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The Best Sites That Students Can Use Independently And Let Teachers Check On Progress

The Best Sites That Students Can Use Independently And Let Teachers Check On Progress
(You might also be interested in The Best MATH Sites That Students Can Use Independently And Let Teachers Check On Progress) I know “The Best…” list has a very awkward title, but I couldn’t think of a better one. In our Family Literacy Project we provide home computers and Internet access to immigrant families. Eighty percent of household members spend at least one hour each day (many spend considerably more time) on our website. I thought readers might find it useful to see which ones we’ve determined to be the best for kind of program. There are sites we use, and which I think stand-out when compared to similar web applications: Raz-Kids provides a large number of “talking books” at multiple levels that speak-the-text at the same time the words are highlighted. I Know That has tons of engaging learning exercises and game. U.S.A Learns is another addition. Spellbee! It’s quite easy for players to register very quickly. My Testbook looks like a great addition to list. And, it’s free. Related:  Teaching Tools

The Best Tools To Make Online Flashcards There are an incredible number of free sites where you can create and study flashcards online. In reviewing many of them, I looked at this criteria: * Is it available free-of-charge? * Is it easy to use? * Does it provide some “value added benefit” (besides just sticking a word on one side and a definition on the other of a virtual card) that would make it particularly accessble and engaging to English Language Learners and others? I was only able to find three sites that met this criteria, and they’re the ones that made this “The Best…” list. Here are my picks for The Best Tools TO Make Online Flashcards: Study Stack: The online flashcards are indeed very basic (and very easy for both students and teachers to create). Quizlet is another addition to this list. Memorize.com is not fancy at all, and it’s more complicated than most other online flashcard sites to create anything more than a rudimentary mini-flashcard system. Easy Notecards is a new online flashcard-making site. Related

Good-to-Go Projects for 2014 Image credit: iStockphoto When teachers ask how to get started with project-based learning, I acknowledge the "front-loading" that's part of project planning. Before students enter the picture, teachers need to consider the learning goals of a project, develop an assessment plan, and map out at least a rough calendar of the learning activities that will support the inquiry process. Those details may change once students dig in, but having a plan provides a roadmap for the student-directed learning ahead. Starting with a ready-made plan that you can adapt to fit your context can help you and your students get off to a faster start with PBL. The Happiness Project Is your community a happy place? These are among the intriguing questions that students will explore in a global investigation of happiness in 2014. Here's the big idea: The project is adaptable across subject areas and grade levels. Check out the project description and resources, and fill out a form to indicate interest.

Learn a New Language Just by Browsing the Web in Chrome Learning a new language is a daunting task. Most people learn to speak when they’re very young, and it tends to happen naturally just by hearing the spoken word of others. But as an adult, it’s a giant challenge, and one that’s downright terrifying. But there are easier and more time-efficient ways to learn a language. In fact, you can actually work it right into your daily browsing time thanks to a cool Chrome extension called Language Immersion. It translates words on the webpage you’re reading into a different language of your choosing. Once the extension is installed, an icon will appear on the top-right of your browser window. Once you have it set up, just browse the web like you would any other time. Of course, you can also mouse over for a translation on any words that have you stumped. What language are you going to learn? Image Credit: Aysezgicmeli via ShutterStock

The Best Resources For Learning How To Best Give Feedback To Students I’ve been thinking and writing (in my forthcoming book to be published by Eye On Education) about the most effective ways to give feedback to students. I’ve obviously been trying to apply what I’ve been learning in the classroom, too. As a one sentence summary, as I’ve posted about previously, the research says it’s best to praise effort and not intelligence. Here are some resources I’ve found helpful: What Kind Of Feedback Should We Give Our Students? The Difference Between Praise & Acknowledgment is another older post. The Perils and Promises of Praise is an article by Carol Dweck. Pondering Praise is a nice essay by Joe Bower. It’s Not About How Smart You Are is an article by Carol Dweck. Goodbye to “Good Job!” “The Praise Paradox” is an excerpt from the book Nurture Shock: New Thinking About Children, written by by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. New Marzano Study On “Effort & Recognition” The words that could unlock your child comes from the BBC. Dr. Quote Of The Day: Giving Feedback

Authors Who Skype with Classes & Book Clubs (for free!) Welcome to the Authors Who Skype with Classes & Book Clubs List! I’m Kate Messner, the children’s author and educator who maintains this site. I started it because I’ve found that virtual author visits are a great way to connect authors and readers, and I realize that many schools facing budget troubles don’t have the option of paid author visits. With that in mind, this is a list of authors who offer free 15-20-minute Q and A sessions with classes and book clubs that have finished reading one of their books. As an author, I offer Skype chats for all of my titles – check out the “Books” tab above for a list! If you’re interested in booking a “virtual visit” with me, please visit my author-Skype page for current availability and directions for requesting a visit! How does a Skype virtual visit work? Authors Who Skype With Classes & Book Clubs (for free!) The following authors offer free 15-20-minute Skype chats with book clubs and classes that have read one of their books!

