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TeachersFirst Edge entry: for slightly adventurous technology users (may require permission or special arrangements from your tech department!). Every teen and college student knows Skype, the free tool for making calls from computer to computer anywhere in the word. By downloading and installing free software and setting up a free account, you can talk and/or make a video call to a similarly equipped computer elsewhere in the world for free. Skype uses a lot of "bandwidth" so is not suitable for very slow networks or dial up connections. It may also be slow at high-traffic times on a good network. Some patience and pretesting is required before you can be sure it will work for your needs. Connect to classrooms, experts, authors, virtual special speakers, or interview subjects using Skype.
10252
In the Classroom:
Skills Needed: Download and install the Skype software. If you are not allowed to install software on school computers, ask to have a single laptop available that is Skype-capable so you can borrow it or else explain to your principal that you are planning a series of Skype visits in your classroom so your techies will install it in your classroom. You will need a computer with built-in or separate microphone and speakers and optional webcam. If you plan to use a webcam, you must know how to start it. You will need to set up a free Skype account (requires email) and password. Keep a record of what you use for email and password! A single teacher-controlled Skype account will work in most school settings.
Getting started: If you prefer written directions go to Help >> Step by Step Help to get started. Or ask a student to show you (without seeing your password). You will need to explore the tools in Skype to locate where to enter the SKYPE name of the person you wish to call, start the call, and answer calls. Do NOT set your copy of Skype to "remember me" on a school computer! If students are to participate in the Skype call, you may want to have a "hot seat" at the Skyping computer so they can sit at a mike so their questions will pick up better for the person at the other end.
Safety and Security Tips: Be sure to set Skype so it does not open every time you start up the computer. Manually start the program when needed and do not leave an obvious Skype icon on the desktop for "clever" students to find. Protect your password -- do not post it on the computer. A teacher-controlled account is best for Skype classroom use to prevent unauthorized calls by students. Your user name will show on the screen for students to see, so be aware of that when you create your account.
Possible Uses: Anything you can do by telephone or video call you can do on a projector with your entire class. Connect the Skyping computer to a projector or whiteboard for the entire class to see if you are using video. (The video will be fuzzy, but good enough to follow a person's face.) Use Skype to talk to authors (check out their web sites or this blog for contact information). Have students write questions in advance. Use your contacts, web page "contact us" emails, and parent contacts to find others willing to Skype into your classroom. Interview scientists or government officials, deployed military personnel, or classes far away in a different culture or language. Younger students can compare weather, family life, community events, and more. Learn other ideas for using Skype in your classroom |
| Creative Curio: The Color Wheel and Color Theory |
Grades 5
to 12 |
Lauren |
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This blog post, written by a graphic designer, shares ideas and basics about color theory in very user-friendly language. The full blog holds many other ideas on graphic design principles, as well. Note to teachers: there are links to off-topic posts, but the discussions of design principles apply to web pages, print projects, 2D artwork, and more. There are also posts and discussions about computer design programs such as InDesign and Quark. Whether you teach art or advise the school newspaper, this "real world" blog by a professional can help students make connections between theory and authentic tasks.
10083
In the Classroom:
With younger students, share the discussion on an interactive whiteboard or projector to teach basic color terminology in art class, then have them design their own color schemes for a traditional art project, class wiki (great for portfolio sharing), or multimedia project in PowerPoint. You could even use basic shapes and colors on the whiteboard to create and "drag and drop" color swatches to illustrate the ideas. Middle and high school student groups could use this blog as a reference in designing brochures or web pages or critiquing publications in print or on the web. Have students take "screenshots" of web pages and analyze the colors used, posting the images and analysis to a wiki. Better yet, have more techie-students embed web content such as flickr photos within their wiki and analyze it in a caption below the "live" content. Assign an authentic graphic design task such as some of those mentioned in this blog. Teachers of advanced art students will want to share this link on their class web page for students to access both in and out of class as a reference and discussion starter. |
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| Tales from the Public Domain: Bound By Law |
Grades 9
to 12 |
Center for the Study of the Public Domain (Duke Law) |
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An online, interactive graphic novel(formerly known as comic book) created at Duke Law explains the highly-sophisticated concepts of "public domain" and other intellectual property issues related to using film clips, artwork, Broadway shows, and more in a documentary. In the digital world of the 21st century, copyright is a concept most foreign to our students, and this interactive book may only fan the flames of their outrage at such limitations to the "rights" they perceive in today's connected world. As one panel in the book itself says, "To many artists, the question of 'Fair Use' can seem like a game of blind man's bluff." These concepts are very challenging, even to adults, but this interactive comic book can at least alert users to what some of the legal issues involved with intellectual property may be. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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In the Classroom:
