Today’s site is a great one that can be used for a wide range of ages. It is a Math Dictionary which not only gives great explanations for mathematical terms but is also interactive in that it allows the users to see the term in action. I have used it in my class not only as a demonstration term but also as a way for students to explore concepts being taught in class as an intro or a fun extension.

The site is A Maths Dictionary For Kids .

The creator also has some great tools for writing linked from the site as well as a maths site for older students.

Just as a teaser, here is one of the videos on education which is very relevant to where our education system needs to go.

The video is originally from the Digital Ethnology site which also adds the explanation of where their statistics came from.

What are your thoughts? Let’s have a conversation!

As it is Edtech Thursday, I am going to highlight a web 2.0 tool that you can use in the classroom. Now, you might be saying that most of the tools I have been highlighting might be a little light and fluffy in that they are not really heavyweight resources. In my mind, heavyweight resources include things like wikipages, moodles, eluminate, etc. We may get to those. However, there are only so many hours in a day and some of these types of web 2.0 tools can be huge and intimidating for teachers who are looking for something that they can just start using in the classroom. I want to help teachers to find a way to ease into the web 2.0 world with their students; to give them a taste of what is out there and the possibilities. My own learning curve in the use of technology in the classroom has been one of exploration; not being formally taught a tool. This is the key I think. Not waiting around for a workshop. Pick something a work with it. Become comfortable with the tool and find the myriad of ways it can enrich your students’ learning. A tool like “voicethreads” can be used in so many ways that you could just use that all year. You could start with teacher led use and gradually get to the point where students are creating their own voicethreads without help from you. Wouldn’t that be powerful? And that’s just one tool! This is how to get teachers on board with bringing in technology. Helping them to focus one trying one thing. I think though that teachers look at everything out there and get scared or turned off. “I can’t possibly catch up so why start?” If we help others to see all the possibilities, then help them focus on trying just one thing, maybe we can close that gap between where we are and where our students are.

What are your thoughts? What tool helped you become more of a user of these technology in the classroom? What helped other teachers in your school get to that Aha! moment in the integration of educational technology?

Maybe I am rambling. I know I didn’t get to an actual tool today. But we hear so much about these tools from gurus like Kevin Honeycutt and David Warlick and why we need to get them into the classroom. But teachers in the trenches are saying, “Great, wonderful, but I just have too much on my plate. I can’t fit that in. I wouldn’t know where to start. That looks great but it’s for more tech-savvy people than me.” And it goes on. No one is answering the question, “How can I fit that fit into my day to day curriculum considering what I have to do now, not what we hope the future will bring to education?”

Let’s have a conversation!