Interactive Whiteboard Resources

From:  Free Technology for Teachers
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/09/interactive-whiteboards-101.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freetech4teachers%2FcGEY+%28Free+Technology+for+Teachers%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher#.UGDo1LJlSDk

Danny Nicholson is an interactive whiteboard expert who I've had the pleasure of seeing in action a few years ago. Since then his blog, The Whiteboard Blog, has been one of my go-to places for information about interactive whiteboards.

Today, Danny published a new post that every teacher new to using interactive whiteboards should bookmark. Interactive Whiteboard #101: A Short Primer offers information that can be used by teachers who have Promethean, SMART, Mimio, and Easiteach interactive whiteboards. A few highlights from the post; Danny recommends having a Dropbox account and a large USB stick, he refers readers to some free resources for all boards, and explains the basics of using IWBs.

If you're new to using IWBs, check out Danny Nicholson's Interactive Whiteboard #101.

You might also like:

• Two Excellent SMARTBoard Blogs to Bookmark
• Bad Math in the Real World
• Language Adventures with Leo the Lobster and Friends
• Spectacular 360 Degree Panoramas of Famous Places

Wordle uses

Check this out... 46 interesting ways to use Wordle

   :) I plan to use a few of them next year... 

Sounds Maps from the British Library

This site has thousands of sound recordings you can use in your classroom from Holocaust survivors to animals and indigenous music to accents and dialect.  It is a little confusing to navigate, but under each category are many, many subcategories with interesting sound recordings.
Site link:  http://sounds.bl.uk/sound-maps/

My source:  http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/04/sound-maps-from-british-library.

Social Media Revolution

This is an astonishing video about the impact of social media on our world today.  It shows remarkable statistics that I think will surprise you.  I can foresee using it for our own knowledge about the tools we have as 21st century teachers, and I can see it as a useful discussion starter in our classes.
I saw it on a site I really recommend, Free Technology for Teachers. More about this site in future entries.

Create Fake Facebook Profiles (historical or fictional)

I found an interesting tech tool that I am currently using with my 6th grade math class. Although my 6th grade students usually write a short 2 page report on an assigned mathematician, this year I have added a new component to this assignment. I have found three different ways to create fake Facebook-like profiles.

My FakeWall allows you to upload images, write wall posts, even create ‘likes’ and comments. You do need to register and unfortunately because it is still in beta, there were many times it crashed as I was experimenting.

Derrick Waddell has created a template for historical figures that you might prefer to use. This is available through the Google Docs public template gallery. This template has a place for pictures, a friends column, an ‘about me’ section, and even a map to plot the travels of historical figures. You may want to check his template out at the above link.
In addition, he has created a tutorial to help use his template.

With the help of Classtools Fakebook , a free site, my students are creating facebook-like pages for their individual mathematicians. Fakebook actually will search the Internet for the photo to upload. It allows students to save their work and edit it later.

While these fake Facebook-like sites do not allow others to respond like Facebook, my students have been gathering information so that they themselves can generate the “friends” and create posts. Creating a fake Facebook profile hopefully will be a fun way for my students to organize information that they have discovered about their mathematicians. We are scheduling the computer laptop carts so students will input information together and I will keep you posted with how this new twist (to our mathematician reports) turns out!!

I can visualize this being used for historical figures as well as creating profiles for characters in novels.

Student Privacy and Security Online - Code Name ID

     As teachers, we have a serious responsibility to keep our students safe online.  This is the first of several entries that will provide background, suggestions, and tools for safe internet participation for children.    Like most adults, our students do not necessarily consider the potential consequences of posting personal information online.  While we cannot control what they choose to do at home, we can supervise their internet use in school and teach them about how to make safe decisions.  There are so many tools to make learning meaningful and fun - we just want to be sure they're safe, too!
     One important way to protect children is to guard their privacy by using a code name or ID for their internet use.  This strategy allows the children to have an online presence through which they can share their work publicly without being personally identified by strangers.  One way to manage this is to assign unique code names to students so that you know who they are, but others will not be able to identify them.  Their online ID should include a code first and last name because most websites require both names to register.
     Once the online ID is chosen, start students off by registering for a free gmail account in that name.  This will be the email account they use to communicate with you, and it will be the account they use to register for other online sites and tools.  It will also give them access to the google tools we've discussed in earlier blog entries such as google docs, forms, and presentations.  Since many sites require that users be at least 13 years old, it is best to have the students register at home with a parent or get a signed note from a parent requesting that the student get help at school.  You will want to keep a record of the permission form, the student's code first and last names, and their password. (This will also be useful when the student forgets the information...)   Make sure they know that you and the parent have the account information and that you may check it at any time.  Teach that these accounts are for school use and will be monitored according to school policies.  To finish up this initial registration process, ask the students to send you a confirmation email from their new account that includes their real name and account password.  It's a great way to confirm that they've followed the directions correctly and that their real name is not connected with their account in any way.
     When your students have completed this initial registration and confirmation, they're ready to get started with so many exciting tools!  Coming soon - xtranormal, voicethread, and more!
   
   

Information about internet safety and concerns from American Academy of Pediatrics: http://safetynet.aap.org/

Powerpoint Presentations with Google Docs

     If you use powerpoint or your students make presentations with powerpoint, you'll appreciate the Google Docs PRESENTATIONS.  This tool is just like powerpoint, but it's all internet based.  There are several advantages to using the Google version.  One main advantage is that it is available wherever you have an internet connection.  You're not stuck if you don't have your flash drive with you.  The same is true for your students.  Another advantage is the protection from potential viruses and other malware that flash drives bring to your computer.  One outstanding benefit is that you can post a link to your powerpoint on your class webpage so absentees can view it from home or students can use it as a study guide.
     To create a PRESENTATION, log in to your google account.  Click the tab on the upper left side of the screen that says DOCUMENTS.  If you've already created a powerpoint, click UPLOAD and choose FILES.  That will let you browse your storage and double-click on your saved powerpoint.  If you're starting a new powerpoint, click CREATE and select PRESENTATION.  The Google version works very similarly to powerpoint so you'll find it easy to use. 
     If you want other people to view your PRESENTATION such as one you've posted for your students to view, click on the SHARE button and adjust your privacy settings to allow ANYONE WITH THE LINK to view.  Copy and paste the link onto your class webpage.