Friday, May 11, 2012

BAM - Great Education resources from the CDC



The CDC has some great resources for educators, including one on Concussions in children and sports. I just found another part of their site that has more educational resources.

BAM - Body and Mind - is a collection of resources for educators and students aged 9-13 (although you can scale the materials upward). The site has information about healthy lifestyles, diseases, stress, food and nutrition, physical fitness, safety and the human body.


The educator resources include interactive activities and lesson resources that are linked to the national education standards for science and health. There are handouts, lesson plans, and links to other resources.

The activities are fun, well-designed, and educational and can be used in a health or life science / biology course.




Droplr - great, free file sharing service


Droplr Logo

Droplr is a file sharing service that has a great free account that gives you 1GB of storage and allows uploads up to 25MB. It's not a file syncing service, but rather a file sharing service.


It's very easy to use. Simply drag the file you want to share from your computer and drop it on the space on the Droplr web site. Then you just share the link with others and they can download the file.


There are also Mac, Windows, and iPhone apps available that offer some more functionality and ease of use.


In addition to easy file sharing, you can share text notes, snippets of code, and images. It's secure and safe and you can access it, and your shared files, anywhere.


Check it out: https://droplr.com/hello


There is also a Pro version that gives you 1GB uploads and 100GB of storage for $3/month or $30/year.



Related:

CX - file sync, share and backup service with 10GB free account










Adobe Creative Cloud launches today - CS6 apps, sync, storage system





On Monday, April 23rd, Adobe announced Adobe Creative Cloud Student and Teacher Edition, and Creative Suite 6 Student and Teacher Edition for institutions, educators and students worldwide.

In addition to 14 new CS6 point products and four Creative Suites, Adobe is now delivering its first cloud offering for students and educators. Adobe Creative Cloud is a hub where students and educators can explore, share and deliver creative content using any of the Adobe Creative Suite 6 desktop applications, as well as new tools for HTML5 such as Adobe Muse™ and Adobe Edge Preview. By offering integration with Adobe Touch Apps, headlined by Photoshop® Touch, Adobe Creative Cloud enables new mobile workflows, from ideation to publishing, that bring the power of Adobe innovation to the classroom via iPad and Android tablets.




Top new features across the CS6 product line include:

New levels of performance with tools that take advantage of Adobe Mercury Graphics functionality, allowing users to go from ideas to finished work faster than ever before.
Enhanced user interfaces that vastly simplify workflows, so users can focus on their content and achieve results quicker.
New capabilities that streamline the creation of responsive content, ensuring website and apps look great across virtually all screen sizes and form factors.
Remarkable new science, integrated into imaging and video apps, makes previously impossible tasks suddenly possible.

Adobe Creative Cloud membership delivers:

Access to download and install all CS6 applications, new HTML5 desktop products – Adobe Muse™ 1.0 and Adobe Edge preview – and deep integration with Adobe Touch Apps.
Easy storage and sharing of content across desktop, mobile devices and the cloud.
Integrated website publishing and hosting.
Ongoing innovation that provides members with the most up-to-date products and services

Pricing and Availability

Adobe Creative Suite 6 products and Adobe Creative Cloud are available May 11. The Student and Teacher Edition of Adobe Creative Cloud is available for US$29.99/month. Volume licensing for Creative Cloud “team-ready” is available via the Adobe Transactional Licensing Program. More information on Adobe licensing can be found at: http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/volumelicensing/education/.

Adobe is also offering a new Adobe K-12 Enterprise Agreement designed for the needs of school districts in the United States and Canada. Customers can purchase Creative Suite 6 via Adobe.com and through select retail and online stores. More product information is available at: http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite.html.

For more detailed information about educational upgrade policies and pricing, as well as the full portfolio of suites, please visit http://www.adobe.com/education.edu.html.




Related / For More Information:

Adobe Announces Creative Cloud/Suite 6 for Students and Educators







EdCampCT is Aug 10, 2012 - registration now open - free, awesome PD



edcamp

EdCamp is a great series of free, unconferences for educators. The Edcamp model is unique in that attendees set the agenda the morning of the conference and the sessions are not led by one person, but are rather a collaboration of both the facilitator and attendees.

