CYBERSENSE is a Blackboard Course developed by WCPSS to make teachers aware of the responsibilities and dangers of using Internet applications. Completeion of the course allows teachers to have access to a professional wiki and blog account.
cybersense-quickstart.pdf | |
File Size: | 338 kb |
File Type: |
EDMODO
Edmodo is Facebook for schools. It works very similarly to the social media magnate, but it adds a few educational bells and whistles. It's secure and private for your class or classes, or you can collaborate with other teachers and classes. Location: edmodo.com WEEBLY
If you want a website but are intimidated by the thought of HTML or the hassle of a wiki, then WEEBLY may be an option for you. It's a fairly simple website creator. This page is a WEEBLY page as the URL might suggest. Location: weebly.com YouTUBE
If you aren't using YouTube as a source, you are missing out on what Edutopia magazine called the best teaching tool. Yes, it's filled with funny kittens, talking dogs, and some questionable content, but so is the Internet. It's just the cost of freedom of expression. Visit YouTube or it's safer younger sister, YouTube.com/education. I can almost guarantee that you will find something related to your content. Or as Mr. Butler stated, you can find a way to install your sink. http://www.edutopia.org/youtube-educational-videos-classroom QUIZLET
Quizlet is also listed in the Tools area. It is a Flash Card creation project that can be used as a teacher led instructional tool or a student developed study tool. It can be very simple. Create a set of flashcards and study. It can also be more complex. Students can play games, etc. Teachers can also embed their flashcards on a website or in Blackboard. Other Flashcard creators include: Funnelbrain
RSS Feed
An RSS feed was once described as a personalized newspaper, and it really is. I use Google Reader but there are lots of other Feed Readers out there. Your reader updates automatically and the news is ready for you when you need it. I don't use it nearly enough, but this is a great way to keep up with content in your area. Check out some of the top readers here: http://email.about.com/od/rssreaderswin/tp/top_rss_windows.htm |
TWITTER
Despite its popularity, it still has educational uses. Teacher use this to communicate information to and receive information from students in a relaxed and familiar student environment. If you don't want to "tweet", you might suggest that students follow an individual relevant to your curriculum. If you are asking if these individuals tweet, the answer is yes (or someone tweets for them). Examples: @physicsworld, @barackobama, @mittromney, Location: twitter.com POLL EVERYWHERE
The website itself explains this best: What is Poll Everywhere? The fastest way to create stylish real-time experiences for events using mobile devices Poll Everywhere replaces expensive proprietary audience response hardware with standard web technology. It's the easiest way to gather live responses in any venue: conferences, presentations, classrooms, radio, tv, print — anywhere. It can help you to raise money by letting people pledge via text messaging. And because it works internationally with texting, web, or Twitter, its simplicity and flexibility are earning rave reviews. Location: polleverywhere.com DROPBOX and DROPitTOme
A few years ago, I started using Box.net, and it worked for me, but more recently I have discovered DropBox and it's lovely relative, Drop It To Me. The great thing about DropBox is, not only does it provide storage online, but it also allows you to install it on every machine you use. This means that when you save a file at school, it will update the dropbox on all the other computers that has DropBox installed. It also makes it easy to share and collaborate. DropBox works with a companion called Drop It To Me. This allows you to create a location where people can "drop" files to you without having access to your files. JING
Jing is a free Camtasia. Jing allows you to capture the screen in video and still picture and share these items. This is a great program for creating tutorials for students. These can be embedded. The best thing is that it's free. You can't beat that. See a sample here: http://www.notess.com/screencasting/2007/09/28/jing-example/
|