Oolone and More Search Engines for Students

Oolone is a new visual search engine that displays results as web previews instead of text, offering a nice option for efficient and intuitive searching.  An oolone search displays the top four results in a grid that allows uses to scroll over the images to  get a closer look at the site before actually selecting it.  Designed to be a quicker and more efficient way to search, it speaks to the idea that that sometimes an image is the best answer to a question.

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Screencasts -Tech Support to Maximize Instructional Time

As educators in the 21st century, one of our goals should be  to design student driven experiences that offer flexible learning paths, using a variety of tools to meet the diverse needs of all students.  Fueled by essential questions, technology is certainly a fabulous tool for facilitating these types of experiences, but with limited instructional time, loads of content to uncover and varied comfort levels with the technology itself,  implementing these types of learning experiences can be overwhelming and can be an inefficient use of instructional time.  If educators are going to effectively use technology as a tool for learning, than the learning focus has to be on the content, not the technology.

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Build Vocabulary Cards with Google Presentation

There is a wealth of research to suggest that vocabulary knowledge is the single best predictor of student academic achievement across all curriculum areas. Experts agree that vocabulary development is an attainable goal. If given the opportunity to receive effective vocabulary instruction, most students can acquire vocabulary at rates that will improve their comprehension and also their chances for success in school. Technology is an effective and engaging tool that can be used to improe vocabulary acquisition for all learners and engage them in the learning process. Google Presentation offers some features that make it an attractive tool for a lesson in which students work collaboratively to construct knowledge about vocabulary by creating vocabulary cards.

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Improve Search Skills - A Google a Day

Searching for information is a process that involves critical thinking.  A Google a Day  is a trivia game that provides students and grownups with a playful way to improve search skills. Every day Google posts a question that is complex enough that a regular Google search won't yield the solution. Players have to put on their thinking caps to find the answers. Here are some things you should know about a Google a day:

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GoogleDocs for Learning on Scoop.It

View Google Docs for Learning on Scoop.It

I've put together a collection of resources for using Google Docs for Learning on Scoop.It and I'm always looking for more.

If you have ideas to share, please take a minute to complete my Google form and share.

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Zoom.It: Publish Zoomable Images

Zoom.It is a free and user-friendly Cool Tool for embedding, viewing and sharing images. Just copy an image link into the box on the website and in return receive a link or embed code to your zoomable image. Click on the tools at the bottom of this awesome poster, published by The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, to experience Zoom.It as you think about the 4 C's.

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GoogleDocs Presentation: New Look and Features

Recently Google released a new version of its online presentation software and with it comes some additional features that have been available in traditional presentation software programs like PowerPoint and Keynote. Here are some of the highlights:

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The Flipped Classroom Infographic

Check out this infographic about The Flipped Classroom created by Jeremy F. Stayer of Ohio State University.

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Learn About Culture Through Images

Culture is a very popular topic of study in our 6th grade curriculum. Larry Ferlazzo has identified some great photo resources for Learning About Different Cultures on his blog, Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...for Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL.  I decided to combine Larry's resources with ThingLink, to create a visual launcher to help students expand  their visual and cultural literacy skills in the 24/7 classroom.

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3 Interactive Math Tools to Engage Students

The flexibility of virtual manipulatives and interactive math tutorials can provide opportunities for all students to master math.. Here are 3 interactive sites that work well with students working on their own computers, projected in front of the class, or on an interactive board.

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GoogleDocs Templates: A Virtual Copy Machine

If you're looking for an easy and efficient way to provide students with a starting point for a digital project, Google Docs Templates can help. You can save time and guide the learning by providing students with a consistent page format by using and creating your own templates. A Google Docs template is like a virtual copy machine. There are plenty of user-submitted templates already created and available for public use and there is even a category for Students and Teachers. Here are some tips and tricks to get you started.

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Manage Google Docs with an Assignment Tracker

One of the challenges of rolling out Google Docs for all students at our school is in managing all those docs students are turning in. Teachers are experiencing the frustration of cluttered In Boxes taken over by individual messages from students sharing their assignments. Fortunately, I have found an awesome idea from John Miller @162  that utilizes a Google Form as an Assignment Tracker. The idea is innovative, efficient and simple. Here's how John's invention works:

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