http://blog.learningtoday.com/RSS feeds for 60http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/101887/New-Social-Networking-Sites-Educational-Twist#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/_pXBnEQul7A/New-Social-Networking-Sites-Educational-Twist<br><p>The development and posting of new websites on the internet occurs on a daily basis. Most new sites now have a social networking twist.&nbsp; The sites in this post today all have online social elements and I am reviewing them with an educational perspective and addressing how these sites can be used at home to promote learning.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/500921851_9aa5a0a5a0-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="500921851 9aa5a0a5a0 resized 600" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <h4>One Page Per Day</h4> <p><a href="http://www.onepageperday.com/" title="One Page Per Day" target="_blank">One Page Per Day</a> is a social networking/writing website.&nbsp; It encourages users to create and type a minimum of one page each day which can include poems, short stories, novels, journaling, letters, or any style of creative writing.&nbsp; Users can use their already created Twitter or Google accounts to login to this page, making it seamless to share your progress.&nbsp; Sharing your progress is not required; however you can share your writing with your online community and friends for them to get a &ldquo;glimpse&rdquo; of what you are writing.&nbsp; Your audience can also comment and provide feedback on what they are reading.&nbsp; A reminder is sent to your email or your twitter account daily to remind you to write your page every day.&nbsp; This is a great resource to get kids writing and encourages them to keep on writing their ideas. Carefully supervising the Twitter or Google accounts, reviewing the creative writing before sharing , and following up on feedback is an important responsibility of the parent when a child is using this website.</p> <h4>Pinterest</h4> <p><a href="http://pinterest.com/" title="Pinterest" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> is an invite only social bookmarking website.&nbsp; Instead of storing links to your favorites within your browser, you can actually take clips of the pages and add them into various &ldquo;boards&rdquo; that you have created on this site. Each board is user -created based on topics important to them.&nbsp; For example, I created boards called Books Worth Reading, Ed Tech, For the Home, Favorite Places, and Products I love.&nbsp; Some of these were ideas from Pinterest and others I developed on my own.</p> <p>As you are searching through the web, you can pin pictures of things that you deem are important and would fit into one of your boards.&nbsp; The picture saved to your board along with the link.&nbsp; You can access this page whenever you want to go back to the page along with being able to share this link with others who share a similar interest or whom you are already friends with on other social networking sites.</p> <p>Another benefit to this site is to see what others are bookmarking.&nbsp; In just 30 minutes on this site, I was completely inspired by the ideas of others.&nbsp; I found <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/266275396688093451/" title="ideas" target="_blank">ideas</a> for my future garden, a great <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/192880796510832177/" title="cookie recipe" target="_blank">cookie recipe</a> for an upcoming cookie exchange, and a <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/121667627403023264/" title="cool science experiment" target="_blank">cool science experiment</a> that could be done at home.&nbsp; I can see tweens and teens also getting hooked onto this site searching up topics they would enjoy learning more about as well as pinning their favorite things, sites for their classes, and sharing them with their friends online.&nbsp; Again, parental supervision is important and is a great way to share through pictures and discussion about the ideas posted.</p> <h4>Lino It</h4> <p><a href="http://en.linoit.com/" title="Lino It" target="_blank">Lino It</a> is a free digital sticky board.&nbsp; You create sticky notes that can be dragged, dropped, and resized anywhere on the virtual pin board page.&nbsp; On the sticky notes you can can add text, change colors of the post and text, as well as add pictures, videos, and attachments.&nbsp; You can also create multiple pin boards depending on the topic.&nbsp; Kids could use this website as a to-do list, a way to transport ideas for school assignments, or as a create way to create a school project like a book report or science demonstration.&nbsp; Your pin boards can also be use collaboratively and shared with others online.</p> <p>All of these tools are great social networking tools.&nbsp; They can be used not only for online fun, but can also be used for an educational twist.&nbsp; Encourage your children to check out these tools and see the create ways that they can use them to expand their learning. They are sites that you can share together and be interactive within the social networking concept that kids like to use today.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvar/" title="sylvar" target="_blank">sylvar</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/_pXBnEQul7A" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergThu, 09 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:101887http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/101887/New-Social-Networking-Sites-Educational-Twisthttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/101882/Apps-for-Learning-Grammar-Skills#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/tnkk_0UJf8g/Apps-for-Learning-Grammar-Skills<br><p>After having a discussion this week with a friend who is a teacher and mom, we realized that we didn&rsquo;t know any great apps for practicing grammar skills.&nbsp; The discussion came about because her oldest daughter was struggling to understand <a href="http://www.writingcentre.uottawa.ca/hypergrammar/partsp.html" title="the parts of speech" target="_blank">the parts of speech</a>.&nbsp; Her daughter really enjoys using her iPad so her mother thought if she could find some engaging apps, possibly in a game style format, that she could encourage her daughter to practice learning the parts of speech to help improve both her knowledge and her Language Arts grade.&nbsp; After some research, I found some excellent apps for engaging kids in learning and improving grammar skills.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/6536986067_7e1e4751e0-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="6536986067 7e1e4751e0 resized 600" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <h4>Grammar Jammers</h4> <p><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grammar-jammers-primary-edition/id386384446?mt=8" title="Grammar Jammers" target="_blank">Grammar Jammers</a>, created by Pearson, is an app to help children to practice grammar skills.&nbsp; There are three different leveled apps including primary, elementary, and middle school editions.&nbsp; The primary app is free and the other two apps cost $2.99.&nbsp; Each edition contains age-appropriate songs, rhymes, and animations to help children to remember grammar skills.&nbsp; After each singing lesson, children are provided an opportunity to take a quiz to test what they have learned.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g19bVI7nKDY" title="Here" target="_blank">Here</a> is an example of the app in action. As an adult, I really enjoyed this app and started to sing along and can see how it can really help kids to learn and remember various English grammar skills.&nbsp;</p> <h4>Grammar Games by Tap to Learn</h4> <p><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grammar-games-by-tap-to-learn/id434660444?mt=8" title="Grammar Games" target="_blank">Grammar Games</a> is another highly engaging grammar app for children in grades K-6.&nbsp; Instead of using songs like Grammar Jammers, this app utilizes pictures. The pictures are used as the learning portion of the app that helps to teach children the different grammar skills.&nbsp; The practice portion of the app is a game that has the child place the various parts of speech onto the correction area of the animated plane screen.&nbsp; This app is very easy to use and to learn.&nbsp; However, I can&rsquo;t see it being as engaging for older children as Grammar Jammers.</p> <h4>Painless Grammar Challenge</h4> <p><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/painless-grammar-challenge/id449448025?mt=8" title="Painless Grammar Challenge" target="_blank">Painless Grammar Challenge</a> is a quiz and game based review app created by Barron&rsquo;s.&nbsp; This app provides children with grammar quizzes.&nbsp; If the child receives and 80 or above on the quiz, then it opens up the ability for the child to play a grammar-based game.&nbsp; The downside, as noted in many reviews, &nbsp;was that there was no feedback given on what answers were incorrect and why.&nbsp; This made it difficult if a child didn&rsquo;t understand the concept for them to unlock the game modes.&nbsp; I can see this quickly sending a child into &ldquo;frustration level&rdquo;.&nbsp; However, if a parent is working with the child to help build the skills, then they could then provide the feedback.&nbsp; Hopefully, there will be an update soon for this app to fix these problems and it could potentially be a great app for grammar review.</p> <h4>Grammar Dragon Education</h4> <p><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grammar-dragon/id397730260?mt=8" title="Grammar Dragon Education" target="_blank">Grammar Dragon Education</a> is an app designed for 2^nd-6^th graders to learn the parts of speech as well as vocabulary and sentence structure.&nbsp; &nbsp;This game-based program has children read passages to determine the parts of speech.&nbsp; As they answer correctly, they are moved through the castle to try to save their friends from the dragon.</p> <p>By just digging a little deeper into the App Store, I was able to find many great grammar apps that can help children to learn and practice grammar skills.&nbsp; These apps would be great additions for home learning to help build upon skills learned in school and provide a practice environment.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveholmes/" title="DaveHolmes" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/barcelonadigital/" title="BarcelonaDigital" target="_blank">BarcelonaDigital</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/tnkk_0UJf8g" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergTue, 07 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:101882http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/101882/Apps-for-Learning-Grammar-Skillshttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/101528/Poptropica-Fun-Educational-Site-for-Kids#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/_Nvg6TPyJaY/Poptropica-Fun-Educational-Site-for-Kids<br><p><a href="http://www.poptropica.com/" title="Poptropica" target="_blank">Poptropica</a> is one of the top 15 educational sites for children in 2012 as picked by eBiz.&nbsp; Many of the other websites that were provided on this list were popular family household names like Nick, PBS, Club Penguin, and Yahoo Kids.&nbsp; I had not heard of Poptropica until reading this article.&nbsp; I then realized it was created by Family Education Network (part of Pearson), the same creators of Funbrain.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/2012-01-27_104354-resized-600.png" border="0" alt="poptropica" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <h4><b>Game Plot &amp; Learning</b></h4> <p>Upon first glance, this looks like a great online game for children to not only have fun playing in an imaginary world, but it also emphasizes learning.&nbsp;&nbsp; Children enter into the virtual world to answer questions, read stories, and play games.&nbsp; Kids create their own character that travels through the various islands and solve mysteries based on real historical events.</p> <p>The first step of the game is to create your character.&nbsp; Based on your gender and age, they give you a variety of characters and characteristics to choose from when developing your main character.&nbsp; You then choose your island.&nbsp; Once on your island, you are faced with various challenges and tasks.&nbsp; The first time you go to save your progress, you will need to create your free account.</p> <h4><b>Safety Features</b></h4> <p>The site boasts a safe environment for children.&nbsp; No personal identifiable information is shared with other users online.&nbsp; Parents can also setup their own account to setup a membership for their child.&nbsp; This will allow the parent to control the costs associated with the game, but does not allow the parent to access the child&rsquo;s game.</p> <p>Children are not allowed to &ldquo;chat&rdquo; with each other on the website in freeform; however they can chat via a pre-scripted chat system where users are given choices of questions and answers.&nbsp; This helps to make the environment friendly for kids.</p> <p>Users can play for free, or they can become members for a small monthly fee. Membership benefits include getting to access new levels early, purchase unlimited costumes, and access to Gold Cards, and the ability to play games with their friends.&nbsp; This online game is also available in app form for playing and learning on the go.</p> <h4><b>Overall</b></h4> <p>This site and game overall seems like a lot of fun for children.&nbsp; Besides providing an entertainment factor, it also provides children the opportunity to improve their reading skills, historical facts, and even fine motor skills (using the mouse to navigate around the islands).&nbsp; It is highly engaging, safe, and would provide a great additional learning resource for children at home.&nbsp; However, the downside is definitely that there is a cost, albeit optional, for some of the most desired features and this should be considered carefully before a parent approves the use of the site.