Learning in the Lou

Not just a virtual field trip. Not just for art teachers. Not just another one of hundreds of Google features.  When is your next trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery in London, or the Palace of Versailles? Could be any minute if you take your trip with Google Art Project. Beginning February 1, 2011, Google Art Project rolled out 17 galleries and museums (more to follow) with over 1,000 high-resolution images, zoomable to brush-stroke view. For starters, there are works from 486 artists in 385 virtual gallery rooms. Add 6,000 of Google's cool street-view panoramas and you'll be hooked. Info panels by the artwork allows you to read more about the artist or the work or even watch related YouTube videos. You can create and save your own collection of views and works, add your comments, and share with classmates. Great for anyone interested in art, of course, or for writing prompts, historical and cultural perspectives, or whatever your ima...

The LINC trainers have been extremely busy this week with Promethean training. We have learned so much and can't wait to share with everyone.

If you use equations in your content area, you MUST try out this cool tool today!  Go to the Start Menu. Select Programs. Choose Microsoft Education Pack for Tablet PC. Choose Equation Writer. Check out this video for a brief tutorial.

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/ This is an excellent tool for recording screen shots.  You simply press record, and you will be guided on how to record what you are doing on your screen.  You can then upload the video to youtube, get an embed code, or export to mp4/avi format.  So cool! Here is a sample screenshot I created using this tool.

The LINC trainers have had a busy few days of learning at the METC (Midwest Education Technology Conference).   Click here for a  link to the sessions that were recorded so you can view some of the various programs we were able to see.  We will be sure to share many of the awesome resources here on our blog.  It is so great to be able to be able to learn from others and come away from a conference with a renewed sense of purpose. 

Interested in engaging your students with an online, interactive poster?  Then glogster is for you.  To get started, head to this site to create your educator account.  http://edu.glogster.com/ This is just one way a teacher utlized glogster to create a classroom newsletter. http://anobles1217.edu.glogster.com/roome4newsmres/

Want a simple way to record your voice or a student project?  Head to http://www.vocaroo.com/  for a very easy way to record audio messages online.  All you have to do is press "Click to Record" and it will create the audio file.  When finished, you can share online by using the html code to embed the voice recording on your blog or you can e-mail the link.  As for classroom use, you could have a student read part of a book and post online.  Also, students might enjoy telling about their day.  What other ways might you use this awesome site?

Did you know you could do an advanced google search and have the results come back according to reading level?  This would be an awesome tool if you wanted to tailor the results of your searches for younger students.  Check out this tutorial: http://www.tammyworcester.com/TipOfWeek/TammyWTechTipOfWeek/Entries/2011/1/20_Tip_97_-_Google_Search_by_Reading_Level.html

This is a fabulous tool that allows users to create slideshows with pictures, audio, and text.  To download the program, click here to go to the Photo Story 3 webpage. Some additional resources that you may find helpful in creating your Digital Story: A PDF explaining PhotoStory: http://www.jakesonline.org/photostory3.pdf Flickr-Great pictures: http://www.flickr.com/

Go to web 2.0 is a great site to find web 2.0 applications . Here is the link to the section of the site that deals with e-learning. This site is a good way to stay current on the newest web 2.0 sites.

Did you know about the awesome calendar feature in Discovery Streaming?  This is a great way to help students connect the past and present with videos that are tied to historical events. http://my.discoveryeducation.com/ Once you are logged in, click on the link that says "Teacher Center." Then, click on the link that says "Calendar." For each month, you will find themed videos and activities to coordinate with the historical events of the month.

Check out this awesome site: Thinkfinity   Go to the "In the Classroom" tab and you will many valuable resources such as lesson planning ideas and interactive resources.