StoryNory ... Free Audio Books

What a wonderful collection of stories ... mp3 files available for downloading. You can get original stories as well as old-time favourites (i.e., Brothers Grimm). Good stuff.

http://storynory.com/

Validation

Thanks Mario for this link ... a wonderful video for all to see.

Click on the title or this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao&feature=feedwll&list=WL

Literacy ... Not Just about Words

This is a very powerful video ... the discussion that arises from this is incredible - subtle, but very effective. A picture can be worth a thousand words. Watch the video and you'll see why it is such a good piece of art and literacy.

ReadWriteThink

The International Reading Association (IRA) offers new approaches to teaching literacy, easy ways to stay up to date on the latest research, and opportunities to connect with literacies.

The mission of the International Reading Association (IRA) is to promote reading by continuously advancing the quality of literacy instruction and research worldwide. The Association provides outstanding professional development and supports excellent teaching, critical research, and promotion of the lifetime reading habit.

Learning Games For Kids

Educational games are a great tool for building foundation math and language skills that today's elementary school curriculum requires. These online learning games and songs for kids are fun, teach important skills for preschool and elementary school kids, and most tantalizing for teachers is ... they're FREE. Want educational games that help build skills in math, language, science, social studies, and more? You've come to the right place!

FunSchool .. Fun and Educational Games and Activities

Do you see a common thread with many of our links on this blog? That's right, FUN!

Funschool offers free online educational elementary games for kids (K-8) as well as printable activities, coloring and crafts that will help kids learn and get connected. A worthy site full on interesting things to do and always changing.

Kids Games ... Playing to Educate

Play Kids Games provides free online kids games that are both fun and educational. Aimed at ages pre-K through middle school, Play Kids Games offers kids a safe environment to discover their abilities and learn new skills with interactive and fun computer games. The games build skills in math, logic, memory, vocabulary, alphabet, spelling, geography, computer skills, color identification, shape identification and other various problem solving.
This website's commitment to parents, teachers, and kids, is to connect learning and skill building with a sense of challenge, fun, and self esteem. From the fun of "Alphabet Whack-a-Mole" to the skill building "Math Fact Practice", the hope is that PlayKidsGames.com will be a part of our future generation's ongoing experience and development.

Now teachers can create their own class page and game content for our games! Create vocabulary lists and math problems for pinball or word lists for word search. Your vocabulary lists will automatically show in Word Find as well. It is easy! Just create a login, add your class page detail, and create lists! Your lists will automatically show up in the games!

FunBrain ... Revisited because it is still Fun for your Brain

This is truly a fun place to visit ... from Gr. 2 up to Gr.8, children love this site because it offers a variety of things to do and relevant activities ... they might seem irrelevant to an adult, but to a child, they strike a cord. Encourage your students to visit and enjoy.

Teacher Vision

TeacherVision® is dedicated to helping teachers save time. Find 20,000 pages of classroom-ready lesson plans, printables, and resources.

Rethinking Literacy ... A Blog to Visit

This is a nicely laid-out blog for teachers to visit and get ideas.

21st Century Language Instruction

Educational Origami is a blog , and a wiki, about 21st Century Learning and 21st Century Teaching. This is not just about the integration of technology into the classroom, though this is certainly a critical area. It is about shifting the entire paradigm of education. The world is not as simple as saying teachers are digital immigrants and students digital natives. We have to change how we teach, how we assess, what we teach, when we teach it, where we are teaching it, who we are teaching and with what. Its a tall order, but these are exciting times ... This site will give you a heads-up and support to do what needs to be done in order to prepare our students for opportunities that we don't even know exist yet and develop the skills that we're not quite sure about. - but we have to try to arm the leaders of tomorrow with the skills and tools of tomorrow. This site is fundamentally sound with its pedagogical, cognitive, ICT, methodology, and implementation of good teaching preactices. Go to this site - you won't regret it. Undeniably, one of the best sites on my blog!!

Visit: www.edorigami.wikispaces.com/home

Cando's Language Arts Resources

Student and Teacher Resources for JK - 6 ... Good fundamentals and basics on this site. Former teacher willing to give extra help to students and fellow teachers.

Revisiting Starfall ... Still Worth It!

Interactive reading practice - with sound.

The Literacy Centre ... Early Childhood Stuff

A collection of early reading games (interactive/web based) for early literacy development (K-1).

Very easy to use and have fun ... for JK/SK students.

Between the Lions ... Hey, it's PBS ... Educational

Collection of activities, interactive web based learning. A must review for K-1 teachers! Some activities and stories are applicable for Grade 2 and 3 classrooms.

BBC ... Educational Sites

Many interactive games and online activities to keep you going for a long, long time. The site is broken up in sections Ages 4-11, Ages 11-16, 16+, Teachers, Parents. It hooks up well with TV programs too.

A site worth checking out again and again.

Into the Book ... Blooming Good Stuff

Into the Book is a reading comprehension resource for K-4 students and teachers. It focusses on eight research-based strategies: Using Prior Knowledge, Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Summarizing, Evaluating and Synthesizing (Bloom's Taxonomy).

Try the online interactive activities, or click below to find out how to get the engaging 15-minute video programs.

Behind the Lesson provides information and teaching resources for each strategy. Watch the 10-minute professional development videos and explore the Web site for lesson plans, video and audio clips, downloads, and more. A great site for administrators, teachers, and students alike.

