"New Project Starting" Alert

I wanted to make sure that each of you was aware that our wonderful Jen Wagner of Jenuine Tech has developed a new project for the month of February. This project builds awareness of the 2010 census that will be taking place all over the United States and in the way, Jen does all of her projects, everything you need is accessible right on her website. Take a look at Everyone Counts, which is the name of this project. It is for preschool-6th. grade and looks to me like there is something for everyone. It should be a fun way to learn about data collection and the opportunities of all curricular areas are many.
I know that I am not alone in praising Jen for all of the work that she puts into these projects. The number of participants that she gets in these projects are testimony for their value as learning experiences for both teachers and students. Thank you, Jen!

A Video All Teachers and Administrators Need to See

I have seen this video recommended on Facebook, in several blogs, and on Twitter. I certainly think it is well worth a look. If you are in a position to show this to your staff , it would certainly lead to the type of discussion that needs to be had in schools everywhere.

A New Place To Find Images - Copyright Free

The days of just searching Google Images for the right picture to go with a lesson or a student report or powerpoint is behind us. First it was Flickr which gave us so many more choices and allowed searches using Creative Commons to check for copyright. Now, today, Sharon Peters posted on Facebook a link to Sprixi - Free Images To Choose and Use. What I liked especially was the ability to download or save an image with the credit to the photographer attached to it. The only pictures on the site seem to be those allowed under the Creative Commons licensing. Now you have more places to find pictures to organize with Vi.sualize.us

Just like Delicious For Your Images - Vi.Sualize.Us

I was reading the newsletter that Jen Wagner sends out each month. You can get this resourceful newsletter HERE. As always, Jen introduced me to a wonderful website, The Teaching Pallette . The author of this website is Theresa McGee, who apparently is an Art Teacher. This website has all kinds of creative ideas. Under her reviews, she has a section called Technology and Gadgets. This is where I discovered Vi.Sualize.Us. The main idea of this wonderful online tool is that it becomes the place to save and share your collected images the same as Delicious allows you to save and share your bookmarked website. If you are using Firefox, it automatically downloads its ability to "right-click" and just save it to vi.sualize.us. If you are using another browser, you can upload a toolbar tool like that used in Delicious. Once the image is being saved, then you can "tag" it to save it within the folder that will allow you to retrieve it when you need it. You can also search this website to find images saved by others.
The implications are many for the classroom. Remember that especially for younger students, you will be finding those pictures that students will use in the power points or other ways that they "show what they know". Now you have a place to save and organize these images so that students can get at them any place that they are connected to the Internet. Additionally, there are safety filters that you can use and the ability to use Creative Commons filters to use only those images without strict copyrights. Do take a look at this new find!! Vi.Sualize.Us

Snow Flake Maker (Just What We Don't Need in Cleveland!)

I have been reading through many of the blogs that I have left unread over the winter holidays and thinking about so many of you returning to school tomorrow (Monday). I know that winter weather will be on many of your minds and if you need something creative and child-ready for the first week in the computer lab - this Snowflake Workshop may just be the thing. By using the pencil, children create the geometric shapes that will be cut out of the folded paper. Then they click on the scissors and the shapes are cut. They can do it again and agian until they have one that they really like. At that point they can save it. They can see their saved snowflakes in the gallery or send/receive it as an email. As the students see how the snowflakes turn out, they can vary their designs. Enjoy!

Think Math - Lots of Great Activities

This website came from the Teacher First Newsletter today. It is called Think Math and it is from Harcourt School Publishers. The interactive tutorials can be used as review activities, to introduce new concepts, or for students to learn as groups. These exciting drill and practice activities provide feedback on right and wrong answers. For example, use "Comparing numbers" tutorials and activities to learn and practice identifying the hundreds and tens places. Each example gives immediate feedback on right and wrong answers.
Use Think Math to improve thinking about - Math! Choose either a grade level (K through 5) or a subject (such as Algebra, Geometry, Time and Money, or Data Analysis, to name a few.) Use one or more of the e-lab activities for each subject as well as interactive tutorials explaining the topic. Use the glossary in the upper left corner to understand the meaning of the terms being used. Don’t miss the “Teacher Resources” link with great Adobe PDF resources.

I know I have not written many blogs lately, but I only really want to post when I have something very worthwhile for you to examine and see how it might work in your classroom. I am hopeful that you are about to begin a wonderful winter break and that it will have in it some time to be with family and friends!

Another Way To "Tame The Tedious Teacher Tasks"

There is absolutely no reason for busy teachers to make and spend money on some of the classroom accessories that you may need or just want to "jazz up" an activity in the classroom. I have always spoken about "Ways To Tame The Tedious Teacher Tasks" in my workshops and my list of such resources just keeps growing. Today Pete McKay of The Teacher List wrote about a fabulous website called The Theme Machine from the Teacher Factory. This is a collection of downloadable resources for your classroom. These include name tags, bookmarks, classroom money, stationary, and many things that you might want right at your fingertips. Everything is free, colorful, and cleverly designed. You will want to check this out!