Technology+101

**As students and teachers of the 21st century, we use technology to add leverage, interest and impact to our teaching, sharing, communicating and overall learning. Below you will find a list of resources, a brief description and a video overview. **

//This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers//. || media type="custom" key="21403530" ||
 * **Resource ** || **Description as used as an educational tool ** || **Video ** ||
 * **Wikis ** || A **wiki** is a collaborative online workspace, a discussion forum, an editable website where teachers can post student/parent resources and background information; and most importantly, a bulletin board and meeting space where students can share evidence of their learning with their peers and wider audience. || media type="custom" key="10052317" width="70" height="70" ||
 * **Blog- ** || The word **blog** is short for "web log" or an interactive online journal or diary with individual news or information. Interactive in the sense that our students are the daily reporters and their peers are always welcome to add their comments to the day's post. We also have critical thinking blogs where everyone will post their point of view and thinking. || media type="custom" key="10052319" width="70" height="70" ||
 * **Podcast- ** || A **podcast** is a web-based audio (sound) broadcast. We access other peoples' podcasts by subscribing to an RSS feed or downloading one from an website over the internet onto our Google Readers. We also create our own podcasts and YOU are invited to subsribe to our podcasts which highlight our work as readers, writers and communicators. || media type="custom" key="10052329" width="70" height="70" ||
 * **Common Google Tools ** |||| **Littleton Public Schools has provided us with a place to meet and collaborate, share ideas, access our work in progress and archived ****products that demonstrate our learning and growth over time. ** ||
 * **Google Doc ** || A **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; font-size: 90%;"> Google Doc **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; font-size: 90%;"> is like a Word document that can include text, tables, charts, and pictures. The advantages are that this document is accessible anywhere you can access the web; it can be a collaborative workspace, whether you are with your group members or not; and it is easily shared with eachother, teachers and parents so that it doesn't get lost. || media type="custom" key="10052341" width="70" height="70" ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; font-size: 18px;">Google Template ** || <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">A **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';"> Google Template **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">is like an old-fashioned worksheet, but better! When a teacher makes a template available, you only need to search for their last name and the document title; then you can immediately take ownership and begin to personalize the ideas, work, or plan by renaming it and begining work. Templates are easily retrieved by a group member and then they only have to share this collaborative work space with everyone. ||   ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; font-size: 18px;">Google Group ** || <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">A **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">Google Group **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">allows us to hold what are called "threaded discussions", which is just a fancy way of saying, we can comment specifically to individuals like this. "Wendy, I like your thinking! I can see that you made a prediction and then set out like a reading detective to see if your prediction was correct. I like the way that you used textual evidence to support your answer!" //"Thanks Sam! I am glad that you noticed what I have been working hard on!"// || media type="custom" key="10052345" width="70" height="70" ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; font-size: 18px;">Google Site ** || <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">A **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">Google Site **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">is an interactive website that in this case, is protected by our Littleton Public Schools domain. We plan on maintaining I-Portfolios this year which will be an electronic portfolio that showcases our growth and learning throughout the year and that will continue along with us as we move through school. A group of teachers got together this summer to build a template and get this exciting project rolling. || media type="custom" key="10052353" width="70" height="70" ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; font-size: 18px;">Google Maps ** || <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">We use **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';"> Google Maps **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">to record some of our literacy adventures. || [|How to Video] ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; font-size: 18px;">Google Reader ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">RSS Feed - **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication. Our Google Reader allows teachers and students to create a place to store and access the content (RSS feed) of our choice. It is just like subscribing to a magazine, or to get daily news updates or the latest and greatest book ideas for example. || media type="custom" key="10052363" width="70" height="70" ||
 * ** Google Forms ** || Do you have a survey that you need to get out to your fellow students or parents, or do you need a "digital dropbox" to manage assignment completion, or would you merely like to create a self-graded quiz || media type="custom" key="12342150" ||
 * ** VoiceThread ** ||  || media type="custom" key="12342180" ||
 * ** Skype ** ||  || media type="custom" key="12342190" ||
 * ** Google Books for Educators ** || If you have your students reading novels, short stories, and or primary source works that are in the public domain, Google Books is a great place to look for free copies of those works. You can embed the works directly into your course blog so that students can read them online in the same place that they find all of the other important information about your courses.
 * ** Google Forms ** || Do you have a survey that you need to get out to your fellow students or parents, or do you need a "digital dropbox" to manage assignment completion, or would you merely like to create a self-graded quiz || media type="custom" key="12342150" ||
 * ** VoiceThread ** ||  || media type="custom" key="12342180" ||
 * ** Skype ** ||  || media type="custom" key="12342190" ||
 * ** Google Books for Educators ** || If you have your students reading novels, short stories, and or primary source works that are in the public domain, Google Books is a great place to look for free copies of those works. You can embed the works directly into your course blog so that students can read them online in the same place that they find all of the other important information about your courses.
 * Web Search Strategies in Plain English ||  || media type="youtube" key="B8aYoVpdz8o" height="316" width="563" ||