Reading

Infographics Showcase

— Infographics Showcase

4-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.infographicsshowcase.com/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:50 share

How It Works

Infographics Showcase collects the best infographics and data visualization from all over the web. Scroll through the site to view the latest graphics or use the keyword search to look for specific terms. Each one includes a short description, a link to the original, as well as links to download or embed the infographic.

In the Classroom

Although this site may be a little difficult to use when searching for specific information, it is worth saving as a resource for locating infographics with many different topics. Use this site to share examples of interesting and useful infographics. Have students explore the site on their own to find the various ideas used when creating infographics including design and content. When ready, have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings of creating infographics using Easel.ly, reviewed here, a simple to use infographic creator.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
Tag(s): posters, data, infographics,

The Open Video Project

— Interaction Design Labratory, Univ of N Carolina at Chapel Hill

5-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.open-video.org/index.php Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:50 share

How It Works

The Open Video Project provides a repository of video clips from many different sources for use by researchers and educators. Choose from various genres or collections to find available videos. Find specific content using search filters to find keyword content, video format, the length of the video, and more. Download videos using the links provided with each video clip.

In the Classroom

Bookmark the Open Video Project as a resource for finding videos on many different classroom topics. Share this site with students for finding clips to include with multimedia projects. Have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools, reviewed here.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
Tag(s): video,

Big Ideas Video Series

— Class Dojo

-7 0 favorites 0 promising practices https://www.classdojo.com/bigideas/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:50 share

How It Works

The Big Ideas Series, offered by ClassDojo, provides nine video topics encouraging students to explore different ways to healthy social emotional development. The videos discuss concepts such as Empathy, Perseverance, Positive Thinking, Gratitude, Mindfulness, and more. Each topic has a series of short videos and includes a discussion guide to download for classroom use and a page with take-home questions for parent use. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

In the Classroom

You may want to start your school year by sharing the three part video series on Empathy. Each video is five minutes and has a discussion guide. As a follow up use the Ripples of Kindness activity in small groups. Share younger students’ observations on a whiteboard or poster. Older students can share their observations using a tool like Dotstorming, reviewed here. Dotstorming allows participants to add comments Share other videos with a projector or on an interactive whiteboard to introduce a video each week and explore the discussion questions together. These videos could be very useful when preparing and motivating students for upcoming standardized testing or at the beginning of a school year to set a tone that everyone can learn. Include a link to videos on your class web page for parents to discuss at home with their student, and be sure to send home the take-home questions with topics to talk about.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
Tag(s): learning styles, emotions, brain, social skills, social and emotional learning, empathy,

The Obsessively Detailed Map of American Literature’s Most Epic Road Trips

— Richard Kreitner and Steven Melendez

7-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-obsessively-detailed-map-of-american-literatures-most-epic-road-trips Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:50 share

How It Works

Journey across America as described in 12 great literary road trips. This Google map includes every named place (over 1500!) in these books about cross country travel. The earliest book being Mark Twain’s Roughing It and the most recent is Cheryl Strayed’s Wild. Click on any title on the map key to view individual routes. Click again on the map points to read passages about the location.

In the Classroom

If your class is reading any of these 12 books, this site is an excellent resource for visualizing the trip described in the book. Share with students before reading as an overview of the journey they are about to take. Use this site when helping students discover books to read, let them explore the various road trips to find one that might interest them. Use this map as inspiration for sharing locations from other works of literature. For the next book share, have students create maps for books they are reading using MapHub, reviewed here. Students can add icons, text, images, and location stops! Challenge students to include images (cited correctly) on MapHub for the books they will share.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
Tag(s): setting, maps, authors, literature, mark twain,

Google Maps Book Mash-up

— Lovereading

5-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.lovereading.co.uk/bookmap/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:50 share

How It Works

Google Maps Book Mash-up chronicles some of the greatest and most popular stories of English Literature and their settings. Click on any book icon to see the book, author, and the setting. Type in the name of any location to zoom in on the map and find books using that location as the setting. Participate on the site by submitting book information to be included on the map.

