Shmoop tech talk for high school english and history teachers

Lunchtime Tech Talk with Shmoop

More Info at: www.shmoop.com/teachers

On Twitter: @helloshmoop

Digital Textbooks: A White Knight?

California schools see distant digital future for textbooks (Jun 5, 2009)

CA spent $419m on instructional materials last year

Sacramento District spends $2m/subject on textbooks and replaces them every 7 years

State average = $100 per student per year spent on textbooks

“ It's nonsensical - and expensive - to look to traditional hard-bound books when information today is so readily available in electronic form. Especially now, when we must… ...free up dollars so that schools can do more with fewer resources.” © 2009, Shmoop University, Inc. http://www.shmoop.com

Are We Ready for the Future? “ For the state to give us [free digital textbooks], it would be like giving us a gallon of gas and no car to put it in," said River Delta's Chief Educational Services Officer Robert Hubbel. Infrastructure Home Access Teacher Training Parent Resistance © 2009, Shmoop University, Inc. http://www.shmoop.com

Will we still have print textbooks in 10 years?

What are your hopes for digital resources?

Your concerns?

What are the positive elements of print textbooks that we should preserve?

Free Stuff! Kecia Waddell English Language Arts Stevenson HS, Utica, MI

© 2009, Shmoop University, Inc.

http://www.shmoop.com

What is the largest social network in the US? What % of young adults (18-24) use Twitter? How many teachers are listed on Twellow? What ages of children does COPPA protect?

© 2009, Shmoop University, Inc.

http://www.shmoop.com

We <3 Digital Resources

So Many Cool Toys, So Little Time

Twitter

Diigo

Ning and Blogs

A Long List of Our Favorite Content Sites

(And Shmoop, of course!)

Learning network (currently the best use)

Twellow – find other teachers

Twitter4teachers – apps

Use hashtags to form groups, or to join topical discussions

In the classroom (caveat: most teens are not on Twitter)

Post homework reminders & links to resources

Ask students to post links to news or online resources Hashtag for your classes

Diigo is better suited for this type of sharing

140 character limit

Social bookmarking and annotation

Learning network

Join groups based on subject matter (ESL teachers, To Kill a Mockingbird )

Create a group for your department

Make your bookmarks or groups public or private

Instruction

Teacher account – create groups for your classes and accounts for your students

Create bookmark lists for lessons

Have students contribute bookmarks and lists

Students can comment on your bookmarks or each other’s bookmarks

Embed the feed (“Linkroll”) from your Diigo account on your classroom website or blog

Blog: simple publishing w/ comments

Ning: build your own online community, with add-ons like

Members list, email list

Calendar

Photo gallery

Bookmarks page

Discussion board

Learning network

Terrific Ning communities for all types of teachers (English, Humanities, Writing, ESL, Professional organizations, etc.)

Instruction

Classroom page with links, photos, video. Students can comment on each post

Edublogs allows you to set up and manage blogs for your students

Privacy concerns for your students

Where would you draw the line – photo? surname? Classroom location?

Humanities Content & Resources

Poetry.org (Poems, essays, poet biographies, resources for teens) http://www.poetry.org/

Poetryfoundation.org

Victorianweb.org - Fantastic info about Victorians, including writers

Modern American Poetry - great site with poetry info & criticism. http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/

Project Gutenberg - free e-books, but also lots of free audiobooks http://www.gutenberg.org

Edgar Allan Poe Society http://www.eapoe.org

The Paris Review - fantastic interviews with writers and poets. http://www.theparisreview.com/

Wikimedia.org – rich source for public domain photos, artwork, images, and primary sources

Luminarium.org - people, places, and events in Medieval England through the Restoration. Also includes bios of many literary figures as well as their writings

History Content & Resources

Historical Thinking Matters (frameworks and examples of how to analyze primary sources) http://historicalthinkingmatters.org

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (historical documents, lesson plans) http://www.gilderlehrman.org/

War of 1812

http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/intro/index.html

Ellis Island - free search for ancestors' records http://www.ellisisland.org/

Digital History http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/

King Online Encyclopedia http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/resources/article/king_online_encyclopedia1/

Super Bowl Ads

http://www.superbowl-ads.com/

Without Sanctuary (incredibly powerful and disturbing archive of photos and postcards(!) of lynchings in the Jim Crow era): http://www.withoutsanctuary.org/

National History Education Clearinghouse

http://teachinghistory.org/

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day (for Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL) http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/

Free Technology for Teachers http ://www.freetech4teachers.com/

The English Companion Ning (Professional community for English Teachers) http://englishcompanion.ning.com/

10 Teachers to follow on Twitter http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2008/12/10-teachers-to-follow-on-twitter.html

Development Resources for Teachers (Blogs, Communities, Directories)

Twellow (Twitter Directory of teachers) http://www.twellow.com/

Twitter for Teachers http://twitter4teachers.pbworks.com/

The EduBlogger (Sue Waters, community manager for EduBlogs) http://theedublogger.edublogs.org

Tools & Digital Textbooks

Writing Matters - online writing tool and lessons – geared toward MS, could be appropriate for older ELL students http://www.teachingmatters.org/wtc.html

ZohoChallenge - create an online exam that is automatically scored, or allow students to create quizzes for each other http://www.zohochallenge.com

Zotero - a free add-on for the Firefox browser. Helps students annotate and bookmark any webpage and automatically generates citations/bibliographies. Best for more advanced students. http://www.zotero.org/

CK12 - free, customizable digital textbooks http://www.ck12.org/

Hippocampus - free, multimedia digital textbooks and homework help. Multimedia modules are mapped to units or chapters of popular print textbooks http://www.hippocampus.org/

Scribd – millions of free digital documents. Embed documents onto your blog or website. Have students publish work to the site.

SlideShare – millions of free powerpoint presentations. Embed powerpoint on your blog or website. Download and edit others’ presentations. Have students publish work to the site.

Shmoop will make you a better lover*

* (of literature, history, life)

Fun, deep, plain-spoken, highly academic

Today:

150+ Literature novels, plays, short stories

50+ US History topics

50+ Poems

Shmoop: Personal Tools

Organize thoughts and take notes with Stickies & Folders

Expand vocabulary of $5 words with built-in Dictionary

Develop and communicate arguments in Opinions

Multiple Literacies, Primary Sources

Shmoop helps students & teachers find and contextualize quality resources on the Web

Carefully screened by Shmoop’s team of experts

Primary sources

Websites

Video

Audio

Photos

Books

Movies

TV shows

How to Cite Shmoop

Shmoop automatically generates citations for students in MLA, APA, or Chicago formats

Shmoop teaches students about the perils of plagiarism and encourages original thought

Shmoop Writing Lab (BETA!)

Interactive writing guide that helps students

Articulate opinions

Organize thoughts

Support arguments

Construct a cohesive essay with transitions, parallel structure, introduction, conclusion, etc.

More Info at: www.shmoop.com/teachers

On Twitter: @helloshmoop

Shmoop tech talk for high school english and history teachers

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