Showing posts with label Skype. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skype. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

7th Teaching K-6 Carnival


Welcome to the July edition of the Teaching K-6 Carnival. This month I've had a number of posts relating to professional development for teachers - with plenty of opportunities to expand your skill base during the Northern Hemisphere summer months. Because of this, I've included a "Reflect and Rejuvenate" category this month. For those of us in the Southern Hemisphere, you might find something here to inspire you to keep on powering through those wintery blues!

Reflect and Rejuvenate

Not yet a teacher? Considering it as a career option? Alvina Lopez shares Where Can I Find Teacher Scholarships? posted at Smart Teaching. Want to explore the world while studying? Anne Simone presents 100 Free and Useful Web Tools for Students Abroad posted at Best Universities.

If you're yet to discover the wonders of TED Talks, don't wait any longer. There's so much great material here that's easy to watch and very informative. Emma Taylor has sifted through these and offers 25 TED Talks That Will Change Your Life posted at Online Degree Hub.

If you're up for a bit of self-reflection, Susan White has the place for you at 100 Free Quizzes for Your Self-Improvement and Awareness posted at Online College Reviews - College Ratings. Take it a bit further to improve your health with Pankaj Gupta's 10 Little Known Ways to Improve Your Health posted at Best ultrasound technician schools.

Brain Strain

There are many differing opinions on the way that we coax certain behaviours from children. This month Keith Tusing shares his views on Rewards & Bribes posted at CM Buzz. Be sure to share your opinion and keep the discussion rolling. While you're over there, also check out Who is Your Target? to read how Keith is keeping children K-6 engaged in his Sunday School program.

In a knowledge society, lifelong learning is more important than ever. Brooklyn White presents 9 Tips for Being a Lifelong Learner posted at Accredited Online Universities. Reflect on how you're going with this, and consider how you can support the children in your class to become lifelong learners.

At times we all struggle with time management. But how do students learn this all important skill? This month Meaghan Montrose shares Effective Learning Strategies and Study Skills- Part 4 posted at TutorFi.com.

In the News

Mathew Needleman has written some informative posts about our roles as educators at Open Court Resources.com Blog. In It’s Not the Curriculum, It’s Us he reminds us to quit shifting blame, and to take responsibility for creating engaging learning experiences. In Copyright for Teachers: Persistent Myths he gives a few tips on what we should and should not be doing in terms of copyright in the classroom.

Innovate - Beyond the Slate

Skype has opened up numerous options for communicating across the globe. This month Emma Taylor presents 50 Awesome Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom posted at Teaching Degree.org. This is a comprehensive resource for teachers who have access to Skype in their classrooms.

Innovation is not just about technology. In creating an engaging and dynamic learning environment for our students, we should be drawing on a range of resources and learning experiences. Wendy Piersall shares Plant Life: How Do Plants Grow? posted at Craft Jr., which provides hands-on activities for students to explore the life cycle of plants.

Over at Teaching Degree.org Anne Simone shares 100 Terrific Cheat Sheets for K-12 Teachers.

Look No Further

Here are a couple of iPhone related posts that might be useful for educators with iPhones:

Alvina Lopez presents iKnow: 100 Best Reference Tools for Your iPhone posted at Online Degree Hub.

Emma Taylor presents 100 Awesome iPhone Apps to Work and Study from the Beach posted at Online College Reviews - College Ratings.


Why not submit your post for the next carnival?

The Teaching K-6 Carnival is posted monthly on the 7th. I am collecting submissions throughout the month, looking in particular for posts that discuss and exemplify innovative teaching and the integration of technology in the K-6 classroom. I also invite a few "brain strains" to keep our minds alert and challenged. Please submit only articles of which you are the author and refrain from using this merely as a sales pitch. For full details, please read my call for submissions.

If you have a relevant post that you would like to submit to the next edition of teaching k-6 carnival use our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Support this Carnival

If you enjoyed this edition of the carnival, you can support its continuation by sharing it with others. Link to us, add us to a tweet, stumble or digg us. Thanks!

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Tech Tips Tuesday

This week's tip: Make it your New Year's Resolution to Get Connected in 2009 (if you're not already!)

Why?
  • You learn so much through developing a personal learning network online
  • You meet new people and can support one another
  • You find new resources to use in the classroom

How?

  • Read blogs and leave comments. You can search for blogs with Google Blog Search.
  • Start up your own blog on a hobby or interest
  • If you're blogging about Teaching in K-6, consider submitting posts to the Teaching K-6 Blog Carnival at http://www.blogcarnival.com/
  • Sign up - for Twitter, Facebook, Plurk or other social networks of your choice. Set up some sort of profile that lets people know a little about you. They probably won't choose to follow you if they don't know who you are or what you have in common with them.
  • Seek out people to follow. On Twitter there are Twitter Groups that you can sign up to in order to find people with similar interests. For teachers on Twitter, there's the Twitter4Teachers wiki. On Facebook you can create or join up to 200 groups! I'm not sure about Plurk as I don't use it...yet!
  • Start chatting. Share your ideas with others. Ask people's opinion on things. Share things you are finding online. You will be amazed by how much you can learn from one another.
  • Consider joining or creating a relevant ning to connect further with people with similar interests. I'm part of the Oz/Nz Educators Ning. I'm still finding my feet in here, but hope to get a lot more involved in the new year.
  • Use Skype to talk with people around the world for free. I've heard of teachers who use Skype to connect with other schools as well as experts on topics being researched in class.

Want more?

SO... Have fun in 2009 and GET CONNECTED!