How To Create An Effective Classroom Website

Website

Screenr, capturas de vídeo de tu ordenador

Screenr es una práctica herramienta 2.0 para realizar grabaciones de pantalla del ordenador de forma online, podemos grabar todo lo que vamos haciendo en el ordenador a la vez que explicamos el proceso. Por lo tanto, es ideal para elaborar videotutoriales sobre cualquier contenido que queramos explicar a nuestros alumnos pero, sobre todo, para explicaciones de herramientas 2.0 y programas de ordenador. Los Screnncast que vayamos creando con esta aplicación podemos compartirlos en la red. La herramienta se puede probar sin registro previo para ver las posibilidades que ofrece.

Source: educ@con TIC

HARDTalk

HARDtalk interviews newsmakers and personalities from across the globe

BBC NEWS CHANNEL (UK): Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays - 0030 and 0430

BBC WORLD NEWS: Mon to Thurs - 0430, 0930, 1530, 2130 GMT

WORLD SERVICE RADIO: Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Click here.

English news for students of English in three levels

Easy English news reading and listening is used in the first two levels.

Level 1 Beginners

If you are a beginner, this level is for you. Sometimes you will have to use a dictionary when you read the news in this level. But after some time your reading skills at this level can be very good. If you are a teacher, you can use even these very simple texts for you reading and listening activities. See more in the For Teachers section.

Level 2 Intermediate

Intermediate student is a student who can communicate in simple English words. You usually studied three or five years. Sometimes you studied more years but you didn't use English and you forgot some words. When you don't understand words in this level, please use a dictionary. When you read short news every day, after some time it will be easier for you and you will understand many easy English articles. But when reading English at this level is very difficult for you, try to read stories in Level 1 for some time. When you understand basic English in Level 1 very well, go to Level 2.

Level 3 Advanced

Advanced student is a student who can communicate about everyday things in English. You usually studied six or more years. Your reading skills and listening skills are very high. You understand a lot but not all. The short news can help you listen to English online. We try to choose articles which have words which are used very often in everyday English. When you know English words from this level very well, you can speak with everybody without big problems. When you understand everything in this level of English, you should be able to understand almost all native speakers.

When you understand everything in one level, it is time to go one level up. English news at a new level will be difficult at the beginning but with some practice you will understand more and more. When you use English news every day, after some time, usually three months, you can understand everything in the level. Have fun and learn fast.

Example of a story in three levels

We offer one short story in three levels. Every level of English has different words. For Level 1 and Level 2, we use basic English which people use very often. Level 3 has no limits. All English words and grammar are used in Level 3. Here is an example of news in three levels of English:

Level 1 Beginners

There was a horrible moment for a young girl. Children gave food to animals at Seaworld. One dolphin took a fish together with the girl’s hand. Dolphins are friendly and intelligent but the girl’s parents didn’t like what the dolphin did. The parents wanted to show this video to other people. They wanted to give information about it. It can be dangerous to give food to animals.  The girl had some small problems with her hand. People from Seaworld said that workers at Seaworld saw what the dolphin did. They came quickly and helped the young girl.

Level 2 Intermediate

There was a shocking moment for a young girl. Children were feeding sea animals at Seaworld when one dolphin took a fish together with the girl’s arm. Dolphins are known for being friendly and intelligent but the girl’s parents weren’t happy about the dolphin’s behaviour. The parents wanted to share this video so others can make a decision about the risks connected with such activity. The girl was injured but the injuries weren’t very bad. Seaworld officials said that animal care staff were at the attraction when this happened and immediately responded and helped the young girl.

Level 3 Advanced

That was the shocking moment. A dolphin attacked a young girl who was feeding a pod of sea creatures along with the children at Seaworld in Orlando. Dolphins are known for being friendly and intelligent but this attack shows another side to the animal. This girl’s parents state on the video, “We wanted to share this video so others can make an informed decision about whether or not the risks at yourself or your child are worth the experience.” Bite marks and bruises on her hand were the visible scars. Her parents say they are thankful the injuries weren’t worse. Seaworld officials said, “Educators and animal care staff were at the attraction when this happened and immediately connected with the family. A member of our health services team was in the area at dolphin cove and quickly responded and treated the young girl.”

