4OOPS Tech Tricks

Google Search Stories

A truly insightful program you can watch online–> Digital Nation

How are you doing on your resolution to read more this year? The Goodreads website will help.

Goodreads‘ mission is to improve the process of reading and learning throughout the world. Toward that goal,
Goodreads is the largest free social network for readers in the world. There are  more than 2,900,000 members who have added more than 78,000,000 books to their shelves. A place for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike, Goodreads members recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they’ve read and would like to read, form book clubs and much more.

With a desire to make reading fun again, Goodreads wants to tap into the excitement when you run into a friend who tells you about this “great new book I’m reading.” And suddenly you’re excited to read it too. It’s that kind of excitement that Goodreads is all about. I learned about Goodreads from my daughter who has a page with hundreds of books. She has joined book clubs, made friends with librarians, avid readers, and a couple of internet newbies.

Most book recommendation websites work by listing random people’s reviews. On Goodreads, when a person adds a book to the site, all their friends can see what they thought of it. Members (membership is free) also create trivia about books, lists of the best books, post their own writing and form groups and book clubs. Goodreads was launched in December 2006. It is not usually blocked or filtered by school filters.

It is fun to communicate with my daughter on another level, as reader-to-reader. As fellow learners.

Possible Classroom Integration Ideas:

1. Create a Goodreads page with your book list, books you like, books for students to read over the holidays, summer, or for extra credit. Thre is a password feature where only users who you have given your password may be added to your Friends list or access your page.

2. Invite parents to become Goodreads members and add them as friends for whole family involvement.

3. Goodreads has an option to note the page you are on with a book you are currently reading. Use this feature for students to chart their progress to you on books they are reading, or assigned to read. (Graph results for an Across-the-Curriculum Math adaption)

4. Assign students to compose reviews of books and leave on their Goodreads page.

5. ?

Check back here and let me know of other ways you integrate this resource in your classroom!

Happy Reading!

Reading is Fundamental {R.I.F.} is a charitable foundation that promotes reading. Founded in 1966, Reading Is Fundamental  provides 4.5 million children with 16 million books each year and focuses on motivating young readers in underserved communities. As the largest American literacy organization, RIF operates in all U.S. states and territories through a network of over 400,000 volunteers. Learn more.   Donate »

1. To define a word, type “define:word”  in the Search box

Example: define:effete

 2. To perform calculations, enter equation into Search box.

Example: 78 x .15

3. To convert measurements, type “cups in a liter” into the Search box

4. To see currency conversions, type “15 dollars in euros” into the Search box

5. To narrow information, use hyphens as minus signs or pulse signs

Example: geometry + Jeopardy  OR   jaguar- cars – football

6. To find specific file types, type subject in Search box, go into results, choose  Advanced Search and in the middle of the screen, choose the filetype you would  like to use.

7. To find a verbatim phrase, use quotation marks around Search terms

Example: “constructivist education”

Source: TekMom’s Technology Buzzwords, http://www.tekmom.com/buzzwords/

Ruby

Website–> Popular New Year’s Resolutions

Top Ten Techie-Infused Classroom Activities Using This Website

1.) Read and Analyze the data from the New Year’s Resolution website. Demostrate what you know by writing one sentence of what you learned. (Easy)
2.)Create a Table in a Word Document tallying each type of resolution. (Easy)
3.) 1.) Create a Table in a Word Document tallying each type of resolution and the number of people who espouse it. (Intermediate)
4.) Display the type of resolution website data in an Excel Spreadsheet. (Beginner)
5.) Print your Table or Spreadsheet created in one of the previous steps. During lunch survey other students and/or faculaty and/or family members to see which resolution they also made. Write down the responses (be sure to include yourself!) (Intermediate)
6.) Print your Table or Spreadsheet created in one of the previous steps. During lunch survey other students and/or faculty and/or family members to see which resolution they also made. Write down the responses (be sure to include yourself!)
7.) Next add the data to your table or spreadsheet. (Intermediate)
8.) Create a hand-drawn graph or chart to display your survey results. (Intermediate)
9.) In Excel, use ChartWizard to digitally create a chart and embed it into the spreadsheet file. Save and Print.
10.) Distinguish between students/family/faculty data. Represent the different responses in a Venn Diagram. Be sure to include a caption.

One is not born into the world to do everything, but to do something.  Henry David Thoreau

Good Habits are not made on birthdays, nor Character at the new year. The workshop of character is everyday life. The uneventful and commonplace hour is where the battle is lost or won.  Maltbie D. Babcock

This year I will join 100 million other folks and  make New Year’s Resolutions. Some are destined to fail right out of the gate because they exude negative energy. This are the Resolutions which begin with the words, “Stop,” “Lose,” “Avoid,” and/or “Quit.”

Some Resolutions are so wordy they are forgotten before the Times Square ball finishes it descent.

For this upcoming year, how about positive, one-word Resolutions:

Breathe
Observe
Flourish
Awaken
Soften
Laugh
Thank
Pray
Embrace
Savor
Challenge
Remember
Wellness
and…

and…

and…

(send in yours!)

I can’t end hunger, but I can donate cans to a food bank.

I can’t fix needy schools, but I can give volunteer to be a class reader.

I can’t wish every soldier a Merry Christmas but I can send Christmas cards. *

I can’t end the war, but I can pray for the safety of all of our bravest.

*Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Height, MD   20791-5456
Deadline is December 9th, 2009

Lessons of Liberty 

The “Lessons of Liberty” initiative is an opportunity for American students to learn more about our country and its values, as well as the people that have been called upon to defend its freedom.