&nbsp;</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/_Nvg6TPyJaY" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergThu, 02 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:101528http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/101528/Poptropica-Fun-Educational-Site-for-Kidshttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/101527/SOPA-PIPA-An-Educational-Prospective#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/V9Y2FaV1Py0/SOPA-PIPA-An-Educational-Prospective<br><p>On Wednesday, January 18^th, many websites protested two potential laws that were slated to be voted into law on January 24^th.&nbsp; The two Acts, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act) were intended originally to protect intellectual property and goods from being illegally pirated and copied by not allowing websites to earn ad supported money.&nbsp; However, the vague wording of the acts allowed more open interpretation that could have extended to a broader censoring of the Internet in the United States.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/6718556343_d4c263b567-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="sopa" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <h4><b>January 18th</b></h4> <p>Children and teens who were using the Internet on January 18^th were confronted with &ldquo;blacked out&rdquo; websites and were &nbsp;provided with an explanation of the protest through sites like Wikipedia, Google, and Amazon.&nbsp; Many children also signed the protests and got involved in the government by calling and emailing their local representatives as suggested by the websites.&nbsp; Students wanted to learn more about the issues.</p> <h4><b>Learning Opportunities from SOPA &amp; PIPA</b></h4> <p>They were definitely curious and came to adults and parents to find out more.&nbsp; This event provided a great teachable moment at home for learning not only about the Internet, censorship, and freedom of speech, but also about legislation and how the government writes laws, votes, and passes laws.</p> <p>Wikipedia has a vast amount of information regarding <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act" title="SOPA" target="_blank">SOPA</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PROTECT_IP_Act" title="PIPA" target="_blank">PIPA</a>.&nbsp; These would be great resources to refer to when speaking with children about the two proposed laws.&nbsp; Another blog resource <a href="http://parentinggeekly.blogspot.com/2012/01/talking-to-your-kids-about-sopa.html" title="&ldquo;Parenting Geekly&rdquo;" target="_blank">&ldquo;Parenting Geekly&rdquo;</a>, has information that is directed in helping parents to explain SOPA to their children by using examples that kids can relate to easily.</p> <p>Resources for children to learn about the First Amendment include <a href="http://www.freedomforum.org/packages/first/curricula/educationforfreedom/L01main.htm" title="Education for Freedom" target="_blank">Education for Freedom</a> and <a href="http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin298.shtml" title="Learning &amp; Living the First Amendment" target="_blank">Learning &amp; Living the First Amendment</a>.&nbsp; Education for Freedom provides activities that can be done in the classroom or at home including reading and understanding the first amendment and learning about heroes who have voiced their opinions to make positive change.&nbsp; This site also has many links to other great resources.&nbsp;</p> <p>This topic also provides an opportunity to teach your children about how a Federal Act becomes a law. <a href="http://www.ehow.com/about_6329120_act-become-federal-law_.html" title="eHow" target="_blank">eHow</a> has an easy to read site about the steps and process.&nbsp; The Act starts as a draft that is led by a senator or representative, is it then introduced to the House and Senate, a committee will hear presentations and testimonies on the bill, if it is approved it is bought to the Floor, debated more, and then voted on.&nbsp; If the vote passes, it is presented to the President for him to sign the Act into Law. <a href="http://www.cyberlearning-world.com/lessons/civics/lp.bill_to_law.htm" title="Cyber Learning World" target="_blank">Cyber Learning World</a> has a great visual of this process that can help children to understand the process.</p> <h4><b>Resolution</b></h4> <p>The strong standing that was shown by individuals and Internet sites on January 18^th led senators and congressmen to retract their opinions and support for the two acts.&nbsp; The vote that was to be held on the 24^th was canceled and both acts were tabled indefinitely.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveholmes/" title="DaveHolmes" target="_blank">DaveHolmes</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/V9Y2FaV1Py0" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergTue, 31 Jan 2012 13:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:101527http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/101527/SOPA-PIPA-An-Educational-Prospectivehttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/100709/Technology-Tracking-Transportation#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/mrgCPDe654E/Technology-Tracking-Transportation<br><p>Over the past few years, &nbsp;many public transportation and university transportation systems have taken advantage of the lowering costs of GPS technology for riders to track and better estimate arrival and departure times of buses, trains, and subways/metro lines.&nbsp; Riders then have a more accurate time of when to arrive at their stop and when they will make it to their destination.&nbsp; This means riders do not have to guess if they missed their bus or wait outside in bad weather (rain, heat, snow).&nbsp; Riders can check this information from a Smartphone app (apps vary depending on the city), or via digital bus signs that keep updated information on the various locations, stops, and times.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/2633827705_36655b897c-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="gps" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <h4><b>GPS Technology Tracking School Buses</b></h4> <p>Now this technology is even being utilized for K-12 public and private school bus systems.&nbsp; However, this has been very controversial.&nbsp; The intention behind the technology was to help school districts and parents to keep track of the children entering and exiting the bus as well as bus locations and times.&nbsp; For example, parents can be updated with when the bus arrives in the morning and when will the bus drop off their children in the afternoon.&nbsp; Some individuals see this as a great advantage to provide more accurate times and offers the ability to track the school bus and to notify teachers and parents if a bus is arriving late because of weather or traffic.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>This technology has been adapted by not only tracking the bus with a GPS system, but also tracking the student with a frequency identification ID tag.&nbsp; This ID tag is placed on the child&rsquo;s backpack and then the parent and school district can tell if the child got on the bus, which bus they got on, and when they got off the bus.&nbsp; It uses technology to check the child on and off of the bus, but does not follow the child&rsquo;s every move like a GPS system.&nbsp; This is system can be deemed as invasive or helpful depending on the parent.</p> <p>Many school districts are paying the expense to have these GPS and ID cards installed and created to help to provide safe and traceable transportation for students, increase efficiency in their bus routes, and track accidents or other delays that the buses may encounter.&nbsp; This new technology can be a great service to provide for parents and school officials, but everyone must have a complete understanding of the system.</p> <h4><b>Articles to Learn More</b></h4> <ol> <li><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/30/local/la-me-nextrip-20110530" title="Bus-tracking technology comes to LA County" target="_blank">Bus-tracking technology comes to LA County</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.fieldtechnologies.com/duke-university-launching-real-time-gps-tracking-system-for-bus-fleet/" title="Duke University Launching Real-Time GPS Tracking System for Bus Fleet" target="_blank">Duke University Launching Real-Time GPS Tracking System for Bus Fleet</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/GPS-palos-heights-school-district-128-zpass.html" title="Technology Tracks Schoolbus Kids" target="_blank">Technology Tracks Schoolbus Kids</a></li> </ol> <p><a href="http://www.landairsea.com/gps-tracking-blog/gps-tracking-coming-to-a-school-bus-near-you/" title="GPS Tracking Coming to a School Bus Near You" target="_blank">GPS Tracking Coming to a School Bus Near You</a></p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mugland/" title="aaronx" target="_blank">aaronx</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/mrgCPDe654E" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergThu, 26 Jan 2012 13:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:100709http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/100709/Technology-Tracking-Transportationhttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/100974/BYOD-Education#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/1ZjzGVKSsE0/BYOD-Education<br><p><a href="http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/B/BYOD.html" title="BYOD" target="_blank">BYOD</a> is the catch phrase for technology education in 2012.&nbsp; This acronym stands for &ldquo;bring your own device&rdquo;, and refers to students bringing their own technology like smartphones, tablets, and laptops to school for educational use.&nbsp; This has been traditionally done by college students, but has now spread into K-12 education.&nbsp; In the past, schools have provided the technology that students would need for the school day.&nbsp; This was done by using funding received through the government or by applying for special technology grants.&nbsp; Now schools are transferring that responsibility to the parents by asking them to purchase the technology devices needed for school, many of which students actually already own.&nbsp; This means that the school does not have to pay for or support the technology products, which was a very large yearly expenditure.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/5520292679_4ee4c0e530-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="devices" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <h4><b>Advantages</b></h4> <p>For the school district, having parents responsible for purchasing and having students bring the technology devices requested does free up a lot of education dollars that can then be spent on other resources. &nbsp;&nbsp;Typically schools will still pay for the expenditure of the e-textbooks, apps, and other online learning programs.</p> <p>For teachers, this opportunity to have technology devices in all of the classrooms, not just a lab, is amazing!&nbsp; Teachers can have students utilize &nbsp;e-textbooks, watch videos, use educational apps, research online, complete digital learning projects (photography, video/video editing, word processing, desktop publishing), all to reinforce ideas that are being taught in class.&nbsp; This type of learning is typically referred to as blended learning.&nbsp; Students are typically more engaged in learning with technology, learn 21^st century skills, and can increase learning outcomes.</p> <p>An advantage for students is that they will be able to use the same computing device in home and in school.&nbsp; This means that they would have access to all of the digital resources that they were accessing in school at home as well.</p> <h4><b>Disadvantages</b></h4> <p>One big disadvantage is that the school may not have the ability to filter out inappropriate data including videos, text, or images that are accessed on the devices that are brought into the school.&nbsp; Plans need to be in place to have filtering software (to conform to CIPA regulations) running on wireless networks, and create (and sign) an acceptable use policy that includes consequences for searching for or bringing inappropriate digital material into school along with using inappropriate apps or games during class.</p> <p>For younger students, bringing the devices to school might prove to be difficult.&nbsp; What happens if the child forgets the device on the bus or to bring the device home, what happens if the device is taken by another student?&nbsp; There must be a system in place to help younger students to keep track of their devices.</p> <p>Also, what happens if a student cannot afford to purchase the device requested by the school?&nbsp; In most instances, PTA organizations or local businesses step up to help families in need, however a plan needs to be in place to help provide the same resources for all of the students.</p> <p>Overall, with insightful planning, written school policies, and a filtered network, students can bring their own technology devices into the school to utilize them for engaging learning activities.&nbsp; This system can help to make 1:1 computing a reality in schools.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/katerha/" title="katerha" target="_blank">katerha</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/1ZjzGVKSsE0" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergTue, 24 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:100974http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/100974/BYOD-Educationhttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/100429/Tumblr-Teens#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/sZlkKyQCkM8/Tumblr-Teens<br><p>Keeping track of what is &lsquo;hip&rsquo; with teens in 2012 is important to parents.&nbsp; It is important to make sure that children are safe online, especially when using social networking sites.