LINK: http://www.newsinlevels.com/

101 Websites That Every Elementary Teacher Should Know About

As class sizes keep growing, it becomes harder and harder to find the time to look for new elementary teaching materials, while still giving your kids the personalized attention they need (and deserve!).

After all, you can only be pulled in so many directions at once,right?

With that in mind, I put together this list of websites for elementary teachers, hoping that you’ll finally be able add something fresh and fun to your lesson plan.

Now, you don’t have to skim the results of hundreds of Google searches to find a handful of useable internet resources—I’ve already got 101 of ‘em!
 

 

GENERAL / MULTI-SUBJECT

1. GoEd Online Elementary
GoEd Online is more than just a blog—it’s a one-stop shop for teaching materials! There are over 1,300 downloadable eBooks and games for elementary teachers, including resources for early childhood, English (ELA), math, science and social studies.

Click here to check out our elementary materials.

2. FunBrain
FunBrain has over 100 fun, interactive games that develop skills in math, reading and literacy. Plus, kids can read a variety of popular books and comics on the site, including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amelia Writes Again, and Brewster Rocket.

3. e-Learning for Kids
At e-Learning for Kids, you can search through educational games by grade level or subject. There are materials for grades 1-6 in math, science and language arts.

4. Turtle Diary
Over 1,000 educational activities, games, animated lessons, printable worksheets, interactive storybooks and more.

5. FueltheBrain
Have your elementary students practice their math, science and language arts skills with games and interactive activities from FueltheBrain!

6. Free Rice
This website allows your students to review English vocabulary and grammar at varying levels of difficulty. For each correct answer, the website will donate one grain of rice. Have your students play Free Rice when they finish early and keep track of how much rice your students have contributed to combat hunger.

7. Mr. Nussbaum
Mr. Nussbaum is a website with tons of interactive games and activities for math, language arts, history, geography, science and more.

8. SmartyGames
Free games for learning how to use money, tell time, count and read. Also, you’ll find mazes, memory games, puzzles, Sudoku and more!

9. Ask Kids
The Ask Jeeves search engine for kids.

10. KidsClick!
KidsClick! is a web search site designed for kids by librarians -- with kid-friendly results!

11.Librarians’ Internet Databse
Find websites you and your students can trust in this directory that has been compiled by librarians.
 

Wheel of Fame Customizable TV Game Shows

12. YouTube
With millions of YouTube videos, there’s bound to be something that’s relatable to your lesson. There are step-by-step tutorials, news clips, editorials, short documentaries and more. Recently, YouTube launched an education-specific version of the website called YouTube for Teachers.

13. TeacherTube
TeacherTube is exactly what it sounds like—YouTube for teachers (not to be confused with the Youtube-specific version above!). The design of the website is getting a little outdated (it’s reminiscent of past versions of YouTube), but there are many educational videos to choose from.

14. Appolicious
The education section of Appolicious is a listing of thousands of educational applications with descriptions and reviews. It’s a great place to go if you’re looking for something new, or just to check something out before you buy it.

15. IMDb
Use IMDb, the internet movie database, to see if there are any movies that are relevant to the topic you’re teaching. If you find one, you can also check the rating to make sure it’s appropriate for your classroom, and read reviews to see what others have thought (and to see if it's historically or scientifically accurate!).

16. Pinterest
A colleague and fellow GoEd Online blogger (can you guess who?) got me hooked on using Pinterest! There’s no end to the great elementary teaching resources you can find on there. Educators from all over the world have created boards that are PACKED full of great stuff.

If you want to check out what we’ve found on Pinterest, follow us.
 

17. Learnist
This social network is kind of like Pinterest for people who want to learn about different things. Users create and share collections of knowledge. It is still in its beta phase and requires an invite to get full access, but it’s very cool already! The “education” topic is full of great posts about using tech in the classroom, industry trends and shared resources.

 

EARLY ELEMENTARY

18. Seussville
Because everyone loves Dr. Seuss… This website is full of interactive whiteboard-friendly games, activities, printables and ideas for lesson plans focusing on the subjects made interesting and accessible (and discussible!) by Dr. Suess' stories.

19. Sesame Street
Sesame Street has a variety of activities that help students work on basic skills like counting, forming sentences, recognizing different shapes and objects, etc.

20. TheColor
TheColor is home to hundreds of free online coloring pages that don’t even have to be printed. Everything is interactive and done online! Your pages can be saved to your gallery and shared with your students’ families. This is a great activity for students who finish early.

