Sharing Tips and Tricks of Using Technology in the Classroom Part 2

[Carrie Albin]

In your courses you have been asked to share your tips and tricks of using technology in the classroom. 

[Carlie F.]

I often used http://www.brainpop.com in my classroom this past year. Although some of the videos require a username and subscription, many of the videos are free. The videos are usually 3-5 minutes long and can be useful for all subjects. My students really enjoy the cartoon feel and the sense of humor of the entertaining main characters, Tim and Moby. I used the videos to support the content I was teaching. Along with each video there is additional information, games, and links to follow and further explore the topic or test your knowledge.

[Brad Vanbeek]

In our school we have a list of Academic Vocabulary from Marzano that we are to teach along with content.  Each student has a folder with words, a definition and an illustration.  I wanted to have students to start doing this on the computer.  I did it in two different ways.  One was to use Kidspiration.  Students would type out word and find a picture or draw an illustration.  The secnd way was with a movie maker.  Studnets would write out their definition, and draw their illustration.  They would then take still pictures and down load them into the computer.  They would then record thier voices reading their definition and describing their pictures.  Lastly they combine both into the movie making program.  I had some success but with Kidspiration I felt the students were somewhat limited in their illustrations and with the movie making it seemed to be fairly labor intensive for me.  I would like to continue this project but need to find some program that is a little more user friendly.

[Sarah Barnes]

Jeopardy is always a great review game to use in the classroom, but it can be even easier and better if you can create this game using powerpoint. I have created a version of Jeopardy in powerpoint by using a home slide that has a picture of the board with categories and prices. When you click on the price, it is a hiperlink that takes you to a new slide with the answer. After students have responded with their question "What is..." then you can click on the slide and it will take you to a new slide that shows the question. Once students record their scores, you can click on the home button and it will take you back to the home slide where you can choose a new category.

Once you have made the template, you can use it over and over again to review for different topics! Enjoy!

[Lauren G Ede]

I have just learned about the website edu.glogster.com and I had fun making my first glog this past weekend. If you don't know what a glog is yet, it is a "collaborative online learning platform for teachers and students to express their creativity, knowledge, ideas, and skills". I was able to create a poster with some of my teaching photos and family photos that I will use at my Meet the Faculty Night presentation. My professional goal is to use this tool to make online posters for my students with photos taken throughout the school year. Typically, I make a scrap/memory book for each student and have always used printed photos, stickers and photo copied poems and text pasted in a construction paper book. With not much left in the school budget for photo ink or photo processing reimbursement, I will try this instead. Teachers can get a free membership. They also offer a premium paid membership for those that want to do elaborate creations and have more than one class.

[Nicki Humitz]

In my classroom I have used rubistar.com to create rubrics for grading assignments. It's a free application to use and very easy. You simply go on the website name your rubric, and decide the requirements for your project or assignment. You can then print it out and it makes for really quick grading too!!

[Laura LaFrenier]

Take some time this summer to organize your email. Are you guilty of leaving hundreds of emails in your inbox just because you may need them someday? Use labels or folders to combat this issue (don't be afraid to delete some emails as well). Also, don't forget to report spam emails, rather than delete. Happy organizing!

[Christina Snyder]

For my CEP 810 class we are asked to share a tip.  Looking at just a few of these posts I am not sure I can really contribute anything new!  I do however love the site www.wordle.net.  It is a great way to illustrate important ideas/concepts within a unit, or to have students illustrate in an artistic brainstorming type format what they have learned from a unit.

[Elisabeth Sochacki]

Tech Tips CEP 810

I wish I was so techie as to have some amazing thing to add!Here's my best shot at it - I love how Google, Google Docs, Blogger and iGoogle are all tied in together. Sure saves time logging in.Yes, you can use a Wiimote to make your own low cost IWB and it does work - amazingly well actually! If I can do it - you can too! Kids love learning about the technology of infrared. Find out how on Classroom 2.0.  Gizmo Richard's Techsupport Alert is an extremely handy resource for security and maintenance questions!

[Chris]

I want to take this moment to introduce you to something called video casting and why it is really amazing and easy to do.  It essentially is just creating a short video that is hosted on the web and viewable by anyone.  Basically, all that you need to do is record or create a video using a webcam or other editing software.  You then simply upload it to Youtube or any other hosting sight of your choice.  Once you have it online you can put it in your blog, on your website, or anywhere else you feel like it.  It is easy and free to do.  It provides many great opportunities for use in your classroom.  An example would be that you could record a lecture you give in class, along with the actual projection to go along with it, then you could turn that into a video and upload it.  Any absent students or those who simply needed to hear it again would be able to look through your webcast and investigate it.

[Duane B. Karlin]

For my CEP 812 class, for our online video/web conference workshop, one of our explore options was to try Vyew.com.  I had never heard of Vyew before, but after exploring through the site a bit, I found it to be very easy to navigate and use.  I especially like how you can video conference with up to four people on webcams in separate locations.  Inviting people into a meeting room was also very straight-forward and easy to accomplish.  Vyew also has options to allow the moderator to grant privileges (such as viewer, reviewer, collaborator, or moderator) to invitees.  Another feature that I like is that you do not have to download specific software to use the application.  That alone got my attention.  I could see using this tool in a classroom to communicate with other classes that may be on the other side of town or on the other side of the world.  To be able to communicate via webcam, or simply voice, share screens and files are just some of the benefits with Vyew.  I am looking forward to trying out this newly discovered tool.

[Faith]

One of the things I learned this week in CEP 810 was about a program called roboform

It's a free download that keeps your passwords and logins in one place. No more worrying about lost passwords and creating secure passwords. It's internet based so you simply log in on whatever computer or smartphone you're using. It also fills in forms with a single click. I'm excited to try it out!

[Karen Soles]

Explore video converters so that you can use Teacher Tube in your teaching even if it is blocked!