stephen reck - technology&education

iphoto.

iphoto is a program that comes pre-installed on every mac. it is used to import, organize, edit, & publish photos. like most mac products, iphoto is extremely easy to use & makes a professional looking product. if you have macs in your classroom, iphoto should be your go-to application for any projects requiring photographs either imported from the web or taken by your own students.

america divided.

thomas friedman wrote a thought-provoking opinion piece this past tuesday. he comments on a new america that is taking shape. a reactionary splinter group that is growing in number, vigor, & influence. friedman claims intellectual political discussions are replaced with violent facebook polls, congressional outbursts during presidential speeches, & our elected officials are voting along party lines with remarkable regularity. this frightening splinter is not only a conservative movement. it is not a recent phenomenon. friedman goes on to explain that presidents bill clinton & george w bush have also fallen victim to fierce and divisive opposition.

miro.

a great software addition for your computer is miro. it's a cross-platform, zero-headache, free, video player and can be used as a great classroom resource when videos are needed. miro can subscribe, download, and organize video podcasts. although it sounds like simply a replicate of itunes, miro provides far more support and attention for video entertainment. users can actually search for new videos via google, yahoo, youtube, or others directly from within the program. miro is most useful because of its versatility, as it handles a wide variety of file types and allows you to pull videos from a wide variety of sources.

animoto.

animoto allows users to create online video presentations. it marks a clear evolution from the standard photo slideshow in ease of use, entertainment value, and educational worth. animoto takes your photos and music and creates a captivating slideshow that can be viewed via a specific url or embedded elsewhere. with its newer education branch, animoto is a great resource to create exciting multimedia presentations.

quizlet.

quizlet is a flashcard application, allowing teachers to use pre-built sets of vocabulary or create a custom word list. quizlet is free to use & provides a variety of resources. the interface is easy to understand. vocabulary lists can be shared by providing the targeted user with a link or url.

rubistar.

rubistar is a web application that easily allows the custom creation of assessment rubrics. rubistar provides access to dozens of pre-made rubrics, or you may create your own. the website is free & requires no log-in, account setup, or membership. this is an excellent resource for project-based instruction.

back to school

it's that time of the year. big yellow busses are filling the streets & teachers are anxiously preparing for new students. in this time of hectic schedules, i'll do my best to routinely update this site. my goal is 4 posts a week, I believe it is obtainable. If you have any new resources, tools, websites, or ideas, please share. i rely on colleagues for inspiration & new ideas.

donate gift cards.

plastic jungle, a website that allows the purchase, sale, or exchange of gift cards, claims the average american household has $400 in unwanted gift cards lying around. there are millions of gift cards throughout the country with low remaining value. if you can't figure out what to do with the remaining $11.86 on a gap card, donate it. owners of idle gift cards typically use plastic jungle to exchange unwanted cards for cash or amazon.com credit, but a new option is now available. you can donate the full value of your gift card to a school in need with plastic jungle's new partnership with donorschoose.org.

mobileme.

welcome to cloud computing. cloud computing is seen by many as the way we will use computers in the near future. no longer will software applications be housed on a computer's hard drive. instead, programs will be housed & accessed online through a web browser. mobileme is a service provided by apple that houses several web applications, online backup storage, wireless synchronization, & many other features. this service stores information in a "cloud" & pushes the information to your cell phone, computer, or online portal. the service costs $99 a year & it can be a teacher's best friend.

yacapaca.

yacapaca is an online test & quiz generator. it is free to access. teachers only need to create a log in account. yacapaca has hundreds of pre-made quizzes ready for classroom use. users can sort by keyword or subject to find specific topics. teachers can also choose to create their own quizzes. custom quizzes can be made of entirely new content or questions can be imported from pre-made quizzes. there are many easy ways to construct online quizzes, surveys, & tests using yacapaca.