21. FunFonix
FunFonix (it's the pronunciation that counts!) has a variety of early elementary phonics worksheets and online phonics games. Their worksheets are completely customizable!

22. Phonics Student Online Components
Sadlier Phonics has a number of grade-appropriate online games and activities for students PreK-6.

23. Alphabet Zoo
An entertaining interactive game for early elementary students who are learning how to match their upper and lowercase letters.

BONUS:
Starfall (Recommended by Kirsten)
This website is a free resource for young students to practice letters and sounds! Its phonics-based approach is perfect for PreK, kindergarten, first grade and second grade.

ENGLISH (ELA)

24. Grammar Ninja Game
This fun game helps your students learn the different parts of speech! There are three levels of difficulty that can be assigned to your students.

25. Scholastic Graphic Organizers for Reading Comprehension
Use these printable graphic organizers with your elementary students on a variety of reading comprehension activities. They are great for literary elements, reading assessment, reading comprehension, curriculum development and more.

26. ReadWriteThink
ReadWriteThink is a comprehensive collection of classroom resources for teachers. It includes searchable lesson plans, student interactives, activities and printouts. With this collection, students can explore elements of books and stories; develop characters' create poems, comic strips, newspapers, flyers and more.

27. SpellZone
An online English spelling resource that includes free units, games and word lists.

28. Spellathon
Practice spelling with free interactive spelling games that are compatible with interactive whiteboards, mobile phones and tablet PCs.

29. TVOKids: Spelling Bee Game
This game plays just like a real spelling bee. Students hear the word and get one chance to spell it. They can have the word repeated and can also read a definition.

30. Shel Silverstein
If you love Shel Silverstein and his poetry, you need to check this out. There are two versions of the website—the high-bandwidth version is more glitzy, but they both have the same basic content. There are fun games and activities, printables and you can even watch animated videos of some of Shel’s poems. The coolest thing about the videos is that some of them are performed by Mr. Silverstein himself!

31. ManyThings
This website is a fantastic resource for ESL teachers and students alike. It has an extensive collection of spelling games and activities that are great for non-native speakers. My favorite is the Catch the Spelling Game.

32. Forvo 
Forvo is the world’s largest pronunciation dictionary. It’s very valuable for ESL students because they can look up any word and hear it pronounced by an authentic English speaker.

33. Storybird
Storybird is a website that allows you to combine pictures and drawings to tell a story. It is very user-friendly and you can have several students all working together on the same story.

34. The Story Starter
This automatic generator comes up with over two billion (no joke!) creative ideas for writers. It was named to Writer’s Digest Magazine’s list of 101 Best Websites for Writers in 2012.

35. Creative Writing Prompts
When your students need inspiration, this site is the place to go. It features more than 300 detailed creative writing prompts, as well as journal ideas. You can also use the writing prompts as great warm-up activities each day.

WEB 2.0 WEBSITES

91. Prezi    
Prezi is a really neat cloud-based presentation program that allows you to zoom in and out. If you don’t mind your slides being public, you can sign up for a free account with 100MB of storage.

92. Online-stopwatch
Online-stopwatch is a web-based stopwatch that is easy to display on an interactive whiteboard and can count up or down. Use it for timed exams, writing assignments and standardized tests.

93. RubiStar 
RubiStar is a free tool to help teachers create quality rubrics. Registered users can save and edit rubrics online. You can access them from home, school or on the road.

94. Discovery Education’s Free Puzzlemaker
Puzzlemaker is a tool that helps you create and print customized word searches, criss-cross puzzles, hidden message puzzles and more, all using your own word lists.

95. Gliffy  
You can use Gliffy to create attractive and professional graphic organizers like Venn diagrams and flow charts. Unfortunately, full access to their services requires a fee, but you can sign up for a free 30-day trial!

96. Mindomo  
Mindomo is another online mind mapping tool. It’s neat because you can collaborate in real-time with others and share/embed what you’ve created. You can create up to three free mind maps!

97. Tagxedo 
Tagxedo is an awesome word cloud creation tool. You can turn customized text, websites, blogs, Twitter accounts and more into stunning designs based on the frequency of words found in the medium. There are numerous designs and color schemes to choose from, and the results can be saved to your computer or shared.

