Quick overview: A version of YouTube designed specifically for education. This can also be a great resource if you’re looking for subject specific videos to help flip your classroom.
What does it do? YouTube for schools contains videos categorized by subject and grade level. Teachers and students can find videos of science experiments, language tutoring, math examples, world events, and so on. In an attempt to minimize distractions for students, YouTube for schools does NOT contain any comments or “side bar” video suggestions. Please keep in mind that if YouTube is currently blocked in your center, this new site does not automatically mean YouTube will be unblocked. We’ll talk about some alternatives for educational video sites in an upcoming blog post.
Video Tutorial: For more information on YouTube for Schools, please click the (1 minute) video link below:
This post could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: A short video explaining the benefits of using Twitter for your professional development as a teacher.
What is this about? Believe it or not, Twitter can be an invaluable educational tool that can help you easily connect with other educators in order to find new ideas and resources to use in your classroom.
How does it work? Twitter isn’t at all like Facebook. You don’t have to share personal information or spend a lot of time if you don’t want to. In fact, it’s perfectly OK to simply start “following” people or educational organizations you find interesting and see what they have to say from time to time. It’s soft of like tuning in to watch the evening news to see if anything interesting has happened. However, instead you’ll tune-in to “follow” web resources and teaching tips tailored to your classroom needs.
Need help? Are you an FGA teacher looking to sign-up for Twitter and need some pointers where to start? Give us a shout by e-mail. If you’re already on Twitter, we are: a_spector (Avi) alainphaneuf (Alain) and malalande (Marc-André). We so strongly believe in this self-guided approach to PD, that if there’s only one thing we hope you take away from our ICT Blog this school year, it would be to start using Twitter!
Video Tutorial: To explain the pedagogical benefits of using Twitter for PD, my colleague Marc-André Lalande has put together an amazing (5 minute) video called “To Tweet or not to Tweet: (Source: Marc-André Lalande, RECIT FGA Pedagogical Consultant, via r.u.aware blog)
What does it do? The app will transform spoken speech into text. No training required, just speak and go!
How can it help my students? If you are an ESL (Literacy) teacher, this app could be used to help your students with pronunciation. Students could practice individually by dictating short sentences to the app. If the app repeatedly has trouble recognizing certain words, this can be a cue for the students to ask the teacher for the correct pronunciation. Students could also benefit by seeing grammatical errors “written out” that might otherwise slip by unnoticed when they are speaking. Lastly, this app could be beneficial for students with disabilities that may prevent them from typing on a regular keyboard. Text generated in this app can be e-mailed or copy and pasted into other apps. Definitely worth checking out!
Video Tutorial: For a 2 minute video on how to use Dragon Dictate for the iPad, please click on the video below:
As the first term of the year draws to a close, the ICT Blog will be taking a short vacation. We sincerely hope that this site has been a valuable asset to all of you this semester. The blog will return with weekly ICT suggestions and Mobile Mondays in January 2012.
If you like the information you get from the blog, we also share other ideas, links, and pedagogical suggestions from our Twitter accounts. Our Twitter accounts are: a_spector (Avi) alainphaneuf (Alain) and malalande (Marc-André). Believe it or not, Twitter is an amazing resource for professional development. Twitter can connect you with other educators from around the world and provide you with tons of new ideas and resources to use in the classroom. (We’ll be talking more about this after the winter break!)
Alain and I would also like to remind you to submit any great websites or ICT materials that you’ve used successfully in your own classrooms. You can do so by referring to the submit section of this website. If we feature your ICT suggestion, we will be sure to credit you. Thank you and happy holidays from the whole RECIT FGA team!
This post could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Did you ever come across a school problem, especially in math, that uses a real-life context, but still didn’t make any sense?
What is this about? In this 6-minute video presentation, my colleague Marc-André Lalande presents his thoughts on the subject of “schoolisyzation” and how he thinks technology can help us improve our pedagogical practices. (Source: Marc-André Lalande, RECIT FGA Pedagogical Consultant, via r.u.aware blog)
Feedback: Comments? We really want to hear what you have to say! Please feel free to leave your comments on our blog with the “leave a comment” link below this post. Also, if YouTube is blocked in your school, you can view Marc-André’s original SlideRocket presentation from his r.u.aware blog...
Quick overview: Do you have students that are uncomfortable with public speaking? Using Voki, a student can create a virtual animated avatar that “speaks” a recording of your student’s own voice or written text. Works in French too.
What does it do? Voki allows students to customize a unique looking virtual person, called an avatar. The avatar could be a representation of the student or a fictional character from a book. To make the Voki speak, students either type in text, speak into a microphone, or call in their recording with a cell phone. The Voki avatar is limited to 1 minute of “speaking” time, which helps students keep things concise. A Voki can be embedded into blogs or sent by e-mail. Free. (Source: Dr. Kipp Rogers, ISTE Philadelphia 2011)
How can this be used in the clasroom? There’s a huge bank of lesson plans for using Voki in an educational context, but one approach I like is using Voki to help students that are uncomfortable speaking in front of the class.
