Websites, Lessons, and More for ALL Grade Levels

There are so many valuable lesson plans, websites, and Web 2.0 tools that are available for teachers and students to use in their classrooms, but sifting through all of them can be time-consuming.

I have a list of websites of a few websites that my classmates I find useful!

Please feel free to add any resources that you use in your classroom as well.

1.       Internet4Classrooms Skill Builders http://www.internet4classrooms.com- 

This is a website that provides a lot of resources and lessons.  The website is divided into different grade levels and subject areas.  The site contains different interactive games, activities, or handouts for different skills.  This site helps students develop online test taking skills along with many other 21^st century level skills.

2.       Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus-  http://www.visualthesaurus.com

Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus is an excellent tool to increase vocabulary and writing skills.  Visual Thesaurus is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus that allows the user to map word webs with meanings, pronunciations, and synonyms.  Visual Thesaurus gives proper grammar usage of unfamiliar words as well.  In my classroom, students access visual thesaurus for the word of the day and create a word web.  Throughout the week, my students will learn five new vocabulary words and apply them in their daily writing assignments.  One does have to subscribe to the tool, but this is an excellent source for building vocabulary, using words precisely, improves grammar and spelling, and exposure to other languages. 

 

3.       Screencast-o-matic  http://www.screencast-o-matic.com

This tool allows one to create videos using the webcam or a screen shot and save your videos on your network or YouTube.  A teachers can create screencasts of lessons when he or she is going to absent, so the substitute teacher can show it to the students.  Students can utilize the program as well.  Students can create a screencast of a project presentation or speech and share it with the class.

 

4.       Creating glogs/ interactive posters- http://www.glogster.com

This site provides an alternative presentation option for the traditional book report or Powerpoints.  Students can use interactive images to bring their novels alive.  I have also had my students use a glog as a cover page for a writing portfolio.  Students can add attachments, so they can create an accessible portfolio of their writing to share with others.

Online Collaboration with Google Drive

Google Drive 

Google offers a lot of awesome tools for educators and businesses.  Google Drive is one of them.  By opening up a GMail account, users can access many unique features.  When using Google Drive, users can create and share Documents, Presentations, Spreadsheets, Forms, or Pictures offering a paperless classroom.  There is a variety of apps that can connect to Drive as well. 
Here are some ideas for using Google Drive in the classroom:

•  Creating a Document: 
• Students can brainstorm, draft, edit, and publish a story together for a creative writing activity. 
• Students can research and write a collaborative research essay. 
• Students can create an online, ongoing journal that can be shared with the teacher to respond to and provide feedback.
• Teachers can write collaborative lesson plans and share them with anyone, i.e. administrators, students, parents.
• Teachers and students can take and share notes from meetings or lectures.
• Creating a Presentation:
• Students can collaborate while creating a presentation about a given topic.
• Students can make a creative presentation about books that they've read.
• Anytime that you are thinking about using PowerPoint or other presentation tools, utilize Google Presentation...sharing has never been easier!
• Creating a Spreadsheet:
• Track grades and keep students informed.
• When scheduling students, do it collaboratively using Google Spreadsheet!
• Make graphs, charts, and more for math classes.
• Creating a Form:
• Create and administer assessments.Great for pre and post tests!
• Create surveys for students to participate in or students can create surveys.
• Use for classroom/student observations.
• Students can submit their reading records, band practice sheets, or other logs paperless!
• Keep track of behavior referrals by creating a behavior form.
• Other Features:
• Keep documents in folders for personal use or share them with others.
• Access Google calendar and synchronize schedules.
• Create groups to allow for collaboration.
• Access IM (instant messaging) or Video message.
• GMAIL offers translation--communication with parents in their native language!
• OR use the translation option to communicate with pen pals across the world.

Google Drive is a wonderful Web 2.0 tool that educators across the world can bring into their classrooms!  For more information about Google Drive go to: www.google.com/drive.  The best news...it's FREE! 

 

Try it out today and let me know your thoughts!! 

Courtesy of drive.google.com

 

Wikispaces

A Web 2.0 tool that I recently explored is wikispaces.  Here is a summary of my experience using a wikispace and collaboration with a classmate, Melissa Buchhop (Buchhop, M. personal communication, June 24- 27, 2013). 

A wiki is a collaborative site where multiple individuals can have discussions. Wiki is short for What I Know Is. When using a wiki, the user can set up preferences, add members, track history, create new pages, create projects, assign groups, and much more. Some terms that are important to learn when using a wiki as an interactive tool include: widgets, embedding, and linking. Widgets is a term used for the live gadgets that can be embedded into a wiki page, such as images, documents, or videos. Embedding is used when pictures, videos, and documents can be directed added onto the wiki page. Linking is used when a website link is shared to direct other users to go to different locations to look at other pieces or images that have been created for additional information (Tangient LLC, 2013). 

