Technology+for+Enrichment

= = =Above and Beyond = Andrew Halter, Instructional Coach, Hampton Township School District
 * 21st Century Tools and Resources to Enrich Learning for All Students**

= = =**For Creativity and Expression** = These are technology tools that students can use for projects or assignments. They make rich alternatives to traditional written reports and can help them find relevance as well as transform learning into dynamic, multimedia explorations. Most of the tools are extremely intuitive for our digitally minded students, so they require little or no class instruction on the actual tool. Try offering several as optional ways to complete an assignment. Once students start using them, others will surely follow.


 * Wikispaces- Students can create a wiki based website for a class project or report. Since almost any type of file, web 2.0 tool, audio and video can be embedded on a wiki, it makes for a very dynamic project tool
 * Wix - An extremely easy to use flash-based web design platform. Students can create visually engaging interactive websites as class projects or reports.
 * Bitstrips - A digital comic creator where students can create graphic novels or comics to give information, tell a story, highlight current events, etc.
 * Animoto - The easiest way to create an engaging slideshow with images, video, music and limited text.
 * Xtranormal - Create simple, short animated films about any topic. Just type in dialog, define camera angles and it does the rest.
 * GoAnimate and DomoNation - create sophisticated animations and record your own voice for dialog.
 * Glogster - create digital posters that can include graphics, images, text, audio and video clips. Students can even record their own video and voice using a computer webcam. Here are some examples of how one teacher has used glogster for various purposes.
 * [|Edublogs] and [|Wordpress]-- Set up class blogs for writing and reflecting on just about anything. Students and teacher can also comment on posts and discuss teacher prompts.
 * Podcasting- using Ipods, software such as Audacity, or online programs such as [|Myna,] students can create radio style audio reports on just about any topic. Try having them do an NPR style radio show like //This American Life//, or a historical radio broadcast like //Good Morning Vietnam//.
 * [|Timerime] and Dipity -- These timeline tools allow students to create and share digital timelines that can include images, video and text information on anything that can be displayed chronologically.
 * Museum Box - create a 3-D multimedia cube with images, video and text

=<span style="color: #551a8b; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">For Collaboration and Global Perspective = <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Web 2.0 and digital communication tools breakdown classroom walls and provide avenues to connect with other classrooms, school districts, and even countries. Use them for discussion platforms, collaborative projects publishing and evaluating student work, or to connect students anytime and anywhere. Click here to read about an example of how Hampton High School did this on a rather large scale through the World Affairs Council. And on a smaller scale, here. =<span style="color: #551a8b; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">For Visual Thinking = =<span style="color: #551a8b; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">For Exploring and Self Learning = > =<span style="color: #551a8b; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">For Teacher Productivity and Organization = =<span style="color: #551a8b; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Other Resources for Enrichment and Gifted Support = = Classroom examples of many of these tools can be found here = = =
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">**Tools-- the tools you need to start connecting outside of your classroom**
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Wikispaces -- set up a discussion with another school or have students work collaboratively to build a project wiki.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Voicethread -- create a multimedia discussion on a photo, document or video.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|Edmodo] -- a class management tool that looks and acts like Facebook. Create groups, post documents, have threaded discussion, etc.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Google Docs - Students can work together to co-edit a word document, powerpoint, or spreadsheet.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Videoconferencing Equipment
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Skype/Facetime -use skype or facetime to host another school district or a professional speaker.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Pirate Pad -- Students can work collaboratively with this online writing tool. try it here
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Resources-- These resources will provide you with a starting point for ideas and making connections to breakdown your classroom walls. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www2.ed.gov/teachers/how/tech/international/index.html -- a website from the government to help classrooms connect
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://education.skype.com/ - provides opportunities and ideas to get connected with Skype
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com/ -- find authors who want to connect with students through Skype
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6673572.html --ideas about using Skype with authors
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/06/30/50-awesome-ways-to-use-skype-in-the-classroom/ --fifty ways to integrate Skype into your classroom
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.flatclassroomproject.org/ -- provides a variety of opportunities for connection with classrooms around the globe
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.globalschoolnet.org/ -- connections with classroom teachers around the globe
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.epals.com/ - connect with global electronic pen pals
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.cilc.org/ --Videoconferencing opportunities from the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.rockourworld.org/ --connects students around the world through music and videoconferencing
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.e-missions.net/ -- simulated problem based learning adventures via videoconferencing
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.twice.cc/read/index.html -- Sponsored by Polycom, this site offers connections with over 9000 educators in 34 countries
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.kn.pacbell.com/vidconf/index.html --videoconferencing connections for education from AT&T
 * <span class="wiki_link" style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/dln/index.html --videoconferencing opportunities provided through NASA
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|Prezi] and Ahead -- zooming presenters that offer a great alternative to powerpoint and challenge students to think about a topic in a unique way
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Bubble Us -- online tool to create and collaborate on mind maps
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Mindmeister -- same as above, just a bit more visual. See an example here.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Lino It --an online post-it board where you can invite students to share their thoughts and ideas. Try it here.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Twiddla -- an online, collaborative whiteboard. Try it here.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Crocodocs -great literacy tool that allows you to post a document and invite students to annotate an comment. Try it here.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Quizlet -- create online flashcards, review games and practice quizzes for students
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|YouTube]and TeacherTube-- find pre-made tutorials and educational videos on just about anything or create and upload your own
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Other Multimedia resources -- find lectures from ivy league universities and video on just about any subject imaginable with this collection of video libraries
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Jing and Screencastomatic -Create narrated screencast tutorials for your students using this screen capture software
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.pstom.com -- a collection of online math practice and tutorials
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/index.htm - math and science tutorials and interactives
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Noodletrip- virtual field trips
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Wiki - The most versatile tool in an educator's bag of tricks, wikis can be used for classroom resources, electronic portfolios, webquests, discussion platforms, and as <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">a way to communicate and share with other teachers, parents and students.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Diigo and Delicious -- an essential tool for saving, managing and sharing web resources, these social bookmarking sites are like your favorites, but in the cloud, so they are accessible from any computer, shareable and much easier to organize.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">browse my Diigo bookmarks
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">browse my Delicious bookmarks
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Wix - create webquests, presentations, interactive tutorials and other resources for your students.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Google Docs - cloudbased wordprocessing, online quizzes and surveys and collaborative document design.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Sign in and play around if you do not already have an account
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">name: htsdteacher
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">password: digitalshift
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/index.asp -math games and interactives
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.pbs.org/teachers/ -- video resources and activity packs on just about any subject
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/sem/enrichment/typeii_enrichment.cfm -- a searchable database of enrichment materials from the University of Connecticut
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.teachervision.fen.com/activity/resource/5855.html -- enrichment and extension activities, lesson plans and ideas
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://nrich.maths.org/public/index.php -- enrichment for math
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=10669&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CAT=none --article about creating online learning environment for gifted students.The Center for Exceptional Children has lots of good resources at http://www.cec.sped.org
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.onlinedegrees.org/top-10-gifted-education-blogs/ -- a list of blogs about gifted education with loads of great ideas
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.byrdseed.com/ -- a blog about ideas for teaching gifted education
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://anotsodifferentplace.blogspot.com/ a blog about teaching gifted students
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/resources/displayArticle/?id=158 --an article on technology and gifted students from Northwestern University's School of Education.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10436.aspx --creating a virtual learning environment for gifted learners