Sooooo many cool websites and programs!
In fact there are probably too many! I know I spend far too long playing when I should be doing other things.
Social/networking
Facebook, myspace, msn messenger and bebo are all popular. Possibly some privacy or security issues there, plus they're all blocked anyway, so we can't use them at school, but heaps of kids (especially the techy ones) will use at least one of them!
Games
Personally, I'm hooked on Scrabulous, which I discovered through Facebook. It's basically scrabble, but you can play it with anyone around the world. Very cool, but careful - it's addictive!
Bored.com is right up my 12 year old son's alley. Games, videos, jokes etc...
And funtrivia is good for people who like a bit of the old trivia.
And there are thousands more for filling those idle moments. Will post more later.
Media
You tube is extraordinarily popular with all young people, but as you probably know, it's blocked on school networks. But there are some really great videos out there that can be used in class. Luckily there's Teacher Tube, which so far is clean and hasn't been blocked. Some good stuff on there if you're prepared to search.
And if you like playing with digital photos, Dumpr is one of my favourites. My profile photo and the beautiful cow above are both created on Dumpr. Some very cool stuff on there...
If sound is more your thing, download Audacity. You can record sounds, as well as edit audio files. Play them faster, slower, backwards or loop them continuously, then save to use on your smartboard.
And what about the educational stuff?
Oh yeah, that's what we're here for, isn't it? Well of course the stuff I've mentioned is very useful in educational contexts, but there are also some great bits and pieces you might find useful.
Jenny Eather has created some excellent sites which we use quite a bit. Her maths dictionary is very cool, with an A-Z listing of maths concepts and interactive examples. And you've probably used Rainforest Maths too. She has also created Writing fun, which outlines each text type, has examples of each spanning all of the primary grades and demonstrates the language features in each text. A very useful resource.
While you're at it, check out the learning objects that are currently only available through myclasses. There are thousands to choose from, and most of the time you can find one that suits what you're teaching. More of them soon through the wiki.
I could go on and on. But you've probably got enough to look at now...
PS - Please forgive the weird sized font - I'm still figuring out html!
1 comment:
Nice work Mel. I'm impressed with what you are doing here.
Thanks for the linky, I will be sure to keep checking your work out.
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