January 2013
Lake Orion Community Schools
LOCS Technology and Media Newsletter Resources Free Online Professional Development for Teachers Check out these Free Professional Development Online sites that give educators access to PD on all sorts of topics and areas of need. Many of the sites include webinars, online courses, and lots of free resources. Teachers First Check out their OK2Ask section which provides what they refer to as “snack sessions,” a series of free, live, online sessions for self-directed teacher professional development and exploration. Sessions are available live and in archived format. Some of their upcoming topics include math, literacy, google, wikis, and infographics just to name a few. Concept to Classroom Provides self-paced workshops on various hot topics in education. Each workshop allows you to explore the topic from CONCEPT to CLASSROOM through four sections – Explanation, Demonstration, Exploration, and Implementation. Some current workshops available include InquiryBased Learning, Multiple Intelligences, and Cooperative/Collaborative Learning.
Using Educreations and iPads in the Classroom Educreations is program offered online and through an iPad app that allows you and your students to create lessons and then post them online (publically or privately). Recently, Gretchen Hynes of Carpenter Elementary school used Educreations with her students to create a lesson on non-fiction text features. “My kids went on a scavenger hunt in groups to find examples of the 23 features we talked about. Each child was responsible for one specific text feature in creating our Educreation lesson. The pictures were taken with the iPad, and the voice over and drawings was simple for the kids.” – Gretchen Hynes Watch all or part of the lesson by going to the following link: Non-Fiction Text Features To learn more about Educreations visit their website http://www.educreations.com
Library Media News Battle of the Books is Coming to Scripps!! Middle school students from all three locations have been diligently reading and preparing for this year’s exciting edition of the annual Battle of the Books contest scheduled to take place at Scripps Middle School on Friday, February 1, 2013. This year’s contest is sure to be another great event with over 25 teams of 5-6 students reading this year’s excellent 2012-2013 Battle of the Books List selection of books (see list Title Author below). Library Media Evolution of Calpurnia Tate Jacqueline Kelly Specialists from each school in A Long Walk to Water Linda Sue Park collaboration with the Orion The Great Fire Jim Murphy Township Public Library teen Smile Raina Telgemeier librarian will be on hand to Out of My Mind Sharon Draper facilitate and judge the House of the Scorpion Nancy Farmer contest. The Face on the Milk Carton Caroline B. Cooney
Stephanie K. Webber
Intel Teach Elements Intel Teach Elements offers free online professional development courses. Each online course provides an introductory video along with the course syllabus to help you determine if the class is right for you. Current online course offerings include: Thinking Critically with Data, Assessment in 21st Century Classrooms, Project-Based Approaches, Inquiry in the Science Classroom, and Collaboration in the Digital Classroom. 2011-12 Battle of the Books winners
Mikayla B. - Natalie F. Webber
Featured App of the Month
iOS Fun (iPads, iPhones, iTouches) Germ Blaster Free iPad and iPhone arcade style shooter game that helps students learn about the six types of germ pathogens and the “weapons” used to fight those pathogens. Germ Blaster
The Periodic Table Project The Periodic Table Project is a free iPad and iPhone app that puts a creative, artistic spin on the Periodic Table. This is a great resource to help students learn the elements using visual representations. Periodic Table Project
Trading Cards Trading Cards by International Reading Association has come up with a great app that allows students to design their own trading cards. This app would be great for having students create their own cards for characters from a book or to develop a study aid. Trading cards can be created from the following built in topics: Fictional person, real person, fictional place, real place, object, event, or vocabulary. The design template walks you through guiding questions to help you create an information-rich card. Photos from the iPad’s camera roll can be added to each card and the finished cards can be shared via email. This is one of the best apps I have recently reviewed that combines student creativity with curriculum. Trading Cards
Resources Trading Card Creator Trading Card Creator is highlighted in our featured iOS app section above. However, for non-iPad users there is also a free web-version available. This is a great tool for combining student creativity with curriculum. Trading Card Creator
Edcanvas Edcanvas is a really fantastic. Edcanvas is an online tool that allows you or your students to organize present, and share knowledge. Check out their site to browse other educator’s courses by subject area or topic. 2
Shakespeare The Shakespeare by Readdle app is free app for iPhone and iPad that provides access to the complete works of Shakespeare (41 plays, 154 sonnets and 6 poems). The app includes a search function that allows you to find specific phrases written by Shakespeare. The pro version of the app ($9.99) includes an integrated glossary, a random Shakespeare quote generator, a Shakespeare facts database, and Shakespeare portraits. Free Version Pro Version
Nearpod Nearpod is a great app for teachers who are using iPads in the classroom. Using the Nearpod app, teachers can share content from their device to student devices. Students can receive multimedia content as well as participate in assessment and collaboration activities. From the Apple Store description: Nearpod allows teachers to: 1. Create Content: Teachers log in to www.nearpod.com to create multimedia presentations with interactive features such as quizzes, videos, polls, drawing tools, and more. They can also access featured presentations from certified publishers and fellow educators. 2. Engage: In the classroom, teachers log in to the Nearpod iPad app to share content with their students and manage the flow of the lecture. Students use the Nearpod app on their iOS devices to receive curricular content, participate in activities and submit responses. 3. Assess: Teachers can see students’ answers in real time on the Nearpod app. Additionally, teachers can log in to www.nearpod.com to access post-session data and obtain detailed activity reports.
