Friday, November 30, 2012

Open Culture's NEW K-12 resources













Over 200 free resources to help teachers find what they need
for enrichment.

(Higher education listings for lifelong learners as well.)






Monday, November 26, 2012

Digital citizenship curriculum

Digital citizenship from Common Sense Media is a wonderful new resource for teaching essential digital skills like internet safety, copyright, privacy and managing your digital footprint.   Thorough and up-to-date.












Thanks to Keith Ferrell, EdTechIdeas.com

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Saving iPad work in Edmodo


Got ink?







Make posters from any picture.  Free and fun!

Join.me screensharing










Free screensharing for Windows, Mac and Mobile.
Pro or Basic, download to your device first, then invite
others to view your screen.   Review documents, train,
create presentations together.

Free features include:

  • internet calling
  • screen sharing
  • 250 viewers
  • share control
  • multi-monitor
  • chat
  • send files
  • viewer: iPad/iPhone or Android

Sort docs in Google Drive



With this set up, student work turned into Google Drive will automatically get sorted into appropriate folders to make document management simple.   Students must learn how to name files correctly for gClassFolders to work.    Click to see gClass Folders script.

Google Drive for iPad



Use Google Docs to create and edit documents on your iPad.   View presentations also and spreadsheets also.  (Cannot edit the latter, view only.)  
Google Drive lets you upload photos, videos and docs from your iPad or iPhone.
Also for Android

WeWantApps! for iPad, iPhone

We Want Apps
Find educational apps for students
that you can sort by grade and subject.
Both free and paid apps.


Saturday, November 17, 2012

Kidblog's advice for students



Tips from Kidblog creators - Blogging 101.   Blogging is a powerful way to give students a voice.   It's exciting, immediate and far-reaching.   The goal is to teach students real communication skills in the digital world.   However, it is not without pitfalls and like all skills, requires practice, practice, practice before going "public."   With Kidblog, teachers can provide a secure, private and moderated platform for students to interact and improve communication skills.




Sunday, November 4, 2012

The times they are a changin'

Click to view how quickly the web has evolved!  Check out the amount of activity from 2008 to now!


For more on what this all means, check out the evolution of Web 3.0, article by Manas Ganguly.
So it's not your imagination -- the information highway is moving faster than ever;  let's see how far we can take our students on this digital journey.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Setting up a classroom blog for students...


Pikifriends is a free, secure global blogging platform for junior and senior high school students.  Co-founded by Jeff Dionne, follow this link for his must read on how to set up your classroom blog, and important steps to take before working online with your students.

In my first year of teaching online, internet safety and digital responsibility quickly became the core of my curriculum.   Instead of focusing primarily on acquiring new skills, I soon realized it was important to revisit ethical behavior and staying safe online with every class.

Jeff's tips will help you get started on the right foot with classroom blogging.   Learning to communicate is an art, and blogging with global partners within a safe, controlled platform like Pikifriends gives students an amazing opportunity for monitored practice!