Classhacks

Thanks to Teachingtips.com

Teachingtips.com has just published a list of 50 Must-Read Up and Coming Blogs by Teachers. The list included classhacks and a bunch of other sites that I will have to add to my feed reader. Thanks for the list.

Visted States

This website allows you to “color” in the states that you have visited and then post them to your blog or other website. This would be great for a “Flat Stanley” type project or planning a trip. They also have one for the whole world.

El Sistema

I don’t often post things about music education, but this is amazing. In Venezuela, they have built a giant orchestral music program for the poorest of the poor. 300,000 students making music all over the country.When you watch this video, you wonder why we are cutting music program in America when we know that it can have this effect on a child. The video is from 60 Minutes.

Link Roundup No 1

In an effort to get back into writing a semi-regular blog, I would like to share some things that interested me in the past few weeks (in no particular order)

Beyond PowerPoint

If you are not lucky enough to have a SmartBoard, and as you are integrating technology into your classroom, you probably find yourself doing a lot of PowerPoints. Do everyone a favor and take a look at FreeMind. (the official homepage and wiki appear to be down. It is a “mind mapping” program that promises to make your class better. Best of all, it is free!

Using Forms with Google Spreadsheets

A few weeks ago Google rolled out Forms for their spreadsheets. This is an easy way to have a person add information to your spreadsheet without actually giving them access. This is great for teachers, now you can let students input information into your spreadsheet without fear.

10 Uses for Printable Business Cards

Those 10 to a sheet printable business cards from Avery and other brands are great for creating a nice quick business cards, but we here at classhacks have found several other ways to use them as well. Those 2” X 3.5” wonders can be used as gift tags, inventory tags, tickets, art gallery labels and even puzzles. If you need some help setting up your document, I have included a little help at the bottom of the page.

Digital Scrapbooking with Ript

In my new favorite book Five Minds for the Future, Howard Gardner talks about the need for students to synthesize information from lots of different sources. The only problem is, for many students this is not an engaging product. This is what I like about Ript a new application from Oh!. Ript combines the ability to save information with a beautiful look and easy usage that anyone can engage with.