One educational resource that educators can utilize is Wikispaces. Wikispaces can be accessed through the link http://www.wikispaces.com. The site is free for educators and their students. Wikispaces is an easy Web 2.0 tool to access and incorporate into classrooms. The site is safe and private for users. Preference settings can be customized to allow for further security when using the site. In order to edit and collaborate on a wikispace page, the creator must invite users to join the wiki. Creating a wikispace account is simple and only requires the user to create a username, password, and email address. Once the user has created an account, he or she can create a wiki and invite others to join. One feature that educators find useful is being able to create projects and assign students to groups. Students can collaborate with each other and pull in information to create their collaborative project. Students will find wikispaces to be an easy tool that allows them to communicate interactively with their classmates (Tangient LLC, 2013).

There are many ways that wikis can be utilized in the educational environment. First, the Grand Forks chapter of NDEA has a wiki for its members. It is a private wiki for only invited members to sign into. The wiki provides up-to-date NDEA information as well as the latest information about negotiations. Members are encouraged to participate in discussions and ask questions. Next, in some school districts, the Technology Partners created a wiki to allow users to participate in discussions, collaborate, and ask questions. Also, educators can create a class wiki for students to access throughout the school day or at home. Teachers can create projects for students to work on together and help students develop skills for being a good digital citizen. Finally, certain colleges and universities have utilized wiki sites for students to share reflective, research papers. Students are able to gain insight from classmates and provide feedback to assist others in his or her learning process (Tangient LLC, 2013).

Overall, using wikis in a classroom would be an excellent Web 2.0 tool for students. Wikis allow students to feel like a community and helps in developing 21st century readiness skills. Wikis are user- friendly and programs are easy to use and edit. Wikis have a social networking aspect that looks similar to Facebook and a formative real-time assessment tool. By using a wiki, students learn many writing, reading, collaborative, and computer literacy skills necessary for meeting 21st century learning standards as well as Common Core State Standards.

References:

Tangient LLC. (2013). Wikispaces classroom. Retrieved from https://www.wikispaces.com/

 

 

Bookmark Sites

Conducting online searches can be overwhelming and time consuming.  There are several bookmarking tools that can make searching the world wide web seem more efficient. 

Courtesy of symbaloo.com

One bookmarking site is Symbaloo.  The site offers a lot of valuable tools that help the user become visually organized.  This is a wonderful bookmarking tool for students who are very disorganized and are visual learners.  The site allows the user to select icons that represent the website that is being bookmarked.  To check out everything that Symbaloo has to offer, go to http://www.symbaloo.com/.

Courtesy of http://vimeo.com/12687333

Another bookmarking site is Diigo.  The user can create a library full of websites, images, and notes.  The user can also add groups and networds to follow other users and their interests.  This is a great tool to use in the classroom.   Students can create their own bookmarking sites while sharing it with their classmates.  Collaborative researching couldn't be easier using this tool.  Students can follow their classmates and utilize the same sites to conduct research.  To check out other aspects of Diigo, go to https://www.diigo.com/.

The best benefit for these tools is that they both offer FREE subscriptions!

21st Century Skills Framework

In this digital world, technology has had an impact on the methods and curriculum that students need to learn in order to be ready for college or careers.  The 21st century learning and teachning is combined with learning academic skills combined with creative support systems.  Students need to acquire knowledge in all content areas as well as 21st century readiness skills. 

Learning environments need to expose students to critical thinking skills, collaborative learning, creativity, and communication.  Using information, media, and technology skills, students will advance their learning to be ready to enter many careers requiring advanced technology knowledge. 

Schools across the world are adjusting instructional methods to help prepare students for the 21st century.  As technology continues to advance, so does education and instructional strategies. 

For the complete 21st Century Skills Framework, Standards, Professional Development, and Assessments, see the following link: http://www.p21.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=254&Itemid=120

Courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

Teaching with 21st Century Tools

Welcome to My Digital Toolbox!  Here you will find a variety of tech tips. apps, online resources, web 2.0 tools, and online collaboration ideas!

After completing a course at Valley City State Univeristy, I have learned a lot of powerful tools that can be implemented into schools across the world to enhance 21st century readiness. 

The course introduced me to a lot of different technologies that would greatly impact my students' learning environment!

Feel free to share ideas, add comments, or make recommendations!!
Thanks for checking out my blog.

Courtesy of Microsoft Word Clip Art