Since this content requires concentration and understanding of concepts beyond the typical high schooler, you may want to share selected frames from the book on your interactive whiteboard or projector as discussion starters or inspiration for debate on copyright issues. Whether you are introducing a research project that requires adherence to Fair Use and proper documentation, are coaching a debate team, or prompting a piece of persuasive writing on this hot topic, this resource will provide fodder for discussion. Don't expect mastery of the legal concept, but you will certainly hear opinions as students navigate this "book." |
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| Screentoaster |
Grades 4
to 12 |
Screentoaster SAS |
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Teacher's First Edge Review: For serious technology users. Create videos of how to use a website or application as well as your thoughts as you are navigating through simulations or sites. This free site records your voice and captures what is on your screen as you work on your computer. Screentoaster works with any type of computer platform. View screencasts made from other users which can be helpful in learning a new technology tool. Here is an example screencast of how to use screentoaster. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
10024
In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Users should know what they are trying to show before making a screencast. Click on the "Demo" button to learn more about making a screencast as well as visit the "FAQ" section for additional help. Click on "Start Recording." A Java applet will begin to load and must be approved before being able to screencast. Many school districts have settings on computers that restrict pop-ups or applets from loading. Check with your technology department. Set your video and audio settings next. Click "Record" or Alt-S to start. When done, watch your recording, upload to the Screentoaster site, or upload to You Tube. To continue to edit your screencast, download the video (as an .avi) to edit with movie software.
Safety/security: This site includes content contributed by the general public and may not be suitable for the classroom. The value of this site is to create tutorials to help students use a tool, but many students can also use this tool to create tutorials for other students. Create a class account where screencasts can be made. Screencast videos made by students would not be attributed to the student. Be sure to determine a way to know which work belongs to particular studentssuch as including initials or a group number in screencast titles. An email address is required for sign up to use this service. Check your school policies about accessing/sharing student email on school computers. You may want to create your
own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how.
Classroom use: Consider making screencasts of navigating through websites you use often such as wikis, blogs, or simulation/game sites. Many students who learn these sites naturally can create screencasts as well to help other students. Screencasts can also be made on how to use various software used to create projects or multimedia products. Have students create web site critique “tours” to demonstrate a site’s bias or questionable/reputable quality. Have your students 21st century literacy skills by analyzing and acting as media critics comparing different political coverage, etc. by screencast tours. Be sure to share the screencasts on a class wiki or blog for further discussion and even outside comments (if permitted by school policy). |
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| Spezify (beta) |
Grades 0
to 12 |
Spezify |
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Get an overview of any web search visually using Spezify. Spezify is a search engine that provides both visual and verbal results for the search terms you enter. It pulls in images from Flickr and anywhere on the web as well as print excerpts, and (coming soon) video. Click on the image or text box you wish to read just as you click on text in search results lists. Visually display the "big picture" on any topic. Searching "edison inventions" brings up pictures and articles for visual learners, ELL/ESL students, or non-readers to get the gist of the topic at a quick glance. Spezify also suggests possible additional search terms and related topics across the top of the page as white text within the narrow black stripe. If you click the plus sign (+) next to one of these terms, it will add that term to your search, narrowing the results. If you click on the word itself, Spezify will search that term instead (not adding it to your previous search). There does not appear to be any specific ranking (as Google has) or sorting of the results by reputation, popularity, etc. No "about" information is provided to explain how Spezify determines which results show first. The tool is still in beta and provides a way for you to provide feedback, as well. NOTE: as with any online image search, you should be careful what you enter as search terms, since Spezify will pull up images without any "filter."
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In the Classroom:
Use Spezify on an interactive whiteboard or projector as you introduce a new topic in science or social studies or when the class asks "What is ____?" . With very young students or non-readers, use Spezify to help them find information they can understand and to inspire them to try to read some of the short text excerpts alongside the images. Activate students' prior knowledge as they recognize the images and remark, "I didn't know Edison was the one who invented that!" Visually show the "big picture" on any topic. As you teach research skills, try a comparison of Spezify results with Google results for both functionality of the search engine and reputability of the results. NOTE: Preview any search terms you plan to display in class if the terms could possibly bring up inappropriate images. You may need to adjust your terms. Of course your students know what they are supposed to do if something inappropriate comes up when using a search themselves, right? If you have not discussed this, now is the time! |
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| TeachersFirst's Summer Sparklers |
Grades 0
to 12 |
TeachersFirst |
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This collection of editors' choices from TeachersFirst will spark summer excitement for parents and kids alike. Whether your want to create something, ignite new learning, or hold on to what you already know, you will savor these safe, reviewer-recommended resources. Be sure to share with your friends, neighbors, and family. Teachers will want to share this page with students departing for summer break. Summer will never be "boring" again!