EdCamp is coming back to Connecticut this summer. EdCampCT will be held August 10th, 2012. You can register HERE. It will be held at the Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, CT again, which is an absolutely beautiful school.

I attended the first EdCampCT last year and it was awesome. It is so nice to be able to learn about topics you want to learn about in a relaxed, discussion format. It's also nice to know that if you find a session doesn't meet your needs, you can just get up and go to another one and no one's feelings are hurt because that is the model. I learned and shared my knowledge with others. It was a great day.

If you haven't been to an EdCamp yet, you need to get to one! See the related link below for more information about other upcoming EdCamps near you.

Registration link for EdCampCT - http://edcampct.ticketleap.com/2012/ 

Related:

Edcamp - teacher run, awesome, free educational conferences




Teachers are Heroes - infographic on what teachers do


Teacher Appreciation Week & Day 2012

It is the last day of Teacher Appreciation Week. Teacher Appreciation Week is celebrated each year in the United States during the first full week of May, with Teacher Appreciation Day falling on Tuesday.

USC (University of Southern California - MA Teaching program) has a great infographic that supports teachers around the world for everything they do each and every day, but especially to honor them today! To thank teachers, our graphic, “Teachers are Heroes,” shares information and statistics about who teachers are, what they do and how they inspire us.


Teachers are Heroes Infographic
Brought to you by USC Rossier Online Master's in Teaching









18 Google Chrome Extensions for College Students - guest post

18 Google Chrome Extensions for College Students Chrome

The internet has been an integral part of our lives, daily lives. It is like a necessity for all of us especially for businessmen and students. It is a way to communicate and socialize even with people whom you don’t know personally. And when it comes to studies, admit it or not, this generation doesn't use encyclopedias anymore,well except those that are found in the internet, we all depend on the power of web browsing! This is the new way of Studying!

1. Graph.tk - Having problems with your Math subject? Worry no more for this Google extension can do it for you! Yes! Graph.tk serves as an online graphic calculator that works on mathematical equations. You can also have those calculations printed for your personal use.

2. Quizlet - Who says flashcards are for preschoolers? It can be useful to college students too! And that’s what Quizlet is all about. It can be used to teach different terminology or words to students. It is also good for introducing new words to foreign students.

3. Wikihood - Dreaming of travelling all around the world but you just can’t? Wiki hood makes it possible for you. Know the different history, geographical information, culture, food, and attractions of your chosen destination.

4. Planetarium - After exploring the world, college students especially those majoring in Astronomy, might want to explore the universe. This Google extension helps you explore the diverse types of constellations and other planets.

5. Academic Earth - Tired of the lectures conducted by your professor? Why not try this extension in order to get a glimpse of how others tackle or view different lessons. Academic Earth is also an open-source library that contains highly educated information.

6. Remind Me - College students, like their parents, have a lot of things in mind. School, friends, and parties occupy their minds. This is why sometimes things just slip out of their minds. This extension will come in handy for all of you! Don’t let bad grades get you grounded from partying. Be reminded! 

7. Split Screen Split - screen makes multitasking easy. You can easily get different information from different sites at the same time. You can even watch a video while researching.

 8. Connected Mind - Do brainstorming and idea mapping with this Google extension. Just store it in Cloud and view it as many times as you want. Sharing project ideas can be as fun and as interactive as this!

9. WiBit IT majors? - Have this extension make things easier for you. With WiBit, you can learn anything and everything about programming and other computer related topics.

10. Box - What will you do if you have a very important report then suddenly your hard drive just crashed? Will you just cry your heart out? Don’t ruin your day! This Google extension functions to save your data for future use without using your USB. Just access it and viola, your file is ready to use! 

11. Stay Focused - Facebook, twitter, and other networking sites just eat most of your time, leaving you with less time for your school works. Stay focused by blocking all those websites that affects your productivity. 

