Mouse Party Looks Inside the Brains of Mice

If you teach Psychology or Science, this site will amaze your students. Produced by the University of Utah's Genetic Science Learning Center, Mouse Party is an interactive lesson which shows the effects of drugs on mice. Here's how it works: students choose one of seven mice to be analyzed and then zoom in on the brain to see how it is affected by the particular drug the mouse is on. The visual presentation is simple and easy to understand. There is also a link on this page for Meth Mouse, a 3D presentation requiring download and installation of Unity Web Player. Here's an overview of Mouse Party:

Make Your Own Shelf Markers!

If you have ever purchased shelf markers from one of the popular library vendors, you will agree that they are expensive and easily breakable. Did you ever think that making them yourself  (or letting the kids make them) would save lots of money? Take a look below and see if your library could use its own set of shelf markers. I have also included a video and PPT you can show young students.

Handy Library Sticks


Shelf Markers and Duct Tape- looks like a chocolate bar!

Shelf Markers From Paint Stirrers- love this idea!

Using Shelf Markers- PowerPoint for elementary school students

Subscribe to this blog in a reader
Follow me on Twitter

Teaching Tolerance to Our Students

I first heard about The Southern Poverty Law Center from my aunt. She told me all the things they were doing to rid the world of hate and injustice. Civil rights lawyers Morris Dees and Joseph Levin Jr. founded SPLC in 1971 and the organization is known globally for "tracking and exposing the activities of hate groups."  SPLC's project, Teaching Tolerance, offers free magazine subscriptions to teachers, as well as free film kits, which include DVDs (and accompanying teacher's guide) about bullying, the Holocaust, the March in Birmingham and Cesar Chavez. Under their section on classroom resources, Teaching Tolerance has a nice listing of lesson plans for all ages.With free publications to download, Teaching Tolerance is a website that is a wonderful resource for the classroom.

Feedly Can Easily Replace Google Reader

When I learned yesterday about Google Reader closing in July, I looked into alternatives. As a visual learner, I have to say I love Feedly.. Switching was a snap, as I imported all my RSS feeds into Feedly with a few clicks. There is a mobile app for Android and iPhone and Kindle, and they have a blog, which currently has instructions for your migration. Here is a sample screenshot of what you will see when you log into your new account:

LEGOs in the Classroom? You Bet!

There was a time when LEGOs were only used for playtime. But there are so many things beyond play, including lessons for math, science, engineering and technology. (STEM) Here are 16 websites with great information on using LEGOs in the classroom.


20 Ways Teachers are Using Legos in the Classroom- a nice post from Edudemic

Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy- guide to assist teachers in starting a robotics program

How Do You Store Your LEGOs?- see how other teachers keep their LEGOs in the classroom

How to Use LEGOs to Teach Pre-K To Third Grade- from eHow

LEGO Block Center- lesson plan about homes and community helpers

LEGO City Comic Builder- students can create comics using Lego elements

LEGO Education- lesson ideas form PreK through College; homeschooling included

LEGO and Education: Make a Lapbook- page also has other projects

LEGO Engineering- supporting STEM

LEGO Lesson Plans for Math and Science

LEGO Space- activities

Mathematics and LEGOs: Math Teaching Activities- PDF covers grades 1-10

Pre-LEGO Activities-presentations for middle school from Texas Tech University


STEMRobotics 101- class from Portland State has lessons which can be used in middle and high school

Using LEGO to Build Math Concepts- from Scholastic

Have Your Students Tried Visual Note-Taking?

I am a very visual person, which is why I love using infographics in the classroom. Did you ever notice how your students take notes in your class? Here's a great video which discusses the art of visual note-taking. Thanks to Joyce Valenza for sharing on Twitter.

9 Free Programs Your Students Should Be Using Right Now

Audacity

Multilingual audio editor and recorder for many operating systems. Record live audio, convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs; Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files, cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together, change the speed or pitch of a recording and much more.

Cam Scanner for iPhone 
Cam Scanner for Android
Students can scan through their smartphone! If they need a copy of a handout, worksheet, or need to email homework, they simply scan and email. (File can be pdf or jpeg)

EasyBib (also app for iPhones and Androids)
Free bibliography maker offers ALA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian formats; cite from 59 different sources. Download MLA 7 Guide, MLA Parenthetical Citations Guide, and much more, including online research guide assistance, step by step.

 Evernote (also app for iPhones, iPads, Blackberry and Androids,)
One of my personal favorites, Evernote allows you to collect web snippets, pages, images photos etc. all on their server and syncs with your computer, smartphone or iPad. The web clipper extension in Chrome allows you to take all or part of a site. The computer version (download Evernote at home) adds the function of voice memos. Evernote Trunk offers many apps which directly work with Evernote.

 Google Drive
Everyone should have a Gmail account. No other email offers as much as Google does, and here's why: Google Drive allows you to upload files and folders, create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms and drawings and download them in many different formats. If the teacher asks for a PDF file, Google can convert the file. Need a file in MS Word format? DOCX is available. Your students can collaborate on projects even if they are not in the same location. Doing a survey? Google Forms will present results through a Gmail account. Totally awesome, period.

Jing
Jing allows you to take screenshots or record screencasts. (up to 5 minutes) Not bad for short videos, right? (The pro version costs $9.95/month.)

Pixton
Students can create their own comic strips using the click and drag method. 

Skitch (use with Evernote) Android app,  iPhone app
"Annotate images with arrows, shapes, text, and more. Use Skitch to sketch something new, mark up maps, screen captures, or even a photo. Then save or share your Skitch annotation to help others see and understand your ideas."

Zamzar
Students can convert files without downloading any software. Zamzar currently supports a huge number, including documents, images, music, video, e-Book and compressed files.