Google docs - where to begin

Google Docs Help Center -

Are you thinking of using Google Docs in your classroom? You maybe surprised to discover that it is part of an entire suite of web-based applications.

Getting started

http://docs.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=1382883&from=15152&rd=1

Some Videos and additional tutorials

https://sites.google.com/a/online.sd71.bc.ca/google-apps/home

========================

QR codes in the library and classroom

QR Invasion - "Q"ing into codes for the classroom

http://prezi.com/zazknx_iysyk/qr-invasion-qing-into-codes-for-the-classroom/

Naomi Bates did a short staff pro-d session on QR Codes and how they can be incorporated into lessons. She includes a number of links to readers and creators:

===============

Where to find video for class use?

Places to find video to "hook" students for your lesson

Don't forget to preview clips before showing them to your class. The last 15 seconds might be a surprise for everybody!

National Film Board films (French too)

http://nfb.ca/

http://www.onf.ca/

CBC Archives –

English:  http://archives.cbc.ca/

French:  http://archives.radio-canada.ca/

How Stuff Works – Check the playlists (ie How It's Made)

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/

Snag Films

http://www.snagfilms.com/

Click on topics or channels and see all the videos available - legally - to watch.  Some have a US flag on the comments which means the video is only available in the US, but there are plenty available for Canada.

WatchKnowLearn

http://www.watchknowlearn.org/

Hundreds of thousands of great short videos, and other media, explaining every topic taught to school kids., rated and sorted into a giant directory, making them simple to find. (This is the goal!)

--------------------------------------

online read-aloud/read-along

Online audio books with visuals (for elementary students)

B&N: A selection of best-selling picture books - read out loud with simple animation

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/online-storytime-books-toys/379002381/

Speakaboo: Videos of stories being read (some pay content) Lots of Arthur stories.

http://www.speakaboos.com/stories

MP3 audio stories (download or listen online)

http://lightupyourbrain.com/stories/

Flippable Books - animal characters (full-screen option)

http://storytimeforme.com/series/  

Songs, animated with Flash

http://www.mightybook.com/MightyBook_free/Free_Stories_and_Songs.html

=====================

Game Based learning - Engaging students

Game-Based Learning Units for the Everyday

Edutopia Article here

"Game-based learning (GBL) is getting a lot press. It is an innovative practice that is working to engage kids in learning important 21st century skills and content."

Read Andrew Miller's post for more on this interesting area of study.

===============

Flash Videos in EBSCO

Medical Images and Videos

How the Heart Works.

Database: Medical Video & Animation Collection

You can search EBSCO for more than articles. There is a wealth of medical images and videos that might be useful for your class. Here's a sample: (click on the "Animation" link on the left-hand side once you get to the summary page.)

=====================

Setting an email alert on a Journal in EBSCO

How to set up a Journal Alert in EBSCO

http://quietube.com/v.php/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3f8Zjro_7s

This video clip walks you through an easy, step-by-step process for getting EBSCO to email you when the magazines or journals you want to read become available. EBSCO sends you a link, and will even send you a list of all the articles in the issue if you so desire!

======================================

Children’s Games and Songs

THE BRITISH LIBRARY - The worlds knowledge

http://www.bl.uk/playtimes

"The Playtimes website is part of a wider Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded project entitled 'Children's Games and Songs in the New Media Age'. The project is part of the AHRC's 'Beyond Text' programme which seeks to highlight the importance of communication, sensory perception, orality and material culture within current scholarship and today's digital culture. The 'Children's Games and Songs' project aims to preserve children's games and songs as an important aspect of our national culture; but also seeks to explore how they continue to be a part of the lives of children living in the age of computer games and the internet. What does this oral tradition borrow from the media; and how might it connect with the entertainment and information technologies of the age of new media?"

============

World Book Night 2012

The 100 most popular books

http://www.worldbooknight.org/your-books

"For World Book Night 2012 we want to find out about the nation's favourite books. We're compiling the top 10s of thousands of readers to see what books people love to read, share and give. Below is an ever changing top 100 which will ultimately inform the 25 books chosen for World Book Night 2012. Why not see if your favourites are here and, if you haven't already, tell us your top 10 and share your favourite books with thousands of others. Click on a book's cover to see reasons people have given for choosing it and to choose it yourself without needing to go through the search page."