&nbsp; Just within the past few months I have heard my students increasingly talking about a social networking site that has been gaining popularity amongst teens called <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/" title="Tumblr" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/3265794387_def2d491ec-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="tumblr" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p>Tumblr is a social networking site that uses a shorter style of blogging in order to communicate with followers.&nbsp; It is easily described as a combination between Twitter and Facebook.&nbsp; Users share posts of text, photos, links, quotes, audio, or video and add it to their &ldquo;Tumblog&rdquo;.&nbsp; The Tumblog is their main page for Tumblr.&nbsp; The interactive nature of the site encourages others to &ldquo;reblog&rdquo;, or copy their favorite posts from other users, on their own Tumblog dashboard for their followers to see. This website has become very popular with teens because of its interactive nature.</p> <h4>Benefits</h4> <p>It is reported that the majority of users of this site are in their teens and early 20&rsquo;s.&nbsp; From speaking with several teenagers about this social networking site, it is gaining popularity because it is easy to use and allows them to interact with their friends in a more artistic way because it is much easier to post media like photos, video, and audio clips. &nbsp;After trying it out myself, it is very intuitive and easy to use.&nbsp; The only downside I have seen is that you cannot upload photos when using an iPad.&nbsp;</p> <p>After looking through Tumblr, I can see that this site is definitely easier to use than other blogging programs.&nbsp; I can quickly find individuals to follow using the Spotlight Blogs section based on the spotlight categories and by connecting with individuals that I already know.&nbsp; &nbsp;It was very seamless to setup my own Tumblog and I was able to get my first post up within minutes of using the program.&nbsp; Within 5 minutes I was up and running fully on Tumblr.</p> <h4>Drawbacks</h4> <p>However, there are definitely drawbacks to Tumblr.&nbsp; One of my concerns, especially for teenagers using this program, is that because of the nature of the website, many individuals do not use the privacy settings that are offered.&nbsp; This means that many users choose to make their posts public so that other individuals can reblog their posts.&nbsp; Unlike Facebook or Twitter, users typically create handles that do not include their real name.&nbsp; This allows a certain level of anonymity even if the blog posts are public.</p> <p>Lack of the privacy controls then allows users to possibly become &ldquo;Tumblr Famous&rdquo;, or a Tumblr user who has over 1,000 individuals following their blog.&nbsp; Sometimes Tumblr Famous individuals have insightful written or artistic posts (photos, film, paintings), but there are many others who are not positive role models for teens and may post questionable material.&nbsp; However, one of the main draws for teens to this program is because they want to earn this popularity status.&nbsp; Since some individuals have scored book deals, gain enough popularity to sell their art, or have become comedians. Teens view that using Tumblr is one way to become famous in real life.</p> <p>Encourage your teen to setup the privacy settings within Tumblr and to only follow and share information with individuals they know in real life.&nbsp; They can also block individuals that they do not want be able to request to follow their blog.&nbsp; This does limit some of the functionality of the program, however, it is a safer option for use of this program especially for younger teens.</p> <h4>Bottom Line</h4> <p>There are many positives about Tumblr.&nbsp; It is a great blogging format that makes it easy to post a variety of digital media.&nbsp; It can encourage teens to write and share their art with others. However, parents should be aware of this popular online program to ensure that their teenagers are using the program in an appropriate manner. This includes being involved in what their children are posting, reposting, individuals they are following, and that they are comfortable with the levels of privacy settings that their child is using online.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/buyalex/" title="buyalex" target="_blank">buyalex</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/sZlkKyQCkM8" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergThu, 19 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:100429http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/100429/Tumblr-Teenshttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/97322/Educational-Value-of-Streaming-Video-Resources#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/nLg2M3v-L_k/Educational-Value-of-Streaming-Video-Resources<br><p>Over the holiday break I spent time with my family, which includes my very active and curious nephew who is almost 3 years old.&nbsp; He is the most tech-savvy child I have met.&nbsp; He knows what an iPad is, how to ask for it politely, how to use it to play his games and watch his educational videos.&nbsp; He also knows what Netflix is and how &ldquo;Curious George&rdquo; is on the Netflix.&nbsp; I&rsquo;m just surprised he hasn&rsquo;t figured out how to use the remote to turn on the TV, open Netflix, and load up his favorite shows on the television, but I&rsquo;m sure it won&rsquo;t be long.</p> <p>This got me to thinking about the educational value of different at home online streaming video services and even free programming that is available.&nbsp; I know now that Netflix has child-friendly educational videos that are also high quality entertainment.&nbsp; So, what do the other services and Netflix provide?</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/2246108336_044b3e65a3-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="streaming" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p><b>Netflix</b></p> <p><a href="http://www.netflix.com/" title="Netflix" target="_blank">Netflix</a> is a fee-based online video service that has many of the top movies and TV shows available just months after their release.&nbsp; Their streaming service is relatively inexpensive to stream straight to your computer, TV, or mobile device.&nbsp;</p> <p>Netflix has a wide variety of programming that is specifically geared for children.&nbsp; The program is also easy enough for a young child to load their own videos once they are added to the favorites list.&nbsp; They are also in the process of beta-testing a kid-friendly version of the app to be used on mobile devices.&nbsp; Some shows available on this service are Sponge Bob, Phineas &amp; Ferb, The Backyardigans, Dora the Explorer, Curious George, Barney and Baby Einstein.&nbsp; There are also top children&rsquo;s movies like Toy Story 3 and Tangled.&nbsp; Many of the children&rsquo;s programming options on Netflix have educational value like teaching lessons about social skills, letters, numbers, reading, second language skills, and even science.</p> <p><b>Hulu</b></p> <p><a href="http://www.hulu.com/" title="Hulu" target="_blank">Hulu</a> is a video streaming website that has both current and classic television shows from many of the major stations along with select movies.&nbsp; The free version of Hulu has a limited number of shows and movies that can be viewed in standard definition through a computer with some advertisements and commercials.&nbsp; However, there are still many free classic shows and movies that would be perfect for children like He-Man, the Pink Panther cartoons, Modern Marvels, Pocahontas, and Legend of Camelot.</p> <p><a href="http://www.hulu.com/plus?src=topnav" title="Hulu Plus" target="_blank">Hulu Plus</a>, for a small fee, allows the users access to more television shows and movies that can be played not only through the computer, but also on most gaming systems, Blu-ray players, Internet connected televisions, tablet devices, all Apple products, and any computer connected to the Internet.&nbsp;</p> <p>The one advantage of Hulu over Netflix is that the current television shows are aired along with the actual season of the show rather than after the fact.&nbsp; There also isn&rsquo;t a wide variety of educational cartoons available on Hulu.&nbsp; A good free alternative would be <a href="http://jaroo.com/">Jaroo</a>.&nbsp; They have shows including Paddington Bear, Strawberry Shortcake, and Madeline.</p> <p><b>Other Streaming Video Resources</b></p> <p>About.com has a great <a href="http://desktopvideo.about.com/od/watchingonlinevideo/tp/educationalvideos.htm" title="list of resources" target="_blank">list of resources</a> that provide free online streaming educational (and entertaining) videos for children.&nbsp; One of these sites is <a href="http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/kids" title="National Geographic" target="_blank">National Geographic</a>.&nbsp; This site has many video clips that are fun, interesting, and educational that you could watch along with your child.&nbsp; It may spur interests that can then be further explored like visiting a zoo, going &ldquo;bug hunting&rdquo;, or researching more online.</p> <p>Another great online streaming video resource is Story Online.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.storylineonline.net/" title="Story Online" target="_blank">Story Online</a> is a website where famous individuals like actors and actresses are taped reading stories aloud.&nbsp; This would be great to play for a younger child at bedtime using a tablet computer.</p> <p>There are so many online streaming video options these days that can provide a wealth of educational programming for children.&nbsp; Why not take a look into a few of these resources to expand your child&rsquo;s mind?</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/neotint/" title="neotint" target="_blank">neotint</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/nLg2M3v-L_k" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergTue, 17 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:97322http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/97322/Educational-Value-of-Streaming-Video-Resourceshttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/99578/Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Day-Home-Learning-Activities#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/o5XcSXdP_Pw/Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Day-Home-Learning-Activities<br><p>Martin Luther King Jr. Day is on Monday, January 16^th.&nbsp; On this day we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King and his accomplishments in leading the civil rights movement.&nbsp; He fought to fight racial discrimination.&nbsp; Just days after his death, a bill was introduced to establish his birthday as a federal holiday, but this was not officially passed until 1983.&nbsp; Martin Luther King Jr. Day was not nationally observed by all of the United States until 2000.&nbsp; This means that many students do not have school this day, however learning opportunities are abundant at home for children to learn about the importance of this holiday and the impact that Dr. Martin Luther King made on society.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/5360731135_fc0fb91acf-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="MLK Jr." class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p><b>Activities for Elementary-aged Children</b></p> <p>There are many books recommended for parents to read to or along with their children about Martin Luther King Jr.&nbsp; <a href="http://holidays.kaboose.com/martin-luther-king-celebrate.html" title="Kaboose" target="_blank">Kaboose</a> has a list of great picture books that can help parents to be involved in teaching their children about Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement, and racial equality.&nbsp; This site also has information about songs, online activities, background information, and family activities.&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson248.shtml" title="Education World" target="_blank">Education World</a> has activities for children that tie in learning about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with other subject areas.&nbsp; These activities were intended to be used in the classroom, but can be easily used at home without any adaption.&nbsp; One activity includes reading a biography of Martin Luther King and then determining what of the material is fact or opinion.&nbsp; Another activity provides the audio to the &ldquo;I Have a Dream&rdquo; speech and then has the child to fill the worksheet with the important phrases of the speech and then provides a basis to have a discussion at home about the speech</p> <p>This site also has links for other activities created by other websites.&nbsp; One of these <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20010108105200/http:/www.creativeteaching.com/activity_dreammobile.html" title="great activities" target="_blank">great activities</a> for home use is a crafting activity to make a mobile about dreams for their family, community, country, and world.</p> <p><b>Activities for Tweens &amp; Teens</b></p> <p>The Seattle Times has an extensive <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/mlk/" title="website" target="_blank">website</a> in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.&nbsp; This site contains a biography, speeches, photo galleries, a timeline of events, links to other resources, and even a study guide that parents can use to help learning with their children on this website.&nbsp; Parents can use the study guide as discussion questions to spur conversation about the civil rights movements and Dr. King.&nbsp; Then utilizing this site, especially the photo gallery and other sites, children and parents can work together to research more about historical events that were impacted because of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.</p> <p>The History channel also has many great <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/martin-luther-king-jr" title="resources" target="_blank">resources</a> to where families can learn about Martin Luther King Jr. including a short biography, videos, speeches, photo galleries, and interactive activities.&nbsp; The interactive activity includes a timeline that has pictures, photographs, and historical information about the important milestones in African American History.