Cryptocat - Create Encrypted Backchannels. Cryptocat is an open source project that allows users to create private encrypted chat rooms. Cryptocat can be installed in Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or as Mac desktop application. After installing Cryptocat open the application, enter a room name and username, then click connect. To have others join you in your chat room they have to know and enter the encryption key provided by Cryptocat. For those of you who get that nostalgic feeling when you see old 8 bit graphics, Cryptocat will make you feel like a kid again. Applications for Education I often talk about using TodaysMeet for backchanneling in the classroom (I featured TodaysMeet in this free PDF about classroom backchannels).
The only complaint that hear repeatedly about TodaysMeet is that you cannot password protect your conversations. Cryptocat allows you to do that. 10 Reasons To Try 20% Time In The Classroom. If you haven’t heard of 20% time in the classroom , the premise is simple: Give your students 20% of their class time to learn what they want. Yes, that’s it. Below is a list of the 10 reasons you should consider 20% time in your school, and you will not regret making that choice! 1. You will join a great community of learners When I first did the 20% project with my students I didn’t have a community of teachers or learners. Within months that changed as a number of great teachers before and after me started to share their 20% time stories online . The largest active group is the Genius Hour teachers (inspired by Daniel Pink) who have #geniushour chats and a great Genius Hour wiki . 2. One of the major issues we face in schools today is covering a wide breadth of information, instead of allowing students to get a real depth of knowledge. 3.
When students in my school have their pitch day, they get to share with the entire class what they are working on. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Toys from Trash. A Blank Canvas to Create Smart Limbs. Exploratory Learning: A Toolkit to Turn Elementary School Kids Into 'Neighborhood Detectives' | Education on GOOD. As Neighbor Day approaches, we here at GOOD would like to suggest that kids take a break from all that in-class activity and explore the world right outside their door. In collaboration with two wonderful first grade teachers, we’ve put together this terrific tool kit: the projects within it demonstrate that, for elementary school kids in particular, there are a million things to learn and discover while taking a walk around the block.
The Neighborhood Tool Kit takes its inspiration from Ms. Linnea and Mr. James’ first grade class at Children’s Day School in San Francisco. The school is located in the heart of the city’s Mission District where a walk in any direction provides a unique sensory experience. The 22 students set out on several journeys: from home to school, and from school to local business and landmarks (like the historic Mission Dolores across the street or the busy Bi-Rite Market two blocks south). Neighborhood Study Toolkit Assignment #1: ~ What is a map? Assignment #2: A. How To Use Google Drive and Evernote To Create Digital Portfolios. The following post is written by Greg Kulowiec & Beth Holland from EdTechTeacher.
You can hear them both present at the April 10-12 EdTechTeacher iPad Summit in Atlanta! As iPads proliferate in schools around the world, and students as well as teachers create more and more content, questions about what to do with all of those learning objects have arisen. In other words, how can we curate this content into portfolios for assessment as well as reflection. Portfolio Curation with Google Drive Source: The Verge With recent upgrades to the Google Drive app on the iPad, it is now a viable solution for student portfolios that can be created in their entirety on iPad.
The Google Drive app now allows for the creation of Documents, Spreadsheets, and Folders. The video tutorial below explains the process of creating, uploading and sharing within the Google Drive app on an iPad. Using Portfolios to Make Connections with Evernote Evernote provides one possible solution to the challenge. 10 Free Typing Practice Activities for Students. This afternoon I received an email from a reader who was looking for some typing games that her elementary school students can play to practice their touch typing skills. I've reviewed a lot of online typing practice activities over the years, but it has been more than a year since I updated my list.
So this evening I put together an updated list of online typing practice activities for students. Type Rocket is a free typing game from ABCya. Type Rocket is a sixty second game in which students make fireworks explode by typing the letters that appear on the rockets in the games. In the sixty second span of the game students try to correctly type as many letters as they possibly can. The rockets speed up as the game progresses. Z-Type is a simple and fun typing game.
If you want students to take a break from the games, have them use Typing Speed Monitor for Google Chrome. Typing Adventure is a nice little game that young students can use to practice their typing skills. Digitally Interfaced Book: Paper, Graphite, Makey Makey, Scratch, and Imagination. As a professional artist, deepening the ways in which seemingly disparate objects and processes are interconnected through locating, and mapping their intersections has been one of the main elements of my studio practice.
