An Infinite List of Educational Activities Supported by Technology

Directions: List any and all ideas for incorporating technology into classrooms. Feel free to add categories, product and services recommendations, and links to examples. Add your name to the contributors list and your initials after each idea.

Contributors: Lucy Gray, Rushton Hurley


Blogs

  1. Post questions related to a classroom reading selection or event and have students respond in the comments section. (LG)

Digital Video

  1. If you are using Macs with built-in iSight cameras, have student record themselves in iMovie reading a poem, reciting a monologue, discussing an issue, responding verbally to a question, etc. (LG)
  2. Go to Next Vista for Learning (nextvista.org) and use or even contribute to the free resources there - videos for help with academic topics, for profiles of people who help others, and for introductions to other communities around the world. (RH)

Digital Images

  1. Document student activities for a portfolio at the end of the school year. (LG)
  2. Using iPhoto or another photo organizing tool, create an album for each student and save pictures related to their classroom experiences. At the end of the year, you'll be able to create a digital portfolio or whatever with ease because you've established an organizational structure from the get go. (LG)
  3. Join a Flickr group to learn from others. See this Flickr group on classroom displays as an example. (LG)
  4. Post a picture in a Blog and have students comment on the meaning behind the picture. Flickr provides nice interactivity for blogging about a photo. (LG)
  5. If you are using Macs with built-in iSight cameras, have students take a series of pictures in PhotoBooth, put them in iPhoto, and create a comic using Comic Life. (LG)
  6. Build slideshow videos using the copyright-friendly resources at morguefile.com.  The pictures there are almost all of high quality, and you have the option of downloading hi-res versions as well. (RH)

Google Earth


  1. Start a collaborative project project where people submit a .kmz file. Collate these files and publish them for all to see. See the Google Earth Teacher Meme as an example. (LG)
  2. Have students create a digital snapshot of a location. Go to the File Menu, then Save, then Save Image to do this. See above for an example. (LG)

Audio software


  1. Record an audio chat between people using GarageBand. (LG)
  2. For PC's, download Audacity (audacity.sourceforge.net) - a free and powerful audio editing software.  It's also available for other platforms, I believe.  Audacity and a $5 microphone can go a long way! (RH)

Misc. Cool Tools

  1. Create a newsletter at Letter Pop.
  2. Create an mov or wmv file of a video you see on YouTube using Zamzar (www.zamzar.com/url/) (RH)

Search

  1. Make your own search engine. Here's an example from Google Co-Op. Rollyo is another place for customized search. (LG)
  2. Find images, music and video to use in projects using Creative Commons Search. (LG)

Spreadsheets



Wikis


Wordprocessing