Prepare Your Children
for the 21st Century
An Overview of Some resources
(not even close to all of them)

Because it’s their future!

3 E’s
The
a tool to explore
As
As a tool to educate
As a tool to evaluate

Develop a Personal Learning Network

Research and Develop Lesson Plans


Register for Nings/Yahoo Groups/Twitter

 Join Nings
 Use Yahoo groups
 Twitter
Other resources

 Follow blogs (Use Google Reader )(Delicious, other
options)
 Listen to podcasts
 YouTube/HomeschoolViewTube/TeacherTube

Use the internet to develop lesson plans

 Use Educational Search Tools: DocMazy or Triplify
 Find free videos and documentaries
 Find free lesson plans, Topmarks (there are a lot of sources)
 Find free textbooks
 Find free tutorials
 Find free slideshows
Use technology to test

 Quizlet
 Hot Potatoes
 Jeopardy Labs
 Power Point Game Templates

Take Advantage of Online Courses

 Bravewriter.com (this is just an example)
 There are many online schools
Take Advantage of Online Resources

 Online field trips
 Online games
 Online educational materials/programs

Teach your children to use technologies


What students probably already know:

 iTunes
 YouTube
 Email
 Google
 Mapquest
What they might not know:

 Blogging
 Podcasting
 Wikis

An on-line journal that can be kept personal or

allow comments.
Ways for your children to use:

Language Arts

 Book reviews, book reports, creative writing,
expository writing, critical writing, poetry
Art

 Catalog art projects, how to, post videos
Social Studies/Science

 Reports, research projects

On on-line radio program that anyone can

download and that automatically gets delivered to
your computer.
How to: Audacity

Ways for your children to use:

Create news shows

Create Trivia games

Interview people

Share Book Reviews

Communicate with Grandparents


A web page that anyone can edit.

 Wikispaces ; sample = http://ah-bon-
french.wikispaces.com/
Ways for your children to use:

 History reports
 Science reports
 How – to projects
 Book reports

1. Different search tools such as:
 Kid Safe Search Tools:
 KidRex
 Visual Search Tools:
 Search Me , Eyeplorer, Search Cube,, CoolIris KoolTorch, Carot2
 Word Clouds
 Wordle
 Other interesting tools
 Newsmap, Nibipedia
Ways for your children to use:

 Research connections
 Compare and contrast results

Making Movies
2.
DigitalFilm

Windows MovieMaker

Animoto

Ways for your children to use:

You can make a movie of anything for any subject

Different styles

 Common craft

Creating Web Pages
3.
Weebly

Google

Webs

Ways for your children to use

Web pages can be made for creative purposes

Or to convey information in any subject area


Skype
4.
Ways for your children to use

Skype is a great way to interview people

It is also a great way to meet pen pals


Mind Mapping Tools
5.
Bubbl.us

Mindomo

Spinscape

Gliffy

Ways your children can use:

Good for literature studies or writing

 Good for history review
 Good for science concept review

Poster Making Tools
6.
Glogster

Wanted Poster

Ways your children can use:

Glogster is great for social studies, science, and

language arts but can be used for any subject and
any assignment

Voice Thread
7.
Ways your children can use:

Independent research and opinion polls

Feedback on papers

Feedback on projects

Feedback on art

Data can be used for math


Flash card making tools
8.
StudyStack

Quizlet

Ways your children can use

Learn Math facts

Study Vocabulary

Learn Foreign Languages

Memorize Dates


Comics/Animation
9.
Toondoo

Comiqs

GoAnimate

Ways Your Children Can Use:

These are great for language arts or history

assignments but can also be used in other subjects

Other miscellaneous fun stuff
10.
Make Your Own Flag

Make Your Coat of Arms

Aniboom

Make your own books

Smilebox

GoogleEarth Sketch-Up

(http://www.google.com/educators/geo_class.html)
Google Lit Trips

Thematic Mapping

Timelines such as xtimeline or timerime

Tourmaker

Cooltext and Graffiti

Geocommons mapmaker

http://www.rpi.edu/~eglash/csdt.html

http://woices.com/


Easy Rater
Plagiarism Detect

Written and Prepared by Explore Academy
Copyright 2009
www.kidthinkers.blogspot.com
kidthinkers@gmail.com