Free Teaching Resources From Microsoft

Back in 2010 I wrote a post highlighting some of the great (and free) resources from Microsoft Education. Well I am back to update that information because they have added some more handy guides for the classroom.


For me, one of the more handy guides was the Digital Storytelling guide. Hopefully we know that when we give students the opportunity to create something related to what they are learning they are more likely to remember what they have learned and be able to apply it in the future. In this guide there are tons of examples of how projected-based learning helps improve student achievement and how digital storytelling is one, easy way to introduce project learning to your students. There are also lots of handy tips on taking pictures, recording audio and ideas for lessons. On the digital story telling site there are video examples and templates you can download right into Photostory for easy use.





Another great guide is the Developing Critical Thinking Through Web Research Skills. In it you will find lessons, strategies and ideas to help you and your students develop good search habits and better understand where their information comes from.


There are a bunch of others as well:

• Movie Maker
• Microsoft Office
• Using OneNote
• Windows 7 In The Classsroom
• Microsoft And The Math Classroom
• Accessibility

The TeachTech Twitter feed is another place to pick up some good ideas and content as well.


So head over to Microsoft in Education site and check out the guides and the other content they have to offer as well.

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A Different Way of Looking at the World

While looking for some 4th quarter Social Studies resources to share with the teachers I noticed some interesting sites that were shown at the NCTIES conference earlier this month. The show.mappingworlds site in particular caught my attention. It has a new and different way of looking at data for our states and the world. All the collected data allowed numerous possibilities for projects in more subject areas than just Social Studies.

It is easy to get started – choose from USA, World or Japan, then select a subject and topic. The states or countries or prefectures change shape according to the data collected. Being able to watch the states change size and shape helps to make the information more meaningful. Who would have thought that the top two states, Iowa and Illinois, produce the most corn and would have the shape of a man’s face?

What a great way to help students remember facts. Included with the visual changing of the states are sections for maps, rankings, books, and interesting facts. The animated maps can be embedded or downloaded as an image. The data can be downloaded as an Excel file to use for graphs and charts.

This is a site with endless possibilities for making collected data come alive visually. Where would your fact-finding adventure take you?

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Helping Low-Performing or At-Risk Students with Their NCVPS Course

If parents or Distance Learning Advisors find that students are falling behind in a North Carolina Virtual Public School course, they should know that they do have options available to help. Here are some suggestions that will help the students pass the course.


1.) Students can contact their instructors during office hours.

2.) Students can set up a time for one-on-one tutoring with their instructor through Wimba, Pronto, or the phone.

3.) The DLA of the school can create peer tutoring sessions with other successful NCVPS students.

4.) The DLA can have EC students meet with the school's EC specialist to help them.

5.) NCVPS has an extensive list of assistive technologies such as text to speech, visual, mobility and Math tools at http://goo.gl/eryLQ.

6.) Students can attend review sessions at the school.

7.) Students can also attend tutoring sessions at the school if they are available.

8.) If the student is not logging into the course on a regular basis, the DLA might consider creating a time that the student works on their course at the school.

9.) If the student has an EOC in the course, the DLA could place the student in an EOC Reviews at the school.

10.) I send out progress reports to the DLA’s every two weeks. I include the NCVPS teacher contact information (email and phone) in the Excel spreadsheets so that the DLA’s can contact the teacher.

11.) The parents can log into Blackboard with the students at home and supervise their work.

12.) The parents can also communicate with the NCVPS teacher.

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Election Season is Quickly Approaching

Election Season is quickly approaching and this season promises to be another scorcher!  You can sense it in the air and on TV.  One politician is going to save the world while sharing that their opponent is ready to destroy the world.  Yes it appears this is going to be a hot one that's expected to last until at least November.

Elections and politics can be an overwhelming and difficult subject to follow but luckily there are teachers out there to help us make sense of it all.  I was at West Forsyth High School a teacher shared with me many of her go to websites to help students find the truths behind politics and the political arena.

Below are her websites with a brief explanation of what they might be used for.


Often times people can tell a lot about a politician by the support they receive in election season. 

http://www.opensecrets.org/ is a great website that lets you explore who is funding the presidential and congressional candidates.  This website will be a great resource for students to back their arguments and leads to great discussion on how candidates vote while in office.  This website has data on fundraising amounts by candidates as well as their largest PAC supporters.

