English/Language Arts Digital Tools

By Samantha Roslund, HCHS Media Specialist

It’s that time again – cool free tools from the library!  This month, we’re going to be focusing on English Language Arts tools.  Remember, all my tool recommendations are F-R-E-E.

Power Poetry– this incredible site allows students to upload their own poetry and share it with each other and the Power Poetry community.  They can post micro poems, upload video poem recitations, and enter poetry contests.  It would be an amazing supplement to any poetry lesson or unit.

Quill.org– this site allows students and users to edit and correct writing passages for grammar.  Passages are samples of classical fiction, historical passages, and mythical tales.  Students can click on words and make corrections, and are then given a report of their work.  They’re shown what they caught, what they missed, and what the common errors in the piece were.  Teachers can access already-uploaded lesson plans as well. Click here for a demo video.

EasyBib for Google Docs – now that we’re pushing Google Docs more and more, EasyBib has developed a Google Doc add-on you can easily install and use in your Google doc.  Students can input an article or book title, journal title, or website directly into their Google Doc window and have their citations instantly generated, formatted, and inserted into their document.  Please come to me if you have any questions about installing it.  I’ve used it and it’s incredible. 

Mobile Devices in the Classroom: Nuisance or Learning tool?

By Michael Rio, HCHS Digital Media teacher

Imagine all of the world's knowledge in each of your student's hands! Are student mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets a classroom distraction or a vital tool for learning? Maybe either or both, depending on how they are integrated into the classroom.

A revolution in education is taking place as schools not only invest in more portable devices, but students increasingly bring their own device to use at school. These devices include smartphones, iPads and other tablets, Chromebooks and laptops.  Now schools are making choices as to how best to use such devices to improve teaching and learning while making sure they do not become a distraction to learning. Many teachers are concerned about how students may use their own devices in class. At the same time these devices are also excellent learning tools whose potential can greatly engage students to improve learning.

It is no longer a question about whether or not students should use their own devices at school. The challenge now to to develop the most effective policies and instructional uses for these devices. The potential is almost limitless as students now have easy access to educational resources and information on the Internet. They also have access to hundreds of thousands of apps to use for everything from foreign languages to calculators to dictionaries.  The world of educational apps, web sites and online communications are transforming learning and schools in ways never imagined even a decade ago!

A new mobile devices revolution is transforming how we can better teach, learn and communicate with our students and colleagues. Here are some great resources to help evaluate how best these mobile devices may be used in your classroom.


Mobile Devices for Learning: What you need to know? (PDF)

Mobile Learning: Resources roundup

Shared and Class Sets of Mobile Devices

Intel: Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Resources

Classroom Management Tips for Students with Mobile Devices

Ten Ways to Use Mobile Devices in the Classroom


How are you using mobile devices in your classroom?

Math & Science Spot

by Samantha Roslund, HCHS Media Specialist

Attention Math & Science Teachers and Folks Interested in Math & Science!  Check out these amazing (FREE!) new online tools that will help you enhance your lessons, develop new assignments, and engage your students.

Sally Ride Science – lesson plans and support resources for literally everything STEM-related.  Browse by topic, search by subject, or upload your own idea.

ARDUSAT – you and your students can perform actual EXPERIMENTS IN SPACE.  Use the ARDUSAT satellite to “measur[e] the surface temperature of the earth using an infrared sensor”.  Or “us[e] the UV light to see if you should be wearing SPF 10 or 75?”  Have fun!





21 GIFs That Explain Mathematical Concepts – GIFs are animated images that usually run on short loops.  From IFLScience, these GIFs are amazing at visually demonstrating complicated math concepts (including algebra, geometry, calc, trig, and more).  It would have changed my life if I had seen these when I was 15! 

      Sick Science! – a YouTube channel for SHORT science experiment videos.  Many are high-school-appropriate, some are a little young.  Check out “Make a Human Lung”, “Make a Square Bubble”, “Salt Water Density Straw” and more!

As usual, please don’t hesitate to come ask me questions about any of these tools.  I am here to help!  Reach me at ext. 8441, roslunds@apps.harpercreek.net, or come on down to the library.

Using YouTube in the 21st Century Classroom

Welcome back!

Another school year and so many excellent options for integrating technology into your classes. Some of the HCCS staff attended a "Google Camp" and are exploring and using the Google Apps for Education tools (which all HCHS staff have an account for).

Do you use YouTube in your classroom? There are thousands of excellent free videos for teaching and learning!

Here are some helpful sites for using YouTube in the classroom, including how to organize your videos by channel, and many examples of great educational sites. You may also upload your own videos to share using your Google log-in on YouTube.

YouTube Education

YouTube Channels for Teachers

Create an Educational Channel on YouTube

100 Useful YouTube Channels for Teachers

Educator.com videos on YouTube

YouTube (Google) Digital Citizenship Curriculum

Have fun using YouTube in the classroom!

Summer EdTech Catch Up Ideas

We all get so busy during the school year that it is often hard to find time to check out Educational Technology resources, learn new software or learn more about the latest trends in teaching with technology.

Besides skimming through previous topics on this HC EdTech Blog, here are a few more to check out along with some of the best covered this past year. Have a great summer and the HC EdTech blog should be back in the fall.

Also join Michigan's main EdTech organization "MACUL" if you get a chance, its free: www.macul.org

A few ideas to learn more about EdTech this summer ...

1. Watch inspirational TED videos: www.ted.com

2. What can you do with your iPad?

https://www.apple.com/education/ipad/

3. Learn more about consumer electronics, technology, tech news, etc. (How to videos? reviews, news, etc):

www.cnet.com

4. The excellent Atomic Learning site full of software and other tutorials (need your Harper Creek login):

www.atomiclearning.com

5. Core teachers especially, check out Khan Academy and share this with your students. Despite what it says on the home page, you do not need to set up an account and can go straight to the tutorials.

www.khanacademy.org

6. There is so much you can do with Google Apps for education, not to mention the summer Google Camp through the CISD, that this is an area all educators need to learn more about. Our students now have access to these tools through their Harper Creek log in for Google Apps (staff too)!

http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/education/

7. Edutopia is a great free resource for all kinds of educational information.

www.edutopia.org

8. How about Free Tech for Teachers? Need I say more!

http://www.freetech4teachers.com

9. Please check out "The 31 Educational Web Tools Every Teacher Should Know about."

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/12/the-31-educational-web-tools-every.html

10. Last but not least, check out eSchool News: http://www.eschoolnews.com

Using Digital Video in the Classroom

Almost all computers today ship with software to edit video right out of the box! Even iPads and many smartphones can be used to shoot and even edit video. Video editing has never been easier or more affordable. A good quality video camera can be bought for under $300.  Any teacher can start using video in their classroom!

The Apple Mac computers ship with the popular iMovie software and most Windows computers ship with the MovieMaker software. Other video editing software options include Adobe Premier and Premier Elements, Sony Vegas Studio, Final Cut Pro and Pinnacle Studio. The Atomic Learning site has tutorials for most or all of these software options. Below are some great sites and resources to help you get started.

What video projects can your students create- digital stories, interview videos, "How to" videos, documentaries, highlight  videos, or use video editing software for photos and music or narration?

Apple's iMovie
Microsoft MovieMaker
Video in the Classroom
10 Great Ways to Use Digital Video Cameras in the Classroom
School Video News
10 Video Projects Every Teacher Should Try
20 Video Projects to Engage Students