social bookmarking

Social Bookmarking is basically a fancy way to bookmark websites. Users can share, organize and manage bookmarks. The first thing you do is give each bookmark a tag. You can also put them into folders as well. Then you can share your bookmarks, tags, etc. with others.

There are pros and cons to tag-based bookmarking. However, for most users it provides a way to organize and share bookmarks. Some of the social networking bookmarking services include:

Delicious, Ma.gnolia, Faves, Diigo, Connectbeam

wikis

Wikis are websites (content) that allows for editing requiresusers to register before they can make any changes. Wikis can be useful in the classroom in many ways. First of all, teachers could collaborate on a project. One teacher could begin the project descript and then another could add onto it, and so on and so forth until the prject descriptionis complete. In the classroom with the students wikis could be a useful tool as well. Collaboration, group stories, group research, all of this could thrive using wikis.

 

student blogs

The website 21classes.com is a great resource for creating student accounts. One reason is that you don’t need to set up the accounts using email addresses. There is an option on the setup where you can set up accounts without using email. Also, this site is great because it has settings that allow for more security, which is important when using with students.

A good idea when using blogs with students in the class is to have students sign a blogging contract. This ensures the expectations and hopefully the consequences as well.

rss feeds

RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication. It is like a subscription and is used for things that publish and update often. Most RSS feeds have a free subscription.

 

Simple steps to add RSS feeds to a WordPress blog.

1. Start with this website. It is Education Week and has a list of different education based RSS feeds.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/feeds/index.html

2. Choose an RSS based on the list of RSS feeds.

3. Click on the RSS icon. That will open up a new window. Once that new window is open, copy the url.

4. Next, on the dashboard in WordPress go to widgets.

5. From widgets, drag the widget titled RSS over to the right (where your widgets are housed).

6. From there you will be asked to input information from the widget you just found (name, description and finally paste the url).

7. Then hit update and it is finished.

clrn (california learning resource network)

There is no budget crisis. Each teacher at School X will receive an extra $4,000 to purchase technology educational software. However, many of the teachers at School X need help in finding and researching worthwhile software. Help is here!

Step 1. Go to clrn.org

Step 2. In the top menu bar go to Learning Resources

Step 3. There are two different ways to search

A. Scroll down the drop down menu and search by content

B. Or choose the tab that says “find by standard”

Step 4. When the screen opens up with a list of categories, check the standards you are interested in.

Step 5. From there a large table will appear listing several different software options.

Step 6. Explore the different options and enjoy your purchase!

databases

Here are the basics on databases:

Tables are what hold the information. They can be in different forms. Records are on each “person” or “thing”. Fields are detailed information inside each record.

You can pull information on different categories through the forms. Queries are similar to forms. It is extracting information that you’re looking for.

There are many different ways to use databases in the classroom. One of the most common is for student records such as grades. I had to do a database assignment for a class and I created one based on the GATE program. I created a relationship database with Accelerated Reader program to cross reference the GATE students to find any connections between what they are reading and whether they are identified in the program. Other projects include: inventory or equipment, library books being checked out, cafeteria lunches or lunch tickets, curriculum projects and have the categories connected.

PowerPoint

The components of a PowerPoint slide show  vary depending on the type of presentation. Regardless of the content, all presentations should have a title slide with the “title” and author. You can always include pictures to highlight the subject matter. Remember to use at least 30 font size and to add bullets or some other summarizing visual aid.

Blogs, tags, categories, and sub-categories

I am just now beginning to learn the difference between blogs, tags, categories, and sub-categories. Although it seems complicated, once you are able to figure out the difference between all of these, it will start to become second nature. This is a graphic organizer of how I see it. bloggraphic

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are a great way to have students “publish” or create final drafts of graphs. This is especially true for fifth grade where some of the math standards cover graphing. Teaching both skills (creating graphs by hand and through a graph in a spreadsheet) is very valuable.

WordPress post 10.12.09

There are many different ways to use a wordpress blog in the classroom.

• One way would be to use it as a journalism/newspaper medium. This could keep the parents and community informed on what is happening in the classroom and/or the school as a whole. Students could take pictures of these various events that they’ve covered and include the picture with their news write up.
• Pictures could also be taken of art projects and the blog could include a description of that project. This could then be shared with the school and the internet community to compare/contrast art projects on the same topic.

• Another idea would be to post student work. It could be by category (writing, social studies, etc). Pictures could be included that showcase students working on the classroom on those assignments.
• This kind of blog could be used for post-field trip sharing. The teacher (or student) could write a reflection after each field trip and include pictures from that trip.

All of these uses for blogs could be linked to a class website for students and/or parents to view.