Pin This!

I got a Pinterest account a couple of days ago and it is has been a fun distraction to some of the stresses of life and I have learned some things too.  T night as I was pining things and looking at pins I thought of something that we talked about in one of the classes that I took for my masters.  Students now are becoming visual learners because of all of the media that we are subjected to everyday.  I then thought...How are we compensating for this in our classrooms?  How much media should we have in our classrooms?  How do we use the media to help prepare our students for high stakes testing?  There are some things to think about for the new year.....maybe I will find a photo that will answer my questions on Pinterest.

Diigo Group

As some of you may know that in January I will become an adjunct faculty member at Central Methodist University.  I will be teaching Instructional Technology for the Masters of Education program.  This is an online class for all three campuses that have the Masters of Education program.  As part of my prep for this I have created a group on Diigo called CMU ED 514 Instructional Technology. I plan on using this as a place to post information that might be useful to the students in my class.  As I was thinking about the information I was sharing it would be helpful to any educator. Please feel free to join!  The more input my students can get from other teachers the better off they will be.

History on Twitter

I am trying to find a image of Etienne de Bourgmont for one of our 4th grade teachers.  As of now I am empty handed. My next thought was how will I find someone to help me? I decided Twitter was a good place to turn for help.  I can not Tweet at school so I decided to do some recon on hash tags to use and Twitter users that might be able to help me out.  Well I found a wonderful blog post on the History Tech blog.  The blog post Tip of the Week - 65 History Twitter Feeds gives you lots of places to get new information, or sometimes just a needed reminder, about teaching history. You can also check out or post questions to the hash tags #history or #historyteacher.  Some time tonight I will post my Tweet and I will let you know what I find!  Remember you can follow me on Twitter @musictech02

Winter Holidays

With many teachers looking for new ways to talk about the winter holidays in their classrooms I thought about some resources from Scholastic that I enjoy.  These are not "new" but they are fun to use and are good conversation starters. The links below take you to interactive scrapbook pages that work well on interactive white boards or on computers for students to explore. 

Christmas Scrapbook

Hanukkah Scrapbook

Kwanzaa Scrapbook

 

I'll Be Back

I just saw that the last time I made a post was September 9th.  I have had so many balls in the air and I guess the blog ball was the one I let drop.

Now that I have completed my Masters of Education and some of my other obligations are not as time consuming it is time to get back to the blog!!  With the holiday season at our doorstep I may be touch and go on post but they will be there!   I feels good to be back.

I regress

Well I have decided that I am going to go back to my pen a paper to do list. I have a to do list on my Google Home page that works well if I am at school.  I got a Black Berry this summer but can not find a to do app I like (that is free).  The other problem is I can't have my phone out at school and I don't have my computer with me all the time.  My old method was I had a small note book that went everyplace with me so when I did I could check it off. Unless I can find something better I am going to go "un" tech on this (not that "un" tech is all bad).  Any ideas to help me out so I don't revert to the dark ages of paper?

How Productive are you?

This story was on the Market Place report on NPR the other night.  The story looks at making professors more productive --- how would you stack up?

One week down!

This is the end of my first week of school (Ok it was 4 days).  As normal there was lots to do and I am tired.  On my drive to school there was a story on NPR about a family that teaches together.  The husband and wife are in one room and the son is across the hall.  Made me think about how the words we use effect our students.

A Family That Teaches Together Talks Shop

The first day!

The first day of class is upon us.  How are you going to be using technology on the first day of class?  Do you have a good interactive white board lesson that you are going to use? A fun sight that has back to school games?  Did you make a slid show about your self to share with your kids?  Leave a comment and let us all know!

New MORENet location!

I am at the new MORENet location in Columbia MO and it is wonderful! I am going to learn more about SMART Response.  Hope to have lots of good info to share with you soon. 

Back to school!

Back to school time is almost here. Have you set your tech goals for the school year yet?  I plan on doing more with Google Docs/Google Calendar and helping my teachers use their SMART technology.  Also be on the look out for screen casts to help trouble shoot the day to day tech things we all get stuck on! I am getting excited!!!

