Today, my new friend, Brenda Cleland and I wrapped up a collaborative project that my ComTech 10 class and her Grade One class did together. The Grade One class (the Clients) have hired the high school class (the Freelancers) to animate their drawings. The students were paired up and assigned a blog post in which they were able to have a conversation in the comment section. The Freelancers asked the Clients how they wanted their drawings to be animated. They were not allowed to change the artwork in any way; it would be like changing a client’s logo! We hope you enjoy the results below. Be sure to read the comments in each blog post to get a feel for how well the two groups communicated without meeting in person.—
The URL: https://sites.google.com/a/epsb.ca/winter-traditions/home
And on that note, Mrs. Teacher List and I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the coming year! Rest well and we’ll connect again in January.
– Pete
Here’s a great collection of cheat sheets for those using Google Apps. There are several other resources on this site as well that you might want to check out. These cheat sheets would be suitable for professional development or classroom use.—
The URL: http://www.shakeuplearning.com/google-cheat-sheets.html ]]>
Here’s an interesting, enlightening read from NoBullying.com about the bullies in our lives and communities. I hadn’t thought about some of these profiles before and enjoyed the perspective.—
The URL: http://nobullying.com/portrait-and-profile-of-a-bully/ ]]>
Gayle Grass contacted me the other day to let me know that you can download a collection of no-cost ebooks featuring Iris The Dragon. From the site: “One dragon, four seasons, and lots of drama and challenges down by the riverbank. Download your reader format and start the discussion. All books are medically vetted, endorsed, and represent a superb resource for kids, parents, teachers, and health care practitioners to discuss mental health issues.”—
The URL: http://www.iristhedragon.com/bookstore.html ]]>
I found this on Ian Jukes’ Twitter feed. From the site: “Before you turn in the key to your classroom door and head out into the sun for the summer, there are three courageous questions you might want to ask parents at the end of this year.” Might make for some interesting end-of-year reflection.—
The URL: http://www.brilliant-insane.com/2015/06/3-courageous-questions-great-teachers-ask-parents-end-year.html ]]>
This is kicking around Twitter this morning. From the article: “Looking for tools and strategies for effective assessment in project-based learning? To support you, we’ve assembled this guide to helpful resources from Edutopia and beyond.” Author Andrew Miller has assembled a long list of tools and sorted them by Best Practices for PBL Assessment, PBL and Standardized Tests, Research on PBL Assessment, and Additional Resources.—
The URL: http://www.edutopia.org/pbl-assessment-resources?utm_content=resource-roundup&utm_campaign=pbl-assessment-resources&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialflow&utm_term=link ]]>
My work pals, Noel Taylor and Karly Kulpa, passed this one on. The Polona Typo project, based on the new Polona API, (Polona.pl is a National Library of Poland website) makes it possible to type, share and print your own sentences using thousands of letters from the books, posters and maps created over more than six centuries.—
The URL: http://typo.polona.pl/en/ ]]>
Teacher List Member, Charlie Gerancher, suggested a look at GCF Learn Free. Says Charlie, “GCF Learn Free is a fantastic resource. It has a wealth of videos and interactive tutorials. I just used one of the videos this week to discuss the parts of a computer system.” From Microsoft Office and email to reading, math, and more, GCFLearnFree.org offers 125 tutorials, including more than 1,100 lessons, videos, and interactives, at no cost to the user.—
The URL: http://www.gcflearnfree.org/ ]]>
Did you know there are more than a million different insect species in the world? When you see that crawly in your house or your picnic is invaded or you want to identify-before-you-squash, check out InsectIdentification.org. Students may browse by category or use the simple form to narrow down their options. The content is user-generated and donated, so it’s really just a best guess, not a scientifically sound identification – but fun nonetheless!—
The URL: http://www.insectidentification.org ]]>
I got this site from my pal, Bill Lomax. Raise Your Flag helps students identify areas of interest and to find companies that are hiring in those areas. It caters to youth who probably don’t have a degree or diploma or perhaps who don’t have much idea of what they want to do. It might be a good time of year to have this one in your back pocket!—
The URL: http://raiseyourflag.com ]]>