Technology Tips For All Teachers -TeacherTechBlog

In a recent post about the five tips to help teachers battle a tighter budget we mentioned the use of Wikis. In the comments, Josh clued me in to a service called wetpaint. He was also nice enough to let me join his to try things out. Thanks Josh.

I know Wikispaces is big, but I’m a big fan of Wetpaint for wikis. It’s not as clean as Wikispaces, but I do think it’s easier to use, especially for students.
Great ideas! -Josh

So I checked it out to see just how easy it was. In this post we’ll check out some wetpaint’s best features, and then walk you through the simple steps for getting one started for your classroom.
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If you’ve been using Google Docs as a free and mobile alternative to expensive office software, then you’ll be glad to know that they have recently added a template gallery. There are quite a few templates to choose from, including an entire category for teachers and students. One thing that seems to be missing from the category is a good test template, but you can find just about anything else in there, including:

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As schools open their doors in the fall, there’s no doubt that some will be starting with a slightly tighter wallet than in years past. Some schools will handle the tough economy by cutting programs, others will be cutting jobs, and most will be finding it tougher to get their hands on those high price tag items for their classrooms. With this in mind, here is a roundup of the five free resources that could make things a little easier in the classroom.

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If TTB gave out yearly awards, I’m fairly certain that the one for Best Online Community for Sharing Educational Materials would be given to Curriki.org. It is a truly outstanding place/idea. Curriki currently offers an online community where you can join others as you find(and share your own) curriculum resources for free. Hit up the read more link to find out some of the great things you can do at Curriki.

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Often, when working on presentations, lessons etc.. I need an image from a movie clip, website, or still frame from the screen of my computer. This is something easily done within windows with the Printscreen button. Next time you have something on your screen hit the printscreen button while holding down CTRL and ALT. This will save a picture of everything currently on your screen and store it in your clipboard. You can now paste(Right Click>Paste or Edit>Paste) the picture wherever you need it. If you are just wanting a certain part of the picture, you can paste it into your favorite image editing program, crop it, and save it.

This is nice to have when you are reviewing information covered in a video, or are wanting to highlight something from several websites and don’t have time to navigate to each. Plus with image editing tools you can highlight certain areas, make side notes, or arrows.

If your email is getting a bit out of hands these days and our previous tips haven’t helped, maybe it’s time to check into some software solutions. Xobni, a free Outlook Plugin, has done wonders for my personal email productivity. Let’s take a look at some of it’s features. Continue Reading »

Google has had an option now in Google Earth that allows for exploration of the night sky through Google Sky, but Microsoft’s new Worldwide Telescope may be a stronger player in the game.

Microsoft’s Worldwide Telescope offers students, teachers and astronomy buffs a chance to seemelessly explore the night sky through a virtual telescope. It allows you to choose from several options including views from the Hubble, Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center, Spitzer Space Telescope or others. But one of the greatest features that I have seen are it’s tours. The application offers several interactive guided tours from experts that dive deep into the far reaches of space as they narrate the terabytes of images that are available. To take it a step further, there is an option to create your own tours making it perfect for allowing students to be more than observers.

Navigation of this virtual telescope is similar the drag and drop interface of most map applications, making it simple to use for just about anyone. A search is included to find particular places, and a sidebar with dynamic content provides quick references for finding other objects that are in your field of view. A right click on any of the objects will allow you to get detailed information, and also provides options to check out what other online journals have to say about it.

The quality of user experience makes you wonder how such a resource could be offered free since it provides so much data. It truly navigates in a way that has only been reserved for high end programs. Since it is Windows only though, some users may be forced to stick with the more flexible Google Sky.

Worldwide Telescope

I’m on my way back from NECC, which means that blogging will go back to normal. I hope the Brainpoppers that hang around enjoyed the updates. There are a couple of other BP posts that are still in the works, but for the most part I will return to blogging about the other resources, tips, and ideas.

Just a reminder for anyone still interested in checking out BrainPop for the first time. Check out BrainPop.com/necc2008 and grab yourself a free 30 day trial.

Thanks for an incredible week BrainPop!

The much anticipated Educators page over at BrainPop has had its debut, and teachers can head on over and start getting involved in the BrainPop Community. BrainPop.com/educators.

Some things to do while you are there:

• Check out the blog, and leave your tips, ideas, and thoughts in the comments.
• Take a look at the improved state standards tool.
• Browse the “Tips and Tools” section and find all of the extra activities, resources, and other fun stuff.
• Check out the lesson plans, and submit your own!
• Watch the video tutorials to brush up on your BrainPop best practices.

As attendees of one of BrainPop’s presentations were discussing some of the cool ways that they were using BP in their classrooms, I had a chance to pick up an awesome tip. Monica Nahas, an Instructional Technology Specialist, mentioned that Readwritethink.org has a tool for creating your own comics, and it could be used to create your own BrainPop styled comics.

Taking this tip, I decided to check it out. The tool is simple, and probably best for younger students, but I could imagine that even older kids could enjoy flexing their creativity with the comic tool. The interface consists of drag and drop characters, objects, and text. The background can be changed as well.

Monica mentioned to me that she wished students were able to save their work and come back to it later, but at least they could print it out. Regardless, it would be yet another great way to get students interactive with their learning.

Thanks for the tip, Monica!