&nbsp; Many of these milestones were directly or indirectly impacted by Martin Luther King Jr.&nbsp; This would be a great website to sit down with your child and review, watch videos, listen to his speech, and use it to spur discussion at home.</p> <p>Take time this Martin Luther King Jr. Day to spend time learning and reflecting upon the positive impact that he had on America.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/" title="Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com" target="_blank">Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/o5XcSXdP_Pw" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergMon, 16 Jan 2012 15:38:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:99578http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/99578/Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Day-Home-Learning-Activitieshttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/94500/Getting-Kids-involved-in-Politics#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/6R9-lFR9C6k/Getting-Kids-involved-in-Politics<br><p>January 2012 kicks of the year with politics in the news.&nbsp; Caucuses and primaries that will lead up to the presidential election in November started on Tuesday, January 3.&nbsp; The first caucus was held in Iowa, followed by New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida over the next month.&nbsp; The primary process and presidential election are both popular topics that you can follow with your children at home through many online kid-friendly resources.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/1393411934_d3eb69cfa1-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="politics" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p><b>Learning Opportunities with the Primaries</b></p> <p>By following the primaries and elections, your children can learn about many different subjects at home.&nbsp; First and most prominent would be civics and politics by following the democratic process.&nbsp; Children can learn about the different political parties, the difference between a caucus and a primary, the issues that surround the election helping them to become an informed citizen. This <a href="http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/Lesson/659/Featured+Lesson+Idea+Primaries+and+Caucuses.aspx" title="lesson" target="_blank">lesson</a> on primaries vs. caucuses is traditionally used in the classroom however it offers current video clips to help to distinguish the differences between primaries and caucuses.&nbsp;</p> <p><b>Social Media &amp; the Election</b></p> <p>Another topic that can be incorporated with your at-home discussions can include learning about the campaign process and the effect the spin of the media may have on the election.&nbsp; The University of Michigan provides a <a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Enewsbias/links.html" title="page of links" target="_blank">page of links</a> that help children to learn about media bias.&nbsp; Different topics like word choice, omission, debate, sources, geography, objectivity, affiliation, and medium are provide.&nbsp; This is a resource that you could work with your child to understand media bias and how it has an effect on an election.&nbsp; Media sources could also be discussed including social media like Twitter and Facebook and how they will impact the election.&nbsp; This <a href="http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/bestoftv/2012/01/03/iowa-velshi-gop-twitter-numbers.cnn" title="video" target="_blank">video</a> on CNN analyzes the social media trends to see who is being mentioned the most on Twitter and the positive or negative spin that is can have on their campaign.&nbsp; Following along on social media is a great way to get teenagers interested in following the primary elections.</p> <p><b>Mapping Skills &amp; Voting</b></p> <p>Mapping and graphing can also be taught at home by graphing the percentages that each candidate earns during a primary or a caucus in each state (or maybe your home state).&nbsp; The winners can then be added onto a <a href="http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/us_nl.pdf" title="map of the United States" target="_blank">map of the United States</a> and added up to determine the Republican nominee.</p> <p><b>Following the Primaries though Technology</b></p> <p>At home, you can also view the <a href="http://www.2012presidentialelectionnews.com/2012-republican-primary-schedule/" title="Primary Schedule" target="_blank">Primary Schedule</a> online to see which states will vote next, or even review the <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2012/iowa-caucus-jan-3" title="Iowa Caucus Results" target="_blank">Iowa Caucus Results</a>.&nbsp; As the primary elections take place, many of the popular news websites will have interactive sites updated following the elections as they are happening.&nbsp; These sites will include percentage and number of votes per candidate, percentages and maps of precincts reporting, the gender of the voters, and streaming video.&nbsp; This would be a great after dinner activity to watch and follow along with your children.&nbsp; Another activity would be to include this <a href="http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/first-contest-of-the-year-following-the-iowa-caucuses/#more-95759" title="lesson" target="_blank">lesson</a> that was designed to be used following the Iowa caucus, however can be adapted, and most likely will be updated for the other primary races.</p> <p>Following the races through many of the technology tools is a great way to get kids involved at home in becoming an informed citizen.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/9313013@N04/" title="freddthompson" target="_blank">freddthompson</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/6R9-lFR9C6k" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergThu, 12 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:94500http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/94500/Getting-Kids-involved-in-Politicshttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/88433/Learning-with-Lego#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/ftU4niXYYoM/Learning-with-Lego<br><p>Lego blocks have long been a fun, educational, and engaging toy.&nbsp; Building police stations, airplanes, and Star Wars ships through little squares that lock together easily, remain steady through building, but come apart easy enough to build all over again have been a part of several generations now.&nbsp; The educational potential from Legos includes learning colors, building gross and fine motor skills, following directions, free play and use of imagination, and concepts of engineering (involving math and science) to develop different Lego environments.&nbsp; However, if you walk down the Lego aisle at the toy store, you will find toys that they are mainly marketed to boys.&nbsp; This stereotype of Lego blocks being for boys only is not always adhered to even though the toys are more marketed towards boys.&nbsp; I remember when I was a child, growing up near Detroit, that I was definitely more interested in Lego sets and cars than the stereotypical dolls and doll houses.&nbsp; As an adult, I am definitely interested that Lego is taking a new spin and is changing this January by introducing Lego sets specifically for girls.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/6044712110_c8029f5620-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="legos" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p><b>Lego Friends &ndash; Positive Addition</b></p> <p>After extensive research from the company, they are launching this month <a href="http://friends.lego.com/en-us/default.aspx?icmp=COHomeNewsUSFriends" title="Lego Friends" target="_blank">Lego Friends</a>.&nbsp; The launch of this product starts with five building sets that are developed around new female minifigures characters, called &ldquo;Ladyfigs&rdquo;.&nbsp; Mia, Emma, Andrea, Stephanie, and Olivia each have their own building sets and companion stories.&nbsp; For example, Mia is a veterinarian and she has a vet office, a stable, a puppy house, and a dog show.&nbsp; The themes, colors of the building blocks, Ladyfigs, and stories will attract even more girls to play with Lego.&nbsp; It is also great that all of the new sets are also interchangeable with all of the other Lego sets.&nbsp; The Ladyfig can even work with other sets and has the same grasp as the minifigs so they can hold tools, wands, and other accessories from other kits.&nbsp; This means that the learning potential has increased double for girls.</p> <p><b>Lego Friends &ndash; Questioning Stereotypes</b></p> <p><br /> While it seems great that Lego is putting out a product with the girl consumer in mind, there are a few drawbacks to the product thus far.&nbsp; All of the new Lego Friends sets seem to include stereotypical &ldquo;girl&rdquo; themes, except for Olivia.&nbsp; Not every girl goes through the &ldquo;Princess Phase&rdquo; and wants to play with purple and pink building blocks that help to build a restaurant or a party planning business.&nbsp; Also, the sets are far less complex to build than the &lsquo;boy&rsquo; counter-part Lego.&nbsp; This in turn means that the girls are not getting the same challenge from the Lego Friends sets as they would with traditional Lego sets like Lego City or Lego Star Wars.&nbsp;</p> <p>Lego Friends can be a great method to get girls interested in Lego to then choose some of the other sets to combine in with their Lego Friends sets.&nbsp; It will provide girls with an additional opportunity to gain the many skills that can be learned from building and playing with Lego blocks.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsdkrebs/" title="mrsdkrebs" target="_blank">mrsdkrebs</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/ftU4niXYYoM" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergWed, 11 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:88433http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/88433/Learning-with-Legohttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/85955/New-Year-s-Resolutions-Collaboration-Technology#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/KMlfZZ_opa0/New-Year-s-Resolutions-Collaboration-Technology<br><p>Goal setting is a great activity for kids.&nbsp; Coming up with meaningful and attainable goals is a great way to build self-esteem and aiming to reach for higher successes.&nbsp; The start of a new year is a great time to sit down with your children as a family to build both personal and family resolutions and goals.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/4235031833_7a54bde7be_z-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="new years resolutions" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p><b>Collaborating to Come up with Goals</b></p> <p>A positive way to share these goals is through collaboration.&nbsp; By collaborating with others in building your goals, you can achieve several things.&nbsp; Others have an outside perspective to provide critical feedback on weaknesses that you should strive to improve upon, for example, arriving on time for sport practices, completing homework assignments before dinner time, having family dinner time at least 5 nights a week, or going to bed by 10 pm on school/work nights to be well rested.&nbsp; Discussing goals with others also holds you to be more accountable.&nbsp; The other people you share your goals with can help you to achieve your goal through reminders, help, or sometimes even persuasion.</p> <p><b>Sharing Goals through Technology</b></p> <p>Taking collaboration one step further beyond sharing with your goals with your family would be to build and share your goals with your social networking communities through technology like Facebook and Twitter.&nbsp; Having all of your friends and family involved casts a wider net of responsibility and support to help achieve your goals.&nbsp; These technologies also help you to update your progress of reaching and maintaining the goals.&nbsp; This should be done at least once a month to help hold yourself and your children accountable for their goals.&nbsp; Including pictures with these posts is also a great motivator.&nbsp; As a parent, take a picture of that yummy Wednesday meal you make for your family. For a child, post that grades have gone up from sticking to your goal of finishing your homework before dinner.&nbsp; Revisiting your goal and sharing it with others will help you to continue to strive to reach your goal.</p> <p>Another way to share your goals online is through the various goal trackers.&nbsp; For example, <a href="http://www.joesgoals.com/" title="Joe&rsquo;s Goals" target="_blank">Joe&rsquo;s Goals</a> is free and easy to use tracking system.&nbsp; You setup your free account and then you can gauge your success by marking green checks for successes, red x&rsquo;s for setbacks, and a journal to keep notes reflecting on what make your successful or unsuccessful on reaching the goal that week.&nbsp; You can keep track of multiple goals on the same calendar and it is easy to share on a personal blog or other social networking sites.&nbsp; Another example is <a href="http://www.43things.com/" title="43Things" target="_blank">43Things</a>.&nbsp; On this website, you list your top 3 goals and then you are paired with other individuals online that share the same goals.&nbsp; You can also share this list on Facebook or in a printable version to share with family.</p> <p>Creating and sharing goals and resolutions is an activity for everyone in the family.&nbsp; Goals can directly impact health, wellbeing, happiness, and success.&nbsp; It is important for children to create attainable goals and follow up on achieving these goals by making them known to their friends and family who can provide support and encouragement to help reach the goals.