Literactive ... Learning to Read Can Be Fun

This is a wonderful site for JK/SK and even Gr. 1 teachers to use as a resource for online reading, writing and playing language-based games. Fun for the whole family. You need to register, but everything is FREE ... that's right, FREE. Enjoy

Learn Dolch Words using Online Reading Games

Wow ... this is fun. This site has soooo many games connected to good fundamental language skills that you'll have so much fun playing, you'll forget that it's actually work. The child can play all these activities online and without any frustrating lags or waiting for something to happen.

Student Edition of SMART Notebook

Another beauty brought to you by Mario A. He's a good man with plenty to offer ... visit his blog too and get even more. I keep borrowing from him, but I can't help it, his stuff is worthy of being posted here too.

French Teacher Resource Site

Brought to you by my colleague and friend, Mario A. He's always cutting edge and here's another site for teachers.

Leadership in Language Instruction in Bloom

Principal's need to be instructional leaders ... go to this site and begin to learn. If you don't know the way, how can you show the way?

A great site for teachers who want to learn about 21st Century instruction in language ... reading and writing using Bloom's Taxonomy in a Technological World. Undeniably a wonderful site ... read, learn, download, use!

Robert Munsch Stories (Revisited)

What a good site for kids to visit. Sit back, relax, find the Robert Munsch book of your choice in your class (or not), and listen to Robert Munsch read/tell his favourite stories. You can even download the stories as an mp3 file.

Fun Stuff ... Check it out!

Here's a nice website to stimulate your senses ... check out the pictures, games, and tests. Keep in mind that you will LOSE most often, but it is very addictive and you'll keep exploring for more. And that's what it is all about - teasing you to think outside the box! Enjoy.

Claymation, Digital Storytelling, and a lot more!

Frames 4

Frames is educational software for stop-motion animation, claymation, and digital storytelling. Creating illustrated animations, movies, and digital stories engages students in the curriculum, encourages problem solving, promotes creativity, and helps students develop 21st century skills. Students can use Frames to create movies, animated GIF files, and Flash animations to share with the world. This software tool is available to all TCDSB teachers ... all you need to do is ask AICT and voila!

Watch this video and learn more about the power of Frames 4.


Digital StorytellingDigital storytelling is an effective way to engage students in their learning. Creating digital stories with Frames develops students’ ability to interpret events beyond their immediate experience and builds planning, organizational, and time management skills

Cel AnimationCommunicating visually is an essential 21st-century skill. With Frames integrated drawing tools, students can illustrate their own animated diagrams, graphs, procedures, and more, helping them understand concepts that are difficult to explain using text alone.

Clay AnimationNothing engages students more than creating clay animation! Use Frames to transform your classroom into an active learning environment and begin having your student develop exciting cross-curricular group projects that incorporate writing and technology skills

Shwup's Up

Create Audio Slideshows With Shwup

Shwup is a new service similar to Animoto and Stupeflix for creating videos based on your images and audio files. At its most basic Shwup is a place for creating collaborative private photo albums. As the creator of an album you can select the best images and create a video for the group. You can choose to share your videos privately so that only those you invite can see them or you can share your videos on Facebook, Twitter, or embed them into your blog.

Here, watch this video ...



Applications for Education
Shwup could be a good way to share photos from your class with your students' parents. If you take your class on a field trip and have parents take pictures while they chaperon they could contribute to a private album you've created on Shwup.

Getting Boys to Read

Guys Read

Getting boys to read is one of biggest challenges facing elementary teachers. Guys Read is a website designed to promote reading among boys in all grades. Guys Read has book lists, short stories, and free classroom visuals to promote reading among boys. The website has a graphic design that appeals to male students. Believe me, I liked it a lot ... and I'm a guy!

Application for Educators
Guys Read provides free classroom visuals for teachers. The website provides recommendations that students can read to help them find a book that will meet their interests. The Guys Read Anthology is a nice collection of stories that will appeal to a male audience.

Books Should Be Free ... and here they are!

Books Should Be Free

Here's an absolute gem of a site. You can get hundreds of books to listen to ... Believe it or not, you can download the mp3 or iPod file and have it on your laptop for use. You hold up the book and listen to the story ... or have the kids animate a story to what they hear.

Children's Storybooks Online

Children's Storybooks

Here are more ebooks and online reading ... More books, more fun, more learning (shhh, don't say this too loud). Some books you just read by yourself while others have accompanying audio. Fabulous for primary kids and the young at heart.

Child Bible Story Online

Child Bible Story Online

What a simple site to use. Look and listen as you can select from Old Testament and New Testament stories. They are a different way to do an old thing!

Children's Stories in Audio Format ... Listen!

Childrens' Stories

Follow along as you listen to these online stories ... Lots to choose from and you can do one story every day of the school year and still you will not exhaust the collection. Great stuff!

EText and Audio Books ... Sit Back and Enjoy!

LoudLit.org
Choose a book and enjoy. Free to use.

Listen as We Read - Great for All Ages

Storyline Online

What a great site to go to ... Listen to popular books read to you by famous people. Have James Earl Jones read to you and tell you a bit about himself. This site is well put together and full of little add-ons like questions to ask kids for higher-level thinking.