Many promises are made in election season.  One of my favorite websites is http://www.politifact.com/ .  Politifacts is a website that helps citizens follow a politician or idea (i.e. healthcare) and find the truths behind the claims made and the reality of those claims.  Politifacts is chocked full of information to help your students discern between what political ads claim and what is really happening.

During election season students may wonder where they stand compared to other Americans on certain issues.  Polls are a great way to determine this.  http://www.pollingreport.com/ is a great website that collects many polls and puts them on one website.  Polls from CNN, AP, Wall Street Journal and the PEW Research Center are just a few that this collection has to offer.  The homepage offers polls anywhere from the President and Congress to National Security and Issues that are recently trending. 

Three other local websites that would be of interest is the NC Democratic Party's website http://www.ncdp.org/ the NC Republican Party's website  www.ncgop.org/ and the Forsyth County Board of Elections website www.co.forsyth.nc.us/Elections/  

With the political season on the horizon I hope these websites offer a few tools to help you weather the storm.

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Connections Through Thinkfinity

This week I had a workshop on Thinkfinity in the Classroom. I had a very diverse group of teachers. There was a dance teacher, ESL teacher, health teacher, foreign language teacher, etc. What was so great about this group was that everyone found something that they could use in their classroom in Thinkfinity.

Thinkfinity is a free resource for teachers, parents, and students. There are thousands of lesson plans, podcasts, videos, interactives, e-sheets, etc. At first glance, many teachers think it is only for the core curricular areas (Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts). The attendees in my workshop proved that Thinkfinity has something for every subject area. 

Here are some things that they found. There were some resources that I wasn't aware of, so I wanted to share them with you.

The ESL teacher searched keyword ESL and then clicked on the Thinkfinity Community Tab. On that tab were several resources. One that I thought was very good was "Assembling an ESL Toolbox". Another one was "Oral English assessments and ESL speaking English Activities". 

The Health teacher found a lesson he liked in ScienceNetLinks on diabetes. He said he liked the lesson because it gave him all the information he needed to teach it and articles for students to read. The lesson was "Heart 2: Changing Lifestyles and Heart Health." There is a quiz for students, esheet, assessment and answer key.

A 5th grade teacher found "What can you make from a buffalo" (a student interactive matching game). This came out of a lesson from Smithsonian's American History on "Origin Stories of Plains Indians". When we pulled up the interactive, we were looking at what Native American children made out of the ribs of the buffalo. They made a sled with the ribs. Then I mentioned that Wonderopolis had a Wonder of the Day about How Sleds and Sleighs are Different.

Almost everyone found something in Wonderopolis. A couple that they pointed out were: "Does Matter Really Matter?" and "What Fairy Tale Ending Would You Change?". They really liked the vocabulary words, the comments, and learning about the different wonders.

One of the things I really liked about this workshop was that everyone found something they could use in their classroom. Also, how they could connect to other areas through Thinkfinity and the Content Partners. The other thing I really liked is that I also learned some new things. That is my favorite type of workshop, where we all learn new things together.

Thinkfinity Content Partners

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Exploring the Beauty Around Us ...

At one end of downtown Kernersville, there is a botanical garden. The Paul J. Ceiner Botanical Garden sent an invitation to teachers in our school district to come for a Tea and See event to tour the garden. Holly DuBois sent me the invitation saying that it looked like something my daughter and I might want to explore, so Madalyn and I went!

On our tour, we learned a little bit of the history and the future plan for the site. Before he pased away, Paul J. Ceiner had an idea to create a beautiful place for the residents of Kernersville, a town he loved, to enjoy.

Here is the vision statement of this botanical garden:

The vision of Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden is to create a dynamic public garden in Kernersville, North Carolina that surprises visitors from near and far by its scope, quality, and benefits for tourism, community events, and civic pride.

Right now only 2 of the 7 acres are developed, and they are thoughtfully designed and maintained. There is a kitchen garden area where there are raised plant beds in the design of a Moravian Quilt Pattern (Kernersville is not too far from Winston-Salem ... and Salem was originally a Moravian settlement). There are raised plant beds because Mr. Ceiner wanted them to be accessible for everyone and his family has raised plant beds when he was younger. The vegetables, herbs, and spices from this area are not sold, but non-profit groups can come harvest these things to use.

