Technology+Resources

Teaching Students to Use Technology Safely
 * Before we go any further, it is important that we teach our students how to safely and wisely use technology. This is a one minute YouTube video with cute animals that explains that the internet is forever. At one of my school's faculty meetings, we discussed that technology is still relatively new, so many people have not been taught "Technology Etiquette." Let's take the time to explain proper technology etiquette and remind them that NOTHING disappears and the internet is FOREVER!

FreeRice.com
 * This is a great website for filling those just-before-lunch moments, or those the-presenter-isn't-ready yet times. Not only will students be feeding the hungry for each educational question they get correct, they will also be choosing from vocabulary practice, world geography, math, or more.

View Pure for You Tube Videos
 * Using this amazing tool will allow you to show videos from YouTube without worrying about the comments, advertisements, and other inappropriate things that may pop up before, during, or after you are showing a great educational video. This link takes you to a tutorial created by a technology specialist at my school, Mr. John Sengia, who guides you step-by-step through the simple process of using View Pure.

Live Binder: An Online Binder System
 * This is a free, online tool website that allows you to create binders, but in the virtual sense. Create travel binders with your students to China, India, or Kenya that include tourist attractions, restaurants, and places to stay using the actual websites and pricing or create a place to easily store everything you want to share with a class on a specific unit. *This is a great resource, but students must be 13 years old to use, so you could have the students find the information themselves and then you or your assistant could add the information for them.

Big Huge Labs
 * Students can use this site to create digital posters, magazine covers, trading cards, and much more!

Wordle
 * This site creates a visual using only words related to the topic you are teaching. You can take a document, paste it into the site, and it will make the words that are used the most appear largest. This is great for predicting.

Laptop Uses in the Classroom
 * This article has many great ideas for using laptops within the classroom to enhance learning.

Ted.ed.com
 * This site allows you to use educational videos that are already created (with questions that check for student's understanding) or to "flip" any video from YouTube by adding your own questions and material to create new lessons to use with your students. You need to register in order to create your own videos.

Readability
 * Cluttered webpages make reading challenging for us and our students. While we cannot get rid of the advertisements, this free feature (when downloaded) removes the extra visual clutter around the reading. You might not be able to install it for your students, but this could help you read on your iPhone or iPad.

Socrative
 * By creating a free educator account with your school email address, you will be able to create short quizzes / questionnaires for your students to fill out at the end of a session in the computer lab to receive instant feedback on any activity.

Resources
 * One of my coworkers at school created this wikispace to house all of her websites. Feel free to check out these links.