A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet

Monday, November 7, 2011

Professional Development Doesn't Have to Be Boring

This is a wonderful presentation from the TL Virtual Cafe by teacher-librarians Tamara Fox and Tiffany Whitehead. I love the use of Comic Life for the design!

PD with a Twist

View more presentations from Tiffany Whitehead

Friday, November 4, 2011

36 Web 2.0 Tools For Collaboration

My current Web 2.0 tools listing is divided into close to 25 categories. As I am in the process of moving to this website, I'm checking links and presenting each category on a different day. The first posting will be on collaboration tools. I've kept this list to only 36 because a. I don't want to overwhelm you; b. A lot of them are pretty much the same. Next post: Collecting Information

30 Boxes- online collaborative calendar

The Awesome Highlighter- highlight text on webpages for sharing

Bounce- screen capture a page and share parts with others

Bubbl.us- brainstorm with the colleagues; create mindmaps

Cacoo- create online diagrams in real time with many collaborators

CoSketch- online whiteboard; visualize and share your thoughts as images

Crocodoc- share and review documents online

Dabbleboard- online whiteboard for collaboration; free and $$ plans

Doodle- schedule events, meetings or study groups.

Fill Any PDF- upload your pdf and share the form and the data

Flockdraw- collaborative drawing online

GoogleDocs- work with others on documents; each person is given a color so you can see who is adding what to your document

IDroo- online educational multiuser whiteboard; download needed (free for non-commercial use)

JoinMe-share computer screens with your colleague; requires program download

Layers.com-convert your website or blog into a meeting spot for you and your collaborators

Meetifyr-online shared calendar

Meet With Approval- arrange a meeting and access from any Internet device

ProBoards- free forums and discussion boards

Project2Manage- "online project management application that helps you stay up-to-date, on task and connected with your team."

Protonotes- "notes that you add to your prototype that allow project team members to discuss system functionality, design, and requirements directly on the prototype."

Reddynote- plan and share tasks

Scribblar- real-time image and drawing collaboration

SocialWok-exchange ideas, Google Apps and files with colleagues

Spiderscribe- brainstorm by connecting files, text notes, documents, images, events

Stixy-online bulletin board

Ta-da Lists- "web's easiest to-do list

Teachers Connecting- "A place for K-12 teachers to find other teachers for cross-classroom collaboration."

Thinklinkr- "web's first ever real-time, fully collaborative outliner. Create and share outlines in your web browser for free."

Titanpad- allows people to work on the same document simultaneously

Tokbox- chat with up to 20 people at the same time for free

Twiddla- web-based meeting place

Voicethread- collaborate and share ideas with other classrooms around the world

Vokle-host your show or live event online

Voo2do- to-do list which "checks priority, due date and time estimates for each task".

Voxopop- create an online message board (can be private) with real voices.

Vyew-real time visual collaboration

Friday, October 28, 2011

12 Ways to Create Quizzes and Tests for Free

With budgets being cut left and right, teachers are trying to find ways to administer quizzes and tests without exceeding their copy limit at school. (A ream of paper for the entire year??) I'll admit that it's hard to find a lot of truly "free" programs online which offer grading and statistics. My list also includes a survey app which can also be used for small quizzes. (20 question limit with free account)

If you have any suggestions, please share them.

Easy TestMaker - create multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching, short answer and true and false questions all on the same test
eQuizzer-web-based quizzing program
FreeOnlineSurveys- create a test with up to 20 questions
GoogleDocs- here is a sample test
Create a Quiz Using Google Forms- from Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers

How to Create a Quiz with Excel
MasterTest- create online tests as well as download and take the test without connecting to the Internet
QuizStar -Manage classes and quizzes, attach multimedia files to questions, make quizzes in multiple languages
ProProfs Quizmaker- Create tests & exams. Distribute securely with automatic grading & reporting.
Testmoz- Generate automatically graded online tests with 4 questions types
That Quiz- find math, science vocabulary and geography quizzes;you receive complete test results including all grades and wrong answers.
Wondershare Quizcreator Free- download required
Zoho Challenge- 100 test papers/month, tests are always public, 1 question bank

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

All About Podcasting: 82 Sites Which Will Show You Everything You Need to Know

ABOUT PODCASTING
Apple in Education Podcast Guide
Beginner's Guide to Podcast Creation
How Podcasting Works- from How Stuff Works

How to Create Your Own Podcast- step-by-step tutorial
How to Podcast- Audacity tutorials

Making a Podcast- using iTunes to create a podcast

Podcasting- explained by K12 Handhelds
Podcasting Basics- from Teaching Today

Podcasting in the Classroom- includes guide, iPods in education, a large list of resources for creating podcasts in the classroom and more

Podcasting Legal Guide- from Creative Commons
Podcasting: Tips for Teachers
Podcasting Tools- instructions on how to produce a podcast

Poducate Me- "HowTto" guide is downloadable as a pdf

Sample Video Podcasts- from HS science teacher
Ten Ways to Use the iTunes/Podcast in the Classroom - from Michael Zimmer's Pursuit of Technology Integration blog
Top 40 Podcasts for Teachers