A sample lesson idea: Let’s say your students are assigned a book to read and are asked to provide a viewpoint from the story’s protagonist. If your focus is helping your students develop writing skills, you could ask the students to write their viewpoints for their animated Voki to speak. Once complete, the students’ Vokis are presented to the class using a projector and speakers. Alternatively, if you’re focusing on helping your students develop oral skills, you could ask students to speak and record their viewpoints using a microphone with Voki. The Vokis are then presented to the whole class and “speak” on their behalf. The point of the exercise is to get students sharing their viewpoints (formulating thoughts, mobilizing writing and/or oral competencies) without actually having to be put on the spot in front of the other students.
Something to consider: I highly suggest that you set a short time limit when students create the look of their Voki Avatars. The goal of using Voki in a language classroom should be to get students better at writing or speaking, not creating pretty Avatars!
Video Tutorial: For more information on how to use this Voki, click the (3 minute) video link below:
Quick overview: Using the ComicBook app in a literacy (ESL) classroom to help students develop basic writing and communication competencies.
How can the app be used in the classroom? Sharon Meehan teaches a literacy level “Building Foundations” course at ACCESS Riverside in Brossard, Quebec. Using the ComicBook app in conjunction with the iPad’s built-in camera, Sharon’s students took pictures of each other to create a simple comic. Students used the iPads to insert written captions to simulate real life situations, such as ordering at a restaurant. At the end of the exercise, the iPads were connected to a digital projector so students could collaboratively edit grammar and spelling, or rearrange the placement of the written captions.
What advantages did the mobile technology bring to the classroom? The app’s easy to navigate interface (symbols and pictograms) helped students focus on the activity, rather than getting bogged down by a complicated computer interface. It was surprisingly easy for the students to create the comics, even if they didn’t have a strong grasp of the English language. The limited length of written “comic bubble” style captions also ensured that the students wrote short, concise interactions.
Interested? The activity was closely linked to the prescribed elements of Sharon’s ENG-B122-4 course and it mainly focused on developing writing competencies. Would you like to do a similar activity in your Literacy or French second language classroom? We have enough iPads to accommodate your class and we are booking now for January 2012 and beyond. Contact us to discuss how we can adapt this activity for your classroom!
Video: To see a 2 minute in-class video demonstrating how Sharon’s students used the app in the classroom, click the play button below:
Quick overview: Websites that either allow students to create or download copyright free music for use in multimedia projects.
JamStudio: JamStudio.com allows students to cook up their own musical compositions to use in projects, even if your students aren’t musically inclined. It’s similar in concept to Apple’s Garage Band but everything is done through a web browser instead. A free educational account is required before using it with your students. (Source: Tammy Worcester, ISTE Philadelphia 2011)
Incompetech: If your students are simply looking for “ready to use” royalty-free music then send them to the Incompetech website. They can search for music by feel (moody, happy, dramatic, etc) or by genre. Listen and download the music for free, no fuss, no muss.. no catch! This is a great resource for iMovie, Movie Maker, or other ICT projects. Here is an example of an upbeat silent film piano score or a dramatic film score found on the site. For more information on copyright usage, see the FAQ section. (Source: Robert Miller, ISTE Philadelphia 2011)
Update November 22nd, 2011: I’ve received two additional (totally amazing!) royalty-free music sites from our readers Chris and Dano. Be sure to check out MusicRevolution and DanoSongs if you’re looking for some high quality tracks.
Some considerations: As I’ve mentioned in other posts, students can easily get caught up in creating the bells and whistles (i.e. – music) for a project when the main focus may be about developing language or other competencies. Try to remember to keep them on track. Last but not least, don’t worry about being an expert with either tool. There’s a good chance your tech savvy students will figure out how to insert the music into their projects on their own.
Video Tutorial: For more information on how to use these resources, click the video (3 minutes) link below:
What does it do? Are you teaching your students about the solar system? If so, this app presents your students with easy-to-read information about the planets and celestial bodies in our solar system, accompanied by interactive “touchable” 3D models based on real life NASA imagery. All the information is presented in a non-linear fashion and could be a beneficial approach for students who enjoy learning at their own pace. Last but not least, the intuitive interface is similar to The Elements app we reviewed in another blog post. Check out the video below if you’d like a quick demo of how it works!
Video Tutorial: For a video (3 minutes) overview of The Solar System app, click the play button below:
Quick overview: Dipity helps students to create interactive timelines comprised of significant events. Each “event” on the timeline can be fleshed out by the student to include text, images, and video. Timelines can be set private, public, or collaborative.
How can it be used in the classroom: Instead of asking your students to memorize out-of-context historical dates, why not ask them to research and assemble their own interactive timeline instead? Furthermore, timelines need not be limited to events from ancient history. Instead, students could create a Dipity timeline that contains a breakdown of the various pieces leading up to a current event (i.e – political or economic situation) or they can even assemble a family history or bibliography. Here’s an example of a timeline created with Dipity.
Is it free? Yes, the Dipity website allows for free accounts with most functionality intact. One limitation with free accounts is that you can only create three timeliness per account, with 150 events per timeline. Regardless, that shouldn’t be a problem for most student work.
Video Tutorial: For a short video (3 minutes) on how to use Dipity, please click the play button below:
Info: Screenchomp for iPad only. Free, with no in-app costs.
Quick overview: An iPad app that allows teachers (or students!) to create a live recording of whatever they write or draw on on the iPad, along with their voice. Easily share the resulting video with others.
