SPAM Alert
May13
Reading the subject line of SPAM messages can be great morning entertainment!
Elem Sites (weekly)
May12
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Super collection of elementary keyboarding sites.
Elem Sites (weekly)
May5
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Google Custom Search of sites for children.
Elem Sites (weekly)
March17
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ABCya.com | Kids Educational Computer Games & Activities
“ABCya.com is the leader in free educational kids computer games and activities for elementary students to learn on the web. All children’s educational computer activities were created or approved by certified school teachers. “
The End of “Are We There Yet?”…
March15
Long car rides are often painful for families. The increase of in-car video systems and handheld electronics has helped for many. I remember using my cassette player walkman in the backseat to while away the time when I was young. Books are another great option for those that do not suffer from carsickness. I have read tons of books over many traveling hours!
However, even stocking up on Redbox movies for the DVD player, books from the library or for the Kindle, and the endless selection of apps has not ended the age old, Are we there yet? whine emanating from the rear of the vehicle.
My new solution to this is to program every destination into the navigation system. That way the kids can peek up and see the remaining miles and minutes to our end point. Now, when they ask me that question – I simply say – see for yourself!
Class Badges: Show Student Success
February6
Sites like FourSquare and GetGlue are popular for a variety of reasons. One reason is that the more a user checks into a place, movie, or show, the more status upgrades or badges the user earns. Now, do these upgrades or badges really give you anything? For the most part, the answer is no. Well, GetGlue will mail you the stickers you earn, so that is fun.
My children are involved in Cub Scouts and Brownies and they both earn badges, beltloops or other awards for activities and accomplishments. The badge or patch is the reward for their hard work and gives them a chance to display a visible reminder to others and themselves.
It is interesting to think about applying this sort of strategy to learning goals, in an updated way. Of course, teachers do this sort of thing with classroom bulletin boards, printed certificates, etc… The site Class Badges is a free, online tool where teachers can award digital badges for student accomplishments. Through a teacher account, the teacher can award badges customized for their classroom or school. See the About page to learn the variety of ways Class Badges can work in your classroom!
I like this concept and I can see it working really well if introduced properly and used consistently. Comment if you have tried this service or are thinking about giving it a go!
Best Engineering Learning Tools for Kids
January20
Common Sense Media does a great job of posting reviews for apps, games, movies and other resources for parents and children.
There is a lot of conversation about screen time for kids, both for the good and for the bad. With this list of games, kids can explore what it is like to use physics and engineering principles to build things, solve puzzles, or create their very own games. Parents can feel confident that the screen time they are allowing has positive impacts on learning.
See the list here.
Things I Know: Mobile Access Matters
December16
Awhile ago I set my children up with blogs through my Google account. My goal was to increase the amount of writing they would do since they could write about their interests. Another benefit would be the wide audience which would hopefully increase their motivation.
Well, it didn’t take off quite like I had hoped and it was mostly my fault! In order to access the blog to post, I was on control of the site and I had to prompt them to write at times that weren’t really authentic for them.
Today I added the blogger app to my daughter’s iPod and I can immediately see how the mobile access on her own device will make a huge difference in the amount of posts she makes. Now, she controls the blog. Later today, I will do the same for my son and I hope to see the same benefit.
3rd Years
December14
I love the day every year when we get to spend a whole day with our 3rd year teachers. This year was another great session of sharing resources, great discussions and planning for meaningful learning using instructional technology resources. The image above shows the highlights of the day based on the Socrative exit ticket.
Can’t wait for next year!
Elem Sites (weekly)
December2
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Learning simulations with Garfield.
This work by M Krill is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
