Have You Friended TED?

If you haven’t met TED, TED is waiting to inspire you and your students! TED is a non-profit organization first created to spread ideas about Technology, Entertainment and Design; however, since it’s inception in 1984, TED has expanded to spreading ideas online about so much more through TED Talks. Our technology has made TED Talks easily accessible anytime, anywhere on the web.  TED Talks feature short presentations of leading experts in all fields of study. From celebrities, scientists, writers, to directors, magicians, heads of state, and Noble Prize winners, TED Talks are profoundly moving and thought provoking. TED presenters promise to keep you and your students engaged because presentations are no longer than 20 minutes long! No snoozing or mind wandering with TED, promise! 

How can you use TED Talks in the classroom?

TED has over 900 different talks exploring all aspects of life and the human condition. Speakers explore topics we can all connect with, and in 20 minutes or less, we leave feeling smarter and more aware of our world and ourselves.  
  

Imagine if you could create your own TED Talks in your elementary, middle or high school classroom. After reading a novel, or non fiction piece, students could explore one or more of its themes; research the theme in more depth using primary sources for support of the theme, and then write a moving speech to deliver as a TED Talk. What about writing and delivering a TED Talk as a character from a short story, or the speaker of a poem?  In science, students could explore the moral implications of cloning, or in history class explore patterns of human behavior to determine if we truly do fail to learn from our mistakes. In math, students could offer TED Talks to explain mathematical applications in life. These are obviously just a few ideas off the top of my head, but if teachers of all subjects brainstormed ideas with their students of possible TED Talks, I’m sure the topics would be worth a listen.  Kids want to talk and express their views, opinions and perspectives of the adult world. It's in every human being's nature to seek knowledge. Creating mock TED Talks, and viewing actual TED talks can channel that human instinct to learn and help students make sense of topics they struggle understanding.  
   

If your school has its own TV broadcast system, imagine students creating brief TED talks on bullying prevention, drug awareness, cyber bullying, social media safety, and other student issues. How would  these student TED Talks impact a school culture? 

Kids are more creative than adults; if given the opportunity to create their own TED Talk network, students regardless of learning challenges and ability level could literally change the cultures of their schools through their own TED talks. If the TED founders have been able to inspire the world, then our children can do it too if we give them the chance to express themselves.  

Here’s one of my favorite TED speakers, Ken Robinson, on how schools kill creativity. I hope that whether you teach elementary, middle or high school, you can think of a way to create your own mock TED talks in your class. Even if some of the TED talks are too mature for your students, you can apply the concept of TED to your classroom by allowing your students to teach and inspire one another through the power of speech.


Please also visit TeachingWithTED to see a wiki listing great TED Talks, and a Glog created by one of the wiki contributors. (Couldn't find the name to credit the person who created this awesome Glog):  


http://teachingwithted.pbworks.com/w/page/19958111/FrontPage

Also visit this site to find out how to "Do" a TED Talk:  http://teachingwithted.pbworks.com/w/page/23101042/How%20to%20%22Do%22%20a%20TED%20Talk

Peachy Keen Presentations!

Have you heard of http://photopeach.com/ ? It's just a peachy site! Students will be able to upload images, choose music to complement the image, add a brief description and voila, there's an amazing slideshow presentation!  Imagine the possibilities in your classroom! Students can use http://photopeach.com/ to summarize a text they have read, using images and sound that capture the main idea or theme of the text. They can create images of various steps in a math problem, upload these, and then add text to explain each step and solution. What about uploading images, music and text to demonstrate their knowledge about a historical or scientific event, or notable figure? Creating a slideshow to showcase a writer, define literary terms, vocabulary, or book genres won't be the pits anymore! Photopeach.com is sweet! 

Hope you'll check it out and share how you used this easy tech tool in the classroom! Endless possibilities!

See my photopeach sample featuring the web tool logos of tech tools I've talked about, and those you can look forward to learning about in future posts.

Say Aloha to Wikis: Using Wikis to Teach the Writing Process!

What did one control freak say to another control freak? "Get your hands off my wiki!" 

If you've heard the word wiki, but are not quite sure what it means or how to use it, then you've come to the right blog! Wikis are webpages created for ongoing editing and revision by one author or multiple authors. 

Control freaks and wikis do not mix well because a wiki is meant to be in a constant state of revision and editing by multiple authors. (The control freak will want to keep that wiki all to himself!) 