ABC Tracing Pages

Here is a link to some nice ABC Tracing Pages that have both upper and lower case letters! 

What do teachers need to know?

I am working on developing graduate level Instructional Technology class for a local university and I would like some input.  What do you think is the most important teachers need to learn about instructional technology?

Summer Vacation

So I have taken my time off for the summer and I am now back to work!

Have you added technology to an old lesson plan yet?  If not you still have time!

Photos from Joplin

Here are some links to the damage in Joplin.

Missouri City Reeling In Twister's Wake

Joplin Mo Tornado

Deadly Tornado Rips Through Joplin MO

Joplin, MO Tornado Horrifying Video from, Inside the Twister

Android vs. Chrome

Dose Google have to much on its plate?  I found this CNN report interesting and thought it was worth passing on.


Are Google's Android and Chrome on a collision course?

The system is down!

Today started off just like any other day until the power went out at the building that are server is at.  The test that I needed to give my kids was on the server so that left me with no lesson plan.  All of my back up plans needed internet so they would not work.  Lesson learned - Have a back up lesson on had that uses MS Office or another application that is on the hard drive.

This is also the one draw back of doing everything in the cloud...I could not do any word because we had no internet.

The value of a hard copy

The sever was down this morning for our 8am meeting.  The PBS team was presenting data and they had the files saved on the server.  They had a had copy of the data, not the slide show, so they where still able to present using a document camera.  Just another reason to have a back up that is not on the server, in the cloud, or online. Remember to have a plan B....maybe I need to go find my flash drive I have not used in 6 months.

CHROMEBOOK

Check this out from the Official Google Blog. Google worked with Samsung to make a new computer called a Chromebook....sounds cool...I would like to get my hands on one to see what it is like!

Do you what to be Google Certified?

Do you want to be a Google Certified Teacher?  I do!  The dates this time do not work out for me but maybe they will work out for you.  Check the blog post from The Wired Classroom Google Teacher Academy Taking Applications for all the info you will need!

Go Google!

So I was on of the hold outs that did "Go Google" until about 4 months ago.  I have to say my life is more stream line and I get more done because of the switch to using the Google Calendar and Google Docs.

Google Calendar is wonderful!  I gave my husband the ability to add events to the calendar and now we both know what is going on.  We also know when we need child care well in advance now and don't get stuck at the last minute looking for a sitter.

Google Docs had made a flash drive unnecessary!  I have all the work I have done no matter where I am.  Now that you can drag and drop MS Word docs in to Google docs it is even better.  I can move older docs in to Google with no problems.

The iGoogle page is a life saver to.  When I get to work every day log it and there is my calendar, to do list, news, and more. It has made getting things done much simple.

If you use Google leave a coment on how you have used Google to make your life simpler.

If you have not gone Google give it a try.

50 States

One of the forth grade teachers in my building just used the page 50states.com with her students.  If you are doing a project on the US, or just a state, this would be a good place to start.  It has a lot of info that is easy for the kids to find.

Economic Research Services

After checking on the Food Desert interactive map that Larry Ferlazoo posted I checked out the rest of the Economic Research Service maps that the USDA has posted. There are lots of classes that could use these maps and you can find out more about where you live.

D.A.R.E.

I am sure that some of you know about the D.A.R.E. webpage. This being my first time teaching in an elementary building in 9 years I was a bit out of the loop.  The D.A.R.E page has lots of good information about drugs that would work for any drug education project that you are doing in class. It also has information for kids, parents, and caregivers.

Commodore 64

This story was on CNN today.  Thought I would pass it on.

The Commodore 64, that '80s computer 

icon, lives again

Google Sites

Google Sights is another web page builder that lots of teachers, including me, use.  Here is a Google Sites for Educators webinar that I just found.  It was put on YouTube in November of 2010 so several of you may have seen it.

