Education+Teach-nology+Links

=Education Teach-nology Links= Below are brief summaries of, and links to, some great education technology resources. Incorporating technology into the classroom is a realy important tool for a generation of students who are incredibly tech-savy. If you are thinking of using online technology, make sure you know how to KEEP IT SAFE! Check out some of these online safety resources for: student forums, safe online videos, general online safety with students

__Great Online Animation Explaining Seasons__
This animation has adjustable parameters that allow you to explore hte season we experience seasons with your class. You view Earth orbiting the sun, a perspective of where the sunlight is directly hitting Earth (i.e. the tropics) throughout the year, and even a depiction of the angle at which light is reaching earth (i.e. direct versus indirect). A great tool to help students sort their way through the difficulty associated with visualizing from different perspectives.

** Avoid Using Student E-mail Addresses **
This blog explains a great way to avoid using student email accounts to sign up for class websites, blogs, etc. This is a great solution for younger students, or for those with parents that object to their child having an e-mail account. To summarize, when using gmail you can add a + sign after the beginning of the email address, followed by any additional words before the @ symbol. This will still direct the mail to the regular gmail account, but other websites will recognize each variation as an individual account, allowing you to sign up students for a site without them ever needing to provide email information. (Example: fakeexample@ gmail.com can be altered to fakeexample+student1@ gmail.com and gmail still recognizes it as the original address.)

Collaborize Classroom
This resource is FREE and provides a structured, safe, online environment for conducting class discussions, polls, etc. Be sure to check out the resources page and the multimedia page to get hepful tips and learn how this education tool can help your class! Also, the was an awesome webinar by a teacher who uses Collaborize, check it out here! For further information on how to guide online discussions check out this link.

Wikispaces
Well, you've made it this far, just watch this video for a quick explanation of how to get started using wikispaces in your class! media type="custom" key="9861161"

Pixton Comics
Pixton has a variety of options for creating comics online, including free memberships, paid memberships, and Pixton for Schools, which offers a teacher-friendly platform for having your students make their own comics. Want to see a sample? We have a great collection on our Pixton Comics page.

Dropbox
Utilize online file storage (for FREE!) in order to promote easier sharing of group work or to avoid the dreaded uploading of Powerpoint files before student presentations.

Micro-Docs
This group from Stanford produces short documentaries about marine science, in a language anyone can understand. They also have a specific teacher resource page with activities for your class to do!

Skype in the Classroom!
Connect with other schools, teachers, or special guests from around the world on a video-phone platform that is specially designed for educational use!

"How-to" Instructional Screen Casts
Need to show your students how to do something? Creat your own instructinal video of the task being performed on your screen, then post it to your web page or blog! The wikispaces video above is an example of a screen cast.

Q-R codes in the classroom
Do your students always have their smartphones out in class? Let them put it to use by including Q-R codes (like a bar code) that link to websites or your choosing in their lesson plans and around the class. The link above gives information about how to use them in education, here is a link directly to a code generator.

Blogs
There are a lot of free blog websites that can be used for creating educational opportunities in your classroom. Here are some links: Wordpress, LiveJournal, TypePad, Blogger

Podcasts
Podcasts can be a great tool for a teacher to use in (or more likely outside of) the classroom. Students can use teacher-created podcasts for podcast-guided field trips, or create their own podcast as a home project. This link leads to a good website all about educational podcasts and there is a document with more information and links below:

Twitter for education
Twitter is a great social media tool to use in your classroom with your students, or to keep in touch with students, parents, and administrators outside the classroom. Check out the video to see how easy it is...and this video is an example of what you can to with podcasts (above). There are a lot of how-to videos on YouTube. If you are interested in trying it in your class, go to YouTube and search for something like "twitter in the classroom". media type="youtube" key="cv5qvSlXTmA" height="349" width="560"

Facebook
Most of your students are probably on Facebook. If you want to get a connection into one of the social media networks that they spend time on, then try creating a class Facebook page. A "page" on Facebook is different than your profile, so you don't need to worry about students having access to any personal information. Once your students "LIKE" the page, your posts will show up in their "Newsfeeds" on their home page. They can post in response, view pictures or videos, and start discussions. Try it for extra credit or as a tool for students to be able to ask you questions or discuss science outside the classroom, you can even link it to your Twitter account! Feel free to "LIKE" the //SciMadeSensible// Facebook page. Check out the time stamp on the image below...are your students thinking about science at **9:30pm on a Saturday night**?

Powerpoint
Use the full ability of Microsoft Powerpoint to create animations or other presentation features that will help you convey information to your students! This Article will explain some basics and provides links to other resources and instructional sites

__Schoolyard Films__
This resource provides educational films focused on the natural environment, with accompanying study guides that are aligned to national and state educational standards. Films range from 10 to 30 minutes, and several focus on Florida's natural environment in particular. A great way to get students engaged!

Powerpoint Presentation about Education Technology