Differentiated Instruction is for Everyone 2

Tech Tip #2: Making Sequels to Classic Shorts

Brought to you by Johan Mash … It was in my head after reading an article from AICT and it reminded me of some work Mario and I had done with some kids 3 or 4 years ago ... 21st Century Learning at its Best. Happy Days.

This is a blast from the past … These are readily available from YouTube. Click on link or pictures to view both videos. Worth the watch ... Watch and then read the book to the kids and remember to use the French accent like Roch Carrier.

This is the original classic … Roch Carrier’s “The Sweater”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zca2y3fAqps&feature=related

This is the sequel … Roch Carrier III “The Sweater”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-k4Wzj8bso

Why don’t you get a classic and make a sequel by acting it out and capturing it on video??

Teaching doesn't have to be "work" ... learning happens for

everyone when you have fun too!

Think like a child so that you can lead the way.
Regards,
John

Differentiated Instruction is for Everyone

Brought to you by L.S. and her Staff from AICT … 21st Century Learning at its Best

Tech Tip #1: National Film Board Resource

Visit this site to check out videos and many with lesson plans for various subject areas … This is a blast from the past
http://www.beta.nfb.ca/

What is it? This is a website that houses a multitude of educational video content, free to use in the classroom! How much does it cost? FREE! What grade levels does this apply to? ALL!

My personal favourite is “The Railrodder” with Buster Keaton – a trip across Canada circa 1965 … no words, just sights and sounds with plenty of laughs and I can get the lesson plans too! It’s a jumping point to other great activities. Let your imagination take off ... click on title or picture if you want to watch it now! Enjoy

Think like a child so that you can provide rich learning opportunities for the child ...

Regards,
John

Movie Maker Reflection

Back in April, I attended a "Movie Maker" workshop with Quentin from the school board offered by PAL. It was a very interesting workshop and the good thing about it was that it was hands on and we were able to actually use cameras to make a short film. Quentin brought in a bottle of shampoo as our subject and we were to come up with an idea for a commercial.

After going through the steps of the Movie Maker software, we were given a video camera and we had to work as a team to create a script, storyboard, shots, angles etc. for our film. We then showed the raw footage on a SmartBoard and from there, Quentin showed us some editing techniques to come up with the final product. It was interesting to note that an hour's worth of filming was condensed to less than a minute. It makes you really appreciate the time and effort it takes to make a movie and how important editing is in the whole process. I've enclosed a copy of our "short" call "Silky Suds". It was a lot of fun but a class that you really need to spend more than one day. We may not be the next Martin Scorsese or Quentin Tarantino, but it's a start!

Tina D.

AICT Tech Conference ... Rich Night for All

Citizenship in the real world vs. digital world- what's the difference? What skills do we teach to support successful digital citizenship? What strategies do we adopt to help students develop into responsible digital citizens?

These are some of the questions the AICT Technology Conference (supporting the Digital Citizen 2010) attempted to answer. The key note speaker was Dr. Tim Tyson, an expert of educational technology and and innovator in his use of technology to maximize student achievement.

It was an enjoyable evening filled with the buzz of new technologies on the horizon and at present, and how can we adapt them to our classrooms and student learning. After listening to the keynote speaker, and noting some key elements in his speech, I concluded that as teachers:

• We have to work differently (work digitally)
• We have to have transparency, i.e.. share with the rest of the world (pod casts, blogs, digital stories etc.)
• We must redefine class time
• Redefine how you assess student's work
• Start creating "Rich Media" (tip: keep it short)
• Change learning so it is collaborative problem solving (Learning "IS" collaborative problem solving)
• Do what you say you value the most (transform that and DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU VALUE THE MOST)
• Check out the TED conference

In addition, I attended the "Creating Digital Diaries" seminar and it was great to see children in action and participating as a "Tech Crew" member using/capturing video, editing the pictures/video and creating digital diaries or stories.

Fun night for all and the food wasn't bad either!

Tina D.

CML: Teaching and Learning about Media Literacy

What a great website for teachers ... go there and learn about Media Literacy. Then, you can use the website to teach about Media Literacy.

Once in, you can use the drop down menus to choose a focus topic or a specific subject area.

http://www.medialit.org/

Enjoy!

Margaret's Project

Melissa's Project

Ellevee's Project

Andrew's Project

Matthew's Project

Tina's Project

Video Conversion

I have an Apple computer at home that won't let me run 'AVC'. I tried finding something comparable for Mac but couldn't. At the AICT conference, the facilitators for my break-off session mentioned zamzar.com and youconvertit.com. They both can convert files from the web or from your computer. They will send a link to your email for where you can download the desired converted clip. I used both for my multimedia project. Why both, you ask?

Zamzar was a lot easier and more efficient for getting files off of Youtube. It gave me problems when I tried to convert the 'flv' file from Youtube to a 'wmv' for Moviemaker. Moviemaker didn't not want to recognize this wmv. Perhaps zamzar converts it to an old form of wmv or a new updated one that the board computers aren't able to read yet.

This is why I also used youconvertit.com. I converted the files taken from Youtube with zamzar into video files I could use with Moviemaker. Why the wmv videos worked with youconvertit and not zamzar, I don't know but that's how I did it. If you need to convert and you don't have access to the 'AVC' program, try out zamzar and youconvertit.