Building Web Pages

If you have not tried Weebly yet you should.  I am developing a graduate level Instructional Technology class for a local university and I need to build a web page.  I wanted to try page builder that I had not use and Weebly was the winner.  So far I like it a lot.  It has nice blog pages and an assignment from for your students to turn work in online. I like this builder because it is simple and looks very professional. If you have teachers with a limited about of tech ability they could make a very nice looking page with little help. For teachers that have a bit more experience the have the ability to edit the HTML.  I think I am going to change my computer lab page over to Weebly this summer.

How will you end the year?

I feel like I am in a race to the finish line!  After this week I only have three more weeks of school.  I never think I am going to get everything done but some how, every year, I do.

Check out the article:

Finishing the School Year Strong

By Larry Ferlazzo

War: Through the eyes of children

After talking with my 5 year old about what happened to Osama ben Laden something hit me....she did not know that we where at war because all she knows is war.  I know that "living at war" in Mid Mo is far different then living in an area of combat but we have all be touched by the wars.   Here are some other new stories that may help you understand what how children fell and what you can do to help.

A Child Asks: Does this mean the wars are over?

Spelling Out Bin Laden's Death To The Little Ones

IMPRESSIVE video of Mo Levee

This is a video from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of the Birds Point Levee being breeched.  It is shown real time, six frames a second, and two frames a second.  It is impressive.

The End is Near!

If you are like me you know just how many days of school are left (we have 19 including today).  This is the time of year where everything gets kind of crazy and we all need to stay on track. Larry Ferlazzo had a good post to day called “What Can You Do To Stay Positive During The Last Seven Weeks Of School?” Even if you have less then 7 weeks of school it is still a good read.  

bin Laden attack on Twitter

This story from CNN show that the attack on bin Laden was captured on Twitter as it happed.

Twitter user unknowingly reported bin Laden attack

iPads for Ed

Check out the blog post Pads for Learning Getting Started…….Resource booklet for schools by Cyndi Danner-Kuhn.

bin Laden

Here are some links to  help us learn more about Osama bin Laden.

Timeline: Osama bin Laden, over the year

Markets react to news of bin Laden's death

Milestones: Osama bin Laden

Tracking Terrorism   Inside the world of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network

Technology in The Music Classroom

iTunes

When I finally got an old blue iMac in my vocal music classroom in 2009-2010, I was so excited!  I did not have much on it but it did have iTunes.  Not being a very good pianist, this was a life saver.  I used an audio in/out cable to hook the iMac up to my stereo so I had the sound that I would need. 

I used the Get America Singing series with my 6th and 7th grade general music classes, and I had purchased the CDs that went with them.  After putting all the songs on iTunes, I made a playlist for each class.  One student would get to be my assistant and run the iTunes for me.  I used this as an incentive for behavior and participation and it worked wonders.  I had kids singing that normally would not! 

We also did daily listenings and journal work in the 6th and 7th grade class as well.  I had a playlist with all of the works from all of the different CDs that I used.  I would often misplace the CD I needed and have to hunt for it...but not now!

I also had my wonderful accompanist record the accompaniments for all of the 8th Grade Choir Songs and then imported them to iTunes.  The 8th Grade Choir playlist let us run the songs "with the accompaniments" even though she could only come once every other week.  The kids that were taking solos to contest also had the accompaniments for their songs on a playlist.

The best part of iTunes was when I had a substitute the kids could still have class!  I had students in each class that knew what needed to be done. For 45 min of the 90 min block my kids would teach class.  If it was contest season, the remaining 45 min the students with solos got on with headphones and could listen to the accompaniments and "sing" in their head. It may not have been the best rehearsal but they still got to go over what they knew and the substitutes loved it.

Google Images 

If you have a projector or an interactive white board in your room, Google Images is the best! When we would talk about instruments, I would just project the image on the board.  It was so much better than the posters that I used when I taught K-5.  I had multiple images of the instruments and we could write "on them" as we talked about them. 

