Idea #1:  Teach Students How to Read the Textbook

Students do not automatically know how to read any given  textbook.  Each book is different with it’s own structure and style.  Using a document camera and a projector, teachers can teach students to analyze the structure of their textbooks so that they can better comprehend what they are reading.

Students who have more knowledge of text structure learn more from expository material that students who are not aware of text structure.

The document camera makes it easy by allowing the teacher to project the textbook onto the screen for all to see, instead of having to hold up the book and hope students are looking at the same place they are.

The video walks you through the basics of teaching students to evaluate the structure of a textbook and to identify the resources provided.

For more information on teaching students how to read a textbook see:

• http://www.addchoices.com/reading_text.htm
• http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/25816.aspx

YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/

TubeChop - http://www.tubechop.com/ – Ever had a video on Youtube that you only wanted to show part of?  This website helps with that.

1. Find a YouTube Video you want to clip
2. Copy the URL – and go to http://www.tubechop.com/
3. Paste in the url into the provided box on the webpage
4. Select video and choose “Chop It.”
5. Choose the portion of the video you want to keep by dragging the markers on the beginning and end of the clip and click on “Chop It”
6. The website then provide you with a link to your chopped video as well as an embed code to place that clip on a webpage.

Kick You Tube - – Download YouTube videos for future use.       You have options on what format you want to save the video and downloaded videos can be stored on Thumb drives or DVD’s for access when the network is down or you don’t want to rely on streaming.  Basically you type in the work “kick” in the url before”youtube” and follow the instructions.

A great tutorial on how to do this can be found at Tammy Worcester Tip of the Week.

YouTube to Mp3 Converter - http://www.video2mp3.net/ – convert video clips into mp3 clips.  Good when looking for sound bites for instruction.

Wallwisher is a free internet application that allows you to build a wall that then you or you and others can post notes on.   To build a wall you will need to log in with an email account but an email account is not needed to post notes on that wall.  Good news for those of us working with students under the age of 14.    Privacy levels can be set for each wall and posts can be moderated.

Once a wall is built there are a number of ways to distribute or share your wall.  Walls can be embedded into a webpage, blog or wiki.  You can link directly to the wall for users to go straight there.  It also provides an RSS feed so walls can be monitored through your RSS readers, such as iGoogle.

As I started looking for how others were using this tool I found the ideas fit into a few categories.  (This was easy to do as I took the ideas that were posted on the wall and started moving them around to create the groups!)

• Brainstorming/ Idea Gathering
• Homepages - a place to gather resources, post announcements, leave messages, provide homework help, etc.
• Skill building – note-taking, vocabulary, sorting and summarization work wonderfully on this.
• Portfolios of Student Work – either as a class or an individual.

I created a wall with all the ideas of classroom use I have found by searching the web and have embedded the wall below.  Please feel free to add to it!

Get Started:

The best way to learn to use this tool is to jump in and get started!

Go to my wallwisher sandbox and make your first post: http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/RobinySandbox

Or go to: http://www.wallwisher.com – log in and build your first wall.

Please share your ideas for wallwisher or the walls you build!

So how to make use of this technique using technology?  One way is Glogster.

What is Glogster EDU?

Glogster EDU is the educational version of the Glogster site.  Teachers and students can design interactive posters that incorporate artwork, videos, music, links to other websites, wordles, etc.

Sample Math Glog:

Teachers are given 100 free student accounts to allow students to create their own glogs under the teacher’s account.  User names and passwords are automatically generated and sent to the teacher’s account.

Finished products can be embedded into wikis, webpages, or teacherweb sites using the provided html embed code.  You can also link to the glog itself.

The site provides background templates and frames to get you started in all sorts of themes.

See this glog on Glogster EDU for more info: http://thilby.edu.glogster.com/glogsteredu/

(Warning – make sure you are using the EDU version for your students.  Glogs found on the original site may not be suitable for all audiences.)

Getting Started:

If you are ready to try this resource out, go to http://edu.glogster.com/register/ and register for an account.

