Sumdog offers a wide range of games to practice math in a fun way. There are rewards, competitions and multi-player games to keep even the most reluctant learners engaged. There are portals for teachers, students and parents so it can be used at home too. Teachers can organise students into classes and set specific activities for them to complete.
Integration:
The ability to create free logins for all your students, without providing e-mail addresses is a bonus for schools not yet using a school-wide email system
As teachers can choose which skills learners practise, activities can personalise activities and complement classroom activities
Let's face it - what teen would rather do exercises out of a traditional textbook than play interactive games online? It's a winner for motivation and engagement at all levels.
Rhyme n Learn offers yet another way to present math and science concepts. Around 25 concepts are presented in the form of a rap accompanied by scribblings on a board. The rhythmic nature of the lessons may certainly make it easier for learners to remember and recall explanations, even if only extracts.
Integration:
Rhyme n Learn could be used as another resource for flipping classroom instruction, with learners accessing the lessons independently and using class time to apply their learning.
The raps can be used as models for learner to produce their own mnemonics.
The site owner welcomes suggestions for content, so if you don't see what you need, email him and you might get lucky.
Sidevibe is a useful tool which is now totally free making it eligible for a slot on this blog. It takes the idea of a shared notepad that floats on top of webpages and enhances it with the ability to add links, discussions, prompts and much more. Other tools might be alternatives to some of the features, but it negates the need to click between two media e.g. a webpage and a note-taking tool, thereby saving time and keeping the 'flow' of work going.
Having a test-run with it, I found out that it is not currently supported by Chrome or the latest version of Safari so you'll have to use another browser such as Firefox or Explorer when creating 'vibes.'
Here's an intro below which gives an overview, but really you need to go and experiment with it yourself, and perhaps explore the forums, before its potential applications become fully clear.
Integration: Sidevibe can be used for many activities; below are just a few:
turn any webpage into an online activity by providing questions or instructions to follow when visiting a specific URL;
collaboratively collate websites related to a topic;
prove discussion / thinking prompts for a webpage containing any type of media from print to video;
take notes on a research topic as learners move through various websites;
structure / plan / write an assignment with the criteria / rubric open on the page in front of them;
receive immediate feedback at the side of a presentation by using Sidevibe as a backchannel.
"Gooru is a search engine for learning that allows you to explore and
study over 2,600 standards-aligned and personalized study guides. Study
guides cover 5th-12th grade math and science topics, and resources
include digital textbooks, animations, instructor videos and more. All
resources are vetted and organized by teachers or Gooru’s content
experts, so you don’t have to sort through the mess of subpar
educational resources available online yourself. Gooru also makes it easy for you to connect with your worldwide peers to
make learning a social experience. Post questions to an active
community of students, teachers and experts, or find friends and peers
to study with.
Gooru adapts to you. Based on the topics you study and your
performance on self-assessments, Gooru suggests resources and study
guides that will help you master the concepts. You can track your study
habits and monitor your performance on any of the topics you study."
I registered to have a look around and, at the moment, there are tons of resources for Math and Science only. The resources I dipped into were high quality and clearly marked as 'learner' or 'teacher' audience. A great resource for promoting independent learning, supplementing teaching as well as being a source of lesson plans and ideas.
I decided to go ahead and publish this post so you could explore the resource yourself, but once I've had a bit more of a play with the software, I'll update it with more details and ideas. In the meantime, feel free to add your own via the Comments section below of course.
This is hardly a click-and-go type resource but because of its potential, I just have to share it with you. Tim Rylands presented this at the ASB Unplugged conference in Mumbai last week and it was simply mind-blowing. The free software can be downloaded from here and the rest is up to your imagination and creativity as you create your own landscapes on a planet of your choice. While it might be time-consuming, just think of the possibilities!
I can hardly begin to list all the uses Terragen could have for extended project work or PBL, but here's a few to kick things off. In my ideal world, I'd use it for a long-term cross-curricular project with various groups coming back to the created world through the year for various learning activities. Anyway, individual subject teachers could create a world and then fill it with anything relevant. For example:
Historians could produce areas which are portals to the past and use the backdrops as green screens for recording events
Geography - countless ways to interact with landforms and other geographical features before exploring the impact that the peoples you decide to populate the planet with; combine with Google Sketchup for even more
Art - use your eyes and imagination!
English / Language Arts - lots of opportunities for descriptive and narrative writing; if non-fiction's your goal, is there anything in the world that couldn't be linked to an entire planet?