 We also could look up maps and talked about where composers lived.  Lots of times I could find a map of what the country looked like then and now. I also would show the kids images of what the composer looked like. 

Google Images would also come in handy when talking about the history of a song.  The one that I remember best is when we talked about the song Erie Canal. I was able to find maps and images of the canal being built and used.  The kids enjoyed it and I think remembered a lot more than in years when I did not have the projector. 

Music Tech Teacher

I was lucky enough to have a projector in my room that was hooked to a iBook.  The kids and I enjoyed doing was playing the games on musictechteacher.com On this page, Ms. Garrett, a instrumental music teacher at a public elementary school in Birmingham, Alabama, has several games and quizzes.  They are a fun way to get the kids to review.  We would break up in to teams and play as a class.  She also has lesson plans and worksheets available as well.  

National Public Radio

I know this is not the first place most music teachers would look for things to use in class.  Many times there are stories on NPR that work with what I am teaching.  When we would talk about the song MLK by U2 we listened to the story "Sanitation Workers Last Stand".  It had direct accounts of what Dr. Martin Luther King's last speech was like and the conditions the sanitation workers had to deal with.  This is first hand information that otherwise I would never be able to give the kids. There is also a great story about how life in New York City paralleled West Side Story when it opened on Broadway. Now with the music blog on NPR there are lots of resources you can use with your class. 

Youtube

I would have liked to use Youtube more than I did, but it was blocked at school.  I did download lots of things and then use them.  When we talked about organs there was a news report about the Wick's Organ Company in St. Louis that we would watch. In my 8th grade choir classes,we would watch other choirs perform and critique them.






Hilary Myers is in her first year as a 3rd-5th grade Technology Instructor in Missouri.  Prior to her current position, Hilary spent eight years in the general/vocal music classroom mostly at the middle school level.  Hilary is currently working on her Masters in Education and just completed her thesis Six Elements of an Effective Technology Professional Development Program. You can follow Hilary on her blog, Tips 4 Tech, or on Twitter @musictech02. 

Weekend Homework

Thursday on NPRs Fresh Air they talked about education.  The program is about 20 min but is worth the listen.  When you have the time over the weekend (if you are like me the weekend is just as crazy as the rest of the week) give it a listen.  I am not saying that I agree with everything that is said but it give you a lot to think about.

Ravitch: Standardized Testing Undermines Teaching

by NPR STAFF

Social Media in the Work Place

Check out Common Craft's Social Media in the Work Place.  Think about how the relates to your classroom.  I know that we don't function just like a office but much of what they talk about can apply to your classroom webpage or blog.

Lost Items and FaceBook

The is a Face Book page called "Pictures and Documents found after the April 27, 2011 Tornadoes".  Their are items that have been found in the aftermath of the tornadoes that are trying to be returned to the owners.  Check out the story on CNN. 

MO Flooding

The MO Department Agricultural has a good page with lots of info about the floods in Southeast MO.

The Best Of Everything

Do you ever want the best page for something?  Check out Larry Ferlazzo's web page and blog.  His Best Of Series covers a lot of topics.

Twister Videos

The Two-Way Blog post Stunning Tornado Videos Capture Storm's Power has lost of good videos of the recent tornadoes. 

Gotta Keep Reading

Next week is Reading Week at my school.  One of our teachers shared this video from Youtube with us. It made me want to dance....and then go read!

Ocoee Middle School - Gotta Keep Reading

eThemes

eThemes is a database of online resources for educators created by the University of Missouri - Columbia.  You can search the database for the topic you need and request information for topics the do not have.  Lots of good information in one place!

Royal Info

With the Royal Wedding on the way there is a lot of neat stuff about monarchies, Westminster Abby, and anything royal you could think of.  Even if you are like me and only have a mild interest in the wedding some of the info is kind of cool.   