The botanical garden is working with the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Science department to develop field trips and lessons to go along with the curriculum for teachers ... fruits, vegetables, nutrients, soil, regional characteristics . . .

I can't wait to see what is developed. The tulips in the front garden area should bloom this week or next week, so I also can't wait for that happen. I have plans for Madalyn and I to return .... and we will both have fully charged cameras (the battery in mine ran out halfway through the tour ...)

I searched for Botanical Garden on Thinkfinity and found some great results:

• Become a Plant Hunter:  Discover 66 plants from around the globe with Plant Hunters, an immersive interactive tool that includes video, fun challenges and images of plants. Check out Plant Hunters, or explore additional classroom resources on botany.
• Beauty All Around You: This is actually a Parent Guide for a trip families can take to explore the beauty in the landscapes and environments all around:  New experiences and places help children understand how ideas connect with the real world. Learning on field trips can spark curiosity and inspire children to ask better questions about the world around them. The people children meet on field trips can encourage children to think broadly about their own futures and help them to consider other possible job.

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Study Jams is a Math & Science Resource for Students

Study Jams http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/index.htm has over 200 topics/resources available for students to use to help them learn Math and Science content. Some of the more popular Jams are: Creating Equations From Word Problems, The Universe, Volcanoes and Photosynthesis. The Jams include videos, key vocabulary terms and a test. Related Jams are shown below the selected Jam.

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Are you hungry for learning?

Do your students have an appetite for math or does math make them sick to their stomach?  In middle school we see both ends of this spectrum.  In searching for a proportions lesson I stumbled upon some snack food that will help feed our students in math classes.  The tool I'm about to share is really cool and engaging BUT the way I found it can give any teacher power to find new ways to engage students in math and all other subjects. (So stayed tuned to the bottom and find out a powerful tool to help find ideas for ALL teachers)

Math Snacks is a really cool website:  http://www.mathsnacks.com/ that is produced by New Mexico State University.  Math Snacks have engaging animations, a learner guide and a teacher guide with each math concept.

Take a look at this math snack on ratios and proportions. http://www.mathsnacks.com/badDate.html
I know that kids will love this video and it gives them an opportunity to experience ratios and proportions in a new light.  This particular math snack comes with a learner's guide that will them from the examples used in the video to other real life applications.  The teacher's guide is a detailed lesson plan with directions, answer key and extension activities.  Explore and check out this website.  It is still in development and currently has 9 available snacks and plans to have at least 20 by next school year.  It is sure to satisfy some of your most reluctant student's appetite for math.

Now for the really good part.  As a teacher, finding quality resources was sometimes difficult.  One of the biggest problems with finding them was TIME.  I would spend some time doing a typical Google search and in the end have no results.  I found this and several other activities using Edmodo.  Edmodo is an incredible social media platform for schools.  In the past I have used Edmodo as a collaboration tool for my students.  I have recently explored the communities in Edmodo.  Once you sign up for an account you can browse many different communities.

Once you see a community of interest, click on it and explore.  These communities are full of other teachers around the world who are searching and sharing innovative ideas.  You can choose to follow particular communities.  You can post a question.  For instance, if you were looking for new ways to teach inference, you might ask in a post for ways to do this.  Other teachers then share their ideas with you and the need for a Google search has been eliminated.  The resources and ideas shared are typically great and inspiring. 

So if you are appetite is for math, check out http://www.mathsnacks.com/.  If your hunger is for learning some new teaching ideas then check out the communities http://www.edmodo.com/. 


Bon Appetit!!!!

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What can you see?

image from TechnologyRocksSeriously.com

What doors and windows you have opened today?
Front door? Back door? Car door?

Has opening those doors or windows allowed you to see and/or feel anything different? unique?

Do you have a window in your classroom? Can you see outside from your desk?

There are no windows close to my desk at work ... unless you count the computer ...


I know that I have written about animal webcams before:

• Who is Lily? Part 2
• Building Background and So Much More!

But I think I have discovered even more animal videos and webcams almost everywhere I looked last week ...

• Flamingo Cam from the Smithsonian Zoo
• WildEarth TV has a large collection of live animal webcams 
• I really like the close up Eagle webcam 
• The African Forest Webcams at the Houston Zoo are my favorites of the ones I encountered last week. There are two camera angles for each type of animals. You can also find videos.
• Giraffes
• Elephants
• Rhinos
• Chimpanzees

Even though I have been to zoos and seen these types of animals, I still find it very interesting to be able to watch the animals via webcam (and videos). Imagine the wonder and curiosity these images would create for students who have seen animals like this before but especially for those who have not ....

