PHET.... Online Labs

How many times have you had a topic or area of curriculum that you wish could be hands on but for whatever reason it just is not feasible? I love PHET online simulations.. students feel like they are playing a game , but are in fact learning. They have simulators covering all levels of math and science! You can search by grade level, subject area, topic or device. Many of the sims even have lessons plans that go along with them that you can use as in or adapt to better fit your classroom!  I do recommend previewing the sim with your students and going over with them how the site works as a class to save yourself some time and headache of individual questions.  

Google Search.. Results and Beyond

Google is the favored search engine for most people. Few people know about all the extra's that are already built in! You can refine your search's by reading level, file type, search a single site and more.   Check out this cheat sheet here. One feature that I like to use in the classroom is searching by grade level. This is great for differentiation it allows you to have some lower level and higher level readings. It is limited by only filtering results for three levels, basic, intermediate and advanced. Check out this step by step tutorial I created.

You can make your search's more specific by following these 21 Tips for getting better results! 

Social Media Tools for the Classroom

When you think of social media you may think of only Facebook or Twitter, but ,may other sites would be categorized as social media.Social media is defined by WhatIs.com as the collective of online communications channels dedicated to community-based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration. Websites and applications dedicated to forums, microblogging, social networking, social bookmarking, social curation, and wikis are among the different types of social media. 
Pinterest  is one such social media site that can give you a wealth of ideas and resources. It is basically like on online pin board. Where you can bookmark websites and resources you want to remember.    I find it particularly helpful when I am stuck on a lesson plan or want to find a new activity.  You can also  search for topics others have pinned or create your own.  Check out the video below to see how to get started today.

Another great resources for keeping track of and sharing websites and resources is Symbaloo. I prefer Symbaloo for a classroom setting as it does not require a login for others to view a webmix you have shared with them. (Awesome for those student webquests.) You can create your own tiles of any website or resource you wish, and them share all of them with one simple link. Check out a webmix I have made here.

Don't agonize... Organize!!

I teacher's life is always stressful! We need all the help we can get to help  organize our classroom, lessons, and lives. This weeks tips of the trade center on four websites that I have conveniently placed onto a Google Flyer for you.  Check it out here. 

One that I am particularly excited about trying out is PlanbookEdu.   It is a cloud or internet based plan book to create and store all of your lessons plans. You can attach standards and objectives. I am super excited to start trying it out. Check out a video on it below.

Another totally easy and amazing time saving tool is WhenSend is a website that lets you schedule  email's  to send in the future. I plan on using this next year to remind students when it is their week to do the scientist of the week presentations!

For a list of  handy teacher education tools check out this list created by Marcia Jeans.

Taking Google By Storm..Using Forms!

I have blogged on Google Forms before . This week I used forms in a whole new way. I created a quiz that I could give to my students and put it into Google forms. You can check it out here.
I used several features that I have never used before and didn't realize Google forms had.  For some reason I never noticed all the options under add item drop down menu.  Including the option to add a picture or video.

One on the main reasons to give a test using a digital format is ease of grading. Google forms has an Add on called Flubaroo. It is amazing following these amazingly simple instructions, I was able to write the test and create the key all in under an hour. Grading was done in an instant, with just a few clicks of the mouse. Check out the video below to see a visual overview .

Don't forget to make sharing the quiz with your students fast and easy by using a tinyurl. Make it easier for your students to remember  and  type in. I use a personalized one for my class webpage. tinyurl.com/morasclass6   

Learning Management Systems : The Online Classroom

This week we explored Edmodo and Schoology , both are learning management systems (LMS).  Which is a fancy way of saying software used for  administration, tracking, reporting and delivery of online education. (E-learning) .

I am not an online teacher, but I can see application for both of these LMS in a regular classroom. You can post resources that your students can then view or review in the classroom or at home. Students who are ill or sick can easily get and track their homework.  Edmodo and Schoology both have pros and cons.

I am most familiar with Edmodo so I tended to gravitate more towards it when checking them both out. Watch this clip to get a brief overview of Edmodo.

Schoology seems to be a clear winner if you are needing an interface for students to be able to easily submit assignments from an Ipad . I also really liked schoology's resources, they were easy to search and seemed to be some really awesome stuff. Check out this clip for an overview of Schoology.

Twitter not just social media... Your Own Personal Learning Network

Most of us have heard of Twitter.  In case you haven't...

Twitter is described by Wikipedia as  "an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called "tweets". Registered users can read and post tweets, but unregistered users can only read them. "

This week I discovered another side of Twitter, Twitter Chats! I was struggling to understand how they worked at first  until I found this tutorial by @coolcatteacher. 

I found a list of some planned educational chats on cybrarymans page. I found some really cool chats about education and ideas to integrate technology into the classroom. Basically you search the assigned hashtag for the chat for example #edchat , and you can see all that is being discussed and talked about.You can retweet things you want to remember or favorite things you agree with. Chats are also a good way to  build your network. Other people who are interested in the same things as you will be participating in the chat. You can chose to follow them and some may even follow you back!