LATEST LINKS!

Will computers make us stupid?

Jacquie Henry — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:37:59 +0000

Some fascinating ideas in this article:

This blew me away:

In fact, it’s not inconceivable that a microchip could be implanted in the brain that would be used to make external copies of memory, said Dr. Gary Small, director of the UCLA Center on Aging and co-author of the book “iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind.”

On the plus side, this would help patients with Alzheimer’s disease who have begun to forget key elements of their existence, he said. Presenting them their own memories could add “another 10 years of cognitive life,” he said.

Google Building Maker

Jacquie Henry — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:12:44 +0000

Create a 3-D building and store it on Google Building Maker

Documentaries – Online resources

Jacquie Henry — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 03:35:52 +0000

If you have aspiring student documentarists (is there such a word?) – here are some resources. A documentary film might be a welcome break from the ubiquitous PowerPoint.

FreeDocumentaries.org

New resources to read text aloud to students

Jacquie Henry — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:02:06 +0000

We have acquired some new resources recently that can be used for struggling readers. I hope you will stop in so I can give you a quick tour.

If you would like to poke around yourself – here they are:

Available from the Library Page
(Library page > Click on ” Search Databases”)

World Book

Gale Power Search

All the other Gale Databases

* I have put the user names and passwords in your mailbox

In World Book you click the “hear text read aloud” link and then click at the beginning of the text you want to listen to. ATTENTION FOREIGN LANGUAGE & ESOL teachers – World Book will also translate text into mutliple languages but will not read it aloud in anything other than English.

For the Gale databases you simply click the play button on the read audio bar. Some articles can also be downloaded to ipods etc.

Available from MS Word

This is NOT new – but perhaps you have not seen it before. Students can copy and paste text from anywhere into a Word document. Then if they click the windows key and the S key at the same time, the computer will read the text to the student.

Again – if you want a quick tour – come on down!!

MIT Highlights for High Schools

Jacquie Henry — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:21:40 +0000

Highlights for High School features MIT OpenCourseWare materials that are most useful for high school students and teachers.

There are very useful materials for AP Biology, AP Calculus & AP Physics. But there are materials for many other areas – Shakespeare, visual arts, introduction to western music and much more.

MIT courses cover a variety of subjects and include videos and other resources for you and your students. General Subject areas covered are:

* Biology
* Chemistry
* Computers and Electronics
* Engineering
* Foreign Languages
* Math
* Media, Music and The Arts
* Physical Education
* Physics
* Social Sciences
* Writing and Literature

Technology & Biology

Jacquie Henry — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:01:54 +0000

Some good ideas in this blog post – Technology In Biology Class. Alas! You will have to look at home. Entirely too racy for our fiendish filter.

Protected: Making Computers Stretch OR How To Perform Miracles

Jacquie Henry — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:49:29 +0000

Online Study Guides

Jacquie Henry — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:00:51 +0000

I hope this is unblocked. I found it while searching on an unfiltered computer.

Shmoop Study Guides for Spanish, Civics, Biographies, History and Literature

From one of my favorite education blogs: Free Technology for Teachers

The Eiffel Tower Contest

Jacquie Henry — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:34:07 +0000

From French Culture (French Embassy – Cultural Services)

The French Embassy in partnership with the American Association of Teachers of French, host a series of school contests to celebrate Eiffel Tower’s 120th anniversary. All tri-state students from grade K to 12 are eligible to participate. 50 winners will be chosen and great prizes will be offered: the first super-winner will win a trip to Paris! And the following 4 winners will receive a scholarship valued at $500 each.

Uploading students files the easy way

Jacquie Henry — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:03:03 +0000

Scenario:

You’ve assigned kids to create a presentation using PowerPoint or other technology.
You have asked them to write an essay and turn it in to you for grading.
Students have created a video or a photography project and want to share it with the class.

How to you collect these projects?

You have students turn in the papers or bring their digital presentations on flash drives, of course.

So – what happens next?

You drown in papers to bring back and forth from school
For digital presentations, you have to monkey around loading files from each person’s flash drive.

Is there a better way?

Of course. Create a form on your website that will allow students to upload their files directly to you. They will not be visible to others – but can be opened easily from a single web page during class.

Other advantages?

You can use MS Word’s “comments” feature to add your comments/corrections/grade in red text directly into the paper.
Although you will have to print the papers to return them to the students, your typed comments will be easier for them to read. You can even have a list of frequent comments to copy & paste from.
You will be preparing students for college where many professors require students to upload their assignments to them.

Won’t it be a hassle getting students to do this?

If you refuse to take paper submissions, students will soon get used to the process. Even if a student has no computer at home – they can upload files in seconds from one of the school computers.

How hard is it to create such a form?

Come on into the library and we should be able to get it set up in minutes. To see the form I have set up for students to send me files – go to my Document Submission Form.