Top 10 New Tools I found!

I have been using the beginning of my summer surfing the web and reading tweets and have found so many GREAT resources. I thought it would be a good idea to put the top 10 in a post. I figured it would be helpful for me to organize my thoughts and also good for anyone that is looking for some new ideas. I do want to remind everyone that I am a K-3 Technology Integration Specialist so my resources focus on how they can be used in Primary Schools. 1.) GlogsterEDU This is my all time favorite site! I have used this in so many ways. My students love to use this site. GlogsterEdu is a GREAT Site!! 2.) Qwiki Have you ever looked for a quick 2-3 minute description about a topic. Qwiki gives you that! Qwiki gives you important data to describe millions of popular topics. 3.) StoryBird There are now new genres that we need to be aware of as classroom teachers. Digital story telling is one of those new genres. StoryBird is a quick (free) way to get our students (even the young students), to start working with this new genre. 4.) LiveBinders I know that most of you have already seen LiveBinders, I had to mention it. If you are someone that loves to be organized, then you will LOVE LiveBinders. You can make your own binder of information or look at others. 5.) SideVibe I can see so much potential in this site. My biggest concern is that you do need a student email to get your student's enrolled. Once you have your class enrolled With SideVibe is an excellent tool to help your students keep focused while doing research. It makes it so much easier for students to be able to have a floater window to help them with rubrics and/or questions rather than have to keep toggling between windows. 6.) Google Body So Cool & So Easy. What else would you expect from the people that brought us Google Earth. This is a great site for anyone that wants to explore the body (Health Class just got so much more interactive!). Make sure to use the search bar at the top for a more in-depth look at any area you are interested in. The sidebar on the left helps to pull off the layers off the body. 7.) Jeopardy Labs Everyone loves Jeopardy! Making a Jeopardy game always seemed a little difficult before. Now with this site all you do is plug in the categories, questions, and answers. Presto! You have a great game to review any subject. 8.) Prompter With more students reading from the computer screen for projects needing this is one of the easiest cue prompter that I have found. Very intuitive to use. 9.) PiratePad I LOVE THIS SITE for the primary schools! It is so hard to find sites that you do not need an email for or that are not difficult to get the primary students involved in. This site is wonderful. You can have an interactive lesson with your students and all they have to do is type in an URL. Great site, so many uses. 10.) Pearltree This site is a new way to help keep teachers organized and also to help search for other great sites. It enables you to have a bookmark tab on your toolbar. The unique thing about Pearltrees is that you can see other professionals bookmarks and pick which you want to add to your sites.

Summer Goals

I have realized that a month of summer is almost gone and I have not accomplished any of my goals. Maybe if I write them here, I actually get some of them done. 

  

    1.) Make a monthly Technology Calendar for K-3 to use for the 2011-2012 school year.

    2.) Create a useful site for my K-3 teachers to find Web 2.0 resources that are subject specific.

    3.)  Create a more user-friendly site for the 1st and 2nd grade Gifted students that will allow them to use technology for their projects. 

    4.) ENJOY FAMILY 

 

    I would appreciate anyone's help on any of my goals! Thanks