inspire... be inspired...

Here's how this is going to work. I want to showcase how YOU are harnessing the power of technology in instruction. It's simple: you do something cool (no matter how big or small) with technology, I post it to this blog, and *POW* conversations are started, we are learning from each other, sharing ideas, and ultimately really innovative things come from that little bit of inspiration.

Please let me know about anything you think is worth sharing. Inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes, wether it be a tip or trick, something you did with iPads, a really neat technology infused lesson, a website, etc.... 

Challenge: I created this inspiration cycle using the app, Doodle Buddy (which is on the iPads in the cart). How can you use this app in the classroom?

Lessons Learned From Gaming

There has been a lot of buzz recently about gaming in education, but I haven't paid that much attention to be honest. This article, however, focuses less on the act of playing video games, but rater what we can learn from gaming and how we can take these ideas and apply them in our classrooms. Fun Failure: How to Make Learning Irresistible suggests 4 principles that can be applied to education:

1. Don't shoot the player while she's learning.
2. Learning is social.
3. A strong sense of community creates safety.
4. Learning that empowers the learner makes it irresistible.

How can you do (or what do you do already) to make learning irresistible?!

How do you engage your students?

It's not the beginning of the school year, and none of us teach honors physics (thank goodness because that was my demise in high school!), but the ideas and strategies presented in this post are applicable to all. This is a great article that makes you really think about and assess the ways we connect and engage our students. Our students live in a connected world, so how can we meet them where they live in this digital landscape?

Base Ten Blocks

Base Ten is a wonderful virtual manipulative to use on your interactive white board (IWB). It is quite simple: you are given a number to make and then you have to drag the appropriate blocks to the yellow mat to represent this number. Once you have correctly represented the target number, you will be given a new one. You can choose to use 1, 10, or 100 blocks by clicking on the buttons on the left.

Dr. Seuss Band App

Just in time for Read Across America Day: I have downloaded a very Seussical app on the iPad cart— Dr. Seuss Band! Watch this short clip to see the app in action (it reminds me of Rock Band). As always, let me know if you'd like to use this as part of your celebration on Friday!

Math Drills: Now on the iPad Cart!

Today has been momentous: the first paid app has been added to the iPads in the cart! I won't bore you with the details, but after a multitude of hair-pulling trials and tribulations, I have experienced the sweet sweet taste of success! Bottom line: we now have the Math Drills app on the iPads.

So what is this app, you ask? Check out this wonderful review from This Week in Ed Tech.

Oh, and props to the first teacher who asks about using this app with students...!

Hooray for Dr. Seuss!

Ineractives & Resources to Celebrate (and help you plan) Read Across America Day on Friday, March 2:

Seussville— the official home of Dr. Seuss on the Web. All of the Dr. Seuss books leap to life through interactive games

and activities that will enrich each child’s reading experience. A wonderful site that captures the spirit of Dr. Seuss-- 2nd graders couldn't get enough last week! Resources specific to Read Across America Day can be found here.

America's Biggest Storytime with Tim Tebow-- this admirable QB read and recorded Green Eggs and Ham, which you can view using this link. It's pretty fun with animations and all (there are also a handful of activities to go with it). Additionally, if you watch his interview, you learn that this book helped him overcome his struggles with dyslexia, which could be powerful to share with students.

NEA Resources & Ideas

Read Write Think Celebrates Dr. Seuss

Reading Rocket Brings Seuss in the Classroom

The Lorax Official Movie Website

Cookie- Fun Learning Games & Interactives

Cookie is a goldmine for fun learning games that target just about every subject. This site offers a wide variety of games, puzzles, lesson plans, worksheets, and other interactives. Seriously, this is a must check-out website for teachers of pre-k through 2nd grade. If you scroll down to the bottom of the homepage you will see the included subjects:

Math

graphs

months

money

adding

counting

subtraction

graphing

fractions

shapes

measurement

patterns

time

days

Language

phonics

spelling

words

short vowels

simple sentences

sight words

alphabet

letters

vowels

compound words

describing words

adjectives

opposites

phonics

verbs

sequencing

rhyme

short vowels

Puzzles (a sampling)

crosswords

united states map

sudoku

Various Fun Games

Science:

food chain

seasons

solar system

five sense

water cycle

plants

human body

hygiene

body parts

life cycle

Classroom Applications: Great to use on the Promethean Board with the whole class or as a center with the iPads.

Quotes to Inspire

What I'm digging right now...

Education & Technology Quotes
View more presentations from Tony Vincent

My personal favorite is:

The need to know the capital of Florida died when my phone learned the answer. Rather, the students of tomorrow need to be able to think creatively: they will need to learn on their own, adapt to new challenges and innovate on-the-fly.

I could not have said it better myself-- well done Anthony Chivetta! Take a look at his publication, 21st Century Education: Thinking Creatively. It's a wonderful synthesis of the "many of the ideas that are floating around in online education discussions," as the author puts it.