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
© 2009, Shmoop University, Inc. http://www.shmoop.com

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
The Twitter Experiment – UT Dallas http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_one_teacher_uses_twitter_in_the_classroom.php © 2009, Shmoop University, Inc. http://www.shmoop.com

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
What is Shmoop Shmoop’s Mission: To make learning fun and relevant for students in the digital age © 2009, Shmoop University, Inc. http://www.shmoop.com

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

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Shmoop tech talk for high school english and history teachers

by Shmoop on Jun 24, 2009

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