WolframAlpha

Your students may have already discovered WolframAlpha much to your chagrin if you are a teacher that asks basic inquiry based queries. I certainly hope my son doesn't find it anytime soon to do his Math homework!
However, think of the possibilities of using this dynamic algorithm-based site. Sure, if a student enters an Algebra equation into the search engine, it will solve the problem. But this is a very robust engine. The latest I just read is it will provide data for the Oscars. For example, if you enter "Ocsar nominees" you will receive historical data for the Oscars. If you narrow your search by a year such as Oscar nominees for 1980, then you will receive analytical data of all the Oscar nominees for that year.
Check out WolframAlpha and teach your students how to use this effective tool to gather and then compare the data they harvest. Bump up the lesson on Bloom's taxonomy. Don't just put the answer; analyze, compare, and then ask students to process the information. Then WolframAlpha is a useful tool rather than a homework 'helper'.

Google Squared

Try out Google Squared! It will generate a spreadsheet of data for you when you enter a search term. Try to enter the term: US States and then watch the data creation.

Think about ways you can have students compare and contrast the data found in the charts. Remember when we ask students to identify the basic information from the charts, then we have the lowest level on Blooms. However, we could sort this data by deleting cells we do not want (clicking on the x in the upper right of the column) and then exporting it into a .csv file which stands for comma-separated value format or simply put, you can export it to Excel or any other spreadsheet application. Try it out. Explore ideas with your students!

Educational Origami

Someone has spent many hours collecting information on technology integration and built this wiki: http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/ Marcia, my coworker, forwarded this on to me and I found it full of information from Blooms, LoTi, and 21st Century Skills to internet safety. The resources are wonderful.

Digital Blooms?

I had to laugh when a friend sent me this.

How did they determine what level on Blooms each of these Web 2.0 tools is? I think this is a very scientific graphic organizer!!

Ok, I read the information from the Visual Blooms wiki and it is a conversation starter. I am intrigued. What kind of discussion could you have with someone regarding visual Blooms? How is VoiceThread more Creative than Skype? Diigo and Delicious are social bookmarking sites. They are on the lowest levels. How could they be used to make them higher on Blooms?

Made me chuckle. I want a poster of this graphic. Challenge.... can you identify all the icons and what each Web 2.0 tool is?