Turn .pdfs into Flipbooks

I stumbled across a new site in one of my many readings... It's called Flipsnack. This tool turns your .pdfs into cool-looking flip books.

I'm thinking about using this tool in a few different ways.  Students often produce pictures in Kid Pix in Kindergaten and Grade 1 to show their learning.  A great way to display their pictures and share on our website would be using Flipsnack.  What do you think?

Nutrition by KP

50 Ways to Integrate...

Wow! Another long list...  50 Ways to Integrate Technology into your Classroom Tomorrow.  I found list list linked on EdTechToolbox.

50 Ways to Integrate Technology may seem like a lot and overwhelming, but it's worth a glance, you may have already done some of the activities listed on this comprehensive list. A few that I have used...

Spelling City is a fantastic tool for students.  I've used it with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders practicing their spelling words of the week.

BrainPop is a subscription-based service with short animated video clips that cover an array of curriculum areas.  We have a subscription - see me and we can try it together in the lab.

Wordle is one of my favorites.  We have used this in almost every grade level at Runkle. We have created word splashes in social studies, spelling lists, name plates, class lists, just to name a few.

Ask me about this awesome list. I'm happy to share some ideas for how to bring these tools to your classroom practice.

Interesting Ways Series

The Interesting Ways series originally created by Tom Barrett, but contributed to by many, is chock full of rich technology integration ideas for the classroom. I have viewed many of the presentations on this site and have used some of the ideas with students almost immediately.  A few that I would recommend are:

• Use Google Docs in the Classroom
• Ideas for Class Blog Posts
• Use Audio in the Classroom
• Use Voicethread in the Classroom
• Use Wordle in the Classroom

Which one is your favorite?

Top 50 School Technology Blogs

Just came across this extremely comprehensive list of Top 50 School Technology Blogs that I thought you might be interested in perusing at your convenience.

Classroom 2.0

If you haven't checked out Classroom 2.0 yet, you should definitely put it on your list of resources to investigate.  Classroom 2.0 is a free, community-supported network hosted on Ning for educators interested in Web 2.0 and Social Media in their classrooms, created by Steve Hardagon.  They also host Live and Interactive Webinars almost daily on Blackboard Eluminate to expand your learning even more.

Each time I log in to Classroom 2.0 and check the forum questions and answers I always find something  relevant and useful.  When I have posted a question in the past, I have answers within minutes.  I have also participated in one of the webinars and found it to be incredibly useful.  I hope you check it out and let me know what you think.

Did You Know 4.0?

Have you seen this yet?  What do you think?

Try Something New This Summer?

My favorite blogger has been at it again, putting together another information-filled document for you to check out and try some new tools.  Take a look, check out some of the links, and maybe try a new tool to use in your classroom this year. If you see something that catches your eye, let me know, maybe we can work on it together!

Biographies, Poems, Journals Oh Joy!

I am so proud of the hard work that has been going on in the lab this spring.  Our new favorite tool has definitely been Glogster.  I was lucky enough to sign up for Glogster and was offered 200 student accounts, all on the free account. Students have their own username and password all under one teacher, myself.  They love the creativity aspect of creating a glog and are always teaching me something new!

Check out the work of our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders on Runkle Technology.

Check it out - Khan Academy

If you haven't checked out Khan Academy yet, it is definitely worth a look.

Khan Academy includes a library of videos that covers K-12 math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and even finance and history. Each video is about 10 minutes long and meant to be viewed on a computer.

This is an extremely informative blog post written by Dolores Gende about Khan Academy and how it could be used with small or large  groups in an educational setting. 

Sign-Up Genius

Sign-Up Genius is tool I learned about through my network of Technology Specialists. We learned about teachers using this tool to set up their parent/teacher conferences and wanted to share with you!

From what I can see, it is pretty easy to use. A few teachers have used it already and said it took minutes to figure out and enter all of their conference dates and times. Within minutes of setting up their "Sign-Up," parents were signing up for times. Easy and efficient. Every teacher loves a tool like that.

Try it out and let me know what you think!