Nurture Nature Interest This Summer

Photo from nps.gov

Ah, summer. Every year when gas prices rise, I start thinking about what to do when school's out. If you are looking for some unique opportunities to get your kids connected with nature while enjoying some quality time together, then take a few minutes to browse this article I came across on iVillage. It might give you some ideas for cool places to go. Here's the link: iVillage: Family Vacations That Will Get Your Kids Into Nature

Admittedly, some of these trips look a little pricey. If you want something more affordable, don't forget about the National Parks. There's a reason Ken Burns called them, "America's Best Idea". If you plan to visit a national park, check out the website before you go and identify the unique learning opportunities for your family while you are there. Oh yeah, America's national parks are FREE from April 21st through 29, 2012. Learn more about them here: National Park Service

Google Search Sites Video Creator. Quick, Easy, Fun!

Want your students to have a fun way to share the search terms they used to create their project? Check out the Google Site Search Video Creator. A fast fun way to make a quick video. To make your own video, click here: https://searchstories-intl.appspot.com/en-us/creator/

Check out the story I did about Dakota, our crazy Jack Russell Terrier.

Best of the Web 2012

Richard Byrne over at freetech4teachers.com has put together a great slideshow highlighting tools that can be used by students and teachers to locate information. He also lists several interactive tools you can use to engage students in real-time polls during class using their mobile devices. how cool is that?

Check out his slideshow here. give yourself some time because you will definitely want to explore some of the related links like 30 Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers.

The educational potential of YouTube.

Can YouTube help you learn? You bet! If you're like me, you learn best by seeing moving images representing a topic. YouTube is loaded with videos and animations on just about every subject you can imagine.

You can customize your YouTube experience by saving videos as favorites, or by creating playlists. For example, I have created a playlist featuring videos related to biology in Boise. You can see it here.

For example, the video below helped me understand DNA replication much better than I did just by reading the textbook.

Tools to enhance and reinforce learned material.

There is a very active blog out there called Technology for Teachers. Although the title indicates that the information is intended for teachers, parents and students might want to view this regularly or subscribe to the feed. The blog highlights resources that people can use to help reinforce learning. Check it out at http://www.freetech4teachers.com/