Should you blog?

I found this interesting video featuring Seth Godin - a writer, speaker and agent of change -  and Tom Peters - a writer on business management practices - where they discuss the importance of blogging. The thing to keep in mind as you watch the video is how blogging could be important for you, just as a professional, and how it could be of great value to your students as they grow up and mature in a digital environment. Is this an important skill for them (and you) to have? As a side note, this video comes from a conference for Fortune 500 Companies in Washington DC in 2008. Please comment, I am interested in your perspective.

PhET Simulations

What is...PhEt? PhET is created by a group at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. It offers a whole bunch of free science simulations.

Uses in education.  The simulations offered at PhEt cover many science topics in subject areas including Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science and math. The simulations can be to highlight something you are covering in class. It could be to set up an experiment you may be trying. It can also be the actual experiment you are going to do in class. It is a great place for students to take what you are learning in class and apply that knowledge to a real-life situation and make some predictions on what is going to happen.

Below is a link to an example of a popular PhEt simulation dealing with probability using the game Plinko:
http://phet.colorado.edu/sims/plinko-probability/plinko-probability_en.html 

Why use PhET? PhET is just an amazing resource to be used in the classroom. There are so many practical, cool things that you can implement with PhET. It is also a free tool.

Link: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new

Animoto

What is...Animoto? Animoto is a free web-based video creation tool.

Uses in education. This is a great tool to accomplish a number of things in a classroom. For one, it can be used to review a chapter. For instance, if I was teaching social studies, I could use this tool to have a student create a 30-second review of the chapter using words, pictures and graphics. I could also create an introductory video to preview a chapter.

Why use Animoto?  First and foremost because it is very easy to use. This tool does not take long to learn, and it does not take long to create using Animoto. Animoto has a lot of options for users (pictures, music, etc.) but takes a lot of the hard work of editing the video out of the hands of the user. This part of the work can be very difficult and time consuming, but Animoto takes care of that for the user.

Secondly, it creates really cool looking products. You can get professional looking results, without necessarily being a video editing professional.

And, lastly, it is free. Free is always good, and that is no different in this case.

Link: www.animoto.com

The Center on Congress at Indiana University - YouTube Channel

What is ... The Center on Congress at Indiana University - YouTube Channel? This is a resource created by the University of Indiana in Bloomington that offers videos detailing the workings of Congress. They say their central mission is to "help improve the public's understanding and to improve civic engagement" among other things.

Uses in education. These videos created by the Center can be used for discussion starters, quick reviews, extension of knowledge, part of a focus lesson, a way to wrap up an idea you are discussing, and plenty more.

Why use The Center on Congress at Indiana University YouTube Channel? The resource has easy to follow videos that touch on concepts that students don't always understand. The Center on Congress has already created somewhere around 25 videos that you can use in class.

Link: www.youtube.com/user/TheCenteronCongress

Voicethread

What is...Voicethread? Voicethread is a collaborative, multimedia slideshow which allows people to comment in five ways - using voice (either by using the telephone, or microphone, text, video (via webcam) and audio file. Users are able to create slideshows and use their voice to narrate. The slideshows can contain many different file types, including PowerPoint, .jpg, .mov, .doc, .wmv, and many more.
Uses in education. Students are able to create presentations where they can mesh the written word, voice, pictures and more. There are a couple of really good examples given below.

Why Voicethread? The tool itself allows for so many options for the teacher and for the student. This would be great for students to work on speaking, and for them to tie that to something visual. Voicethread has an Education site, and it has a free service, although, there is a paid option which allows for much more space. The cost is $60 for the year or $10 for the month.

Links: www.voicethread.com
  -  Here are a couple of examples

Drop.io

What is ... drop.io? In simple terms, drop.io is a file sharing site. But, there is much, much more to it. With drop.io, you can upload files of any size, and share them with people. You can also make notes and comments on those files.


Uses in eduction. This is a great resource to allow students to upload assignments for the teacher to have access to. This would allow students to "turn in" their assignments at any time, from any place that would have internet access.

This could also be a tool that the teacher could use to post class notes, assignments and other material, including videos, photos, etc.

Why drop.io? The great thing about drop.io (again, aside from being free) is that you can upload any file size. This allows for a user to have  a place for those big files, like videos and lots of pictures. While this can be a social site, meaning anyone can have access, a user can also have the documents password protected.

Link: www.drop.io

Top Ten Websites for Free Audio Books?

What is...Top Ten Websites for Free Audio Books? This website offers a compilation of 10 resources where a teacher can access audio books online - for free.

Uses in education. This compilation of free resources has enormous power for a number of reasons. This would allow teachers to differentiate the way in which a student, or students, has access to information. The books are audio books, and they are being read aloud. This may also be very useful for ELL students as an opportunity to hear books that their peers are reading, if they are having a hard time with the reading.

Why use Top Ten Websites for Free Audio Books? Much like other resources we look at here, it is a free resource, and it is a resource that someone else has compiled for us.

I tried a few of the sites, and found many books at my disposal. Newer books were not usually available, but many classics, and many authors are.

Link: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/easy-listening-pleasures-10-websites-free-audio-book-downloads/

Diigo

Diigo V5: Collect and Highlight, Then Remember! from diigobuzz on Vimeo.

