Monday, June 14, 2010

Glogster

Hi Again,

Thanks to Scott Hansen (CEO Primary E learning Adviser) I have discovered Glogster!
Glogster is a free online application that allows students to create digital posters / collage's. Collages that include images, text, video (self created or you tube), animation and audio (self created or imported)
Great for summarising a unit of work, introducing a new topic or any class activity that requires students to gather information or create information using a variety of data sources. Students could be given a component of a topic and be asked to present their findings using a glog. They can present their glog using the data projectors to the class.

The site is: http://www.glogster.com

I will be using this site during the week and I will let you know how it goes.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

IDEAS PAINT

I was searching the internet today about more ways to create an engaging classroom and I came across this product called IdeaPaint (Goes well with our IDEAS program!). School's are starting to use this paint instead of ordinary paint. It can be applied to anything you can paint – walls, plaster, chalkboard, whiteboard, desks etc. IdeaPaint works with virtually any dry-erase marker and eraser. We can draw on the walls and rub it off ... similar to the splash back.

Maybe department heads may like to invest in this idea when planning next years budget. Very 21st C Learning.

To learn more visit: http://www.ideapaint.com


Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Setting Engaging work - when your sick!

Hi Staff,
The past couples of days I was home sick, so I searched the Internet for some activities my class can do with a relief teacher. I stumbled across a free online crossword puzzle maker (http://www.crosswordpuzzlegames.com) . I gave the students a list of words (relating to the topic) and they had to define each word in order to make the crossword. I gave them 30 min to complete the task. All crosswords needed to be printed in pdf (electronic) and emailed to me for checking. Very easy to use and the students enjoyed the task. When I returned, I gave the students random crosswords to complete and we discussed some definitions. Walla!

The site also has other puzzle games.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Marco Torres - Inservice

Last week I was fortunate enough to attend an inservice hosted by the CEO. Marco Torres was the presenter. Marco is a creative educator who uses the power of technology to tap into the strengths of his students. A point Marco emphasised over and over again was that our teaching should be "relevant, meaningful and applicable." He shared what seemed to be a limitless supply of powerful examples.
Marco posed the challenge of "transforming our school... ask the big questions". Marco's questions include:

One of many great resources marco shared includeMind Mapping web tools. These tools are free and easy for students to share and collaborate with. These online tools will be great for year 9 and 10 who have macs!

Please let me know how you have used these sites in your classroom!