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In the Classroom:
Share the link to this special collection via your class web page, newsletter, or email to all your students as they depart for vacation. You will help parents and students alike. Avoid the "summer slide." |
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| Picnik |
Grades 0
to 12 |
Picnik, Inc. |
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TeachersFirst Edge entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. Fancy photo editing for no cost—that’s what Picnik is all about. You can even do simple fixes, such as removing “red eye” or cropping the tree trunk off of your head! No downloading is required, and there are no tools to install. In fact, you don’t even need to register. However, if you want to manage your photos, you will need a quick registration. Also, for non-English speakers, choose from a list of language options in the drop-down menu at top right. It’s very user-friendly, so the techno-babies will feel right at home.
As with most high-tech sites, there is a premium level for a cost, but you don’t need to pay for some truly cool features. After you create your ‘new’ photo, you will be asked if you want to apply it to merchandise, such as mugs, key chains, magnets, etc. (This, of course, will go to an outside site which costs money.)
Picnik works on Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. This site allows you to access your Picnik photos from Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, Picasso, Webshots and Photobucket. If you really want to get intimately acquainted with Picnik, check out their blog and read about their featured photo makers (click on ‘blog’ at bottom of the page). This blog features photos and products designed by ordinary people like you, but the outcomes look like they were designed by highly-paid design artists! Also, if collages are what you need, click on the Collage button and go through similar easy-to-use options as the above.
9847
In the Classroom:
Skills needed: You need to know how to locate and upload photos from your computer. You can also get images from anywhere on your computer, the web, webcam, your Flickr, Facebook, or other photo storing account. Click on Get Started Now or click on the Start Picniking tab in the upper right corner.
Click on Upload or find your photo(s) that you would like to fix. Now the fun begins. Click on any of the tabs to change your photo. Click Edit to adjust the contrast, color, size, ratio, etc. of the photo. You are allowed to play around with the photo, and if you don’t like what you have done, simply click on ‘reset’ to bring it back to its original state. Once you click ‘apply’ you can not reset to its original. Click Create to apply artsy, fun or serious new effects to your photo. Click on Text, Shapes, or Frames add those features. It works just like a word processor. You can minimize the shapes or apply different fonts, colors and sizes to the photo. All of these fun effects won’t be saved until you hit Apply, so play around with the features all you want.
Once your photo is finished, click on Save and Share. Rename your photo and click on Save Photo. Once it is saved, you can manage your photo by clicking on Manage History. This feature allows Picnik to access this photo from your files whenever you desire it.
This tool would work well with a student “expert” in your class becoming the go-to helper, since most students (and the teacher) will not need all the features all the time. If one student becomes more experienced out of interest, let him/her help you—and others!
Safety/security concerns:
The only safety concern is if you are uploading photos of students to remain on the Picnik site or other photo sharing sites and this is not permitted under your school policies. If students are to use this tool, be sure you have parent permission for them to be using any photosharing sites, as well. You may want to simply work from your own local photos if sharing sites such as Flickr are not permitted. If you decide to have Picnik “keep a copy” of your picture, membership is required. Avoid this by saving your photo back to your computer, and no one has a copy but you!
Possible uses: Teachers, you can create professional posters for your classroom, gifts, scrapbooks for projects, bound books, and of course, advanced, professionally-doctored photos for any occasion by using this site. Your school (or your classroom) can raise field trip money by creating products with customized photos from this site. Middle school and high school art or computer teachers will enjoy a teaching unit on this no-cost site. It has similar functions of high-cost photo doctoring sites yet it is FREE. Have students/groups create a photo collection to illustrate a curriculum concept, such as “habitats” or “repetition in nature” by editing their own digital images to emphasize the concept. Share the finished work on your class wiki or student blogs so others can comment.