For a step by step tutorial check out – Glogster Tutorial Page – by Traci Blazosky

Uses in the Classroom:

• Create a glog as the homepage for a class project with all the info.
• Using a projector use the glog as a the home base for your lesson or discussion in class.
• replace traditional poster board projects with a glog
• group images together to set the tone for a historical unit or a novel’s setting
• gather all the notes together for a math concept so the formulas and examples are all in one place.
• Create a glog to replace a research paper. (If they are copying all the info from online anyway – why not show them how to link to those sources and write a summary that introduces the link?)

Sample Glog for To Kill a Mockingbird:

Resources:

• Hooked on Glogster by Brenda Dyck

Consider showing this video to introduce a unit on Sharecropping and Cotton Production in Texas:

Set the stage by asking students to describe the images and the faces.  How are the the same or different from their lives today?  What assumptions can you make about life during that time?

Images are powerful.  In our digital age students are used to seeing the images to help them identify and connect with the events being talked about.  Think about how fast images can be broadcast about any event that is occuring.

How to Make Videos:

Animoto helps present those images in a way that is easy and interesting to your students.

Animoto is a web tool that allows users to create videos using your own images, video clips (up to 10 seconds) and music.  You can also choose from their collection of music that includes tracks from popular artists.  Animoto then analyzes the media you have chosen to create a custom video.  Transitions and videos are adjusted to fit the music chosen.

Finished videos can be played from the website, embedded into other webpages (think wikis, blogs and teacherWeb),  emailed out or uploaded to YouTube.

The best part is that now Animoto is providing unlimited access to educators. This means you can create unlimited videos with various lengths and your students can too.

To create your own Animoto Account for Educators go to: http://animoto.com/education

How can You Use these Videos in Class:

• Commercials for upcoming Events
• Book Trailers
• Videos of Class Field Trips
• Summarize a Class Project
• Interpret a Topic you are studying with images.

Remember these videos could be student created or teacher created.

Other Examples:

• Create book trailers with the avatars representing the characters
• Teachers can put their avatar in their powerpoints to get the kids attention.
• Create a new character and create a story about it. (Great for the Build Your Wild Self website)
• Write instructions on how to create a character – swap descriptions to see if they can recreate it
• recreate characters from the novel.  What do you picture that they look like.
• All about Mii poems with picture of the avatar attached
• Use the avatar to represent the student online.
• Put the avatars in famous places and points in history.  Have student write about the place and or event from a first person point of view.

Here are three kid-safe resources for creating avatars:

Mii Avatars

If you are a Wii user you have created a Mii before, the avatar that represents you in playing the games.  There is online option to create Miis that can be saved as jpgs or png files. Export the avatar as a transparent png file and put yourself in famous places. by placing the Mii on top of a photograph.  I’ve used PowerPoint for this since you can group the two images and then save the group as a picture file.

Create your own Mii – http://www.myavatareditor.com/

Directions to create famous Miis:  http://www.miicharacters.com/

Lego Avatars:

Mini-Mizer -

Allows users to create a Lego Avatar complete with accessories custom and backgrounds.  To save the creation you have to do a Print Screen and then paste into another application like PowerPoint to crop the image and save it as an image file.

http://www.reasonablyclever.com/mm2/mini2.swf

Become an Animal

Build Your Wild Self – Start off designing yourself as a human then you can add animal parts and set a background.  Final Products can be printed with information about the creature you created and a name for your creature.  Another option is to save a version as a desktop backgrounds.  You can right click on the print version and save the image as well as doing the print screen option as with the Lego character.

This was really my favorite one as the art work is beautiful and the ties into science are amazing.  One idea:  Have students create a creature for their habitat and explain how that creature lives.

__________________________________________

I’ll be adding to my avatar resources at: http://www.diigo.com/user/robiny/avatars

Any other ideas for using avatars in class?

This was created with wordle from my google docs notes taken during my workshop today with Tammy Worcester.

