IHMS Tech Tips

There will be a day or two at the end of May where your kids don't have MacBooks.  You might be thinking, "what the heck do I do with them?" Here are a few previous blog topics on what you can do in class that requires technology only on your end: 1. Plickers Both teachers and students can submit multiple choice or true/false questions as an assessment tool or simply to survey the class.  You will need to print off Plickers cards prior to your lesson. Technology needed: Your iPad 2. Sporcle Choose a category that relates to your content area and have students compete in teams or as individuals to complete the quizzes. Technology needed: Your MacBook/Apple TV 3. Virtual field trips Pick a location that you have talked about during the year and visit it in Google Earth, or check out the topics avalable at Discovery Education. Technology needed: Your MacBook/Apple TV 4. Skype Plan ahead and have another middle school in the district or any class anywhere...

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Talks are a popular way for people to share their knowledge and ideas on any given topic.  The Talks are 18 minutes or less and consist of one person on a stage, sharing their thoughts.  Using TED Talks in the classroom is a great way to spark conversation among students.  " Talks work best when teachers use them to give perspective and to generate discussion around difficult topics.  TED Talks make us pause and listen to the percolation of ideas—art, engineering, technology, the humanities, spoken word and more. TED Talks aren’t like Wikipedia articles—yes, they contain information, but at their best, they actually spark a conversation. They can be used to bring diverse voices, questions, and even conflict into classroom  discussions ”   (Cucinotta). TED-Ed is a valuable resource if you want to start integrating Ted into your classroom.  You can filter your search query in a variety of ways and fin...