inQuiry Almanack
http://www.fi.edu/qa97/spotlight3/
As a science teacher, I love the inQuiry Almanack. As we are branching out and adding more literacy rich activities to our classes, the Almanack is great for student guided projects. The sample here is on simple machines. Using images and text together students get an understanding of the concept, a breakdown of key parts and links to find more information.
[aimed at upper elementary through junior high students]
http://www.funbrain.com/grammar/index.html
Fun Brain's Grammar Gorilla
Grammar Gorilla is a novel way for students to learn about and practice English grammar. With both beginner and intermediate level students can complete activities that practice verbs, nouns and parts of speech. This is not an advanced literacy tool, but could be the one of the things that bridges the gap for a technology reluctant teacher.
[aimed at elementary or ESL students]
E-Pals
So far we have been looking at the new modalities of literacy and moving away from traditional text into a more digital and media aware realm. One of the major assets of the digital world we are living in is the capability to connect with the world around us. E-Pals is exactly that connection, using this tool teachers can connect classes and/or projects around the country, or even further. Another function is a safe and private space for students to connect together in an educational and social medium.
[aimed at elementary to junior high school with some upper activities]
http://visual.merriam-webster.com/
Visual Dictionary
This is perfect for those students with diverse learning needs. The visual dictionary is interactive as well as provides images and audio pronunciation for terms in the dictionary. You can look up words on your own or search them by category/subject. The human body for example. There is also an interactive game section where students can play word association and other games.
[aimed (appropriate for) middle school through high school]
http://bannedbooks.wikispaces.com/ & http://eduscapes.com/sessions/webquest/
I choose to put both of these together; I was referred to the Banned Book Webquest by the Dive Into Webquests page. I have found Webquests to be a fun and interesting way to engage students. In the banned book webquest challenges the students to read a book that has been banned and then write a persuasive essay to entice others to read. They also reference readwritethink (http://www.readwritethink.org/) to help guide you through a persuasive essay. At Dive into Webqeusts there are all kinds of ideas for integrating web activities into your classroom.
[aimed at high school students]
http://www.readingmatrix.com/directory/pages/
The Reading Matrix
At the Reading Matrix teachers can find a number of interactive activities on everything from proofreading to reading comprehension. There are activities here from the beginner to the advanced. Some of the activities are headed more towards ESL, but for a younger age or for vocabulary development, are likely just as great.
[aimed at middle school students or ESL students of all ages]
Writing Fun
At Writing Fun, students can use graphic organizers, long proved to help with understanding, to prepare and write a number of different pieces. From poetry and stories to invitations and letters, Eather guides students through the process with this interactive tool. She covers the types of text and focuses on techniques like when to use capital letters. My favorite is the party invitation.
[aimed at middle school/junior high students]
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/
Make Belief Comix
In Make Belief Comix students can actually write their own comic book. The graphic novel is becoming more and more popular particularly with reluctant readers. Students can work with this page to create strips of comics and save or send them. The website provides the format, the characters and the various thought and speech bubbles. This is a great way for teachers to use technology think outside the box and get students motivated.
[aimed at upper middle school through grade 10]
http://thejournal.com/Articles/2007/06/07/Podcasts-Wheres-the-Learning.aspx?Page=2
Podcasts: Where is the Learning?
In this article Patricia Deubel looks critically at the use of podcasts in the classroom. She considers both the drawbacks and potential of using them for literacy and other education activities. Within this article are a plethora of resources for educators that outline how and why podcasts can be used in classrooms. The examples here show how podcasts can be used across the curriculum, which is great for science teachers like me. Students use the writing cycle to prepare their content related webcast, the technology to record and they are off and way. The final page is all resources for teachers, I recommend DO IT - from University of Wisconsin.
http://heyjude.wordpress.com/2007/08/29/literacy-and-web-20/
Literacy and Web 2.0
Our students' world is now saturated with tools – the constant connection. In this presentation on Literacy and Web 2.0 or 21st Century Skills edublogger looks at the potential implications of a variety of tools. The highlight of the presentation for me were links to Web 2.0 tools, free online places where students can go to work. The embedded video 'Why let our Students Blog" highlights the reasons why we should be using learning driven technology rich tools for literacy in our classrooms at all levels. There is a plethora of links here to various sites and blogs that implicate the use of technology for literacy.