Visuwords has been around for a while and I used to use it extensively so I was very happy to be reminded of its existence at the ASB Unplugged conference last week. With all the benefits of a dictionary and thesaurus rolled into one, Visuwords will appeal to those who prefer to see connections as a concrete pattern. Try it out - there's no sign up so it takes less then 10 seconds to see what it can do. Click here.
Lexipedia offers another word-defining visual of a similar nature. The benefit of this one is you can choose the word class by ticking various options such as synonym, noun, adverb etc. And the greatest is bonus for MFL - you can search for words in not only English, but also Spanish, German, French, Dutch and Italian. Click here.
Should you be looking for something a little different, Wordnik might be of more interest to you. Entering a word into this search engine will offer a variety of different definitions from different sources and alongside these appear many examples of the word in use - very handy for those who get the meaning but not grammatical usage. Add in the usual synonyms, antonyms and even a 'reverse dictionary' which shows you definitions containing your search term, and you're almost there...but not quite. On top of all this, you can hear pronunciations from at least 2 dictionaries as well as find out your word's Scrabble score - now that's comprehensive! Click here.
Sometimes it does take a bit of time for things to filter through, no matter how many times I read them on the numerous blogs I subscribe to. Backchanneling tools definitely come under this category. If it's news to you here's an overview from TodaysMeet:
What finally convinced me to sit up and take notice of this resource was witnessing its use in an inspiring lesson where learners were watching a film and using TodaysMeet to express their thoughts and ask and respond to queries. The teacher was following the stream and was able to feed in comments to alert them to important upcoming sections that they should pay particular attention to or things to listen/watch out for.
TodaysMeet was the tool of choice, and although there are alternatives (for example Twitter or Google Moderator could be used in a similar way) it's the very simple, no-signup, streamlined interface that lends its appeal. Furthermore, transcripts of the backchannel can be saved as a pdf for future reference.
Each new topic is assigned a unique url and the backchannel remains open for up to a year.
Math teachers. Did you know that Google will display graphs for formulas entered to its search engine? Well, it does! This post from the official blog of Google Search shows you how.
Simple Booklet offers a very straightforward way of publishing a range of formats from reports to newsletters, portfolios to presentations and more. What's worth blogging about is the incredibly clean-lined and intuitive interface. It may not have the whistles and bells of (for example) Prezi, but you can see how quick and easy it is to use without the distraction of lots of features.
Integration:
Learners can publish any written work (stories, explanations, presentations etc.) and then embed it anywhere they like from blogs to websites to wikis to social networks...
The published booklet is tablet-friendly so it can be accessed from laptops, PCs and 'pads' - even younger learners will be able to use the interface
I've never been into 3D virtual worlds; my initial fumblings with Second Life were rather underwhelming (no doubt due to my own impatience in mastering the tools), so when I came across Edusim I didn't have high expectations. However, after watching a couple of the videos on their site and then finding a couple more on Youtube, I began to get excited. Why? Well, the videos show primary kids using the interface with ease and the examples given immediately sparked off ideas of how I'd use this in my own classroom. At the moment, I think primary teachers have the advantage in being able to launch the use of Edusim through a concentrated block of time, but secondary teachers could create cross-curricular collaborative projects to really take this to a whole other level.
Integration:
Colonise an imaginary world and then fill it with everything from:
Libraries holding histories, myths, legends and other texts related to the world (English/Language Arts)
Fill the terrain with interesting geological features (Geography)
Environmental management systems (Geography, Economics, Maths)
Creatures based on life forms studied (Sciences)
Galleries showcasing works (paintings, illustrations, film, song) from this other world (Art, Music, Media)
Buildings created from Google Sketchup (Art, Design Tech, ICT)
Additional villages where they speak other languages (MFL)
The possibilities are as limitless as your learners' imagination!
Tildee is a site that offers everyone a space to share what they know. You can add videos, voice and pictures to create your 'how to' and then share it with anyone by sending the link.
Integration:
Learners, groups and teachers can create tutorials on many things to demonstrate understanding or provide instruction for others. For example:
how to tackle a particular math problem (or anything else that requires 'working out')
how to be a great learner
how to deconstruct a character from a work of literature
Voicethread has been around for quite a while and has a user-friendly interface. Learners can upload pictures and add voiceover, as well as doodling and other features. I've used it a few times with different groups as an alternative way to present and my learners have given positive feedback on the experience. Now you can also find inspiration on how to make the most of Voicethread from the project library which is organised by subject area. The resulting Voicethreads can be shared, embedded and commented upon. Additionally, there are lots of ideas of how to make the most of it in the presentation below.
(As an alternative, Yodio is another free, easy-to-use service that allows users to upload pictures and then add voice to them. Voice can be uploaded from MP3 files or you can call the (US) number to send your voice straight to your account.)
The Learning Network from this popular newspaper is jam-packed with teaching resources and materials. From lesson plans to discussions, it is worth exploring to see what you can find to enhance teaching and learning in your own context.
Integration:
Sign up to receive weekly lesson plans for your subject area via email; a different learning area each day
Access the Lesson Plans categorised by subject area
Use the Test Yourself page to improve vocabulary in a quick 3-minute activity
Guide your over-13s to express their thoughts on Student Opinion
Use the Poetry Pairings to get your learners making links between the creative medium and the world around them
Have groups take part in the Reading Club to extend their exposure to non-fiction readings and other media
History groups may be interested in following On this Day as a starting point for any lesson
The daily News Quiz could be used to encourage the skills of skimming and scanning large quantities of text
"Jobs, Worksheets, and Flashcards for the ESL and
TEFL Teacher. The new home for bogglesworld.com"
This site is
packed with outstandingly good resources, many of them cross-curricular. While
sometimes it can be difficult to locate the best of what's on offer, taking 10
minutes to wander through and discover what's available definitely turns up
some gems. If you've got EAL/ESL learners in your classes and you're struggling for materials, there is plenty on here to help you.
Integration:
The ESL
Science section contains a few resources including common
language patterns for discussing and writing about scientific exploration
The Writer's Workshop will be of use to teachers from a range of subjects and year groups
Reported Speech Soccer will help even native speakers perfect their skill of changing direct speech into reported speech
A Business section is more geared toward preparing learners for business transactions than theory but very useful for role-play and communicative practice in general
And if none of the above floats your boat, the extensive menu of boardgames can be used 'off the peg' or downloaded and customised for your needs
Jellycam is a simple program that allows you to make stop-motion animations quickly and easily. The creator says it is a work in progress so there are no fancy effects or anything available yet, but it seems these are in the pipeline. Have a look at the video below which gives a quick intro to the program.
Integration:
Another tool that can be used for digital storytelling, whether related to literature, history, social studies or any other subject
Learners and teachers can use this type of media to explain abstract concepts which are more easily understood with objects, pictures, etc rather than just text
Lots of examples from a (paid) software producer here to inspire your learners in getting started
You might also be interested in SAMAnimation (free version) or Scratch for creating interactive animations.
This free digital storytelling kit from tech4learning.com is available for immediate download and includes articles, examples and lesson plans. The articles are surprisingly convincing in describing how digital storytelling can really improve narratives. As mentioned, lesson plans are provided but there are lots more ideas to be inspired if you take the time to read through the (not very long) articles. The whole kit opens a world of possibilities across the curriculum so certainly worth the 2 minutes it takes to get the materials.
You might also like to have a look at the document below compiled by Richard Byrne of the excellent Freeteach4teachers.com.
Free Math Help is a great place for those struggling with Math who either can't or won't get help from the usual sources. Not only are there are range of explanations but at any given time the live chatbox function allows learners to interact with others to get help. If nobody's available, they can always head over to the discussion forums and leave a message. Live chat requires sign-up but otherwise membership is not a requirement to access the site.
Integration:
Learners can use this site as an additional source of help with their Math issues; particularly useful for promoting learner independence
You could assign particular Math concepts to individuals, groups or pairs; they then access the site to learn about the problem before peer-teaching their classmates
If you work in time to your lessons to allow learners to work on their personal Math targets, this site would be useful for supporting their learning so they don't need to depend on the teacher being available when they run into difficulties
A rap video from Rhyme n Learn that will help learners get the PEMDAS acronym into their heads. A few videos on Youtube of groups performing this so I guess it must be catchy!
Integration:
Challenge learners to learn and perform the rap themselves.
Use it as a model for learners creating their own raps for difficult-to-remember concepts.
Check out Rhyme n Learn's Youtube page for more raps on Maths & Science.
Did you know that Google will display graphs for functions entered to its search engine? Well, it does! This post from the official blog of Google Search shows you how.
There are quite a few sites out there offering a service to create cartoons of yourself but this one (click here) allows you to upload photos and then it 'cartoonizes' them. The few samples that I tried came out really well. You can upload from your computer or from a url for easy usage.
Integration:
For security conscious schools, this tool allows your learners to create photo-stories featuring themselves which can then be stylised using Cartoonise.net; the photo-stories can be used to illustrate scientific concepts, historical events, literary adaptations, mathematical explanations - the possibilities are numerous
Learners can create recognisable avatars for their online presence, safe in the knowledge that they'll be unlikely to be identified on the street from them
