Educational Documentaries

Some of you might be interested in perusing this educational site I came across, Snag Learning. I was looking for some good, educational films or documentary snippets I could show my World Cultures class for Hispanic Heritage Month and stumbled on to this site.

You can search by subject, and I've added the links here to make it easier for you, (arts & music, foreign language, history, math & science, political science & civics, world culture & geography) or search by grade level, or by specific channel (your choices are PBS, National Geographic, Explore, and Sundance). The few I checked out were really good. There are some full-length films, as well as some shorter 10-15 minute films that you might be able to work into your lessons if you need an extra "boost" to show your students something and not just talk about it. Let me know what you think...

Not Your Great-Grandfather's Classroom...

I was struck by this picture I stumbled across on Twitter.

I've been reflecting this week on the new instructional tools and practices our staff have discovered this week. I know it can be intimidating- perhaps downright scary- to introduce all this into your classroom.

One great resource is the Tech Tutorials page at www.internetforclassrooms.com. Filled with Tutorials for topics ranging from Mac basics to Podcasting, this site can make it a little easier to move classrooms into the current century.

The Learning Network - New York Times

I have had good success with some of the lesson plans and ideas from the The Learning Network, a site dedicated to teachers and students which utilizes content from the New York Times. You can search for lesson plans by curriculum or topic. Or start simple and follow the Student Opinion pages (an online blog) and have your students comment/blog on the topic of the day if it seems like it might fit your class. Either way, it should get your students thinking and writing.

For an easy start... Here's a link to 150 questions you could try (surely there's one that might work for you).

Give it whirl if you like and see what you think! ~ :) Loree Cain

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

OHS teacher, Shane Fruit, sent me this RSA Animate lecture from the absolutely fabulous Sir Ken Robinson about the paradigm shift needed in education. If you have ten minutes to listen in...do it! It presents great ideas for what needs to happen in the world of education.

Prezi...A New Way to Present

The first time I saw a presentation created on Prezi, it was as shocking as being slapped in the face with a fish (sorry for the bad simile...we're working on figurative language in English class!). It was so out of the ordinary and honestly, way cooler than PowerPoint. Then I started creating my own Prezis; when I found it was easy--I fell deeper in love.

Benefits:

• Your trusty PowerPoint or Keynote slides can be "Prezified!" There's a simple import tool to "Prezify" your existing presentations
• It's cloud-based (meaning it's on the internet), so if your computer crashes...your Prezis aren't lost
• It's more interactive and visually pleasing than Keynote or PowerPoint
  
• Video, images, hyperlinks, and sounds can be embedded
• Prezis can be made public and editable--so a person can search for a Prezi that's already been created by someone else and then use it in your own class or make a copy of it and tweak it for your own use
• People can collaborate on Prezis and create one together
  
• Prezis can be printed as handouts for your students
  

Applications:

• Use it to create presentations that will knock your students right out of those uncomfortable desks
• Have your students create their own Prezis---they can embed them on their own blogs or websites OR email you the link for viewing and grading

Take a few minutes and learn how to use Prezi! Here's the Google Docs presentation I "Prezified" to create for our teacher in-service tomorrow:

NETA 2012

Mark your calendars and plan on attending this year's NETA conference on April 26-27 in La Vista. If you haven't attended NETA yet, bug your administrators until they let you go. Or...submit a proposal to present at this year's conference. It's a top-notch professional development opportunity and a great way to network with teachers.

Google Docs

I feel blessed to teach in a district that holds a Google Apps for Education license (GAFE). I can do so much more in my classroom with Google Docs. Rather than writing about it in a boring blog post, I'll let you check out a boring presentation! Here's a portion of my presentation that I created for last year's NETA conference. It contains how I use Google Docs in my classroom and some student work and feedback about the tool. If you haven't used Google Docs yet...don't wait another day!