Featuring the Work of Alan Sitomer

Alan Sitomer talks PBL (Project Based Learning) in the classroom

Alan Sitomer's 8 Tips for Teachers

Free Webinar with Alan Sitomer via eSchool News:

Sensibly Incorporating Technology in Today's Classroom: It's All About the Writing!

Date: October 12, 2010

Time: 2:00 pm EDT Duration: One hour 
 
Come spend an hour with BookJams author and California's 2007 Teacher of the Year Alan Sitomer as he hosts a webinar on how to sensibly incorporate technology and new literacies.

Your benefits of participating will include:

	•	Understanding why the bells and whistles of technology will not replace the need for students to critically read, write and think
	•	Seeing how cutting edge tech tools can (and should) coexist side-by-side with projects that can be done by candlelight.
	•	Recognizing that successfully incorporating technology in today's classroom BEGINS WITH THE WRITING!
	•	Getting comfortable with the idea that technology is evolving at such a rapid pace that there is no more "keeping up".
	•	Re-conceptualizing our methodologies so that we can allow students to demonstrate their full capabilities without unnecessarily holding them back simply because we, the educators, do not have the same technological abilities that they, the students, possess.

REGISTER NOW!

Google Earth Tours

by Olga LaPlante

There has been a lot said about using Google Earth to show places and look up things in relation to a location. We have already begun to take Google Earth for granted - some of us are still in awe, but most have been using it matter-of-factly, and unless a new feature pops up or is demoed at a workshop, we are sort of "yeah, yeah, seen that" about it.

It has also been a while that Google Earth has had the feature which allows you to add your own placemarks, insert images and text, create a sightseeing tour, by clicking on each of your recent places.

Google, however, is notorious for changing and improving things - should I mention the infamous streetview? - and today - thanks to a request from a teacher - I have discovered that you can now create narrated tours in Google Earth and share them using a Google Earth embed widget! That is a wow update.

This is very important to me as educational technology specialist on two levels. One is the creative/productive aspect of the tool. We have lots of things to watch or read; expressing yourself and producing a new mashup is not as widely-spread as we might think (hence the whole plagiarism and copyright violations issue). This tool incorporates the ability to share and create.

Secondly, I am simply excited because I already see the integration side of the Google Earth story. I am already planning future workshops, incorporating this tool, and I know they will be a blast.

Google has put up lots of helpful info on how to create, use and share layers from Google Earth, whether you use a narrated recorded tour feature or a placemark tour. These tutorials and lots of other relevant information can be found at Google Earth Outreach.

P.S. If you are one of those who have long discovered this, please be generous and allow for some excitement! :)

Literacy in Maine

@LIM Resources Wiki. Feel free to edit.

Maine Writing Project

Rich Kent is the Director of the Maine Writing Project at UMO. Check out this rich portaportal on writing.

An Alternative to DOL

Jeff Anderson demonstrates a different approach to working with kids on editing skills at Maine's own Stenhouse Publishers.

Jeff's Site: Write Guy

Also check out this great resource by Lauren Wolter:

Notable Sentences . . . for Imitation and Creation


What approach do you take to editing?

Add to Editing at LIM Resources Wiki

Online Web Applications for Young Children

I would like to start a list of well-implemented interactive online web applications for young children (pre-school/primary). Of course I've known about Starfall for several years and am aware that it is being used by many parents and teachers. Still highly recommended for helping children to learn some very basic skills. Last week I discovered Kindersay, which is simple yet very effective and user-friendly. Today I found myself very impressed with Kerpoof which Oxford Hills teacher, Richard Byrne, reviews in depth in his blog.

What others should be added to the list?


Kindersay
Starfall
Kerpoof
PrimaryGames (See Richard Bryne's review on his blog)