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'.

100 Useful Tools for Special Needs Students & Educators

What a great list of resources for Special Education Teachers! This site has adaptive technologies from virtual keyboarding, a camera controlled mouse, text to speech, magnification applications to web browsers for the differently-abled students. The way this site is organized and the annotations make it ideal for educators to navigate quickly. The Zac browser I have mentioned in this blog before is listed as well as many other great resources. Check it out.

Big Huge Labs Web Site

Every month I do a local television spot called Focus on the Internet in our technology show titled, TechFocus. This month, I showcased a website from John Watson, from Flickr called BigHugeLabs.com. If you have not had the pleasure of purusing this site, what a treat you have in stored. Watch the video on our TechFocus site called Big Huge Labs

Inservice Today

Today I am presenting on four topics to Wichita teachers and librarians. I was asked by some colleagues where they can access my materials and as usual, I have created a variety of resources to meet each audience. Therefore, I am going to post the topics and the locations for the resources here:

1. Teaching the 21st Century Learner with Limited Technology: Click here for the Prezi.
Additionally, when you find yourself with limited resources, you can turn to the internet. There is a very good book titled, Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools by Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum. Here is a blog which includes all the hyperlinks of the websites which are annotated in the book and additional sites as well. It may help you to extend your classroom resources!

2. Catch the KanEd Craze: If you are not a Kansas Educator and you are visiting this site, then this will not be a relevant link for you. However, if you are, then certainly you will want to reaquaint yourself with what is new in KanEd. Here is the wiki for my KanEd resources.

3. Blogging and Wikis for Teachers: This session will compare blogs and wikis. It will provide a quick overview of both and provide examples of why an educator would use them. There are two sites for this session: Blogging for WIchita Teachers and Wikis for Wichita Teachers

4. Google Magic: Google is going to take over the world! That is the comment I heard last night from a fellow teacher. I laughed. He may be correct. I am going to show what all the buzz is about! Yes...that is a play on words. GMail just did an upgrade yesterday and called it Buzz! They change all the time. So check out this slide share on Google Magic.

Flip Video Camera Resources (Mrs. Nicholson's Technology Education)

Jennifer Nicholson, a Wichita technology teacher and friend of mine, has created a website with a plethora of resources for use with the FlipVideo camera. It contains helpful tips, videos, step by step directions, and more. http://sites.google.com/site/mrsnicholsonteched/flip-camera-resources

SafeShare.TV

Have you been frustrated when you try to show a great educational YouTube video to your students with all the distracting advertisements and additional clutter on the site? Here is a great way to share your YouTube videos with others and your students. You simply copy and paste the URL (address) into the window and it creates a safe URL in SafeShare.TV. Try it out.

FireFox Tips and Tricks

I really like Mozilla's Firefox browser. Firefox runs smoothly, quickly and efficiently. You can import all of your Internet Explorer bookmarks directly into Firefox so you can use both browsers on your computer easily. Here is the link to download Firefox. You can also enhance your Firefox browser with additional add-ons.

If you already use Firefox then try out this list of tips and tricks to help you better utilize the features. The article includes suggestions for bookmarking, configuring it to run optimally on your computer, some handy keyboard shortcuts and more.