Andrew

Moviemaker, Photostory, and Audacity

I have finally finished my multimedia video. John was right, once you start playing with the details it takes longer and longer. For my video, I used these three programs and I'd like to share why.

I started with Photostory, making the opening slide show. It took some time to gather all the images but once I had everything things started coming together fairly easily. I used Photostory a lot for any writing on the screen. I found text easier to manipulate where I wanted it on Photostory. Moviemaker has better text effects but the words never wanted to go where I wanted them.

It took me a while to get the hang of Moviemaker; trying to remember all the things that John showed us. I probably went a little overboard on cutting, splicing, and editing. I knew I was spending too much time when I was getting annoyed that my edited clip ran 7 hundredths of a second longer than intended.

For the soundtrack, I used Audacity to edit clip, create fade ins and fade outs. Audacity gave me more options for sound control. I figured out how long the music clip needed to be based on times from Moviemaker and clipped the music as needed on Audacity. After saving the Audacity project and making an mp3, you can import it to Moviemaker and if everything went well it will more or less fit where you need it.

The majority of my time was spent on trial and error. This being my first time using the three programs, I was pretty happy with all the options and results. There were some frustrations but the majority of them were resolved eventually. I still have no idea why Photostory won't let me open saved projects. Any ideas?

Andrew

Short Film and Commercials

Congratulations to Mr. Anthony Perotta and students at St. Basil’s the Great College School!

It was an evening of showcasing the digital work the students created at Yorkdale Silvercity. It was encouraging to see how creative students can be if given the opportunity to express themselves in a manner other than in written form. Students love technology, so why not encourage them to use it to benefit them in education as well? They communicated much more readily than they would have if asked to do so in a format other than this form of media. The commercials and documentaries allowed for their talents to be exhibited. There was no shortage of ideas.

This definitely was a cross curricular activity. Areas such as Social Skills, reading, writing, filming, editing…to name a few, are worked upon in making these films and commercials. Most importantly, characteristics such as perseverance, determination and patience were apparent. What a sense of accomplishment! A job well done.

Toni

Bitstrips and Power4Bones

–Home school connection--

As teachers we need to create lessons that keep students interested. In September, I registered my class for 2 programs called Power4Bones and Bitstrips.

Power4Bones is a free program that teaches grade 5 children about bone health. This program uses a variety of activities. There are Web-based challenges, educational comics, coded secret messages, classroom announcements, and a public service announcement activity.

This program is not independent from classroom lesson. It does involve some directed teaching prior to launching each activity challenge that is online. Ideally this activity takes approximately 8 weeks to complete. Which is about 45 minutes in class lesson per week and the web challenges are complete at home. The students told me that they had a blast…..

Bitstrips is a site where students make and create comics. As many of you will know, you assign specific tasks for students to complete and then you allow them the independence to create their own comics.

They really enjoy creating their comics. I found that students who usually do not enjoy “homework” are actually writing and creating with Bitstrips.

Both sites are safe, educational but most importantly fun.

Toni

Online Learning and Professional Growth.

As I read through the last article regarding Web 2.0 and common terminology, I realized that as more software becomes available to the general public and teachers alike, some words just don’t seem too common to me just yet! I stumbled upon the word MOODLE and I decided to figure out what it was and how I could use this software. It turns out that it is probably the interface I was looking for to create my course page! The terminology for everything associated with MOODLE is still quite new to me; however, what I realize is that many online courses offered through universities and high schools are delivering their program content with the aide of such interfaces (which allow for images, videos, chats, forums, etc to be combined all on one page). Interesting enough, all in the same day, I received notice of acceptance to an online course using D2L (Desire 2 Learn) interface which I also read about while researching MOODLE. I hope to learn something about how this interface works while trying to survive an online course for the first time in my life. Technology is great, but for those of us who are accustom to attending class in person, these online courses seem terrifying! As I reflect on our last class creating our blogs, I realize that somehow, once I manage to decode all this terminology and adapt it to my everyday lesson planning, all this temporary techno chaos of terminology and software will translate into a priceless, professional growth experience for me as a teacher.

ellevee

Home-School Connection

For this assignment I have been preparing a blog for one of the courses I teach.

The idea is to create a “semi” interactive course profile for the student to access from home, or, as with many high school students, as they are away from school on long school trips, functions or take two months off to visit with family.

I have created a Professional Blog for the Introduction to Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology course, entitled HSP. For now this is the only internet based program I can manage as I am new to blogs and wikis. My aim, after last class working with Mario Adessa is to learn to use an interface such Moodle, or D2L or somehow find a way to create a page with space for multimedia posts created by my students and accessible to them on Learn 360.

My idea is to create a page containing each of the 4 units for this course. I have created a Photo Story presentation for the introduction of the course which is posted for my students to view. I have also listed the course units on the left hand side.

I would like to post at least the major assignments under each unit for my students and if there are any multimedia assignments, or podcasts created by the students per unit, my goal would be to post them under each unit with a follow up activity for the students. Currently there is only an embedded Youtube Video in the Sociology section that dealt with youth attitudes to their view of what society will be like in their future.

At the moment, I have been able to create a seminar outline and topic schedule in PDF format for the sociology multimedia seminar presentations my students are creating this year. (I did not know how to switch my word documents to PDF as of 2 days ago, and now I learned how to change the format using free software (Adobe and docstoc) to create a URL for the PDF document to attach or embed in my blog!) Somehow I will try to find a way to post their seminars without using too much space on the blog.

Hopefully there will be a nicer and neater way to create such a site. The link to my blog is http://www.hsp2010.blogspot.com/ . I am not excited about seeing so much writing with every post and link; however, I guess that is the format of the blog.

ellevee

How Flat is Your Classroom?

William Ferriter's article "How Flat is Your Classroom?" documents the journey of two high-school teachers joining together to build relationships with their students who happen to live on different continents. Vicki Davis, a high-school teacher in Georgia and Julie Lindsay, a high-school teacher in Bangladesh, teamed up together using digital technology to form an online learning environment that fostered international collaboration. As the article points out very succinctly, it was their goal that "their students would not just walk away with a better understanding of tomorrow's workplace – they'd walk away with a better understanding of one another." This proved to be a very powerful experience for both sets of students. It enabled the students to meet (through digital video) and interact with (through online discussion boards, video conferences, instant messages and e-mails) students from across the world. This under normal circumstances would definitely not have occurred. Both sets of students had the opportunity to learn about their peers in the opposite country and form opinions based on information they gathered instead of simply resorting to information they might have been able to gather via various media outlets. As you can imagine, the project was a great success and has expanded to help other classroom teachers create global exchanges that benefit students in similar ways.

One of the learning environments that the article suggests visiting is ePals. I took a brief look at this website and was very intrigued. It offers learners and teachers in 200 countries the opportunity to interact with one another. Not only would such an experience teach students to connect and communicate with students of other cultures, it provides students and teachers alike with a safe learning environment as well as the opportunity to engage and learn from individuals that may be as close as a neighboring city or as far as on another continent. I definitely plan to look more into ePals in the future. It seems like a very worthwhile opportunity for teachers and students and I look forward to one day implementing it within a classroom of my own.

Melissa

How Technology is Changing School

Curtis Bonk's article "How Technology is Changing School" offers readers concrete proof that the digital age is upon us. Throughout the article, Bonk explains that technology related to school program delivery once reserved to deal with catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina, or health emergencies such as SARS or the H1N1 virus are being used to service students all over the globe. As time passes, more and more students and teachers alike are choosing to take their courses online in order complete their required course work. This allows students who live in rural areas who may have limited access to programs of their choice to pursue their interests and graduate with a degree that only a few years earlier probably would not have been made available to them.

I am a strong proponent of the online learning forum. Throughout my university career I worked full-time and found it increasing difficult to manage work and school. Unfortunately online learning was not an option for me at the time, so therefore I was forced to juggle work and school. Upon the completion of my teaching degree I decided to try online learning for the first time. I took an online AQ course through the Faculty of Education at Queen's University and I was hooked. I was able to study at my own pace, meet my colleagues for online discussions of course materials, and submit assignments without ever having to leave the comfort of my home. For the first time in my life I didn't have to worry about juggling full-time employment commitments and in-class commitments. Since this time I have had the opportunity to take many more online courses which I have really enjoyed.

I am very thankful that I have the opportunity to learn online and definitely feel that more programs to facilitate this in the elementary and secondary spectrum should be made readily available to students. Online learning forums are not only for musicians, dancers and professional athletes; they are for those interested in learning and growing intellectually in a flexible environment that suits their learning needs.

Melissa

TCDSB AICT “Tech” In-service

The in-service that I attended for this component of the course was on the topic of differentiated instruction through the use of technology. I found it to be a great wrap up and review of many of the topics (i.e. Smart Board, Premier, digital storytelling, etc) we have studied throughout our course. Many of the tools discussed are fairly simple to use and already available to us through the TCDSB. The only things missing involve supportive administration as well as a teacher who is open-minded and willing to learn how to incorporate new technology into his/her teaching. All of the tools and teaching strategies discussed are relevant to the needs of students in today's classrooms. The aspect of the presentation that I enjoyed the most was the discussion of various differentiated instruction tools. These included virtual field trip websites; project based learning, simulations, online pen pals and web quests. Having discussed most of these in our course, we had the chance to interact with them within a classroom setting, and the value of each tool became all the more evident. I was particularly interested in the online pen pal program and had the opportunity to research it and get more feedback from colleagues that had used something similar in the past. I would highly recommend this in-service to other teachers interested in learning more about integrating technology into their classrooms. Although the amount of information presented throughout the day is a lot, it is just the tip of the iceberg. That being said those topics that are of interest can be further researched and later hopefully implemented into one's classroom teaching.

Melissa

21st Century Learning!

Teachers, pay attention.

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

Great website to use with kids ... Fun and educational!

Shhhhh!!! Don't tell them they're learning.

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html

Posted by: Johan

Response to AICT conference

I enjoyed the AICT conference and thought that the keynote speaker had a lot of neat ideas and links to show off. Yet, as I sat there, I was struck by how technology, which was supposed to be the great leveller in education, making the ‘whole virtual world’ available to all students, has in fact only driven a greater wedge between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’.