Interactive Family Tree

Where Monarchies Still Exist

The Official Website of the British Monarchy 

Westminster’s Wedding March

Inside Westminster Abbey

Protect Your Privacy

Privacy 2.0: The Garbo Economy is a good story that was posted on NPR.  It talks about what you should be doing to maintain your privacy.  It talks about The Electronic Frontier Foundation 12 step program.  It is worth the time to check it out. 

Plant Worksheets

Edhelper.com had a large selection of readings, math work sheets, games and more about plants.  Check out their Plants Theme Unit.

The difference a # makes

A few weeks ago I posted my blog post on Twitter as normal but then added #edchat.  I got double the clicks and views.  Something to keep in mind.

Arbor Day

Remember that Arbor Day in April 29.  Here are some links with activities and information!

Arbor Day Foundation

The Teachers Guide - lots of links!

eThemes - lots of links!

Holocaust Remembrance

National Holocaust Remembrance Day is this Sunday, May 1.  Please remember to preview everything BEFORE sharing them with students due to the graphic content that some pages may have.


United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 

The Paper Clip Project

The Holocaust - lots of links!

Holocaust Websites - lots of links!

Interactive Map of Auschwitz

Holocaust Interactive Timeline

ABCya

If you have not checked out ABCya.com now is the time.  I use this page quite a bit with some of my IEP students to work on basic skills and simply using the computer. It has grade level activities for grades K-5.  The kindergarten games have sound too! Several of the activities work well with an interactive white board.

Google Tutorials

On the Free Technology For Teachers page there is a link to Google Tutorials.  They are wonderful and FREE! They have also been updated so if you have not checked them out lately you should do so!

iPad and Free Rice

Just an FYI - Free Rice works very well on the iPad.  I used all of the categories and had no trouble. It would be  fun to pair kids up and see how much rice they could get!

Learn more about Free Rice on my Free Rice blog post.

Free Rice

I know that Freerice.com is not a new sight.  I had not been there in about two years and it has changed a bit.  There are still activities for art, com arts, math, language learning, world geography, and chemistry that earn free rice for developing nations. Now they have a login!  You can track your totals, create groups, and more.  What a neat way to help others and learn!  Think about how you could use this in your classroom.  I think that goal setting would work well with this.  A grade level contest maybe? Now that you can track your totals there is a lot more then it just being fun.

The Impact of Weather

 If you have watched the news at all in the last several days you know that the Mid-West has had a lot to deal with including thunderstorms, 9 in or more of rain, tornado, and major flooding.  All of this is hard to think about some times. The Missouri Department Of Transportation (like many other stats) has an interactive map that shows the roads closed due to flooding (or snow in the winter). When I looked at the MO map today I was shocked to see how much of the southern part of the state is under water. The MO.gov web page has several maps showing the river levels and the river level forecast. There is also a slide show of some of the MO flooding. All of these sights help show what is going on and are a good tool to help students see how weather affects are day to day life other then having indoor recess.

Nook Apps

Barnes and Noble has added apps to the Nook.  Check out the NPR story and the Barnes and Noble webpage for more info.  If you have a Nook for your classroom start thinking of new ways to use it!

Roots 4 Kids

Roots 4 Kids program is a part of Annie's Homegrown Organic.  There are online games and more on the webpage that help kids learn more about healthy foods and where they come from.

There are currently running a contest for a school to win a Farm to School Program below is some info from the Roots 4 Kids page.  Be sure to check out the page for full info.:

From April 5 through May 31, Root 4 Kids is calling on schools across America to generate sign-ups for their school at www.Root4Kids.com/join. The school that receives the most sign ups will win its choice of a Farm to School program or school garden.

The Farm to School program prize includes working with a state National Farm to School Network leader to customize a combination of activities that best help students become more deeply connected to real food. Options may include: introductory lessons on where food comes from; farm field trips; meals following a farm visit using vegetables harvested by students; garden sessions in the spring or fall; a “tasting table” featuring a sampling of freshly harvested vegetables; and more.

The school garden prize includes basic supplies, including seeds, soil and select tools, and assistance from a gardening expert to get the garden started.

