In the video below, you will see a YouTube playlist I have created that contains four videos about the life cycle of a frog. While many people are familiar with YouTube, not everyone is familiar with YouTube playlists. A YouTube playlist is a collection of videos that allows its user to watch a variety of videos on related topics in the same YouTube link. The videos in a playlist will automatically play, one after the other, until all of them have been watched, or they can be selected by the viewer in the viewer's order of preference. I created my YouTube playlist by searching for educational YouTube videos that teach about the life cycle of a frog and then combining them into one playlist using the available tools in my YouTube account. YouTube playlists can be very helpful for education in that they can contain instructional videos, can supplement learning with additional internet information, and can be used by students to demonstrate their creativity and technological skills.
My playlist includes videos about the life cycle of a frog. Each video is unique in its presentation of information on the topic. The first video is a fun song that presents some general frog life cycle vocabulary, the second is a narrated example of frog development in a backyard pond, the third is a video containing an animation that follows a frog's life cycle, and the fourth is a narrated description of the frog life cycle with higher level concepts. Please feel free to watch my YouTube playlist, and I hope it serves to educate you about the benefits of playlists and to educate you about the details behind the life of a frog.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
Internet Search Tools
This blog post is meant to serve as a resource for teachers who need safe and reliable search engines for their students. These search engines can be used for all kinds of classroom inquiries, from searching for games, to general information, to research-specific articles. These websites are useful for all ages of students, though the five I have listed tend to lean more toward usefulness in secondary education. Below are links and descriptions for these five internet search tools that I believe to be very useful and safe for classroom use: KidzSearch, Infotrek, Google Scholar, Wolfram Alpha, and Instagrok. I hope you find these links beneficial for your classroom!
KidzSearch
KidzSearch is a safe search engine created for young students to explore topics, play games, and look at websites that are popular among other students. It has many helpful links on its homepage that utilize pictures to make navigation easy and appealing. Unique characteristics of KidzSearch are that it has a list of fun and educational games for kids, includes links to news and to popular photos, and even has a page dedicated to helping students with their homework. The search option appears similar to Google (though is, of course, filtered) and does include advertisements. The site is a little unclear with too many unlabeled photo-links and lacks aspects that would help it appeal to older students. I would use this website in my middle school classes for days that students want to explore the internet in their free time and for some minor research-type assignments.
Infotrek
Infotrek is a search engine that allows high school students to search the internet for educational websites by both searching for key words and by clicking through icons that represent different topics. Infotrek is very well organized and well presented, with graphics that aid users in navigating the website by subject area. The search option for this website takes users to a list of related web pages that are safe and educational. The search list is presented clearly and is easy to navigate. Infotrek even contains links to other student friendly search engines. It has a slightly unappealing color scheme (grey) and does include advertisements. I would use this website in my classes for students to browse topics, especially if they want to search by narrowing down results by subject area.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a refined version of the Google search engine that provides search results of very high quality. Google scholar can be extremely helpful to students in finding trustworthy, credible sources for research papers and projects. This search engine offers pdf links of articles for many of its search results. Google scholar eliminates the ads often seen on Google and has a tool bar of options that help to narrow and enhance search results. Its format is a little advanced, however; more like a college research search engine than one that is usable for early secondary education classrooms. I would have my students (seniors and juniors) use this to find scholarly sources for important research projects.
Wolfram Alpha
Wolfram Alpha is a great resource for high school students, especially for those taking courses in science and math. Wolfram Alpha is an excellent source of high level information and distinguishes itself as a "computational knowledge engine" instead of a search engine. Wolfram Alpha often offers step-by-step solutions and explanations of complex problems, though some information on the site can only be accessed through paid membership. A particularly unique characteristic of Wolfram Alpha is that its search results display lists of in-depth information about certain topics rather than lists of website links for such topics. Wolfram Alpha is sometimes difficult to navigate and does not have a list of sources like most search engines. Also, payment is often required to view certain answers. I would have my students use this website if they needed help working through particularly difficult problems that are not explained in their textbooks.
Instagrok
Instagrok is a very unique and innovative educational website. Its key feature is that it presents information in search results as an interactive concept map. Topics are covered in depth due to the concept map format and information and links of all kinds are available on each page. Instagrok provides challenging quizzes to test what students have learned from each concept map and has instructions for teachers on how to best use the website for education. Instagrok has no advertising and ensures safe content. A main drawback for the site is that it costs money for teachers to use. The site is rather complex, especially for younger, elementary or junior high, students. I would use this site in my high school classes to allow students to explore certain topics in depth. The quizzes it provides would also be helpful for having students quiz one another on newly acquired knowledge.
KidzSearch
KidzSearch is a safe search engine created for young students to explore topics, play games, and look at websites that are popular among other students. It has many helpful links on its homepage that utilize pictures to make navigation easy and appealing. Unique characteristics of KidzSearch are that it has a list of fun and educational games for kids, includes links to news and to popular photos, and even has a page dedicated to helping students with their homework. The search option appears similar to Google (though is, of course, filtered) and does include advertisements. The site is a little unclear with too many unlabeled photo-links and lacks aspects that would help it appeal to older students. I would use this website in my middle school classes for days that students want to explore the internet in their free time and for some minor research-type assignments.
