Tech Tip Tuesday ... TCEA!!!

Today's Tech Tip will be a little different. I'm spending the week at a fabulous convention (that I may or may not have called a "Nerd Conference" once or twice before!) learning about all kinds of new technology integration ideas and lots of extra tips and tricks I can share with you. Today I attended a Google Academy. (Ooohh, how I love Google!)

Let's just say that I foresee us all moving "to the cloud" pretty soon! If you don't know what I mean by that, stick around and keep reading the blog!

For today, I want to try something using a Google Form! If you've never used Google forms, it's super easy! I created this form in about a minute and a half, and embedded it here. All results submitted through this form are instantly uploaded to a spreadsheet in my Google Docs. It's a great way to keep track of information. (It can EVEN be used to create self-grading quiz for students!!!)

Thank you in advance for your participation. I will post the results spreadsheet next week so you can see how it works!

Tech Tip Tuesday ... Mixbook

Even though we're home today (enjoying a snow day!), I still wanted to share this site with you today. In fact, maybe you'll even have some time to play with it! (You didn't have other plans today, did you???)

Mixbook is a great online tool for creating all kinds of books - digital scrapbooks, class yearbooks, personal journals, ABC books, etc. Whether you use this tool at home or in the classroom, you will love it!

And guess what??? If you create and order a book in the next two days, you can use the coupon code "BEMINE30" to get their 30% off Valentine's Day special! (Doesn't have to be a Valentine's Day book - use the discount on anything!) Offer ends Wednesday, Feb 2!

Creating the book is really quite easy - I suggest you pick one of their amazing templates. If you want to adjust anything (resize a picture, add a picture, delete a textbox, etc., just do it!)

The really, really great thing is that you have several options of how to "publish" these books! You can publish any books online for anyone to see. Send your students and their parents a link, and they can go right to your book, "flip" through all the pages, add comments, and they can even edit their own pages!

Wanna see some examples??? (I found these in the Mixbook Gallery)

2010-11 in Ms. Naugle's Classroom - cute book displaying some of the fun (and "techy") things Ms. Naugle's students have done in class

Over the Meadow - cute story book using STUDENT CREATED ART!

10 Influential American Authors - what a great idea! Instead of a simple pen and paper writing assignment, let the kids create! They will still learn about the authors!

Vertebrates - What??? Using a "language" tool to teach Science? Yep! Be sure to check out this student's book about vertebrates and see another example of how hand-drawn art can be used!

Geometry Scrapbook - what a fantastic idea! Students can use a digital camera (or the one on their phones!) to take pictures of real life examples of geometric shapes, angles, terms, etc. then create a MixBook with the pictures - make sure they use text to explain the shape. Fun idea, great final project! Look how I can even embed it on a webpage ...

| View Sample Photo Books | Create your own Photo Book

Okay, as you can tell, I really like this site! I can't let this opportunity pass without showing you the MixBook I did for a Christmas present for my mom! I designed it online for anyone to view, but I purchased 3 copies of the hard-back book. I was super impressed with the quality!


Wanna see more Alaska? (fyi - it's colder HERE today than any of the current temperatures of the places we visited in Alaska!!!) Click here to see my Alaska book!

Tech Tip Tuesday ... Study Jams!

Scholastic has done it again - check out Study Jams! Study Jams is an FREE learning tool that's perfect for 3rd-6th graders to experience math and science topics by using real-life examples in a super cool online environment.

There are currently over 200 Jams available. Today's Most Popular topics are Volcanoes, Photosynthesis, Combinations, The Universe, and Creating Equations from Word Problems. (You can even Sing Karaoke in the Equations topic - how cool is that???)

Each "Jam" has a video or slide show that include step by step explanations for all kinds of math and science topics, key vocabulary terms, and a quiz where students can practice what they have just learned.  

Study Jams! can be used in a multitude of ways - students can watch them at a computer center in your classroom, you could take your students into the computer lab and let them explore at their own pace, or they can be shown on your data projector in your classroom. Choose what works best for your students.

Have you used these with your students? What did they think? Which one was their favorite Jam?

Tech Tip Tuesday ... How do you???

Today's Tech Tip is going to be a little different - I'm asking for YOU (yes, you) to share the tips! 

We are very fortunately in our district that most of teachers have a document camera in their classroom that they can use any time. The rest of the teachers will have one very soon or at least have access to several of them on their campuses! 

Here's where the "YOU" get to participate! Please leave a comment on this post about a way you actually use your Document Camera in your classroom. It doesn't have to be anything fancy at all - just share practical uses.  

Go on, you can do it ... just click the Comments link below, share your helpful tip, and click Post Comment. As soon as I "approve" it, it will show up here on the blog! Comments are welcomed from anyone - even out of EM-S ISD people!