How does it work? Choose a color, talk, draw, and then share! What I like best is that there’s a very low learning curve involved to use the app, it’s almost effortless to create and share videos. In order to write in the app, you can use your fingers or purchase an inexpensive capacitive stylus, such as the Targus stylus I use with my own iPad. In order for students to view the videos, all they need is a regular computer with a web browser (no iPad required!) and the unique link. No accounts or passwords are needed either.
How can it be used in the classsroom: Teachers could use Screenchomp to quickly explain complicated concepts for students study at home without a huge investment of prep time. Students could use Screenchomp for peer teaching or oral presentations. Teachers could even hook an iPad 2 up to a digital projector and record parts of the lesson as they teach. Lastly, younger students could draw and simultaneously recount a story to mobilize language skills.
Video Tutorial: For a video (3 minutes) how to use the Screencomp app, click the play button below:
Quick overview: A website that can randomly pick one of your students’ names to answer a question. Easy to use, only takes a few seconds to get up and running.
How does it work? Enter your students’ names manually or copy and paste your class list from a Word document. Either way, the Classtools website will randomly pick a student’s name, one at a time. While the site is designed with younger students in mind, I find the site is much more suitable to use with adult learners if you simply mute the silly sound effects by turning off your speakers. (Source: Tammy Worcester, ISTE 2011 Philadelphia conference)
Video Tutorial: For more information on how to use this this tool, click the (1 minute) video link below:
Quick overview: An app that allows math students to use their fingers to move around variables in order to solve an algebra problem. Elegant, minimal, visual, beautifully simple. I really wish I had this back in high school!
How can it be used my classroom? This app could be useful for students struggling with the traditional approach to learning algebra. Students use the app to drag and rearrange single-variable polynomials so that like terms are together for easier adding. Students can tap the operator between the terms to compute answers. Terms can be factored or combined until the variable is isolated. Students or teachers can also create their own problems to rearrange and solve.
What do students think? A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to use this app with students in an Adult Ed classroom (thank you Mr. Robert More!) and it was an overwhelmingly positive experience. One student commented that the app was like a game at first, but she needed to figure out the rules (i.e. order of operations) in order to solve the equations. Walking around the classroom, we quickly noticed that the students started downloading it (and paying for it!) on their own iPods and iPhones. A picture is worth a thousand words, but we had 31 “thumbs-up” from the a classroom of 31 students at the end of the day! If you’d like to try this in your own Quebec FGA classroom, please let us know!
Video Tutorial: For a demonstration of how the app works, click the video below:
(Source: Certain parts of the “How can it be used in the classroom” description have been quoted/paraphrased from the Common Sense Media website. Due to YouTube being blocked in many of our schools, the demonstration video has been re-packaged from the Algebra Touch YouTube channel)
Quick overview: Urlist is a website that allows you to store multiple website addresses you’d like to present in your upcoming class. Once class starts, you can simply jump to each website without having to type in complicated web addresses or sift through piles of bookmarks. This resource is similar to the furly website that we highlighted in a previous blog post, however urilst allows you to go back and edit previous lists or even make the lists collaborative for others to edit!
How can this be used in the classroom: If you regularly present different websites to your students, the urlist website can help things run more smoothly. Using the this website, you won’t have to scramble to type in long addresses (while your class waits!) or search through a huge list of bookmarks when presenting different websites to your class. An added bonus is that you can easily share the list of websites with your students after class (with a unique URL) so they can consult the list of websites at a later date. Alternatively, if a group of students share the “edit” link, they can create a collaborative list that they can all edit together. Even if you regularly use furly, this is a great backup site to have in your back pocket. Here’s an example of what a shared urlist. (Source: John Scammell, Zero Knowledge Proofs)
Video Tutorial: For a video (3 minutes) on how to use urlist, please click the play button below:
Quick overview: To some students, the periodic table may appear to be just a bunch of confusing letters without any meaning. This app helps students make a connection (through sight and touch) between everyday objects and the elements they are comprised of.
How does it work? Elements on the periodic table are represented by beautifully detailed 3D animated models that the students can touch and rotate. Students click on an element to bring up a brief description of the element along with an interesting anecdote or out of the ordinary fact about its history… even the most jaded students will want to keep reading!
How can it be used in the classroom? I think this app is great for self directed learning. If you are teaching in an individualized classroom, provide a student with an iPad and ask them to explore the elements on their on own. You can ask them to focus on one element and create a presentation about something new they’ve learned. For students wanting more detailed scientific information about any element, they can access the Wolfram Alpha website directly from within this app. This is currently one of my favorite reference apps for the iPad. Did I mention it’s ridiculously easy to use too? A must see!
Video Tutorial: For a video (2 minutes) overview of The Elements app, click the play button below:
Quick overview: Like Google, Wofram Alpha works with keywords. However, Wolfram Alpha does a lot more than simply retrieve information from web pages. Instead, it creates a “custom fit” for you by assembling or calculating the information you’re looking for.
Can you give me some examples? If you type in the name of any two cities (i.e – Montreal and Ottawa) you’ll get a rich comparison between the two cities. If you type in the name of a food item (i.e – big mac) you’ll get a detailed breakdown of the nutritional information of that food. Best of all, if you type in a math equation (2x + 15 = 45) you’ll get a visual representation of the equation. You can even download the results or equations as PDF files!
