Category: Websites
Dear Otto: How Can I Highlight a Document
Do you have a tech question?[/caption]
Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.
One of my readers was making a presentation and wanted to know how to highlight the screen for her audience and/or spotlight information. When she sent the question, I didn’t have a solution, but have since come across several I want to share with you.
I love this tool I discovered thanks to Rick over at What’s on my PC. This is a portable tool that presents on the Windows Desktop as a virtual pointer stick. It’s freeware, requires no log-in, and minimal installation.
Weekend Website #102: Interactive Simulations
Every Friday, I share a website (or app) that I’ve heard about, checked into, gotten excited to use. This one is a math book and app. Since ‘math’ is by far the most popular search term of readers who seek out my blog, I know you’re going to enjoy this review.
[caption id="attachment_8767" align="aligncenter" width="571"]
Simulations for elementary/middle school math and science[/caption]
(more…)
Weekend Website #100: CybraryMan Math
Every Friday, I’ll send you a wonderful website (or more) that my classes and my parents love. I think you’ll find they’ll be a favorite of your students as they are of mine.
Weekend Website #98: Smithsonian Wild
Every Friday, I share a website (or app) that I’ve heard about, checked into, been excited to use. This one is a math app. Since ‘math’ is by far the most popular search term of readers who seek out my blog, I know you’re going to enjoy this review.
[caption id="attachment_8454" align="aligncenter" width="614"]
Amazing wild animal pictures[/caption]
Weekend Website #98: TED-Ed
Every Friday, I share a website (or app) that I’ve heard about, checked into, been excited to use. This one is a math app. Since ‘math’ is by far the most popular search term of readers who seek out my blog, I know you’re going to enjoy this review.
[caption id="attachment_8405" align="aligncenter" width="614"]
Lessons worth sharing[/caption]
Apps for Education
Kids love using iPads. All those fun activities that can be accessed quickly via the pad format are both stimulating andaddictive. I’m all for giving kids what they want in the way of educational tools, but there-in lies the rub:
How do you find those apps?
When my school asked me to come up with a collection to use on our new class-set of ipads (to cycle through grades 3-8), I thought it would be easy.
Weekend Website #94: 9 Websites to Teach Writing
Here’s a quick list of websites I use to teach 3rd graders how to write (check here for updates):
- Adventure Island
- Character Trading Cards
- Context Clues Game
- Context Clues Millionaire
- Friendly Letter Maker
- Identify the Main Idea
- Main Idea Battleship
- Using a table of contents
- Words in Context
This isn’t robust enough. Please add a comment with websites you’ve found valuable in teaching the techniques of writing to third graders.
Communicate the Web 2.0 Way
My school is an IB school. We follow the philosophy that to educate students requires an international understanding of the world, people and ideas. Part of the curriculum requires fifth graders to participate in an Exhibition where they use knowledge accumulated over six years of education to communicate their ideas on a global issue such as displacement, global warming, lack of education, pollution, world hunger, and limited access to fresh, clean water.
Last year, the fifth grade team asked me to brush students up on Publisher/PowerPoint/Word skills so they could construct their presentation. This year, I’m taking a different approach by encouraging students to think of other ways than these traditional ways to communicate their ideas. We’re spending six weeks studying and teaching each other some of the amazing online communication tools that offer motivating and inspirational ways to share thoughts.
Here’s how we’re doing that:
Weekend Website #93: 24 Third Grade Websites on Landforms
Every year, third graders in my school study landforms. Here’s a pithy list of websites I’ve collected to complement this study (click here for updates to list).
Weekend Website #93: 17 Natural Disasters Websites
Every Friday, I’ll send you a wonderful website (or more) that my classes and my
parents love. I think you’ll find they’ll be a favorite of your students as they are of mine.
My fourth graders just went through a unit of inquiry on natural disasters and we came up with a pretty good list of resources. I want to share them with you. Please add your own to the comment section:
