Friday, August 27, 2010

5 Techy things


Welcome to the 2010-2011 School Year!


If you have set a goal of trying something new in your classroom this year- Here are 5 Techy Things that you might want to think about.

1. Create a Blog-Everyone has something to say-Blogs can serve many purposes. You can use a blog to communicate information to parents and students, create a running journal of classroom activities and lessons throughout the year, or share information with colleagues-Writing is cathartic-Right?! My favorite sites for blogging are: Blogger and Edublogs. Both are very easy to start as they don't require any technical knowledge on your part.

2. Build a web page/site-For those of you @ PSHS- We have several tools available via our network of programs. Additionally, there are many free website creation and hosting services available on the web-take a look at Weebly and Yola.

3. Create Videos-Video is a powerful form of communication. Not too long ago classroom video projects required expensive editing software and video equipment. This is no longer the case. The flip video camera(we have a classroom set @ PSHS) allows for quick and easy videotaping. Web based programs allow for simple creation and editing. My favorite web-based video creation service is Animoto - It is simple, a lot of fun to use and the results are great.

4. Get Your Students Searching More Than Just Google-this one is included for my comrade Lil. Data bases and online tools are available here @PSHS(sorry to our readers in other places)-find out what is available and USE LIL (this is the last year to do so-She's retiring-LUCKY DOG)-the references she is able to find are amazing.


5. Get interactive-Try the interactivity of a SMARTboard or an AirSlate. Having students engaged in learning is every teacher's goal-Putting the learning in students' hands is possible with either of these pieces of hardware. Ask about them and get engaged.

There you have it- Your goals for the year- Never stop learning.