12. Typing Test - Got a lot to type but your typing speed just always get in the way? College students have numerous assignments and projects that mostly require print outs or powerpoint presentation. Whatever it is, it involves typing. Worry not for you can test your typing skills in order to improve more.

13. Dr. Web Anti Virus Link Checker -  Browsing and opening too much websites? Who knows which site has a virus? With this extension, you can have your link scanned first before entering the site. So before doing your researches, make sure that the site is not just a credible one but also a virus free site.

14. PDF/PPT Viewer - View you PDF and PPT files just by using this extension. You don’t have to download the said softwares in order to have a glimpse of that informative presentation. 

15. Studyers - Taking down notes has never been this easy. Studyers makes this possible for you. Don’t fail your tests because you lack important notes. And don’t forget to share it with your friends!

16. Harvard Referencing -  Want to feel like studying in Harvard! This reference extension can make your dream come true, well partially true. Get your generated references for your school works. 

17. Spongelab - Get a hold of your Science subjects with just one click. Spongelab is a global science community that offers games, interactions and information about the field.

18. Apture Highlights -  Got unfamiliar words that pop-out from your researches? Tired of copy pasting those words just to find their meaning? Why give yourself a hard time if it can be so easy. Just highlight the word and poof! There goes the meaning on top of the word. As easy as ABC.

  Chrome Web Store

There are numerous Google extensions intended to address our needs. Lucky for us, we are in a world where we don’t have to go to far places just to get the info we need. Let us take advantage of what Information Technology has to offer. Continue learning the easy way!


Author bio: Alexis Thompson is a former Mountain Backpacker and a 26 year old mother of 2 daughters, Sophie and Rhian. She is into almost all types of Music especially The Fray and Hillsong. She also has a passion in Singing and Scrap Booking. Follow her escapades on her Twitter.






Thursday, May 10, 2012

MyScriptFont - create font from your own handwriting



MyScriptFont is a site that allows you to turn your own handwriting into a computer font. It's very easy to use. You download the template, print it, and then fill it out in your own handwriting. Then scan the completed template and upload the image file back to the site and it will create the font for you.

It's easy to use and having a font in your own handwriting can be both fun, and creative.




Tours from Above - free, virtual aerial tours of the world


Tours from Above –  Aerial Virtual Tour Photography worldwide

Tours from Above is a very cool site that has free, virtual aerial tours of different locations around the world. Tours include Central London, Central Park in NYC, and locations in Spain, Australia, Rio, England and the US. You can search the tours, or browse through them.

You drag your mouse to move around and scroll to zoom in and out.



They are high quality images and are a fun way to explore the world.

It is a great resource for education, allowing students and teachers to virtually visit and explore new places.









Clipgenerator - easily create free videos from pictures,music, and text



Clipgenerator is a site that allows you to quickly, easily, and for free, create online videos. You can use photos, text and musics to create video clips. The site has automated animations and film clips that you can use. It only takes three steps to make the videos.

You select the pictures from your computer, Flickr, Picasa, smugmug or photobucket. You then select music from the music pool on Clipgenerator. Then add text and captions and you are done. You can then view and share your video. You can share the videos directly to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Bebo, as well as send the video by email as a link. There is also an embedding code so that you can embed the video directly on your blog or website.

It's a great resource for creating videos. Teachers can use it to create learning resources for students and students can use it for class projects.

There is a quick tour that will show you how to use it.





Pinta - free image editing and drawing software




Pinta is a free image editing and drawing app for Windows, Linux and Mac. It's modeled after Paint.NET and is very easy and simple to use. It has some great features and functions.

It features drawing tools, unlimited layers, multiple languages, adjustments and effects and more.


It's a great drawing and graphics editing software.

Check it out: http://pinta-project.com/


Related:

Great, free Image editing sites and software

Two Free Graphic creation and editing software

PicMonkey - free online photo editing

Two More Free Image Editing Resources





Great Livebinder on Google for Education resources



Anyone who knows me or reads this blog knows that I use Google's products for most of my educational and personal tasks and functions (along with Evernote). I have a permanent page on this blog devoted to Google for Education resources and I've just added another great resource to it.