Think about all the doors and windows technology has made accessible for both us and our students ...

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New Ideas for Presentations

Last week at NCTIES, I went to quite a few good presentations. One of those presentations was on "Powerful Presentations" by Ken Shelton (@k_shelton on Twitter). My notes from his session can be found here. I am not a fan of PowerPoint, and I think the reason is because people fill it full of text and read from the presentation. I had always heard about a lot of different rules for best practice PowerPoints. One of the things that Ken said, was that there are no rules. Symbols with a small amount of text can be very powerful in a presentation. If you use color to highlight certain words, the eye goes to that color first and reinforces your idea.

I liked the idea of using a presentation to convey a story. Wouldn't it be cool to show a picture on your IWB or monitor of an image, then have students write a paragraph of what they think the image is conveying. I bet every student would have a different story from looking at the image you are projecting. And, wait, aren't they using their imaginations and writing skills? Ken said to make the image cover the entire page, not just a portion of it. Also, make sure you choose a high quality image so it doesn't become blurry or pixelated. Ken also did several workshops on the use of photography and images. In Powerful Presentations, he was talking about how we could take pictures everywhere and start creating our own photography stock pile. This means you wouldn't have to search for Creative Commons images or cite images because they would be your own. Since a lot of students have their own phones with cameras or even digital cameras, you could assign them to take pictures of something you might be studying. For instance, if you are studying angles in geometry, have them go out and find angles in the school, community, etc. Another idea is if you are studying minerals or metal, have them find something that has that mineral or metal in it.

Another idea that he touched on that I liked was about fonts. I admit it, I used to do almost everything in Comic Sans. I got tired of Comic Sans pretty quickly, but didn't really understand why. Here is a funny web site that talks about Comic Sans. So much of what we do is on the web now, that trying to read Comic Sans is too hard. It is much easier to read a Sans Serif font. A couple of Sans Serif fonts to use would be Trebuchet, Futura, Gill Sans, Franklin Gothic. These fonts don't have feet and therefore won't run together. Some bad ones to use would be Comic Sans, Brush Script, Casual, and Bradley Hand.

This video by Don McMillan is very funny. I am sure you have seen these same mistakes in from your students and in other workshops.

 Video: http://youtu.be/lpvgfmEU2Ck

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A New Twist on Google Maps

While at our state technology conference last week I sat in on a session discussing new ways that you can use/apply Google maps across the curriculum.  I thought it was interesting and was not sure what to expect but I wanted to see if there was something new going on that I did not already know.


I already knew that I could go into Google Maps and get directions and could both get a web link and embed a map into another website using the code.  But I had not gone through the process of creating my very own personalized map.  I thought it was very interesting and fun to be able to create my own map with the places I wanted to see in it.  I worked along with the presenter and created a map of vacation locations that I have been in the past number of years.  As I was doing this I started thinking of the many different ways that this could be applied to the classroom at all levels.  Now there is a catch in this and that is you have to have a Google Account setup ahead of time so that you can log into and create your map.  I setup a generic account and was able to follow along with the presenter and was caught up in a manner of minutes.

When you log into Google, click on the Maps button in the browser toolbar.  This takes you to the familiar maps screen where you can zoom in to a location and all the way down to the Street View, which I talked about in a previous blog.  First click on My Places then Click the Red Create Map button and enter in a Title for this map and a brief description of what the map will be showing.  In the map pane you can zoom into the area of the map you will be using and then utilize the Add Placemark and Draw Line option buttons to create the points on the map that are of interest.  

Select the Placemark button and choose a spot on the map and click, you will now have a box that allows you to enter in a title and description of the selected location.  You can add in as much information as you want including links and images if needed.  Once you have added in your points of interest you can then use the Line Tool and draw lines from a starting location to the final destination.  After you have placed all of your markers and created a pathway between all the points, just save the the map you have created.  

You can also choose the Collaborate button to grant others the ability to add to and take away the location points on your map.  When you have completed all of the edits of your map, click the done button and you have your very own self-created map.

