Description: Google forms is a portion of Google documents that can be used to collect information/data from participants. Teachers are using Google forms to collect information on students understanding of concepts and what books they would like to add to their classroom library. Creating and deploying a Google Form is realitively simple:
Classroom Connection: formative assessment tool, data collection for science, math, etc.
Other Google Related Tools:Google Docs (use for research, collaborating with others, add ons creates a bibliography, etc.) Smart Searching:http://www.google.com (use advanced search, image search, complete math problems, etc.) Tool #2: Five Card Flickr
Description: This is an experimental web site that focuses on visual thinking and could be used as a "launch pad" for writing. It is based/copied from the "Five Card Nancy" game. Users are dealt five random photos from the Flickr picture site for each draw and then the task is to select one picture each time to add to a selection of 5 images that will be put together to tell a story in pictures. When users are done selecting pictures they are given the option of adding a title and explanation. Users then can save the story and share or embed the link so that others can see (and read) their story
Description: Symbaloo is a start page where users can add links and icons. The customizable webmix appears as buttons with icons or logos that users can drag and drop to organize. Tiles are "clicked" to launch a web page--a great tool for primary students and visual learners.
Classroom Connection: Provide a Symbaloo of resources for a topic such as the Civil War, the study of plant and animal cells, the Renaissance, Anne Frank, etc. OR....Allow students to put together their own "Symbaloo" on a topic and use it as a visual for their presentation/resources cited, etc.
Description: "A Web Whiteboard" is an online whiteboard (you can create a link) where you simply use a web browser to access the link and begin drawing, sketching, sharing and collaborating. No installation is required and once you leave the board it is cleared. Clicking the "Menu" button gives your board a unique URL address that you can share with others to invite them into your online whiteboard. This tool is a great one for use with any technology tools--especially mobile devices (iPads, iPods, Androids, etc) and interactive boards.
Classroom Connection: This tool would be great to promote collaboration with mobile devices. Students could add to a word web, add their input on current events, help with math problems, or provide peer feedback on presentations. Think of how you currently use your whiteboard and how students could share in your classroom.
App for laptops (web browser access) iOS device/iPad/iPhone/iPod, and Android devices
Description: Evernote is a suite of applications and services designed for taking notes and archiving documents. A "note" can be a piece of formatted text, a full webpage or webpage excerpt, a photograph, a voice memo, or a handwritten "ink" note. Notes can be sorted into folders, then tagged, annotated, edited, given comments, searched and exported as part of a notebook. Evernote supports a number of operating system platforms (including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Chrome, Android, iOS and Web OS). Evernote also offers online synchronization and backup services.
Classroom Connection:Students can use Evernote to collaborate and share notes, plan activities, share images and audio files, as well as upload documents to use as an electronic locker. iPads and other iOS devices as well as Androids can download the Evernote app to access their documents on their mobile device. Many apps are using Evernote as a way to get app created documents to others.
Description: A free tool with no account or login required. This tool allows a "back channel" for discussion, sharing and questions during a class or curriculum discussion. Students can share and ask questions of their peers using this "back channel" that requires very little time to get up and running.
Classroom Connection: Assign a "discussion jockey" to spin questions for the group and monitor the reflection, sharing and discussion that takes place. When assigning group work, have the groups report out in Todays Meet and have the other groups provide feedback. Transcripts from the session can be saved and printed.
Description: "New to me" this site brings together information sources on a topic with clickable information sites.
Classroom Connection: When students are trying to pull together a number of resources in one location, this tool will be invaluable. Try putting in a topic that students are "researching" or gathering information on or a topic for an upcoming unit of study. For this example try putting in the topic, "Solar System." The tool will bring back a page of clickable graphic images and links on the topic.
Description: This is a "free" web site but posters can also be purchased at the site and it includes some advertising. Many different tools are available--my favorite is the motivator poster. No accounts or passwords are needed to use this site.
Classroom Connection: Create posters for vocabulary words, poems, writing, etc. Some teachers have created word clouds using Wordle and then included those as the image on the poster.
Description: Paper Rater analyzes and claims to improve your writing. The tool is easy to use--just copy and paste the text that you want analyzed, choose the purpose and grade level of the writing and then submit for review. Paper Rater takes a look at grammar and spelling then gives feedback on writing style and choice of words.
