More Summer Ideas

OK, so your children (and maybe you, too) are home for the summer and you hear the first, "I'm bored." They are home from summer camp, family vacation trips, or wherever and need something to occupy them. My husband and I were in the same frame of mind last summer when our 11 year old granddaughter came to stay with us for a month. Luckily, we had lots of ideas and events from the local community and pulled a few more fun things to do from our technology backgrounds.

So when swimming all day, every day loses its appeal, you could check with the local YMCA and Chamber of Commerce to see what activities are on the schedule. I've included some websites below that have tons of ideas; everything from puzzles to making crafts and even some cooking.

 

July activities from Activity Directory Today

Enchanted Learning Crafts and Activities

The Teachers Corner
July Calendar Events
Activity Ideas That Work

Summer Activites from Barbara Feldman / Surfnetkids
International Joke Day is July 1st : submit your joke

Independence Day Activities for the 4th

PT Barnum's Birthday is July 5th

Circus Online Coloring

National Ice Cream Day is July 17th - make it, take it, definitely eat it!

Ice Cream Pictures to Print and Color

Newest Coloring Pages - free downloads, print out and color

Independence Day Online Games

Thinkfinity ideas for creating Comics, book/CD/DVD covers, trading cards, stories and more

These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg (or putting one toe into the water since it is summer). What are some of your summer activity suggestions and how do you keep the boredom out of their time off?

images courtesy of Glitterfly, 123Greetings, Authentic History, and Carvel

Words in the Clouds

 I have been having fun using Wordle to create word clouds for about everything and adding the created  image to blog posts, wiki pages, handouts, and more. While working on a presentation I was going to do at the AIG conference, I found a very similar resource called "WordItOut."  It also allowed me to create a cloud of words from my own text but with some additional features.

My presentation included different ways to teach vocabulary and use words from any subject area. What fun we had taking a paragraph written on a given topic and pasting it into WordItOut. We tried Math terms, Science vocabulary, Social Studies events . . The ideas were flowing. Instantly the words were put into a design that showed the most often used words in larger and bolder print. We could change the colors, the layout and even the target area where the word cloud would show on the page.

WordItOut is another free, online resource and you don't even have to register to use it. The Create tab is where you can start your own word cloud. Just type in the words you want to use or copy the words from a story, blog post, or list and paste it into the box. The word cloud can be changed to fit the mood or style needed - the possibilities are almost endless with all the colors, shapes, angles and more. The Discover tab lets you view page after page of creations created by others. Wondering about a special topic - just type in a keyword search to get an idea and see what has been done. It doesn't show you how many word clouds go with the search, but I don't mind clicking on the Next button to see more.

To find out the latest news or maybe need to report a problem, just click on the Community tab. You can read and share comments or check out the FAQs. If you have an idea for a feature that might make WordItOut even better, send in your suggestion under the Ideas button. I really like the fact that they are open to suggestions that might make their program work better for the end user.

A fun, end-of-the-year project would be to have the students help design a word cloud of things they have learned and then put it on a t-shirt or bag. WordItOut has a great feature to create and purchase customized gift items. What a way to share what is going on in your classroom! Check it out in the Community section.

Here are some other resources and links for ideas and uses of WordItOut and word clouds:

• WSFCS wiki - Vocabulary Teaching Tools livebinder
• blog - Free Technology 4 Teachers
• Twitter - WordItOut on Twitter

I suggest giving WordItOut a try with your next lesson and see how your words look in the clouds.

More Than Bookmarking with Diigo!

There are so many resources available to us now through the internet that I am having a hard time keeping up with all of them or remembering where to find the information. Sure, I can use the Favorites menu to mark a site, blog, wiki or whatever catches my eye; but I've noticed my list and folders going completely out of control and it takes me longer to find what I was looking for than necessary.

Others have mentioned using Diigo as their social bookmarking choice and I wanted to share how I've been taking advantage of its features. Some of my favorites are

• building my Library of favorites,
• organizing by tags, lists and groups,
• networking with other users with the same interests.

When I need to pull information together, I can go to Diigo.com, login and type in a tag name that will instantly bring up all my bookmarks for that search. I didn't have to remember where they all were on the web. Albert Einstein said it the best when a reporter asked him (during an interview) why he had to look up his own phone number. "Einstein replies, “Why should I memorize something when I know where to find it?”

While I'm "bookmarking" sites or articles I want to go back to later, Diigo gives me the ability to annotate a link, highlight a portion of the page, take a snapshot of the page, create lists, and even generate reports. This video from Diigo talks about each of these features.

Diigo V4: Research ~ annotate, archive, organize from diigobuzz on Vimeo.

Since I was able to import my Delicious bookmarks, I'm still working on organizing everything into a complete Archive and Lists. I love being able to access my bookmarks from anywhere that has internet access. Having my own personal database to reference and share with others are great benefits. Adding others to my network is as easy as searching for their name, choosing Follow and adding them to a Friend's List. So many resources, so much to share!