</p> <p><b>Ideas for Family &amp; Children Resolutions &amp; Goals</b></p> <ol> <li><a href="http://www.education.com/magazine/article/New_Years_Resolutions/" title="New Year&rsquo;s Resolutions for Families" target="_blank">New Year&rsquo;s Resolutions for Families</a></li> <li><a href="http://pediatrics.about.com/od/parentingadvice/a/06_kid_resolutn.htm" title="New Year&rsquo;s Resolutions for Kids" target="_blank">New Year&rsquo;s Resolutions for Kids</a></li> </ol> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidreber/" title="David Reber's Hammer Photography" target="_blank">David Reber's Hammer Photography</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/KMlfZZ_opa0" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergTue, 10 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:85955http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/85955/New-Year-s-Resolutions-Collaboration-Technologyhttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/82655/How-to-Make-an-iPad-Kid-Friendly#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/oj-Ai8gs3lE/How-to-Make-an-iPad-Kid-Friendly<br><p>Some parents this holiday season may be purchasing an iPad for their child.&nbsp; It is one of the most requested gifts by kids for 2011.&nbsp; As a parent, you may be thinking that it is a good investment.&nbsp; It is very portable and can be used for education and entertainment.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/4517377115_c7495a6bcf-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="ipad" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p>When considering buying or if you already have purchased an iPad for a child, there are some things that you need to consider &ndash; safety features and setting up the iPad for use by a child. I am currently running an iPad pilot project in my classroom and learned these adaptions in the process of using them with my students.&nbsp; Different levels of restrictions and modifications can be applied for children of different age levels.</p> <h4><b>Settings</b></h4> <p>When you are setting up the iPad for your child, the first place that you want to visit is the Settings section.&nbsp; Then select Restrictions.&nbsp; You will then enable Restrictions and add a password that only you know (don&rsquo;t tell your children).&nbsp; For a younger child, you will most likely want to disable Safari, YouTube, Ping, Installing Apps, Deleting Apps, Accounts, and In-App purchases.&nbsp; In-App purchases are when a user can purchase additional apps, gaming credits, or other additional add-ons from within already purchased apps.&nbsp; Other settings in this category can be restricted or allowed depending on the age of the child or the amount of restriction you prefer on the device.&nbsp; This could include FaceTime and the Camera.&nbsp; This is an option that I turn off and on depending upon the activity and reason why the child is using the iPad.</p> <p>Within Settings, you can also make restrictions on allowed contenting and a few gaming options.&nbsp; You can set rating limitations for music, podcasts, movies, TV shows, and apps. These options are set by the standard ratings like PG, PG13, 9+, and Everyone.&nbsp; This allows you to have a lot of control over the content that your child can view and buy using an iPad.&nbsp; You can also limit adding friends or multi-player games for the games that they may purchase and load onto the iPad.</p> <p>If you would like to allow your child to be able to download and purchase items from the App Store and not complete restrict this option, you can require for the iPad to prompt for a password so that you can approve the purchase.&nbsp; Another option possible for teens and older children is to setup their own iTunes account that is not linked to a credit card.&nbsp; They can then only use the amount that they are provided on gifts cards.</p> <p>The success of keeping your child safe on an iPad is to keep your password secret.&nbsp; If your child goes into to try to remove the restrictions they will be required to enter your password, so you need to make sure that they do not know the password.</p> <h4><b>Other Options to Modify</b></h4> <p>Another option that I suggest blocking access to is iMessage.&nbsp; Under Settings, this option can also be turned off and the user will need the password to turn it back on.&nbsp; This feature allows children to send text messages for free to their friends. This option is not currently on the menu under Restrictions.</p> <p>Especially for younger child, if you choose to block Safari, the web browser, you should definitely install another child-friendly web browser.</p> <p><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mobicip-safe-browser/id299153586?mt=8" title="Mobicip" target="_blank">Mobicip</a> is a child friendly browser ($4.99).&nbsp; It provides children the ability to search that looks identical to Safari, however, if the child types in any inappropriate words, the search will be blocked.&nbsp; It also blocks the ability to access inappropriate videos on YouTube.&nbsp; You setup the browser based on your child&rsquo;s age and then content will be blocked accordingly. Premium parental controls can also be purchased to allow more customization in restricted access and setting time limits.</p> <p>The iPad can be a great educational and entertainment choice for your child this holiday season.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/teddyb109/" title="teddyb" target="_blank">teddyb</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/oj-Ai8gs3lE" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergWed, 28 Dec 2011 13:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:82655http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/82655/How-to-Make-an-iPad-Kid-Friendlyhttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/82654/Study-Helper-Apps#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/GK2RJBDX04Y/Study-Helper-Apps<br><p>Many children know how to complete homework assignments and projects without much help from their parents. However the &ldquo;art&rdquo; of studying is something that is more difficult.&nbsp; Typically, teachers will assign a quiz or test and the homework will be to &ldquo;study&rdquo;.&nbsp; However, there is not an actual task that is assigned with studying.&nbsp; Different children will find different ways to help them study successfully to review for a quiz or a test.&nbsp; This may include making flash cards of vocabulary and key facts, practicing similar math problems that they expect will be on their test, or reading through the textbook and answering review questions.&nbsp; There are many apps out on the market that can help reviewing and studying for a test easier for your child.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/4686147794_756472809f-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="apps" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <h4><b>Digital Flash Cards</b></h4> <p><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flashcards/id408490162?mt=8" title="Flashcards+" target="_blank">Flashcards+</a> is a free app to make customized digital flash cards.&nbsp; Flash cards can be used to review vocabulary and key facts that need to be memorized for a test.&nbsp; This app has built in flash cards of common topics like capitals, Spanish vocabulary, and SAT words along with other user created flash cards that were created using quizlet.com.&nbsp;&nbsp; The user can also develop their own decks of custom cards which is quick and easy to do.&nbsp; The user setups the deck name, subject, and description, and then they add the information to the front and back of the cards.&nbsp; These are then stored under &ldquo;my decks&rdquo;.&nbsp; You then select the deck, swipe up to move to the next card, swipe down to see a previous card, swipe right to see the back of the card, swipe left to move back to the front of the card, check the mark in the bottom right hand corner if you answered the card correctly. &nbsp;Select the info button to exit back out of your deck or shuffle your deck.&nbsp; Shuffling can also be done by shaking the device gently.&nbsp;&nbsp; This app is definitely a great way to study and is versatile for elementary students all the way through college aged students.</p> <h4><b>Math Manipulatives</b></h4> <p><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/virtual-manipulatives%21/id471341079?mt=8" title="Virtual Manipulatives" target="_blank">Virtual Manipulatives</a> is a popular math app.&nbsp; This program helps children learn fractions, decimals, and percents by using a fraction slide bar that can be converted into decimals, fractions, and percents.&nbsp; This way the child can visually see, move, and use the manipulative when solving problem.&nbsp; The app allows the user to draw with their finger to write out and solve a problem, move the fractions (percentages or decimals) around within the work area, press down on the fraction to see the percentage equivalent, and overall provide a visual way of solving math problems involving fractions, percentages, and decimals.&nbsp; This is a good tool to use when studying for quizzes and tests involving these concepts that are difficult for upper elementary students to master.</p> <h4><b>CliffsNotes App</b></h4> <p>I remember using <a href="http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature-study-guides/cliffsnotes-apps.html" title="CliffsNotes" target="_blank">CliffsNotes</a> in high school to help me understand and study for literature related tests.&nbsp; Some teachers considered this &lsquo;cheating&rsquo; because it provides an analysis of the book along with essay ideas.&nbsp; A student must realize that CliffNotes are created as a guide to analyze literature based on one interpretation to be used in conjunction with actually reading the book and is not the only way to view or analyze the test.&nbsp; However, I found it a valuable resource that was much more accurate and helpful than searching online for help with literature.&nbsp; The app itself is free however each book that you purchase the CliffsNotes costs $1.99.&nbsp; A free version of The Scarlet Letter is available for preview.&nbsp; Information about the book, a summary, character list, character map, chapter summaries and analysis, critical essays, quizzes, and a &ldquo;CramCast&rdquo; are provided.&nbsp; This is a great resource to help teens build critical analysis skills when reading literature.</p> <p>All of these apps are helpful in building study skills in preparation for quizzes and tests at school.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/antmcneill/" title="Ant McNeill" target="_blank">Ant McNeill</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/GK2RJBDX04Y" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergTue, 27 Dec 2011 13:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:82654http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/82654/Study-Helper-Appshttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/82536/Play-it-Loud#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/GEauSVyZQD4/Play-it-Loud<br><p>Do you ever catch your kids or students strumming their pencils to the beat of a song? Playing an invisible guitar or maybe a desk-drum set? For those interested in entertaining those kids who can get a little antsy at times, listen up. You can now really give them a chance to play some tunes with this virtual keyboard.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/2011-12-21_155354-resized-600.png" border="0" alt="keyboard" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p>The <a href="http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/steel_drums.htm" target="_blank">Virtual Keyboard</a> is an online keyboard where students can virtually play the piano, organ, saxophone, flute, pan pipes, guitar, bass and steel drums! They can play individual notes or they can create their own chords. This tool is a great way for students to practice their music and sound skills. It also could be a great introductory tool for students who are interested in learning how to play an instrument and want to practice.</p> <p>For those who do not have a strong music program in their own schools may want to introduce this tool as a supplementary tool in music education.</p> <p>There are simple instructions that show you how to play the keyboard and all the different chords are laid out for you. This is one tool that can serve as both educational and fun. A great one to show kids during their break from school. Start playing!</p> <p>Article By Lauren Grossberg</p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/GEauSVyZQD4" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergThu, 22 Dec 2011 13:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:82536http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/82536/Play-it-Loudhttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/81992/Bloom-s-Taxonomy-A-Parent-s-Guide#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/69mWFXBLcZ4/Bloom-s-Taxonomy-A-Parent-s-Guide<br><p>&ldquo;Bloom&rsquo;s Taxonomy&rdquo; is one of those teacher terms that a parent may not necessarily be familiar with, however, it is very important.&nbsp; It is a central concept to know how to use it at home in conjunction with learning activities to help your child expand their critical thinking skills.&nbsp; Critical thinking skills allow a child to thinking independently, find and fix mistakes, solve problems, evaluate alternatives, and reflect on their own beliefs.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s not something that can be learned from reading a book or completing a worksheet, however the skills are built through hands-on lessons that build beyond basic rote memorization of facts.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/5183896166_68e29d5c52-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="Bloom's taxonomy" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p><a href="http://wed.siu.edu/faculty/JCalvin/bloomstax.pdf" title="Bloom&rsquo;s Taxonomy" target="_blank">Bloom&rsquo;s Taxonomy</a> provides learning levels to increase higher order thinking skills for children of all ages.&nbsp; The levels include remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create.&nbsp; The way a parent or teacher talks to a child, engaging them in learning, and activities that they provide for learning should have a basis on Bloom&rsquo;s Taxonomy.