The most powerful single modification that enhances achievement is feedback. [Hattie, 1992]

According to Robert Marzano’s Classroom Instruction that Works -providing feedback to students can be the single most important change you make in your classroom.  Research shows that:

1. Feedback should be corrective in nature – Let’s students’ know why what they are doing is right or wrong.
2. Feedback should be timely – the more the delay the less effective it is
3. Feedback should be specific to a criterion – Focus on how they are doing based on the skill and not in relation to other students.
4. Students can effectively provide some of their own feedback – Students can track as their learning occurs – ex.  accuracy and speed

Technology can provide new and innovative ways to provide this for students.

Embedding a video allows for the presenter to stay within the PowerPoint environment and to filter out the ads and info that may surround the video on the internet.

Here is a powerpoint with the YouTube Video linked and the video embedded:   embed

Directions to Embed in PowerPoint 2007

Note: Your computer must have internet connection when showing the PowerPoint in order for the video to work.

1. Look to see if the “Developer” ribbon is available on your toolbar.  If it is NOT:
   1. click on the Microsoft Orb (see red arrow)
   2. Click on “PowerPoint Options” on the bottom of the window.
   3. Under the “Popular” tab check S”Show Developer tab in the Ribbon”
   4. Click “OK”
2. Open the Developer’s Ribbon and click on the “More Controls” option in the Controls box.
3. Scroll down and select the option “Shockwave Flash Object” and click “OK.”
4. On the PowerPoint slide click the mouse and draw a box where you want the video to be.
5. Right click on the box you have just drawn and select “Properties.”
6. Open Internet Explorer and find the video you want to embed in your presentation:
   1. Copy the URL in the address bar by highlighting the address and Ctrl + C
7. Return to PowerPoint
8. Paste the URL in the Properties Box in the “Movie” section.
9. Change the URL by:
   1. 1. Delete the “watch?” portion of the address
      2. Replace the “=” with a “/”
      3. Example
         1. From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSVfYwdGSsQ
         2. To: http://www.youtube.com/ v/aSVfYwdGSsQ
10. Other items to change in the Properties Box:
    1. Loop – If you want the movie to play through once and stop select “False”
    2. Playing – If you want the movie to start automatically when the slide loads – “True” – Otherwise change to “False” if you want to click on the movie for it to start.
11. Save your PowerPoint.
12. Run the presentation and you should see the movie begin.

Here are the directions with screenshots in pdf Form: Embed a YouTube Video into PowerPoint 2007

History:

• Research the history of the Olympics
• Compare and contrast the ancient Olympics with the modern day ones
• Research the customs of different teams at the Olympics or of the Host Country
• Tie Black History month in with the Olympics by researching African American Athletes – such as Jesse Owen and Muhamed Ali
• Character Education lessons

Science:

• Explore the engineering of a sport and the equipment that is used in the sport.
• Anatomy of an Athlete – what makes some people “super” athletes?  Scientists study the human body to understand how it works and how  athletes can be better
• Weather – track the weather throughout the area.  What influences the weather in that region?  What about the weather in that area makes it ideal for the Winter Olympics to be held there?
• Check out – http://www.lessonopoly.org/svef/?q=node/9086

Math:

• Chart the results of the games
• Use statistics from the games to work math problems.
• Measurement – How far is it to travel to the games?  How much would it cost?

Language Arts:

• Write biographies of Olympic Athletes (past and/or present)
• Summarize the events of the game or the results of an event.
• Research a sport and how it has developed over the years.
• Cover an Olympic Event as a sports reporter

Art -

• create posters to illustrate the history of the game.
• Design icons for each event
• Design a tickets to events to represent Canada and the sporting event.

Resources:

• Education World – Countdown to Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games – great collection of lessons and links to complete the lessons
• EdGate Summer Games Ideas – Ideas can be transferred the the Winter events very easily.  Many of the resources are not specific to the summer time
• Collection of Lessons Compiled by the Saskatoon Public School Systems – http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/resources/olympics/
• TeacherVision – Olympic Games – Resources for Teachers
• teAchnology – Winter Olympics Teaching Theme

More resources will be added here as I find them.  Be sure to check this Diigo account as we get closer to the games for more ideas.

Diigo Account: http://www.diigo.com/user/robiny/olympics