blog.classroomteacher.ca

We run several classroom blogs and professional sites, including this blog on using educational technology in the classroom. Mostly we use WordPress, but lately we’ve been experimenting with bulleting boards (phpBB) for our online literature circles.
You can only go so far with free accounts, whether they’re with Blogger, WordPress.com, Edublogs, or Wikispaces. Eventually, you want [...]

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At the end of June, our Grade 8 Language Arts (English) class experimented with using Twitter in the classroom.

What is Twitter?
Why use Twitter in the classroom?

Examining Twitter in the classroom to see how social media tools are changing the way the world communicates.
Using Twitter in the Classroom as a collaboration tool

Review of using Twitter in the [...]

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We’re thinking about starting an entrepreneurial (Make Money Online) extra-curricular computer club at school: applying critical reading, writing and thinking skills while trying our hand at online fundraising for our school. 
We’ll probably start with making niche-websites that are monetized by contextual ads (i.e. Google Adsense). Google has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to click [...]

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Tomorrow is the last day of school before the Winter Holiday Break. So, ofcourse we’re eagerly awaiting our two weeks off so that we can play on the computer more and work on some side projects.
(On a side note, one of our students did an incredible job on her student wiki, updating her KWL chart [...]

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This post is a work-in-progress as we experiment with using wikis in the classroom and school environment.

What is a wiki?
Why use a wiki in the classroom?
How to start an educational wiki for your classroom
Things to know about Using Wikis in the Classroom

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There are lots of good trusted companies that will register domain names for you. They range in price from a few dollars to fifty dollars per year.
But, be careful. Often times, the refund policy on a domain name ranges from no refund to a few days. Different companies have different special offers, but always read [...]

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UPDATE (Dec 2009): Why we’re thinking of leaving Bluehost.
Paying for a web host to run your own self-hosted WordPress blog is not for everybody. In fact, it’s for very few teachers out there.
If you’re new to blogging, start out with a free WordPress blog, either at WordPress.com or Edublogs.org. Try it out, create a school [...]

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Geotagging is the art and science of adding geographic information to stuff on the net. It’s interesting for teachers because it gives you a way to show your students who is reading their work published on the internet. Or, at least, where they’re from.

Things you need to know about IP Addresses – Your Address on [...]

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Sure, it’s summer time, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a few ideas brewing on the back burner.
Here are some technology things that you could do with your students. Not everything may be feasible (i.e. cost factors) or appropriate (i.e. security or privacy issues):

some of the things we’re already doing,
some of the things we’re [...]

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Sure, it’s summer time, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a few ideas brewing on the back burner.
Here are some technology things that you could do with your students. Not everything may be feasible (i.e. cost factors) or appropriate (i.e. security or privacy issues):

some of the things we’re already doing,
some of the things we’re [...]

[Read more →]