What's Next?
Many of you have already been using technology in your classrooms, or have started redesigning your lessons to include more coopertative or collaborative strategies, so the question is... What do I do next? The answer... it depends. This week, I'll share some additional resources with you, but you will be working on your own lessons, activities, assessments, or simply practicing using the resource so you'll be comfortable using it in your classroom.
Some places to start...
Join the Free for Technology Blog - you'll receive daily emails about great resources as well as suggestions for using the tools in your classroom. Visit his lists of most popular posts
Add websites and files to your PortaPortal - have your units organized and ready to use on the first day of school. See an example of a portaportal here.
Add content to your wiki - you might want to search for wikis by your grade level to get some ideas
Add posts to your blog - you can either save them to publish when you need them or copy them into your blog from a word document
Create a "Welcome to our class" PowerPoint and Brochure for students and parents (can be used at Open House or during Curriculum Night).
Create forms in Google Docs to help you manage your data collection, parent volunteers, etc.
Get organized:
Use the Classroom Architect to design your classroom layout or you may want to explore a new layout for your current IC classroom.
Make a list of materials you may need to implement the layout.
Create labels for classroom areas (use word and clipart to make things easy for your students to find)
Make checklists for daily routines and activities (can be enlarged to post around the room)
Create step-by-step guides for your students for basic technology issues (creating a word document, saving to the appropriate location, inserting pictures, basic PowerPoint, or other technology routines). You could save to your class website, wiki, or print out and save for reference (in a notebook or posted at their workstations)
Create and label folders in your class wiki.
Continue to work on your website.
Build resources for your SubTub so your kids won't have to go offline if you are absent.
Resources:
Classroom Organization for special needs students
Classroom Websites:
Beth Newingham - 3rd Grade teacher and Scholastic contributor, visit her Teacher Resources and Tour Our Classroom for ideas
Mr. Coley's Fifth Grade - he uses podcasts, literature circles, and has resources for students and teachers
Mrs. Abernethy - 5th grade, visit her resources for students and teachers
Build collaborative workspaces:
Develop lessons and activities for your wiki (writing prompt for the week, Build-a-Story, peer editing resources, upload paragraphs for editing and revising practice)
Develop lessons and activities for your blog (use Essential Questions for weekly posts, write posts for group responses)
Design activities using Project-Based, Problem-Based, or Inquiry-Based methods.
Read about the benefits of using technology to build and support collaboration
A 2-part blog post about collaborating and technology in the classroom
Design collaborative assessments (click here for an e-article from Edutopia)
Resources:
A Collection of Educational Wikis - organized alphabetically, includes grade-level specific examples
Classroom Examples of Wikis and Blogs
Examples of using wikis in the classroom
Develop your own resources:
Create a template for unit planning, lesson plans, or collaborative planning
Use GeorgiaStandards.org to locate lessons aligned with your grade level curriculum
Access SAMS to look at the first math units (Common Core)
Create an account on Better Lessons to find and share lesson plans
Work with your team to build units (share the work, have each person concentrate on one or two things and then post where everyone has access - like a wiki)
Our school has an account through planbookedu.com and has a feature to share lesson plans.
Use the resources listed on the Website Index to build a more integrated instructional unit
Use a search engine to locate appropriate resources for a unit, lesson, or standard
Resources:
Tips for searching with Google - posters from Richard Byrne's blog, FreeTechnology4Teachers
Federal Resources - from the Department of Education
Search for something new:
Resources Posted on FreeTechnology4Teachers:
Here are some other resources to explore:
Give your anecdotal records a face lift.
Creating a Google form (like the survey from day 1)
"Welcome to our class" PowerPoint (scroll below to access)
Tech Support (help videos):
http://www.teachertechvids.com/
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line.htm
Get organized:
www.portaportal.com - a great way to organize and share websites with your students and grade level. Scroll to the bottom of the page for a PortaPortal Guide you can download and save or print for your reference. Here is our third grade portaportal organized by units: http://guest.portaportal.com/3rdmpe
PowerPoints:
Pete's PowerPoint Station - looking for a PowerPoint you can use with your kids, this site has a wonderful collection for all subject areas
Jefferson County Schools - PowerPoints and templates for games (save to your computer and modify to meet your needs)
PowerPoint Palooza - a wide variety of PowerPoints to save and modify for your class
Webquests and Internet Scavenger Hunts:
Historical Scene Investigation - experience history through primary resources and engaging investigations
Digital Storytelling:
Digital cameras in the classroom:
Online literacy resources:
Literactive - interactive site to support literacy development (includes resources for ESL)
StoryPlace - the ultimate digital library
www.tumblebooks.com - online books with comprehension questions
Teaching Resources:
Using search engines with students - a list of 7 "student-safe" search engines
Vocabahead - videos to help students learn new vocabulary words
WeboWord - learn vocabulary visually
Planning Resources: