More Hour of Code Resources

(Image from Disney’s Moana Wayfinding with code)

TeachersFirst has shared their best suggestions for the upcoming coding week   (December 5-12).  Please click here to view. My favorite is Moana- can you help her complete her quest?

Helping student search

Are you frustrated when your students try to type the entire question into the search bar?  Then check out Monica Burn’s column in Edutopia here. She has several suggestions that will help your students and lower your stress!

Create a Brochure

Here is a lesson from Google’s Applied Digitial Skills to help your students create a brochure. It includes step-by-step directions as well as extension activities.

FREE Discovery Education Virtual Field Trips

Recently I attended an EdWeb webinar with Hall Davidson from Discovery Education.  While I have heard Hall in person, he is just as engaging online. If you want to watch the presentation, you can join EdWeb (for free) and then look for Discover Virtual Resources Improving Accessibility to Global Experiences.

You can access all his shared resources here.  While some of the sites might have a login for Discovery Education (in the top right), you do not need to log in (on the other hand, if you are a Discovery Education user, you will want to log in for additional resources).

There is a Lego field trip (geared for grades 2-6) coming up on December 8- you can register here.

South African Creativity- I Am Because You Are

Here’s an interesting site from Google Arts and Culture. "I Am Because You Are" is a celebration of South African creativity, community, and craft. Learn about customs and rituals, take virtual tours of museums, discover early art and explore decorative crafts.

Touchpad tips for Chromebooks

Often I find students frustrated when using a touchpad.  Maybe this blog post from Eric Curts (and the linked poster) would help.  Maybe you could practice one option a week.

TeachersFirst straight from Atlantic City

If you have never used TeachersFirst, you might want to check out this presentation I gave at the recent NJEA convention.  From curated resources to outstanding (free) professional development, there is truly something for everyone. Click here to view the presentation.

Suggestions for voice typing

If you need some motivation for trying Voice Typing in Google. Please see Kasey Bell’s post here.  She shares seven different ideas.

Molly from Denali

While I’m sure I’ve passed this show on the guide, I didn’t realize this PBS series included a podcast.  In this review from TeachersFirst, you will find suggestions for classroom implementation. You can visit the site here.

What do you know about Indigenous peoples?

While my fifth graders learned the major Native American groups, they would have been floored to explore Native Land Digital. You can read TeachersFirst’s review here. You can search by area, treaties, and languages.  It also includes a Teacher’s Guide.