Classtools.net – Why Use It In The Classroom?

ClassTools.net is worth its weight in educational gold. A virtual toolbox for teachers to use in the creation of digital activities, it not only allows you to customize interactive games and lessons in a couple of quick easy steps, but provides you with an exciting range of in-class resources that you can pull out to enhance the mundane routines your students may be accustomed to.
So just how easy are these tools to use? In all honesty, they couldn’t be much easier. Choose the type of activity you are looking to create from a massive selection of genres, including arcade games, word sorts, lucky picks (just to name a few), then enter the content you would like the students to revise/explore and your activity or game is ready to go. It really is that simple.
Needless to say, the classroom applications for such a website are limitless. You can create and save activities to revise content taught in class by embedding them into a blog. You can set up and run game show themed lessons as a way to engage student interest. You could make your own retro-themed video game for students to play as they match definitions to words. All of these possibilities can be set up and run in matter of minutes.
You are no doubt beginning to calculate the worth of this website. The especially adventurous may wish to allow students to utilise ClassTools for themselves, creating activities and lessons for presentation to their peers. Regardless of how it is used, ClassTools.net can and should be utilised by any educator seeking to effortlessly embed ICT into the ordinary things of the classroom.
ClassTools.net can be used to enhance any KLA or content, and can be used to foster higher-level thinking skills. The worth of this website and its contribution to quality learning in your students is only limited by the creativity and skill of the user.

If you would like to learn more about using classtools.net in your classroom click here for your free guide.

Make Your Own Interactive Wiimote Whiteboard

wiimote3 One of the more techie things that I have been playing around with over the last 12 months has been the Wiimote Whiteboard. What precisely is a Wiimote Whiteboard I hear you say? Originally developed by Johnny Chung Lee from Carnegie Mellon University, it’s a way to turn a simple data projector into an inexpensive yet very effective Interactive Whiteboard (IWB). Basically you connect a Nintendo Wiimote via Bluetooth to your computer (that’s hooked up to your data projector), point the Wiimote at whatever your going to use as your screen (it could be a blank wall, floor or normal whiteboard), use some free Wiimote Whiteboard configuration software, and use an IR-pen (you can either create your own or buy ready made IR-pens online) to access the screen. The Infrared Sensor in the Wiimote detects where you have positioned your IR-pen relative to the screen and translates that to the computer, just like a mouse.
On a side note, the original wiimote whitboard software created by Johnny Lee has been further refined by Boon Jin. Visit BoonJin.com to download Wiimote Smoothboard 1.0. This application is first-rate and has some nice features like floating toolbars, offscreen toggles for onscreen keyboards etc. N.B. It does require Net Framework 3.5 to work.

The real beauty of this setup is the cost! It can all be done for $120-$140 AUD or less! The software is available free on the internet, a Wiimote costs $60-$70 AUD, a usb Bluetooth dongle for $40 AUD (if your computer or Laptop doesn’t have Bluetooth built-in), an IRpen $10 AUD (make yourself from parts bought at an electronics store) or buy online $8-$10 US (ready made), and a tripod $20 AUD.

There are a copious amount of sites devoted to providing advice and ideas on creating and using the Wiimote Whiteboard. Here are just a few to get you started.

http://www.wiimoteproject.com/

http://wiimoteproject.ning.com/

http://www.boonjin.com/wp/

http://www.smoothboard.net/

Johnny Lees Blog

Here are a few videos you might be interested in watching about Wiimote Whiteboards!

A video of me using a Wiimote Whiteboard

Johnny Chung Lee on TED

Wikipedia – Why Use It In The Classroom?

Wikipedia, the world’s free online encyclopedia, is a powerful resource to command in your classroom and after exploring its uses, you will wonder how you survived without it. That sounds like a rather illustrious claim, but it is one that is proven to be true by many teachers. Why? Consider the following “classic” classroom scenario.
You are leading a well-prepared session of learning. All is running smoothly, the students are participating and the topic is interesting, thus generating some good discussion. A student raises their hand and, upon having their request validated, innocently asks a question that is beyond your ability to answer. The normal response to this situation obviously varies with the teacher, but, sadly enough, some teachers would prefer to short-change their students with a hopelessly inaccurate, on-the-spot-I-hope-I’m-right cover up, than actually model a real, “professional” response to learning from an unfamiliar situation.
Enter Wikipedia. The same scenario, with Wikipedia nearby can show students your willingness to learn along side them. Wikipedia is quick and effortless to use. Type in your topic and the definition (along with references, pronunciation and related topics, in most instances) will be at your fingertips within seconds.
Wikipedia’s name is derived from the word “wiki”, which is website that anyone can edit or modify. Wikipedia has therefore been created through the collaborative efforts of the world-wide web community, a phenomenal concept in its own right and a tremendous example of learning together as a team. Definitions are often referenced, and relevant hyperlinks provide further connections for you to explore. A world of information is at your fingertips. You’ll wonder what you did without it.