Where do your footprints lead?

As I keep thinking about "big brother" and or digital footprint a story about smart phones tracking our movements broke at the end of last week.  This is not something new. We have been tracked by cell phone and credit card providers for year. What is new is the amount and detailed data that they can collect. People need to remember that your internet activity is being tracked as well.  This weekend my husband and I looked up bathroom vanities on Saturday.  When my husband got back on his computer on Sunday night he has several add for bathroom vanities.  Is this a bad thing?  I guess it depends on how you look at it.  The bigger question is, are you telling your students?  I have not told my students but I feel that I should.  It all becomes apart of who you are online and you just never know what might comeback and get you.

How do you APA?

As I put the finishing touches on my thesis I started working on the work cited page.  I have not had to use true APA in about 3 years.  There are several webpages that can help with your APA....so just do it for you.  Check the links below!

Citation Machine

Where to Find an APA Citation Machine - Has links to 6 citation machines 

OWL Purdue University

 

Google Apps in MO Schools

If you are a MORENet school in MO you can now get support on Google Apps For Education. Check out the announcement 

More on BP

NPR has a BP Oil Spill: One Year Later, A Look Back in Pictures.  There are two other stories as well 

After Oil Spill, Shrimpers Hope For Blessed Season and Drilling Oversight Agency Faces 'Troubling' Obstacles. 

BP spill 1 year later

It was a year ago today that the BP oil spill started.  I posted about the 100 days of the BP Spill from Time about a month ago but wanted to repost it today. CNN had a good story posted and several good videos of the spill. ABC news has a good video also.

Chernobyl & Fukushima

CNN World News has a large selection of videos about the Japan tsumami and nuclear disaster. The most recent is 25 years on, in Chernobyl's shadow.  It is worth a watch even if it is not something you can use in your classroom.

Google Map Maker

Google Map Maker is now open in the US.  You are able to add the places in your community.  The additions get added to Google Maps and Google Earth.  This could be a cool year-long project for a class and a good way for students to lean about their community. The Google Blog post will give you more information and a good video! 

Blackberry Playbook

Today the new Blackberry Playbook comes out.  With a lack of apps and no built in email or calendar ( you have to sync with your Blackberry phone to get them) I do not think the iPad is safe.  What do you think?

Is BP the worst?

The readers of the Consumerist have named BP the worst company in the US. Others that where up for this "prize" include Apple, Microsoft, and Face Book. The is more information and a wonderful bracket on the Market Place News in Brief Blog. 

ResearchGate

If you are reading this you know how important social networking is to get new ideas, help with problems, and much more as an educator.  There is now a social networking sight for scientist.  The link to the story is below. 

Like, Share, Discover: Facebook For Scientists

Twitter 4 Teachers

I read this blog post by Shannon Smith on her blog the other day.  There are good videos about teachers using Twitter.  Check out her blog post Twitter For Teachers. You can follow Shannon on Twitter @shannoninottawa 

NOAA

NOAA has a page of education resources for science. There is a lot of information to go over that you could use is your classroom.   There is also information on PD and funding opportunities.  You could spend a lot of time on this sight over the summer.

The chicken or the egg?

The chicks in one of the third grade classrooms started hatching today!  Made me wounder what kind of resources are out their about eggs and chickens. Below is a quick list of links I found....I am sure there are many more.

Egg Facts 101
Online games and activities 
Chicken Life Cycle
4-H Virtual Farm

Story Time!

It is one of those yucky day where you have to stay inside.  What is better then reading a good book to your students?  How about letting James Earl Jones or Betty White read to your students? On Storyline Online there are books you know, and books you may not know, read by the stars.  No one reads a book better then an actor!

