Tech Chick Tips

Tips and tricks for teaching 21st century students using 21st century skills from two Texas educators obsessed with anything digital! RSS Subscribe to RSS

0071 TCT – Sparking their creativity

 

We’ll let you in on a little secret. This episode was recorded just minutes after the last one. Back in March. Remember how we said in the description of the last podcast that we didn’t mean to wait so long to publish it? Well, that goes double for *this* one. We mention an app that was free last month and is $5 now. It’s still a good app but… free is so much better, no?

The Stellar Cafe: The Power of One Word
Inspiration from Peter Reynolds via Facebook post re: the ability of a teacher to inspire students to be creative and to share

Media College
MediaCollege.com is a free educational website for all forms of electronic media. Hundreds of exclusive tutorials covering video & television production, audio work, photography, graphics, web design and more. Also find utilities, reference material (e.g. user manuals), industry news and a helpful forum

Aviary
Aviary is on a mission to make creation accessible to artists of all genres, from graphic design to audio editing. Tools include: image editor, effects editor, image markup, audio editor, color editor, vector editor, and screen capture.

Webnote
Webnote is a tool for taking notes on your computer. It allows you to quickly write something down during a meeting, class, or any other time that you have a web browser available.

Our Courts
Our Courts is a web-based education project designed to teach students civics and inspire them to be active participants in our democracy. Our Courts is the vision of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who is concerned that students are not getting the information and tools they need for civic participation, and that civics teachers need better materials and support. Games include Argument Wars, Do I Have a Right, Supreme Decision, eLections, Pick 12, ReDistricting, and There Should Be a Law.

Quizlet
The mission for Quizlet is to make learning vocabulary not a chore. Flashcard sets can be created by teachers and students and shared on the site. Groups can be created so that students can study together. Five study modes available.

CogDogRoo – StoryIdeas
Prompts for creating stories–one part of the 50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story wiki.

StoryJumper
StoryJumper is a place to create and discover stories for kids. What’s your story?™

Zoodles
Safe, fun, and educational online experience for kids that also gave parents the information and control they wanted. Utilizes the Adobe Air platform to create a browser interface for children. Includes games for math, reading, science, and social studies, along with creative and cognitive development and life skills games

iApps


Posted on : Apr 20 2010
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0070 TCT – Building Your Capacity

 

First, an apology. This was recording in mid-ish March but not published until early-ish April. That was not our intention. We hope the resources make up for the delay!


Posted on : Apr 12 2010
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0068 TCT – Uhh… what do we call this one?

 

  • PollDaddy (2:18)
    “With your free account from PollDaddy you can create online surveys and polls for your website, blog and social network. “
  • PrintWhatYouLike.com (4:33)
    “Tired of printing web pages only to find your printout is full of ads, empty space and other junk you don’t want? PrintWhatYouLike is a free online editor that lets you format any web page for printing in seconds!
  • MyNoteit (6:12)
    “Take, edit and share notes online; Easily search and share notes; Manage tasks with your to-do list; Don’t forget anything with your calendar; Stay in the loop with class groups”
  • CoSketch.com (8:20)
    “CoSketch is a multi-user online whiteboard designed to give you the ability to quickly visualize and share your ideas as images.”
  • LinkBunch (10:06)
    “LinkBunch lets you put multiple links into one small link which you can share over IM, Twitter, email or even a mobile phone SMS.”
  • Copyright questions and answers about iTunes, Podcasts, and Fair Use (11:39)
  • VideoBlocks (14:42)
    “VideoBlocks.com is the first subscription-based resource for stock footage, sound effects, special effects and looping motion backgrounds.”
  • Free Technology for Teachers: Google Earth Across the Curriculum (16:59)
    quick-start guide to introduce teachers to the basics of using Google Earth across the curriculum
  • The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (18:15)
    “tools and resources to help the U.S. education system keep up by fusing the traditional 3 Rs with the essential 4 Cs (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration and creativity and innovation).”
  • A follow-up post to iPods-in-classroom article – Your Tech Weblog (19:31)
    A follow-up post to an iPods-in-classroom article–great list of apps that they use, as well as how they manage their iPod resources
  • The 3 Facebook Settings Every User Should Check Now – NYTimes.com (21:44)
    “In December, Facebook made a series of bold and controversial changes regarding the nature of its users’ privacy on the social networking site. This article discusses the three areas that FB users might want to double check.”
  • Chow Chat – Family Dinner Conversation Starter (23:51)
    “Chow Chat is an engaging, educational app that brings the family closer while encouraging critical thinking, language development and the sharing of diverse ideas. Chow Chat provides a year’s worth of thought provoking discussion cards. Each card starts with an interesting fact, quote or proverb that helps stimulate the thought process. The related question that follows (and most cards actually have more than one question) encourages children and adults to share ideas and opinions not just by answering the question, but also by responding to the engaging nature of the facts, quotes and proverbs.”
  • iResponse – Classroom Responder System (25:52)
    The iResponse system provides education and training institutions with the ability to use the iPhone and iPod touch to turn their lectures into an interactive learning experience.

Posted from Diigo.


Posted on : Jan 25 2010
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Special Movie Review Episode!

Okay, it’s not REALLY a special episode. Helen and I went to see New Moon yesterday. It’s my family tradition (if it happens more than twice, it’s a tradition, right?) to podcast movie reviews immediately following a movie. So the Tech Chicks did a movie review podcast. Enjoy the little diversion. :)

 


Posted on : Dec 23 2009
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0066 TCT – The one where the audio REALLY buzzes. :(

 

First, an apology. The audio on this podcast is horrible. We know. But we didn’t have time to re-record right then. We did the best we could to remove the noise but… well… at least the content is okay, right?

A Thin Line

http://www.athinline.org/

MTV’s A Thin Line campaign was developed to empower you to identify, respond to, and stop the spread of digital abuse in your life and amongst your peers. The campaign is built on the understanding that there’s a “thin line” between what may begin as a harmless joke and something that could end up having a serious impact on you or someone else.
(00:44)

Chartle
http://www.chartle.net/
Chartle.net tears down the complexity of online visualizations – offers simplicity, ubiquity and interactivity instead.
(4:40)

Pencil

http://www.pencil-animation.org/

Pencil is an animation/drawing software for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. It lets you create traditional hand-drawn animation (cartoon) using both bitmap and vector graphics. Pencil is free and open source.
(6:50)

Three-ly
http://3.ly/
The shortest URL Shortener!
(8:00)

Super Teacher Tools
http://www.superteachertools.com/index.php
In the site, you will find a variety of review games, classroom management software, and other miscellaneous tools for educators.
(9:30)

Equity Index
http://equity.4teachers.org/index.php
The Equity Index is a searchable database designed to locate resources and tools to help you meet the needs of a diverse classroom.
(11:20)

Different Ways to Use Blogs and Wikis with Students
http://checkitoutonetime.blogspot.com/2009/12/different-ways-to-use-blog-and-wiki.html
Blog posting with 10 ways to use blogs and wikis in the classroom
(13:25)

National Educational Technology Plan
https://edtechfuture.org/
The U.S. Department of Education is developing a new National Educational Technology Plan to provide a vision for how information and communication technologies can help transform American education. The plan will provide a set of concrete goals that can inform state and local educational technology plans as well as inspire research, development, and innovation. A draft plan is expected in early 2010.
(14:30)

Bonus:
January/Winter-Themed Resources:

iApps:


Posted on : Dec 17 2009
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