I want to know more! Here is a great organized list of some other possible keyword combinations to try on Wolfram Alpha. In addition, here’s a link that explains how to use some of the more important features on Wolfram Alpha. (Source: Tammy Worcester, ISTE 2011 Philadelphia conference)
What’s this all about? Like it or not, mobile devices like the iPad, iPod, and various smartphones have exploded in popularity. As a result, we’ve been seeing a significant shift towards educators exploring the potential of these devices in their classrooms. Our students love using these devices in their own personal lives, so why shouldn’t we take advantage of a new approach to learning in our classrooms?
What about the ICT Blog? At the blog, our first priority will remain focused on bringing you easy to use Web 2.0 suggestions each week. However, in addition to our regular web 2.0 suggestions, we will start highlighting pedagogically relevant educational apps for mobile devices every odd Monday, hence the term Mobile Mondays!
What are Apps? See “apps” in our ICT Terminology section.Apps for touch based mobile devices open up new ways of learning that simply aren’t possible with laptops or computers… and that’s the part we hope to start highlighting here each week. It’s often easy to get up in the “wow” factor with mobile devices and we’ll be doing our best to avoid all that.
What happens if I don’t have access to any mobile devices? If you’re a Quebec FGA teacher and see something here that you’d like to try in your own classroom, please let us know! Alain and I have access to our own mobile lab (iPads, iPods, etc..) and would be happy to help you setup your own pilot project.
We need your help! We’d like to know more about what you’d like to see in future “Mobile Mondays”. Please take a few seconds to fill out both polls below. Thanks!
Quick overview: A website that displays encyclopedia articles in small “easy-to-digest” multimedia presentations. Encyclopedia articles are presented with a mix of spoken text, video, and images. All the information from Qwiki is obtained from Wikipedia.
How does it work? Like Wikipedia, students enter in keywords and find articles. The difference is that Qwiki automatically repackages the information into slick interactive mini-presentations. If desired, students can click on keywords while the presentations are running to dig deeper for more information. (Source: Tammy Worcester, ISTE 2011 Philadelphia conference)
How can it be used in the classroom? This tool could be used to help students that have trouble reading through long written articles or simply have trouble focusing their attention for long periods of time. Micheal Moore-Jones, a student from New Zealand put together a great blog post and testimonial of how Qwiki was used in his classroom. A interesting read, check it out!
Video Tutorial: For more information on how to use Qwiki, click the (1 minute) video link below:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Today’s Meet (www.todaysmeet.com) allows you to setup a “backchannel” for your audience or students while you are presenting or teaching. It takes less than 1 minute to set up and can keep a record of discussions for up to 1 year.
What is a backchannel? A backchannel is basically a real-time “chat room” that your audience can participate in. This discussion can also be projected on a screen or wall while you are teaching. The idea behind such a tool is that participants can publicly ask questions without having to wait for a break or permission. The backchannel displays comments or questions in the order they were typed. Questions can be answered by the speaker (the teacher) or other audience members (students) creating a multi-tiered learning or meeting environment. Keep in mind that participants must have access to the internet via computer or smartphone during the lecture.
What is the material? Ann’s project instructs teachers how to illustrate a dialogue between two students using a variety of readily available ICT tools. The project prepares the students for a visit to the doctor’s office by using the Internet to help them learn how to research the necessary medical vocabulary, how to clearly describe symptoms, and how to construct appropriate questions to ask the doctor.
How will it help students? The final product of the project is a doctor/patient PowerPoint role play. The use of ICT is a great motivator (while helping students develop speaking competencies) and makes a star out of even the most reluctant students.
Download: Please click this link (27MB) if you’d like to download a copy of Ann’s PowerPoint project. If you’d like to contact Ann for more information, please let us know and we’ll put you in touch.
Video Tutorial: For a how-to video on how to setup an activity seen in Ann’s project, please click the play button below:
Quick overview: Safeshare is a great site if you want to screen a video in your classroom, but don’t want your students to be distracted by other videos that pop-up on YouTube. It also allows you to highlight the most relevant part of the video by cropping out the parts that you don’t need to show. Easy to use, highly recommended!
How does it work? Using this site, you can share videos in the classroom without all the distracting or potentially inappropriate video thumbnails that typically appear alongside YouTube videos. With Safeshare, the YouTube video simply shows up by itself, surrounded by a plain gray background. As an added bonus, Safeshare easily allows you to “crop” videos before sharing or showing them to students. What this means you can share (or prepare in advance) a link for a YouTube video that starts or ends at any point you want. This way you can remove distracting intros or irrelevant content. Here’s an example of using Safeshare to show just one scene from the YouTube “Montreal in Two minutes” video.
Video Tutorial: For a short video on how to use Safeshare, please click the play button below:
Quick overview: Two websites that allow you to easily share large files that are too big to include as e-mail attachments. Free!
What does it do? Wikisend and Filedropper allow you to upload very large files and then share them with a unique link. The best part is that no registration or anything else complicated is required. Simply upload your file from your computer and then share the link. Done!
How can it be used in the classroom? In addition to sharing large files, teachers can use these sites for sharing smaller files with their students. For example, teachers can can place a document on-line and then provide the same link to all the students. There’s no need to send out multiple e-mail attachments. Save trees and stop photocopying! Leave your USB keys at home!
