background preloader

Five Free Web 2.0 Tools to Support Lesson Planning

Five Free Web 2.0 Tools to Support Lesson Planning
"Teachers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum instead of viewing it as an add-on, an afterthought or an event." -- Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Educational Consultant, Curriculum Designers, Inc. Web 2.0 tools are online software programs that allow users to do a number of different things. They can be used to teach curriculum content, store data, create or edit video, edit photos, collaborate and so much more. The question then becomes: are educators prepared to use these tools? Embracing the use of Web 2.0 tools in lesson planning may still be new to many educators. As we talk about Web 2.0 tools, here's one point I want to stress. With so many free tools available on the web today, how do we decide which will be the best fit for our use? 1. If you've not heard of Pinterest, what rock have you been hiding under? Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. 2. Edcanvas is a fairly new free Web 2.0 tool. 3. 4. 5.

Coursesales.com - Review, Pricing, Features, Comparison, Demo & Trial Key Features of Coursesales.com Provides several alternative ways for users of your websiteHandles course listings across multiple regionsAllows courses to be priced in any currencyIntegrates with online payment providers Paperless processing of enquiries and registrationsFlexible workflow for your back officeRole based security and authorisation Overview of Coursesales.com Course Sales is terrific new software which makes the business of selling training (including online sales) and managing a training company easier, more efficient and cheaper. Read full description for Coursesales.com ↓ One place to manage your courses and delegates Course Sales provides an event and training course sales and administration platform aimed at organisations which deliver anywhere between thirty and several hundred training courses or events each year. * A wide variety of courses * Many delivery locations, even many different countries and currencies * Many office locations, or a virtual workforce Benefits

Two Great Blooms Taxonomy Posters for Teachers Blooms Taxonomy is another topical theme I keep writing about here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning whenever I stumble upon a new resource. I love this taxonomy and I always insist on its importance in learning , particularly in organizing the teaching content in such a way to enhance and promote those higher order thinking skills we all our students to develop. Use it like a roadmap to guide you through the different areas of your lesson planning. If you are a new teacher and need to learn more about this taxonomy I recommend you read this guide first. "I want to show teachers that just because these activities help students practice basic skills and remember and understand, there are SO many more options that will reach the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy! Click on the image to enlarge it

Problem Solving with Design Thinking with Mary Cantwell "Think of today as a prototype. What would you change?" Tim Brown Session Description: Join us for a conversation about design thinking, a holistic approach to problem-solving. Design Thinking | Could this be (the only) authentic 21st century pedagogy? Design Thinking is a process for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that looks for an improved future result. To Get Started: Read What is Design Thinking? Encouraging Empathy Then... Additional Ways to Deepen Your Understanding of Design Thinking Videos: Articles + Books: Design Thinking Schools / Programs / Initiatives: Purely for Fun (Yet Very Useful)

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning: The 22 Digital Skills Every 21st Century Teacher Must Have One of the most popular articles I have written in this blog was about the 33 Digital Skills Every 21st Teacher should Have. This post has been used in several digital literacy courses in some universities in the States and also here in Canada, I also got it published in a couple of printed journals . Now that one year has elapsed since its first seeing the light I decided to revisit it again but this time adding more updates and organizing its content in a better and easy navigable way. The skills I have mentioned here are essential to every teacher ( and student ) using technology in class, at home , or for professional development purposes. Please this is a work I have spent a lot of time and efforts on and I am so glad to share it with you but I also deserve to have due credit whenever you use it somewhere else. Create and Edit Audio Here are some tools for teachers to develop this skill : Use Social bookmarking to share resources with and between learners Scoop.it

10 Qualities of an Effective Community Manager As more companies and more industries buy into the benefits of social media and community development, the number of job opportunities available for professionals with community-building skills also continue to grow. Companies are looking for professionals who can blend their skills to effectively deliver updates to a community, but also have the ability to tap into that community to collect feedback for a company to use for improving its product or delivering its message. While the job opportunities grow, so to do the number of professionals who include community skills on their resumes and profiles. On LinkedIn alone, the number of people who have added "Community Management" to their skills list is up 46% year-over-year. But being a quality community manager goes beyond having the knowledge and background to use social media networks. 1. It's no surprise that the person who is acting as a representative of the brand should have strong people skills. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

iPad in the Elementary Music Classroom | iPad and Technology in Music Education I have two iPads now that I am using in my teaching. One of which I have started letting my 1st graders use on a daily basis. We are working on reading rhythms so that we can play the drums in our spring concert the end of April. So I loaded up RhythmCat Lite and we have been having a blast! In fact they like it so much that I bought the RhythmCatPro version. Another app we have been using is FlashNote Derby. I’ve included a video to show you how the FlashNote app captures the students attention at the end of the blog post here. I do have to say that I’ve also had to figure out a way in which to keep track of who has taken their turn on the iPad – This is a HUGE deal with 1st graders! The 1st graders are doing great with these rhythms in RhythmCat that include Whole notes, half notes and quarter notes. Like this: Like Loading...

Technology Integration Research Review Editor's Note: This article was originally written by Vanessa Vega, with subsequent updates made by the Edutopia staff. Technology integration can be one of the most challenging topics to find quality research on. The term itself is a broad umbrella for numerous practices that may have little in common with each other. In addition, technology tools change rapidly, and outcomes can vary depending on implementation. Edutopia's tech integration review explores some of the vast body of research out there and helps you navigate useful results. In this series of five articles, learn about three key elements of successful technology integration, discover some of the possible learning outcomes, get our recommendations on specific practices and programs by academic subject and promising tools for additional topics, find tips for avoiding pitfalls when adopting new technologies, and dig into a comprehensive annotated bibliography with links to all the studies and reports cited in these pages.

Just ASK Publications and Professional Development - Just for the ASKing! January 2013 Volume X Issue I Just for the ASKing! is a monthly e-newsletter that addresses the needs of all those who strive to be instructional leaders. This month's issue is the second in a periodic series on the use of technology as a teaching and learning tool. It features recommendations from educators who are seeing the impact of technology on student achievement. The use of technology continues to take a front row seat in schools and districts across the country. A number of technology enthusiasts graciously agreed to provide insights into their work. What technological tools and applicationshave you used or seen used that have made the greatest impacton student learning in rigorous and relevant ways? RM Pellant, Principal of the International School of Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, writes that “Without a doubt, web 2.0 apps and cloud storage have had the greatest impact on me as an educator, integrator, and administrator.”

Outthink Inc. believes learning should be fun Most of us who pursued careers in publishing did so because reading, in some way, impacted us as kids. But kids today live in a vastly changed world, and tablets have now taken over. One in four adults owns a tablet. On Christmas Day this year, 51% of mobile activations were for tablets, not phones. Despite a long career fueled by digital evolution, and ownership of multiple eReaders, mobile phones, and tablets along the way, I almost exclusively purchase print books for my kids. Technology took each of my daughters from ABCs to a second-grade reading level when they were four years old, opening a world of knowledge so vast and empowering that I find myself telling every preschool parent I meet. But it’s harder to justify extended iPad time for my eight-year-old. That’s where publishers come in. Educational publishers are poised to take this on. What if we could bring all that knowledge to bear with purpose?

Related: