Life=Risk

Thanks for Dr. Clif Mims for posting this on his blog. This was just what I needed as I prepare to meet our students. How about showing this to your class?!

Sparkle Box

Sparkle Box is a great site to explore if you are looking for downloadable resources to support visual learners in both mainstream and special education settings.

Teachers can download teaching materials for mathematics, reading, basic science lessons, geography basics, and lots of free posters for their classrooms. Teachers will also find on Sparkle Box certificate/ award templates, attendance registers, and many other forms commonly used in elementary schools. The Sparkle Box sharing zone provides a place for teachers to post resources they've created and access resources created by other teachers.

Thanks to my PLN for this blog post!

Google Chrome

A quick post today!
Thanks to my GCT PLN:
Valarie posted:
Google Launches Chrome for Mac

Download here: http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/eula_dev.html?dl=mac

here is MacWorld review:
http://www.macworld.com/article/140998/2009/06/chromemac.html

I first saw this on the PC that I used at Google Academy. I haven't used this browser since.
The tool bar was quite handy. Try it, you might like it!

Google Squared

From my GCT PLN
Product Manager Daniel Dulitz demonstrates Google Squared, a new experimental search tool that lets you customize your search results in a table. Try it for yourself at http://www.google.com/squared

Ed Gadget from Google

A Post from my GCT-PLN:
"Don't know if you spotted these yet, but Google Spreadsheets now boast
some great new Ed Gadgets for Word Search, Flash Cards and Word Study!
They are about halfway down under the Gadgets window. Blog post
available here: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2009/05/spotlight-on-developers-educational.html

Thanks again Google for making even more fantastic tools available to
teachers!

I am off to work on my Multiplication Facts flashcards :-)"

Map the Fallen

Again From my PLN and my Walden professor, Kevin Jarrett: "Map the Fallen: Google Earth mashup of the 5,700+ American & Coalition
members who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan: http://bit.ly/pf8ZF"

One of the Google Engineers-Sean, San Francisco, CA, writes: "This Memorial Day I would like to share with you a personal project of mine that uses Google Earth to honor the more than 5,700 American and Coalition servicemen and women that have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have created a map for Google Earth that will connect you with each of their stories—you can see photos, learn about how they died, visit memorial websites with comments from friends and families, and explore the places they called home and where they died."
From the sidebar: Click here to download map: You *must* have Google Earth 5.0 installed to view this project

Mac Users: The original release of Earth 5.0 (5.0.11337.1968) crashes when loading this map. Please download and install the latest version (5.0.11733.9347).

Emints Resource website

Recently two Google Certified teachers, Cindy Lane and
Stephanie Madlinger, have posted on a google group about emints.org. This is a great resource for all educators.

"What is an eMINTS teacher?" The acronym stands for "enhancing
Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies". This two
year program began as a state grant through the University of Missouri
Columbia in 1999. Throught this grant teachers receivedn classroom technology equipment computers, printers, a digital camera & scanner. The technology, along with
the 250 hours of in-depth, face-to-face professional development give
the participating teachers tools & resources to create & provide
inquiry-based lessons, many including higher level thinking skills.

Once you become an eMINTS teacher you not only receive the technology
& professional development, but you also receive a variety of support
systems, including access to the discussion list of the several
thousand eMINTS teachers. Everyone, trained or
not, has access to the eTHEMES website http://www.emints.org/ethemes/index.shtml
& WebQuests that have been compiled & written by eMINTS teachers.
http://www.emints.org/webquest/index.shtml Wonderful resources for
any teacher.

Thanks for this great resource from my PLN

Mini READ Poster from ALA

http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/graphics/READ_Mini_Posters.cfm

Just saw a tweet from a Twitter monarchlibrary. Check this out! I see a writing reflection possibility, "My favorite book in elementary school was...." The reward for a polished paragraph would be to take a Photo Booth pic on a Macbook and publish this for display.

Great PLN

I have a great local PLN (Personal Learning Network) here in the area. Our MAIS-TEC group meets about once a month. This past Friday we met at SBEC which is actually in Mississippi. First, we met a great Chemistry and Physics teacher who has set a goal of incorporating technology into her classes. She has done such a fine job and was a inspiration to us all. She shared her blog, how she uses her Wacom tablet, Jing, ebeam and more! Congrats on setting the bar high this year Ms. Skinner and best wishes for you and your students in the future. Your students will be well prepared not on in the subject area, but also, in how to implement uses of technology for their future studies. Best wishes!

Also, a shout out to my friends for a great technology integrators SIG. We shared great lesson ideas, Twitter friends and websites. I will share some of these resources in a future blogs. My friend Cathe shared a great lesson about using Excel to graph planets. She followed up with an email of the website and more details.
"Excel Spreadsheet on Planet Orbits. This is a GREAT lesson. The writer did a FANTASTIC job writing out all of the steps! He suggests that this is appropriate for 4th grade on up. I would only venture with a 4th grade class that has maturity and Excel experience. The 5th Graders completed this with little or no difficulties. The 5th Grade Science Teacher loved it. Even if you don't think you would want to do it with a class...I think it offers a visual picture on how planets rotate around the sun. It could be used as a visual teaching resource since it gives a visual of how planets rotate around the sun and an idea of the distance between the inner and outer planets."
Thanks, Cathe, I cannot wait to try out this lesson.

Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cobannon/2983755525/sizes/o/