The regular Diigo account is free and being an educator, our account has some special priviledges that will allow us to create and manage student accounts and class groups. I see more collaboration in the making. My next task is to work with a teacher and her class on a collaboration project. Want to be in my network or part of a project?

Maybe you would like to try social bookmarking as a way to keep in touch and share information and resources. Give it a chance by setting up your Diigo account and adding my Diigo profile to your network by following me as a friend.

Web Tools for Brainstorming

Brainstorming can take all shapes while developing an idea. Students used to get excited when you asked for ideas about a topic and they saw those ideas written on a piece of paper or on the board and how they were all connected. Some still brainstorm that way. Computer programs like Kidspiration and Inspiration have made brainstorming on curriculum topics even easier - visually and connecting to ideas on the web. More resources have been made available through the internet and as our District has increased the numbers of SMARTBoards and ActivBoards in the classrooms, more student interactivity accompanies each developing idea.

While preparing to present at conferences and helping teachers find more resources to help develop 21st Century skills, I've found several tools worth checking out. Some of my favorites are:

Bubbl.us

Corkboard.me

Mindmeister

Wallwisher

Most all of the online, brainstorming tools now are free. Some do ask you to register, but it isn't required. I like being able to work with others and see the changes and additions as they happen.

Here are links to a blog post of the Top 5 Web 2.0 Brainstorming Tools and take a look at the Brainstorming page in our Student Online Collaboration livebinder. Have fun brainstorming on one of your favorite topics and let me know which program you liked the best or share one of your own.

Need Videos for Your Curriculum?

It seems that most of the time when we think about using a video to go along with our lesson, YouTube pops into our minds. I know it is probably the most popular website for videos, but it really causes concern for teachers and school districts because of the inappropriate content available to anyone and everyone. WS/FCS blocks YouTube in our district like so many other school districts.

WS/FCS has two fantastic, educational paid solutions, Learn360 and netTrekker, for teachers to find video. They are correlated with the NCSCOS and many examples have already been linked inside the lessons in Learning Village. The videos within both applications have been checked out by educators and are approved by our District because they follow CIPA guidelines.  Along with these two wonderful resources, maybe you would like to check out a few additions and/or alternatives that have been approved by our Software Clearinghouse:

 
Great educational site with videos, images, and other Teacher Resources

        Wonderful site where you can browse categories, find Educator Resources, watch and upload videos, and much more.


Kid's video site, filtered and has two rules - be kind, positive, and encouraging with comments and NO profanity



Although there are many choices out on the web, why not try using one of these to compliment your next lesson?

March - Women's History Month

There are many aspects to think about for Women's History Month.  

We could focus on the struggle for women to win the right to vote. Find out more at Social Studies for Kids and check out who was arrested for trying to vote for president and ordered to pay $1,000. Maybe we would have a woman mayor, lawyer or even president some day.

Graphic courtesy of ArtToday

 
Thinkfinity has a great listing of lesson plans, newsletters, and calendar events noting women's accomplishments throughout the years. 

How about getting the scoop on who was the first First Lady and how she changed the way people thought about the presidency in EDSITEment. So many lessons, student resources, and websites to become acquainted with.

There are over 400 search results for Women's History in netTrekker. It was exciting to view the online exhibits from the National Women's History Museum and become a part of the history through audio, video, and images.

Here are a few other resources with activities, lessons, timelines, and much, much more:
Women in World History Quotes
Time for Kids
TeachersFirst: Women's History Month Resources
Women's History Month Livebinder by KB..Konnected (Resources tab)

March Resources

Even though there isn't a National Holiday during the month of March; many more events are happening. You can find events that are celebrated for the whole month, for a week, or for each day of the month.

About.com has a "Long List of March Holidays and Special Days such as
Women's History Month
Irish-American Heritage Month
Youth Art Month

It was really interesting to see that March 7th was the day that Alexander Graham Bell's Telephone Patent was granted and that the first paper money was issued on the 10th. What a fun way to do trivia questions, journal entries, or a great lead-in for a project.

Check out these other websites and resources for lessons, videos, and activities.
Learning Village:

• The Encyclopedia Britannica in NCWiseOwl spotlights Women's History.
• Thinkfinity for what's happening "Today in History"
• "This Day in History" in Learn360
• "Women in History" in netTrekker

Outside sources:

• Surfing the Calendar at Surfing the Net with Kids website by Barbara J. Feldman
• March Madness activity in SMART Exchange
• Social Studies for Kids
• My Vocabulary - Home of the VocabularyUniversity

Most of these can be subscribed to so you will get updated information monthly, some are weekly.

Here is a website for teachers called The Teacher's Corner with lots more lesson plans, thematic units, and activities. The calendar can be printed to help remind you of what is coming up next.

Image created in Wordle