Welcome to Dave’s Digital Magic #9

If you do just ONE THING from the Digital Magic series this year, then the feature of the week this week is where to start! For that reason I’m not adding other links this week, but I have included a special ‘Things that make you go hmmmmmm…’ featuring our very own Kari, after this week’s feature.

1. THE FEATURE OF THE WEEK!

Online/Social Bookmarking

Want to sign up for del.icou.us?

I created a presentation that I did with a former student. The first half of it will be helpful to you:

About del.icio.us

What’s the main value of this kind of bookmarking?

Well, here are my resources that, as you can see, anyone can access from any computer. Check out one of my tags (or folders) to see links I’ve saved in that area of interest. Pick one that interests you and check it out!

http://del.icio.us/dtruss/mathtools

http://del.icio.us/dtruss/math-links

http://del.icio.us/dtruss/science

http://del.icio.us/dtruss/middleleaders

http://del.icio.us/dtruss/careers

http://del.icio.us/dtruss/problem-solving

http://del.icio.us/dtruss/lifelessons

http://del.icio.us/dtruss/cyberbullying

http://del.icio.us/dtruss/research

http://del.icio.us/dtruss/newliteracy

http://del.icio.us/dtruss/delicious

All of my del.icio.us links

That’s del.icio.us! However, another option that I have been checking out recently is diigo…

2 reasons to love diigo:

1. Highlighted text that stays highlighted when you return to a bookmark.

2. Groups like this ‘Educators’ Group find and share great stuff with you.

Diigo or Delicious? Try one out!

Need help? I’m glad to offer it! Don’t worry too much about the ’social’ part of bookmarking at first. Instead, try one of these sites out for yourself. Once you see the personal usefulness and start using the tool, then the social part of this kind of bookmarking will become useful later on.

2. THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM…

Teaching gifted students compared to teaching every student.

No link for this one, instead, here is a reflection Kari did on having a SHARP, gifted cluster, in her class this year. I thought this was very insightful and also thought about just how much this applied to every student, not just gifted ones!

Top 10 Lessons I Learned Being Involved in SHARP

1. Different is Good: Strategies for differentiation help all students be successful: Gifted, LD, ESL, Non-Categorized.
2. Free Birds Soar: Given the freedom to choose how to present their learning, Gifted students will surpass your, and their own, expectations.
3. Stimulation is Mandatory: Gifted students need to be challenged constantly, or else boredom sets in.
4. Knives and Spoons: Gifted students are not necessarily “gifted” in all areas of the curriculum.
5. Fun and Games: Gifted students are still typical kids- they need to have fun and be accepted by their peers.
6. Be Comfortable with Uncertainty: Gifted students ask lots of questions, but it’s okay if you, the teacher, don’t have all the answers.
7. Stars Are Part of a Larger Constellation: Gifted students need to be recognized for their uniqueness, but still fit in with the rest of the class.
8. Heads May Butt: Your cluster may not always get along or work well together all the time!
9. A Watered Flower Grows: Being involved in SHARP helps you to evolve as a teacher.
10. Hear Me Vent and Brag: Having conversations with other SHARP teachers is valuable and gratifying.

Thanks for your words of wisdom Kari!

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Did you miss an edition of Digital Magic? Is there one you want to look back on again? Here are all the editions of Digital Magic in reverse order, (most recent first).

Have a great week!

Welcome to Dave’s Digital Magic #8

Here are 5 links for you to explore.

1. THE FEATURE OF THE WEEK!

Wikimapia

A world map that you can add information on.

Our school is on there, but it could use an update… the local 7-11 is labeled too.

You can add pictures and information anywhere on the map.

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2. Fun with Blocks

CUBESPACE

Your own digital landscape

Ever wanted to create your own isometric pixel picture, but didn’t know what the word isometric meant? Well, now you can fulfil your wildest dreams with Cubescape!

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3. More Artistic fun…

Kaleidoscope

Not sure how you would use this with a class, but I had fun with it!

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4. Science Galore

James Linzel’s Science Links on U Tech Tips

Astronomy, Simple Machines, Chemestry, Biology… and more!

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5. THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM…

The Three E’s

That brings me to the third E, “Empowerment”.

In this approach students are part of the system itself. They participate in decisions about what is taught, what they would like to learn, and what strategies and tools they would like to use in the learning process. Some may decide to work more independently, some in groups; but they are part of the process of deciding what goes on in their own learning.

I attempted something like this with my ScienceAlive Wiki. I reflected on the project and how I would improve on it here: Wikis in the classroom: a reflection.

As we head into June, what can we do to help students leave our school feeling like they are empowered learners?

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Did you miss an edition of Digital Magic? Is there one you want to look back on again? Here are all the editions of Digital Magic in reverse order, (most recent first).

Have a great week!

Welcome to Dave’s Digital Magic #7

Here are 5 links for you to explore.

1. THE FEATURE OF THE WEEK!

A “Digital Arts” Menu for Multiple Intelligences

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2. Create online art

Mr. Picasso Head

I shared this with Trina, ask her how she used it with her class. I also wrote about it before on this blog.

