Free Teacher Stuff

How many times have we fallen for this trap?
It usually includes a few shareware programs, horrible trial programs, or an endless clicking of links that lead to the first page that you came from.
Leave a comment listing all of your good ed-tech or teaching stuff.

Edubuntu

Hear what the creators of Edubuntu have to say:

"Edubuntu is a flavour of the Ubuntu operating system, which is optimised for classroom use. It has been developed in collaboration with teachers and technologists around the world. The aim of Edubuntu is that an educator with limited technical knowledge and skill should be able to set up a computer lab, or establish an on-line learning environment, in an hour or less, and then administer that environment without having to become a fully-fledged Linux geek. This is our first step towards that goal.

Principal design goals of Edubuntu are centralized management of configuration, users, and processes, together with facilities for working collaboratively in a classroom setting. Equally important is the gathering together of the best available free software and digital materials for education.

Edubuntu is built on top of the solid and stable Ubuntu base, and incorporates the LTSP thin client architecture, as well as Education-specific applications, aimed at the 6-18 age group. It also aims to allow resource poor environments to maximise their available (older) equipment.

Based on Ubuntu, the new Edubuntu features a fast and easy install, regular releases, a tight selection of excellent packages installed by default, any other package you can imagine available from the network, and a commitment to security updates for 18 months after each release. We will also be pursuing establishing a network of professional technical support from many companies around the world as this distro grows."

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Open Source Software

Open Source software can be the teacher's best source of free technology.
The OpenCd is one of the greatest compilation of tested open source software.
Here is a link that shows the different types of programs that are offered.
OpenCd

My Thoughts on Tech Integration

#1. What are steps teachers can take to ensure that technology integration is successful in the classroom?

The teacher has to make sure that the technology being used is appropriate for the lesson. For example; If the students are creating a presentation based upon what they learned this week, then the student should be using presentation software, not a spreadsheet program. The students also need to know the technology before they are "plopped" in front of a computer and told to work.
This aspect of the lesson should be modeled for the student, that way the student will not only know how to perform the task, but also what is expected of them.
One way to seamlessly incorporate technology into the lesson, is to focus on the objective and not the tool used to reach it. We don't go into great detail about using text books, yet the students gain knowledge from that particular medium. If we model
our lessons by using the same tools that we require of our students, then they will learn the general technology without needing miniscule details. Once the students become familar with this technological medium they will figure out how to incorporate the little details that imporve their work.

#2. A lesson is curriculum driven, not technology driven. Think of a lesson you can "reshape" using technology. Provide an example in your discussion.

We can use technology as a tool to reach our objectives. We do not begin with technology and then create an "activity" for the student to complete.
Some examples can be shown through the following objectives:
TLW create a timeline noting the rise and fall of Egypt as a world super-power.
TLW compare and contrast the Egyptian and Chinese religions.
TLW analyze and describe the social structure of Ancient Egypt.

There are several different ways to reach these objectives.
The first objective can be reached by the students researching the information in their text book, and then drawing a timeline. However, it can also be reached by the students working in pairs researching the information on the internet, and publishing their work through a timelining program.

The second objective can be met by the student creating a Venn Diagram, T-chart, or other graphic organizer which illustrates the information found in their research. Why not have the student create their organizer using a presentation software? By doing this the student can also write a brief description of their findings, and show it to the class.

The third objective can also be met through a variety of different means. The student could create a foldable based upon the social structure of Egypt. The student could use colors to draw a picture of Egypt's social pyramid with a brief description. Finally the student could use a teacher made Word template to create the social pyramid using clip art, pictures, and text to achieve the same objective, plus the student can print them out for a grade.

The integration of technology is "do able", we just need to push ourselves to do it.

The New Era of Tech

As my generation comes of age, the world is truely seeing things through techno-goggles. We carry cellphones in our pocket that should be referred to by their true names, personal media centers. Our phones can make calls, send text messages, play games, download software, play games, make blog posts, and surf the net. Computers are becoming more powerful, smaller and cheaper than ever. DVD players are now under forty dollars.

As an educator, my main course of thought is driven back to, "How can this help my kids learn the information better". Teachers are beginning to included technology in their lessons at a brisk pace. One needs to ask are teachers including technology in order to engage their students, to make the lesson better, to bring home a point, or is our motivation merely to satisfy mandates setup by our school boards. Many teachers have a passion for technology. They see the way their students' eyes light up when they discover something new on the computer. Other teachers dispise learning new things. I know it sounds pretty ironic. However, these people feel that if the students are understanding the information in the way that it is presented, then why should I have to waste valuable time to organizing a computer related activity.

The truth is that as students learn the material, we should seek every oppurtunity to retouch upon the newly learned lesson. This enrichment could possibly come from the classroom computer, classroom game, or it can be as simple as having the students draw a picture of what was learned. These types of activities keep the student motivated. That motivation to learn is what all teachers strive to achieve. If the students are excited about the material, then our jobs magically become easier.

The most important aspect of our job is the relay of information to our youth. Since many of our children know more about technology than we do;
why not choose to reach our children through the media in which they feel most comfortable?

Foldables

I recently attended a workshop on foldables. I thought, "My kids are not going to like folding paper, that's below their level". I could not have been more wrong. I have integrated foldables into my some of my lessons; and to my surprise, the students really enjoyed them.
There are types of foldables that you can do are practically limitless. They can make flip-books for vocabulary words, diaramas for comparing and contrasting, folding graphic organizers which can be used for multiple objectives.
I will soon be posting more on the uses of foldables, and shows some diagrams on how they are made. I'm currently working on the graphics that I plan to post.

Tell me some of your ideas, and how you have used foldables in your classrooms.

Festival of Cultures

The FieldTrip was awesome. Though there were only four booths, the children seemed to have a really fun time. The kids really enjoyed the African presentation. The Africans did the sleeping on nails bit, acrobatics, and jumped rope in unusual ways. However, the act that my kids enjoyed the most was when the Africans jumped through the rings of fire.

The other acts were also interesting. The Festival included people from Russia, who did several balancing acts, and played with hoops. The older Russian man balanced on a board and cylinder, then two cylinders, three, and finally he topped it off by balancing on four cylinders with his son standing on his shoulders. It was such a windy day my kids thought for sure they would come tumbling down.

We finished our trip with some spear throwing and lunch. Then we boarded the bus for the drive back to school.

Educational Blogging

I think that blogging could be very beneficial for both students and teachers. Teachers could post assignments, and students could respond using the comment function of blogging. This would allow the teacher to check all of the work online, and respond to the students comments.

One bad thing about this ideal medium; however, is the harsh reality that not every student has a computer. Those with a computer may not have internet access. Maybe the students can post at school. Unfortunately, ome school districts have blog sites blocked, for both studnts and teachers.

Current Projects

I have been hard at work both in the classroom and on the web. I am currently trying to develop 5 different webpages. Since I am a novice this seems like a daunting task. However, I'm prepared to help my fellow teachers, and that is why I'm doing all of this.

Teachers have it rough, there is no way around it. We have to be many things in the classroom, and by the end of the day it takes a lot out of a person. So, I have made it my life's goal to make our lives better. Not through pay raises or accountablity but through simple free stuff.

I am currently offering free lesson plans, clipart, classroom management stuff, and a plethera of other free stuff, but the problem lies in getting the word out. So please, if you are a teacher check out my links on the sidebar, and let me know how I can help to make your life easier.