Lincoln Tech Update

1. Google Documents (http://docs.google.com)
Free online word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation software.  Great for collaboration and sharing for teachers or students.
2. Quizlet (http://www.quizlet.com)
Excellent online vocabulary testing software; powerful and useful.
3. Google Earth (http://earth.google.com)
Great supplement to any subject, connecting content to geography and mapping.  Advanced features allow for interesting mash-ups.
4. Voicethread (http://www.voicethread.com)
Easy online video creation tool.  Create documentary style slideshows, allowing commenting, sharing, and multimedia.  Check out 100 ways to use voicethread in education.
5. SurveyMonkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com)
Create online surveys easily and export data in an easy to use format.
6. Google Sites (http://sites.google.com)
Probably the easiest way for students to create their own websites in any content area.  No code necessary.
7.  Ted Talks (http://www.ted.com)
Awesome talks on all subjects by experts in their respective fields.  Check out Math Class Needs a Makeover and Bring on the Learning Revolution.
8. Common Craft videos (http://www.commoncraft.com/)
Fun, engaging videos about a variety of topics; short and good for kids.  Watch the one for blogs, wikis, and World Wide Web.
9. RIA Animate
Animated lectures. Drive and the Power of Time
10. Diigo (http://www.diigo.com)
Great social bookmarking website.  Save and share the best websites easily.
11. Moodle (http://www.moodle.org)
My personal favorite. Teachers have been creating hybrid online courses to provide online interactivity with their students through forums, online quizzes, submission of digital work, surveys, etc.  This one you will need assistance getting started with, offered through the district or Lincoln HS. (Email if you are interested in getting started.)
12. Google Reader (http://reader.google.com)
Read the web through RSS feeds (no need to visit multiple website when the stories archive automatically into your reader.

skramstad EdTech

If you really take some time, you can find some remarkable videos on YouTube.

I’ve stumbled another set of videos in the spirit of TED by the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). I’ve watched two of them: The Power of Time and Drive. These are gems, not only for the discussion, but for the engaging visual aid of “the drawing hand.”  A worthwhile 10 minutes of viewing for both.

Drive raises serious questions about motivating kids as well as teachers and may reshape how we approach engaging our students and empowering our faculty through professional development.

skramstad Insightful drive, time, youtube

Math textbooks are no better than a episode of Two and a Half Men; they encourage laziness in our students. We need to rethink how we we teach math. I recommend all teachers watch this one.

skramstad EdTech math

Young Latinos, Blacks Answer Call Of Mobile Devices

In Defense of Public School Teachers in a Time of Crisis

NYU Tries Digital Textbooks

Should Kids Be Bribed to Do Well in School?

Author: ‘iGeneration’ requires a different approach to instruction

Get Going: Google Apps in Your School

National Education Technology Plan

skramstad News News

I wanted to recommend you check out, especially if you are a math teacher, the online tool/resource, Wolfram-Alpha, by the creators of Mathematica.  It was voted the greatest computer innovation of the year by Popular Science.  It’s not the most user-friendly name and it’s billed as a “computational knowledge engine.”  The best way to truly understand its value is by testing it out.  It looks a lot like the Google or Yahoo search box, but instead of searching web sites across the Internet, it does all the work on its own servers, crunching, comparing, analyzing, and computing the data you provide it with. (Sorry, it cannot answer what is the meaning of life? though I encourage you to ask it).  It certainly does more than a TI calculator might accomplish, since its scope involves all subjects besides mathematics, including history, language, astronomy and statistics to name a few.  You have to use a little creativity in terms of seeing its potential.

I initially saw its power when I was seeking answers to a number of CAHSEE questions (that I didn’t remember how to solve and didn’t want to spend time figuring out).  I basically copied and pasted the formulas into the Wolfram-Alpha magic machine, and had the correct answers instantly.  It didn’t just give me the answers, but offered additional information useful in figuring out how I might solve the problems had I wanted to.

I recommend you try the following queries and see its power for yourself.  I’d love to hear if you find some other interesting data sets to throw at the machine for your own subjects.  I can certainly see the potential for a unique lesson using this tool.

1. 25 miles = feet

2. 5x + 12 = 27

3. 45% of 123.50

4. slope = 5, y-intercept = 1

5. population of china 2005

6. California Florida

7. 2x^2 + 12 = 72

8. | x^2 |+ 7 > 15

9. World War II vs. World War I

10. 4,9,13,77,123,852

11. SNE APPL

12. sagittarius vs scorpio

13. facetious

14. life expectancy 20 year old united states

15. probability of 6 dice

Bonus: And of course, What is the speed of a swallow? (Monty Python reference)

skramstad EdTech wolframalpha