What’s the difference? Filedropper allows you to upload files up to 5GB in size, but there’s no option to make the link private. In comparison, Wikisend is limited to files up to 100MB in size but you can choose to make the link private with a password, if desired.
What’s the verdict? Overall, I’d highly recommend using Wikisend over Filedropper. Wikisend’s interface is neater (a lot less questionable ads!) and there is no need for the student to enter in a captcha to download the file. In my opinion, the only reason to use Filedropper would be if you absolutely need to share a file larger than 100MB.
Video Tutorial: For a short video on how to use these two sites, click the play button below:
Quick overview: An ESL/Literacy website that contains typical English dialogues (going to the doctor, shopping, taking a taxi, etc..) that your students may encounter in their everyday life. Each sentence or individual word can be spoken out loud with the click of a mouse. Students can choose hear the audio clips at a regular or slow speed.
How can this be used in the classroom? Englishspeak could be used by ESL/Literacy students who need help with learning basic vocabulary and pronunciation. It’s also useful for students who benefit from learning at their own pace. As this resource is web based, your students can visit this website on their home computer or a school computer (with earphones) and listen to material as many times as they want.
How does it work? If students “hover” their mouse over a word, it will be read out loud. However, if students click on a word, they will be brought to a Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of the word. If your students enjoy this site, there is also a section with 1000 common spoken phrases which works in the same fashion. (Source: Evelyne Hadida Singer, Saint-Laurent Centre, EMSB)
Quick overview: In a previous post (link) we saw how to download and install dropbox. Here, we will look at how to share files and folders with others or even with the world. This requires that a dropbox account has been created.
How can it be used professionally? There are 2 ways to share with dropbox. The first is to place a file in your public folder and get a link for it. This link can be shared with others via email or however you choose. The second way is to invite collaborators using their email to become members of a folder. Once they are members, they will have the same access that you do. They will be able to add, change or delete files just as you would. All changes will be reflected online and on your respective computers. It just takes a few clicks
Getting colleagues to share a common folder on dropbox is the best way to exchange ideas and lessons. By using dropbox you are also not bound by the limitations imposed by school or board servers in that you can access your dropbox files just as easily from home or work. You can share a folder with just your department (Math, Languages, etc.) or the entire staff.
How can it be used in the classroom? Most schools and companies have a shared location (or server) from which to access files as a group. However, what if you wanted to do this outside of school or work? Furthermore, what if you wanted to share with people from another location (e.g. other teachers)? This is where dropbox can help. In essence, any folder stored in dropbox can be shared with anyone else. The share can be private or public. You can share with only a few select people or with as many as you like.
Here are a couple of ways to use dropbox in your teaching
Create a shared folder with your students and place files in it for them to download. (each student must be have their own account)
Place files in the public folder (no log in required), obtain a public link and share the link
Create a Folder for each individual student and have them submit their assignments by saving in that folder.
Some considerations: It may seem arduous to have each student create an account but it is only a 10 minute ordeal to do so and the accounts can be used the entire school year. Furthermore, you can use your dropbox account to generate a referral link which you can email to your students. Each student that uses this link to download and install dropbox will earn you an extra 500 Mb in space. A medium size class (20 Students) could earn you up to 10 Gb of extra space.
Video Tutorial: For more information on how to install and use the software, click the play button below:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: An interactive white board (i.e. – SMARTBoard) can do wonders for your classroom but can be detrimental if used improperly. This post provides an overview of the advantages and limitations of this technology.
What is this post about? This post is a little different from what we normally post up on the blog. Instead of providing you with a new ICT suggestion this week, we’d like to step back and analyze an ICT tool that many of you may be already using in your classroom – the Interactive White Board. Do you have one in your classroom? Is your center or school considering acquiring one or several? It’s a wonderful tool, but like every tool it can be used poorly and hinder rather than help in what we’re trying to achieve. The following Sliderocket presentation is from our colleague Marc-André Lalande, who runs the RECIT FGA r.u.a.ware website, which you should definitely check out when you’re done reading this post. (Source: Marc-André Lalande, RECIT Provincial Service)
Feedback: Comments? Thoughts? We really want to hear what you have to say! Please feel free to leave your comments on our blog with the “leave a comment” link below this post.
Quick overview: Using Lingro, students can visit a website and click on any word to obtain a definition, along with a spoken pronunciation. Easy to use and no software to download. Free!
How can this be used in the classroom? Think of Lingro as a language “overlay” for websites. Using the Lingro website, students simply punch in the address of the site they would like to visit and now they can click on any of the words they encounter to obtain a definition. Lingro also keeps a history of all words clicked, so students can go back and review their word history. Lingro can be used in different languages too. So for example, a Chinese speaking student can obtain Chinese definitions when reading words from an English website. Definitely worth checking out! (Source: Mish Papazian, St Laurent Adult Education Centre, English Montreal School Board)
Video Tutorial: For more information on how to use the Lingro website, please click the play button below:
Quick overview: LiveBinders is a site that lets you save websites, documents or text that you type in virtual binders. Binders are kept in the LiveBinders “cloud” but can easily be shared with others or just a few people. LiveBinders requires an account which is quick to create and free. You can create a binder in just a few short steps in order to start organizing your information.
How does it work? Once your account is created, you simply create a binder to start adding content to it. There are 3 types of content that you can put into your binder.
