Friday, October 30, 2009

Free Online Course! Definitely Worth Your Time!

The New Jersey Department of Education and November Learning are providing free online Web Literacy Courses made  to the first 1000 educators who register for them. These courses are designed to prepare teachers, students and parents to become Web literate. A full range of Web skills are introduced including basic search techniques, and advanced cross-referencing of Web sites to foster critical thinking and community building.
Modules in the Course include:
Internet Basics
Search Tools
Finding Information
Validating Information
Putting it All Together

Advanced WebLiteracy and Blogging for Educators courses are also available.

To learn more go to:
http://cie.kean.edu/CIE/online_web_literacy.html


Mathtrain TV- Kids Teaching Kids



Mathtrain.TV is a free educational "kids teaching kids" project from Mr. Marcos & his students at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica, CA.  With an interface similiar to Youtube, students and teachers view, create, and upload tutorial screencasts and videos on various math concepts.  This site even has free podcasts students can hear and download.

http://www.mathtrain.tv/index.php

Monday, October 19, 2009

JenuineTech.com - Creative Collaborative Projects for Grades Pre-K-6

Are you looking for awesome unit-based collaborative projects that foster a sense of Global Collabaration?

"Jennifer Wagner, creator of JenuineTech.com, has been succesfully encouraging teachers since 1999 to use technology seamlessly in their PreK-6 classrooms. Using the tools of the Internet (Web 2.0), Jennifer will help you understand how technology will help you make the most of your time in a variety of ways. Winning numerous awards for her creative ways in encouraging teachers to collaborate, her teaching style is very user friendly, creative, and personable. "

Thanks Sue Kreisinger!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Free Brainpop Resources


Celebrating 10 years of awesome videos and other instuctional tools, BrainPop offers free videos on specific topics on particular days.  On BrainPop's curriculum calendar, you can view and select BrainPop Jr. , BrainPop videos and events that are available on a given day.  Moby and Tim cleverly explains a variety of historical, mathematic, and science topics that are sometimes difficult to understand.

BrainPop Educator is free to all teachers, even if you did not purchase BrainPop.  This site provides lesson plans, instructional tutorials, classrooms tools, graphic organizers,and suggestions for funding.

http://www.brainpop.com/educators/blog/curriculum-calendar-october-2009/?month=oct&yr=2009

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

One True Media: A Resource for the Remix Generation



Your remix generation will love this web 2.0 tool that will help them create innovative multimedia and video presentations.
http://www.onetruemedia.com/

Allows you insert still pictures and videos to create instant movies you can share digitally. For a nominal fee, you can create a custom DVD.

Vocab Videos to Enhance SAT Vocabulary


Are you looking for a creative way to enhance your vocabulary in preparation for the SAT? This is the website for you! Eventhough it requires a fee to use, it just might be worth it. I saw a couple of very funny videos. Your students would definitely become wordsmiths, mastering the verbal portion of any of those daunting assessments.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Looking for Grants to Create 21st Century Learning Environments? Show Us the Money!

I know as educators and technology integration specialists, we are full of ideas, desiring to acquire student achievement while thinking outside of the box. Most of the time innovation comes at a cost and we know budgets are quite slender. Grant Wrangler is a site that will connect you to grant resources and opportunities.

http://www.grantwrangler.com/

Good luck. I look forward to hearing some news about newly acquired grants!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

eMints eThemes


eMints, located in Missouri,
is a national center for professional development. All resources are created for educators by educators. It is eMint's goal to transform how teachers teach with hopes of changing how students learn. I wanted to highlight a particular feature on eMints: eThemes


eThemes is an online resource of kid-safe, content rich online materials. This vast database is free and has over 2,500 collections of websites that are categorized by themes and are searchable by grade level.


For example, I searched "New Jersey" and received at least 14 age appropriate websites for students in grades 3-5. Imagine the endless lessons ideas that sparked from these options.
Click on the picture or link in this post and select eThemes.