LiveBinders Beta

I found a great Livebinder full of resources for using Google's products in Education. The site has resources from Google and from educators. There are tips on using the products in education, lesson ideas and activities, and much more. If you use Google's apps in education, or want to, I suggest this site as a great resource to use. 






Related:








Mastery Connect - share and discover common formative assessments



Mastery Connect is an app and service that allows teachers to upload, share, discover and collaborate on common formative assessments and track student mastery of Common Core standards. It has built-in grading tools, as well as data analysis and reporting tools. There is also a user community to share, get help and tips, and more.

Students, parents, and administrators can receive reports of student performance and mastery. Assessments can be used online through any web browser, on iOS, or you can print out bubble sheets that can be scanned and graded. You can also export the data to grade books and student information systems.


The free version has some good features, but does not have the assessment tools. The premium version is $5 per student/yr or $159/yr individual teacher. The Bubblescore only account is $4 per student, per year.



They also have an iOS and Android app (free) that allows you to access the Common Core Standards from your mobile device.


Check it out: http://www.masteryconnect.com/






Homework and project ideas I'm using in my classes that are authentic



I'm changing some things about my physics class now (even with only a few weeks left) and applying next year. I already do a large number of projects with the class, but I want to add these.

I'm changing the type of homework students will be getting. While they will still be getting some project work and physics problems for homework, they will also be getting a new type of homework that I think is much better and relates to them more. Their assignment each week will be to find something at home or something that they are interested in and see what physics concepts apply to it and how. They will then share it with the rest of the class. I think this will help them see why physics is important and make the class more relevant to them.

I'm also bringing back a project that I haven't done in a while: "How Does it Work". Students will pick a technology, product, sport, etc. and do a project explaining how it works and what the physics and science behind it are. They can present it as a PowerPoint, Prezi, web page, video, animation, poster, etc. It was very popular and the students learned a lot from it and I'm really not sure why I haven't used it lately.

These projects allow students to investigate things that are important or relevant to them, as well as providing different ways for them to show their understanding.

I'm always evaluating my class and the learning activities that are going on and reflected on what works and what doesn't. I think these two things will help make the class more interesting and relevant to the students and help them learn the concepts even better.



Related:

Making School Relevant for Students

10 Important Skills Students Need for the Future

Project Based Learning

Science of Everyday Life

Create a Personal Learning Network

Should we force students to learn? or How can we change schools to engage students?

Differentiating with Web 2.0 Technologies







Assessing Student Learning - do it like assessing someone in their job



These days it seems lots of "Education Reformers" and politicians what to assess students (and teachers) through more and more standardized tests. But that's not how we assess someone at their job. People are assessed in their jobs in their performance on the tasks for their job. We should do the same for students. We need to assess their ability to complete tasks and apply what they have learned to more than some multiple choice, standardized, made by some big corporation test.

I wrote about this as applied to teacher evaluations too.

How do we do that? Through authentic assignments and projects for the class they are in. Projects can be done in any class, for any subject, at any grade level. Have the students do activities and projects that are just like what they would do if they were in a job or profession that uses the concepts they are learning. Mathematician, engineer, scientist, historian, journalist, cook, translator, accountant, etc. Do the tasks that these professions do. That's how we assess EMS students - we assess them actually performing the tasks that they will do as an EMT or Paramedic.

Have the students create something, investigate something, apply subject matter to something. Instead of just writing a book report, analyze the book they read and apply the topics/themes/message to something else. Have students create a study guide for other students. Create a presentation, video, web site, of a concept or topic. In STEM classes, do hands-on research projects that then create something, apply concepts, or solve a problem. Have students write a persuasive letter to a politician. Create a public information pamphlet. Apply science concepts to an invention or to solve a local problem.

Not only will the students apply what they have learned, they will also gain a better understanding of the topics, and will learn other important skills, such as teamwork and problem solving.

There are so many ways that students can be assessed without written tests. The professional educators in the classroom with the students can use these projects to assess the students and determine if they have learned the material and understand it. The educator can then modify the teaching and learning based on the results. Corporate standardized testing doesn't help the teacher help the student with their misconceptions.


