Forget Blogging, Try Glogging!!

I can often be found behind my laptop investigating websites to see if they are worthy of a TechTip. The questions I ask are: Does it have the potential to improve student learning? Will it provide a new method for teaching a current curriculum? Will it engage students and get them excited in the learning process? Will it be easy for the teachers and students to use? Glogster is one of those sites I answered "Yes" to all of the above asked questions.

Glogster creates Glogs or Virtual Online Posters. Posters have been used forever in education as both a teaching tool and as means to evaluate what a student has learned about a certain topic. They are a great way for students to express themselves. Because the world we live in is bursting at the seams with multimedia technology, it's only natural that kids and teachers can now design posters on the world wide web. No paper, markers, or glue are necessary to design snazzy expressive glogs! Gloster is a free site that is web based allowing students and teachers to share their projects globally.

Don't take my word for it. Check out this SlideShare Presentation that does a nice job explaining what Glogster is all about:

Ga E T C Glogster

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Game Time....bring it on!!

This one goes out to all you mathematicians out there. Calculation Nation...have you heard of it? I discovered it by accident while finding free online games that were safe and educational for my kids to play at home. We all know that there are a ton of free online educational games. I've had my kids playing them since they were able to hold a mouse, but not one has hooked them as quickly as Calculation Nation. Wow!! This one's a keeper. I could see this being used in a computer lab setting, as a group activity in your room with a data projector, and most definitely with the interactive whiteboards.

The beauty of this website, besides the fact that it is free, is its' design. The first step is to create an account that involves choosing your player identify from a list of character options. Brilliant!! Every video game out there these days from the Wii to Club Penguin, requires the same thing...assuming an alter identity! Kids love it!!! Because it simulates what they are doing in their personal gaming world, they don't seem to mind that "it's for learning".

Students choose whether they want to challenge opponents from anywhere in the world or challenge themselves. The "passport" keeps track of the location of your opponents by sticking a red dot on the map location. Arrange a classroom challenge to see who will be first to play someone from each of the 50 states!

The games are designed for the upper elementary and middle grades math curriculum. These online math strategy games allow kids to learn about fractions, factors, multiples, symmetry and more, as well as practice important skills like basic multiplication and calculating area — all while having fun. In the game "Fraction Feud" for example, players prepare to battle in this game of fraction action! In each joust, players earn points by creating a larger (or smaller) fraction than your opponent.

Another feature I like about this great online global learning environment, is the fact that it has something for everyone: Students, Teachers, Parents (all participants in a child's learning adventure!). Each games includes a "How to Play" page for students, as well as, information for both teachers and and parents complete with a .pdf downlad titled: "A Families Guide: Fostering Your Child's Success in School Mathematics."

So get on your game face and let the math competition and learning begin.!!!

BRING IT ON!!