Digital Storytelling Resources

A colleague (elementary library media specialist) and I were brainstorming ideas on how to introduce digital storytelling to grade 5 students.  We went through the different subject areas of the grade level, brainstorming concepts that students may have recently covered.  We searched and dug through websites trying to find one or two good examples to show to the students.  Resources to support the digital storytelling project were also high on our list so we searched for planning sheets and rubrics.

After our conversation ended, I headed back to my desk and started reading through my e-mail.  I found this reference, freshly posted, to share with her:  Engaging Learners Through Digital Storytelling.  It is amazing what comes across your desk when you least expect it.

This blog article provides resources obtained through a free online course where over 250 participants worked to create an online class portfolio.   Participants contributed information on why to do digital storytelling, shared tips on using some free digital tools, and provided a list of recommended web tools to use.  A Live Binder, Digital Storytelling for Young Learners is also available.

Education is a wonderful place to work and grow.  Working with students to help them create a learn is a rewarding experience.  Check out these resources and pick up a new tool or skill to help your students grow.

Drowning in e-mail?

Vicki Davis (Cool Cat Teacher) provides a wealth of information to teachers, students and others with an interest in educational technology.   Recently she provided a Twitter link (http://coolcatteacher.visibli.com/share/kcrfgK) to a resource called Email Charter.  Email Charter has identified the problem of e-mail overwhelming people to the point that the time spent distracts from the more important jobs we have to do.  Working together we can reduce the amount of e-mail we need to respond to.  Email Charter provides a list of 10 Rules to Reverse the Email Spiral.

Check it out to see if you agree and are ready to take some measures to reduce the Inbox problem  many of us share.  Share it with students so they can work to solve the problem and avoid the same bursting Inbox problems we have experienced.

The Big 10 (Most Influential People in EdTech for 2011)

Tech & Learning, a print and online publisher, presented their list of the most influential people in educational technology for 2011.  If you are a teacher who is passionate about technology in education, you might want to learn more about these 10 people.  Each person has a unique area of expertise and a passion for technology.  Read more about each person by clicking the title link for this article.  Each person and their title are listed below along with a link to a related site:

Doug Levin - State Educational Technology Directors Association executive director
Karen Cator - director of Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education
Gregg Festa - ADP Center for Teacher Preparation and Learning Technologies (This is a ning that may be blocked by school district filters.)
Ann Thompson - editor of the Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education
John Kao - innovation activist
David Warlick - Landmark Project consultant
Salman Khan - founder of the Khan Academy
Punya Mishra - co-chair of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education (SITE)
Jonathan Ive and the Apple Design Team - iPad pilot program at Oklahoma State University
"Google for Educators" Development Team - includes Julia Stiglitz, teacher; provides classroom resources for teachers

Get Something for Nothing (ASCD resource)

ASCD put out a list of free educational resources that teachers might want to explore during summer break.  Use the article link (above) to access the full article or browse a couple of the resources listed here:

Free Resources for Educational Excellence - http://free.ed.gov
K-12 resources listed at this site are categorized both by subject (Arts & Music, Language Arts, Math, etc.)  and by media type (animations, primary documents, photos, and videos).  A search box allows users to enter their own keywords for finding resources.  When accessing a new categorized resource such as this, it might be helpful to begin by choosing a category and drilling down to see how information is organized and the types of results within each category.

For example, starting with Arts and Music, a user can drill down to Visual Arts, then to Photography to find 34 resources.  Four resources are featured and all 34 resources can be displayed.  One of the topics is Mathew Brady Portraits, which is cross referenced in U.S. History Topics and U.S. Time Periods.  Users are directed to the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and Mathew Brady's Portraits.

Take some time to browse the collections to find quality resources for your students.

Thinkfinity - http://www.thinkfinity.org/
Here is another high quality site where educators can find free lesson plans and educational resources aligned to state standards, provided by partners with expertise in each content areas.  Content partners include National Geographic, Science NetLinks, EconEdLink, ReadWriteThink, LiteracyNetwork, ArtsEdge, Smithsonian's History Explorer, Illuminations (Math), EdSitement and Wonderopolis.  Resources can also provide parents and students with access to educational content in the At Home & AfterSchool area.  Summer might be the time to begin organizing resources to integrate into key lessons for the upcoming school year.  Take some time to explore Thinkfinity this summer!

