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...