What is ... Diigo? Diigo is a social bookmarking site. This allows users to bookmark websites/articles/etc. and then share that information with the world. A user can follow other Diigo users who might be interested in the same kinds of information.

Uses in education. Diigo is a great resource for teachers and students. Here are a few ways Diigo may be used in schools:

1. Teachers can set up a group for class (each student would have to set up a Diigo account) and the entire class can share bookmarks. This is a great way for students to collaborate when researching information. The teacher can also keep an eye on the types of information and sources students are using and help lead them in the right direction.

2. Teachers can use Diigo to continue to build their personal learning network. PLN's are extremely important for teachers as they continue on a journey as a lifelong learner. Diigo, in conjunction with others sites like Twitter, Facebook, Ning and others, teachers can accumulate more information and ideas than they ever could alone.

3. Teachers and students can join a group, create a group, or just gather information from groups already created in Diigo. (See this example of a Diigo group of History Teachers)

Why Diigo? Diigo is one of two major social bookmarking sites (Delicious being the other) and it has a number of great features. Aside from accumulating, sharing and viewing bookmarks, users can also take screen captures, highlight information (and then export just highlighted information), share links, mark something to read it later and more. Diigo has a plethora of options and features that users can choose from that are very useful.

Link: www.diigo.com

Google Tips and Tricks

What is ... Google Tips and Tricks? This is a collection of great tips for using Google and many of Google's applications.

Uses in education. Here are a couple of reasons this might be useful:

1. This is great for teachers as a way to build skills using Google to find information, understand how to use Google Docs, and many other Google tools. It offers a ton of information just as a way to build our own personal learning.

2. You can offer the site to students so they can enhance their ability to use Google.

3. And, possibly most useful, teachers could use different parts of this site to actually teach students better searching strategies, or other tools that Google offers that can benefit the students in their learning.

Why Google Tips and Tricks? Again, as is the case with many of the items shared on this blog, the work of gathering up these ideas has been done for us. It is a great resource to have on hand without having to spend hours finding all of the pieces on our own.

Link: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/32gFq7/www.eternalcode.com/100-google-tricks-that-will-save-you-time-in-school

100 Best Youtube Videos for Science Teachers

What is ... 100 Best Youtube Videos for Science Teachers? Pretty self explanatory. This site offers a collection of Youtube videos that science teachers might use in class.

Uses in education. There are videos on this site that would be applicable to just about any science class we may offer students. Many of the videos not only informational, but also entertaining. These videos would be great starters in the entice phase of a block schedule lesson. They could also be used to extend the learning past just lecture or teacher-led discussion.

Why use 100 Best Youtube Videos for Science Teachers? Well, because instead of the teacher having to sift through the almost infinite number of videos on Youtube, this site has done the work for us. Plus, it is a really great collection of videos, and a way for teachers to show an appropriate way to use Youtube and to show that there really is a wealth of useful information on Youtube.

Link: http://www.bachelorofscience.com/100-best-youtube-videos-for-science-teachers

Poll Everywhere

What is ... Poll Everywhere? Poll Everywhere is an engaging tool used to attain data, typically formative assessment data, to help guide instruction. Poll Everywhere allows respondents to answer a question via their cell phone, Twitter or online. The poll can be easily embedded into a PowerPoint and the results show up in real time.

Uses in education. Poll Everywhere is a great way to infuse technology into your classroom and to engage students by allowing them to use their cell phones in an appropriate way in the classroom.

One way to use Poll Everywhere is during a 'Do It Now' activity or 'Bell Work.' The students may enter the classroom and the Poll can be up on the screen using the projector. The students would then respond to the poll question at the beginning of class which may either review previously covered material or preview what is coming up that day.

Poll Everywhere could also be used during a lesson as a check for understanding. The results show broad group understanding, and do not show individual responses.

Why Poll Everywhere? Poll Everywhere allows students to respond in a number of different ways, including their cell phones. This is a great way for schools and teachers to allow for appropriate use of cell phones in the classroom.

The results from using Poll Everywhere can aid a teacher in planning and for use in guiding instruction. This is really no different than using something like 'Thumbs up/thumbs down' except for the use of technology to engage the students, and the ability for students to answer anonymously.

Link: www.polleverywhere.com

Wallwisher

What is ....Wallwisher? Wallwisher is a Web 2.0 tool that acts like a big bulletin board. Users are able to double click on the canvas and add a sticky note which could include a thought, an image a link and more.

Uses in education. There are many possible uses in education for Wallwisher. Here are just a few that you might be able to use:

1. Brainstorming. The teacher can pose a question or a discussion point and students can respond via Wallwisher. This is a great way to gather a number of different ideas and viewpoints on any topic.

2. Timelines. This can be done in a number of ways. The teacher can create a timeline on the Wallwisher canvas, along with a jumbled list of events. The student can go to the Wallwisher and arrange the events on the proper place on the Wall. Once the page is refreshed the items get jumbled up again.

The teacher can also have the student create the timeline.

3. The Wall can also be used as a place to gather resources. Maybe a class is doing some research, and the students can collaborate on the possible resources. Students can place links to resources directly on the wall and everyone can have access.

Why Wallwisher. Wallwisher is a very easy tool to use. The steps to set up a wall are straight forward and simple to follow. Students do not have to use the wall in class. This is something that could be required to complete outside of class, or you can use it in a lab or in the classroom.

Link: www.wallwisher.com