Treasure hunting

When I accepted the challenge of the Open Source Software Project I had no idea of what was in store for me and the other members of our team. Under Alan Hodson we set out to search through 5000 open source software sites. These sites are programs that are available on the internet and free to anyone that wishes to download them. At first the task was daunting. I was overwhelmed by the sheer variety of applications available. Some of these applications are clearly a college assignment to design a program that can be used to learn a new language, or master fractions, or measure the reaction time of an individual to a thrown object. Other applications were so involved and specific to a particular problem that only the person that designed it could use it. Even so, we managed to find some programs that showed promise and other programs that were awesome discoveries. Lisa Thompson fell in love with Stellarium, a program that is easy to download and use everyday in multiple situations, from science, to math, and language arts. She started out creating one lesson and before any of us realized she was on her way with multiple lessons for every grade level . Patty Freyermuth was using a cool program for creating vocabulary lessons and then explored a program called freereading.net. I searched for math programs. There were at least 100 applications for creating fractions flashcards, multiplication flashcards, addition flashcards, etc., but math is so much more than drill and kill. The applications I found were better suited as teacher tools. There was a great application that quickly creates quizzes over addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. It was so easy to use and modify that it could be used in a first grade setting or even in a remedial situation in middle school. Another application that was easy to set up and will be a great help in any classroom was a digital timer. Now, I know that many of you already have timers but most of you had to buy a product before you got the timer. This one is free and you can type messages, vary the background color, import images that flash on the screen as you countdown, just all sorts of possibilities. Both Lisa and Patty found programs that could stand alone if you needed it to but nothing was out there in math. So I explored free links on our EPISD links page and found Illuminations. This link is based on NCTM standards and has lessons ranging from pre-K to high school calculus. Some of the lessons have web links so that students are solving problems using the computer. Explore this site and find ways to enhance your math lesson or even a new way to explain a traditional lesson. I intend to go back and search the Open Source sites again, maybe 10 a day, mainly because I think I may have missed a treasure that is just waiting to be discovered.

Dive into Language Arts with your laptop!

I've always wanted to spend time, during my summer, working on lesson plans, but to no avail, I become consumed with family activities, cleaning, etc. However, this summer, I have found that using my laptop to take me diving into lessons and Open Source applications has been a breeze (with the help of Alan Hodson) and lots of fun. I have discovered, through Vocabulary Builder, a very simple and inviting way to introduce and reinforce vocabulary. I will no longer have to write the words on the board and I can use this application class after class, year after year! I've also enjoyed browsing through and creating lesson plans for freereading.net, a wonderful reading resource for K-3. (freereading.net seems to be very comparable to reading programs our district is currently paying for) I really like the freereading.net activities, because, for the most part, teachers choose the books they will use to go along with the lessons. The lessons are also very thorough. It is my hope other teachers will dive into Open Source, as well! It's all free, with no logins or passwords to remember!