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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 |
| Jog the Web |
Grades 2
to 12 |
Jog the Web |
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Teacher's First Edge Review: For advanced technology users. Have a series of web pages you want to share with someone? Use Jog the Web to share links and a specific jogging pathway (“track”) through them. Look at some of these great examples: Google Earth in education and Find a Fallacy.
Search or browse existing “tracks.” Once clicked, a sidebar appears on the left that provides information about the track. The number of pages in the “jog” appears, as well as forward and back arrows. View the names and descriptions of the pages and any instructions that the author added. Click on any of these names to follow the link directly to the page. Register to create your own track. See TeachersFirst’s safety and use tips for using this site below under “In the Classroom.” Some content on this site may be inappropriate for the classroom. Always preview.
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Registration is free and requires a password and email address. Once validated by email, click "Create a New Track" and enter a title and description. Find all of your tracks on your page. Click on each to edit descriptions or add steps (these are the web address url's of the pages you are adding.) Easily delete your tracks by clicking on the trash can icon next to each track.
Safety/Security: If students are to create tracks, each student will need to create an account (with an email address) and then email verification. 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.
Consider creating a single class account using your “extra” email address, so you can monitor and submit student work safely. Student-created tracks can be identified through title or adding initials at the end of the title. The home page of this site includes changing “featured” content contributed by the general public. Be sure to preview the content ahead of time. You may want to send students to your track via a direct link.
Classroom use: Create your own tracks as webquests for students to follow for class assignments. Students can be assigned different subtopics of a subject such as biomes, find related pages, and create a track working through these pages. Students could also create tracks to annotate their sources for a research project, critiquing each source in the sidebar. Teach about evaluating web sites and reliability of sources by having students in small groups create tracks comparing different sources on the same topic. Create tracks as homework help solutions for parents and students. Use a blog, wiki, or website to share these tracks for students to visit for obtaining information. Want to learn more about Wikis? Check out the Teacher’s First Wiki Walk-Through reviewed here.
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| PBS Kids Internet License |
Grades 1
to 5 |
PBS Kids GO |
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This simple site introduces your students to key internet-related terminology and safety issues. To get started, have students type their name (first name only) into the text box and click “drive.” Next, simply click on one of the items in the circular web (i.e. privacy policy, be nice, meeting people, downloading, c is for cookies, passwords, and several others).. Answer the question by clicking in the circle. The correct answer is displayed as well as a definition of that term or process. In the same fashion, click on all the other terms. When finished, a gender-correct license will be ‘issued.’ Simply print out the license for your student to show they ‘know’ safety features and terms of the internet.
10128
In the Classroom:
At the beginning of the year, make this an introductory computer-use lesson for elementary students. Introduce the site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students navigate the site on individual computers or set-up a learning station.
Set a classroom goal for 100% of the students to gain a license. Post the licenses on a bulletin board that highlights internet safety. Invite your computer lab teacher to address internet safety before passing out the ‘licenses.’ See if students can come up with additional internet safety guidelines.
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| Bubbabrain |
Grades 0
to 12 |
Bubbabrain |
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Looking for interactive review activities for your subject area? Use Bubbabrain's vast array of activities created for many levels and subjects. Registration is not required to play. When Game ID is checked (this is the automatic default for the site,) you choose a level ranging from Elementary to College (be sure to click the circle in the appropriate grade level) and then choose a subject area from the drop down box at your level. Subject areas vary by grade level and may include: telling time, government, family and consumer science, world languages, sociology, technology, and countless others.
Click the "Go" button to start your activity. Click on the correct answer to the question and then a new question appears. Prompts to try again appear if the answer is wrong and a percent right appears on your screen as you progress. Click on the teacher's link in the upper right hand corner for more information on becoming registered. Once registered, teachers can create their own games for the site. Your teacher ID can be entered by students to access created games.
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In the Classroom:
Use these activities for review of concepts or terminology with your class on specific topics/subjects. Wish there were a review game for a missing topic? Request a teacher ID, and have groups of students create the questions. Enter the information for the game and students can review by playing their game or one created by another group. Share the student-created games on your interactive whiteboard or projector. |
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| Science News for Kids |
Grades 3
to 12 |
Society for Science and the Public |
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Search news articles about various topics such as "Agriculture," "Animals," "Chemistry and Materials," "Finding the Past," and many other topics. Featured articles and pictures can be found on the front page in a section titled "The Weekly Scoop" and "Science Snapshots." View other pages in the site including "Puzzle Zone," "Game Zone," "SciFi Zone," SciFair Zone," and "Lab Zone." Click on the "Teacher Zone" to access question sheets, resources, and websites for classroom use. Some ads run along the sides of this site.
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In the Classroom:
Use Science News for Kids as a great reading and reporting assignment. Students can find an area and article of interest to read, summarize, and report to the class. Have students create commercials about their topics. Video and share using a site such as SchoolTube reviewed here. Students can use these news articles to find additional relevant information on the internet. Students may find these topics to be great self-study topics. Use the question sheets when assigning articles for class reading as a guided inquiry. Teach reading comprehension using these factual articles on your interactive whiteboard, asking students to highlight key words and generate a “main idea” sentence using them. |
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| 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.
