer review."
"Explore the home of human ingenuity online. Find out about our objects, arts projects and medical collection, play educational games and discover climate science. Plus check out our blogs, a tabloid history of science and the latest contemporary science news from the Antenna team."
Beth Dichter's insight:
If you are looking for science games check out the Science Musuem (in London) and their online games. A few are listed below and many more may be found on their website.
* Ouch, a new game, allows you to "wage war on pain".
* Rizk - In a world not too different from our own a Plant lies sleeping...can you manage the threats to its survival? A look at climate change.
* Thingdom - Choose your Thing, nurture your Thing, then take the mating challenge and breed new Things. Learn more about DNA
Many of the games have links to additional resources on the website. The initial page that is linked to also has links to many other resources available online, including a Codebreaker Challenge; Museum Objects - a selection from their curated objects (over 200,000) organized by gallery; Brought to Life, a site that explores ~18 themes including Birth and Death, Medical Traditions, and Controversies and Medicine; Climate Science and many more.
This is a great interactive model of critical thinking. One circle has 8 elements of thought: * Purpose
* Question at issue
* Information
* Interpretation and influence
* Concepts
* Assumptions
* Implications and Consequences
* Point of View
As you role over and selelct an element of thought you are hown additional information about the element. For example, if you were to select Point of View you would be prompted to understand your point of view and provided with questions to further your thinking. In addition there are also prompts for intellectual standards to consider. The intellectual standards include: clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, logic, significance, and fairness. In each of these area there is a brief definition as well a three additional questions to consider. There is also one choice (more) that provides you with additional standards you might want to consider and suggests that you think of your own.
This is a great interactive model of critical thinking. One circle has 8 elements of thought: * Purpose
* Question at issue
* Information
* Interpretation and influence
* Concepts
* Assumptions
* Implications and Consequences
* Point of View
As you role over and selelct an element of thought you are hown additional information about the element. For example, if you were to select Point of View you would be prompted to understand your point of view and provided with questions to further your thinking. In addition there are also prompts for intellectual standards to consider. The intellectual standards include: clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, logic, significance, and fairness. In each of these area there is a brief definition as well a three additional questions to consider. There is also one choice (more) that provides you with additional standards you might want to consider and suggests that you think of your own.
I'm thinking this is a pretty complicated model given that many of our very best critical thinking is done within the space of a blink! However, it's useful to be able to break it down and explain it for undergraduates for whom universities have great expectations in criticial thinking but don't really explain how they know what it is when they see it. And, sadly, in introductory courses too often professors don't expect critical thinking of their students - sticking too close to recall or lower levels of application thinking for their expectations of student performance.
Check out these six iPad apps to create fun, engaging, interactive study guides for your students.
Better yet, have students create their own study guides using these tools and share them with other students. Apps suggested include ScreenChomp, StudyBlue and Socrative.
This is the fourth of what will be eight posts that looks at myths about digital learning. The first three are:
Myth #1: Students and teachers can find everything they want online
Myth #2: Digital learning in non-linear
Myth #3: The digital classroom is a playground
Myth # 4 looks at"Digital learning in interactive." She begins this post with the statements 'Learning has become more and more interactive with an increased dose of engagement, no wonder we are teaching with the thing students love the most: technology.' (A quote that comes from Educational Technology and Mobile Learning.)
She states that this is a myth, comparing it to the concept of a digital native and suggests that "interactive (is) probably the most over-used work in learning today." A definition is provided as well as examples of interactive learning, examples of mythical interactivity, a discussion on apps and quite a bit more. This post will make you think about some of what may be "accepted" potentially making you shift some of your perceptions. I suggest taking the time to read the first three posts.
Web 2.0 tools - the tools we look to use that are online and interactive. Here is a round-up of tools that are organized by core content area. A few may require downloads but most are online. Look by subject area (ELAR, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies) or by category (which is a lengthy list including Audio, Avatars, Backchannels, to Video, Website/Creator Tools, and Wikis, with may more listed).
A great place to start to look for a tool with short descriptions provided as well as hot links to the tools.
This is a resource that breaks down the use of Web 2.0 tools into lists according to core content subjects and then by category of use. For someone that is not that familiar with many different tools, this is extremely helpful! It will save new users time and focus their search according to need.
Wonderville, brought to you by the Science Alberata Foundation, is an interactive destination for kids to discover and explore the world of science. The site encourages students to explore and discover that science if fun! There are many adventure games (over 30) which build science knowledge. There is an activities section, with science crosswords, word search puzzles and printable activity sheets. Find video that explore real-life application of science concepts. And check out the comics to learn and laugh
"New generations of learners require new methods of teaching. As computer and Internet use become more widespread among students of all ages, educators must be prepared to adapt to the needs of this interactive and innovative generation. Gaming provides an excellent alternative to traditional learning activities... This website is dedicated to educational games across subjects studied in American schools. These games, the majority of which are free, can be used as supplemental resources for teachers. A brief description and link is provided for each game. For more information about further research supporting educational gaming, please be sure to visit the section entitled 'Why Games?' "
View the extent to which governments interfere with the internet in 74 countries based on data from the OpenNet Initiative...
The map shows is in the category Political and it states "This category assesses interference with websites expressing views in opposition to the current government as well as content more broadly related to human rights, freedom of expression, minority rights and religious movements. A score out of four is awarded reflecting the observed level of filtering in each category."
Additonal categories are Social, Tools, Conflict/Security, Transparancy and Consistency.
You may also download the data set from the OpenNet Initiative, or use this interactive map to look at all the categories. This is part of the week-long series on the Battle for the Internet.
An interactive map of the distribution of national heritages across the U.S. See the most predominant ethnic groups, explore the county by county data for each background or compare two ancestries.
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A great variety of practical ideas and resources for engaging students in learning with technology, including:
Incorporate Student Input and Gather Feedback
Gamify It
Let Students Create
Get Interactive
Have Students Collaborate
Project Based Learning
Simulations
Bring in a Guest or Two
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