IHMS Tech Tips

Synth is a free website where you or your students can record 256 second soundbytes (micropodcasting).  The concept is much like the audio-only version of Flipgrid .  Signing up is easy and syncs with your Google account.  Students have to acknowledge whether or not they are over 16, so some of the features you will see will differ from their view due to age restrictions.  Explore and Feed which are open source are unavailable for our students to view. To create a recording, click the red plus button and then start.  You have a maximum of 256 seconds to record and also have the option of adding some sound effects to your recording.  If you toggle transcription to the on position, Synth will attempt to transcribe your audio.  It isn't perfect, so the transcriptions are editable. In order for students to access your recording, they first need to create their account with Google (see above).  You can post the link to your podcast rec...

The Learning Network is a derivative of the NY Times.  "Every school day since 1998, we have offered fresh classroom resources — from lesson plans and writing prompts to news quizzes, student contests and more — all based on the articles, essays, photos, videos and graphics published on NYTimes.com. All of our features for students are free, and we hear from thousands of teenagers around the world each week. So whether the students you know are interested in politics or pop culture, science or sports, fashion, food or foreign affairs, invite them here to join the conversation." Some of the site's features: articles and questions Use the "Article of the Day" for bell work, as an exit ticket, or for enrichment writing prompts Use the daily student opinion question to spark discussion current events crosswords weekly film club contests lesson plans ( Teachers can access and use up to five lesson plans each month.) There really is way too...

Wonderopolis is a website created by the National Center for Families Learning.  It houses thousands and thousands of Wonders of the Day.  Every day, a new Wonder is posted. I could see this site being used for bell work or as an extension activity: Have students find a Wonder of the Day based on your lesson/topic for the week. When students select the Wonder of the Day or use the search function to find Wonders based on their keywords and curiosity, they are taken to a full page of learning on that topic.  Students can read the text or have it read to them.  There is a list of Wonder Words that delves into the vocabulary from that article.  Once students have hovered over a Wonder Word and read the text, they can take a Wonder Word Challenge.  There is a separate challenge to set their comprehension of the article.  There are follow up questions, activities, and suggested Wonders of the Day that are related.  Students can also comme...

If you are in need of a new class discussion technique, try the Fishbowl!  I watched two weeks ago as Mrs. Biggs conducted one in her classroom for the first time.  The concept is simple: Five seats are placed, in a circle, in the center of the room. All other seats a pushed to the walls for seating for non-participants. There are four students and one empty chair in the circle, the fishbowl, and they are the only ones allowed to speak in the room. There is to be no conversation outside of the circle. The teacher chooses the first students in the circle, at random. The students engage in debate on an issue presented as an open-ended question, by the teacher. When someone wants to enter the circle/conversation, they bring their computer and take the empty seat and a previous member of the circle has to leave. This should be a fluid as the conversation gets under way. The teacher does not participate in the discussion except to provide a new question or to terminate an...

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...