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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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| 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.
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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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| DimDim |
Grades 0
to 12 |
DimDim, Inc. |
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TeachersFirst Edge entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. So you want to meet with other teachers around the globe and your school can’t afford for you and your students to fly there? No problem. Sign up for free video conferencing through DimDim. For the free version of this web conferencing site, up to 20 conference attendees can communicate with each other. No downloads are needed. Power point presentations, graphs, pdf documents, plus more, can be shared via DimDim conferencing.
Warning—this is a commercial site, so upgrades on services are offered prominently. As with most high-tech sites, these upgrades to the premium levels are offered for a cost (DimDim Pro). DimDim Free is free. This site requires Adobe Acrobat and Flash. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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In the Classroom:
Skills needed: You should be comfortable exploring this website to see which features are free versus which features are offered for a fee. A fast connection for your computer is advantageous as you watch the various videos to learn about the site. After viewing the tutorials, why not experiment with friends or colleagues before embarking on a prestigious seminar. It is easy to use, however, the more you get acquainted with it, the easier it will be. You will need to impart knowledge of how to use this tool when setting up a conference with parents or colleagues.
To get started, a quick registration is necessary. We suggest that you watch the tutorial videos after signing up to learn how to use the various features. If at any point you need to talk to a DimDim service employee, click on "Talk to Us." Type in your question and you will receive instant feedback. To host a web meeting, simply click on "Host Meeting." Create a name for your “Room” (that’s the place you and your attendees will meet). Next, create a Meeting Name (that’s the name of your seminar or meeting). Type in a description of the agenda so that others will know what information will be shared. Type in the email addresses of your invited attendees and an invitation will be sent to those people. Type in the Room Key (that’s basically the password your attendees will need to enter your web conference. Now, you’re ready to talk to a group of friends or colleagues. At the appointed time, your attendees will click on a link (sent to them via email) that will send them directly into your web conference. The free version lets attendees listen to each other.
Safety/security concerns: While this site may mainly be for teacher usage, there may be occasions when older students will be using this site to conference with peers in other schools or countries. The content shared by others during the conference will need to be monitored closely.
Possible uses: Applications for this site extend through all subject areas, as you connect with classrooms all over the world, exploring a vast array of subjects, languages, and social connections. World language learners will appreciate this site to talk in real-time to other language learners. Professional development is easy when the presenter invites up to 20 attendees to learn more about various educational subjects. Offer web conferencing through DimDim for students’ parents when you need to discuss details of upcoming projects or field trips. Save time and travel expenses, by chatting via DimDim! Have students “host” a DimDim session to “teach” others at another school about local history, news, or a current unit of study. Invite parents to learn from the students, too! |
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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.
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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: Twitter in Plain English |
Grades 5
to 12 |
Common Craft |
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Are you "twying" to understand the "tweet" world of Twitter. Watch this short (less than 3-minutes) video about the "Twerrific" world of Twitter. This social networking site asks the question, "What are you doing?". This site shares how to use Twitter to stay connected. There is a link provided to embed the video. The site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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In the Classroom:
This is a great site for professional development and further understanding of the current microblogging "twend": Twitter. Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use Twitter in the Classroom (with parental permission). Have students create writing prompts and share them on Twitter. Have your government students follow the "Twitter News" of politicians they can find on Twitter. Have students in science class follow the Twitter Feeds like Science News. Challenge students to create their own virtual collective Twitter scavenger hunt. The possibilities are endless! You can also use Twitter as a springboard for discussions about the changes in the political landscape and society with the advent of social networking tools. Ask them: are there any negatives or cautions to sharing your life on Twitter? |
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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.
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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: RSS in Plain English |
Grades 0
to 12 |
Common Craft |
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Wondering what an "RSS" is? Or maybe why you would want to use this time saver/ real world connection in your classroom? This short video (less than 4-minutes), shares WHAT an RSS is and HOW it saves you time by having your desired web content ready for you instead of your going and searching your favorite blogs and websites on YOUR time. Choose a reader (our editors like Google reader), set-up a connection between your reader and your favorite websites (subscribing; look for the orange RSS icon), and have the updates sent to your reader (rather than wasting your poking around and searching the web). There is a link provided to embed the video. The site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
9993
In the Classroom:
This is a great site for professional development. Once you set up a reader, you can subscribe to topics that fit in your curriculum: Google blog searches for inventions for your science class or current events feeds about the continent you are studying in social studies, for example. Administrators might consider sharing this time-saver with teachers during a training. With middle school students and older, share this video on an interactive whiteboard or projector (don't be surprised if they teach you MORE about the RSS options). Then have students set up a reader on an assigned topic to fit your curriculum or collaborate to set up a reader for the entire class. |
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| Video: Podcasting in Plain English |
Grades 0
to 12 |
Common Craft |
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This site provides an easy to understand introductorion video on podcasting. The video is short, about 3-minutes. Use this site to learn what podcasting is and how it is different from broadcasting. 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 require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
9988
In the Classroom:
If you aren't familiar with podcasts, watch this short video and try to think about ways to use podcasting with your students. Have cooperative learning groups research a topic relevant to your class and create a podcast using a simple tool such as podOmatic (explained here). |
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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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