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| Video: Online Photo Sharing in Plain English |
Grades 0
to 12 |
Common Craft |
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This short video (less than 3-minutes) about the subject of online photo sharing. This site refers to Flickr (reviewed here), but other services are also named. Learn how online photo sharing keeps your photos safe from fire (and even computer crashes). Learn ways to share and enhance your photos. This site does have a small advertisement at the bottom of the screen, click on the X to remove the advertisement. There is a link provided to embed the video. The site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
9992
In the Classroom:
This site could be used in many capacities: sharing students’ work online (with parental consent, of course), sharing this video clip at in-service trainings for teachers to use both professionally and personally, providing the link on your website for families to view and use at home, and many other possibilities. |
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| Video: Social Media in Plain English |
Grades 0
to 12 |
Common Craft |
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What is social media? This video takes you on a journey to "Scoopville," a fictitious town used to demonstrate the many "flavors" or social media. The video is short (4-minutes) and very easy to follow. Blogs, podcasts, and videos are highlighted at this site. This site does have a small advertisement at the bottom of the screen, click on the X to remove the advertisements. There is a link provided, along with code to embed the video. The site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
385
In the Classroom:
If you are looking to learn more about various social media, check out this short video. Learn more about the "flavors" you could use in your own classroom. For research projects have students create a blog, wiki, or even a podcast and compare the pros/cons of each in terms of communication and safety. Create podcasts using a tool such as podOmatic (explained here). |
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| Video: Web Search Strategies in Plain English |
Grades 4
to 12 |
Common Craft |
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This site offers a VERY short video (under 3-minutes) that offers tips on how to get the best responses to your web searches. This is a perfect addition to your research unit, helping students to find information FASTER. There is a link provided to embed the video. The site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
752
In the Classroom:
Share the video clip on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students apply the tips from this video during independent or cooperative learning research projects. |
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| Embed it in |
Grades 6
to 12 |
Increo Solutions, Inc. |
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Teacher's First Edge review: For advanced technology users. Upload a variety of documents in order to embed them easily in a website. Embedding simply allows you to fill a placeholder “space” with content that is actually saved on another web space. Embedded items appear to be part of their new “space,” but can be shown (embedded) simultaneously in many, many places. This site offers a free service that simplifies the upload process. Upload documents of the following types: word documents, excel, adobe pdfs, PowerPoints, and open document formats, as well as a variety of image formats. Also use this site to embed URL's in a site.
9920
In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Users will need to be able to locate the files to be uploaded, as well as knowing the specific formats they are working with. Users must be able to manage a login to one of the services used for user verification: AOL, Google, Yahoo, or OpenID. This site does not require registration of its own to use Embedit.in.
Click to upload the file to the site. You will then need to sign in to one of the following accounts: AOL, Google, Yahoo, or OpenID. After signing in, you will be able to see the uploaded item and will be given the code to embed it into the site(s) of your choice. You will need to know how to paste the embed code at the site where the item will be included.
Safety/security concerns: The documents and images are hosted on the embedit.in server. If for student use, logins would be needed for each student to the services mentioned. Alternatively, a class account could be created on one of the services for use by all students with a login shared. Students should be cautioned that the login is for classroom use only and the know consequences of misuse.
Possible uses: Embedding items using a variety of services can be confusing. This free site makes the uploading and sharing of information through embed codes simple and easy. Students can easily upload information to a class wiki or blog for use by other students or to show their knowledge. Documents and images for presentations and contribution of content can be shared. As a teacher, you can provide items to be embedded in student blogs simply by giving them the embed code (copied into a word doc, for example). Student can choose the item they wish to blog about: a video, image, or other web content, and spend their time writing their response to it. Art teachers can share web-based, copyrighted images for student to critique, for example, since you are not TAKING the image when you embed it!
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| Teen CheckUp: Internet Safety |
Grades 5
to 12 |
Erin McElveen and Joe Nolan |
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Need to keep up-to-date on hot teen websites, technology, and the safety concerns swirling around both? Designed for parents and teachers, this site will help you learn oodles, especially if you desire to communicate with your middle and high school students about web issues and the latest news. The blog-style format makes it easy to read and navigate. To receive its valuable information in email format, sign up for this free service. Many of the links require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
9832
In the Classroom:
Business and computer teachers, save this site in your favorites. Even librarians or those who teach research skills will want to stay abreast of the latest tech trends. Many of the daily entries offer fresh points of discussion with your students. You will want to share this link on your class website for the parents of your teen (and pre-teen) students. Check out the archives and categories links to glean even more. Why not assign your students a “technology issues” topic and have a class debate on possible ways students, schools and parents could manage these tricky issues.
