Symbaloo: an easy way to organize and share website with your students

Symbaloo offers a unique way to share websites with your students. Simply create your own webmix, add the sites that you love, and share.  I love the graphic format and how easy it is to view the webmixes that have been previously created by others.  I made the example below in less than a minute. Each webmix can be shared publicly or kept private and embedded into personal webpages.

Skype in the Classroom

I know that I have written about this before, but it's worth repeating.  Skype in the Classroom has become one of my absolute favorite 21st century tools.  To ensure success in today's world, our students not only need to be critical thinkers, innovators, and excellent communicators, but they also need to know how to do these things working with a diverse group of people who are possibly located in other areas of the world.  It is so easy to search for and post a project on Skype in the Classroom.  This year alone, I have posted one project and found another just through a quick search.  Our 8th graders used Skype to talk to a class in Canada about The Outsiders,  I have connected with authors to conduct Q&A sessions with our book club, and we expanded our book club to a include a group in a Michigan school.  Just a few days ago my 5th graders mentioned that they wanted to learn how to use Skype.  That led me to create a new project that I have posted below to prove just how easy it is to use.  If you are not ready to post a project yet, just browse around to get examples of projects that others have already posted.  I think that you will be surprised at just how many projects can fit your classroom.

Publish ebooks with your Students

Our students write some great things.  How exciting would it be for them to actually publish their writing online for others to view?  What if they could create their own ebooks to share with the world?  This is actually very easy to do using Simple Booklet.  While there are other ebook publishing tools on the web, Simple Booklet allows users to include audio, video, text, links, and images all in one place.  Once published, students will have created an actual ebook that can be embedded into websites or shared with family and friends.  While accounts are free, educators can upgrade to a free educator account, which gives them access to all of the extras that are included with premium accounts.  I love how easy this tool is to use and how professional the finished version appears. 

Wikis- Great Tools for Teaching and Learning

I love wikis. I love having a classroom space where I can post resources, links, tools, student projects, and have a conversation with my students. I love that my students have access to this space 24/7 and, if I give them the power to do so, they can edit and add to this workspace as well. All of this happens with a free wiki account. Wikispaces and PB Works are two of my favorites. They offer safe secure work spaces for educators.  Each is as easy to use as familiar word processing programs.

There are also many wikis out there created to share resources with fellow educators.  The two examples below were awarded best educational wiki and runner-up, respectively, at the 2011 Edublog Awards. 
ICT Magic- This is a great resource for tips and tools related to educational technology.
Resources for History Teachers- Maintained by teachers and students who are part of the History Teacher Education Program in the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, this wiki hosts a plethora of resources related to teaching history at all levels.

Here are a few other noteable wikis that I love:
Cool Tools for Schools- If you are searching for the latest Web 2.0 tools to use with students, this is the place to browse.  A comprehensive list of tools is arranged by type.
Educational Origami Wiki- A great wiki about teaching in the 21st century with tools, tips, and strategies galore.
WebTools4u2use-  Another great list of Web 2.0 tools and applications for the 21st century classroom.

Pearltrees: Mind-mapping and Social Bookmarking in One

Pearltrees could be a great tool to use with students.  It is a mind-mapping and social bookmarking tool all in one.  After creating a Pearltree on a specific topic, you simple add a new "pearl" or website link.  You can continue to add to the Pearltree as new websites are found.  What a great tool to use during a research project or as a cumulative list of important class websites.  See an example below to get an idea of how it works.

Learn it in 5- Online Technology Professional Development

It can be difficult to keep up with the technological changes of our times.  That's why I love Learn it in 5.  This site is focused specifically on educator technology professional development.  By watching short (five minutes or less) video clips, you can learn about a new tool or gadget.  Want to learn how to create a classroom blog or a podcast?  Videos are available to teach you just that.  There are also videos for your students.  This is the perfect resource for the busy teacher who also attempts to keep up with innovative classroom technologies.

Sweet Search: A Reliable, Safe Search Engine for Students

Those of you who know me know how frustrated I get when I see kids "Googling." I personally have nothing against Google.  (In fact, thanks to them I have this blog!)  I just do not think that a "Google" search is the best way to conduct academic research.  Our students are not sophisticated searchers nor are many of them adept at evaluating a website. 

If not Google, where do they go?  Students should always begin research with our print resources and highly reliable (and expensive) subscription databases.  (Our databases can be accessed electronically day or night, from home or school).  If students still need further information, I would like to introduce them to a search engine created especially for students with information reviewed by information professionals.  This search engine is called Sweet Search.  Since all Sweet Search indexed websites do go through a prior review, you can feel confident that students are accessing highly reliable information that fits their research needs.  I challenge you to try this with your next project and see what a difference it makes in the amount of time that students spend searching for information and the quality of information that they access.