Module 4-2 Digital Literacy
Posted by mmcaulfield on February 27, 2010
Filed under Required Posts and tagged classroom, digital literacy, education, technology
The Internet-Connected Computer: It’s How You Use It That Counts
In this blog post on Edutopia, Jim Moulton expounds on the importance of using a computer for more than merely a word processor. There are several ways for teachers who may not have experience with computers to find information to help them bring their classroom into the 21st century, including the use of websites geared toward education (specifically, Edutopia), colleagues, magazines and professional journals, and especially students.
To help out any newbies (or even oldies, as some of these were new to me), Moulton included a list of some very useful sites.
National Geographic Xpeditions. Black and white maps which are printable as completely blank or with greater detail.
The Newseum. Provides access at “500 daily newspapers and close to 300 Sunday papers from around the world.”
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives. Provides visual manipulatives that can be manipulated with your mouse. Excellent for math classes. (I spent some time playing on this one, and apparently can’t remember how to graph a slope of -2/6. Good thing I teach English!) Definately a site I will pass on to the math department at my school.
4Teachers.org Free online tools and resources, including rubrics, online quizzes, calendars, and fill in the blanks. On the homepage, you’ll find a good list of additional resources, many of which I use and recommend (especially rubistar).
MarcoPolo. Sponsored by the Verizon Foundation, this site offers interactive content from its partner sites to be used in the classroom.
Gene Scene and the Genetic Science Learning Center. Ideas for hands-on activities that can be tried at home. Just looking at the pages Gene Scene appears to be geared toward younger learners.
ePals Classroom Exchange. Establishes email connections for classrooms.
Journey North. I wasn’t quite sure what this was exactly from Moulton’s description, so I explored the page myself. On this page, students log in to report observing certain species of animal. The site then tracks migratory patterns, giving students a certain amount of ownership of the information gathered.
Global Schoolhouse. Virtual meeting place where educators, students, and parents can interact. Includes a number of projects classes can get involved with, collaborating with students from around the world.
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