MEC Google Class November 4

Good afternoon. In keeping in reonciliation with our syllabus, I'd like to expose you to groups that are accessible. We have touched lightly upon a couple of these resources during our first or second class. Please look at the following:

http://groups.google.com/googlegroups/overview.html

http://www.google.com/educators/community.html

Google Groups in the Classroom-

They explain some of what Google provides for educators in terms of online communities.


Remainder of this afternoon's class-

I'm going to cover the rest in a slowly paced manner, much as we did a couple of classes ago. In that way we'll get to spend some time looking over each topic. After we're done-either tonight or later on-I'm only too happy to help you select and test out anything promising that you might find. I don't know the essentials of your individual classroom situations to help you without you providing me with specifics about how you envision delivery (of your reusable learning object) to your students. Please be patient with me if I ask you something that I may have forgotten but which you think I should be familiar with. For instance, you may tell me that you want to give your students a test, I may ask you what kind of test. I guess I'd be asking you how you expect to deliver it, administer it, etc.

Some of you have strong definite ideas on what you would like to do for a project and are currently working toward that goal. Others have still not experienced any revelations in that regard. For that second group, I've spent the last couple of days exploring sites containing templates that allow for interactivity in the form of educational games.

I've found that while almost all are inviting, their degree of simplicity of use can vary. And that's due to two reasons; some have directions which are written in an arcane fashion, while others have backward compatability software issues.

I require nothing from the former group this afternoon except that they let me know how they're doing in general terms and/or if they need any help, and they use their class time today to continue their progress.

I'd like to devote my time this afternoon, helping those who feel that they are without a rudder or worse, floundering. And because a couple of you expressed an interest in educational games I'd like to show you some of the things I found during the last couple of days.


Geography: Online interactive maps http://www.yourchildlearns.com/online-interactive-maps.htm

Map puzzles: http://www.yourchildlearns.com/map-puzzles.htm

At this site below I was able to devise a simple crossword puzzle:

http://www.myteachertools.com/puzzles.php

and then going to the link entitled Instant Online Puzzle.



Webquest resources:

Bernie Dodge's (Godfather of Webquests) Webquest page: http://webquest.org/index.php

http://its.leesummit.k12.mo.us/webquests.htm

At this site you can download a small application that is editable and suitable for customization for you class. I downloaded it, installed it, and tested it out. My Addicting Hangman http://downloads.world-database.com/my-addicting-hangman.myaddictinggamescom.html

Hangman Word Game: http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/hangman1/hangori.htm

and Hangman Pro Download for Macs: http://www.faico.net/software/download_Hangman_Pro_for_Macintosh_dwn20953.htm

Hangman at Superkids: http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/hangman/

Dolch Word Games http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/sightword/dolchgames.htm

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: Golden Interactive Websites http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster4/part89.html

See Spelling Games and Activities: http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/literacy.html#7 and Star Words Game at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/hfwords/starwords/game.shtml


Finally take a look at this site: http://www.eslgamesworld.com/members/games/pptgames/index.html When you get there, you'll see

Jeopardy Betting Powerpoint (PTT) Game - Editable Template Download here!

a representational graphic and a download link. I've been testing out PowerPoint template all day to no avail. I could download them, but they always opened as a show and uneditable. I think I cracked the code with this one however. After I downloaded the temp, I opened PP first and then pointed to the template and I saw what was revealed to me in the tutorial video here: http://www.eslgamesworld.com/members/games/templates/ppt%20tutorials/jeopardy/index.html
It looks very good and if anyone is serious about using it, I'm willing to invest some more time in it.