</p> <h4><b>Remember &amp; Understand</b></h4> <p>The Remember and Understand levels are where most teachers and parents typically ask questions of their children.&nbsp; This includes questions that involve who, what, where, when, and why.&nbsp; Basically, the child just need to memorize the information and then spit it back out on a test.</p> <h4><b>Apply &amp; Analyze</b></h4> <p>At the Apply and Analyze levels, as a parent, you can take a basic activity that would require a child to learn basic facts and then add a twist.&nbsp; For example, you can ask your child to do things like predict what will happen next in a story or to predict what would happen if you made a change to the story.&nbsp; They could also share if they had to write a sequel to a story, how would it begin?&nbsp; You can ask them to illustrate a math word problem or draw a scene from their favorite part of a story they are reading.</p> <h4><b>Evaluate &amp; Create</b></h4> <p>At the Evaluate and Create levels a child would be asked to debate, work in groups, write reflective summaries about literature, make decisions and challenge situations.&nbsp; Activities at home that would integrate these activities would be teaching your child how to build a model car or a robot from a kit, have them write and perform a skit based on a topic there are learning in school, come up with their own creative project for the science fair.</p> <h4><b>Articles to Learn More about Using Bloom&rsquo;s Taxonomy at Home</b></h4> <ol> <li><a href="http://www.exquisite-minds.com/idea-of-the-week/blooms-taxonomy-critical-thinking-skills/" title="Bloom&rsquo;s Taxonomy:&nbsp; Critical Thinking Skills for Kids" target="_blank">Bloom&rsquo;s Taxonomy:&nbsp; Critical Thinking Skills for Kids</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.examiner.com/parenting-in-tampa-bay/parents-can-use-bloom-s-taxonomy-to-encourage-higher-level-learning-their-children" title="Parents Can Use Bloom&rsquo;s Taxonomy to Courage Higher Level Learning in Their Children" target="_blank">Parents Can Use Bloom&rsquo;s Taxonomy to Courage Higher Level Learning in Their Children</a></li> <li><a href="http://explorationsinmath.org/2011/11/07/bloom%E2%80%99s-taxonomy/" title="Explorations in Math:&nbsp; Bloom&rsquo;s Taxonomy" target="_blank">Explorations in Math:&nbsp; Bloom&rsquo;s Taxonomy</a></li> </ol> <p><a href="http://www.sullivan.leon.k12.fl.us/dietrich/web.htm" title="Resources on the Web:&nbsp; Bloom&rsquo;s Taxonomy" target="_blank">Resources on the Web:&nbsp; Bloom&rsquo;s Taxonomy</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/4nitsirk/" title="4nitsirk" target="_blank">4nitsirk</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/69mWFXBLcZ4" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergWed, 21 Dec 2011 13:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:81992http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/81992/Bloom-s-Taxonomy-A-Parent-s-Guidehttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/81991/Technology-Tools-to-Help-Teach-Organization#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/LFt-MKGyuf8/Technology-Tools-to-Help-Teach-Organization<br><p>Helping kids to learn how to be organized is no easy task, especially when it comes to teenagers.&nbsp; They are splitting their time between school, homework, extra-curricular activities, and maybe even some time for a little bit of fun.&nbsp; Encouraging technology (high-tech and low-tech) as a way to stay organized can help not only help your child, but your entire family keep on top of day-to-day activities and lead to more success in school learning.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/125186001_f960ffa6a7-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="technology" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <h4><b>In School</b></h4> <p>Have your child keep an agenda, whether it is paper or electronic &ndash;based.&nbsp; In this agenda, your child should write down homework assignments, upcoming quizzes and tests, project due dates, and dates and times of school functions.&nbsp; This can then be used as a check-list for at home for what the child needs to do for the evening to complete homework or study.</p> <p><a href="http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote/" title="One Note" target="_blank">One Note</a> is a software program created by Microsoft to help take notes, make lists, and organize information.&nbsp; This program is specifically designed to be integrated and sync with the computer and handheld devices like a Smartphone or tablet computer.&nbsp; You create lists, take notes, add photos, take notes by hand (rather than typing), add audio or video recordings and then share with other people or across your devices.</p> <p><a href="http://www.inclassapp.com/" title="In Class" target="_blank">In Class</a> is also an option for an electronic agenda.&nbsp; This app can be used on the iPad and allows the user to add their course schedule keep track of teachers, class notes, tasks, and a calendar.&nbsp; This program lends itself to be used by high school and college students.&nbsp; The user starts by setting up their terms, and adding their classes.&nbsp; Then they can add their teachers and their contact information.&nbsp; Tasks can be scheduled like homework, quiz dates, and projects.&nbsp; The user can also use this app for note taking in class and then the notes can be shared, emailed, or sent to your computer.&nbsp; Alarms can be set so that you don&rsquo;t forget to do important things for school.</p> <h4><b>At Home</b></h4> <p>At home there needs to be a quiet homework or study area.&nbsp; This should be an area free of distractions like televisions or other electronics.&nbsp; School resources like pens, pencils, markers, a ruler, a calculator, and similar items should be at hand to make homework an easy transition after the child gets home from school.</p> <p>As a parent, you should ask what the child has on their schedule, what they learned in school (and don&rsquo;t accept &lsquo;nothing&rsquo; as an answer), and if they need any help with projects or assignments.&nbsp; As part of this weekly routine, your child should organize their assignments.&nbsp; Set up a file to leave at home assignments that are no longer current or needed in the backpack on a day-to-day basis.&nbsp; This will help in the organization process.</p> <p>Apple products have an integrated <a href="http://www.apple.com/ipad/built-in-apps/calendar.html" title="Calendar" target="_blank">Calendar</a> and <a href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/built-in-apps/reminders.html" title="Reminders" target="_blank">Reminders</a> feature.&nbsp; The new version of the Calendar would let a user add events and activities to the calendar, include the title of the activity, date, time, alerts, and invitees.&nbsp; This would be great to schedule events like sports practices, dentist appointments, and night-time school activities.&nbsp; It is not as easy to use for a school-based agenda to write homework but could be used in lieu of a home calendar.&nbsp; Reminders allows you to make quick to-do list.&nbsp; The user can add items to the list and then check them off as they are completed.&nbsp; The reminders can be organized by the date and can be synced to your Apple Calendar or Microsoft Outlook.</p> <p>Staying organized is an important tool to be successful in school.&nbsp; Helping your child to learn to be organized and providing them with the appropriate tools can help them reach their learning and personal goals.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenraymondparker/" title="Steven Parker" target="_blank">Steven Parker</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/LFt-MKGyuf8" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergTue, 20 Dec 2011 13:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:81991http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/81991/Technology-Tools-to-Help-Teach-Organizationhttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/81724/Watch-it-Teachers#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/IFQAjCe9z2c/Watch-it-Teachers<br><p>YouTube has been a very helpful tool in schools and other learning programs around the world. It is an excellent tool to find videos that help students learn, teach and grow from others. You can find lesson from teachers, videos made by students and other educational material. Many teachers cannot access YouTube from a school computer and have been missing out on these wonderful opportunities. &nbsp;</p> <p>Google has recently announced that they will launch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/schools?feature=inp-bl-paq" target="_blank">YouTube for Schools</a>. This new network setting allows schools administrators to have the ability to grant access only to screened content on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/education" target="_blank">YouTube EDU</a>. Once this setting is enabled in your school&rsquo;s Google account, you can use it.</p> <p>Just as this video shows, YouTube videos can engage students, spark a conversation and bring lessons to life, among many other things. With free access, you can experience all of these wonderful and educational videos to do those things with.</p> <p><br /><object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;" width="640" height="360" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NegRGfGYOwQ?version=3&amp;feature=player_detailpage" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed style="height: 390px; width: 640px;" width="640" height="360" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NegRGfGYOwQ?version=3&amp;feature=player_detailpage" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" /></object></p> <p><br /> Parents and teachers can find some amazing quality YouTube videos to use in their classrooms. In <a href="http://www.youtube.com/teachers?feature=inp-bl-paq" target="_blank">YouTube Teachers</a>, you can find things like math lessons, science experiments and lectures. Safe content which includes no comments or related videos, can help you feel confident in the material you are showing.</p> <p>Parents and teachers should both check out this network to share and education their kids!</p> <p>Article By Lauren Grossberg</p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/IFQAjCe9z2c" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergThu, 15 Dec 2011 14:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:81724http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/81724/Watch-it-Teachershttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/81126/Spelling-Vocabulary-Homework-Help-Websites-for-Kids#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/J-4-d_E_8A8/Spelling-Vocabulary-Homework-Help-Websites-for-Kids<br><p>Spelling and vocabulary are key concepts that are stressed in elementary school.&nbsp; They are the building blocks for reading comprehension which is very important for all subject areas.&nbsp; Typical elementary-aged students will come home with a list of words that they need to learn to spell and understand the meaning for on a weekly basis.&nbsp; There are many online websites that can help children to practice both words provided by their teachers along with expanding their vocabulary on their own using online resources.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/492908123_e3a840ef88-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="homework help" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <h4><b>Spelling City</b></h4> <p><a href="http://www.spellingcity.com/" title="Spelling City" target="_blank">Spelling City</a> is a very versatile spelling website. &nbsp;&nbsp;Your child can add their spelling list on the homepage and then you can choose to learn them through different options include Spelling Test, Teach Me, and Play a Game.&nbsp; Spelling Test option has the computer speak the word, use it in a sentence, and then the child enters the words on the list.&nbsp; They can then be checked and the website provides feedback.&nbsp; The Teach Me section allows the child to click on the word to hear the pronunciation, spelling, and the word in a sentence.&nbsp; The Play a Game section allows children to play games like word scrambles, word searches, missing letters, and hangman to practice their spelling words.&nbsp; Other options like Vocab Test and Flash Cards are for premium members only.</p> <h4><b>Fun Brain &ndash; Spell Check</b></h4> <p><a href="http://www.funbrain.com/spell/" title="Spell Check" target="_blank">Spell Check</a> is a game created by the website Fun Brain.&nbsp; In this game, children are given a list of four words, three are spelled correctly and one is not.&nbsp; The child then needs to place a check mark next to the word that is spelled incorrectly.&nbsp; Then the child is challenged to spell the word correctly.&nbsp; This game continues and keeps track of each round.&nbsp; One way to get involved as a parent is to challenge your child to get 10 rounds correct in a row, to beat their best score, or provide another challenge that would be appropriate for their age and level.</p> <h4><b>Game Aquarium &ndash; Spelling Activities</b></h4> <p><a href="http://gamequarium.com/spelling.html" title="Game Aquarium" target="_blank">Game Aquarium</a> has links to websites where children can complete activities using their own words perhaps from a list provided by a teacher or activities to practice spelling and vocabulary in general. <a href="http://www.netrover.com/%7Ekingskid/Safari/safari.htm" title="Word Safari" target="_blank">Word Safari</a> is a lot of fun.&nbsp; You can enter in your own spelling words and then you go on a spelling safari.&nbsp; You have to guide &ldquo;Safari Boy&rdquo; to pick the letters needed to spell the word.&nbsp; You have to avoid the animals on the safari otherwise you will lose the game.&nbsp; This is great for lower elementary children.&nbsp; Other activities include games involved activities like hang man, guessing the correct spelling, filling in the missing letters, unscrambling the words, matching words to their definitions, or &lsquo;catching&rsquo; the letters to build words.</p> <p>Spelling is an important skill for children to master.&nbsp; It will help them to build vocabulary, reading comprehension, pronunciation, and correct spelling for papers and emails they will write in the future.</p> <p>Off-Line Spelling Activities</p> <ol> <li><a href="http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/spelling_activities.shtml" title="Creative ways to learn spelling words" target="_blank">Creative ways to learn spelling words</a></li> <li><a href="http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/thomas/spellact.html" title="Spelling activities for upper elementary children" target="_blank">Spelling activities for upper elementary children</a></li> <li><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/" title="Word of the Day" target="_blank">Word of the Day</a></li> </ol> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/asheborolibrary/" title="Asheboro Public Library" target="_blank">Asheboro Public Library</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/J-4-d_E_8A8" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergWed, 14 Dec 2011 14:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:81126http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/81126/Spelling-Vocabulary-Homework-Help-Websites-for-Kidshttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/81485/Is-Technology-Always-Better#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/GnS4WV_LBS8/Is-Technology-Always-Better<br><p>As the holiday season is in full-swing, many families will be having game nights as a way of bonding and spending time together.&nbsp; My family and I have been deciding what new games to purchase and play this year and the discussion came up amongst both family and co-workers about whether the high-tech games are as family-friendly and fun as the original low-tech counter parts.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/6267531176_d27161c77b-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="technology" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p>Playing games as a family also lends itself to being a great educational experience.&nbsp; Children learn how to follow rules, take turns, make informed choices, to be a humble winner or a respectful loser, build team skills, learn money management, and broaden their vocabulary.&nbsp; As the youngest child in my family, I have great memories of playing family members at Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Clue, and Scrabble.&nbsp; My older siblings challenged me and it provided a great and memorable learning experience.&nbsp; So is the choice to pass on the tradition to the next generation going high-tech or to stay with the old school board games?</p> <h4><b>Monopoly</b></h4> <p><a href="http://www.hasbro.com/monopoly/en_US/" title="Monopoly:&nbsp; Electronic Banking" target="_blank">Monopoly:&nbsp; Electronic Banking</a> is a newer version of Monopoly that allows users to swipe their credit card at the bank transactions including pay day, buying and selling property, buying and selling houses, and basically anything that includes movement of money.&nbsp; This allows the game to move faster, however it doesn&rsquo;t provide some of the tactile responses or learning opportunities that are great for children.&nbsp; You don&rsquo;t actually get to &ldquo;hold&rdquo; your property, take money from the bank, count change, or ponder over choices of &ldquo;to sell or not to sell&rdquo; as much because it seems so rote.&nbsp; My vote is for original Monopoly.</p> <h4><b>Interactive Video Games</b></h4> <p>All major video game makers have come out with interactive gaming systems that allow the user to interact with their body, voice, and movements to control the game.&nbsp; This has advantages over traditional games because it allows more interaction between the user and the game.&nbsp; Many games have been made for these systems that are family-friendly and make great additions to game night.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.ea.com/hasbro-family-game-night" title="Hasbro Family Game Night" target="_blank">Hasbro Family Game Night</a>, <a href="http://www.nintendo.com/sites/mp8/" title="Mario Party 8" target="_blank">Mario Party 8</a>, <a href="http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/1OTtO06SP7M52gi5m8pD6CnahbW8CzxE" title="Wii Sports" target="_blank">Wii Sports</a>, and <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Kinectimals/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8024d5308b3" title="Kinectimals" target="_blank">Kinectimals</a> are all family-friendly game night video games.&nbsp; Hasbro Family Game Night takes the traditional board games and makes them into an electronic version.</p> <h4><b>Scrabble</b></h4> <p>Scrabble has also has a technology upgrade to <a href="http://www.hasbro.com/scrabble/en_US/" title="Scrabble Flash" target="_blank">Scrabble Flash</a>.&nbsp; However, the two games have very little in common than the fact that they both have to do with building words.&nbsp; Scrabble Flash is a better one person game that challenges you to build as many words using the electronic cube letters.&nbsp; Traditional Scrabble pits you against other players to build the biggest words worth the most points using the tiles you picked up from the pile.&nbsp; I think both games are great and can be used for two different purposes but with the end goal of playing with a child to help expand their vocabulary and improve their spelling.</p> <p>My conclusion is that there is a time and place for both high-tech and low-tech games for the family to use for bonding time.&nbsp; I really enjoy playing the interactive family-style video games that have been put out by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft in the last few years.&nbsp; However, I still enjoy the old-school original versions of games like Candy land, Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue, and Pictionary.&nbsp; I think there is a time and place for both versions to be included in building and expanding your holiday gaming traditions.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/khedara/" title="KhE 龙" target="_blank">KhE 龙</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/GnS4WV_LBS8" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergTue, 13 Dec 2011 14:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:81485http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/81485/Is-Technology-Always-Betterhttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/80870/Paging-All-Students#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/LmrEcQA2qD0/Paging-All-Students<br><p>We all know how kids can get rowdy and riled up in the classroom or homeschool setting. From long hours of presentations to reports and assignments, it can be difficult at times to catch the attention of everyone. Do you ever wish you can just send the kids a text to get them to pay attention? Well, now you can!</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/2011-12-07_155242-resized-600.png" border="0" alt="classpager" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <p>With <a href="https://www.classpager.com/" title="Class Pager" target="_blank">Class Pager</a>, teachers or parents have the ability to send group messages to their students. The great feature about this tool, is that neither of the parties will see the other person&rsquo;s real cell phone number, which is a nice safety feature.</p> <p>The teacher or parent just needs to register on the site. Once there, you will get an enrollment code that you can share with your students and their parents. Once the student texts ClassPager with that same code, they will be added to the roster. The teacher can then send messages for everyone who has signed up.</p> <p>I think teachers can benefit greatly from this service if they use it to the best of their ability. It is definitely a way to keep in touch, whether it is with the students, or their parents. You can let them know what the latest news is, any upcoming events or other special information. For students, you can remind them of upcoming due dates, assignments, or just an everyday text of encouragement! There are many creative things you can do with this&hellip;what would you do?</p> <p>Article By Lauren Grossberg</p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/LmrEcQA2qD0" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergThu, 08 Dec 2011 15:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:80870http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/80870/Paging-All-Studentshttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/80724/Technology-Activities-for-Kids-Over-the-Holidays#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/zjWCMZWT3gw/Technology-Activities-for-Kids-Over-the-Holidays<br><p>There are many ways that a parent can take advantage of the upcoming holiday break to incorporate fun learning activities that involve technology.&nbsp; Opportunities including travel, visiting extended family, and holiday traditions can all be combined with technology and learning for a fun and memorable holiday season.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/6151874104_451d81b93c-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="technology" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <h4><b>Video Diary or Documentary</b></h4> <p>With increased access and ease of editing with video these days, it is very easy to get your children involved in a video project.&nbsp; One project idea would be to have your child keep a video diary of their winter vacation including trips, interesting activities, or even just hanging out.&nbsp; A few days before the end of the break, they can edit the video using a program like iMove and then put on a showcase for the family.&nbsp; If you have multiple children, you can turn this into a movie premier night with pop corn and make it a special evening.</p> <p>Another video idea would be for your child to interview family members that are visiting from out of town and build a documentary series.&nbsp; The child would have to come up with the interview questions, perform the interview, record the interview, and edit the footage to make a final video.&nbsp; The footage could then be shared to ring in the New Year.</p> <h4><b>A Year in Review</b></h4> <p>Using a presentation program like PowerPoint or Keynote, you can have your child create a presentation with a review of the past year.&nbsp; They can include family milestones, vacations, activities, or even hardships that were overcome, along with news from around the world including different aspects like politics, pop culture, or business.&nbsp; The presentation can include pictures from both family photos and from online with fun and creative captions that capture the year that has passed.&nbsp; It can even be set to music to create a suspenseful and unique ambiance.&nbsp; This presentation could then be shown on New Year&rsquo;s Eve to ring in the New Year along with the video documentaries.</p> <h4><b>Digital Recipe Book</b></h4> <p>Another activity for older children would be to get them involved in the holiday cooking and using technology.&nbsp; You and your child can transform your old recipe box into a digital recipe book.&nbsp; You can use an inexpensive app like <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-recipe-book-your-recipes/id375811859?mt=8" title="My Recipe Book" target="_blank">My Recipe Book</a> that allows the user to enter in their own recipes, add ingredients, directions, shopping lists, and pictures along with &lsquo;clipping&rsquo; recipes found online.&nbsp; This activity teaches children the basics of databases and how to create and use them in an easy to understand way.&nbsp; Then this mobile format adds for ease of use with buying the correct ingredients and the recipe will be on-hand and easy to find when you want to make the recipe.&nbsp; Finally, you can choose and cook some of the recipes together to celebrate the holiday season.</p> <h4><b>Help in Planning the Vacation</b></h4> <p>Kids are also great Internet researchers.&nbsp; You can have your child research and plan a day (or more) of your vacation for the holiday.&nbsp; If you are going to be going out of town, you can have your child research online various activities, tourist attractions, events, and restaurants.&nbsp; They can then help to make the arrangements to make their research a reality. &nbsp;Another great addition would be for your child to make a sleek-looking itinerary using a word processing program to inform all of the family members of the event for that day.&nbsp; If you are planning to stay at home during the holidays, you can still do the same activity, just planning for a &lsquo;staycation&rsquo; of activities and places to go in your area that you might not typically explore.&nbsp; Great resources for this type of activity include <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/" title="trip advisor" target="_blank">trip advisor</a>, <a href="http://www.about.com/citiestowns/" title="about.com" target="_blank">about.com</a>, and <a href="http://www.frommers.com/" title="Frommer&rsquo;s" target="_blank">Frommer&rsquo;s</a>.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dellphotos/" title="Dell's Official Flickr Page" target="_blank">Dell's Official Flickr Page</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/zjWCMZWT3gw" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergWed, 07 Dec 2011 15:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:80724http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/80724/Technology-Activities-for-Kids-Over-the-Holidayshttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/80603/Fun-damentals-for-Kids#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/feYDkvOy-jE/Fun-damentals-for-Kids<br><p>With the holidays just around the corner and Black Friday just passing, much of the technology hype for children right now revolves around holiday gift giving.&nbsp; Here are a few more top tech toys and gadgets that can combine technology, learning, and fun.