Access to technology and its various tools comes down to the will of the principal to spend money on it; the parent community who will vocally as well as financially support its use in the school, and the teacher who is willing to try it out. Absent of one of these three conditions, and students don’t have as much of a chance. Why is it that in some of our schools student laptop use in a wireless setting is the norm, while other students, particularly those in portables, are stuck with a stand alone computer with no network connection that hasn’t been updated in who knows how long? Is this fair?

As we finish the monthly focus on the virtue of Justice, maybe we ought to look at our own school system and ask where matters of justice are not being met.

Lou.

I couldn't agree with you more, Lou. From where I'm now sitting, I see the injustice and the inequities that exist. Our students have neither justice nor equity and it's a shame! Your points are soooo true! Maybe time will fix this, but I'm not so sure.

-Johan

Conference - TCDSB AICT

Supporting the digital Citizen 2010 Conference

Recently I attended the technology conference: "Supporting the Digital Citizen". This is my second year in attendance. I do agree that today technology offers a wealth of opportunity for learning. Everyone is drawn to the digital world in one form or another; no one is immune. It is important that educators reflect on ways to enhance their curriculum through the use of technology because it is unavoidable so it is “better to join the party than to ignore it.”

The Keynote speaker Dr. Tim Tyson spoke of his experiences with technology. Although what he spoke about was not new to me, I viewed him as a motivational speaker; I was encouraged that what I am doing in the classroom is good and not useless. That the ways I am using cameras, computers and video cameras in my classroom are technologies that in some shape or form, are maximizing interest and achievement. His speech reinforced my resolve to continue what I am doing and to continue to empower my students to choose to learn. Using some form of technology as an alternative to handwritten assignments would be considered, “differentiated instruction”.

The students that I teach go forward with tools and skills that they did not have prior to entering my class. Yet, I always felt that I could do more but did not know how to realize what I wished to do. But once I attended the break out session at the conference, I got an idea to further help students create in an environment other than my classroom. I attended “Creating a Digital Diary”. At this session I learned about the role of a Tech Crew. Simply put, they are a group of students that are given the ability to show interest in some aspect of technology and to also be mentors to other students. Learning new software, filming and editing are some examples of what these students would be responsible for. Most importantly, they would assist me with setting up equipment when other teachers require it.

Will I want to undertake such a project? Yes. I wish to be a small factor in helping to prepare students for the future demands of the workforce. This small group of students would definitely be able to mentor students within their own classrooms and such a system would cascade knowledge to more than a small group of students within a few classrooms. The school community would benefit.

Toni

Smart Board Workshop

I find technology interesting: A reflection on a Smart Board WorkshopJ

In the last several years I have attended various workshops to lean how to use certain programs, technology or gain new ideas in order to apply them in the classroom. I certainly found the many ideas and websites I gained from attending these workshops very beneficial; I certainly do apply them in my class. These ideas have evolved and become lessons I created and I am proud of them. One thing that I have certainly learned, however, is that you can attend as many workshops as humanly possible but if you don’t actively apply or practice what you have learned, can be useless.

I ponder this because I recently organized, hosted and assisted a Smart Board workshop for other teachers. It was interesting assisting other adults on learning how to use the Smart Board. Adults are definitely not as adventurous as children. Children will, as one would say, jump into the fire, and try. At this workshop, the adults, but most specifically teachers, were treading very carefully probably fearing that the Smart Board would probably combust. Many questions and theories were brought forth just before each touch of the board occurred. “What if…? What if…?” But they were all good questions. I held my breath each time…..I smiled and spurred them on with gentleness. Who said that only children need encouragement, so do adults. Some hesitated, not convinced that something positive will happen, up until they realized that the Board won’t break. As a matter of fact, their confidence level increased with every swipe of the Board. I no longer had to hold onto the Board for fear that it would tip over because they were practically punching the Board to make it write! Yeah, but it got better. So the workshop continued throughout the day in such a manner and I was proud of them. Not because they attended the workshop but because this group of teachers are all innovative and are willing to learn something that was not in their comfort zone. I found that after the workshop, although I am positive they felt overwhelmed; they were left with a feeling of contentment. It was satisfaction because the teachers learned something and felt empowered that their next lesson would be amazing! I hope this is the case.

I am convinced that the teachers will have left with a knowledge they did not initially have. They were given the tools to begin using the Smart Board, however, as I mentioned above, you must practice and apply what is learned otherwise there will always be a hesitation in using technology in the classroom.

Toni

Youtube downloader

Youtube downloader is a free software that everyone can download. It allows one to convert videos videos for Ipod, Iphone, PSP, Cell Phone, Windows Media, XVid and MP3

http://download.cnet.com/YouTube-Downloader/3000-2071_4-10647340.html

This site has a publisher’s description of software and comments and ratings from people who have used this software in order to give prospective downloaders a chance to feel at ease about using software.

I found this site as a link from BienneSoft (http://youtubedownload.altervista.org/). This site guarantees the Youtube downloader is free of malware, spyware, viruses, Trojans and backdoors.

Toni

Grade 11 Students Shine!

St. Basil's Night to Shine

Lights! Camera! Action! That was the atmosphere at the third annual presentation of Digital 2010; a showcase of student short films produced by the Communication Technology students from St. Basil's the Great College School and shown at the Yorkdale Cinemas.

The audience was treated to a fusion of works. Not only did the students shoot commercials to promote certain products, but they also used the documentary format as a vehicle to engage themselves into exploring ideas and producing an insightful series of storytelling.

