Tools for Creating Timelines in the Elementary Classroom Tools for Creating Timelines in the Elementary Classroom Last week I had a 2nd grade teacher ask me for a recommendation for a digital timeline maker. I couldn't believe I didn't have a blog post I could send her with some of my favorite tools! Here are a few I like to use in the elementary classroom because they are FREE and no login is required. Read, Write, Think's Timeline Maker If I had to choose my favorite timeline maker for elementary students I think I would have to go with Read, Write, Think's Timeline Maker which is also available as an iOS app. I really like this tool because students have the ability to save their work (saves as a .rwt file) and come back at a later time to finish. Soft Schools Timeline Maker Soft Schools Timeline Maker is a very simple timeline maker which is great for our youngest learners! Google Slides If your students have Google accounts then you might be interested in getting them to create a timeline in Google Slides. Other Options: Sign Up Today!
30 Free Google Drawings Graphic Organizers Several years ago when I started making webinars, my first one was on creating Graphic Organizers with Google Drawings. This was before I had started the this blog, so I never really shared all of that information in an official blog post. Until now... Graphic organizers are a great tool to share information, explain a concept, or illustrate a relationship using elements including images, shapes, text, colors, and connecting lines. They can be used in education with any age group or subject area. There are many excellent tools for creating graphic organizers. However, one great choice for graphic organizers is Google Drawings. Tutorials For written directions on how to create graphic organizers with Google Drawings, see my help guide linked below. Google Drawings for Graphic Organizers - Google Docs link For a 1-hour recorded training webinar, see the video below. Sample Graphic Organizers Word Study Diagram - Google Drawing link State or Country Research Web - Google Drawing link Conclusion
How to Make a Graphic-Text Mash-up to Promote Blog Content on Facebook I’m in a few Google+ groups focused on SEO, social media, and content marketing. The question of what stock photo service to use and where to get free images has come up a couple times. It got me thinking about the process I use to find, modify, and use images in my day-to-day. As a community manager and a blogger, I have 2 main needs for images: Including them in BCI blog posts to break up text and add visual interestPosting images to social media to share blog and other BCI content What you’ll know by the end of reading this is: Where I get images, both free and paid servicesHow to make a graphic-text mash-up using Google Drive that will get noticed in the midst of noisy Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ streams Free Images and Paid Stock Photo Services The stock photo site I use is Dreamstime.com because the price is right and the selection passes muster. Other Stock Photo Services I checked out some stock photo site comparisons to get an idea of what else is out there and how they stack up.
Home Top 5 Google Docs Lesson Plans for Middle School Google Docs is one of the most popular applications in middle school computer courses. With it, students can do everything they can in Microsoft Word and then some. Whether it’s collaboration, modification, or cross-platform compatibility, Google Docs is a powerful tool that today’s students need to know how to use. So that leaves one big question. How do you teach it? These are the five best places to find Google Docs lesson plans: Cult of PedagogyEffingham County Middle SchoolLesson Plans PageTom Barrett's Classroom SiteBusiness&ITCenter21 On this page we'll get into the details of each resource to help you plan the best Google Docs lesson possible. Let's get to it! 1. Cult of Pedagogy is one of the most popular outlets for Google Docs lesson plans. Actually, only a small portion of their lessons have to do with Google Docs. But you can still get a lot of educational value from using their Google Docs lessons independently. As the name implies, these Google Docs lessons are projects. 2. 3. 5.
Video Meeting: Get Out of Full Screen Regardless of the platform you are using for video meetings GET OUT OF FULL SCREEN MODE! Full screen is awesome if you’re just having conversations, but not so awesome if you say “Go to whiteboard.fi” and visualize a negative number. Now the students have to be on the computer doing something and not in the video conference. Exit Full Screen Depending on your device there are different ways to exit full screen mode. Resize the Video Here is a great digital literacy skill that is clearly a must have for the 21st century… being able to multi-task programs. Toggle Video Full Screen If you’re doing an interactive video meeting you need people to be collaborating on the same Docs/Slides or playing Kahoot, or… and then you need everyone to come back and chat. Like this: Like Loading...
Templates Template Palooza! Here you will find templates either for student or teacher use. Please drop me a message if you have any questions. Also, please share out on Twitter photos or examples of any of these being used by your classes. Here is my newest template. But wait... there's more! Proudly powered by Weebly Google Tools For Educators | Teacher Technologies These training videos show you some very useful techniques for searching for images in Google. Google image search is one of the essential tech tools for teachers. This series will teach you how to search for specific coloured images, specific sized images and even specific formats of images (for example you can look for clipart or animations.) Step by step videos on how to use of an excellent online tool for teachers, Google Forms. Google Slides are great for building collaboration. Google is a powerful educational technology tool, often not used as effectively as posssible. This set of step by step videos takes you through all the basics of using Google sites. This set of video will show you how to use Google Docs in your Google Drive. You can now make quizzes in Google Forms that are self correcting.
Gallery: Fairy tales as you’ve never seen them before Russian artist Uldus (TED Talk: Wry photos that turn stereotypes upside down) makes fantastical and intricate photographic portraits of people — as they imagine themselves to be. In the process, she smashes stereotypes about modern Russian culture. In her latest series, Russ Land — a Slavic name for Russia — she’s diving into the past, deep into the magical world of pre-Christian Russian fairy tales and folklore. Exploring ancient pagan archetypes, femininity and magic, Uldus’ modern take on traditional tales provides a visual way into the complexity of Russian identity. She shares the stories behind the images. Triglava (Three-headed Goddess) The female heroines of Russian fairy tales are called tsarevna, who are under the protection of the moon, the cosmic body that rules femininity. The Firebird (Zhar-ptitsa) Tsarevnas are magical creatures, verging on shamanic. Fair Maiden In Slavic culture, there are five stages of womanhood. Mysterious Russian Soul Masha and the Bear The Soul of Forest