My Voki

Hey-Ho, Hey-Ho, Let's All Go To ChartGo!

Hey-ho, I just spent some time on ChartGo.com and want to share my thoughts about this educational site. On this site you can create a basic chart in a matter of seconds. You choose the settings and then enter data. With the click of a mouse you now have a colorful chart. I liked how easy it is to create a title or label for each part. The introductory video could be enhanced more to help a new user. I had to spend time analyzing what each area represented but once I found my way around the site I think it would be very helpful to students who do not want to spend the time in excel creating a chart that can be duplicated in 1/4 of the time. Check it out when you get some time! Hey-Ho I'm out of here.

CNN Student News Review

Hey, when you get a chance check out http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/. What a cool way to introduce current events and increase student interest in learning what is happening around the world. The site has a 10 minute feature each day for students to view. It is available on a podcast so students can view it anytime after. The site also has tools to help teachers create lessons or current events. Students can sign up to receive emails daily. One really neat feature is where students can report on local news events and send it to CNN for possible additions to air. What a great way to generate interest. Students can sound off about stories and chat. Transcripts and maps are also available. A section is ready for possible careers related to the news site. This is a must for any teacher to consider. Check it out!

The Answer is...JeopardyLabs.com

I flashback to Bill Murray in Groundhog Day joining the bed and breakfast guests as they watch Jeopardy. He answers all questions because of course he has lived it over and over. This website lets you create personalized Jeopardy games. I started to join but it required money and I am a poor college student so I declined. I did check out the already created games and there are many to choose from. I went through some of them and I have to admit I was a little disappointed. Not so much because they were asking me to pay but because I am not entirely impressed by the layout. Here is the deal, I have a PowerPoint template that I love to use. When a question is chosen and the viewers go back to the big board, you can see the question is off the board. On this format after a question you go back and all the questions look the same. Another disappointing part of this is the lack of the addicting Jeopardy game music. I also wish they had a place to keep score (at least I could not figure out a way to add a score on the site). All in all it is a fine site for many, I am sure, but I prefer using my PowerPoint template. What are your thoughts?

Checking Out Brainflips

I checked out the website brainflips.com today. This is an interesting site aimed at helping students or teachers create flashcards for fun or learning. It really looked awesome so I subscribed to the website. For the most part the user has two options: create a deck for yourself or check out (and join) other groups or individuals who have already created decks to use. Here is the skinny-I had trouble creating my own deck. I was confused on what to do. I finally figured out the process and realized I should have my questions and answers already determined before beginning. The group section was awesome and I saw many decks that would be very applicable in my classroom. I am going to benefit by having this website for future parts of lessons or to help students study for topics. I just have to get used to how to develop my own decks. The website also has other options to help people with memorization and brain activities. Check it out and tell me what you think of it.

Thinkfinity for an infinite number of lesson possibilities

Today I spent some time on the website thinkfinity.org. I signed up for free membership and then set off on an online exploration. What a tremendous tool for a teacher to have at his or her fingertips. The first thing that caught my eye was the search function to help narrow the seemingly endless amount of information. I typed in The Civil War and came up with 238 options. What I really liked was the opportunity to refine my search. With a few more selections I narrowed it down to 38 well developed lessons. This will be extremely helpful for lessons about specific themes. I can easily select a specific subject for a particular age group or I can see what is popular for others right now. The interactive student section is a tremendous tool to engage students in learning. I went back in time and and was able to experience being in Harlem with a few mouse clicks. So many adventures await you in this section. The site has so many aids for educators. I look forward to exploring more and implementing some of the lessons into my classroom. I'll keep you up to date as I discover more options. PS-don't forget to check out the professional development section.

Read/Write/Think.org Review

Hello again, I have another review today of an awesome website for students. The website is readwritethink.org and is a must visit for teachers looking for ways to implement technology into the classroom. The area I focused on is the interactive student part. Believe me, though, the rest of the website is well worth scouring through. The lessons are very interesting and will aid me in reaching my students. Also check out the after school resources. It reminds me of when I was young and we had an after school person come and offer various arts and crafts activities. Hmm, major flashback moment...okay back to the interactive student section.

The activities here are extremely effective in creating excitement to a tech savvy world. Some tried and true offerings include compare and contrast maps and guides. I also created an essay map that puts a visual outline for a student to use on one page. The site has a number of these awesome tools but the real eye-opener tools are ones like comic creator and flip book creator. These activities are fun and challenge the students to learn, through exciting mediums. Students use things like graffiti and music to write poems and create artistic designs. Create a mystery or a follow a hero through a story. This is a must for your classroom. Right now they have 55 interactive activities and the site is still growing. Remember to check out all the other links on this site as well.

I'll have another website review posted soon.