Links to websites
Documents (Word, PDF, and many more…)
Manual text with standard formatting
Content is organized into “tabs” and each tab can be divided into “subtabs”. As with many Web 2.0 sites, LiveBinders already has a showcase of other binders grouped by category including many filed under “Education”. You can also install a handy little link in your browser’s bookmarks that will automatically add pages to whatever binder you choose. You can also invite others to collaborate on a LiveBinder with you!
Here is an example of a LiveBinder (embedded in this blog):
How can it be used professionally? LiveBinders are great for organizing all sorts of information for yourself or for your students. You could create a binder of favorite web sites where each tab is a category and each sub-tab is a link to a site. You can also upload homework or reference documents for your students and keep them neatly organized online for them. Staff reminders and memos or meeting notes can also be kept in binders and organized into tabs.
How can it be used in the classroom? Students can create their own LiveBinder accounts to organize web searches and notes about websites when doing research. Student work can also be uploaded to a binder and shared with parents via a link. You could also ask your students to find useful sites based on a given topic and then to share those via binder with the rest of the class.
Video Tutorial: For more information on how to use the site, click the play button below:
Quick overview: Voicethread is an online Web 2.0 tool that can be used as a way of holding group discussions around pictures or other media (videos and documents). Comments can be left by voice, text or video. You can even leave a comment on a Voicethread page using your cellphone. Creating an account is free and takes just a few minutes.
How does it work? A Voicethread can contain many pages and each of those pages can contain comments from you or others. You can also share your voicethread with a few people or the whole world. A voicethread page can hold almost countless comments. There are literally hundreds of interesting and useful ways to use Voicethreads. Once you create your account, several Voicethread tutorials are placed in your “My Voice” area for you to peruse. To create a Voicethread, simply upload a few pictures, leave a short comment for each, choose how to share it and you are done!
How can it be used in the classroom? There are almost endless ways to use Voicethreads in the classroom. They can be created by the teacher or by the student (they can have their own accounts or you can share a classroom one and use identities). Here are just a few suggestions.
Have students present a project by creating a personal Voicethread. Have other students peer review it through comments.
Upload a historical video and have students comment on what it means to them.
In an ESL/FSL classroom, upload short phrases and have students read it out loud in the comments. An added benefit is that students also get to hear how others pronounce the same phrase.
Take pictures of an outing or field trip and have students comment on them.
Have students prepare a Voicethread of thankyou cards and share it with a guest speaker, parent or other person/organization that has helped your class.
Some considerations: It is important to remember that images used in Voicethreads are subject to the same copyright restrictions as any other site. Students should make sure to use personal images or those distributed under the creative commons license. (See the following link to learn more about this).
Video Tutorial: For more information , click the play button below:
Quick overview: Dropbox is an online (cloud based) file storage system. More importantly, Dropbox is a way to have files automatically synchronized and backed up online and between your computers and mobile devices. It is FREE for use up to 2 GB (Gigabytes) and is very easy to use. Never lose a file again!
How does it work? Once Dropbox is installed, simply drag or save files to the newly created dropbox folder and the dropbox program running in the background will upload and synchronize all of your files if you are online. You can link as many computers as you want to your dropbox account. Simply follow the same installation procedure on all of them and enter the information for the existing dropbox account that you have. Dropbox works across all platforms (Windows, Mac and Linux). It even works on iPhones, iPads and other smart phones and devices. When a new file is created and saved in the dropbox folder on one of the computers, all other connected computers receive the same file. A copy of the file is also kept online providing you with a backup!
How can it be used professionally? When preparing lessons at home, simply save your files to the dropbox and let them sync online. You can then download the files to the school computers the next day using the browser. You will never have to carry a USB memory stick ever again.
How can it be used in the classroom? This will be discussed in a later post but you can set up a shared folder with all of your students so that they can submit work or to share files with them.
Some considerations: Due to administrative user restrictions on most school computers, it is unlikely you will be able to install the Dropbox software on your classroom computer. However, you can still use the Dropbox website to download and manage your files through a web browser or use your own personal laptop with Dropbox installed at school.
Video Tutorial: For more information on how to install and use the software, click the play button below:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Google Translate (translate.google.com) performs instant text translation between two different languages. If desired, the translated text can be spoken out loud with a realistic sounding synthesized voice.
How does it work? Google Translate works best on short phrases and single words. However, students should be aware that translating complicated bodies of text or common expressions may not work as well. Case in point, here’s an actual example of a Google translation (for our French speaking readers) that has gone very wrong. I can’t stress enough, if this tool is used in a classroom, it’s important to tell students to proofread the translations!
How can it be used in the classroom? If you have a student who doesn’t know the odd word, Google Translate will allow your student to type in a phrase (or a single word) in their native language and then have it translated into the language they are learning. As the translated sentences are often far from perfect, it forces students to analyze and improve their writing skills by constantly having to proofread the translations. In addition, as the text can be spoken out loud, this tool can help our ESL or FSL students with pronunciation. Lastly, for teachers that use the iPod, iPad, or iPhone in the classroom with their students, you may want to check this video out.
Video Tutorial: For more information on how to use Google Translate, please click the large play button below:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: A website that generates a perfectly formatted bibliography page. Students only need to provide the title of a book or other media sources they wish to cite.
How does it work? Bibme (www.bibme.com) enables your students to compile a perfectly formatted bibliography page in MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian styles. Students enter a book title, magazine or newspaper article, website, journal, or film a polished bibliography page is automatically created for them. The resulting bibliography page is provided as a Microsoft Word document that students can download and further modify. In regards to books, all the relevant bibliography information is retrieved from the Amazon.com database.
How can it be used in the classroom? This website definitely has the potential to be controversial (it does most of the formatting for your students) but like a calculator in a math class, perhaps it also has a purpose. You could always introduce it to your students after they have learned the process of creating bibliographies. At this point, it might help certain students go back and catch their mistakes and help them along for next time. The Bibme site also has a citation guide section which provides detailed rules and guidelines for each style.
Something to consider: At the end of the day, whether we like it or not, this tool is now out there for your students to find. As so, should we be teaching our students the concepts behind creating a bibliography page (and give them sites like this to do so) or is it still necessary for them to memorize all these ever changing, specific formatting rules? (Source: Tammy Worcester, ISTE 2010 Denver conference)
Video Tutorial: To see an on-line video of how to use BibMe, please click the large play button below:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Free web based tools to create crosswords and other types of word puzzles. Quick and easy to build. Puzzles can be played on-line or printed on paper.
How do these sites work? Puzzle generator sites such as Readwritethink (link) or Puzzlemaker (link) allow you or your students to create customized word puzzles by typing in any choice of words and the associated clues. Once the words and clues are entered, a working word puzzle is automatically generated.
Something to consider: The act of filling out pre-made crossword puzzles does not necessarily promote creative thinking but rather aims to help students with lower order Bloom’s thinking skills such as remembering and understanding. As so, it’s my opinion that pre-made crossword puzzles should not be relied upon as one of the main sources of teaching material with your students.
How can be used in the classroom? Instead of creating a word puzzle for your FSL or ESL students yourself, why not ask them to build one themselves? Give your students a list of vocabulary words and and then ask them to create a definition (i.e. – clues) for each vocabulary word they have been asked to include in their crossword puzzle. This approach can help students build their vocabulary on their own.
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Flixtime allows students to combine images, video clips, text, and music to create a 60 second video montage with slick transitions and flashy effects. No previous video editing experience needed. Basic account is free.
How does it work? Flixtime is very similar to the Animoto site I wrote about in an earlier blog posting. Like Animoto, Flixtime allows students to upload digital images, video, text clips, and music files. The student then places the media in the order she would like them to appear, as to create a story or message. Flixtime analyzes the student’s uploaded content and then automatically generates a professional looking 60 second video montage. Here’s a simple example I created for the Blog.
How can this be used in the classroom? One of our teachers came up with an innovative use of Flixtime in her classroom. First, she divided her class into two groups. Each group was asked to argue an opposing viewpoint (i.e. – pros vs cons of consumerism) and then present their argument with a Flixtime video clip, similar in format to a TV commercial. Before even touching a computer, students were asked to brainstorm 8 to 12 images they felt would best get their point across. Next, they used Google Images or their own digital cameras to gather their chosen images. Interestingly, some images were dropped or changed as they searched for those that would fit best with their video montage. The 60 second time limit forced students to be concise and effective with their point of view.
What is the difference between Filxtime and Animoto? With a free Flixtime account, students can create a 60 second video montage, instead of only 30 seconds with a free Animoto account. Flixtime also allows you to continue to work on your video montage while your images and videos upload. Currently, Animoto forces you to wait until everything is uploaded before you can start working on your video montage. (Source: The Tech Chicks, ISTE 2010 Denver Conference)
Video Tutorial: For more information on how to create a Flixtime video, please click the large play button below:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: The National Film Board of Canada has digitized hundreds of NFB English and French documentaries, animations, experimental films, and fiction and placed them on-line so they can be viewed in the on-line screening room.
How does it work? LEARN Quebec has negotiated public performance rights in the classroom for more than 1,700 NFB French and English films until June 2014. The LEARN agreement applies to English Quebec K-12 and Adult Education schools. To check your eligibility outside of Quebec, see the NFB’s Education Page for more details.
How can it be used in the classroom? The NFB (www.nfb.ca) is Canadian content at it’s best. Pick from hundreds of thought provoking documentaries or animations to start discussions with your students. Many of these classic and contemporary films can be used to discuss Canadian history or identity or can be used within Learning Situations. Many films also have a tab marked “education” which gives suggestions or lessons plans to help tie in the films to your classroom. Highly recommended!
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Glogster for Education allows your students to create on-line “posters” that can contain text, images, digital pictures, videos, and sound clips. Glogster be used for any subject that requires students to produce a presentation.
How does it work? Students sign up for a basic educational Glogster (edu.glogster.com) account before creating their own “glog” poster. Once the student’s Glogster poster is complete, the student can choose to publish it on-line or embed into a class Blog or Wiki.
How can it be used in the classroom? Students could use Glogster to create a mock advertisement or demonstrate their personal standpoint (i.e. – persuasive writing) on current issues. Students could also use Glogster to assemble a research project, as seen in this student created Glogster poster on Harriet Tubman. It’s a whole new twist on an old approach, have your students try it out! (Source: The Tech Chicks, ISTE 2010 Denver Conference)
Video Tutorial: For more information on how to use Glogster, please click the large play button below:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Documentary Storm (www.documentarystorm.com) is a website that has categorized hundreds of on-line video documentaries found across the web. Simply browse, click, and play!