Four Excellent Sites for Online Dictations Oh boy. Does it bring back memories! Dictations! Although doing dictations is somewhat regarded as an old-fashioned technique, it is undeniable that a lot of benefits can be derived from doing this exercise. In case you are not fully convinced that dictations also have their place in the twenty-first century classroom, here are some more benefits you might want to consider: • It improves spelling. • It improves recognition of grammatically correct sentences. • It helps students distinguish sounds in continuous speech. • It improves students’ awareness of punctuation. • It gives students practice in comprehending and helps them gain fluency in writing. If I have managed to convince you, here are some links to online dictations you might want to try or if you are a teacher, heartily recommend to your students. Dictations Online. This site specializes in dictations and although it is free, you can sign in to do more dictations or keep track of your score and view your score history.

Tips for Improving Feedback at the Middle Level By Debbie Silver, Ed.D. Studies on motivation theory have taught us that the most effective feedback for any learner is that which actually helps a student get better. Value judgments and labels (both affirming and negative) do nothing to help the learner long term and are often counterproductive. Overwhelmingly research argues that learners acquire improved self-efficacy and make greater achievement gains when their adult advocates focus feedback on things the student can control rather than on their innate talent, skills, or other externally controlled factors. As a middle grades teacher it was hard for me to consider that my perpetual cheerleader style of teaching with a barrage of compliments was not the best method. In truth, our job is to build relationships with students that promote them in becoming self-sustaining learners who believe that hard work is a good thing and achievement without effort has little enduring value. Tips for Improving Feedback 1. 2. 3. Dr.

Commons Home All My Sons Suggestions - Tricksters.Org - Lord of Roads The hugest component of municipal garbage across the whole globe is cardboard. This reality by itself means that it is vital that cardboard is recycled, even if it is on a smaller scale at home or on a broader level in the form of an industrial approach. It is a good idea for children to begin to learn how to go about recycling cardboard as early as is possible in their young lives. While there is the hazard that recycling can be looked at as something of an oppressive chore or even a duty, children can utilize cardboard in an entertaining manner by making stuff out of it. What follows next is a very comprehensive walkthrough on cardboard arts and crafts for children. For Children Cardboard and Crafts Page of Projects: Website that offers children a lot of arts and crafts projects involving cardboard. Website for Arts and Crafts of Cardboard: This website features projects involving arts and crafts of cardboard that are good for teachers to use in the classroom. More Fun with Recyclables

Top Free Presentation Software - Top Free Software Picks: Presentation Software Top Free Presentation Software Google Drive: Presentation (Web) Like any good office suite, Google Drive has the three top tools: a word processor, a spreadsheet, and of course, a presentation package that we'll call Presentation even though it doesn't seem to have a specific name. Coupled with the service's online storage capabilities, it's a hard package to beat. Flexibility abounds. Perhaps most useful is the collaboration—multiple users in multiple locations can work on the slides simultaneously (something Drive also does with aplomb with word processing and spreadsheet documents). Haiku Deck (Web, iOS) One of our Top 100 Websites from 2013, Haiku Deck is well worth considering for all it can and can't and won't do. As it states in an introductory deck of slides, Haiku Deck is shooing for 33 percent simplicity, 33 percent beauty, and 34 percent fun (as much fun as prepping for a meeting can be, anyway). Continue Reading: Other Free Presentation Software>

27 Presentation Software & Powerpoint Alternatives For 2015 At CustomShow, we like to think that everyone can use our presentation software to create better looking presentations, thus serving as a great powerpoint alternative to people. But that won’t always be the case. We cater to businesses greater than 10 employees and organizations that need an all-in-one presentation program. Presentation software is great, but we know there are plenty of options to choose from. CustomShow – Business Presentation Software Summary – Customshow is a presentation software program used mainly for businesses and companies with more than 25 employees. Advantages – Ability to create customized and branded presentations; slide library; cloud-based; analytics; ability to conduct web meetings; connects to Sales Force; ability to deliver on-line and off-line as well as via multiple devices (desktop, iPad); great with video; can upload powerpoint slides and customize to your own brand standard; import powerpoint presentations into the software ClearSlide (SlideRocket)

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