These two resources could keep educators busy during the summer collecting valuable resources to share with students.  If you are interested in more information like this, click the article link to read the entire ASCD article and access to additional resources.

Summer Goals

Summer is almost here in our district.  Seniors are attending for their last day today and all students are wiggling in their seats anticipating the last day before their release to summer time activities.  As an educator, many of us look forward to a more relaxed pace of life in the summer.  Yet, as professionals we are always seeking to learn more about our students, the process of learning, technology and other relevant educational topics.

The following resources provide me with a "go to" list for summer.  I hope others can use it for their personal goals as well.

• Teacher Reboot Camp offers What Will You Learn This Summer?  26 Professional Development Resources.  Here teachers can choose from free programs, live events (including webinars and online presentations), and free online classes.  
• If you are a teacher interested in blogging, check out Kick Start Your Blogging at the Teacher Challenge site.   Check out the Free Tools Challenge at this site where you can learn more about Web 2.0 tools including Wordle, Glogster, VoiceThread and more for a total of 26 tools.  Currently these challenges are on the left sidebar of the site.
• Edublogger offers Our trips for getting blogs ready for the end of the school year.  If you are new to blogs, this discussion may provide some information about how blogs are used not only during the school year but over the summer, too.
• Edutopia is full of rich resources including blogs, polls, group discussions, videos, articles and connections to other educators.  Topics cover more than educational technology including project-based learning, social and emotional learning, assessment, classroom management, STEM, and the arts.  Here is a direct link to the Summer Professional Development Blog Series.
• If you are curious about all of the talk of iPad use in the classroom, you might enjoy 58 Ways to use an iPad in the Classroom by Tom Barrett - a Google presentation.  The number '58' is a moving target.  I've seen this presentation move from 53 to 56 to 58 in a matter of months.  This presentation offers two things - an overview of iPad use and a nice demonstration of Google presentation.

I will continue to add a few more resources as they come across my desk.  Enjoy your summer and have fun learning within your chosen topic.

Getting Started with SmartBoards

Our district is moving forward with SmartBoard installations in our elementary schools.  One of our teachers offered this site as a tool to learn more about the SmartBoard without "official training".  The site contains tutorials and printed materials for teachers to use as they begin exploring the use of SmartBoards in their classrooms.  There is a lot of information here for interested teachers to use.

PhET: Free online, physics, chemistry, biology, earth science & math simulations

The PhET project offers free interactive science simulations from the University of Colorado.  The following information was gathered from the PhET site to help summarize what the site offers.


In December 2010, the PhET Interactive Simulations Project at the University of Colorado at Boulder received grants totaling $2.5 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the O'Donnell Foundation to expand its reach to middle school science. The team of scientists, educators, and software engineers for the ongoing project design online simulations that demonstrate how scientific concepts apply in real-world scenarios. The simulations are made available free of charge to all science classes and students that wish to use them to enhance the practical components of education.


To help students visually comprehend concepts, PhET simulations animate what is invisible to the eye through the use of graphics and intuitive controls such as click-and-drag manipulation, sliders and radio buttons. In order to further encourage quantitative exploration, the simulations also offer measurement instruments including rulers, stop-watches, voltmeters and thermometers. As the user manipulates these interactive tools, responses are immediately animated thus effectively illustrating cause-and-effect relationships as well as multiple linked representations (motion of the objects, graphs, number readouts, etc.)


Principal sponsors of the site include the The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the National Science Foundation (NSF), Excellence Center of Science and Mathematics Education at King Saud University, and the O'Donnell Foundation.

Safe Search Engines

The following list of Safe Search engines was shared on the Tech Learning site:
Top 10 Safe Search Engines by David Kapuler

1. Sweet Search - A group of experts, including librarians and teachers, evaluates all content from this search engine.
2. Top Marks - A great site developed in the UK by teachers who approved everything on this site.
3. Quintura for Kids - An innovative search engine for kids that displays results in a cloud-based style. Also, has apps for mobile devices.
4. Kid Rex - Wonderful search engine designed around Google's safe search. Very nice visual appeal for kids.
5. Ask Kids -  Search engine designed for kids ages 6-12.
6. Yahoo Kids - Previously known as Yahooligans, Yahoo Kids is a fun site for kids to gather information on the internet.
7. Famhoo -  Family-friendly search engine that filters all content.
8. One Key - Developed in 1996, One Key, in collaboration with Google, does a nice job of creating a safe search engine.
9. Google (safe search) - Google has a safe-search setting which can be locked into place at the browser level for those that use Firefox.
10. Nettrekker -  Great paid site for searching the web -- not only for students but for teachers as well.