How does this site work? You can search for videos by keyword or browse through the different categories. Categories include biography, science, crime, health, history, art, society, war, biology, politics, the universe, etc..
What works best? I find this site works best when you browse through the different categories instead of searching by keyword. For example, if you were teaching a world history course and searched for “ancient greeks” you may not find much. On the other hand, if you were to browse the history category you may stumble upon an interesting documentary on engineering ancient empires, which may be just as interesting and pertinent to your world history class!
How can this be used in the classroom: Documentaries can be used to start a class discussion or used as a source of inspiration for a written essay or class project. If you have a digital projector in your classroom, documentaries can be screened in class. If students all have regular access to computers at home, you can even assign a documentary to be viewed for homework. (Source: Lise Demers, Place Cartier Adult Education Centre, Lester B. Pearson School Board)
Important notes: The documentaries on this site come from YouTube, Google, Megavideo, Vimeo, or a variety of other video sharing sites. Since some of these sites may be blocked in your school, always test it in your actual classroom (or use an offline solution like keepvid) before showing to your class! For copyright concerns, please view the disclaimer on the Documentary Storm website.
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: Wix allows your students to easily create simple websites without any previous knowledge of web design or complicated HTML programming skills. Students can create websites from scratch or modify a template. Free.
What does Wix do? Wix (www.wix.com) allows you to build a website without needing to know the nitty gritty details of web design. You simply drag and drop text, images, and other elements to create a Wix website that anyone can visit. The Wix site is free to use with a standard account.
What’s the catch? Unlike “traditional” websites, you can’t really tinker with the code of a Wix website to tweak and customize things to your liking. Furthermore, the technology behind Wix websites is Adobe Flash. Adobe Flash is installed on most PC and Mac computers but can be troublesome on some mobile devices and smart phones. More specifically, accessing a Wix site on one of these mobile devices may be very slow or not work at all. Before you shrug that off, you’d be surprised how many of your students are now using mobile devices to access the web!
What’s the final word: I think Wix sites are absolutely great for teachers and students wanting to get their feet wet with web design. It’s both easy to use and free. However, if your students are looking to take their web design skills to the next level, then they may want to look into more traditional HTML based solutions. (Source: Robert More, Riverside, ACCESS)
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: The Tinychat website allows you create a video or audio conference in just a few seconds. No account sign-up is required for you or your students. It’s all web based, so no need to install any special software on anyone’s computer either. Did I mention it’s free?
How does it work? Visit Tinychat (www.tinychat.com) and click on the “create” chat room button. This generates a unique web address that you can share with students. Students type in the web address and they can join in. If desired, teachers can even save the chat to replay at a later date. You can have up to 12 people in a simultaneous video chat or a lot more for a text chat. Tinychat is a great alternative if Skype is blocked in your school or you’re not allowed to install software on classroom computers.
How can it be used in the classroom? There are tons of pedagogically relevant ways to use a videoconference in the classroom. Invite an “expert” for a videoconference with your class, go on a virtual field trip, collaborate with another classroom across town or in another country, use it for teacher training, or much more! (Source: Susan Van Gelder, LEARN)
Video Tutorial: For more information on how to use the site, click the play button below:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: The FreeOCR website (www.free-ocr.com) allows you to upload a scanned page from a worksheet, newspaper, or book and transform it into electronic “editable text” that you or your students can modify in a word processing program like Microsoft Word. No account sign-up necessary. Free!
How does it work? Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a technique that computers employ to analyze scanned images and recognize printed text so that the text from the paper document can be modified in a word processor. Using the FreeOCR website is straightforward to use if you are already familiar how use your computer’s scanner.
Things to consider: While this little trick can potentially save you lots of time (i.e. – no need to retype an entire newspaper article you’d like to share or edit with your students) always make sure you have the rights to scan and modify the original printed materials. It’s also important to proofread the converted document to check for errors (spelling, scan errors, etc..) introduced in the OCR conversion process.
Video Tutorial: For more information on how to use the Free OCR site, please click the large play button below:
This ICT tip could be best applied to the following subjects:
Quick overview: The Tagxedo (www.tagxedo.com) website is very similar to Wordle, which I wrote about in an earlier blog posting. Like Wordle, Tagxedo allows your students to specify text from a website and generate a cloud of word poetry that places more importance on the most frequently used words. However, one of the main differences with Tagxedo is that it will form an image shaped word cloud (see below) instead of just assembling the words into a shapeless blob.How can it be used in the classroom? Like Wordle, for students that are visual learners, Tagxedo could be used to break down a short text and allow them to literally “see” the most predominant words (i.e – themes) used throughout the text.
How does it work? If you’d like to see a quick video overview of how to use Tagxedo, please visit this YouTube video link. If YouTube is blocked in your centre, please use this alternate video link instead. The Tagxedo site is currently free.
ICT Note: Tagxedo requires a local installation of Microsoft Silverlight technology to work. In a nutshell, Silverlight is safe to install on your computer and is Microsoft’s equivalent technology to Adobe Flash. If you try to create a Tagxedo without Silverlight installed, the website will simply prompt you to install the software. (Source: Tammy Worcester, ISTE 2010 Denver conference)
Video Tutorial: For more information on YouTube for Schools, please click the (1 minute) video link below:
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