A class of our 5th graders just participated in a Mystery Skype session with a classroom from Hawaii – thanks to Joanne Jacobs and her students for Skyping with us from the 50th state! It was really cool to sit back and watch the kids in action. What’s a Mystery Skype, you might be wondering?… Continue reading “Do you surf in gym class?” – A classroom’s Mystery Skype experience with Hawaii
Looking to “open the portal” in your classroom and connect with the outside world? It’s easier than you think – I emailed a teacher from Puerto Rico yesterday through Skype Education, and this morning her students connected via Skype with 6th grade Spanish students from my school. At the snap of a finger – it… Continue reading Connect with authors, guest speakers and classrooms – for free!
Movenote may be the simplest online tool ever created for screencasting. The website syncs with your Google account and allows users to record themselves flipping through Google Presentations/Docs/PDFS, all while providing video narration from the webcam. Movenote hosts the finished product and allows the creator to send a direct link or embed the video. The… Continue reading Movenote: Ridiculously simple screencasting tool on the web
Google recently released a beta version of a web application called Tour Builder. It allows users to create tours using Google Earth online, and it’s quite simple yet super powerful. Simply login with your Google account, choose the locations for your interactive tour, and then add pictures, video and text to tell your digital story.… Continue reading Google Tour Builder – A Digital Storytelling Tool
I am an unabashed lover of horror films. So when my wife was asleep at 10:30 and I was rather bored, I fired up my HBO GO and, lo behold, Friday the 13th Part 2 was queued up. Why hello there, Jason Voorhees and Camp Crystal Lake madness! However, about 20 minutes in, I was… Continue reading 2 reasons Friday the 13th Part 2 got me thinking about engagement and Google Apps
I read an article recently called They’re Not Natives, They’re Digital Tourists! – basically the gist is that students aren’t as naturally tech-savvy as we think they are – the myth of the 21st century learner, if you will. The author makes many good points, and I largely agree with her. I see students every… Continue reading 5 Steps to Create Self-Taught Tech Learners in Your Classroom
Wikipedia is the best. It is the world’s go-to source when someone wants to know something. Anything, really. Hey, didn’t I see Dave Matthews on TV in a Where The Red Fern Grows movie? Yep, that was him. And what did the crew working on the movie Jaws name the mechanical shark? Why they called him Bruce, of course,… Continue reading How to use Wikipedia in the classroom