The Fab Lab tools and working processes create an environment that is well suited to investigating those types of intersections. In an effort to integrate Fab Lab tools centered on craft, and studio-based processes into the classroom, I have been working to implement a Mobile MakerCart at a project-based K-8 charter school. In addition to introducing craft-based physical computing projects to the children, a guiding principle behind the MakerCart is to give teachers the opportunity to develop familiarity with the MakerCart’s tools and processes in order to be able to envision the ways in which they might be able to develop their own curriculum for use in the classroom.
Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig.3 Fig. 4 1.1 Fold The Paper Fig. 5 1.2 Create Your Story Fig. 6 1.3 Build The Circuit Fig. 7. Ed Tech Start Ups Group News. Home | MIT + K12. OpenSchool ePortfolio | Authentic assessment for project-based learning and the 21st century classroom! Thinking Tools | Teacher & Student Planners. Digital Passport by Common Sense Media | Digital Passport.
ScratchJr. The Innovation Portal - Online Collaboration for the Creation of Engineering Portfolios | Online Collaboration for the Creation of Engineering Portfolios. Mission: Biomes. The 5 Most Amazing Feats Of Ancient Engineering. How Online Education Has Changed In 10 Years 8.65K Views 0 Likes We all know that education, specifically online education, has come a long way in the last few years. We've already taken a look back - way back - at online education as we rarely think of it (in the 1960's and 70's), but it is also interesting to see just how much online education has evolved in just the more recent past.
The Hidden Costs Of The iPhone 5.74K Views 0 Likes The iPhone is talked about all day long on and offline. Why TED Talks Have Become So Popular 7.06K Views 0 Likes TED talks are useful and free ways to bring high-level thinking and through-provoking ideas into the classroom and your home. 5 Things To Know About SXSWedu 5.73K Views 0 Likes The real story for anyone reading this is SXSWedu, the education-oriented version of the conference that's turning into a force of nature.
10 Fun Tools To Easily Make Your Own Infographics. People love to learn by examining visual representations of data. That’s been proven time and time again by the popularity of both infographics and Pinterest. So what if you could make your own infographics ? What would you make it of? It’s actually easier than you think… even if you have zero design skills whatsoever.
Below are my two favorite infographic-making web 2.0 tools that I highly recommend. They both have pros and cons but in general are great for any beginner or novice designer. If Photoshop is a 4-letter word to you, then these sites are your friend. Click the name of each tool to learn more! Visual.ly One of the more popular ways to discover infographics, Visual.ly actually just launched a design overhaul of their website. Dipity Want to get a beautifully simply visualization of data over time? Easel.ly I absolutely love Easel.ly. Venngage Venngage (likely named for Venn diagrams) is a double threat. Infogr.am Tableau Public Photo Stats What About Me?
Gliffy Piktochart. Make Your Own Infographic. Infographics are to data what storytelling is to an annual report: a more engaging way to help bring attention and understanding to your nonprofit’s cause. Yesterday we looked at an interesting infographic that suggested a new way to view your volunteers. Today, let’s look at infographics in general – and resources to help your nonprofit get started on making your own.
As Wikipedia explains, “Information graphics are visual devices intended to communicate complex information quickly and clearly”: Information graphics or infographics are visual representations of information, data or knowledge. These graphics are used where complex information needs to be explained quickly and clearly, such as in signs, maps, journalism, technical writing, and education. ...
For example, compare the Portrait of a Volunteer infographic we talked about yesterday with Pew Internet’s more conventional Portrait of a Twitter User, where a similar type of data is presented in a simple table. Make Your Own Infographic. Video - How To Create Infographics. Ways to use QR Codes in the Elementary Classroom and Using Google Docs to Create Them. “Traditional thinking is all about ‘what is’.
Future thinking will also need to be about what ‘can be’” By Edward de Bono Quick Response codes also known as QR codes are similar to barcodes. When you scan QR codes using apps such as i-nigma or scan with your smartphone, ipad and computer (if you have a web camera) it links information to you. The information can be text, videos or websites etc. I believe with bring your own technology coming to many schools, I see QR codes becoming more popular in the classroom because they can be read on many devices and it is a real world application now.
