Technology Tips
Technology can be utilized to motivate learners and enhance instruction. We benefit the most when new technologies are integrated into the instructional program. This means that the new technologies are an important part of the goals and objectives of the instructional units of study.
I have put together information from web sites that will motivate and engage your students. I will also be providing you with information and resources pertaining to new technologies and future technologies.
I wish to thank my doctoral candidate students from Northcentral University for their suggestions and input. These students are earning their degrees on line. For more information on bachelor, masters, and doctoral programs click on…Northcentral University.
I also wish to thank Eric Sheninger, Principal of New Milford High School, NJ for his input and great enthusiasm for the integration of new technologies into the educational program.
I am always open to more suggestions and feedback. Email me at jgamble@fiited.com if you have information that you wish to share in the technology section of our web site.
Have fun and enjoy learning new ideas that are presented below!
Thank You!
Dr. Jim
Check out ... watchknow.org
WatchKnow is both a resource for users and also a non-profit, online community that encourages everyone to collect, create, and share free, innovative, educational videos.
Click on the play button below to navigate to the site.
Web 2.0 Starter Sheets
The Starter Sheets are resources for the classroom teacher. The intention of each sheet is to introduce a tool, technology or activity that could be easily adapted for use in the classroom.
Click on the icon below:
Virtual Field Trips
Click on the school bus to link to information on creating virtual field trips.
Wiki Resources
Wiki engines are some of the most versatile platforms for creating websites out there.
MediaWiki (the engine that powers
Wikipedia) is probably the most widely used, but there are literally hundreds of other wiki engines. There are more than 30 of these apps in the
Wiki Toolbox. Here are more than 100 others to meet your every wiki needs. Click on the illustration below:
Learn Out Loud
LearnOutLoud.com is your one-stop destination for audio and video learning. Browse over 20,000 educational audio books, MP3 downloads, podcasts, and videos. Click on the earphones to navigate to the site.
100 Ways to Use Social Media in the Classroom
Social media may have started out as a fun way to connect with friends, but it has evolved to become a powerful tool for education and business. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter and tools such as Skype are connecting students to learning opportunities in new and exciting ways. Whether you teach an elementary class, a high school class, or a college class; you will find inspirational ways to incorporate social media in your classroom with this list.
Click on the image below to navigate to a world of new ideas!
Learn about HotChalk!
HotChalk, Inc. and New Jersey Network (NJN) will provide your district
and school with complimentary access to a number of digital content resources.
With NJN’s three year corporate sponsorship, you can have access to content from the following providers:
The Best of History Education (300 Titles, Grades 6-12). History Education offers compelling programs focused on global history and science with titles from Biography, Investigative Reports, In Search of History, Modern Marvels, Nature Tech, The New Explorers and Ancient Mysteries.
NBC News Starter Pack (1,500 Primary Source Clips, Grades K-12). This spectacular collection of video resources from NBC News brings the people, events, and issues that have shaped our history to life for today’s students. Discover 1,500 of the most relevant
archival news clips covering historic events in politics and national news, advances in science and health, and social changes through the decades.
Here is what to do to get started:
To access and preview this digital content, please sign into HotChalk at www.hotchalk.com.
Simply create a user name and password through the following 6 steps:
STEP 1: Click on the “Join for Free” link provided in the upper right hand corner of www.hotchalk.com.
STEP 2: Fill in your profile along with your username (min. 6 characters) and password.
STEP 3: Ensure that you indicate how you are using the HotChalk application. Specify your role: Teacher/Administrator, Student, or Parent.
STEP 4: Agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.
STEP 5: Click “Create Free Account”. NOTE: Be sure to search for your school by typing in the school’s zip code and then selecting your school.
STEP 6: All digital content can be accessed by searching in the MyLibrary tab.
You can contact HotChalk’s Customer Care Team with any questions or feedback at support@hotchalk.com.
Free Rice
Learn vocabulary words and fight world hunger at the same time!
You can do this by going to the Free Rice web site. Free Rice is a non profit website run by the United Nations World Food Program.
The UN has partnered with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.
Free Rice has two goals:
1. Provide education to everyone for free.
2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.
All of this is made possible by the generosity of the sponsors who advertise on the site.
Try it out but beware; you may just increase your vocabulary in different subject areas!
Click on the name to navigate to the site…..Free Rice
The Gateway to 21st Century Skills
- Access to over 50,000 thousand quality learning resources of the GEM collection through the latest in faceted search technology
- Reinforce core content with learning resources from NASA, PBS, National Science Foundation and over 700 other contributing education content providers
- Access to 21 Century teaching tools, assessments and professional development.
- Access to the Achievement standards Network, a digitized version of every state's core academic standards
Whether you're a student, teacher, administrator or, a concerned education partner there's something for everyone to help you meet the challenges of teaching and learning in the 21Century!
The Gateway to 21st Century Skills is a project of the GEM Exchange
A Few Words about WebQuests
A WebQuest has been described by Bernie Dodge as an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web.
You do not have to reinvent the wheel, if you want to engage your students in a powerful approach to learning. The webquest format provides a safe and motivating vehicle that can greatly enhance the learning process.
Bernie Dodge is the guru of webquests. You can learn a great deal from the resources that he has created and obtain excellent webquests that you can use in your classroom immediately. There are hundreds of webquests relating to all subject areas and grade levels. Each webquest follows a consistent format and is of high quality.
Click on the graphic below to navigate to Bernie Dodge’s WebQuest Resource:
Once you are at the landing page take a look at all of the resources that are available to you. You can locate examples of webquests from the San Diego state data base by doing the following:
- Click on Find Webquests which is on the left margin of the landing page.
- You can now to a search of the data base or…
- Scroll down to the Curriculum Grade Level Matrix. You can now search for webquests by subject and grade level.
Have fun!
For an excellent assortment of web sites that contain numerous 21st century learning tools visit...
Eric Sheningers’s Bookmarks:
We all know that the effective use of technology in the classroom can be a motivator to many students. You may want to try reviewing important concepts, vocabulary, facts, etc by creating game shows. Check out the following link. You will be able to create a number of different game shows utilizing power point.
Power Point Games
Great Math Activities.
More Awesome Resources
http://www.nytimes.com/learning This is a news-centered multimedia education site for grades 3-12, with up-do-date features that change daily. these include stories and photographs from the world-famous newspaper with related activities and guided Web tours. The network also maintains an excellent collection of curriculum materials in every content area.
http://www.awesomelibrary.org The Awesome Library organizes the Web with 15,000 carefully reviewed resources, including the top 5 percent in education. This is a very deep and well thought-out list of links that is fast and easy to use.