Now that your personalized map is created you have the choice to make it either Public, for anyone to see, or Unlisted, in which you will share the map with only those you want to see it. You can then click the Link button and either copy the URL address to send out or you can Embed the map code into a website, wiki, or blog to share.  Another point to know is that when you are in the customize area there is an Interactive Tutorial that takes you through the whole process of setting up a map from start to finish.

So now that you have learned how to create a customized map in Google Maps what do you do with it now?  How can it help you in the classroom?  Here are a few suggestions on how to use them in your classrooms. (adapted from presentation)


Science:

• Natural disasters: earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes
• Famous scientists
• Museums
• Endangered species
• Habitats/biomes
• Plotting field trips (virtual/in person)

Social Studies:

• Civilizations
• Tribes
• Military battles/movements
• Explorers
• Exploration maps
• Exploring my city/hometown
• States and Capitals
• Civil Rights
• Innovators
• Underground Railroad
• Alaskan Iditarod 

English:

• Famous Writers
• Literature Trips
• Ghost Stories
• Haunted locations
• Flat Stanley Novels

This is just a sampling of what you can use the Customizable Google Maps in your classroom.  You may have other thoughts of ways to use it and that is great, please share additional information in the comments area of this blog. 

images from Google Maps using Promethean Image Capture Tool

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Taking My Own Advice...a.k.a. Learning is Important!

When I first came to Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, I never missed an opportunity to share the importance of learning something new every day especially when it comes to technology. We talked about Personal Learning Networks and how they can be the best professional development system. Yet sometime in the past couple of years, I have fallen into the "too busy" or "too lazy" rut and have left the seeking knowledge habit to the fabulous team I work with.

So last week, I attended NCTIES as a participant (have been on the board for several years and wasn't able to attend sessions). I presented a session with Dorene on TPACK and PLCs but then I spent time on my learning. It started with an awesome smackdown of tools run by Steven Anderson and Richard Byrne (list found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l651HXTK0lmvx7WPsq-CMe2q_gPR3C8SEg208LOPm3A/edit). The format of this session was perfect to motivate and inspire! I attended sessions on Eportfolios, the NC Teacher Evaluation System and tools for teachers online. I plugged back into my Twitter PLN and used my Pinterest addition for good (http://pinterest.com/mrhgaddis/ncties-ideas/). I used the rest of my time to connect with others- vendors, co-workers, and the most awesome PLN ever (the NC Ed Tech Chat group). By time I went home, I was exhausted but rejuvenated and ready to focus again.

This weekend, Steven posted a link on Twitter to a Lifehacker post: http://lifehacker.com/5892446/dedicate-30-minutes-a-day-to-learn-something-new. Taking time in my day to learn is so important to my attitude, focus, and creativity. Rekindling the passion for learning has made a huge difference for me this week. I need to continue and not allow myself to fall off the wagon.

If you are not spending your 30 minutes, try it. There are a few things to remember:

1. Find a tool that works for you. When I started this process 5 years ago, I chose Twitter. The quick and easy to read messages allowed me to have personalized PD whenever I wanted it. Some people like reading and subscribing to blogs, others use Facebook or other social media tools. I don't even care if you use print. Just find a tool that lets you learn in the best way you can.
2. Connect to others. In Twitter, I found people I admired in technology and followed them. Then I followed the people they followed.
   
3. Be a part of the conversation- don't lurk around. No one likes a stalker! :) If you read blogs or other sites, be sure to connect with the authors through commenting. Share what you know.
   

You will be amazed in how learning new things can inspire and motivate you even when you face burnout or adversity. So if you follow me on Twitter (@mrhgaddis), Facebook or Pinterest, beware. I am on a mission to learn. Join me.

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Did you know what you could find?

I learned about a new resource at one of the NCTIES sessions I attended last week. I actually learned about LOTS of neat things at all of the sessions, but I wanted to share this one first!

Did you know there is a Teachers section and lots of available classroom resources on The Library of Congress website?

The part that really caught my attention was the Using Primary Sources area. When I was in the classroom, helping students use and understand primary sources is something I admit I did not do very well. I really did not know what I was supposed to do and what students were supposed to be able to do .... if I could even find primary sources for us to examine.

Here is a great definition of primary sources from The Library of Congress Site:
Primary sources are the raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience.

Just that definition helps me understand the reason for encouraging students to examine and explore primary sources .... we regularly talk about various points of view and perspectives. I have done a  large amount of research on Orville and Wilbur Wright. I loved being able to look at their notes and scrapbooks to see what they thought and how they understood what they did instead of reading an interpretation of their actions.

