Learning in the Lou

Classtools .net is a great to get and make flash based games, quizzes, activities and diagrams quickly . It is easy to use and you can embed the content you create in your blog, F acebook page or M oodle course. Click here to get the link.

Looking for some high-quality images to use on your blog for free? You can always take some pictures but when you are composing a blog entry while your kids are in karate doesn't leave you with many options. Take a look at this site wylio . It is like google meets flickr. The free options allows you to embed great images for free! There is no need to buy or download/upload anything. photo © 2009 Mathieu Goulet | more info (via: Wylio )

As a part of her U.S. Government course, Mrs. Weitzel had students break into groups to research the various political parties. She housed the links, along with thought provoking question prompts, in Moodle for each party, and students used their personal devices along with the computer lab for their research. Then, they were asked to teach their classmates about the party they were responsible for researching by using a website called Wordle. Here are the instructions for this part of the assignment: Go to this website and CREATE a Wordle with your group using the words and information that you gathered from your question. Make it thorough, detailed, and be able to discuss why you chose the words you chose. YOU are educating the class about this political party using this technique. Be prepared. There will be an assessment on your knowledge of all of these parties, so pay close attention. Wordle or Tagxedo   As a culminating event, the students used the assignment featur...

REMEMBER EVERYTHING-Using Evernote Capture anything. Save your ideas, things you like, things you hear, and things you see. Chances are, if you can see it or think of it, Evernote can help you remember it. Type a text note. Clip a web page. Snap a photo. Grab a screenshot. Evernote will keep it all safe. Access anywhere. Evernote works with nearly every computer, phone and mobile device out there. Organize everything or let Evernote organize it. Find things fast. Search by keyword, tag or even printed and handwritten text inside images. Everything you capture is automatically processed, indexed, and made searchable. If you like, you can add tags or organize notes into different notebooks. The goal at Evernote is to give everyone the ability to easily capture any moment, idea, inspiration, or experience whenever they want using whichever device or platform they find most convenient, and then to make all of that information easy to find. And they’ve done just that. From crea...

Tux paint is a great, free program that allows children to be creative. Children can create pictures using a variety of tools that include sound effects. Click here to go to the website, or click here to go to the download page.

Check out how Mrs. Cooksey's kindergarten class used their blog to share their predictions on what would emerge from a cocoon.  After showing the cocoon to students, they used their writing journals to make predictions.  Then, she used ImageMate to take a picture of the journal entry as several students shared during Writer's Workshop and added that to her class blog.

Audacity® is a free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. First, you will need to download the latest version of audacity from the site.   This video will guide you through the basics of using the program. How are you using audacity in your classroom?  Feel free to share by commenting on this post by clicking on the pencil icon.

Great site for science related simulations!!

This is an excellent site with a variety of resources regarding the crisis in Japan.  Click here for the link. (Picture from robertodevido on Flickr)  

Keeping your software up to date is very important for many reasons. The most important feature this version will bring is the new question manager. Click on the four arrow icon in the lower right corner of the youtube window to watch the video in full screen mode.

Click on the four arrow icon in the lower right corner of the youtube window to watch the video in full screen.

Step 1: Click on the icon that says "Insert image." Step 2: Click on the tab that says "Browse." Step 3: a. Choose the folder titled "My Documents." b. Choose the folder titled "My Pictures." c. Choose the desired folder of pictures. d. Click "Open." Step 4: a. Select the desired image. b. Click "Open."  Step 5: Once the desired image is added, you will have several options for your image. a. You can change the size of the image. b. You can change the justification. c. You can add a caption. 

How are you using this online, collaborative tool?  Here is a quick video highlighting the features of Google Docs.  All you need is a Google account.  See our previous post on how to create an account.

As you are creating your Facebook pages, feel free to utilize these logos for your "image."  You can right click on the the logo and choose "Save Picture As" for a copy of the image.  

Looking for a great free tool for brainstorming?  Head to bubbl.us.   This site is very user friendly and allows you to create graphic organizers which support visual literacy.  In addition, you can save or embed the finished copy of your graphic organizer...perfect for students to review on your blog, Moodle course, or website!

Click the link below to see how this third grade teacher is using her blog to celebrate success on the monthly Tungsten tests. Mrs. Dimitro's Third Grade: C~E~L~E~B~R~A~T~E! : "Each month we take Tungsten tests in both reading and math. The Tungsten prepares the kids for the MAP. At the start of the school year, th..."

Study stack is a great way to create games for review.   You (or your students) can create your own stack, or you can browse from the stacks that have been created already. Click here for the link.

Here is a short tutorial on how to create a facebook account for your classroom. The video has been removed for some unknown reason.  Will be posting a new video soon. Aug. 7, 2014.

Are you looking for a great way to review vocabulary concepts? Quizlet is the largest flash cards and study games website with over 4 million free sets of flashcards covering every possible subject. It's the best place to play educational games, memorize vocabulary and study online. Click here to have fun playing!

This awesome tool allows you to deliver the content of your blog to twitter, facebook, and other sites. Check it out! http://dlvr.it/

Room 56 Blog: Check Out Photo Story 3 - Fun and Simple Slideshow... Check out how this 5th grade teacher uses Photo Story to introduce his class to the phases of the moon.

ELITE 2 class working on defining what a modern classroom looks like.

Here is a list of suggested guidelines for utilizing Facebook with your classroom. Setting up your account and Class Page Create a Facebook account with your Lindbergh email address. Go to  https://www.facebook.com/pages/create/ Choose Company, Organization, or Institution, and select “Education” – This will be your class page. Create a Facebook account using your Lindbergh e-mail address. Leave your profile page blank (no picture, school, friends, etc.) Three Page Administrators You, another teacher in your grade level/department, and your school principal How to add administrators to your Class Page: Click “Edit Page” Select “Manage Admins” Click “Add another admin,” then type e-mail address for your teacher and principal, and click “Save Changes.” (Note: Admins must have a Facebook account already set up) Creating Guidelines On your class page, create a notes page titled “Lindbergh Facebook Guidelines.” (To do this, click “edit page,” then select “apps” fro...