Wikis can be messy and should be! A wiki promotes collaboration and critical thinking. All students can throw in their two cents, and see every contributor's thought process, but they serve an even better purpose!  They teach students about the writing process. In many classrooms, writing is not taught as a recursive process. Students are given writing prompts, but rarely receive feedback to understand how they can improve their writing skills.  If they are lucky enough to receive feedback, students may not know what to do with that feedback, nor do they have the opportunity to revisit a writing piece to polish it. (And by the way, kids do read feedback if they're taught how to read it, apply it and and give it...another post for another day.) Here's where wikis are a breath of fresh of air and give new life to teaching the writing process!  

Teachers can create wikis for pairs of students who have different writing strengths, small groups of students or an entire class. These wikis can be safely shared online locally, nationally or globally by joining wiki sites like Wikispaces so students can receive writing feedback and participate in collaborative writing projects with their peers.  

If you're worried that wikis may be too messy for your taste because content may get deleted,  Hakuna Matata, no worries! (Oops, not a Hawaiian expression, but let's pretend!) When you create a wiki, there is a "revision history" so the wiki creator knows who edits, what is edited and even at what time the editing took place. Issues that may arise with wikis include:

• allowing students practice time to learn how to use a wiki 
• building a community of trust so contributors feel confident their contributions will be valued 
• ensuring the quality of the content students add to the wiki
• assigning authentic writing topics so students will be excited to write and collaborate
• assigning subtopics to each student and/or roles so students have a distinct contribution
• determining how you will assess the content added to the wiki
• safeguarding your wiki so it is not vandalized or deleted                                                   

Luckily, wiki sites offer monitoring controls to wiki creators. You decide to make your wiki public or private, and who contributes and edits. Students can also add videos, images, audio or links of websites that support their content.  So, fear not and hang ten! 

A wiki can change students' attitudes about writing because they will participate in different aspects of the writing process.  Students will learn from their mistakes, recognize their peers's mistakes so they can help them, but most importantly they will collaborate with peers, and internalize the process of revising, editing, polishing and presenting their writing. 

Students at any grade level can create wikis on any subject, and even share their wikis with classrooms around the world to receive input from other student or teacher authors.

Check out these educational wikis looking for student and teacher collaboration! 

http://www.wikispaces.com/

http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+educational+wikis

http://pbwiki.com

http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com

By the way, the word wiki-wiki is Hawaiian for fast or quickly! 

So start your class wiki, wiki-wiki today!

Just 5 Tech Tools Can Transform Our Classrooms!

If every teacher in America made an effort to learn how to use and implement JUST 5 Tech Tools a year, we can keep our "digital promise" and transform education. What do kids think when teachers use tech in the classroom? Check out the video to find out! Try Just 5 Tech Tools In Your Class This School Year! What tech tools are you currently using?

Less Is More- "Let's Start Just Five Movement!"

Since change is difficult, and many schools do not have the resources, nor do all teachers have the training or the confidence to incorporate technology in their classrooms, why not choose JUST FIVE Web tools or tech software resources every school must have NOW! For example, we have established that all American schools have at least one or more computers because our society entered the digital age decades ago. Education has not caught up! Regardless of demographics, computers do exist in all American schools. Now let's take a baby step and move toward identifying JUST FIVE Web Tools, or Tech Resources every American school MUST use to improve literacy and critical thinking.

Every classroom and every student does not need to have a computer YET, but if we identify and establish JUST FIVE Web Tools and Software that will improve literacy and critical thinking for every American student, we are taking baby steps to fulfilling the digital promise.  For example, every school should have at least one Skype session per school year to connect students globally.  Every school should require staff and stakeholders to become members of any digital PLN, such as Twitter, Ning.

What are JUST FIVE Web Tools and Tech Resources you believe are essential for integrating technology to improve literacy and critical thinking? 

Connect With Parents In A Snap @ Snappschool.com!

There's another great service fresh on the tech scene that can empower your communication with parents and students. In a snap, Snappschool.com can help you send texts and emails to your students or parents keeping your number private unless you give it to them.

Snappschool.com has many similar features to GoogleVoice, 
but Snappschool.com is different!

For one, you register in a snap, and use it to send short texts, and emails of 140 characters or less to notify or remind parents of tests, quizzes, HW deadlines, fieldtrips, school events, and any other quick information parents and students need to know.


With Google Voice, you have to register your contacts if you want to see who is calling you, but with Snappschool.com, the onus is on the student and parent to subscribe to you.


SnappSchool.com subscribers cannot respond to your texts or emails like they can with Google Voice. Snappschool.com also allows you to create separate groups to send your text and/or email of 140 characters or less in different languages.