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/75851796_739899694e-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="fun" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <h4><b>Scrabble Flash</b></h4> <p><a href="http://www.hasbro.com/scrabble/en_US/shop/details.cfm?guid=1584D8B3-19B9-F369-10D2-0A943216A214&amp;product_id=27312&amp;src=endeca" title="Scrabble Flash" target="_blank">Scrabble Flash</a> is a new twist to the original game Scrabble.&nbsp; There are several games, both individual and group-based, that can be played with the 5 SmartLink digital letter tiles.&nbsp; In the traditional game, each player has 60 seconds to make as many words and earn the most points using between 3 and 5 letters that are given on the SmartLink tiles.&nbsp; When the user links the tiles together to make a word, &nbsp;it will approve, track, and score the word.&nbsp; Incorrect words and with duplicates will not be recognized as words and will not count toward the total score.&nbsp;</p> <p>The second game with the tiles has the user create 5 letter words within 60 seconds with the letter changing after each correct word.&nbsp; The third game is a multi-player game where the users have to build a word out of all the letters as fast as they can and then it gets passed on to another player.&nbsp; If the timer buzzes and you have the SmartLink titles, then you are out of the game.</p> <h4><b>Fijit</b></h4> <p><a href="http://www.fijitfriends.com/" title="Fijit" target="_blank">Fijit</a> is the &ldquo;Furby&rdquo; for 2011.&nbsp; Made by Mattel, this is a robot friend designed for girls.&nbsp; The soft skin of the robot makes the robot &ldquo;cuddlier&rdquo; than what we perceive as the traditional robot.&nbsp; There are four different Fijit&rsquo;s on the market and all of them have distinct personalities.&nbsp; For a child to interact with their Figit, they just need to speak the key phrases.&nbsp; They then react to touch, dance to songs, and have voice recognition where they will respond to conversations intuitively.&nbsp; The beat detection allows the Figit to know whether it should dance slow or fast depending on the beat of the song.&nbsp; She also comes with her own songs that she sings and dances to on command.&nbsp; The future of this device also touts interaction with the use of iPad apps.&nbsp; While on the outset this device is definitely more toy than learning, it is also could be &nbsp;an introduction to get young girls interested in robotics.</p> <h4><b>Tech meets Silly Bandz</b></h4> <p>Silly Bandz, the rubbery jelly bracelets in the shapes of animals, rock instruments, and sporting accessories were a bit hit this time last year.&nbsp; This year, they have morphed to include a tech-edge.&nbsp; The new hip jelly bracelet is called the <a href="http://skanzjr.com/" title="Skanz Jr." target="_blank">Skanz Jr.</a>&nbsp; This jelly bracelet is about 1 inch thick and includes both a QR code, a bar code that can be scanned by a Smart Phone, and a numeric code.&nbsp; The bracelet can be used as a fashion statement and as a fun tech age-appropriate social networking tool for tweens.&nbsp; Each bracelet has its own QR code already imprinted into the bracelet when you buy it with eight different colors to choose from.&nbsp; Then, the child logs-in with parent permission and consent via email to edit their own Skanz homepage.&nbsp; This page is a child friendly version of a social networking site.&nbsp; No personal identification information can be collected or stored on this website.&nbsp; It is more a list of favorites and likes and dislikes.&nbsp; Without the QR code or secret numeric code the child&rsquo;s page is inaccessible to other users.&nbsp; When a friend scans the bracelet with a QR code reader, the child&rsquo;s &lsquo;social networking&rsquo; site appears.&nbsp; Cool, hip, and a center piece for playground conversation.</p> <p>Learning, fun, and gift giving can be all combined with the advancement of these new tech gifts this holiday season.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenniewoo/" title="Jennie Faber" target="_blank">Jennie Faber</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/feYDkvOy-jE" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergTue, 06 Dec 2011 15:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:80603http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/80603/Fun-damentals-for-Kidshttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/79390/Introducing-Kids-to-Robotics#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/z70qVrR9Gbg/Introducing-Kids-to-Robotics<br><p>Robots are a great tool to motivate kids to learn math, science, and technology integrated with engineering.&nbsp; There are many at-home robotics kits on the market that range in difficulty for young children through high school and college age children as well.&nbsp; This is a great at-home activity for families to do together.&nbsp; Here are some robotics kits and toys that you might consider.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/5912200144_f40ee7997a-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="robotics" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <h4><b>HexBug</b></h4> <p><a href="http://www.hexbug.com/" title="Hexbug" target="_blank">Hexbug</a> is one of the new toys on the market that is actually a robot.&nbsp; These bug-like robots are autonomous, which means that it acts on its own without human intervention.&nbsp; The robot wiggles around and crawls like a bug.&nbsp; If the bug flips over on its back, it is able to flip back to its feet.&nbsp; There are different sizes and types of Hexbugs and are perfect for budding engineers.&nbsp; There is no setup required for this robot and is more of a fun toy to encourage exploration and build interest in robots.&nbsp; This would be a perfect introduction to robots.</p> <h4><b>Lego Mindstorms</b></h4> <p><a href="http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/default.aspx" title="Lego Mindstorms" target="_blank">Lego Mindstorms</a> is a robotics kit that you can buy at the toy store.&nbsp; The kit includes the computer controller, sensors, motors, and the Lego pieces.&nbsp; With the NXT 2.0 kit you can build many different types of robots including a humanoid robot, a machine, and an animal.&nbsp; After building the robot, the child uses the computer and the other components to program the robot.&nbsp; Following the directions provided in the kits, a child should be able to make and program a simple robot in about 30 minutes. Within the directions provided, there are also challenges for the child to program for the robot.&nbsp; Achieving these challenges will be very fulfilling especially for a child&rsquo;s first experience of writing the code. &nbsp;&nbsp;The product has gotten great reviews and is easy enough for an upper-elementary child to build and program, but is also for fun all ages 10 and up.</p> <h4><b>OWI Frightened Grasshopper Kit</b></h4> <p>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/OWI-Frightened-Grasshopper-Kit-Powered/dp/B000QX3NYG" title="OWI Grasshopper Kit" target="_blank">OWI Grasshopper Kit</a> is a great robot kit for kids.&nbsp; The grasshopper is made using only a few components and a solar powered back.&nbsp; This kit is great not only for kids to build a robot, but also to learn how the sun can create energy.&nbsp; From reviews, it seems to have hard instructions and the toy is a bit fragile.&nbsp; A parent should assist in building the robot, but it would be a great activity to do together. Check out a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2UfCUTO6l4" title="video" target="_blank">video</a> of the cute bug!</p> <p>There are tons of other robot inspired toys out on the market.&nbsp; Check out some of these websites to find a robot that fits your child&rsquo;s age requirements and desired complexity level.&nbsp; Some of the robots are more toys that educational products, but they can still help for children to build learning experiences and positive attitudes toward having fun with science, math, and technology.</p> <ol> <li><a href="http://www.scientificsonline.com/robotics.html?p=3" title="Scientifics Robots" target="_blank">Scientifics Robots</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3740529&amp;searchURL=true" title="K&rsquo;Nex Moto-Bots" target="_blank">K&rsquo;Nex Moto-Bots</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.robotadvice.com/programmable_robot.html" title="Robot Advice &ndash; Programmable Robots" target="_blank">Robot Advice &ndash; Programmable Robots</a></li> </ol> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa_goddard/" title="NASA Goddard Space Flight Center" target="_blank">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/z70qVrR9Gbg" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergThu, 01 Dec 2011 15:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:79390http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/79390/Introducing-Kids-to-Roboticshttp://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/79497/Video-Games-that-Inspire-Learning#Comments0http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LearningToday/~3/DdQ7mCgCkVo/Video-Games-that-Inspire-Learning<br><p>During the winter season, many kids will spend their holiday breaks playing at home, playing outside, watching TV, playing video games, and spending time with friends and family.&nbsp; Parents can capitalize on this time that they get to spend with their kids and incorporate learning into play activities.&nbsp; With the advancement in video game control systems that have been on the market in the past few years, new games that are interactive have become very popular.&nbsp; There are many games that now incorporate learning, interaction, and play all at the same time.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.learningtoday.com/Portals/60233/images/4571411309_0bb54d6f7a-resized-600.jpg" border="0" alt="games" class="alignCenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p> <h4><b>Xbox Kinect</b></h4> <p>Kinect is a motion video camera that requires no physical gaming controller.&nbsp; Instead, your body and motion becomes the controller.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/Kinect/Playful-Learning" title="Two games" target="_blank">Two games</a> for pre-school students that are great for learning that use Kinect are Kinect Nat Geo TV and Kinect Sesame Street TV.&nbsp; These games allow the child to interact within the environment of the game.&nbsp; This means kids are virtually transported into the game where they can learn about geography, animals, the alphabet, and math skills.&nbsp; For elementary aged children a great learning game is <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Kinectimals/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8024d5308b3#/Home" title="Kenictimals" target="_blank">Kenictimals</a> a game where kids get to interact, feed, and play with wild animals.&nbsp; There are many other games that use Kinect including sports games, trivia games, family games, and strategy games.</p> <h4><b>PlayStation Move</b></h4> <p>PlayStation Move includes a controller and a camera that then mimics your movements onto the television screen. PlayStation <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/tumble-ps3.html" title="Tumble" target="_blank">Tumble</a> is a game where kids play with virtual blocks.&nbsp; There are different challenges with the blocks including building shapes, solving puzzles, making the blocks collapse, and balancing.&nbsp; All of the physics behind the game is based on real-life causing the blocks to act as they would normally.&nbsp; The kids use the motion of their arms and body to move the block where they need to go.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.eyepet.com/home.cfm?lang=en_US" title="Eyepet" target="_blank">Eyepet</a> is also a great game for kids.&nbsp; Kids interact with the virtual pets where they get to dress their pets, add colors, perform tricks, and play games. <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/start-the-party-ps3.html" title="Start the Party" target="_blank">Start the Party</a> is a great family game.&nbsp; This is a collection of mini- games that include hunting ghosts, spearing fish, and destroying robots.&nbsp; Each mini-game provides a challenge and the person who scores the top spot wins.</p> <h4><b>Wii MotionPlus</b></h4> <p>Wii Motion Plus is an adapter for the Wii Remote.&nbsp; This accessory makes the remote more accurate to the movements of the user.&nbsp; There are many sports games and strategy games adapted for the Wii Motion Plus, but none that really directly focus on education.&nbsp; One series of games with an educational twist include the <a href="http://professorlayton.nintendo.com/" title="Professor Layton series" target="_blank">Professor Layton series</a>, where the player has to solve puzzles. &nbsp;&nbsp;Another popular puzzle game is <a href="http://mysterycasefiles.nintendo.com/" title="Mystery Case Files" target="_blank">Mystery Case Files</a>.&nbsp; These games can be used with the Wii MotionPlus, but do not really showcase the MotionPlus capabilities.&nbsp; Games that are rated in the top for the MotionPlus include Super Mario, Rockband, and Wii Party.</p> <p>Have fun while learning this holiday season with interactive video games.</p> <p>Article By Laura Ketcham-VanHellemont</p> <p>Picture By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aloha75/" title="Sam Howzit" target="_blank">Sam Howzit</a></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/teacher-resources.asp" target="_new">Free Educational Resources</a> | <a href="http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp" target="_new">Interactive Whiteboard Games and Lessons</a> by Learning Today</em></strong></p><p>Connect with us: </p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday" target="_new" mce_href="http://twitter.com/learningtoday">Follow us on Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday" target="_new" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/people/LearningToday">Find us on Facebook</a><br></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LearningToday/~4/DdQ7mCgCkVo" height="1" width="1"/>Lauren GrossbergWed, 30 Nov 2011 15:00:00 GMTf1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:79497http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/79497/Video-Games-that-Inspire-Learning