It's Thursday, and yes, you are welcome for the reminder! Here is a great discovery- The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book by Terry Freedman. Read all about it and download the book here at Paul Hamilton's blog.
Paul writes, " The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book is a collection of 87 projects that have used Web 2.0 tools to facilitate learning in classrooms around the world. The book offers concrete examples of some highly effective ways that teachers are using blogs, microblogs, wikis, podcasts, video conferencing (Skype), Animoto, VoiceThread, Voki, Google Maps, Google Docs, and numerous other Web 2.0 resources."
I'm sold, how about you?
Have a great day!! 
Happy St. Patty's Day to all! Here is the History.com St. Patrick Day's Page. Find 10 videos about the holiday plus other links and information. (Mostly middle-high school level)
http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day
And for your littlest leprechauns, check out this page filled with activities for the primary grades. http://holidays.kaboose.com/saint-patricks-day/
Hello Everyone! I know it's a day late, but here is a cool video that describes Daylight Savings Time. Watch it with your students to engage them in an interesting debate.
http://www.cbs.com/thunder/player/thunder.php?pid=hYbTBhKVW_ChXTYI0n_gHDt_aFMff_Gn
Hello Thursday and greetings from Columbus, Ohio. Yes, I am at another PD - this time on Math Coaching. Yay! Anyway, I'm sitting here waiting for it to start, so what better time to blog!
Here is a really cool tool for teachers... Don't you hate when you have students visit multiple sites and have emto waste time putting in those URL's?? Here's a solution - fur.ly (www.fur.ly.com) It will take multiple URL's then shorten them into one. So, students only have to type in one URL and can still go to all the sites you want them to. It sort of bookmarks them for you. Such a timesaver!
Hey, have a great day, I know I will.. 
Don't you hate memorization?? I can recall years of trying to remember all my math facts, state capitols and even the names of all the human bones. Well, if you have to memorize something, why not use a flashcard that predicts when you'll forget and keeps you on track?
Introducting.... Headmagnet (www.headmagnet.com). Create flash cards for free and it will tell you what's going on in your head, well kind of... through interactive charts it "predicts" how long you can keep info in your memory. Try it out, because you never know when you might land that spot on Jeopardy and need to know the Capitol of North Dakota! (Bismark, I think?!)
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I'm a mom of a 3 year old and he LOVES to be on the computer as much as his mommy. I am always looking for sites that we can do together to really start working on his reading skills. This is one of them- The Literacy Center http://www.literacycenter.net/.
Students can practice letter recognition, writing words, spelling words, and even reading. Plus, there are worksheets that you can print for extra practice (or in case you lack a computer for your students). The Literacy activities are available in four languages too - English, Spanish, French and Dutch! My son is partial to Spanish - thanks to Diego and Dora!
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I had a chance to meet Tammy Worcester this past weekend at a conference. Let me just say, that woman is full of great tech ideas for the classroom. She has authored over 10 books and has a blog that everyone should bookmark. http://www.tammyworcester.com/Tips/Tammys_Technology_Tips_for_Teachers.html. Her site includes tips of the week, ideas, training handouts and internet resources.
Check it out, and if you are on Plurk, she is too, so look her up!
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It seems the more and more I talk to teachers, review standardized test scores and talk to students, the reason math is so difficult isn't the math itself, but rather the VOCABULARY. Are we paying attention to math vocabulary and teaching it, or are we just throwing out book definitions? If students don't understand the words on the test, how can they be expected to do well?
Here's a solution... a VISUAL Math word wall. Check it out - http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/STUDENTSUPPORT/ese/PDF/MathWordWall.pdf
It was developed by Michelle S. Weiner from Broward County Schools in Florida. A 5th grade math teacher shared it with me and I have been talking it up ever since. It's a PDF file that you can print out, laminate and post. Just a great tool for helping students pass standardized math tests.
~ Happy Friday! 
If you are like many educators who simply never have the supplies you need, this site is for you. A donation site called I Love Schools (www.iloveschools.com) has emerged! Educators register for free and list what they are in need of. Donors then visit the page and select who they will donate to.
There is no guarentee that you will be chosen, but if you were to get the word out in your district, town and community,it's a great way for people to make a difference in your schools. Talk it up at PTO meetings, city hall meetings, school newsletters and emails. Even post a link on your school website. What a great idea!
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Hello All!
So yesterday I'm sitting at the OHIO STEM Conference in Columbus, Ohio and came across this great site while "surfing" and notetaking of course! It's called Books Should Be Free. www.booksshouldbefree.com
Its a database of free downloadable audio books. There's a search box, a link for the top 100 books and more. Who knows, maybe even one you've been meaning to read is there too!
If you are looking for a way for students to use their iPods in your classroom, have them download a book and listen. What a great way to work on listening skills! There are lots of genres to pick from and a nice selection of books. Best of all, they are free. I'm downloading one today to listen to during my daily 30 minute commute.
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Hello Monday! Here's something cool to start out your week. The Awesome Highlighter!
Here's what you can do from any webpage:
Show others the important part of an article
Reduce confusion about a sent link
Save time for the reader
Save the parts of the pages you find interesting
Check it out here http://www.awesomehighlighter.com/
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Hey it's Friday, have some fun! This quiz supposedly measures where you fit regarding tech usage amongst baby boomers, gen x or millennials. My score was 66... pretty good for being from Gen X, and fairly close to being a Millennial. I'll just call myself an "old Millennial".
Have fun with the quiz and have a great weekend!
Here's the link http://pewresearch.org/millennials/quiz/
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I came across this through my Twitter account. I follow the Ohio Resource Center (and if you teach in Ohio, you should too) and they posted this link to another one of those "really makes you think" videos. This one is worth your time, trust me. It would be a great one to share with teachers if you are an Administrator. I am forwarding it to my supervisor pronto! I may even use it tomorrow at a training for teachers..
Here's the video ---> Pay Attention
~ Enjoy!
So if you are like a lot of teachers, you are pretty familiar with the work of Dr. Robert Marzano and his 9 essential teaching strategies. If you are not, visit his site http://www.marzanoresearch.com/site/. There are some good free resources there.
Anyway, getting back to my original thought... I came across this site yesterday and thought it had a nice list of web 2.0 tools that correlate with Marzano's Essential 9. Our district is immersed in this, and I just posted this on our own site, but I thought I'd share with you. http://web2thatworks.com/index.php?title=Web_2.0_Tools
Tuesday. Well at least it's not Monday!
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It's Monday. For some, it's the busiest day of the week, for others, we kind of meander our way through the day. Well, if you have a bit of time today, try out this neat tool - Weblist (www.weblist.com). Here you can organize your favorite pages visually and quickly flip through them.
A great visual tool for students with reading difficulties! Try it out (when you have some time).
Have a great day!
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