===================

interactive resource - "How to do Research"

Kentucky Virtual Library - Roadmap for Researching

http://www.kyvl.org/kids/homebase.html

Here is a great interactive resource to help students learn more about the research process. The chart an interesting visual, and all the images are clickable links that lead to more details about the process. (Thanks Rosamar) Available as a Flash animated version as well.

================================

K-12 Reader - Reading instruction resources

Reading Instruction Resources

http://www.k12reader.com/

"K12reader.com started back in 2008 with the goal of providing free reading instruction resources for parents and teachers. We work with experienced reading teachers and curriculum specialists, who write helpful articles and develop curriculum that can be used in the classroom or at home to supplement what's happening in class."

Topics include: Balanced Literacy, Content Area Reading, Grammar Reference, Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Reading Comprehension, Reading Fluency, Sentence Types, Teaching Sight Words.

And many other topics...

http://www.k12reader.com/boys-and-reading/

=====================

Teachers Try Science - Lesson Plans and Teaching Strategies

Lessons and Resources for Educators

http://teacherstryscience.org/

"This site provides free and engaging lessons, along with teaching strategies and resources, which are designed to spark students' interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).  What's more, the site features collaboration tools to enable teachers to discuss and share effective instructional practices."

==============================

Molecular Workbench - Virtual Science Lab

Hundreds of Free Simulations.

(Use Firefox to access - it may take a moment to load.)

http://mw.concord.org/modeler/

"What's MW?: Molecular Workbench (MW) provides visual, interactive computational experiments for teaching and learning science. Explore physics, chemistry, biology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology with interactive simulations."

On-Line Textbooks - CK12

Flexbooks for Instruction - Secondary

http://www.ck12.org/flexbook/

The CK-12 project has added some new titles. Although most of the material is for High School, there are some Gr6 and 7 Math texts.

"CK-12 Foundation is a non-profit organization with a mission to reduce the cost of textbook materials for the K-12 market both in the U.S. and worldwide. Using an open-content, web-based collaborative model termed the "FlexBook™," CK-12 intends to pioneer the generation and distribution of high quality educational content that will serve both as core text as well as provide an adaptive environment for learning."

Use Quickstart to build your own:

http://www.ck12.org/about/vid-quickstart

PBS LearningMedia™

Classroom-ready, digital resources

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org

"PBS LearningMedia™ ... easy, instant access to thousands of classroom-ready, digital resources including videos and interactives perfect for the Interactive Whiteboard, plus audio and photos, and even in-depth lesson plans. You can search, save, and share with ease. Best of all, PBS LearningMedia™ is free for educators. Register today!"

=================

Secondary Science Site

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/index.html

Free Resources for Senior Science Teachers and Students

Videos, Animations, Lecture Series, Interactive animations, Virtual Labs, Podcasts.

=================

60 Second Book Hooks [Activity]

Short, persuasive metaphorical book reviews

[LINK HERE]

"A few weeks back, the language arts teacher on my sixth grade team and I whipped up an enrichment activity for our top performing students. Called 60 Second Book Hooks, we've asked our students to generate short, persuasive metaphorical reviews of the books that they are reading. The rules are pretty simple:  Students have to compare the books that they are reading to unlike concepts, ideas or items.  Both supportive and critical reviews are encouraged."

=================

Read your own "personal" paper.

Check out paper.li. You can read daily newspapers created with your interests in mind. Here's a sample:

Welcome to the Inquiry Questions Wiki!

Explore Inquiry-Based Learning more deeply

http://inquiry-questions.wikispaces.com/

Purpose:To collaboratively generate inquiry-based research questions that are related to the learning outcomes of BC curricula, K-12. (Teacher-librarians in the Langley School District)

=============

Inquiry Based Learning in action

Inquiry-based Learning (online workshop)

http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/demonstration.html

"Through this workshop's discussions, project ideas, and sharing, participants discover the value of Inquiry-based Learning activities, which teach respect for one's own interests and the interests of others. The workshop concludes by challenging participants to create engaging Inquiry-based Learning projects in their own classrooms."

===================================