Came across this video created by Break Originals while checking out Jeff Thomas's Tech the Plunge blog. As an English teacher who (ahem ;-) grew up in the 80's, I really liked its play on the Stevie Wonder love ballad classic I just called to say I love you. It's a great example of the use of irony and could also be used in units exploring the impact of social media and technology.Check it out for yourself and let me know how you might use it in your English/Language Arts classroom!
1. How the Internet is changing the way we learn.... More than 90% of teachers believe digital content can engage students more fully in learning, according to recent research published this week in The Atlantic.com. Read more about the impact of the Internet on learning at the magazine's online site HERE. 2. Screencasting Apps for the iPad... I always enjoy Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano's detailed posts on integrating ICT into the classroom. Read her latest post HERE. 3. 35 Best Web 2.0 Tool for the Classroom ... Brainstorming, presentations, social media, audio and video tools .... just some of the possibilities in this list of web-available apps. Check out the full list HERE. The list includes some of my personal favourites including: - Weebly (the web creation and hosting site I use to publish ReadWrite LearnWell).
- Slideshare - great for posting your slide presentations online. You'll find my Slideshare page HERE.
- Google Docs - Ditch the USB drive and upload your necessary files to Google Docs. I now rely on this 'cloud-based' service everyday.
- Diigo - my favourite social bookmarking site. Again, useful for teachers who want to access bookmarked sites they've found at home, but want to access at school.
- Wordle - I use this when teaching poetry, but there are lots of other creative possibilities. Check out an example of a Wordle image I created HERE.
- ReadWriteThink - This is an AWESOME site for English/Language Arts teachers, if you have not already discovered it. Parents and home schoolers will also find ReadWriteThink useful.
- Crocodoc - Upload documents and PDFs, annotate them and share them.
This morning I woke up to find the world had gotten smaller. No, there hadn't been some kind of astronomical event (which I would likely have missed anyway ;-). No, I've simply begun to use Twitter. I'm a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to tweets and retweets. In fact, I'm fairly new to the entire vocabulary and culture of the Twittersphere and how it can be a great space for teachers to share resources and ideas. I'd avoided Twitter before because I saw it as a gi-normous time waster, kinda akin to reading the tabloid magazines at the doctors/hairdressers - but more copious in useless information. But, thanks to educational consultant and edu-blogger, Shelley Terrell, who introduced me to other educators across the globe, I am now on my way to building my own Personal Learning Network, and seeing for myself the advantages of using this web tool as a teacher.And, this morning I woke to find teachers from the United States, Canada, Britain, Singapore, Europe and Australia who were happy to 'follow' me on Twitter, and, more importantly answer questions, share resources and ideas, and generally form a professional/social network of people to help me teach more effectively.WOW!I was completely overwhelmed by the generosity of spirit of all of these people, and I'm looking forward to an online bouncing off of ideas and shared resources. Not to mention getting my head around the associated vocabulary, culture and etiquette.
Richard Byrne, creator of one of the most useful websites for teachers, Free Technology For Teachers, has some excellent slide presentations on his website for teachers who are also interested in dipping their toes into the Twitter sea. Follow the 'Read More' link to see them for yourself.
I try and keep up with my digital reading by using Google Reader. I use it to read the varied subscriptions I have to blogs and other online content in an organised, linear fashion. I find Google Reader handy as a news reader because I also use Gmail for email and Google Docs, and these apps are all accessible from the one central log-in, which works for me. There are, however, other news readers you could use for the same purpose - do a search for 'RSS' or 'news readers'.I thought I'd share with you some of the web finds and blog posts I've enjoyed catching up on over the last week....1. Introducing Google Docs to your classThere would be few schools who have money to spare when it comes to ICT resourcing. English educational consultant and blogger, Tom Barrett, has prepared a slideshow promoting ways for teachers to use the freely available Google Docs in their classes. You can view it HERE. 2. Do YOU use Facebook to spy on YOUR kids?I've never been a particularly visual learner, but OnlineSchools.com often features some really interesting studies as infographics - a visual representation of a topic, with facts gathered from various sources. Check out the stats on How Parents use Facebook to Keep Tabs on their Kids.
 Image: MorgueFile http://mrg.bz/CD8zrN Ah Ha! I knew there was a reason that explained why I suck at Maths. Science now proves it! According to a study by John Hopkins University researchers, published last week, preschoolers who demonstrate a strong 'number sense' appear to be born with an inherent ability to do better at a wide range of mathematical skills. Researchers assessed 200 pre-schoolers. The study focused on this age group wanting a sample not influenced by any prior learning associated with mathematics. However, the study also acknowledged the question of nature versus nurture in this issue. "Still in question, of course, is the root cause of the link between number sense and math ability. Do children born with better number sense have an easier time learning to count and to understand the symbolic nature of numbers? Or, is it just that children born with less accurate number sense may end up avoiding math-related activities before they develop competency?" said John Hopkins post-doctoral fellow, Melissa Libertus. Why I totally sucked at Maths....
 Image: Bill Davenport http://www.sxc.hu/profile/lumix2004 When I first started my teacher training, during one of the very first tutorials my tutor asked each of us new would-be teachers if there was a teacher, or teachers, who had made a difference in our life.
As we went round the room, everybody had a positive memory of one of their teachers, and each one, they credited with influencing their own desire to teach.
That tutorial re-inforced for me the responsibility that went with being somebody regularly present in the lives of young people.
My teachers, particularly my high school teachers, made a huge difference in my life. While I may not remember the stuff of curriculum, I do remember individual teachers teaching me many life lessons that have always stayed with me. For example:
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/12577732@N03/5102903812 I am a gadget girl.
I love my Mac. I love my Kindle. I happily use social media and email to talk with friends and colleagues around the world. I have a mental checklist of all my must-takes whenever I leave the house... phone? Check. iPod? Check? Kindle? You get the idea.... ;-)
I've always been an early-ish adopter of technology. See that photo above? That's what I would have looked like if laptops had been around when I was that young. Same expression on my face and everything. I'm just fascinated by all that technology can achieve, and how it represents the very clever side of mankind.
So, while I no longer fit into the demographic highlighted in the infographic below, I find what it visually represents really interesting - personally and as an educator. I get the close bonds students have with their gadgets, and this connection, I think, is important for teachers to recognise.
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