Here's how Snappschool.com works:
1.) Register at SnappSchool.com as a teacher, administrator or parent who would like to refer your child's teacher, providing your role, email and school.
2.) Once you register, you will receive an email from Snappschool.com to:
• confirm your email
• add the cell number you would like to register (Remember this always remains private!)
• choose your Class ID and
• accept terms of service
3.) After you submit this information, Snappschool.com will send the cell phone you registered a text message that says: “Thanks for creating TrendingTeacher! Your texts to this number will be broadcast to followers. Followers text TrendingTeacher to this number to subscribe.”
(By the way, I chose the Class ID: TrendingTeacher and SnappSchool.com assigned a phone number to me which no subscriber can call or text, but subscribers will recognize the number as 917-477-3564 whenever I send them a text or email. )
4.) Give this number to subscribers, so they will recognize it and know when you are sending them texts or emails, and so that they can subscribe to your class ID.

Snappschool.com has a ready-made letter to send to parents

letting them know you will be using this service! Check it out on their webpage!

Click on this video screencast to listen to directions for registering parent/student subscribers and how teachers can send their texts/emails to parent/student subscribers. Be sure to click on the TV icon on the bottom right corner to enlarge the directions:


 

Remember:

• Parents and students can register to receive text, emails or both.

• You must use the cell number and email address you registered at Snappschool.com to send texts and emails to subscribers.

• Parent/Student Subscribers never see your original number; they can’t respond to your message, or to each other.

• Parent/Student Subscribers can always unsubscribe by following the same directions above and adding the word STOP.

Now you can text/email parents from the comfort of your home if come across educational programming on TV that will enhance whatever students are learning in class.  

SnappSchool.com has many possibilities for enriching parent, student and teacher communication!

Make Teaching a Breeze By Connecting With Parents in a Snap! 

Go Paperless or Go Home-Saving and Sharing the LiveBinders Way!

For teachers- 

In many ways, a teacher’s personal collection of materials and resources is like a wardrobe; we have some classic pieces we use over and over again, which never fail to impact and impress, but then there are those forgotten gems in the back of our closets, which thrill us when we stumble upon them and are able to restyle, rework and reuse. The longer we teach, the more “stuff” we have that we can’t seem to purge. Some of us are like California closets while others struggle to organize large quantities of teaching materials and resources. We see potential in every piece of content we receive or create and anticipate its benefits in the near or distant future. 

So how does a teacher organize all of his/her “stuff”? LiveBinders.com to the rescue! 

LiveBinders.com is a free site that allows teachers to upload, save, and share their materials and resources. Like a California closet, all files are neatly organized, and professionally presented safeguarding the lifespan of teacher resources and materials, and infusing them with a technological edge.

With LiveBinders.com, you can: 

• upload and store your lesson plans, activities, tests, quizzes, projects, student work samples, manuals, handbooks, brochures, videos, PDFs, and more. 
• share your LiveBinder with anyone you want by simply sending them the link of your LiveBinder.
• bookmark links of articles, webpages, websites by simply adding the “LiveBinder It” bookmark tool to your browser. 

When you browse the web and find a link you want to save:

• click on 'LiveBinder it' and save directly to an existing or new LiveBinder.  

All your bookmarked links and uploaded files will be neatly organized on one virtual page with an identifying tab with the option to create sub tabs. 

There’s no more worrying about binders getting lost, stolen, or pages falling out. 

LiveBinders.com makes it effortless to save and share your teacher materials and resources with anyone you choose!   

For students- 

Never hear the words: “I lost it!” or “I can’t find it!” ever again! LiveBinders.com can make  that happen for your students. LiveBinders is a great tool for students who need extra help with organizational skills, and even for those who don’t. LiveBinders is easy enough for students to create their own virtual 3-ringed binders. Both the teacher and the students can add content to the student’s binder. 

For parents-

Increase your parent/teacher communication by leaps and bounds with LiveBinder. Send your parents the link of their child’s binder, or create a special parent binder with information specially for parents. Add and share information to the binder when needed to keep parents in the loop at all times. Parents will love you for not having to buy expensive clunky 3 ringed binders or tab dividers! 

For administrators and school districts-

LiveBinders offers administrators and school districts the possibility of reaching all stakeholders with paperless binders that disseminate information, educate, and connect our goals!  LiveBinders can help educational stakeholders turn over a new leaf when it comes to Vertical Teaming, Conferences, Professional Development and more so we're all on the same page! 


Check out how to create a LiveBinder:
http://livebinders.com/welcome/video_window?video=%2Fswf%2Fwhat.swf