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| Google Zeitgeist |
Grades 6
to 12 |
Google |
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Want a concrete indicator of public curiosity and concerns from the source they use most? Try Google Zeitgeist. This simple tool tells what people are searching most on Google (country by country), correlating it to the news and other major dates. Use the links to Year-End Zeitgeist or Zeitgeist Archives to see full-year trends. For example, use the 2008 summary to see the spikes in certain Google searches connected with events during the 2008 U.S. political campaigns. Get a quick snapshot of popular culture "hot topics" or personal concerns during tough economic times, simple by seeing what people are searching on Google. If you are trying to build world-awareness and 21st century learners in your classroom, keep Google Zeitgeist handy to spark discussion and curiosity.
9737
In the Classroom:
Teachers of gifted will want to share this as a must-read site, but all students would benefit from hypothesizing about the world trends that generate Google searches. Share this resource on your teacher web page or classroom computer for handy access. As you discuss current events, government, politics, of even consumer behavior, use Zeitgeist to ask questions: Why are people searching this now? What did people in other countries search while Americans were focused on Sarah Palin or bank bailouts? Show a Zeitgeist listing on your projector or interactive whiteboard and simply ask the question: Why? Challenge students to discuss possible reasons for what they see in small groups or in blog posts. Use a Zeitgeist finding as a prompt for a debate or essay in English class. Use the trends as indicators of consumer behavior for discussions in business or FCS classes. Use search wordings from other countries in your world language classes to sharpen awareness of cultural differences and similarities.
Just ask WHY? and watch your students leap to higher level thinking as you challenge them to prove it with other findings from the web or research. |
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| Keyboarding Sites |
Grades 2
to 9 |
Mann Middle School |
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This site offers a compilation list of MANY keyboarding sites. Although TeachersFirst doesn't usually highlight a "list of links," our editorial staff found this one to be spectacular! At the time of this review, the list included over sixty sites that offer FREE keyboarding activities. There is quite a variety; you may want to spend a few minutes exploring your MANY options. Some are more elementary: spelling basic words or easy enough for young students. Others are complex and geared towards middle school and beyond. Some of the activities are actual lesson plans, while others are educational interactives. Nearly all of the sites require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
9670
In the Classroom:
Use this site for your students to practice keyboarding. Set up a learning station at a computer cluster for students to "try their hands" at the keyboard activities. If individual laptops are available, demonstrate the site on an interactive whiteboard or projector, and then have students try the activity or lesson themselves on laptops. Save this site in your favorites. Be sure to list this site on your class website for students to practice keyboarding both in and out of the classroom. Allow them to choose their best tool for learning and use it consistently. Maybe track improvement to compare the various tools? |
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| 5 Sources for Free and Legal Images |
Grades 0
to 12 |
The Blog Herald |
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TeachersFirst Edge entry: for moderately adventurous technology users and/or blog and wiki owners. These five sources provide Creative Commons images and videos for use in your blog/wiki/web site LEGALLY. Model your ethical use of media by sharing these with your blogging students or using them on your whole-class blog or wiki. The sources include abstract photos and current events new stories, as well as general photos. Each has its own search/browse features. The services include: Voxant Newsroom, PicApp, GumGum, Zemanta, and PhotoDropper.
9629
In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Since each site has its own directions, our review team will not explain the how-to's of each here. Some require access to install a plug-in on your blog, such as wordpress. Many school blogging sites do not provide this access. Others permit embedding an image simple by copy/pasting code into your blog or wiki. Two are actually extensions you add to Firefox or Internet Explorer and may require tech department authorization or installation on school computers.
Safety/security concerns: If you do allow students to join a site, be sure to adhere to school policies. As always, we recommend previewing the content available on each site before recommending it to your students. These images sites are NOT education-only, so some image content may not be classroom-appropriate. Have a policy and consequences in place before turning your students loose.
Possible Uses: Art teachers or writing teachers can use the abstract images from the GumGum option as writing prompts or to launch discussion on design principles. If your students have individual blogs, allow them to personalize the "look" using these legal images. Be sure to model thinking aloud about why you are using a legal image source. Use news images or videos from Vixant Newsroom as prompts for current events discussions on your blog or wiki, or assign students to select a news story and write an in-depth analysis of it to accompany the image/video. English or social studies teachers teaching persuasive writing can assign students to use their multimedia skills as they present arguments both verbally and visually on a class "issues" wiki. Younger students can help select images to include on a whole-class wiki or blog then add their own writing about them. A teacher can embed a sequence of photos and ask student to tell the story that explains it. Be sure to include this link on your teacher web page for your tech-savvy teens to use as they generate projects with LEGAL images. Of course you will require them to document their sources.
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