Here are some ways you can use QR codes in the classroom… 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. To start putting some of these great ideas into practice in your classroom, you can use QR creators such as Kaywa, QRStuff if you just want to create one QR code but I like using Google docs when creating multiple QR codes quickly. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. =image(ʺ 7. 8. 9. Like this: Like Loading... Make Cookie Moons. The Moon's phases in Oreos The Moon has "phases. " That means it looks a little different to us each night during its one-month orbit of our planet. We describe how the Moon looks with terms such as "Full Moon," "First Quarter," and "New Moon" (which we can't really see, because the side that is lit faces away from us). The Moon has no light of its own. But we see the Moon from the center of its orbit. MAKE HOMEMADE SCIENCE TOYS AND PROJECTS.
Google Docs Stories Builder. Symbaloo EDU | PLE | Personal Learning Environment. Symbaloo EDU PLE | Personal Learning Environment Free Version Premium Version Follow Symbaloo on Social Media! Combine any PD Certification with a Premium Package and SAVE! Our Partners Awards & Articles SymbalooEDU Premium Help Community Recent Posts Follow Get every new post delivered to your Inbox Join other followers: Flip! By Lisa O By now, you've probably heard about “flipped classrooms” or “flipping the classroom”.
In the past teachers often stood at the front of the classroom and taught in a didactic/ lecturing style to students who sat and absorbed the content. The students then worked –often creatively and collaboratively to put the absorbed content into practical application through “home work”, projects and assignments - away from the classroom. The “flipped” approach posits that teachers have a much greater value to their students than simply “stand and deliver” broadcasters of content. In a flipped approach, teachers re-imagine how they can best impact on student learning and the sitting and listening is done at home – or at any rate, not in class time.
It is unclear how this concept is going to develop and it is likely that there will be a wide spectrum of uptake, from teachers who totally reject the idea through to those who shift their practice significantly. What about “library content”? eSpark | Where learning meets fun. The Adventures of Ned the Neuron by Erica Warp. There is a crisis in science education in the U.S.
We need to get more kids excited by science. We started Kizoom to do just that. Is to... inspire kids by presenting the most exciting scientific subject of our time: The Brain! Make science fun and accessible using relatable characters and cool technology. educate the next generation about their own Brains, promoting life-long learning and creativity. The Adventures of Ned the Neuron is an electronic storybook (App), packed with integrated educational content and interactions that explores the science of the Brain. Here are the details: 34 pages of full color story illustrated by Andy WarnerRead to Me function with voiceover and soundtrack Interactive educational diagrams Three mini-games Over 30 neuroscience concepts introduced For Apple and Android tablets Ned is a cartwheel-loving, action-oriented young neuron training to work in the motor cortex of the Brain. Erica Warp is a Neuroscientist on a mission. Go Brains! Four-dimensional storytelling - jdruskin. Beginning the School Year: It’s About Connections Not Content.
Most classes, starting with about middle school, begin the school year with reviewing the content to be covered, expectations regarding grades, and other academic information provided by the teacher or instructor. The human or social element is often disregarded. What is interesting is that most learners enter the classroom wondering who is in the course. They want to know about the teacher and the people in the class not what material is to be covered. What this says to me as an educator is that it all begins with a social connection – between the educator and the learners, and between the learners themselves.
Because of this belief, I begin all classes focusing on having the students make connections between themselves and me. I want students to learn about one another in a personal way. You are the focus of the class not me.You are important as a learner in this class.You will be expected to engage in the learning activities during class time. Team Contract Team Building Games. First Class Ice Breakers Using Mobile Devices. Question Cup. Downloads.bbc.co.uk/tv/guides/bbc_stargazing_live_activity_cards.pdf. 118 Videos Explaining Each Element In The Periodic Table. Apple TV in the Classroom. Connect your classroom to the world | Skype in the classroom. Using Evernote in an Elementary Classroom. A Free Way To Easily Create Your Own Classroom Social Network.
The Global Read Aloud. Free Collaborative Writing Tool. Case Study. Seven Fun (and Cheap) Class Projects to Try with Video. EduMedia | Interactive animations and simulations for science teaching and learning.