What are your thoughts on this?



Related:


Teacher Evaluations - ideas and lessons from other professions

EMS Education practices - some good ideas for K12

10 Tech Skills Every Student Should Have

10 Important Skills Students Need for the Future

"How do you know how to do that? I figure it out." How I learn.




Language Immersion for Chrome - helps you learn a foreign language




Language Immersion for Chrome is an extension for the Chrome web browser that helps you learn a foreign language through immersion. It will switch certain words and phrases on websites you visit from English into your chosen language. You can get a more contextual and realistic experience of the language you are trying to learn.

There are 64 differently languages supported, there are different skill levels (novice to fluent), you can click on a translated word to switch it back to English, and you can roll your mouse over the word to hear it pronounced.


As it is still an experimental extension, Google warns that some translations won't be 100% accurate. However, that could actually help people learn the language as they check the translations.

This would be a great resource for anyone trying to learn a new language, including students in foreign language classes and ELL students. Since the words are part of the context of something else, students will be able to figure some out and see how they are used in language and not just an isolated vocabulary word.

It's free from the Google Play store: http://goo.gl/i3fGX


Here's a video that shows how it works






Related:

Google Chrome Web Browser revisited

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Tech Ease - great tech support site for educators



Tech Ease is a site by the University of South Florida that provides tech support resources for educators. The site is broken down by Mac, Windows, and accessibility uses. Under each, there are subtopics such as using computers in the classroom, images, file sharing, chat, videos, email, hardware, the internet, and much more. There are ideas on using technology for accessibility with disabled students also.

The site is easy to navigate and has a huge amount of information available for educators. This is site you should definitely share with your colleagues and students.

Squidoo - organize your interests online



Squidoo is a free site that allows you to organize things online. You can easily create portfolios of web pages and write about them.

You can also browse other people's collections. Here is the education page: http://www.squidoo.com/topics/education

Education

You can use text, images, and even videos.

It's a great way to organize web pages for research, resources, and even projects.




Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Some awesome things happening at Adobe relating to Education




There is a lot going on at Adobe in regards to Education this week.

   

Creative Suite 6 and Creative Cloud - yesterday Adobe announced the immediate availability of the Adobe Creative Suite 6 Software and the Creative Cloud is expected to be available on Friday, May 11th. Students and Teachers can down the free, 30-day trial (or purchase) on Adobe.com, here: http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=master_collection.
Here is a link to the release regarding product availability. http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/201205/050712AdobeCS6Ship.html.


Teacher Appreciation Week & Day 2012

Teacher Appreciation Week - Adobe is running a contest on Adobe Students Facebook page. For the chance to win a $25 iTunes gift card, followers must tag @AdobeStudents and write a wall post about their favorite teacher/mentor and why. Write a story, post a quote, share a video/picture/give a shout out. For the chance to win $50 gift card, they can create something with Photoshop or Illustrator. Enter here: http://www.facebook.com/adobestudents.




More Info:

Adobe Announces Creative Cloud/Suite 6 for Students and Educators
Adobe Launches Creative Cloud - make, share, deliver creative work
Adobe CS6 Release Delivers Major Innovations For Design, Web and Video Pros





Powerful Learning Practice - Day in the Life of Connected Educator



Powerful Learning Practice is a site that provides professional development and resources for teachers to implement new technologies and pedagogy to create "21st Century Classrooms." There are some good resources on the site.

They have an article entitled "A Day in the Life of a Connected Educator – Using social media in 21st century classrooms" that looks at how teachers use social media and other Web 2.0 tools to improve teaching and learning.

The infographic is interesting and has ideas for using social media in the classroom. It follows a teacher through her day as she uses social media sites and Web 2.0 resources throughout her day as an educator. Teachers can get some great ideas from this for their own use.

It can be found at their site:
http://plpnetwork.com/2012/05/07/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-connected-educator-using-social-media-throughout-your-day/



Related:

Social Media in Education - connect, share, learn, communicate and more
Twitter, Google Plus, and Facebook - a nice comparison
Which Social Network should you use? Infographic on which to use when.