PODCASTING TOOLS
Audacity- free cross-platform sound editor

Blubrry- podcast community and directory; hosting
Evoca- create and share digital voice recordings
Gabcast- record and post to your blog or website

MyPodcast.com- free podcast hosting and directory
PodBean-"407,908 PODCASTERS, 1,880,627 EPISODES, 178,593,437 DOWNLOADS AS OF TODAY."
Podomatic- create or listen to podcasts

Power Sound Editor Free

WavePad Audio Editing Software- for Macs

Wavosaur Free Audio Editor

ART AND MUSIC
Art History- produced by LearnOutLoud, this podcast is narrated by Antonia Bath. Each podcast is about 2-6 minutes long.
Museum Podcasts- Smithsonian American Art Museum
National Gallery of Art Podcasts
Pandora Podcast Series

BOOKS
Barnes and Noble Studio- video podcasts with writers
Book Lust- Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl interviews writers
Book Review- The New York Times
Books Available as Podcasts
Bookworm- showcases writers of fiction and poetry
Fireside Book Chat-"books for teens; reviews by teens"
Librivox- books in the public domain; very extensive list includes Shakespeare, Dickens, Aesop and Verne
The NewYork Review of Books
NPR Books
The Penguin Podcast-Penguin Books
Podiobooks-from fantasy to fiction, this site has loads of FREE books you can listen to in your spare time
Science Fiction Book Review Podcast
Slate's Audio Book Club

LANGUAGE ARTS
Booktalks- new and old books are covered here, as hosted by media specialist Nancy Keane
Grammar Girl's Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Writing- tips are 5-10 minutes; most topics are requested by listeners
Podcasting in Language Arts- ideas for the classroom
Podcasts in Language Arts
ShakespeareCast- the complete works of William Shakespeare, performed by the Los Medanos College, Antioch Classical Theatre Company and Antioch High School.
What Should You Teach Your Students About Communicating Digitally?

MATH
Chisholm Math Minutes- podcasts from 8th grade teacher Mrs. Penner
Classroom Professor Math Podcast- sample podcast: Math in the Cemetery, Where is Zero on Earth?
Dan's Math Cast-for high school juniors and seniors, this podcast is produced by math professor Dan Bach; well done!
How to Integrate Podcasting into Science and Math Classes
Math Podcasts- 6th grade student podcasts
Technology in the Math Classroom
Using Podcast to Teach Math

PODCAST DIRECTORIES
Digital Podcast- around 40 categories

The Education Podcast Network- K-12 with 15 categories

Find Education Podcasts- list covers professional development podcasts, education podcasts

Podcast.com- podcasts from CNN, Grammar Girl, The Public Speaker, Yale University, Edutopia and much more
Podcast Alley

PodcastDirectory.com

PodcastDirectory.org
PodFeed- 19,000 podcasts

SCIENCE
Discovery Network Podcasts- you'll find Science Channel Video, Animal Planet Presents and Discovery Channel Video
Hidden Universe- episodes are 5 minutes long and transcripts are available; this podcast is presented by the Spitzer Space Telescope
How to Integrate Podcasting into Science and Math Classes
Ideas for Podcasting in the Classroom
NASA Podcasts- for 9-12th graders
Podcasting in the Middle School Science Classroom
The Wild Classroom- biology podcasts

SOCIAL STUDIES
Autobiography of Theodore Roosevelt- 15 chapters
Colonial Williamsburg
Medieval Studies
Mr. Carmichael's Social Studies Podcasts- covers American history, world geography and world history
Podcast Central: Social Studies- for middle school teachers
Room 613 Talk- 6th grade social studies class
Social Studies Podcasts- includes Free Speech vs Privacy, Digitizing History
Using "Easy" Podcasting in the Social Studies Curriculum

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Sparknotes Videos Illustrate the Classics

While assisting a teacher yesterday with videos to explain Lord of the Flies, I came across Sparknotes videos. I knew that Sparknotes offered study guides in 19 subject areas, with detailed information from biology to U.S. government and politics, but was also pleasantly surprised that they also have videos which look like the drawings in graphic novels. (Kids love those graphic novels!) With a listing of 26 videos, language arts teachers can find the classics which all students have to read at one time or another, including Of Mice and Men, Catcher in the Rye, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, The Scarlet Letter, 1984, Hamlet, King Lear and Julius Caesar. Here is a sample video of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness:

Monday, October 17, 2011

Library of Congress Has So Much to Offer Teachers!

A few summers ago, I took a wonderful course called Teaching Information Literacy Using Primary Sources.Using The Library of Congress' American Memory Collection, I was exposed to an incredible amount of information, including photos, maps, journals, audio tapes and videos. The name of the course has recently changed, but the content seems to be the same and is still taught by Mary Alice Anderson. Check here if you are interested. This digital collection is constantly evolving, as new items are added all the time. The Library of Congress even has its own YouTube channel.

The teachers' section is filled with classroom materials, (lesson plans, themed resources) professional development, (online modules and more) a section on additional resources, ( slide shows from past LOC events, historic American newspapers, American Memory Timeline and more!) a blog entitled Teaching With the Library of Congress and so much more.

If you haven't checked out the Library of Congress yet, you must find time to explore this amazing resource!!

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