The Infinite Thinking Machine

Great title... great blog, videos, handouts, information, and resources! What is the Infinite Thinking Machine?

The Infinite Thinking Machine (ITM) is designed to help teachers and students thrive in the 21st century. Through an active blog, an Internet TV show, and other media resources, the ITM shares a "bazillion practical ideas" for turning the infinite universe of information into knowledge. We showcase examples of innovative instructional methods, talk with leading experts, and share real stories from the classroom to improve how we think, learn, teach, and live. And we try to have a little fun along the way.

If you are looking for new and cutting-edge ideas for your classroom, this is the place to visit.

Cool Tech Tool: Gizmos

The Mimio is called an interactive whiteboard for a reason... it's meant to be interactive. The ability to capture notes, manipulate objects, and use the whiteboard as a mouse is great; the engaging part for students is using the Mimio to interact with the presented content. Wouldn't it be great if there was a website filled with interactive activities? If you are a 6-12 math or science teacher, you're in luck. The ExploreLearning website has created a variety of interactive "Gizmos" to help students visualize math and science concepts.

Mathematics

• Grade 6-8
  • Number & operations
  • Algebra
  • Geometry
  • Measurement
  • Data analysis & probability
• Grade 9-12
  • Number & operations
  • Algebra
  • Geometry
  • Measurement
  • Data analysis & probability

Science

• Grade 6-8
  • Earth and space science
  • Life science
  • Physical science
• Grade 9-12
  • Earth and space science
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics

The Gizmos can be used on individual computers or displayed to an entire class with a LCD projector. Combine these activities with a Mimio and you'll have students interacting with concepts you never thought possible. Take a look at the demonstration activities... like what you see? Click the *Free Trial button in the upper-left corner; this will give you a 30-day free trial to the Gizmos. Contact me if you think this would be a useful tool for you and your students.

i.e. (Interactive Educator)

We have a number of teachers in our district who are starting to enhance lessons with interactive whiteboards. The technology is easy to use, but designing lessons that use the technology efficiently and effectively can be challenging. Research shows that teachers often start by applying new technology with traditional teaching practices (refer to ACOT: Stages of Technology). Using this technology with traditional teaching methods will capture students' attention, but improved achievement happens with students "interact" with the lesson.

Interactive whiteboards come with Notebook software that allows teachers to design lesson plans, similar to creating a PowerPoint presentation. The advantage of Notebook is its ability to manipulate objects during the presentation. I read an article, "Grand Slam Technology," in i.e. (Interactive Educator) about a teacher who Incorporated her students' hobbies into lessons to capture their attention. In this example, the teacher combined her students' interest in Major League Baseball with a lesson on identifying the states. A blank map was displayed on the interactive whiteboard with a list of MBL team logos. Students were asked to place the team logos over the appropriate states. This is just one example of how this technology can engage students and improve achievement.

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Resources:

• i.e. Interactive Educator, Free quarterly magazine
• Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow, 13-year research project
• ACOT: Stages of Integration image, Provided by Wesley Fryer

Let MarcoPolo Do the Exploring

The Internet can be a valuable classroom resource; the trouble is finding content in the endless web of information. An entire prep period can be spent searching websites for relevant and creditable resources. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had your own personal explorer who would search, review, and even develop integrated lesson plans for you? One of the most famous explorers in history is here to help… MarcoPolo.

MarcoPolo is a collection of seven content websites with lesson plans, student interactive content, downloadable worksheets, links to panel-reviewed websites and additional resources created by the nation's leading education organizations:

The Internet content organized by MarcoPolo is grade-specific, standards-based, and free of charge. Each page has been reviewed by content experts to assure the information is accurate, up-to-date, unbiased, and appropriate for students. For more information about searching for lesson plans and Internet content on MarcoPolo, download the tip sheet.

Still not convinced? The readers of Edutopia, a popular "best practices" magazine selected MarcoPolo as the "Best site to download free lessons and materials."

MarcoPolo, the beneficent behemoth of free lesson sites, took the clear lead in where to find educational gold on the Web. Its search engine scours the online lesson plans of MarcoPolo's partners, including the National Geographic Society, the National Council of Teachers of English, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

If you are interested... next came DiscoverySchool.com, which features lesson plans, online seminars, and the savvy Kathy Schrock. Four sites shared a tie for third: Education World, the New York Times Learning Network, PBS, and Scholastic Teacher.