EasyBib with Google Docs

EasyBib with Google Docs

   Teaching students the importance of citing the information they use for research can be time consuming and confusing. EasyBib is a free online tool that students can use to correctly format and cite their sources. Even better, EasyBib will automatically create a Google Doc with a properly alphabetized and formatted citation sheet. This can them be printed or shared with the teacher or other group members. Check out the link below for more information on exactly how this works. Don't worry... it's easy!

 Click Here to Learn More

 

Jamendo - Truly Free Music

Need music for a project? Try Jamendo!

Teaching students to respect and follow Copyright laws can be challenging, but there are legal ways of using music, images, movies and other media in educational projects.

Jamendo is a site found through the Creative Commons directory that allows anyone to search music tracks, listen to previews and then legally download music to their computer. There is no email required to use this service and there is no limit on the number of tracks you can download. All music on this site is royalty free and can be easily added to iMovies, GarageBand or any other media creation tool.

Creative Commons
Check out Creative Commons if you need to find royalty and Copyright free images, music, videos and other media. All are downloadable and completely legal to use and alter in any way.

6 Q's About the News

Teaching students to read and critically think about the news

 

Click above to check out this great resource

Learning to think critically about the news media is such an important skill, but is often difficult to teach. The Learning Network has partnered with The New York Times to create a way for teachers to help students do just that. Each day, a new news article is chosen to showcase. These articles can be on a wide variety of topics and they are all archived on the site so you can choose ones that will interest your students. Included on the site is an overview of the article, a link to the actual article, and 6 thought provoking questions that students can ponder while reading. This can lead to great group discussions or simply get kids to think while they read. Actively engaging students while reading text that can be challenging will often help them to become better readers. 

Check out the site each day for a new article and set of questions to keep your students informed and thinking critically about news media.

 

Google Voice Search

Google Offers a Voice Search Feature

Great for all students, especially those with special needs

If you are a Google Chrome user, you can now search using voice commands. this offers students a new option for searching that my make it easier to look up more difficult topics without having to spell words correctly. Simply click on the microphone icon in the search bar and then say the topic you would like to search.

Also, when searching, students can choose the reading level that best fits their needs. Watch the video below to see how it's done...

Big Huge Labs

Big Huge Labs -
A great tool for digital photography and more

www.BigHugeLabs.com 

    This website was created in association with Flicker to use your own images or images found online to create fun projects that can be used for a wide variety of things. There are options for making your own motivational posters, movie posters, magazine covers, caption creator, billboard maker and so much more. Use these tools to extend student projects or even for your own enjoyment to make classroom content even more fun. Enjoy!

Awesome Highlighter

AwesomeHighlighter.com

This fabulous tool has so many great uses for all content areas. If you have ever been reading something online and wished you could highlight or even write notes on the screen, then this tool is for you. Simply enter the URL (website) into the search bar and the site you would like to highlight will appear. Select different color highlighters and even add post-it like notes on the page. When you're finished, click "done" and the highlighted page will turn into its own URL. You can email this or even copy it to a Google Doc to be saved like a bibliography or collection of articles for a project.

Teachers can use this tool to encourage active reading of online content. Asking students to question and respond as they read is an excellent reading strategy. On top of that, no printing!

Also, there is a login option, but it is not required to use the website. Just use the tool, click "done" and you're finished!

Search Google by Reading Level

Frustrated by websites that are too difficult for students to understand? Google has tried to simplify the search process by allowing you to search by reading level. Watch the tutorial below to learn how to use this simple search feature.

There are lots of other great tools under the "advanced search" button. Using reading levels will allow students to filter through the content that may be intended for upper grades or adults while still giving them reliable and more appropriate results.

Web Tools for Your Classroom

There are so many things online that it can be difficult to sort through it all to find what you need. I have put together a website that organizes helpful online tools and information by concept and subject area. There are helpful tools for research, literacy, collaboration and more. Enjoy!

https://sites.google.com/site/webtoolsforyourclassroom/