Next Generation Science Standards

Crash Course for Kids is a fairly new YouTube channel that is focusing on the Next Generation Science Standards (they are staring with fifth grade material).  It might be a nice way to introduce a lesson or you might want to use it in a flipped approach especially with EDpuzzle. For the complete from TeachersFirst, please click here.

So how big is space really?

This creative interactive allows you to pilot your rocket ship away from Earth and into the skies.  Along the way, you will pass a variety of natural as well as man made elements. Produced by the BBC, How Big is Space could be projected or as a station.  I was thinking of giving the students a list of some of the items (prior to exploring the site) and having them predict in what order they would see them.   You could debate the list as a class and then use the interactive to see how close they came! For the complete from TeachersFirst, please click here.

Interactive Timeline 5 Major Religions

Business Insider posted this interactive timeline of the growth and development of five world religions.  This would be good on a whiteboard or a station- but the site does contain advertising. For the complete from TeachersFirst, please click here.

Think before you link

Looking for a nice package of internet safety resources?  Need something for students, teachers, and parents?  How about an educator guide?  If you answer “yes” to these questions, please check out the Intel/Discovery Education site Think before you link.  

For the complete post from TeachersFirst, please click here.

Write your score online!

Now if I only had musical talent- this site looks really interesting. Flat allows you to select your instruments, time and key.  Now you can create and orchestrate your masterpiece!  You can use your Google id to login and begin. For the complete post from TeachersFirst, please click here.

The elements of a novel

Secondary students analyze the elements of a novel in many different genres and then hyperlink these pieces online: http://t.co/GT6FpDnqg7

— ReadWriteThink.org (@RWTnow) September 26, 2015

View of the ancient city

Looking to take your students on a virtual field trip?  How about a tour of the ancient city of Pompeii? Now you can use Google Maps and explore the images (several offer a panoramic view option). For the complete post from TeachersFirst, please click here.

September Stories

This week i visited Mrs. Read's classroom.  As part of my visit, the students created ChatterPix based on the story they were reading in class. I had a great time and look forward to working with them again. The best part was working one on one with the students and having them assist the next student in the creation of the videos.

Science channel for kids!

Here’s a channel for science and elementary students- SciShow Kids is a YouTube channel with playlists based on content.  You could use these in class or flip your classroom.  For the complete post from TeachersFirst, please click here.

Get zooming

Zoom In is  a site with primary resources, lesson plans as well as an online classroom for exploring US History.  Create a free a teacher account and then get your students started.  For the complete post from Richard Byrne’s Free Technology for Teachers, please click here.

Kahoot or Quizizz or Socrative?

Which one do you use? Amy Roediger posted a nice comparison on her blog ( A Lever and a Place to Stand.)  She outlines Kahoot!, Quizziz, and Socrative and shares her information in a side by side comparison table.  I haven’t tried Quizziz  yet- anyone have any feedback?  Please click here to read the complete post.

Where do they live?

The Smithsonian has a quick game for younger students.  Play Habitats and see if you can find locate homes for various critters.  Explore four different areas - this would be great for a center or projected on a SMARTBoard.  For the complete post from Richard Byrne’s Free Technology for Teachers, please click here.

Fall arrives (and so does the classroom calendar!)

Earlier today I saw tweets about Google’s Classroom calendar- and a few minutes ago it arrived in my account.  For all new classrooms you create, the calendar will be automatic.  For existing classrooms, just create a new announcement or assignment and that will generate the calendar.  Calendar will appear in the menu (or as I refer to it , the hamburger on the top left).  You can view all classes at once or just selected classes.  For an excellent post  from Michael Fricano II on Google Classroom Calendar, please click here.

Making it larger

Want to make the font larger? While you can always highlight the text and change the font, now you can just select format, Font Size, and then adjust upward or downward.  For the complete post from Synergyse, please click here.

The beauty of chemistry

Even if you are not talented with a flask, Beautiful Chemistry looks at the topic in a whole new light.  Explore atoms, molecules, and chemical reactions. Watch the videos in slow speed to see all the magic.  This site is geared to grades 5 and above.  For the complete post from TeachersFirst, please click here.

For things biological,

Bioman Biology hosts a series of games  as well as interactives and virtual labs for students in grades 5-10.  The screenshot here is from the cells section.  While you can download the app, you can also play on computer.  For the complete post from TeachersFirst, please click here.

Something for the geography folks

Here is a post from Tom Mullaney  from last month- full of ideas for geography.  Check out 7 Awesome Tools for Social Studies Tools to teach Geography. From maps to virtual field trips, there is something for everyone.

Fresh Paper Slides

As part of the kickoff to the fall DEN Ambassador program, the group made paper slides this morning.  They felt (and I agree) this project could be adapted to any grade and content area. For some reason, the
above video keeps coming up in restricted mode- yet you can play it on a non district device.  It is strange how the YouTube filtering works!  Thanks for your patience.

One of the Classics

The Hero’s Journey is a Read-Write-Think interactive for grades 6-12.  Take this timeless theme and explore it using technology.

Pioneer- Visionary-Innovator

While I’ve attended concerts at Carnegie Hall, I must admit I didn’t know much about the life of Andrew Carnegie.  Andrew Carnegie’s Story follows Carnegie from childhood, through his business successes, and concludes with this philanthropic  missions.  It is interactive and geared to middle and high school students and includes video, primary documents, and images. (For the complete post from TeachersFirst, please click here.)

One of these things is not like the others,

“One of these things is not like the others,One of these things just doesn't belong,..”

