The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book... FREE!

The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book — FREE!
http://www.ictineducation.org/web2/ (2 MB file - PDF)
Edited by Terry Freeman (from UK)

• 87 projects.
  
• 10 further resources.
  
• 52 aplications.
  
• 94 contributors.
  
• The benefits of using Web 2.0 applications.
  
• The challenges of using Web 2.0 applications.
  
• How the folk who ran these projects handled the issues...
  
• ... And what they recommend you do if you run them.
  
• What were the learning outcomes? 
• And so much more!!!

Take 5! Integration Update - March 24, 2010 (Vol.1/#6)

Tips and Tools for Teachers 
1) 43 Ways to Use Wordle in the Classroom — Image below was made in Wordle... Using Rossford Schools’ “About Our District” web page text.
http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_157dpbsg9c5  — if images don’t show, go to Actions near bottom and download as a PDF or PPT to view it
Wordle – http://www.wordle.net 

 2) Elementary SMART Board Lessons — From Oak Street Elementary (Plattsburgh, NY) - LOTS of lessons by topic; many are interactive websites (not Notebook software), so easy to click on and use immediately
http://plattsburgh.neric.org/oak/smartboard/sciencealpha.htm


Ponderings... Next issue

Learning Opportunities... Next issue


Just for Fun! ;-)
Just in time for Spring Break... For all that free time we’ll have, create some “avatars” of yourself... Part of your new “digital identity”

• Become an M&M — http://www.mms.com/us/becomeanmm  -- Who doesn’t adore those little ones from the TV commercials? 
• My Avatar Editor – http://myavatareditor.com (view at home... Blocked at schools) – Create you’re own custom avatar that resembles a Mii (from Wii fame... Impress... or embarrass your kids!!!) 
• Second Life – http://secondlife.com – (view at home... Blocked at schools) for more advanced techies or those looking for a new, virtual life away from it all

10 Worst Passwords... Exposed!

Quick question... Does the title above make you think twice about your own passwords? If so, especially if you're thinking of your online banking website, you should keep reading... and make changes accordingly!

According to various websites and blogs (not sure of the original source... so someone can help me out here by adding a comment below), here are the 10 worst passwords to use... or at least 10 bad passwords used at the website mentioned in the article:

1. 123456
2. 12345
3. 123456789
4. Password

5. iloveyou

6. princess
*7. rockyou
8. 1234567
9. 12345678
10. abc123

*rockyou is #7 because that was the website that was hacked to reveal all these passwords! 

Here is one full article on this topic for more information -- It's in "print" format for less ads.

Take 5! Integration Update (Vol.1/#5)

Here is your 5th installment of the Take 5! Integration Update.
“Take 5” is now a weekly email update containing information related to teaching and learning for today and beyond...

Take just 5 minutes (or less) to look over these resources and see what might be helpful for your and/or your students. Better yet, set aside at least 15 minutes a week to focus on finding resources and ideas that will improve student learning and prepare them for their future!

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Tips and Tools for Teachers 
1) Spelling City – (ads on pages, but a neat review tool!) -- Thanks to Jen Lewis for suggesting this site! I know many elementary teachers already use this... If not, check it out! Provide an online spelling list with a “Test Me”, “Teach Me”, and “Play a Game” options as well as generates a printable spelling list.  http://www.spellingcity.com  

2) Tag Galaxy – find pictures (in a solar system search format — you have to see it to really understand...)  And click in the lower right corner for the full-screen effect!
http://www.taggalaxy.de/   (Thanks for sharing this site, Kristen Vargo – IH, GL) 

3) Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling – Thinking about having students create a project? How about digital storytelling? Lots of information here to get you started! Email me if you’re interested in a Digital Storytelling summer workshop!http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/index.html

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Ponderings
Short (or Long) Read 

Brain Rules Book: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Home, Work, and School
I mentioned this book before, but here’s the direct link for the 12 rules, many relating to learning:

http://www.brainrules.net/the-rules  LOTS of videos and information here for FREE!!!
(Download a PDF of the 12 Rules here - http://www.brainrules.net/pdf/12brainrules.pdf ) 

The 12 Brain Rules (by John Medina) 

• Exercise - Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power.  
• Survival - Rule #2: The human brain evolved, too.  
• Wiring - Rule #3: Every brain is wired differently.  
• Attention - Rule #4: We don’t pay attention to boring things.  
• Short-term memory - Rule #5: Repeat to remember.  
• Long-term memory - Rule #6: Remember to repeat.  
• Sleep - Rule #7: Sleep well, think well.  
• Stress - Rule #8: Stressed brains don’t learn the same way.  
• Sensory integration - Rule #9: Stimulate more of the senses.
• Vision - Rule #10: Vision trumps all other senses.  
• Gender - Rule #11: Male and female brains are different.  
• Exploration - Rule #12: We are powerful and natural explorers.

Point to Ponder...
Which of these rules will you share with your students? 