Building Big - great STEM projects and labs from PBS




Building Big is a great site from PBS that has lesson plans, projects, labs, and activities for teachers to use in their classrooms. The topics are on buildings and structures, including Bridges, Domes, Skyscrapers, Dams and Tunnels. It's based on the PBS television series Building Big.

There are interactive labs, educator's guides, challenges, data on the world's structures, and information about engineering and engineers.

The labs are flash-based interactive activities that let students explore forces, materials, loads, and shapes and get information about each topic.



The activities are fun and educational and the resources can be scaffolded for any level.



Related:

STEM Resources for Educators

Project Based Learning resources for Educators







Web2PDF - provide PDF creation on your blog or site




Web2PDF Online is a free service that will convert HTML to PDF for your websites so your visitors can quickly save information on your site to a PDF file. It also keeps track of all of the PDF conversion activities on your site.

It only takes 3 steps to set it up on your site or blog. 1) set the conversion options (page setup, etc) and test it. 2) create the Javascript for your site and 3) copy and paste the Javascript onto your site to create the widget.





The site offers support and it is really easy to use.

This could be a good option if you would like people to be able to save parts of your blog or website as a PDF file, including having students do it as an archive of material for their notes.



Related:

Lots of PDF resources - print, markup, convert and more



Google Plus Hangouts on Air feature now available to all users


 


Google+, Google's social network, has some great features that other networks don't have. One of them is Hangouts. Hangouts is a multi-person video conferencing system that is free. You can host virtual meetings, help and study sessions, or just chat with family. Google had added the ability for a limited group of people to be able to broadcast their Hangouts to the world.

Google has just announced that Hangouts On Air is now available to all Google+ users worldwide. It will be a gradual rollout though so the system doesn't get overwhelmed all at once.

With Hangouts on Air, you will be able to broadcast yourself publicly to the entire world, see how many viewers you have, and even record and reshare your broadcast. The public recording will be uploaded to your YouTube channel and to your original Google+ post.

This is a great way hold meetings, study sessions, online conferences (which Google did last week), and much more, and have the Hangout recorded for future replay and use.

Here's a video on getting started with Google+ Hangouts on the Air:





Source: Official Google Blog

Related:

Google Plus - tips for using in education, facts and data infographic

Monday, May 7, 2012

Kodak Gallery shutting down July 2nd - Shutterfly buying it



 

I wrote about Kodak Gallery back in February (online photo service that allows you to upload, share, and view your photos from anywhere) and then updated in March that it was up for sale and now it is official that Kodak Gallery is being shut down and be bought by Shutterfly. Kodak Gallery had just announced their mobile apps too.

Shutterfly is an online photo service and social sharing network that allows unlimited images at no cost and at full resolution. Photo Books are their flagship product, which allows people to create photo books with covers, templates and designs.

Kodak Gallery is scheduled to shut down July 2nd and Shutterfly will be buying the business.


On a side note, Kodak Gallery is accessible from school, Shutterfly is blocked as a "shopping site." Thank goodness for 3G on my Chromebook so I could check out Shutterfly.


Here are some more online photo gallery and photo editing services.

PicMonkey - free online photo editing

Great, free Image editing sites and software

Two More Free Image Editing Resources

Smilebox Slideshow - free software to create slideshows of your photos









Pegby - free online notes, tasks, organizing, mindmapping, outlining and more




Pegby is an interesting site that lets you get materials and information organized online and even work with others on it.

You create Boards that allow you to work online, collaborating with others or just organizing things for yourself. Each Board can have columns to help you organize the Cards in each Board. The card is a kind of post it note that you title and add descriptions to. The Cards go in Columns on the Board. You can even Stack Cards on top of each other to organize them together. You can also Tag and Filter your Boards to make it easier to work with.


It's a great way to organize notes, tasks, and other information. It's also a great way to organize your thoughts (mindmapping) and you can use it to outline research and papers.



This is a very useful tool for educators and students to use.


Check it out and share it with your students and colleagues: https://www.pegby.com/home/view