How Schools Can Participate In “Lessons of Liberty ” 

• Schools will have access to a multitude of resources for participating in the “Lessons of Liberty” initiative through the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Education.  Schools, educators, parents, and students can visit the Department of Veterans Affairs Web site at www.va.gov/vetsday to find classroom materials and curricula, ideas for activities, and resources for getting in touch with a veteran in their community. Additional ideas may be found on the Department of Education Web site at www.ed.gov.

• Leading veterans organizations — including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and the Military Order of the World Wars — are supporting the Lessons of Liberty effort and can be reached through their Web sites.  A directory of veterans organizations is available at http://www.va.gov/vso.

• The “ Lessons of Liberty” initiative can be continued throughout the year through a variety of activities, including:
  • For Elementary and Middle School Students:
    • Read books about American history and government
    • Learn about outstanding leaders in America, past and present
    • Visit a historic site, such as a battleground
    • “Adopt an older American” and become a friend with a veteran
    • Participate in the “Friendship through Education” Initiative
  • For High School Students:
    • Register to vote
    • Pledge to mentor younger students on the “Lessons of Liberty”
    • Volunteer in community organizations
    • Organize student public service projects
    • Participate in the “Friendship through Education” Initiative
  • For Parents, Teachers and Administrators:
    • Prepare students for veteran visits through civics lessons
    • Encourage students to perform community service
    • Lesson plan ideas available at www.va.gov/vetsday and http://www.va.gov/kids

 
Click here to comment on this Voki.
Get a Voki now!

Voki is a free Web 2.0 tool that allows you to create personalized speaking avatars and use them on your blog, profile, and in email messages.

Voki is a combination of the Latin word “vox” meaning voice and “Loki” the mischievous god of Norse mythology. Now, there is an across the curriculum application! With Voki you create a customizable speaking avatar that accepts text, as well as recordings using your built-in computer microphone and/or audio files. Voki provides several HTML code options for your finished avatar that can be embedded into most wikis or blogs.

Here is a YouTube tutorial video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssGHaNX3O4g and a slideshow from slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/markmodra/voki-activities-presentation

 As stated in The Edublogger, “educators use them to add a human element to their sites or to engage students.” They are also great as attention getters and warm-up/bellringers.

Suggestions for use in ESL classrooms may be found at this link:
http://instructify.com/2009/09/17/voki-trailfire-mashup-special-needs-education/

 So give Voki a whirl and let me know how it goes and how you put it to use in your classroom.

Hey Memphis teachers~

Let your opinion count! Please answer the following question:

Memphis is my favorite city because…..

The 80/20 Rule is one of the most helpful of all concepts of time and life management. It is also called the “Pareto Principle” after its founder, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who first wrote about it in 1895. Pareto noticed that people in his society seemed to divide naturally into what he called the “vital few”, the top 20 percent in terms of money and influence, and the “trivial many”, the bottom 80 percent.

He later discovered that virtually all economic activity was subject to this principle as well. For example, this principle says that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results, 20 percent of your customers will account for 80 percent of your sales, 20 percent of your products or services will account for 80 percent of your profits, 20 percent of your tasks will account for 80 percent of the value of what you do, and so on. This means that if you have a list of ten items to do, two of those items will turn out to be worth five or ten times or more than the other eight items put together.

I wonder…how would this apply to the classroom?

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It’s no surprise that students supported by parents involved in their education tend to exhibit higher achievement; this study breaks down parental involvement into subtypes to see what actions make the most difference across 50 studies.

The authors of “Parental Involvement in Middle School: A Meta-Analytic Assessment of the Strategies That Promote Achievement” find that involvement described as “academic socialization” has the strongest positive correlation to achievement.

They describe this as involvement that “creates an understanding about the purposes, goals, and meaning of academic performance; communicates expectations about involvement; and provides strategies that students can effectively use.” Other types such as school visits and volunteering were positively correlated with achievement, but less so.

Interestingly, helping with homework was the only type not positively related to achievement.

Read more:

Recently I volunteered at our local hospital. The occasion was a celebration for the 2000 hospital employees. The celebration theme was a carnival and there were games, caricatures, a dunking booth, a rock climbing wall, and plenty of food in the serving line. It was a typically hot, July day with temperatures in the 100’s.

All the favorite grilling foods were there…hamburgers, hot dogs, Texas smoked sausage, snow cones, watermelon, cookies, all the fixin’s.

Well, almost all of the fixin’s.

It is interesting how people react to the work done by others. Some are grateful, peppering their speech with smiles, “Please” and “Thank you.”

Not so for others. Others complain about the heat, (to people working in that heat!). Some complain about the lines. Some complain about having a 30-minute lunch.

And some complain about pickles.

Or the lack of pickles, in this case. Despite all the free food and drinks, and condiments, and extras, one woman noticed a lack of pickles. She was not consoled by pickle relish. She wanted pickles. No free meal or festive atmosphere would deter her determined complaining.

As you prepare your classroom for the approaching school year. As you send out your welcome letters and label books, desks, and supplies, please remember that there will be pickle people.

Pickle people are bitter. They usually give birth to pickle kids. And pickle kids are rarely absent. I guess the pickle doesn’t fall far from the tree! As you encounter pickle people, remember your goal, do not allow the bitterness to infect you. Do not let other people’s caustic comments and attitudes literally put you in a pickle.

You are not bitter. You are better. And your kids and students will be better for being in your class.