Courtesy of All Things D
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Khan Academy is Amazing.
I was first introduced to the khanacademy videos on YouTube over a year ago. They are great. Simple and concise explanations of difficult concepts. At first, I thought the Khan Academy only produced videos about science topics.
But no. There are more. Many, many more videos. On all sorts of topics.
Here is just a taste: algebra; chemistry; biology; physics; art history; finance; history; and many other social studies and humanities topics.
Up until now, I was quite content to watch the video on my own and prepare for future lessons. But then I spent a little time poking around the site and discovered a fantastic way to engage the students.
If you register as a COACH, and then have you students register as STUDENTS, you can track your students` progress and they watch the videos and practice the concepts through a variety of activities.
For each lesson you teach, you can suggest a video to your students--as a preview of the concepts or as a review of the concepts after you have taught the lesson.
From speaking with students who have used the videos in this manner, they really like the ability to pause, write and reflect about the concepts being presented.
And hopefully, no matter which way you use the videos, the concepts will stick and our students will be more successful.
But no. There are more. Many, many more videos. On all sorts of topics.
Here is just a taste: algebra; chemistry; biology; physics; art history; finance; history; and many other social studies and humanities topics.
Up until now, I was quite content to watch the video on my own and prepare for future lessons. But then I spent a little time poking around the site and discovered a fantastic way to engage the students.
If you register as a COACH, and then have you students register as STUDENTS, you can track your students` progress and they watch the videos and practice the concepts through a variety of activities.
For each lesson you teach, you can suggest a video to your students--as a preview of the concepts or as a review of the concepts after you have taught the lesson.
From speaking with students who have used the videos in this manner, they really like the ability to pause, write and reflect about the concepts being presented.
And hopefully, no matter which way you use the videos, the concepts will stick and our students will be more successful.
Financial Literacy...we could all use a little
The economy is falling apart. House prices are still rising and our students think that money grows on trees. Take a minute to look at SPENT. An interactive game that models what it would be like to live on minimum wage with no education. While it is an American game (i.e. health insurance costs are $375/month), the overall lessons are incredible.
There is no need to register; no need to create a password. It's just a mesmerizing game that makes you really appreciate the small things in life.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
It's Almost Time to Turn-Over....
There are only 8 days left in Semester 1. It is a crazy time of year. Summative assignments are being submitted, ISP presentations are going on around the school and the pile of marking is getting taller and taller. I get it.
But then there is a little (and I mean tiny) breather. Exam time. Wrap up Semester 1 and get ready for Semester 2.
What are you going to do differently in Semester 2? Is there a new technology tool that you would like to try with your students? How about learn how to use Markbook more effectively to reduce the amount of paper that you carry around?
Here are a few suggestions:
1. Use Markbook to communicate with students and parents.
In the first few days of semester 2, start collecting student and parent email addresses and enter them into Markbook. From then on, you can email students and parents mark updates and classroom updates.
2. Explore YouTube.
There are millions of short videos/animations that can be used in class to support concepts being taught. If you are frustrated with the comments and 'strange' videos that pop up at the end of video, take a minute to look at Shafeshare.tv--a great site that 'cleans up' YouTube videos for viewing in the classroom.
Before:
After:
3. Create a Google Calendar for your class.
In this calendar, you can post test dates, lesson topics and attach files. The best thing about using the Google Calendar (as opposed to the Moodle Calendar), is you can share this calender with all your students; your teaching team and parents. It is easily modifiable and very user friendly. It will also email calendar alerts to you and your students!
If you would like to learn how to use any of these tools, please feel free to email me and book a Tech Session. I am available Period 2, 3 and 5 and anytime over the exam period.
But then there is a little (and I mean tiny) breather. Exam time. Wrap up Semester 1 and get ready for Semester 2.
What are you going to do differently in Semester 2? Is there a new technology tool that you would like to try with your students? How about learn how to use Markbook more effectively to reduce the amount of paper that you carry around?
Here are a few suggestions:
1. Use Markbook to communicate with students and parents.
In the first few days of semester 2, start collecting student and parent email addresses and enter them into Markbook. From then on, you can email students and parents mark updates and classroom updates.
2. Explore YouTube.
There are millions of short videos/animations that can be used in class to support concepts being taught. If you are frustrated with the comments and 'strange' videos that pop up at the end of video, take a minute to look at Shafeshare.tv--a great site that 'cleans up' YouTube videos for viewing in the classroom.
Before:
After:
3. Create a Google Calendar for your class.
In this calendar, you can post test dates, lesson topics and attach files. The best thing about using the Google Calendar (as opposed to the Moodle Calendar), is you can share this calender with all your students; your teaching team and parents. It is easily modifiable and very user friendly. It will also email calendar alerts to you and your students!
If you would like to learn how to use any of these tools, please feel free to email me and book a Tech Session. I am available Period 2, 3 and 5 and anytime over the exam period.
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