Learning Opportunities 

1) REVS’ trainings and workshops calendar (March sessions) - http://ed-tech-integration.pbworks.com/Workshops 

2) Kristie Hughes, NWOCA Educational Technologist (March and April visits) - Sign up here: http://training.nwoca.org/hughes 

MARCH (Confirmed)
Thursday, March 18 (EP, JH, HS) 

Wednesday, March 24 (IH, GL) 

APRIL (Confirmed)
Wednesday, April 7 (EP, JH, HS)                
Wednesday, April 14 (IH, GL)

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Just for Fun! ;-) 

A NEW section for a little comic relief... And for those of you creative types who can find a way to make a lesson out of this stuff! Here you go: Tater People – In honor of St. Patrick’s Day (Irish potatoes & all...) Which one(s) are you? http://www.frontiernet.net/~shelby304/specials/sweettators/  

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FW: Take 5! Integration Update - Sharing Successes! (Vol.1/#4)

Here is your 4th installment of the Take 5! Integration Update. “Take 5” monthly emails contain information related to teaching and learning for today and beyond... This week is a special edition on “Sharing Your Successes.”

Sharing Your Successes!
-- Here are a few examples of the many integration activities, lessons, and assessments from across the district...

EP

• A 3rd grade teacher updates her class website before each math, science, and social studies unit with  a few websites with games or information that go along with the unit.  If the students complete any of the games at home they can print their score sheet and return it for a prize.
  
• A 4th grade teacher uploaded most of the OAT tests from the past onto the CPS system (student response or “clickers”) and uses them for review, which the kids love.
  
• The 5th and 6th grade gifted students use Excel to create matrix charts, which help them to organize their information to solve logic problems. The students also use HyperStudio to create multimedia presentations for their independent study projects.
  

GL

• A 5th grade math class used a Wii game system to assist them with a math lesson on graphing; students collected data while playing various sports games (e.g.- bowling pins knocked over; baseball distance hit, etc.) and then made appropriate graphs to chart their performance.
• Two sixth grade teachers are using netbooks for many of their 6th grade lessons, including file sharing through network folders in order to save printing/paper costs and recorded audio files to explain concepts as well as for fluency activities. 
• One 6th grade teacher is also using SMART Board’s Notebook software recorder to create videos of lessons and have students view the lessons in centers. 
• The computer club has been using Google docs. They are writing short scripts for video projects and expressed interest in working on them from home. She set up an account and students can access their work from any computer. She can also communicate with them, give them feedback and suggestions from any computer, anytime. Not all students participate from home, but works great for those who do. 

IH

• The library media specialist had 5th grade students use a wiki (simplified web page) to summarize U.S. state information for a social studies research lesson; the students could quickly view other students’ work/states as well and many were excited to create their “first web page”!
  
• Lots more is going on at IH, but apparently they are too shy to share... ;-)
  

JH

• Cheerleaders are using Ning to keep track of upcoming events, discussions, and pictures.
  
• ELA teachers are having students use Inspiration for their research reports — to organize and plan their writing in diagram and outline formats.
  
• History classes are using Glogster for history reports; she saves a bunch of pictures for the students to pick from (saving time), then they create a poster based on their research and pictures from the choices available.
  
• For ELA, teachers entered old OAT questions into SurveyMonkey (online surveys) and the kids take the “tests” online, providing percentages and graphs of how each student answered, including incorrect answers (showing misconceptions). The kids get INSTANT feedback on how they did and can also compare their answers (extended responses are the best to compare!)  to others -- all answers are anonymous.
  

HS

• Several HS teachers are using Ning sites as a learning resource for students to use outside of the classroom. Some things they use it for include video recordings of their lessons, additional videos of related content, discussion boards to prep for an upcoming in-class discussion or continue one started in class, or to post additional links to files or websites that relate to the current learning outcomes and assignments.
  
• Lots more is going on at the HS too, but apparently they are too shy to share as well!
  

District / Multiple buildings

• Elementary reading specialists created Word forms to improve their assessment documentation, making it quicker to complete each one and easier to interpret since they are the same across the district.
  
• The Choral Director uses several technologies on a regular basis: YouTube performances as models of performance for students in grades 8-12; a multi-track hard disk recorder and a multi-disc burner to create learning media for all students; a digital sequencer to help create accompaniments for his performances; and a piece of software call "The Amazing Slowdowner" from Ronimusic.com to help create learning media for some of his students
  

Windows XP - Split Screen for 2+ Programs

If you are a Windows/PC user who frequently works between two or more programs (ex. - Word and Excel; web browser and PowerPoint), then this tip might come in handy to make both windows quickly viewable side-by-side -- like the image above.

To "undo" it, just use the Maximize button in each window.

(Thanks to Sue Swartz-JH for mentioning it!)

Great... Shorter Days?

=============================================================

From Yahoo News: According to a NASA scientist... the 7th largest quake ever "should have shortened the length of an Earth day by 1.26 milliseconds, according to research scientist Richard Gross at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA"

Shorter, perhaps, but most of us won't notice -- still makes a great, attention-getting headline!!!