Blog Button in 3 Tutorials Okay newbies! We know you are wanting to make that blog button for yourself that is unique and that others can grab. We've been there - all of us! If you're the kind of do-it-yourselfer, then here is a 3 step tutorial in videos that can teach you how using Microsoft Word (a program many of you have). I taught myself how to do it in order to teach you! As part of tutorial 3, I mention a place to grab code for your blog button that I used. And for more blogging help that I mentioned are hosted here on TBA, Blogging 101 Expo, Teaching Blog Traffic School and Ladybug Resources. Help my button is too big! Hope these tips help! Four Ideas For Using Online Tools to Extend the Classroom Guest blogger, Barbara Jolie provides some ideas for teachers who want some ideas on using the Internet in the classroom to more effectively accelerate learning outside the classroom. [amazon_omakase size="468x60" locale="" ad_logo="show" ad_product_images="show" ad_link_target="new" ad_price="all" ad_border="show" ad_discount="add" color_border="#000000" color_background="#FFFFFF" color_text="#000000" color_link="#3399FF" color_price="#990000" color_logo="#CC6600" /] For all the flack that the Internet gets, from minimizing attention spans to being a breeding ground for pedophiles and terrorists, if used correctly, the Internet may just be the biggest blessing for teachers and learners since the rules of logic were conceived. 1. Creating a class wiki is one of the best ways for students to use the Internet in an exciting way. 2. 3. Online text editors such as found on Google Docs and the now-defunct Ether Pad are great ways to get your students involved in the lecture notes process. 4.
6 Creative Education Blogs You Can Learn From With over a hundred million active blogs out there and thousands more being created everyday, it is hard to know where to turn for the best information. The enormous number of blogs available is fantastic for those with obscure passions (say… Hungover Owls or Godzilla Haiku), but for those of us with broader interests, there is SO much choice. As many of you already know, a great place to start your search for high quality, education blog content is the Edublog Awards. Listing the 2011 winners as well as all nominees, there is enough great content here to keep you going for a very long time. In addition to that exhaustive list we have put together six of our favorite education blogs (some Edublog nominees and some not yet recognized) that hopefully you and your school can learn from. Heyjude Heyjude is the personal blog of Australian technology and library guru Judy O’Connel. Edudemic The Nerdy Teacher
Helping students interpret visual representations of information Update: Feb. 29, 2012 Please note: The original video we used for this post was a video podcast by Gestalten TV in which New York Times Graphics Director Steven Duenes and Graphics Editor Archie Tse describe how their team works with breaking news to create clear, concise visualizations of data for readers. Since that has now been taken down, we have substituted a classic TED talk by David McCandless that we refer to in the post. We’re declaring this week Infographics Week on The Learning Network because we know how important it is for students to be able to read and interpret visual representations of information — and because The New York Times consistently creates useful and elegant examples that we think teachers across the curriculum should know about. Not only do charts, graphs and maps show up on standardized tests of all kinds, but whiteboard technology has made the graphic depiction of information that much more useful and ubiquitous in classrooms. Infographics in General:
5 Presentation Tools To Captivate Every Student Creating a presentation that keeps a captive audience engaged is tough. Creating a presentation that keeps distracted students engaged is a much harder task again. Whether your are demonstrating to a class or presenting at a conference, keeping an audience focused on your content is more challenging than it used to be. Here are a few tools that will help you enthrall your audience and keep your presentations on the entertaining side of educational: SlideRocket is a hosted web app designed to take presentations to the next level with graphical prowess and multimedia integration. Although the content of your presentation is of course the most important part, small visual improvements can have a big effect on audience engagement and participation. There are a number of real benefits in using a web based Presentation tool such as SlideRocket. www.sliderocket.com Similar to SlideRocket, Prezi is a hosted web app and boasts all the benefits of storing your work in the cloud.
40 Incredible Blogs That Are Changing Education Does A College Degree Actually Help In A Recession? 3.09K Views 0 Likes Your parents always encouraged you to do well in school, so that you could go to a good college. Once there, they would encourage you to study hard so that you could get a good job. 10 Degrees for the New Economy 4.30K Views 0 Likes The economy is tumultuous, and as people graduate from high school and seek a career path, there is concern about what career to pursue. 10 Awesome Free Tools To Make Infographics Advertisement Who can resist a colourful, thoughtful venn diagram anyway? In terms of blogging success, infographics are far more likely to be shared than your average blog post. This means more eyeballs on your important information, more people rallying for your cause, more backlinks and more visits to your blog. Designing An Infographic Some great tips for designing infographics: Keep it simple! Ideas for infographic formats include: Timelines;Flow charts;Annotated maps;Graphs;Venn diagrams;Size comparisons;Showing familiar objects or similar size or value. Here are some great tutorials on infographic creation: Creating Your Infographic Plan and research.If required, use free software to create simple graphs and visualisations of data.Use vector graphic software to bring these visualisations into the one graphic. Ultimately, if you have a little design skill, the very best approach is to create all the simple graphs and illustrations yourself using vector graphic software. Stat Planet Hohli
Google Map Maker Gets A Makeover, Is Now Easier To Use Google Map Maker, the still somewhat undiscovered gem of Google Maps which allows users to create and edit maps, is getting its new Google makeover today. Following the redesigns of other top Google properties including Gmail, Docs, YouTube and Reader, Map Maker’s updated user interface is meant to be easier on the eyes, while also increasing the service’s usability. Map Maker, which launched in the U.S. in April of this year, is largely meant to extend the Google Maps service into countries where there isn’t much data, namely, emerging markets. In these regions, users can hand-edit Google Maps using an online tool, submitting details about roads, points of interest, features near a point and even geographic boundaries. These edits are moderated by Google, and, after approval, go live for all users of Google Maps, Google Earth and Google Maps for Mobile. With today’s update, the service has been improved, with a particular focus on first-time users.
Imagine Learning As educators and leaders, we need to re-think every aspect of our professional practice to consider ‘could we be doing this better?’ Here is a brain-dump of the 6 most powerful strategies that I have used or in which have participated. 1. Use a ‘hands-on’ approach that teaches team work I want the teachers for whom I am accountable to comprehensively embrace student centred, inquiry based learning. If as a school leader I expect staff to sit in a room listening to me talk for longer than 5 minutes (or saying anything at all), then I am assuming that the collective cost of the time of the number of attendees is best spent that way. Instead, use the mode of PD as a means to shift staff practice by getting everyone to experience the methodology you are advocating. The emphasis on this style of PD is that you get teachers to do exactly what you would want them to do with students. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.