It’s that time of year again – time for a new topic for the Kids Philosophy Slam. The 2013 topic is, “Which is more powerful, love or hate?” You can learn more about the Slam by visiting their site. Be sure to watch the video on the home page, and take a look at the rules for this year’s Slam. Also, you can visit the site weekly to learn about a new philosopher. If you are interested in using more philosophy with your students, you might also want to take a look at this post from last year.
Don’t worry; I promise this is not going to be an advertisement for a home improvement network…
DIY is one of the coolest new sites that I’ve chanced upon in a long, long time. I haven’t even shown it to my students yet, and I am super excited about it. This is going to be something awesome, I have a feeling.
DIY offers kids the chance to earn Skill Badges by doing challenges. After browsing through the skills and challenges, I was ready to start earning my own badges. The challenges look fun, and since I never got a chance to participate in Girl Scouts, the virtual badges seem like the next best thing to me. For example, how would you like to earn your Papercrafter badge by doing 3 challenges (out of 13 choices) that include making a walkalong glider or building a paper vehicle?
Most of the challenges include instructions, either with video or pictures. There is a great parent info page, along with a Parent Dashboard once you sign up. DIY kids get their own website to show off what they make, and there is a supporting iOS app to easily upload videos and pictures of their creations. The site seems very user-friendly and, best of all, encourages kids to be creative and inventive.
What goes around the world and stays in a corner?
For my Fun Friday Post this week, I direct you to this page on Edgalaxy. 50 Riddles to Challenge Your Students is a fun collection of short brain teasers that are sure to delight your students. They are good for using during those “rare” periods during the day when you are in transition: lined up outside the bathroom or water fountain, waiting for class pictures, packing up for dismissal, etc… Most of these are popular riddles that we have all probably heard, but it’s handy to have a list of them for reference.
Answer: A stamp
This page from edtechteacher, offers a unique way to find iPad apps for your classroom. At last count, there were 19 learning objectives listed on “iPad As…“. Each objective is hyperlinked to a chart that offers a range of iPad apps that could service that need. For example, the image above is the chart that appears when you click on, “I want my students to record and edit video on the iPad. ” As you can see, the cost, usefulness, and ease-of-use are all listed in each chart. Some of the charts also provide links to pages with ideas on how to use the apps in the classroom. If you are tired of trying to wade through all of the “educational” apps in the iTunes store, this page is much more manageable.
For other great sites to find apps, you can also check out my post on My Favorite Sites for Educational App Reviews, or choose “Apps” from my “Categories” to see some of the apps I have reviewed on this blog.
The Ark in Space – A Compendium of Creatures is exactly that. If you have any students who are researching animals, or who have any kind of passion for them, this is the site for them. There are astounding photos and videos that will fascinate any nature lover. The articles are short, and certainly not as comprehensive as other sites, but many of them are unique to this site. For example, take a look at Synchronized Swimming in the Animal Kingdom, or Sea Slug Symphony for collections of stunning photographs that I doubt you will find anywhere else. Or, browse the small collection of videos, and you will find Two Unlikely Friends at the Zoo, a touching video that might bring a tear to your eye.
Photographs or videos from The Ark in Space are a sure way to grab the attention of your students!
More and more research seems to be showing that performance in school can be enhanced by physical activity. These two sites, Brain Breaks and Deskercises, will give you some great resources for short exercises that can easily be done during the school day. Some of these are purely physical, and some require some mental exertions. The key is to give your students an alternative to spending hours in their seats receiving information. For more information on the benefits of adding more movement to our students’ school day, you can also check out this 2009 story from NPR.
Thanks to my colleague, P.E. Coach Jason Sellers, for bringing these to my attention!