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac

Our district recently upgraded to Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac.  There are a number of new features that have such a new look that regular users of older Microsoft applications feel a bit unsure.  Microsoft provides a site with a great deal of tutorial information that may be helpful to users.  Click here to check it out and decide for yourself it these tools can help you learn more about this software.

Books That Heal

As many of my close friends know,  I have four very special boys in my life. That is why this blog, Books That Heal, touched me.

The author of this blog is an elementary guidance counselor.  She has provided book resources that may be valuable to anybody dealing with student issues in the elementary school including bullying, friendship, and self-esteem.  At the site, information is organized using labels which are listed along the left side of the window.  Click on a label to view book titles that fit the label category.

The author provides a picture of the cover of the book, description of the contents, and why it's on her shelf.  Dig deeper and you will find titles for older students as well as adults (parents, teachers and others).

TechYes Curriculum for Grades 6-9

TechYES - Student Technology Literacy Certification Program for Grades 6-9 is a project-based certification program that can be structured many different ways. Our district's combined plan for the next three years will look for a student tech mentor model to improve the support and use of technology in our middle school. This curriculum looks like it might fit our needs. The structure of the program is set up to meet and exceed the ISTE NETS for students at the eighth grade level.

Pricing indicates that a starter kit for 30 students costs $495 which includes 30 Student Guides and Student Certifications, 1 TechYES Implementation Guide, 1 CD-ROM, 2 Posters, basic tech literacy activities, online project tools, technology literacy reports, and login privileges to the TechYES Web Portal. For a single site.

It will be worth $495 to explore this resource and run through one cycle to determine whether it meets our needs for the future.

PBS Teachers - Access, Analyze, Act - Economics Resources

High school economics teachers will find resources in the form of case studies with associated lesson plans, videos, interactive tools, podcasts and audio files. A glossary with both text and video explanations provides students with resources necessary to understand economics. Links to additional resources, other websites supporting economic education, are also provided.

SMART Exchange

The SMART Exchange is a gathering place for SMART Board teachers. At this site, users can connect with other teachers, search for resources, lesson plans and more. Teachers can browse by subject, grade or file type. A search box can be used to search on specific terms. In addition, lessons that have been correlated to state standards can be searched. If you have a resource to share, you can upload it to the site. A forum area allows users to post questions and answers to topics ranging from hardware and software to technical support and user groups. There is a wealth of information here for the new SmartBoard user or the experienced user. Check it out today!

Arcademic Skill Builders

Arcademic Skill Builders is an educational website where students can play video games to reinforce basic math skills, language arts skills, vocabulary and thinking skills. The site has research-based and standards-aligned free educational games that are intended to engage, motivate, and help teach students. Students can play free multi-player and single-player games, choosing whether to play against other players or play alone.

The site states that students are completely safe while playing the games. In the multi-player games, if the student starts a 'private' game, then only players that know the password (created by the student) can join the game. All other players are not allowed to join that game. If the student starts a 'public' game, then any player from outside can join the game, but there is no contact between outside players and the student. Player ID's are not stored. Player names are monitored and inappropriate names created by a student are blocked.

Turn your student's love of video games into an educational experience at Arcademic Skill Builders.

Edutopia Resources

I have subscribed to Edutopia for a number of years but have to admit that life is so busy I don't always spend the time I would like on this site. There are a number of helpful resources educators can find here including:

Technology Integration - K-5
http://www.edutopia.org/groups/technology-integration-k-6
Educators share best practices at this site. There are some wonderful resources that teachers are creating, integrating and offering feedback for.

Middle School Discussion - what works and what doesn't can be found at http://www.edutopia.org/groups/middle-school. Discussion topics include free/open source software, must-see websites, free resource site for math teacher, bullying in the middle school and more. It takes a special person to be a middle school teacher. If you are a middle school teacher, you will find good company here.

Technology Integration - High School Discussions can be found at http://www.edutopia.org/groups/technology-integration-high-school. This groups discusses teaching and learning in the 21st Century.

