Saturday, September 29, 2012
Organizing Classroom Links
If you are looking for an easy way to organize your classroom links there are two websites that you might find useful. These websites are called Stich.It and Sqworl. Stich.It links the websites you choose together with a navigation bar at the top of the browser. You will see two arrows that you can click to navigate between as many sites as you wish. Below I have included a link to the website and an example of what it will look like when complete. To create a Stich all you have to do is copy and paste the links you would like onto the page and click Stich.It. You can then copy the link and share it with your families and students. A sqworl account works more like a homepage for your favorite links. Each link that you add will get its own box with a short description underneath. The nice thing about the sqworl page is that you can see a small image of what the website looks like before clicking on it. I have mine numbered so I can tell the kids what number website to click on. The URL is also short. However, it does consist of random letters and numbers and can not be changed.
1st Grade Typing Practice
While trying to decide what to do in the computer lab next week I started thinking, should we be working on typing practice in first grade? In previous years we would go to the lab and the kids would do their best to find the correct key and I would do my best to help them find them. However, with 22 kids and only one teacher it is very hard to show the kids where all the buttons are and what each of them do. This year I decided to take a photo of the actual keyboards they will be using to put up on the SMARTBoard. We will then do a brief lesson on the keys that 1st graders should know and use. Following the SMARTBoard lesson we will go the sites below to practice typing. I am thinking once a month would be a good amount of time to devote to typing (we get 25 minutes a week in the lab, plus the option to sign up for more time). To practice typing we will be using the games I have linked below. The following games practice the letters and numbers on the keyboard.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Background App- Pimp Your Screen
If you are bored of the standard iPad backgrounds of just looking for something new check out the app Pimp Your Screen. It can be found in the App store for just $0.99. There are backgrounds for every season, holiday, and some that are just fun! Below you will find a link to this app in the app store and some examples of their backgrounds. I also found the backgrounds that you can see on my iPad app post screen shots using this app.
Click here for the Pimp Your Screen App :)
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Friday, September 21, 2012
Pinterest in the Classroom
In the last year Pinterest has become one of the top resources used by teachers at my school. We fought to have it unblocked at school and eventually won the battle. :) We have found so many wonderful ideas and resources that are out there. Please feel free to browse my first grade boards to find some awesome ideas pinned by teachers from all over the country. If you are not familiar with Pinterest I suggest looking into it ASAP. It is free and easy to use!
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