Time for a New Design!

Thanks to Jo from The Book Bug for introducing me to Pixelista! Jessica Barnard's designs are so "girly-perfect" that I was able to find one to use (yes, it was FREE) on "A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet!"  What do you think?

37 Websites For Teaching Kids About Money and Finance

Students today have no idea how important it is for them to learn about money and finances. They'd be surprised to find out that they could easily amass one million dollars by the time they retire if they would start investing and saving right now while they are still in high school. This type of class should be mandatory for all students, so that when they are out on their own they will understand how to balance their own checkbook, and make sound investments in the stock market. If you teach personal finance, I hope you can use some of these wonderful resources.

Awesome Island- financial education

Banking Lessons and Worksheets- covers mortgages and interest, personal savings, checking accounts and more.

Biz Kids- interactive site "where kids teach kids about money and business"

Bloomberg Business and Financial News
Budgeting 101

Check Writing, Checkbook, Checking Account Lesson Plans

Do Something.org- Citigroup and Do Something.org created this site where high school students are taught about money management, personal finance, taxes, credit and budgeting.

Economic and Financial Literacy Lesson Plans- by grade level 

Fantasy Stock Market- get $100,000 in fantasy money to trade and compete against other traders. ($$)

Financial Aid- the best on the Web for information

Financial Football- online game for students to learn about managing money; interactive site

Google Finance

H.I.P. Pocket Change- interactive part of the U.S. Mint site; games, activities, puzzles, trivia

The Inflation Calculator (Consumer Price Index)

It All Adds Up-personal finance for teens; interactive site

Jumpstart.org- the Jump-start coalition for personal financial literacy offers the following on this site: money management basics; money math, kids, cash, plastics and you; 101 financial lessons; money management tips every college student should know.

Kids Money- money-related articles for kids; surveys about allowances etc.

Managing Money

The Mint- "fun financial literacy activities"

Money and Finance- video tutorials from Khan Academy

Money Games for Kids- Wall Street Journal

Money Instructor -money skills, budgeting, finance etc.

The Motley Fool

Personal Budget Excel Spreadsheet

Personal Finance for Teens

Planet Orange- "helps kids, from 1st to 6th grade, learn about earning, spending, saving and investing."; interactive site

Practical Money Skills- starts at pre-school and covers all ages; site is run by VISA USA.

Printable Blank Check Register for Checkbook Practice

Rich Kid Smart Kid- covers grades K-12; interactive site

Savings Quest- interactive site

Secret Millionaires Club

Sense and Dollars-interactive site with money games

The Stock Market Game- your students get to "invest" $100,000; competition

Tools to Teach Kids Money Management Skills

Understanding the Federal Reserve- many tools include interactive resources to help students understand the Federal Reserve.

Using an ATM- lesson and worksheet

The World of Paper Money- thumbnails of paper money from countries around the globe

Young Investor- games, crossword puzzles and brainteasers are used to teach kids about investing.

Feeling Lovely Today

Thank you to Jo from The Book Bug blog for nominating me for a One Lovely Blog Award! I am truly honored to be recognized as lovely! By the way, Jo, your blog is lovely too! I would be interested in knowing who designed your header.

Here's how the One Lovely Blog Award works:
1)  Link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2)  Follow the person who sent it to you.
3)  Pass the award onto 15 other bloggers.

There are so many great blogs out there, so this was very hard to do. But here are my 15 blogs:

AASL Blog
The Adventures of Library Girl
Cat's Pyjamas
Edgalaxy
Educational Technology Guy
iLearn Technology
Neverending Search
A Principal's Reflections
Random Thoughts: Change, Primary Sources & Other Stuff
Teacher Reboot Camp
Teachers as Technology Trailblazers
Tech the Plunge
The Unquiet Library
US History Teachers Blog
Van Meter Library Voice

Cell Phones as Teaching Tools: 26 Places You'll Find Resources and Lesson Plans

Ever since cell phones became available to everyone, the issue of using them in the classroom has been debated. Some administrators have been wary of allowing them into the classroom, yet others like New Jersey principal Eric Shenenger have been very open to having them in his school. If you aren't able to have cell phones in the classroom, why not assign homework, where kids can explore its other uses? Yes, Johnny, your phone does more than text........

Cell Phones in the Classroom- slide presentation by Vicki Davis 

Cell Phones in School Pros and Cons- from Buzzle

Cell Phones: Why Not Use Them to Teach?- New York Times article

Educators Eye Cell Pones as Teaching Tools- article from Newsday

From Toy to Tool: Cell Phones in Learning- blog

Going Mobile: Debating and Using Cell Phones in School- New York Times article

How to Use Cell Phones as Learning Tools

Lift the Cell Phone Ban- article from Scholastic 

Making the Case for Cell Phones in Schools- by Cool Cat Teacher Vicki Davis

Mobile Computing at Trinity Intermediate School


Mobile Motivation: Learning with Mobile Devices- this is a terrific LiveBinder by Shelly Terrell 

The Pros and Cons of Having Cell Phones in High Schools

School Gives Cell Phones as a Teaching Tool- CNN article with accompanying video

Teachers Use Cell Phones in the Classroom- article from US News and World Reports
Teaching on Mobile Devices

Tool for Learning or Distraction?- New Jersey Principal Eric Shenenger's article for the Huffington Post

Why Mobile Learning? 

LESSON PLANS
Algebra: Cell Phone Plans

Bringing Cell Phones into the Classroom- lesson for grades 7-12 

Cell Phone Safety Lesson- grades 7-8

Cell Phones Lesson Plans- Lesson Planet's list of 757 ideas

Mobile Learning Lesson Plans- from Scholastic

No Phone Zone Lesson Plan- teaches students about the dangers of texting and driving

Reading Lesson Plans- from OneStop English; for elementary and upper intermediate grades

Using Cell Phones for Learning- Q and A with authors Lisa Nielson and Willyn Webb

All About QR Codes in Your Classroom: Here Are 44 Sites to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

My school does not allow students to use cell phones in the classroom. I don't agree with this policy, but rules are rules. However, assigning homework outside the classroom will allow your kids to learn a new way to use their smartphones, since texting seems to be the only thing they love to do. In June 2011, I did a post explaining QR Codes. With this post, I have put together a large listing which includes lesson ideas, QR apps for smartphones and QR code generators. Best part of all? The resources are free. The ideas are free. And if your school allows cell phones in the classroom, you'll be able to liven up your lessons!  5 Unique Uses for QR Codes- from Mashable15 Creative QR Codes- graphic design teachers take note! 40 Interesting Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom

45 Interesting Ways to Use QR Codes to  Support Learning - great slide presentation by Tom Barrett

101 Uses for Quick Response (QR) Codes

Giant QR Codes in the Classroom

Hot QR Codes in the Classroom- super blog post by the Daring Librarian 

How to Customize QR Codes with Your Brand's Identity

How to Use QR Codes in Student Projects- from SimpleK12

Instructions for a QR Code Book Report

Make Your Own QR Code Scavenger Hunt- from Kelly Tenkely's iLearn Technology blog

Mystery Math QR Code Scanning- for first graders 

The Periodic Table of Elements with QR Codes

QR Code Classroom Implementation Guide- excellent resource from Vicki Davis, the Cool Cat Teacher

QR Code Comic Tutorial- excellent design by the Daring Librarian

QR Code Uses in Libraries- nice long listing for teacher-librarians!

QR Codes: Applications in Libraries

View more PowerPoint from cawa

QR Codes in the Classroom and the Library, too!

View more presentations from gwyneth jones

QR Codes in Education- LiveBinder written by Steven Anderson

QR Codes in Education- explained with Glogster

QR Codes Explained by Common Craft- video

QR Codes and How to Use Them- Prezi by William King

QR Codes in the Classroom- interview with Wyoming science teacher London Jenks, about how he uses QR codes in his classroom

QR Codes: Lessons and Resources- for grades 7-12

QR Codes LiveBinder

QR Literature Quests- 14-slide presentation

TagMyDoc- "TagMyDoc allows you to apply a tag on a document which can be scanned and retrieved as a virtual copy."

Tell a Story with QR Codes- interesting blog post

Top 5 Creative Ways to Use QR Codes

Using QR Codes to Expand the Reading Experience

APPS FOR CELL PHONES
NeoReader- for iPhones

Quick Scan Pro for iPhone- scans barcodes and QR codes

QR Barcode Scanner for Android

QR Code Readers- huge listing of smartphones; choose your phone and the site matches you with a QR reader

QR Droid- rated 5 out of 5 stars

QR Reader for iPhone 

QR Scanner- iPhone

QR CODE GENERATORS
Kaywa- choose content type, content, size

QR Treasure Hunt Generator- in four easy steps

QR Voice- when your code is scanned, a recorded audio message plays

QRpedia- paste any Wikipedia URL in the box and a QR code will be created for you

SnapMaze QR Code Generator and QR Code Reader- choose your content and the color of your code; very simple

Snap.vu- free QR code generator, short URL  and tracking service

Twelve Ideas for Teaching with QR Codes- by Andrew Miller; on Edutopia's site