PBS Learning Media

In the past, I have written about my fondness for many PBS resources (FRONTLINE and PBS Newshour). PBS LearningMedia is treasure trove of teacher resources from all of PBS's different entities. No matter your content area, you will be able to find video clips, lesson plans, primary source documents, and more useful tools to assist in your lessons. In addition, LearningMedia provides professional development resources.

I enjoy how after you make an account you can easily mark items as "favorites", thus making it much easier to find materials in the future. As a social studies teacher, I am excited to use some of their wonderful 2012 election materials with both my AP classes and my ESOL Government classes. I really like this simple, yet nicely done video explaining the general election process.

As always, I hope you are able to find a gem or two from PBS LearningMedia.

Get the Most out of Google

A hat tip to my colleague Kevin Burke for showing me this useful resource  from HackCollege to help students (and teachers) get the most out of using Google. Not only does the site provide tips for using Google as a research tool, in addition, the keyboard shortcuts and "tricks" will be quite useful for you on a daily basis. 

I have been using the "define: (insert word)" trick for a few years. I can personally verify its usefulness!

My Tech Tool Arsenal

Thank You PoliticalCartoons.com

I have been extremely busy over the last month getting back in the swing of things. I am working hard trying to balance teaching and becoming a better teacher, while spending quality time with my family and friends (and getting in some exercise when I can). Thus, I haven't had much time to test out any new websites or software, though I did want to write a post about the technology tools I am currently using on a daily basis. Many of these are tools you may already be using, while some of these items I have written about in previous posts. Nevertheless, perhaps you will find a gem in my list that will make you a more effective teacher.

Here is a list of some of the tech tools I use nearly every day:

- Edmodo: a terrific social networking site for teachers, students, parents and administrators. I am still becoming more adept with Edmodo.

- Dropbox: I love my cloud storage! Dropbox is a very reliable way to save files and open them up anywhere instantly.

- GradeCam: I love grading multiple choice quizzes and tests using my webcam...Even more, I love the incredible data I receive instantly. I am able to analyze which concepts students are struggling with and reteach IMMEDIATELY.

- GoogleDocs: we use Google apps in our school system...I love being able to use the forms to gather information. I also love how students can have access to word processing software for free!

- Twitter: I joined Twitter late, but I love having news articles come to me. I often find relevant articles to use in my classes. I haven't used Twitter much for professional outreach, though I see this becoming more important down the road.

- Quizlet: This is a great resource that keeps getting better. I am promoting my students make flashcards and study their vocabulary using this free website. They came out with a great app that allows anyone to study vocabulary no matter their surroundings.

- Politicalcartoons.com: As a US Government and Politics teacher I regularly show my students satirical cartoons to present serious issues. The cartoon above is a great portrayal of opportunity cost (and it might make you giggle).

- Screencast-o-matic: I wrote about this website last month, but I love how anyone can publish a video explaining ANYTHING and send it out to the world within minutes. I am traveling this year for weddings outside the USA, and I plan to make screen-casts to help my students stay on task even while I am out of the classroom.

Quick Screen Share Saved the Day!

I have written about Quick ScreenShare in the past, however, I had never used it until today. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the real deal! You are able to view another person's computer screen (or they can view your screen) without downloading any special software.

For instance, I was able to help a student correctly space their citation in their essay from the comfort of my home (and from the comfort of my student's home).

Check out this video that shows how easy Quick ScreenShare is to use.

Guess who was interviewed for a Washington Post Article on technology in the classroom?

I am proud to represent my school and Prince George's County Public Schools in a positive way through my tiny part of this article by Ovetta Wiggins. It's also an honor to be mentioned in an article that includes a photo of Ken Halla (a source of many of my tech ideas).

My 8th year of teaching begins tomorrow and I am just as nervous for the first day as I was back in 2005!

SoundGecko...Convert ANY article into an MP3 for FREE

I recently discovered the awesomeness of SoundGecko from one of my favorite blogs (notanotherhistoryteacher). The image above shows you the simple steps of using SoundGecko. You receive the email containing the MP3 within a minute. You can link your DropBox or Google Drive account to SoundGecko for an instant download. I haven't played with the iPhone app yet, but it looks promising.

I can foresee this wonderful resource helping struggling readers, ELL students, and students with reading/learning disabilities. Since it is free, I have only been able to receive one voice who reads the article, nevertheless, the quality of the recording was flawless on the two different articles I tried out. 

Enjoy!

Tech Resources for the New School Year

The 2012-13 school year begins for me this week as the teachers get ready for the upcoming year, while students will report for school on August 20. Our principal is gung ho about using Edmodo to communicate with students and parents. All teachers will be required to use Edmodo this school year. Based on my previous posts, I am a big fan of Edmodo, though I want to spend some time sharing other great technology resources that will help you during the upcoming school year. I have used and will continue to use all of the resources listed below. I hope they will make your teaching experience a bit better this year!

1. Edmodo: Edmodo is a social media platform that allows teachers and students to connect and collaborate. A teacher can post assignments, share content host discussions, post quizzes, and much more. Additionally, a teacher can join or start professional development groups to collaborate with other colleagues from all over the world. Totally Free.

2. Gradecam: Face it...we are living in an era the puts much emphasis on assessments (especially formative assessments). Gradecam allows a teacher to grade multiple choice exams using any webcam or document camera. I began using Gradecam last year and fell in love with having access to student data within seconds. I was able to find out which questions were giving students more trouble, thus allowing me to be more efficient in reviewing material. Check out their video to learn about the other features. Free (though you need to pay to add more tools).

3. Remind101: This website allows a teacher to text message students and parents in a SAFE way. The teacher creates an account and class. The teacher then shares the class code with their students. The students and parents sign up and can begin receiving text messages from their teacher. Neither the teacher nor the students/parents ever see each other's phone numbers, providing a security barrier. If a student does not have a cell phone, the student can enter their email address and receive updates. Totally Free.

4. Screencast-O-Matic: This is a great resource where you can record a screencast and upload it to YouTube for FREE. If you are unfamiliar with screencasts, they are a video tutorial with audio commentary explaining what is on your screen. Thus, the person viewing the screencast sees your computer screen and can hear your audio comments. Because the screencast is a YouTube video, you can share the screencast quite easily. Totally Free (though you can pay to add more tools).