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Have your students
take one or more of dozens of short learning-preference surveys
online, and I'll bet
you a Christmas ornament that most will score high on visual. In
fact, the same is true of most teachers, whether we teach that
way, or not. (Research says that we teach as we were taught, not
as how we learn.)
In
addition to the visual vocabulary sites listed below and all of
the gaming and other visual links from earlier Tech Beat
publications, there is always Google!
Encourage students
to open
Google Images, linked from the menu at the top of
the home window. In the box provided, have them enter enter a word, and
then they click on Search Images. Hundreds of images appear to
match the word. Click the image you want, and it will appear as
a thumbnail. Click on it again, and it will appear in full size
along with the site containing it.
Assuming you will not republish the images online or otherwise
use the image for commercial purposes, you may copy (right-click
for option) and paste the image into documents to
illustrate points. I've had students create great picture
dictionaries and labels for items as they learn them. Yes, they are copyrighted, but you are using
the images strictly to help students understand a point.
Students should know to never
publish a Google image or distribute it, except among other
students and teachers, unless they have permission to do
so.
Visual Vocabulary Resources Online
For ABE/GED (and
some ESL) Students
-
http://www.infovisual.info/ - The Visual Dictionary allows students to learn through images. It is
thematic, clear, concise, rigorous, and multilingual.
Different from an encyclopedia or from traditional online
dictionaries, thesauri and glossaries because the images replace
the words.
-
http://visual.merriam-webster.com/about-us_company.php-
Mirriam Webster Visual Dictionary Online. Look along the left
column for themes. Then within each theme, select the topic you
want. Images have sound clips associated with them.
-
http://thevisualdictionary.net/ - This is a truly creative
and collaborative
project. Words are listed in real life, through signs, posters,
and other announcements. Students
are invited to contribute to the dictionary. Think of what they
could learn and contribute to others with a digital camera! You
could assign them to go out and take shots of words in certain
categories or just shots of words they or their peers are
learning. Fascinating!
-
http://picturedictionary.blogspot.com/ - This is a blog that
is working on illustrating all of the words used in Barron's GRE
book, in alphabetical order. Why not have your GED students
start a similar blog with words they are learning?
-
http://picture-dictionary.blogspot.com/search/label/adage -
Here's another GRE blog with images. Just the list can be
helpful.
-
http://blachan.com/shahi/
- Here's another example of outstanding creativity. Shahi is a
visual dictionary that combines Wiktionary content with Flickr
images, and more! The student writes the word in the box, and
the references start coming in with Wiktionary images!
-
http://www.visuwords.com/
- You'll just have to try this resource to see how it works!
Look up words in the
Visuwords online graphical dictionary and thesaurus to
find their meanings and associations with other words and
concepts. Type the word you
want and watch it unfold.
-
http://www.washoe.k12.nv.us/ecollab/washoemath/dictionary/vmd/system/grd-k12-index.htm
- You are going to love this. It's a visual math dictionary. The
student click on a word in the left-hand column, and the
definition appears with an image!
For ESL Students
Lunch and Learn
Our
first January Lunch and Learn session will be held on Wednesday,
January 6, Noon - MS Power Point Projects. We will complete two
projects:
-
Create flash cards
-
Create a photo album
Register
to attend the session at
http://coloradoeducation.wufoo.com/forms/lunch-and-learn-sign-up/.
Virtual seating is limited to nine people. You will be sent instructions
on joining the session through your email after you sign up.
Feel free to have students attend the session if you
have a lab where you can project the session thorough LCD or any other computer
projector. Sign up for one seat, and let others attend at your
site. You will need speaker to allow everyone to hear the
instructions being given.
All materials and links used during Lunch and Learn session are
posted on your state wiki:
http://chiresources.pbworks.com/
Resources are linked with the most recent at the bottom. Feel
free to contact your Resource Center if you need help with any
of the computer skills listed.
Think
Again
Sit by
before your warm fireplace and reflect on a few challenges.
1.
Make
100 using just four 9's.
2.
Find
five odd figures that add up to 16.
3.
Take
six pencils or matches or toothpicks. Arrange them so that they
form four equal triangles. To check your solution, roll your
mouse over the pencils.
Fact
to ponder: 18= 9 + 9, and 81 = 9 x 9
CLICK FOR ANSWER
Go tell it on a
mountain,
Over your phone, and everywhere!
Go tell it on your website -
Technology is here!
May you laugh a lot, eat
a lot, play a lot and rest a lot during this holiday season.
For every contribution you make to Tech Beat, you'll receive a
thumb drive! Just send me you snail-mail address with the
contribution.
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