Technology Tips

During summer vacation, elementary kids get kinda used to running around and playing all day. So now that it’s time to head back into the classroom, I doubt they think the old grindstone looks like the best place to place their little noses. Make sure kids’ pent-up energy doesn’t overwhelm your class this year by reviewing this list of 30 timeless outdoor games for kids courtesy of Wired magazine’s GeekDad blog.

Web app ReadSpeeder can help you improve your reading speed. Much like Spreeder, ReadSpeeder works by letting you copy and paste text into the app. It then breaks the text down into tiny chunks displayed in rapid succession, as fast as you’re comfortable with.

Where ReadSpeeder differs is that it automatically divides passages of text into natural two-to-four-word phrases. Further, by registering for an account, you can save text for later reading. This is perfect for electronic books, and ReadSpeeder comes prepackaged with dozens of literary classics like Great Expectations and Alice in Wonderland.

If you have students who groan about slogging through heavy reading, tell them about ReadSpeeder. It may also be ideal if you’re working on your master’s degree and have a bunch of reading to catch up on. And if you’re a true glutton for punishment, you can always take a crack at James Joyce’s Ulysses, one of the books in the ReadSpeeder catalog.

ABCya is a great place to find all kinds of free educational computer games for elementary school students. The games do not require any special plug-ins or downloads in order to play. ABCya also does not ask for users to register. ABCya is divided into grade levels (K-5) then subdivided based on subject area. The categorization system ABCya uses makes it quick and easy to find an activity appropriate for each student.

Applications for Education
ABCya’s games reinforce basic academic skills and are fun to use. Games that reinforce academic skills are useful for meeting the needs of different students. Each student can practice and develop the skills that they need to focus on.

Here are some related items that may be of interest to you:
HeyZap – Strategy Games for Your Class Website
Think About History Trivia Game
200+ Free Games for Your Class Blog or Website

Last week my blog post 5 Ways to Get Free Stuff for Your Classroom was the most popular post of the week. That tells me that there are many of you like me that relish the opportunity to get free things. Freezly is a new service that searches Twitter for free product give-aways. Some of the give-aways are contests while others are just straight give-aways. I read about Freezly on Mashable and I encourage you to check out Mashable’s post for more information about how Freezly finds these freebies.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum offers thirteen fantastic online activities for use in art and history classes. The activities range from topics like Cleopatra Lost and Found to Picturing the 1930′s to Exploring Whitehouse Craft.

I spent some time today exploring the Picturing the 1930′s exhibit and activities. In Picturing the 1930′s students can walk through a virtual museum exploring paintings, documents, music, and film. While walking through the virtual museum students will be greeted by “tour guides” who will explain various aspects of the exhibit. The virtual museum is easy to navigate by using the arrows at the bottom of the screen or clicking through doorways. After exploring the art work in the virtual museum, students can create their own documentary-style film using images, text, and narration using the Picturing the 1930′s film editor.

Applications for Education
I’m a big fan of online activities that provide students with learning materials and provide a place for students to immediately use their new knowledge. Picturing the 1930′s does just that. Picturing the 1930′s could be used in an art class or in a US History class. The other activities provided by the Smithsonian American Art Museum look just as promising as Picturing the 1930′s.

Here are some related items that may be of interest to you:
ArtsEdge – Podcasts and Lesson Plans
Blogs for Art Teachers
Kodak Lesson Plans

Law Focused Education, a subsidiary of the State Bar of Texas, has developed some good games about US Government. Law Focused Education has thirteen games that could be used in Civics and Social Studies classrooms across the United States. There are three additional games that are specific to Texas.

The games offered by Law Focused Education cover topics like the Bill of Rights, the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Branches of Government. One topic addressed by Law Focused Education that you don’t often see turned into a game is Federalists v. Anti-Federalists.

Thanks to Anne Marie at Talking SMARTBoards for the tip.

Applications for Education
Law Focused Education’s games could be excellent review games for use in Civics and US History classes. In fact, I linked one of the games to the blog for my own class.

Here are some related items that may be of interest to you:
EL Civics – Civics Lessons for ESL Students
Connecting Social Studies and Art Through Video
Bill of Rights Rap