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3. For your listening pleasure

Songza

Want to send someone a song without them having to download it? Tell them it is a Beautiful Day? Or just listen to songs from your favorite artists? Or create playlists? Songza has it all… and you don’t even need to sign up if you don’t want to.

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4. More fun…

I asked my Twitter network for ideas and Gabriel in Argentina suggested Mr. Picassohead as well as these fun sites:

Create Your own Kaleidoscope 

Get Muxicall

Paint like Jackson Pollock

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5. THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM…

The purpose of homework…

Is homework an effective practice?

What is it intended to accomplish for student learning?

How do you use it effectively?

How do you deal with homework that isn’t done? Is this the same as others on your team?

What feedback have you had from students? Parents?

What I’ve read recently to get me thinking about homework: 

Rethinking Homework by Alfie Kohn

Homework, the tip of the iceberg by Harold Jarche

What do you think?

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Did you miss an edition of Digital Magic? Is there one you want to look back on again? Here are all the editions of Digital Magic in reverse order, (most recent first).

Have a great week!

Welcome to Dave’s Digital Magic #6

Here are 5 links for you to explore.

This week we have a video theme. I was tempted to discuss them, but instead I will let them speak for themselves… comments are welcome.

1. THE FEATURE OF THE WEEK!

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2. The Power of a Signature

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3. Talking to Teens

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4. Miniature Earth

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5. THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM…

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Video’s are a great teaching tool! One way to start collecting them is to sign up for a free YouTube account. When you are signed in, and you find a video you like, just click ‘Favorite’ and you can collect videos there. Then from any computer you can sign in and find all your favorites.

You can also make Playlists, which lets you create video players, like the one seen on this wiki.

I like this because you can show a number of videos without students seeing the comments under the videos (which can sometimes be very inappropriate for classrooms). You can also use playlists to separate your favorites for different uses.

Start with the simple task of signing up for a free YouTube account, and then I’ll be glad to help you.

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Did you miss an edition of Digital Magic? Is there one you want to look back on again? Here are all the editions of Digital Magic in reverse order, (most recent first).

Have a great week!

Welcome to Dave’s Digital Magic #5

Here are 5 links for you to explore.

1. THE FEATURE OF THE WEEK!

26 Learning Games to Change the World

To be honest, the only one I’ve tried is Free Rice, and I wrote about it here.

If you use and like another one, please let me know!

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2. GLOBAL ISSUES… continued

World on Fire - by Sarah McLachlan

A typical music video costs about $150,000. Sarah only spent $15 on her World on Fire video, and then she took $148,270 and spent it in ways that positively impacted the lives of thousands of needy people! (Donations list)

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3. MORE ON MATH

The Math Playground

If you click on the K-7 Mathcasts you will get to see Voicethreads in action… (I linked to Voicethread in Digital Magic #2)

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4. STAR WARS

R2D2 in the classroom?

OK Lawrence, this one is for you, although I have to say, “I want one too!”

Sorry to say there is no money in our budget to get these into our school.

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5. THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM…

Academe’s Dirty Little Secret

This blog post is written by Darren Kuropatwa, a brilliant high school Math teacher.

Here is an excerpt:

“You can require your students to demonstrate their understanding of what they are learning by having them apply their knowledge analyzing and evaluating relevant novel situations or problems. Better yet, get them to create content that educates an interested learner and they will automatically incorporate all those levels of engagement while they make their learning sticky. I don’t need to tell you that there’s nothing like having to teach a thing to make you really learn it.

Darren walks the talk! His students will go home and spend hours helping to teach others, when it is there turn to scribe the class notes and post them on a blog for the other students in their class. You can see this in his Scribe Hall of Fame… or if you aren’t into Math, just check out the link to the article.

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Did you miss an edition of Digital Magic? Is there one you want to look back on again? Here are all the editions of Digital Magic in reverse order, (most recent first).

Have a great week!

Welcome to Dave’s Digital Magic #4

Here are 5 links for you to explore.

1. THE FEATURE OF THE WEEK!

TWIDDLA 

It simply doesn’t get any easier than this to collaborate online.

Click on “Start a new meeting”, name your session, check the ‘private’ box. Invite people to join you by e-mail… and you are collaborating on your own personal online space.

Real collaboration, in real time.

Mark up websites, graphics, and photos, or start brainstorming on a blank canvas. Browse the web with your friends or make that conference call more productive than ever. No plug-ins, downloads, or firewall voodoo - it’s all here, ready to go when you are. Browser-agnostic, user-friendly, mom approved. Oh yeah, it does one-click audio chats too.Real collaboration, in real time.

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2. SEX-ED

TEACHING SEXUAL HEALTH

A great site with sections for Teachers, Students and Parents.

Here is a link to the Teacher’s Resource Page: Lesson plans, illustrations, glossary and much more. 

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3. SEE IT & LABEL IT!

VISUAL DICTIONARY

Probably most useful with students on adapted programs,

(and also in Biology/Science classes).