On the Using Primary Sources page, there are three sections which some direction for teachers and questions for students:

1. Engaging students with primary sources.
2. Promote student inquiry.
3. Assess how students apply critical thinking and analysis skills to primary sources.

Even though those areas generally cover the before, during, and after reading skills, there were a few questions which caught my attention:

• Where does you eye go first?
• What do you see that you didn't expect?
• What powerful words and ideas are expressed?

Also included in the Primary Sources section of The Library of Congress website is information about:

• Citing Primary Sources
• Copyright and Primary Sources
• Finding Primary Sources
• Teacher's Guides and Analysis Tool for a variety of types of Primary Sources

So what do you think? Are you more willing to try using some Primary Sources?

Do you understand a bit more about Primary Sources and how to explore them? I do! :)

image source

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Tweeting to Disaster

I, to make a bad joke, ran across this article this morning about the upcoming 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.  The History Press has launched a new Twitter account to chronicle the days leading up to and including the faithful night that the UN-Sinkable ship sank in the waters of the North Atlantic.

You can follow the timeline through the hashtag #TitanicVoyage (@titanicrealtime), and even from some of the people that were a part of the launch like #crew, #engineering, #captain to hear their thought and accounts of the events that led up to that now infamous night of April 15, 1912. Currently the timeline was setup on March 10, 2012 to begin the chronicling of the events.  There are just a few tweets out there now from the captain, crew, engineering and officer but as the time gets closer to the launch date we should start seeing the timeline fill up.  Currently there are almost 13k followers of the site.

This could be a great lesson starter for you Social Studies classes where the students can follow along with the feed as things are happening to see what it would have been like if Twitter was around during that time for people to be able to send out updates as they were happening.  We find it so often now with other natural disasters that we are getting updates from Tweets faster than we can get news crews into areas.  It will be very interesting to see how things unfold through tweets over the next month.  Maybe to see if there will be tweets coming from what would be passengers as well as the crew for their thoughts on what will, or rather has happened.

** Update **
I just got some new information that I needed to add to this post.  The information that is being Tweeted out is, and will be coming directly from the ships log books.

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How Things Changed With Evernote

I'll admit it.

I have to be one of the most unorganized people on the planet. I have notebooks in just about every bag I carry. Multiple calendars and I still miss appointments. Slips of papers as reminders with some string of illegible thoughts on them, that, when I find them, I don't have a clue what I was thinking when I wrote them.

I have more than 10 different types of projects going on at anyone time. A book, book chapters for others, keynotes to write, presentations to prepare, consulting, product review, and on and on and on. Not to mention my projects with my district.

Organization isn't really in my vocabulary.

Well, let me say, it wasn't in my vocabulary.

But it is now, thanks to Evernote.

I had tried Evernote in the past. I installed it and looked at it and couldn't really find a use for it. I would uninstall it and go on my way, unorganized, missing appointments, stressing about putting things together. But that is all in the past. I use Evernote everyday. I can't live without it. So much so, its on every phone, computer and in every browser I come in contact with.

Ok, so what is it?



To boil it all down. Think of Evernote as this giant filing cabinet. In it you put all the different notes, clips, photos, scans, just about anything. You can organize these notes into notebooks. Really what you use it for is up to you.

Here is a view of my current notebooks.

So I have notebooks for work, personal and other work I do. And I nest notebooks. I like keeping things separate. That has really helped with my organization. I also use the To-Do notebook as my list of upcoming and current projects and responsibilities.

I keep Evernote open on my computer at all times. I never know when I am going to need it or when it could come in handy. Inside one of my notebooks you will see all my notes.

In this notebook are notes for 3 presentations I did at a recent district technology conference. I plan out my slidedeck, resources, videos, everything, can go right in the note for that particular session and I have it no matter where I am. I can scan in items, add Word docs, exe files and loads more to a notebook or note. Did I practice a part of my preso that I wanted to save the audio for? No problem! I can even include audio as part of my notes. (That works even better on a smartphone.)

You can also install the Evernote Web Clipper extension and save portions of websites or just some text from a blog post that you want to use somewhere else. You can also connect Evernote to your Twitter favorites and whenever you save a favorite it goes into a notebook. (That is one of my favorite features.)