iPad Multimedia Tools for Creativity This website is a great resource for finding iPads apps to help your students be creative and productive. Not only does the site organize apps into categories, it also has a section called iPad Project Examples that gives teachers great ideas on how to use these resources with their students. iPad Multimedia Tools for Creativity
iPad Apps to Support Struggling Learners – iPadsinClass iPadsinClass is a weebly specifically designed to provide iPad resources to help struggling learners and those with special needs.
Lake Orion Community Schools • Technology & Media Newsletter • November 2012
Resources Curriki
Pen Pals around the World
Curriki is one of the most comprehensive websites I have found that provides open educational resources created by teachers for teachers. Resources include lesson plans, webquests, powerpoints, videos, and more. All of the resources are rated by Curriki as well as have a member rating score given by other teachers. Resources are also available in multiple languages. EXCELLENT RESOURCE!!
Pen Pal News is an excellent curriculum resource to connect your students with another group of students from a classroom somewhere else in the world. What makes this pen pal program unique is that it focuses on connecting students on current events and real-world issues. Over a six-week exchange, students will learn about five real-world issues and then produce a final project that will be shared with their pen pals. There are currently two six-week curriculum modules that teachers can select. Option 1: Economy, Health Care, Energy, Immigration, Role of Government; or Option 2: Poverty, Education, Technology, War + Conflict, Environment. To learn more, check out their website.
Gateway to 21st Century Skills The Gateway to 21st Century Skills website is an excellent online resource for teachers. The site contains over 40,000 education resources that include lesson plans, thematic units, and student materials. The database is searchable by subject, grade level, and key word.
Kidblog Want to try blogging with your students, but not sure where to start? Try Kidblog! Kidblog is a safe and simple way to create a blog for your students and classroom. The beauty of Kidblog is that it is free to set up, requires no student email addresses, and doesn’t have annoying ads. Check out Kidblog to start blogging today!
Free Animated Videos Want a resource to help your students better understand a concept visually? Explania.com is an awesome resource that includes animated explanations, interactive tutorials and instructional videos. The videos are engaging, fun to watch, and include a vast array of topics. Another great feature of this site is that all of the videos can be embedded in your own web pages for free. Check out Explainia.com!
Enhance Learning with Technology Understanding how to integrate technology into education is not always easy. Recently, the Arizona K12 Center at Northern Arizona University developed a Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) specifically designed to help K-12 teachers understand technology integration. The matrix aligns five levels of technology integration – entry, adoption, adaption, infusion, and transformation – with five characteristics of meaningful learning – active, collaborative, constructive, authentic, and goal directed. (Taken from The Big Deal Newsletter 1/3/2013 edition)
Explore American Culture If you are an ELL teacher of students between the ages of 12 and 16, the following resource is perfect for you and your students. Trace Effects is an online game designed to teach ELL students American English culture. The game features the character Trace, who comes from the future to visit the United States with the mission to change the world for the better. Throughout his visit, Trace visits American landmarks and unique cultures and is given missions that he must complete in order to return home. Key themes throughout the game include entrepreneurship, community activism, empowerment of women, science and innovation, environmental conservation and conflict resolution. Check out Trace Effects. (Taken from The Big Deal Newsletter 1/3/2013 edition)
Lake Orion Community Schools • Technology & Media Newsletter • November 2012
Free 3-D Images 3DToad is a website providing all sorts of 3D images to enhance your curriculum. Although the bulk of the images are science based including things like dissections and skeletons, other curriculum areas like music, history, computers, and physical education are also featured. Images can be rotated for 360 Degree views with zoom-in and –out features.
Remind 101 Remind 101 is a website that teachers can use to connect with their students and/or parents via text message. Once the teacher sets up the class or topic, students and parents can subscribe to receive information via text. Phone numbers are kept confidential; teachers never see the students’ phone numbers and students never see theirs. Melissa Middleton, high school library media specialist is using the tool to send out messages to subscribers about new books available in the library. This is just one example of how this tool could be used. Free iOS app
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Lake Orion Community Schools • Technology & Media Newsletter • November 2012