Classroom Connection:
Use this tool with students to provide additional feedback on their writing
Allow students to use the tool "on their own" to review grammar and spelling prior to handing in their papers
Use the tool to look at different paragraphs of text when looking at word choice
Description: iBooks was originally only an iPad app but it is now available for your MacBook computer. Books, pdfs, epubs can be downloaded/loaded into the app where text can be highlighted, notes can be added, etc.
Classroom Connection: Downloading existing books (many are free) for use in your classroom. The CK-12 Project also allows for textbook/flexbook downloads: https://ck12.org/
Description: A number of tools (I haven't even used all of them yet) that can be used across curricular areas. Include are tools that allow you to upload images and create labels to generating Twitter tweets and Facebook/Fakebook pages for historical figures. Teacher find these tools to be very engaging to students.
Classroom Connection: Social studies teachers have had students create a Fakebook page for historical characters with posts from both the historical figure and their friends. Uploading pictures of events, friends from their time period, posts from events significant to their time period, etc. Another example a literature teacher completed using the tools was to have students create SMS messages from chraracters in the book and then students used the SMS message as a classroom challenge with others in their groups/class.
Description: Create a bingo card (old school as a print/.pdf) or my favorite--online that can be used on an iPad or laptop computer. Once the card is created it gets a unique web address that becomes a clickable Bingo card.
Classroom Connection: One teacher created a Bingo card when studying Greek mythology. The "clues" were a definition/characteristics and the "answers" on the Bingo card.
Description: Books are read to the students by members of the screen actors guild. Pictures and words are shown as the books are read--very similar to the way that a teacher would read a book to students in class. Books include: Harry the Dog, Stellaluna, Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, A Bad Case of Stripes, and many more.
Mini Lesson Activities: Vocabulary Submit Synonyms: Link to submit (synonyms for Defense--use any tools at your disposal to brainstorm words) Results in Wordle Demo: http://www.wordle.net or Tagxedo: http://www.tagxedo.com/ Selected Vocab for Activity: defense, barrier, isolate, manual, remote, yield, souvenir, utensil, stench (From 100 words every middle school student should know) Task #1:
Each table group should use Wordle or Tagxedo to generate a word cloud for their assigned vocabulary word.
Table Discussion/Group Discussion Question: Did technology enhance the learning of the assigned vocabulary word? How might you use take something that was shared and use it in your classroom? (add group discussion to Today's Meet--https://todaysmeet.com/e-mdiscuss)
Task #2:
Linear Array of Words--post it notes (small ----> big), combine with another table
Discussion/Contrast-- Discuss the two versions of the same activity. Add key points of group discussion in Today's Meet--https://todaysmeet.com/e-mdiscuss)
Topics Shared: K-12 Technology Resources & Mini Vocab Lesson Using Technology
K-12 Resources Shared:
Online Stopwatch:
http://www.online-stopwatch.com/countdown/
Tool #1: Google Forms
Web Link: http://drive.google.com
Description: Google forms is a portion of Google documents that can be used to collect information/data from participants. Teachers are using Google forms to collect information on students understanding of concepts and what books they would like to add to their classroom library. Creating and deploying a Google Form is realitively simple:
Other Google Related Tools: Google Docs (use for research, collaborating with others, add ons creates a bibliography, etc.)
Smart Searching: http://www.google.com (use advanced search, image search, complete math problems, etc.)
Tool #2: Five Card Flickr
Description: This is an experimental web site that focuses on visual thinking and could be used as a "launch pad" for writing. It is based/copied from the "Five Card Nancy" game. Users are dealt five random photos from the Flickr picture site for each draw and then the task is to select one picture each time to add to a selection of 5 images that will be put together to tell a story in pictures. When users are done selecting pictures they are given the option of adding a title and explanation. Users then can save the story and share or embed the link so that others can see (and read) their story
Tool #3: Symbaloo
Tool #5: Evernote
Tool #6: Todays Meet
Tool #7: What Do You Love? (from Google)
Tool #8: Big Huge Lab
Tool #10: iBooks
Tool #11: Class Tools
Tool #12: Bingo Baker
Elementary Tool: StoryBook Online
Mini Lesson Activities: Vocabulary
Submit Synonyms: Link to submit (synonyms for Defense--use any tools at your disposal to brainstorm words)
Results in Wordle Demo: http://www.wordle.net or Tagxedo: http://www.tagxedo.com/
Selected Vocab for Activity: defense, barrier, isolate, manual, remote, yield, souvenir, utensil, stench (From 100 words every middle school student should know)
Task #1:
Task #2:
Discussion of Classroom Management With 1:1: