Technology in Education: Notes from the Closet

Original Post (see my updated post here ) I’m always on the lookout for great sites to use with students, especially the little ones.  Our students have never had “formal” technology classes and the kindergarten students had never even entered the lab.  Finding sites that are age appropriate and educational can be challenging.  “ Teach Your Monster to Read ” is a site I stumbled upon one day here .  This site, based out of the U.K. teaches beginning readers about sound and letter matching as well as blending sounds together to form words.  It uses the context of monsters going on an adventure to different magical islands (eight islands in all).  On each island there are four mini lessons that works on accuracy and speed of letter recognition. Students must complete the game sequentially.  When logged off the next time they log back in the program remembers where they were previously so they don’t have to start over.  One of the best features is that the game is adaptive; soun

I spend a lot of time trolling through my PLN on Twitter.  Sometimes I’m looking to keep up with current technology trends.  Sometimes I’m looking for resources I can use with my elementary and post-secondary students.  Other times I might be looking for motivation to go for a run or just trolling for fun.  Recently I saw a tweet that caught my eye.  I was instantly curious.  I love analytics, and I’m still enjoying Facebook somewhat.  Further catching my attention was the fact that this application was done using WolframAlpha .  I’ve got twins in 6 th grade; WolframAlpha is a reputable site that is a staple in my house when the kids need math help that I can’t complete or explain off the top of my head. WolframAlpha is a “ computational knowledge ” engine (that means it computes answers and provides knowledge), and is  not a search engine.  It differs from Google. Google searches for pages or links with answers that may apply to your search query. YOU are responsib

image source: http://www.moyeamedia.com/blog/?tag=mothers-day-pictures Happy Mother's Day!   Recently we've spent some time focusing on mom.  During lab students have had the opportunity to create Mother's Day projects.  Younger students created "I like" lists for mom.  Older students chose to create PowerPoint coupon books, PowerPoint Poetry or Wordles that describe mom.  Below are the templates I used with the students and some finished products (the Wordles will be laminated with a magnet for the refrigerator). Take a look: Mothers Day Wordle Template by nmzumpano Mother’s Day PPT coupons by nmzumpano Sample Mother's Day Coupons Happymothersday Template 1st2nd by nmzumpano