(Lyrics by Raposo)

This charming song from Sesame Street was the first thing I thought of when I saw Which One Doesn’t Belong? .  Choose from numbers, graphs, shapes or you can even complete your own sets. The best thing about the site?  They don’t provide the answer (yet you can submit a response with your justification).  I think this would be perfect to engage student in thinking and would work well with a projector. (For the complete post from TeachersFirst, please click here.)

Still a few seats left..

• Do you have Discovery Education (aka United Streaming)?
• Are you willing to drive to Sayreville NJ?
• Are you ready to explore technology on 10/17?

Please join us at DENapalooza Sayreville from 9-2:30m on Saturday, October 17 at the Samsel Upper Elementary  School.  Please click here to register.

Can you guess the wordle?

One of the many fabulous resources hosted by Jen Wagner is her Guess the Wordle site.  You can select your level (based on grade level) or select one of the other options.  This could be a great opening activity projected for the class.  Students can defend their decisions or even make their own Wordle. (Just remember, Chromebooks are not wordle friendly).

History through Art

This interactive site combines art and history.  Picturing American History can be viewed chronologically or by themes (i.e.,  leadership, democracy, courage, landscapes). This is an educator page and many extra resources. For the complete post from Richard Byrne’s Free Technology for Teachers, please click here.

Step by step for collaborative slides

Ever want to have your students work as a team on slides?  Sometimes it takes a little organization to keep things moving in the right direction and eliminate confusion. In her blog, Alice Keeler shares great suggestions to make a shared slide project easy.

Welcome to Proportion Land!

No, this is not a new Disney theme park but rather a site for middle school students to tackle science concepts while at the amusement park known as Proportion Land! Teacher and student resources are provided at each ride.  (For the complete post from TeachersFirst, please click here.)

Make a book (or catch up on current events) with Jelly Beans!

This post from Richard Byrne (Free Technology for Teachers) is from late June.  I’ve had it in my file since then.  Jellybean Writer will allow your students to create their own storybooks.  Jellybean Scoop is a collection of current news article complete with questions and other learning options. One of my friends has set up her class accounts- hopefully she will share some samples with me.  This site would work best with elementary age students.

Get them there in 1 click!

Share to Classroom is an effective Chrome extension for your students.  With one click, you can your students to any website.  Yes, you could write the URL on the board or send them the link in classroom, but after using this extension today in a middle school class, there is no easier way.  Each “push” of a website opens in a new tab on the students’ machines.

You must be a teacher in the Google Classroom and your students must be members. (For those in Sayreville, this extension is already on all student machines and many teacher machine.  The first part of the above video  from Gooru will  help you install the extension). For the complete post, please click here.

Up your tech game! (No, not that Matrix!)

Want your students to be more collaborative?  How can you help your students construct new learning? But what if you see yourself as a tech novice or maybe an adopter?  The Technology Integration Matrix will help guide your choices!  Select your student learning goal and then your level of technology skills.  There are sample lessons based on the four major content areas (math, science, social studies, and language arts.).  There are also video segments so you can see the lesson in action.  (For the complete post from TeachersFirst, please click here.)

Setting your compass!

This trip is for Digital Citizenship.  This is an online game that help Middle School students explore various topics including the Internet and cyberbullying.  For the complete post from TeachersFirst, please click here.

Looking for Google Classroom help?

Now that Labor Day is behind us, you might be thinking about getting your Google Classroom online.  While working today, I found this Google Classroom resource.  It will walk you through everything classroom.  I have also posted items on our in house Tech Resource site (you must be logged into your school Google account to access).

Look no hands!

This entire blog post was typed (well not really typed)  so I guess spoken to the computer. Google Docs now has a new tool called voice typing.  You'll find it in a document under the Tools menu.  Just click on it-  it starts to record and you start to speak. How much better could it get?

Kahootapalooza!

Pam Gunter, Arleth librarian,shared her creative Kahoot strategy from last June.

“I wanted to let you know that we needed to come up with an assembly idea for the last week of school so we did a Kahootapalooza! We had two grades per assembly so I found appropriate trivia quizzes. We sat the kids in ten columns behind either a number or letter sign and gave each column an iPad. The kids took turns answering questions then passing the iPad down the row. It was a huge hit! ”

What could you do with a Kahoot!?

May the force be with you!

With all the news coverage this week showing shoppers waiting to purchase the new Star Wars toys, I couldn’t resist this site. Star Wars in the Classroom houses a variety of material correlated to classroom subjects.  From viewing guides to guided discussions, you can connect Star Wars to anything! (For the complete post from TeachersFirst, please click here.)

Teachers and Chromebooks

While preparing for my Google Certification exams, I came across this YouTube channel- Innovative Chromebook Educators.   These are recorded Google Hangouts divided by content area and include several educators in each session.  They run about an hour, so you get comfortable and enjoy!

Looking at the world

Global Post is a site geared for grades 6-12 to help them read about current events. You can 
search from a toolbar or look at themes. From the review in TeachersFirst, you might want to review the content before sharing with your students.  For the complete post, please click here.

For those looking for animation

If you are interested stop motion animation, please check out this site from the New York Film Academy Student Resources. Start with models and settings and explore all their material. (From TeachersFirst- for the complete post please click here)

What can you do with 20 strands of spagetti?

Why the Marshmallow Challenge, of course!  This wonderful project , sponsored by Jen Wagner, is geared to grades K-6 and runs from 10/9 to 11/20.  In 18 minutes, how do you think your students will fare?  For complete information and registration (this is a free project) go here.