In the Classroom

This site is perfect for finding reading material with settings from all over the world. Encourage students to choose a place that interests them, and then find books set in that location. Use this tool as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard about setting or geography. Be sure to share a link to this tool on your class website or blog for students to use at home. After reading a book, have students create an annotated image of the setting, including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
Tag(s): literature, book lists, maps,

StoryMap JS

— Northwest University Knight Lab

6-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://storymap.knightlab.com/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:50 share

How It Works

Make your story-telling come to life in any content area with this free tool! Story Map uses a map or pictures to tell the story. The simple editor in this tool syncs to Google Drive editor to create a storymap. The created storymap is a sequence of slides for a map location or image that includes a heading, text, and even images and embedded video. The map or image and included information appear side by side. You can click between the slides connecting one location to another (or portions of an image to another). Your story is now interactive! To use: Follow the prompts to connect your Google Drive to the tool. Choose the type of story to create, Map or Gigapixel (image). Don’t worry about the map image showing on the first page. When building a map, the front page will include the portion of the World Map based on map points throughout the project (ex. USA or Europe). Add a headline and detail to the appropriate areas. Include links and change font to bold and italic if desired. Add images to any page by uploading from your computer (through Google Drive) or by entering a link to an image. Enter the URL of the Vimeo or YouTube video you wish to use. Need help? Click on the Gigapixel tab along the top for help in uploading images and videos. The Media box not only has an area for the URL, but also an area to enter a caption and credit for the image. Add additional pages by clicking "Add Slide" in the left-hand menu. Add points to your map, one per slide, by typing the building, street, city, and country. Use the zoom bar in the top left to find the location. Customize the map style, background color, and font using the Options buttons. Click Share to send through social media or to use an embed code. The embed code can be used in any site, adjusting its width for different sites. If using Gigapixel, use a large image (as the image will literally be the "map" and your points move around the image). Save your image to Google Drive and copy the URL of the image as you will need it in the first step.

In the Classroom

Be sure to stress Fair Use and Copyright with students when using online images and crediting sources. Find great resources and information on TeachersFirst. Of course, if possible use your own images. In Science, use this tool to upload a picture of a science experiment from class and retell the story of the "experiment" by connecting with each of the individual parts of the image. In a Technology class, use this tool to create a project of anything that could be considered "mappable." Some examples include a timeline tour of an event, tour routes of a favorite band, the movement of a character in a movie or novel, or various events in a War. Find various shapes in nature and buildings for a Geometry class, showing their locations in a map. This tool would be wonderful for gifted students to showcase an interest or extend learning from a concept learned in class. Use this tool to trace the history of various recipes or ingredients in a Family and Consumer Science class. Trace the history of people, religions, and events. In Science, create a tour of various animals found in specific areas of a given biome or locations of various types of rocks and their information around the world.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
Tag(s): timelines, maps,

Freemake Video Converter

— Ellora Assets Corporation

-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.freemake.com/free_video_converter/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:50 share

How It Works

Convert, edit, and save video files with Freemake Video Converter. The video converter supports over 300 file input formats including video, audio, and image files. Use templates provided to turn photos or images into slideshows with a chosen soundtrack. Other features include the ability to clip and rotate video, upload to YouTube, and convert files to burn and save on Blu-ray or DVD. Be sure to watch the video on the site with directions on how to use this tool. It is a YouTube video so you may need to watch it somewhere other than at school.