Infotrek
Infotrek is a search engine that allows high school students to search the internet for educational websites by both searching for key words and by clicking through icons that represent different topics. Infotrek is very well organized and well presented, with graphics that aid users in navigating the website by subject area. The search option for this website takes users to a list of related web pages that are safe and educational. The search list is presented clearly and is easy to navigate. Infotrek even contains links to other student friendly search engines. It has a slightly unappealing color scheme (grey) and does include advertisements. I would use this website in my classes for students to browse topics, especially if they want to search by narrowing down results by subject area.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a refined version of the Google search engine that provides search results of very high quality. Google scholar can be extremely helpful to students in finding trustworthy, credible sources for research papers and projects. This search engine offers pdf links of articles for many of its search results. Google scholar eliminates the ads often seen on Google and has a tool bar of options that help to narrow and enhance search results. Its format is a little advanced, however; more like a college research search engine than one that is usable for early secondary education classrooms. I would have my students (seniors and juniors) use this to find scholarly sources for important research projects.
Wolfram Alpha
Wolfram Alpha is a great resource for high school students, especially for those taking courses in science and math. Wolfram Alpha is an excellent source of high level information and distinguishes itself as a "computational knowledge engine" instead of a search engine. Wolfram Alpha often offers step-by-step solutions and explanations of complex problems, though some information on the site can only be accessed through paid membership. A particularly unique characteristic of Wolfram Alpha is that its search results display lists of in-depth information about certain topics rather than lists of website links for such topics. Wolfram Alpha is sometimes difficult to navigate and does not have a list of sources like most search engines. Also, payment is often required to view certain answers. I would have my students use this website if they needed help working through particularly difficult problems that are not explained in their textbooks.
Instagrok
Instagrok is a very unique and innovative educational website. Its key feature is that it presents information in search results as an interactive concept map. Topics are covered in depth due to the concept map format and information and links of all kinds are available on each page. Instagrok provides challenging quizzes to test what students have learned from each concept map and has instructions for teachers on how to best use the website for education. Instagrok has no advertising and ensures safe content. A main drawback for the site is that it costs money for teachers to use. The site is rather complex, especially for younger, elementary or junior high, students. I would use this site in my high school classes to allow students to explore certain topics in depth. The quizzes it provides would also be helpful for having students quiz one another on newly acquired knowledge.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Educational Websites for Teachers
As an education major with plans for long term involvement in education, I have created a list a few websites that I think can be very helpful for educational activities. I have sorted these websites into categories based on which audiences they best apply to: students, parents, and teachers (though it is important to remember that most of these websites can be used by all three groups). Many of the websites I have listed for teachers offer resources such as worksheets and many contain databases that can be searched for such materials. Among the parent links are websites containing education articles and advice columns about helping one's child benefit from schooling. The student websites offer educational games, lessons, and interactive pages for kids to participate in and enjoy. I chose these websites in particular since I think they are easy to use, well organized, and very helpful for many situations. I hope you find these websites useful for your own educational purposes as well!
Click here to view my Educational Resources Website.
Click here to view my Educational Resources Website.
Screencast Software
Screencast is a computer tool that is very useful for recording lessons or instructions that require a computer. By recording the screen of your computer, you can use screencast to create tutorials or directions for specific computer activities, which can be very helpful for a teacher when using computers with an entire classroom of students. Screencast-O-Matic is one type of free screencast software, but there are many other helpful kinds of screencast software such as Screencast.com, Jing, or Screenr.com. Additionally, there are screencast software options for Macs as well, such as Capturer, Screen Record Tool Lite, and Screen Capturer Lite.
Below is an example of a screencast that I have created to serve as an example of the Screencast-O-Matic software. In this recording, I give a tutorial on where to find information about your computer's type of operating system, its processor speed, RAM, and hard drive availability for a Windows 8 Touchscreen computer. Creating a screencast was especially helpful for this tutorial since it provided a visual along with instructions to make this information easier to follow and understand. Please view and enjoy my short example of a screencast.
Below is an example of a screencast that I have created to serve as an example of the Screencast-O-Matic software. In this recording, I give a tutorial on where to find information about your computer's type of operating system, its processor speed, RAM, and hard drive availability for a Windows 8 Touchscreen computer. Creating a screencast was especially helpful for this tutorial since it provided a visual along with instructions to make this information easier to follow and understand. Please view and enjoy my short example of a screencast.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
My Photo Story
My Photo Story above is an example of a story that could be used to aid in a classroom lecture. This particular story is about the process of studying the population of animal species. The images in my story display diagrams that used fruit snacks in order to illustrate some of the principles behind population study. I think that Photo Story improved this lesson far above a normal lecture since it gives visuals for students to follow along with and saves lecture time since concepts can be displayed quickly and efficiently rather than through slow diagrams that would have to be hand drawn during a normal lecture.
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