98.  Wordle
Create beautiful word clouds from text that you provide. Like Tagxedo, it gives prominence to words that appear most frequently. You can save, print and share your creation.

99. Animoto 
Use Animoto to easily create presentations and videos with your own images and music, or choose from a library of stock files. Teachers can apply for a free Animoto Plus account.

100. Bubbl.us 
Use Bubbl.us to create colorful online mind maps. It’s great for class discussions and brainstorming sessions.

101. Vimeo  
Vimeo is kind of like YouTube in that it is a place for you to easily upload any kind of video you create—even high definition. A free account gives you access to 500MB worth of storage each week that you can use for a variety of things like customizing your website or blog.

Aprender a representar el conocimiento: 28 herramientas online para la competencia digital

La alfabetización y competencia digital es aprender a expresarse en distintos formatos de representación

Una de las competencias clave o relevantes en todo proceso alfabetizador es la adquisición del dominio de los símbolos y formas expresivas del lenguaje. Tradicionalmente a esto le hemos llamado "aprender a escribir". Es decir, saber escribir es saber manipular y utilizar de modo culto los símbolos gráficos del alfabeto para expresar y comunicar ideas. 

Con la llegada de las TIC estamos asistiendo a un nuevo cambio en el concepto de "escritura" entendida como la competencia para comunicar y expresar las ideas, sentimientos o datos que una persona posee. Por ello, la idea de REPRESENTACIÓN es clave. Si carecemos de parámetros, símbolos y herramientas de representación o formalización de las ideas, entonces no podremos transmitirlo o compartirlo colectivamente. La representación es dar forma a la información, a las ideas, a los sentimientos para comunicarlos y otorgarles significados. Cuando la información se representa –en un texto, en una película, en una fotografía, en esquema, en iconos, en sonidos, ..- se transforma en un objeto simbólico y cultural que puede ser difundido. Por ello, es muy relevante conocer los FORMATOS de representación para poder comunicarse adecuadamente. Estos formatos están configurados por los símbolos y las sintaxis propias de cada lenguaje expresivo: el oral, el escrito, el iconográfico, el audiovisual, el musical, etc. Todo esto tiene mucho que ver con laalfabetización y la competencia digital.

Hasta la fecha, el curriculum escolar se ha preocupado de modo casi exclusivo en las competencias verbales de lectura y de escritura de textos, así como en la adquisición de la simbología que acompaña a toda representación matemática. A veces incorporó también las habilidades de interpretación de representaciones topográficas –los mapas y planos-, y poco más. La educación escolar, en este sentido, durante las últimas décadas ha obviado y desconsiderado la formación del alumnado en otros lenguajes y formatos expresivos que socialmente eran muy relevantes como fueron los casos del lenguaje audiovisual o el iconográfico. Las razones son múltiples y no vienen al caso. Sin embargo, la omnipresencia de las TIC en todos los ámbitos sociales –incluidos los escolares- no sólo nos proporcionan la oportunidad para incorporar estos otros tipos de lenguajes de representación, sino y sobre todo, nos obligan a educar/alfabetizar adecuadamente a los estudiantes para que sean plenamente competentes en las variadas y múltiples formas digitales de representación de la información y el conocimiento.

Como docentes, en consecuencia, debemos organizar y desarrollar actividades de aprendizaje para el desarrollo de la competencia digital  donde solicitemos a nuestros alumnos que elaboren materiales o contenidos en distintos formatos de representación disponibles en la Red: a través de textos o ensayos escritos, pero también a través de mapas conceptuales, de diagramas y gráficos, de carteles y pósters, de líneas de tiempo, etc. 

Una selección de 28 herramientas online para expresarse en múltiples formatos

En estos últimos días he estado recopilando distintas herramientas o recursos web gratuitos que pueden ser útiles a cualquier profesor y estudiante para crear contenidos online. Para ello he elaborado el siguiente cuadro con algunas de los formatos de representación más usuales y de los instrumentos o recursos de la web 2.0 que podemos utilizar los docentes con nuestro alumnado.