More Hashtags 4 Ed

Here are some more hashtags:

#kinderchat
#ipad
#k12
#education
#langchat
#mathchat
#scichat
#edsocialmedia
#medialiteracy
#elearning
#edapp
# artsed
#smartboard
#IWB (interactive white board)

Looking for some good teachers to follow try these:

@cindidannerkuhn
@kylepace
@kevinhoneycutt
@rmbyrne
@thetechspec

Free iPad Apps

This is all over the tech blogs and I did put them on that 20 iPads we have at school.

There are several iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch apps from Everyday Mathematics a part of McGraw-Hill.  The lists that I have seen way that there are 10 apps that are available but I could only find 9 of them.   They are FREE from April 13-16 during the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Conference. After April 13 they will go back to being $1.99 each.  Once at the apps store I just looked up Everyday Mathematics and the 9 apps I could find came right up!

- Addition Top-it
- Subtraction Top-it
- Beat the Computer
- Name that Number
- Equivalent Fractions
- Tric-Trac
- Monster Squeeze
- Baseball Multiplication 1-6 Facts
- Baseball Multiplication 1-12 Facts (I could not find this one)
- Divisibility Dash

Amazing - Incredible Handwriting

The Amazing - Incredible Handwriting Worksheet Maker lives up to its name!  You can make worksheets for your students using block, D'Nealian, or cursive.  There are four different work sheets that you can make NAME & SENTENCE, SINGLE WORD, MULTI-WORD and PARAGRAPH. For each kind of worksheet there are several different setups as well.  I am going to use it with my pre-K daughter to help with using lowercase letters in her name.  This would also be good for spelling words.  The kids would be doing handwriting practice and learning their spelling words. 

Guest Blogger

I just found out last night that I will be the guest blogger on the Free Technology For Teacher Blog on May 1. I will be talking about using technology in the music classroom. I will also be posting the same post on this blog as well.

U got 2 move it

Today is a Stretch and Flex Wednesday at our school. We get our students up and moving and talk about an active life style.  In the lab I normally do not do much with the kids for Stretch and Flex Wednesday because I only see them one time a week for 30 min and we need every second we can on the computers.  Today is the last day of MAP testing and I have a crazy schedule so we are going to get up and MOVE! I found a clip on YouTube that I am going to put on the SMART Board.  It is a 6 min clip and the first 3 min are more for the teacher and it has some good info.  Check out the clip and think about how you can get some movement into  your day.  You and your kids will feel better!

12 Classroom Workouts for Kids with Nikki Crouse

Not so Flipped Out

So I got home last night and started thinking about the Flip.  Put out a tweet about how a lot of schools use them.  I got a reply from @thetechspec about the Kodak Zi8 HD.  It is something to look into.  Check out his blog post about it. 

I was also thinking that the iPad 2 may be a good tool to use as well.  There is nothing to download when you record on the iPad 2.

Flipped out

I was sad to read this story about the end of the flip camera. I have used one several times and enjoyed it. Will this mean that more schools will let students use smartphones for school?  Will school use the iPad 2 to help fill this void?  I guess only time will tell.  What to see what people are saying check the #flip on Twitter

The Flip Flops: Smartphones Helped To Kill The Little Video Camera

Read Wright Think

The Read Wright Think page has lots of information for the classroom and for home or after school activities to engage students in reading. There are lots of lesson plans that you can search by grade level, topic, objective, or theme.  There are also student interactives, podcasts for students, and a text messages that are recommended for adolescent readers. The also have lessons set up by the month!  What a simple way to find reading lessons for your class!  There are 24 lessons for April and they have an Earth Day Lesson.

Interactive Earth Day

Here are lessons from the SMART Exchange and Promethean Planet for Earth Day! 

Poetry Month

Remember that April is Poetry month! Her are some pages that you can use with your classes. 


Poetry Idea Engine -Scholastic - Interactive white board 

Celebrate National Poetry Month - Scholastic 

Poets.org

National Poetry Month - Crayola 

Education World

Reading Rockets

Online Magnetic Poetry Kits - Like what you would use on the refrigerator at home.  Would work well with an interactive white board.

SMART Exchange Poetry Lessons

Promethean Planet Poetry Lessons