There are lots of uses in Education too. Here are some of my favorite resources:

• Evernote 101- This video from my good friend Josh is a great starting point for folks who want to get started. 
• Evernote For Educators- This Livebinder is packed full of getting started links and ideas for using Evernote with students. 
• Evernote On Classroom 2.0 Live- Recently there was a great webinar all about Evernote and its application in the classroom. 
• Resources From Cybraryman-As always, Jerry has a page for Evernote. 
• 10 Evernote Tips For School-From The Evernote Blog, a great list of things to think about when using Evernote with kids. 
• Evernote For Schools-Just launched, here you can read more about how to get Evernote in your school and read about how other schools are using it. 

Evernote is 100% free. You can download it as many times as you want. There are versions for both Mac and PC and it works on your smartphone too. There are, however, monthly upload limits for things like images and PDFs. You can pay for Evernote Premium (which I do.) that gives you lots more space, the ability to search your PDFs, the sharing option and more. For $45 bucks a year, well worth it if you ask me.

Best thing to do now is go download it and start small. Use it for a project or two that you have going on. And I would bet in a month or 2 you will say, just like I do that I can't live without it!

Do you use Evernote? How do you use it? What are your favorite resources? Leave some comments below.

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What are you learning about this month?

In March, one of the themes is Women's History Month. I came across this while looking at Thinkfinity today:


The theme for the 2012 Women’s History Month is Women's Education - Women's Empowerment. This month-long event celebrates the fight against cultural and historical prejudices that traditionally created the gender gap in schools, institutes of higher education, and professions. Thinkfinity and its Content Partners have a variety of lessons and resources that showcase the contributions of women to our society and culture.

Here are a few of the resources shared on Women's History Month page:

Who Was the Most Famous Female Aviator?
View a video about aviation and find out more about Amelia Earhart with this Wonder Of the Day. Then try one of the follow-up activities to explore the topic in more depth. (from Wonderopolis)


Great Women of Our Pasts
Consider the sacrifices made and obstacles overcome by women who shaped our past from 1754 to the present. Review a list of featured books on this topic and learn how a genealogical study can provide valuable insights into the people and events in your family’s past


Females in the Spotlight: Strong Characters in Picture Books
Identify the character traits demonstrated by strong female protagonists in several books, and use the online Character Trading Cards tool to create and share your own trading card.

Young Women in Science: Forging New Pathways
This booklet, designed to inspire young people to consider science as a career, provides a glimpse into the lives of young female scientists from a variety of backgrounds.

Analyzing Character Development in Three Short Stories About Women
Compare the women characters in stories written in different historical times to analyze the effects of gender differences and society’s expectations on the role of women.

Taking Control of Their Lives
Follow the stories of two women from different countries and different generations who improved their literacy skills and became involved in an important health empowerment project that had a personal impact on their own lives  

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Vocabulary

Wordia.com

I heard about a great new site from Free Technology for Teachers via Richard Byrne. It is called Wordia. Be sure to watch the video on Richard's blog for an introduction to Wordia.

One of the most important things that I learned about Wordia is that it is free! There are also games, videos, and definitions of vocabulary. Not only are students learning vocabulary through games, but they can also upload videos of themselves telling the meaning of the vocabulary words. Teachers and students can create their own games and upload their own vocabulary words to Wordia. Students do not need email addresses in order to get into Wordia.

Once a teacher registers for Wordia (make sure to use your school email address), the teacher can then confirm their account then they can create their class. Click on "My Wordia" in order to create a class and add students. After creating the class, teachers can then create student accounts. Teachers can assign the username and password for their students, then they can print out the spreadsheet. 

In playing some of the games, students are learning vocabulary words, and they are also learning keyboarding skills.

To build a game is very easy. Make sure you have your vocabulary words ready (at least 10). Click on the blue button in the middle of the home screen (Build a Game Click Here).  Click the Start button, type in your vocabulary words, click Next. Fill in the subject area, age range, and then name your game. Click Next. There are 2 types of games to choose from, click Next. Customize the game, click Next. Type in a playcode (this will go to students), click Next. You can copy the URL code and playcode and give to students so that they can log into Wordia and play your new game. Remember, both teachers and students can create their own games in Wordia.

Why not check out Wordia? I think you will be glad you did.

Wordia requires the latest version of Flash and JavaScripts enabled. 

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