In the Classroom

Share with students for use with any multimedia or presentation project. Use this tool to backup videos on your YouTube channel. Bookmark and save this video converter for use as an alternative to Online-Convert, reviewed here. This tool and Online-Convert are both used to download and save videos at home that you wish to show to students, especially if they are blocked at school. If you want to use the video at school, you may need to save the conversion to a USB stick, if a CD drive isn’t available.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
Tag(s): multimedia, video, movies, conversions, slides, images,

Google Maps Treks

— Google

-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices https://www.google.com/maps/about/behind-the-scenes/streetview/treks/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:50 share

How It Works

Never leave your easy chair as you journey beyond the road to faraway places using Google Maps Treks! Choose Gombe National Park, Pyramids of Giza, Angkor Wat, Colorado River, or the polar bears at Churchill. Tour Taj Mahal, Venice, Galapagos Islands, Eiffel Tower, Mt. Fuji, Everest, Great Barrier Reef, the Amazon Basin, and more. Click on the option and then click the open in Maps or Views button. On maps with multiple placemarks, click the placemark to view information about the location, and then click the title to go to the map. Choose from a variety of images taken at various locations found along the bottom. Some images are photospheres and can be manipulated using the sphere icon along the bottom right. Use the arrows in the sphere to rotate the image, giving a panoramic view of the location as you click. Use the familiar Google map tools to zoom in and out. Some Treks offer short videos that are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

In the Classroom

If you teach geography, this one is a must. It is also helpful for showing students WHERE a story or news event takes place. View these different places whether your content includes history, geography, literature, science, languages, and more. View places discussed in class, or in stories. Look at different cultural areas or environments in the world. Choose a trek as an inspiration for further research about the area, the inspiration for a student created poem or short story, artistic work, and many other projects. Encourage student groups to choose one of the places on this site to present to the class, highlighting various economic, recreational, historical, and cultural factors at each place. You may want students to use a tool such as Knoema, reviewed here, or Data - The World Bank, reviewed here, to make sure students get accurate information. Use this as a class "Where I visited in Google Maps" project! As students ask questions about the various places, encourage discovery in finding the answers together.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
Tag(s): environment, cultures, photography, images, maps, virtual field trips,

Maptia - A World of Stories

— Dorothy Sanders, Dean Fischer, and Johnny Miller

5-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices https://www.maptia.com/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:50 share

How It Works

Maptia is a bold, beautiful world of thoughtful and inspiring stories told through photographs by photographers, adventurers, and writers. Explore stories categorized by places, themes, and storytellers. Stories focus on portraying an individual perspective of the location and why it matters on a personal level. Find a collection of inspiring stories by people and organizations who are making a difference in many corners of the world. When browsing through offerings, information includes a short synopsis along with the location featured and an estimate of time to read the story. Create an account to add your stories. Bookmark and save favorites for viewing at any time. Maptia works well for viewing in all browsers, but it is optimized for Chrome and Safari when creating stories.

In the Classroom

Share Maptia on your interactive whiteboard or projector to discover personal stories from anywhere in the world. Share with students as examples of personal narrative writing. Challenge students to create an account and add their own personal stories. To find even more stories like those under Causes see The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heros, reviewed here, and follow their ten steps for writing about people who make a difference. Create a class account and bookmark favorites. Share with students through a link on your class web page. Display photographs for use as a creative writing prompt.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
Tag(s): photography, narrative, creative writing, digital storytelling,

Free Video Lectures

— Free Video Lectures (FVL)

8-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.freevideolectures.com/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:50 share

How It Works

Free Video Lectures is a resource offering over 1000 free (upper high school and college level) online courses and 25,000 video lectures from more than 30 universities. Begin your search by choosing a subject or university to explore. Use the search bar to find specific content. Icons for each course offer a short description along with the number of included videos. Find topics ranging from accounting to web designing to business management and many others. Download or embed any videos using links and download instructions. Ignore the advertising; the site content is worth it. Note that these videos are NOT hosted on YouTube so may or may not be locked at your school.

In the Classroom

If you are flipping your classroom, use videos from this site to introduce content to students. Embed videos onto your class website or blog for easy student access. Free Video Lectures is perfect for use with gifted students. Use videos to provide advanced instruction and lessons in content not offered in your school. Have students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from a video using a tool such as WordItOut (reviewed here). Challenge students to create a presentation using Prezi (reviewed here) to show what the have learned.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
Tag(s): cultures, video, business, genetics, literature, medicine, oceans, psychology,
Subscribe to Reading