Adolescence is at times difficult. Among all the changes happening to them, teenagers often have a difficult time expressing themselves and communicating to others. Filming short docs such as the ones presented, empowers the students and gives them the means to express their ideas and to take a project from beginning to end. Filming, also builds on their creativity and analytical skills while developing social skills. In other words, filmmaking involves a myriad of abilities from initial idea to final product.

Creating short docs is something that can be used across the curriculum and something that can accommodate any learning style. If started early enough perhaps in elementary school, by the time they reach high school, students may discover some hidden talent in writing, directing, editing, filming or producing.

In all, it was an enjoyable evening and something I would share and try to accomplish with my own classes. The pride shown by the students in their work and dedication was evidenced by the applause and cheers. It was their night to shine.

Kudos to Mr. Anthony Perotta and his crew at St. Basil’s.

Tina D.

Academic ICT Conference 2010

I found the TCDSB AICT Conference to be a very insightful look into how we as teachers can engage our students in the classroom using today's ever changing technological advances. Anyone who attended the conference will no doubt agree that using technology in the classroom will assist our students using an avenue that they are accustomed to. During Ann Perron's opening remarks she mentioned that about 90% of TCDSB students have access to the internet at home. I have to say that I was very surprised by this figure, and imagined that it would be much less. Students are exposed to technology in the home and as a result, school communities need to keep up with this technology not only to engage their students, but to help prepare them to meet the demands of the workforce they will one day occupy. Dr. Tim Tyson's keynote address made it sound rather simple to do this. His practical examples of integrating technology into the classroom were definitely not at all far fetched. All they require is an open-minded teacher who is willing to try something new, and a few IPods or cell phones. It will definitely be interesting to see whether or not this type of teaching is something that will become more prevalent within the TCDSB. I know from my own teaching experience, time is something that I definitely never seem to have enough of. Teaching the vast amount of curriculum would definitely be made easier if teachers could deliver their lessons via podcasts, especially in the senior grades. I am a little skeptical about how this idea would go over in primary classes, but think it is definitely worth exploring further. I know in my own class at the moment I have a number of students who show up late or have been away for extended periods of time. Having my lessons available as a podcast would mean that I could direct my students as well as their parents to my lessons very easily and continue delivering my daily classroom lessons. Instead of repeating important information to those students who missed the lesson I would then free up more time to answer student questions and offer more individual help to those who need it which is what teaching is all about.

I also found the second portion of AICT Conference I attended (Making Meaning of Digital Texts) to be very informative. Heather Mullins did a great job of presenting a wealth of information on the topic in a very short period of time. She really emphasized the importance of teaching our students how to be "digitally literate" and gave a number of useful strategies to use in the classroom in order to assist our students with skill. One activity that I particularly liked and plan to use in my own classroom involves having students put together a computer screen with all the various components (i.e. task bar). Not only does this help students learn to navigate their way around what they say when they use the internet, it assists teachers in deciphering who knows what and guides them as to where their next steps should be. After all, if we want our students to be "digitally literate" we must not assume that they are going to arrive in our classrooms with these skills. We must teach them!

The Digital Citizen

Interesting presentation and still running in my mind as if I have just finished watching

A Midsummer Night's Dream. Two different worlds; the real world vs. digital world of iFairies,

but no longer a dichotomy. Oberon from fairyland anoints teachers' eyelids with magic iPotion, and makes

them believe in love at first sight.

Since majority of students already function in their digital reality and develop their reading and writing skills on the internet, teachers indeed should follow and open their minds to blogging and podcasting as an alternative to pen and paper.

However, ridding of marks, rubrics, essay formats and replacing them unanimously with unspecified assessment on line seems quite farfetched when most of the teachers live in the trenches struggling to meet curriculum and fulfill parents' high expectations for final marks.

Media projects have already become an inseparable part of Ontario curriculum and combined with evaluation based on four categories can be both entertaining and educating.

I have started my adventure on line by asking Grade 9 students to create just one comic strip for each unit . Plot development for a short story read and discussed in class, scene adaptation in eight panels based on Shakespeare's comedy, Tom Finder character review in three panels; just one step at a time. Senior classes have just submitted The Kite Runner project created in movie maker program, but next semester they will be podcasting!

All you need is a little iMagic.

MK

LunaPic Online Photo Editor

You must go to this website ... have your pictures ready and play
with them on this site. Can you say "FUN" - wow!

Web 2.0 Exploration

Go here and as Michele likes to say, "muck around" ... great sites to explore and get hooked on.

Reversing the title gives me a new Blog ... Cool

Do you know this lady? What a good Blog ... lots of interesting stuff.
Have you seen her blog? http://teaching21c.blogspot.com/
I actually ended up at her blog before yours because I reversed the words in your title.

L.

Cyber Safety.....

I was reading this article; http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/education/09cyberkids.html?partner=rss&emc=rss from the New York Times and they made reference to a teacher using a website put out by Common Sense Media, http://www.commonsensemedia.org/rules-road-kids to teach his students about using the internet. What I liked best about it is that it doesn't just talk out the 'dark underworld' of the internet out there, it also mentions kids' use of social network sites and how what they put out there could come back to haunt them. The video is straightforward and to the point and might be a real eye-opener for some kids in the junior grades.
Lou

Proactiv Commercial with Lindsay Lohan

Here's a product that uses "famous people" to market for them.