“Visual Dictionary, to learn by way of image with thematic, 

clear and precise pages, with concise and rigorous texts…

Different from an encyclopedia or from a traditional online dictionaries, 

thesauri and glossaries because the images replace the words.”

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4. WOW

77 OPTICAL ILLUSIONS!

My favorite, taken from the original source below,

is the Silhouette Illusion.

Stare long enough and she changes directions!

(If not look away and use your peripheral vision.)

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5. THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM…

END OF QUARTER RUBRIC

NOTE ON THE USE OF THIS RUBRIC: [Check out the link before reading this!]

“Habits of Mind are the characteristics of what intelligent people do when they are confronted with problems, the resolution(s) to which are not immediately apparent. These behaviors are seldom performed in isolation. Rather, clusters of such behaviors are drawn forth and employed in various situations.”

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Did you miss an edition of Digital Magic? Is there one you want to look back on again? Here are all the editions of Digital Magic in reverse order, (most recent first).

Have a great week!

Welcome to Dave’s Digital Magic #3

Here are 5 links for you to explore.

1. THE FEATURE OF THE WEEK!

Periodic Table of Visualization Tools

Click on the link and then put your mouse over any section for a visual example of the tool. Great to remind you of different ways to visually express ideas.

Lesson plan: Students choose one tool from two different categories to demonstrate what they have learned.

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2. LEARNING AND ENGAGING ONLINE

Back to Wiki’s

At our staff Pro-D session there were more questions about wiki’s. (Wiki-wiki means Quick in Hawaiian, not ‘clueless’ as I joked)

I provided a more informational introduction to wiki’s in Digital Magic #1, but this video is much more fun! Think of a word document online, that everyone who is invited can change, that includes a tracking history to see who did what. Or ask an expert, Stan, Sharon, or Lawrence, to show off their wiki’s. Here is one that I did for Science, where I tried to bring Science Alive! Check out the Senses page for a few projects.
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3. GLOBAL AWARENESS

World Mapper

Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest. The map below is according to Population.

There are now nearly 600 maps. Maps 1-366 are also available as PDF posters. Use the menu above to find a map of interest.
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4. MAGIC

Cyril has a fishy card trick

This is CRAZY! Cyril does his magic trick, ‘oooh-ahhh…’ then he says, “But wait…” and then takes it even further… simply amazing!
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5. THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM…

Clarence Fisher, a brilliant Canadian teacher and blogger, wrote this short paper (4 easy-to-read pages), Changing Literacies (PDF).

Being literate is so much more than being able to understand a written text on a piece of paper.

Here is a quote from his section on Access,

“Fast forward to our society and the ability we now have to drown ourselves in
cheap, disposable information from books, television, the internet, radio,
magazines, video, etc. In our time, one of the major skills of being literate is
the ability to access texts in many different forms from many different sources.
Importantly, it is not about searching for texts, it’s about finding them.”

In this article, Clarence describes why I became a ‘technology guy’. Actually, I don’t really care about technology… I just see how these tools, like wiki’s, can engage students in meaningful ways, where they create and share what they have learned in new, interesting ways.

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Did you miss an edition of Digital Magic? Is there one you want to look back on again? Here are all the editions of Digital Magic in reverse order, (most recent first).

Have a great week!

Welcome to Dave’s Digital Magic #2

Here are 5 links for you to explore.

1. THE FEATURE OF THE WEEK!

Classroom Organization- Cooperative Learning Strategies

Nothing new here, but when I found this, it reminded me of some of the really interactive things I’ve done in my classroom, but didn’t use as much as I should.

Overview

Working in small groups

Group Size

Cooperative Learning Strategies

Learning Role Cards

Role of parents/carers in the classroom

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2. LEARNING AND ENGAGING ONLINE

Voicethread.com

Teachers can get a FREE ACCOUNT! There are soooo many classroom possibilities.

3. GLOBAL AWARENESS

EarthWeek.com

4. MATH CENTRAL

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

5. THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM…

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Have a great week!

Welcome to Dave’s Digital Magic #1

Here are 5 links for you to explore.

1. THE FEATURE OF THE WEEK!

Want to use games in your classroom to help teach or study for a test?

Try out this ‘Make your own games with Powerpoint‘ site.

I tried out the Jeopardy game. It is this simple to get started:

The best part… Jeopardy music!

If you try out one of the other games and like it… please tell me about it!

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2. MAGIC TIME

You don’t even need a computer for this one… just figure out the math!

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3. GLOBAL AWARENESS

A powerful, interactive look at what life is like as a refugee. Includes great teacher resources.

4. LEARNING ONLINE

5. THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM…

a) Feel like reading? 15 year old Kris gives her eloquent view about what’s wrong with schools:

b) Just want to watch a video? Mr. Winkle Wakes

Do we do what we do because we are used to it? Or, do we do what we do because it has always been done that way? Are we doing what’s best for our students? What do we do well? And, what can we do better?

A little humour by Sean Bonner that would make a good conversation starter/ lesson hook.