If you have an interest in project-based learning, Edutopia has resources for you. Visit their Free Resources and Downloads for Project Learning page at http://www.edutopia.org/maine-project-learning-free-resources-and-tools. Educators from Maine have shared their resources for all grade levels, elementary through high school.

IXL (translated I excel)

As I was looking for math websites to help elementary students, I found this site - IXL. The site is a product of the Quia corporation. If you are not familiar with Quia, it is an educational site where users can create learning activities and share them with other educators and students. The IXL site focuses on math review. IXL calls itself, "The Web's #1 Math Practice Site".

The IXL site is easy to navigate and should appeal to children because the site is colorful and uses illustrations of smiling kids. The site is very inviting and child friendly.

Math skills are listed by grade level (PreK-6) and then organized into categories. There are over 100 skills listed for each grade level except PreK which has less than 100. Some of the category names you will find include: Numbers and Counting, Fractions, Time, Measurement, Money, Adding and Subtracting, to name a few. Skills are aligned to state standards.

Teachers or parents can purchase a subscription and keep track of student progress. There is an option for monthly or yearly pricing and for multiple children if you are purchasing a subscription for home. If you want to preview the site, you can practice and answer 20 questions for free each day. When your 20 questions are used up you still view samples from each grade level by hovering over the links.

If your child is struggling with math or hates the paper and pencil reviews, check out IXL. They might just decide that math isn't too bad after all.

Help With Fractions

Over the summer I spend time with my boys reviewing some basic skills they learned in their previous school year. This summer, my former sixth grader is working with fractions. Math does not come easily for him so I was looking for help online to explain some of the processes he needed to go through. I found the website Help With Fractions which did help us! At the site you will help with the following topics:

• Math Homework Help
• Adding Fractions
• Subtracting Fractions
• Multiplying Fractions
• Dividing Fractions
• Least Common Multiple
• Least Common Denominator
• Greatest Common Factor
• Equivalent Fractions
• Simplifying Fractions
• Reducing Fractions
• Understanding Fractions
• Prime Numbers
• Fraction Calculator

We worked through the Least Common Denominator section that got us on track. There is a Prime Numbers chart that may be helpful to students. Check it out - it might be just what you were looking for.

ISTE Connects website

Wishing I was in Denver at ISTE 2010 . . . I saw a post on my Facebook page with a link to ISTE Connects at http://www.isteconnects.org/ and visited the site. According to the site, "ISTE Connects is your source for content related to technology in education. We create podcasts, videos, and presentations about ed tech." Take some time to browse this site and learn more about educational technology. ISTE Conference News can be found here for those of us unable to attend this technology rich conference.

Another ISTE site is ISTE Learning located at http://istelearning.org/. "ISTE Learning is an anytime, anywhere online community for professional development where educators can sample free concepts, buy cool resources and exchange creative ideas. This space provides relevant learning experiences in multiple formats to strengthen the teaching experience and grow digital literacy."

Find information about National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), Web 2.0 technologies (blogging, wikis, RSS, podcasting), Project-based learning and more. ISTE is a leader in educational technology. Stop by this site frequently to keep up with what's happening in the world of technology and apply it in your classroom.

Internet Safety Resources

Internet Safety is a hot topic today. Many schools are in the midst of creating a scope and sequence to teach all students how to be safe on the Internet. Following are some resources that might be helpful to parents, students and educators.

NetSmartz is a website with many resources for all groups. NetSmartz characters appeal to the younger children while age-appropriate videos are available for older children. Parents will find resources to use as they create a conversation with their child about safety issues. Visit http://www.netsmartz.org

Nancy Willard's Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use. Nancy Willard is the executive director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use and is a recognized authority on issues related to the safe and responsible use of the Internet. She has written two books, Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats, and Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens. There are a number of professional resources at this site. Visit http://csriu.org/

The Cyberbullying Research Site is directed by Dr. Sameer Hinduja (Florida Atlantic University) and Dr. Justin Patchin (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire). They have been studying cyberbullying since 2002 and first launched this web site in 2005. They founded the Cyberbullying Research Center as a means to further their mission of bringing sound research about cyberbullying to those who can benefit most from it. Their 2008 book Bullying beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying is available from Amazon and other bookstores. Visit http://www.cyberbullying.us/

160 Ways to Use a Document Camera

Discovered this resource on Twitter. It is just what it says it is - a list of 160 ways to use a document camera. Click on the title to link to the site. Enjoy!