Pantene Ads

Pantne Brand Profile: Get the inside scoop on media advertising!

Science ... Having Fun & Learning a Bit!

Many science activities to choose from ... Use your Smart Board to make it interactive! Simple Machines, Compound Machines, Design a cell phone ... and a few virtual simulations (like doing brain surgery). Enjoy this site ... very cool!

Podcast ... Oh, The Places You'll Go (2009 Replay)

This is a group effort to wish a beloved teacher a fond farewell as she marries and moves off to Colorado ... Wonderfully read and nicely done!

Podcast ...A Story Read by Shamary

Listen to Shamary read a story called "Spiders" ... click on the title or the picture to get to the podomatic site. Enjoy!

Podcast ... A Story Read by Christopher

Hi everyone, here's a new podcast entry ... check it out! Click on the title or the picture of the book and hear Christopher read the story to you.

Enjoy!

Using Games to Enhance Student Achievement

Robert Marzano's article "Using Games to Enhance Student Achievement" presents a number of valid points in favor of using games to enhance student interest and achievement. In my own experience I know that I always learned more in classes where teachers made learning fun and got students involved. Incorporating educational games into classroom teaching not only allows students to learn necessary content, it allows teachers to engage their students while providing an opportunity to gage student understanding. In his article, Marzano points out that one of the few places students regularly don't play games is in the classroom. To some this might seem natural, but in today's technologically advanced world I feel that we are really doing a disservice to our students if we refrain from using technology to enrich the learning opportunities of our students. That being said, I know that with increasing budget cuts and lack of funding schools often find it difficult to keep up with the latest technological advances. Many teachers have games pre-loaded educational games on classroom computers, yet due to the many curriculum demands would prefer students to learn the required content through the completion of paper and pencil tasks. Also, many teachers are uncomfortable with the technology themselves and thus refrain from using it in the classroom. This is understandable, but I feel that more has to be done in this area in order to encourage teachers to use more games (and technology in general) in their classrooms.

Marzano points out that students thrive in classrooms that use games that include: stakes that are not too high, target important academic content, and allow for student/teacher discussion of more difficult questions. I agree 100% with Marzano's closing comments where he points out that games are a useful tool in addressing even the most difficult content in a lighthearted and engaging way. An example of this in my own teaching involves a game that I developed to assist my students in preparing for their most recent Social Studies test on Canada's Pioneers. I devised a Jeopardy style game board (on my blackboard) that included titles such as Family Responsibilities, Aboriginal Peoples and Clearing the Land. Under each category I wrote a number of questions that dealt with each topic and assigned a point value to each correct answer given. When we actually played the game I divided the class into two teams and had students work as a team to answer the game questions. Both teams had a lot of fun and I could easily see what topics they had mastered and what areas I needed to review prior to actual test. What I would like to do in the future with the help of technology (i.e. a Smart board) is have the game transferred onto the computer and allow my students to play the game using that format.

Melissa

Windows MovieMaker

The last class on Windows Movie Maker Live was enjoyable, fascinating and informative. The version with Windows 7 seemed very easy to work with and manipulate. In fact, I was so inspired I convinced myself that I could make a fabulous movie with material I currently have on my computer.

I have since sat down twice to work with the XP version, and even though the format is different the idea is the same. I have to admit that it is more difficult and frustrating to use once you actually sit down. Patience is actually required for those of us with no experience and a lot of dreams of becoming an "overnight" award winning movie producer!

Overall, with some time, this will be a fun tool to work with!

Letizia

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The Alligator

Here is Shamary's Alligator Photostory Project

Joywina's Weasel

This is a Photostory Project on the weasel.

Wolf Project

This is a Photostory done by Praneeth (Grade 2) on the Wolf.

Professional Website Review

After exploring the suggested websites a few issues came to my mind in terms of children's literacy practices out-of-school, and the implications of these practices for teachers. The first is that the majority of these sites offer students and parents a safe environment to focus on building literacy skills at home. As the years go by, students are becoming computer savvy earlier and earlier. Many of these sites will not only allow students to use the computer independently, they will also build upon the skills taught in school by teachers ultimately helping students become better readers and writers.

As a teacher, I especially enjoyed the Toronto Public Library link. In my teaching experiences thus far many parents simply do not or are unable to devote enough time to read with their children. Many of my students past and present hardly see their parents during the week due to employment demands and family commitments. This can definitely have a detrimental impact on the academic standing of a child, especially in terms of literacy skills. Kid-friendly websites such as that of the Toronto Public Library allow students to build their skills, by hearing, reading and writing stories. This type of extracurricular activity can only benefit a child, especially one that is struggling to learn the basics of reading and writing. The extra practice at home will not only build skills, it will work to increase a child's confidence and abilities, therefore making him/her more likely to respond favorably to his/her teacher's efforts in school.

Although using tools such as the suggested websites offer a number of positive advantages, I myself would definitely be wary of letting my students use websites that have the potential for online chatting. Depending on the age of the child I would definitely encourage all of my parents to supervise their child's time on the computer, and monitor who they may be chatting with. On the whole I do see a lot of value in using this type of technology to promote literacy skills and plan to bookmark a number of the suggested websites for future reference and use.

Melissa