HERRAMIENTAS WEB PARA LA REPRESENTACIÓN 

DEL CONOCIMIENTO Y LA INFORMACIÓN

Formato de representación	Características	Herramientas o recursos web
Mapas mentales o esquemas conceptuales	Representación verboicónica de los elementos, rasgos y atributos de conceptos o ideas clave estableciendo las correspondencias o enlaces entre   los mismos, pudiéndose realizar clasificaciones y jerarquías	CmapTools http://cmap.ihmc.us/ Spiderscribe http://www.spiderscribe.net/ Mindmeister http://www.mindmeister.com/ Text2mindmap http://www.text2mindmap.com/ Bubbl https://bubbl.us/ Creately http://creately.com/
Líneas de tiempo	Representación de hechos, datos o fenómenos de un tema o acontecimiento estableciendo una ordenación cronológica o histórica de los mismos. Sobre cada hito  o evento relevante pueden establecerse enlaces a otras informaciones	Dipity http://www.dipity.com/ Xtimeline http://www.xtimeline.com Timetoast http://www.timetoast.com/ Timerime http://timerime.com/es/
Infografías	Representación de las ideas o datos claves de un concepto, tema o fenómeno presentándolos  visual y gráficamente en un formato de cartel	Visual.ly http://visual.ly/ Piktochart http://app.piktochart.com/
Posters o murales digitales	Representación mediante imágenes de hechos, ideas o datos enlazándolos con recursos o espacios web de origen formado un mural o poster digital interactivo	EduGloster http://edu.glogster.com/ Mura.ly http://mural.ly/
Mapas geográficos	Representación en formato de mapa o formato topográfico de cualquier tipo de contenido o información pudiendo también ser interactivos	Geocommons http://geocommons.com/ Stat Silk http://www.statsilk.com/ Umapper http://www.umapper.com/ FMAtlas http://fmatlas.com/atlas2/jsp/login.jsp
Nubes de palabras	Representación en formato gráfico de palabras, términos, vocablos, conceptos, … de un texto	Tagxedo http://www.tagxedo.com/ Wordle http://www.wordle.net/
Diagramas y gráficos estadísticos	Representación en formato gráfico (con múltiples formas bien de tabla, de diagrama de barras, de círculos, …) de datos de tipo numérico en función de ciertas variables	Hohli http://charts.hohli.com/ Gliffy http://www.gliffy.com/ Many Eyes http://www-958.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/manyeyes/
Presentaciones multimedia online	Representaciones de ideas y discursos que combinan formatos de expresión textual con gráficas y audiovisuales a modo de diapositivas. Estas pueden ser secuenciales, o en formato zoom	Prezi http://prezi.com/ Sliderocket http://www.sliderocket.com/ Knovio http://www.knovio.com/ Google Docs/Drive http://docs.google.com/ ZohoDocs https://www.zoho.com/docs/

Para ser coherente con lo que estoy defendiendo, además de ofrecerles estos recursos mediante el anterior  cuadro de texto, he elaborado lo que se denomina un "arbol de perlas" (pearltree)donde mediante una representación gráfica  puedes consultar y acceder online a dichos recursos o herramientas web (pruébalo, es interactivo). Click here.

Professor Word: Improve your vocabulary while you surf the web

Try it now — click any word! Then, get started in 2 easy steps:

Click here to go to the website.

Save ProfessorWord for free

Drag this button Run ProfessorWord !to the
left-side of your Bookmarks Bar.

Make sure your Bookmarks Bar is visible.

View the 1-min. video or detailed instructions.

Use ProfessorWord on any website

1. Visit any website - e.g., The New York Times.
2. Select the "Run ProfessorWord !" button from yourBookmarks Bar.
3. Click any word to view its definition.

View the 1-min. video or detailed instructions.

Looking for SAT, ACT, GRE words?

ProfessorWord automatically highlights all the SAT/ACT or GRE words on any page -- no matter how obscure or esoteric -- just click to view the definition.

How facile was that!

Want an easy way to look up words?

ProfessorWord can provide the definition of almost any word that you don't comprehend, and you don't even have to leave the page! It's your on-demand dictionary.

Click any word to view its definition!

ProfessorWord helps you:

Find vocabulary

Get the definition of any word on any website with the click of your mouse - it works on your computer, iPhone, and iPad! Get started today!

Learn vocabulary

Sign up for a free ProfessorWord account (coming soon!) to save the words you don't know and create personalized study lists.

Ace the SAT, ACT, or GRE

To help you prep, we automatically highlight all the SAT/ACT or GRE words for you - no matterhow outlandish or arcane. You can turn thisfeature on/off under preferences.