Rock Cycles Everywhere!

It seems that every school I've been in lately, regardless of the age level, has been studying Rocks!  So, here are a few interactives that cover the the Rock Cycle that hopefully some of you can use!

http://www.learner.org/interactives/rockcycle/

http://www.kscience.co.uk/animations/rock_cycle.htm

http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/investigations/es0602/es0602page02.cfm

http://www.phschool.com/atschool/phsciexp/active_art/rock_cycle/index.html

Free Resources

Teachers Pay Teachers has made a list of files free for you via The Organized Classroom blog.  Both sites are great to check out, but here is a direct link to the list of free files:

http://www.theorganizedclassroomblog.com/index.php/resources/500-fans

You'll see files for all levels and areas.

Enjoy!

Awesome Teacher Blog List

Wow!? Has it really been since February that I've written a blog entry here?  I will try to be more faithful!

Check out this blog site where there is an extensive list of teacher blogs organized by grade level.  You will LOVE it!

The Teachers Lane

You're Never too Old!!

You're never too old, too wacky, too wild,
To pick up a book and read with a child.

You're never too busy, too cool, or too hot,

To pick up a book and share what you've got.

In schools and communities,

Let's gather around,

Let's pick up a book,

Let's pass it around.

There are kids all around you,

Kids who will need

Someone to hug,

Someone to read.

Come join us March 2nd

Your own special way

And make this America's

Read to Kids Day.

Celebrate Read Across America March 2nd! Below are links to help you celebrate this special day in your classrooms:
Seussville--Read Across America Activities and Printables
Seussville--Fun Interactives for your Interactive Whiteboards or computer stations
Rick and Bubba Read Green and Eggs and Ham LIVE--Listen via the computer and participate in the World's Largest Classroom!!!
Reading Rockets--Green Eggs and Ham Participation Guide for teachers and parents
The Sneetches--Watch the Sneetches Full Version



Voki for Education

I've shown many of you the Voki site before, where you can make an "avatar" like character and instruct it to say what you want it to say.  For example:


Voki has released a new "Voki for Education" area on its Web site, with ideas for incorporating Voki into the classroom!  Check it out here!

Long Time, No Blog!!!

Well, I've fallen a bit behind keeping the blog updated.  But, saw this announcement this morning, and it definitely was worth stopping and posting about for you all to see!

I've been waiting for this contest to open back up again, and I really hope that we can have some participants from our area enter!  From the Doodle for Google Web site:

Visit the Doodle for Google page for contest rules and registration, and please email me and let me know if you are going to participate!

Google Science Fair

On 11 January, 2011, Google is launching the inaugural Google Science Fair. They have partnered with NASA, CERN, National Geographic, Scientific American and the LEGO Group to create a new STEM competition that is more open, accessible and global than ever before. Google is reaching out to educators prior to launch to let you know “the Google Science Fair is coming” and to extend an invitation to schools and teachers to get involved early in our global competition.


To sign up for fun and free resource kits for your classroom or school (with bookmarks, stickers, posters and more!) and a reminder notification when GSF registration opens, please visit the Google Science Fair at:
http://www.google.com/events/sciencefair/ .

The Google Science Fair is a global competition that any student aged 13 - 18 from around the world is eligible to enter. Students can enter as individuals or as teams of up to three. There is no entry fee and registration and submission will happen online. The deadline for submissions will be the 4 April, 2011. The Science Fair will culminate in a “once in a lifetime” celebratory event at Google headquarters in California in July 2011 where finalists will compete for internships, scholarships and prizes in front of a panel of celebrity scientist judges including Nobel Laureates, tech visionaries and household names.

The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!

This is old news for most of you, but PBS has launched a new animated show, "The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!" 

The show is designed to promote science among early learners.  There are great teacher resources that supplement the episodes available on PBS Teacher's Cat in the Hat Web site.  If you haven't seen the show or checked out these resources yet, take the time to do it today! 

GaETC 2010--Day 1

There are over 1800 attendees at this year's GaETC at the Georgia International Convention Center. Today was a great first day. We attended an opening session, concurrent sessions, and heard a hilarious keynote speaker--Jeanne Robertson. You can check her out on YouTube. You won't regret it!

Resources to note from sessions I attended today:

GPB/Discovery Education--http://www.multiurl.com/l/3JS (All of the links and handouts from their presentation are linked here.)

Tammy Worcester--If you've ever been to GaETC, you've probably heard Tammy before. She presented great materials today, as always. You can access all of the handouts from her presentations here: http://www.tammyworcester.com/TWHandouts/New_Handouts/Entries/2010/11/3_GAETC_2010.html

We saw several familiar faces today from our Chattahoochee-Flint RESA ETC counties!

Stay tuned for more resources and updates tomorrow!

Your Play by Play is Coming Soon...

GaETC is here again!  November 2-5, we will be in Atlanta at the annual Georgia Educational Technology Conference.  I hope I will see some of you there.  For those of you that can't make it, I will again blog each day with the conference highlights and happenings!  Tune in here for your GaETC play by play!

Printables and Pumpkins!

Thanks to my friend, Alice, I have a new site for great printables to pass on to you!  Print pdfs about pretty much every topic for every grade level.  From coloring sheets, to maps, to physics worksheets...there is a lot of variety!  Here is an example:

Also, for a little fall fun, check out this cute video all about PUMPKINS!

Web 2.0 Tools for Web Design

I am conducting a workshop on web design using free, web 2.0 tools this week at the ETC.  We are focusing on tools that can be used with students in the project-based learning competition, PROMOTE.  You can learn more about PROMOTE here, and view winning Web sites from last year's competition. 

It's helpful to start by teaching students about properly evaluating Web sites.  Eduplace has a simple tutorial.  Kathy Schrock also has several great resources on this topic.

What does "modern web design" mean?  This is a great explanation of common modern (2.0) design elements:  Web 2.0 How To Design and Style Guide.

View other award-winning web designs at the Webby Awards Web site.

Free Web site builders:
Webstarts
Wix
Weebly
DoodleKit
Moonfruit
Yola
Wordpress
Google Sites
EZWeb123