If you would like to learn more about Wikipedia or it’s alternatives click here for your free guide.

Blogger – Why Use It In The Classroom?

Statistics indicate that 28% of Gen Y, in particular, uni students (digital natives) maintain their own blog and regularly read or review others. This figure will only balloon further in the years ahead.

It is therefore important for teachers to not only understand what blogging involves, but to tap in to its potential applications for the classroom.
What is blogging then? Simply put, it’s journal writing, online. The appeal of blogging is that anyone with an opinion can share their views about movies/books/politics/education/anything with the rest of the world. You are, undoubtedly, beginning to see why students find this premise very empowering. It is little wonder that some students find the “mundane” routines of school to be an irrelevant chore when at home, they can share their view of the world with whoever is listening.
Classroom blogging is a very powerful motivational force for writing, particularly with those students who moan and groan about putting pen to page. Using Blogger, a free-to-use website, you can create a blog for your class and use it publish your student’s views, stories, reports or news, thus making them celebrities, much akin to authors (in their minds!) because they suddenly have a massive audience—the world!
Blogger also contains suitable security measures that can lock out unauthorised viewers if you wish to use a class blog that updates class parents with news from the classroom. Along with those described above, there are dozens of other applications for blogging, limited only by your creativity and the conventions of genre writing. The world is your oyster!

If you would like to learn more about blogger or it’s alternatives click here for your free guide.

Common Craft have produced a quick video that explains blogging in simple terms.

Youtube – Why Use It In The Classroom?

YouTube’s name is often associated with teen-age pranks or notoriety, but in actuality YouTube is one of the most valuable assets a classroom teacher can wield in order to integrate technology into daily practice.

Like it or not, we teach a breed of technologically-savvy super students (digital natives), reared on a diet of DVDs, video games and music (and more often than not, a combination of all of the above). These children often eat YouTube for breakfast, so why shouldn’t we dish up some educational cuisines of our own? It’s interesting to note CNN recently found that “popular site YouTube led the growth charge, accounting for almost half the incremental gain in videos viewed.”

The power of YouTube is in the sheer scope and variety of its content. It is an epic dumping ground for videos all the world over; type in a search for any topic and you’ll often get dozens of matches, including quality educational programs prepared and uploaded by businesses, TV stations and educators. However, there is also a great deal of inappropriate material as well, and so to use YouTube effectively, teachers should carefully monitor every clip before sharing them with the class.

Used effectively when planning (along with careful monitoring of content), YouTube will serve you faithfully by acting as the catalyst for quality discussions, luring your students deep into the realm of engagement without them even realising it. You can even work towards the opposite end of the scale by having students create their own videos to upload for global viewing. And what could be more engaging to a student than becoming an internationally renown legend in their own right?

To learn more about Youtube and how you can set up an account for your classroom click here for you free guide.

Twitter – Why Use It In The Classroom?

Twitter’s premise (and logo) is likened to the constant “tweeting” of friendly birds, updating each other with their surroundings. This website allows the user to create a list of contacts and then update these people constantly throughout the day by answering the question, “What are you doing?”
Twitter can be used as a powerful learning tool, effortlessly connecting the classroom with the wider community. Parents can join in classroom discussions. Students can communicate their learning with peers from other schools. Distance no longer is an issue, Twitter allows you to instantly share bursts of on-the-spot news with any willing followers to your classroom.
Twitter is a fun, engaging technological tool that encourages controlled interaction with the outside world at any moment of any day. Parents get a real buzz out of hearing news from the classroom as it happens, since it allows them to discuss with clarity the events that unfolded during the day. You can even connect Twitter to mobile phones, allowing followers to receive updates from your classroom on the go!
Twitter is a must-use website for any teacher that wishes to activate effortless interaction with a wide network of specifically selected edu-buddies, who will eagerly partake in (whether they realise it or not) the collaborative learning that occurs naturally within your classroom.