20+Technology+Skills+Every+Teacher+Should+Know


 * 20 Technology Skills that Every Educator Should Have**

By Laura Turner

In 2005 I wrote a similar article and have had requests to write an update. Technology has changed a great deal in the last 5-6 years. Although, realistically, you would not use all of these technologies, you should be knowledgeable in what each of the following technology is and how it could be/might be used in a classroom. \

1. Google Tools Knowledge 2. Google Earth Knowledge 3. Wiki Knowledge 4. Blogging Knowledge 5. Spreadsheets Skills 6. Database Skills 7. Social Bookmarking Knowledge 8. Social Networking Knowledge 9. Web Resources in content area 10. Web Searching skills 11. Web2.0 Tools 12. Interactive White Board skills (SmartBoard and Promethean) 13. Website design and management skills 14. Presentation Tools 15. IM knowledge 16. Video and Podcasting 17. RSS feeds 18. Mobile and Handheld Computing 19. Virtual Worlds 20. Collaboration & Communication Tools

Here is some detailed information about the first 5 technology skills.

1. Google Tools knowledge Google is not just a search engine any more. Google has broadened its Internet horizon and created many useful internet tools. Google Tools can be a great piece in every educator’s tool kit. There are a large variety of tools that can be useful to educators in all content areas. Here are some of the most popular tools.

Google for Educators http://www.google.com/educators/index.html Google supports teachers in their efforts to empower students and expand the frontiers of human knowledge. That’s why we’ve assembled the information and tools you’ll find on this site.

(6-12) http://springfieldlibrary.wikispaces.com/Google+Search+Options Create an interactive online poster using images, text background audio and video.

Google Alerts http://www.google.com/alerts Get email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.

Google Books http://books.google.com/books?hl=en online books

Google Bookmarks https://www.google.com/bookmarks Social bookmarking service

Google Docs www.docs.google.com This site allows multiple users to create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. It is a free, collaborative, browser based editor.

Google Docs Basic Video http://www.techlearning.com/article/23554

Google Groups www.googlegroups.com Quickly and easily create private or public discussion groups

iGoogle www.google.com/ig Personalize your Google page. Add news, photos, weather, and stuff from across the web to your page.

Google Image Swirl http://image-swirl.googlelabs.com

Google Maps http://maps.google.com/?hl=en online maps that are interactive

Also See http://edte.ch/blog/maths-maps http://placeopedia.com http://www.geo.me http://paintmap.com www.googlelittrips.com

Google News http://news.google.com/news?ned=en numerous up-to-date new stories in a searchable format

Googlepedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googlepedia See Googles search results side by side with Wikipedia entries

Google Squared (new) http://www.google.com/squared takes a category and creates a starter 'square' of information, automatically fetching and organizing facts from across the web - a new great teaching tool

Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en find relevant work in the world of scholarly research

Google SideWiki http://www.google.com/sidewiki/intl/en/index.html With Google’s Sidewiki, users can easily place a wiki “on the side” of any public website via a plug-in.

Google Uncle Sam http://www.google.com/unclesam US government search

Google Videos http://video.google.com/?hl=en&tab=iv

Google Websites www.google.com/sites Google website creation service/tool

Google Tools http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/ Tools in general

2. Google Earth Google Earth is such a powerful (downloadable) tool that I have listed it separately from the other Google Tools. It is a virtual globe, map and geographic information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D.

Educators can take their students to anywhere on Earth as well as Mars, the Moon, under the ocean; they can also view street view images, 3D buildings and 3D cities. Teachers can also use The Global Awareness gallery for layers and tours related to environmental science and use a related site ‘Google Lit Trips’ for English and Language Arts courses. Here is the Google Earth download site as well as some related links

Google Earth http://earth.google.com

Explore with Google Earth http://www.techlearning.com/article/23432

Google Earth for Educators http://www.google.com/educators/p_earth.html

Google Earth Lessons http://gelessons.com/lessons http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/teaching_methods/google_earth/how...

How to Teach with Google Earth

GEarthHacks http://www.gearthhacks.com This site works in tandem with Google Earth. Overlay files can be downloaded and used with Google Earth.

Tammy Worcester Google Tools Tips http://www.tammyworcester.com/Tips/Google_Tools/Archive.html

Free Tech4Teachers http://www.freetech4teachers.com/p/free-downloads.html See the Google Earth Across the Curriculum PDF download.

3. Wikis Wikis are a newer web tool that many teachers find useful in their classroom. A wiki is an editable webpage/site. These websites are easy to create and use. They are used in situations where a group of people (teachers or teachers and students) needs to create, edit and review each other’s documents. Wikis are a true collaborative tool. Here are some helpful links.

50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative & Interactive Classroom http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/50-ways-to-use-wikis-for-a-mor...

Wikis in Education wiki http://teaching-with-technology.wikispaces.com/Wikis+in+Education

6 Ways to use Wikis in the Classroom http://mrsroncone.wikispaces.com/Ways+to+use+a+wiki+in+your+classroom

How to Create a Classroom Wiki from Edutopia www.edutopia.org/wiki-technology

Examples of Educational Wikis http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+educational+wikis ProProf http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school This site is a free and open online resource for students, professionals and professors on various programs of study. Included are online quizzes and a quiz creation tool, online flashcards and a flashcard creation tool, bogs and wikis and more.

PBWikis web site http://pbwiki.com/education.wiki

Wikis in Plain English Video http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english

Wiki Tutorial from AtomicLearning http://www.atomiclearning.com/pbwiki

Wikispaces web site http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers100K

Wiki Walk Through from Teacher First http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/

What Is a Wiki (and How to Use One for Your Projects) http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2006/07/07/what-is-a-wiki.html This site explains how a teacher can use wikis in their classroom. This is a great learning and resource site for teachers.

Wiki Videos

At the WhiteBoard http://news.zdnet.com/2422-13569_22-154679.html

Wikis in Plain English| www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english

Wetpaint in Plain English http://www.wetpaint.com/page/Wetpaint-Videos

4. Blogs A blog (a blend of the term "web log") is a type of website or part of a website. One person usually maintains Blogs with regular entries. Entries are typically displayed in chronically order. Typically a blog is a combination of personal diary and a commentary/guide to other information on the web. A blog is usually a one page website, often with embedded gadgets or widgets. Here are some useful sites.

Blogger www.blogger.com Blogger is a web-based tool that helps you publish to the web instantly -- whenever the urge strikes. Blogger is the leading tool in the rapidly growing area of web publishing known as weblogs, or "blogs."

BlogEasy www.blogeasy.com BlogEasy offers free blog hosting, which is a free web page publishing and syndication service that allows users to quickly share information, such as news, reviews, blogs, journals, weblogs, diaries, and photos.

Blog Search from Google http://blogsearch.google.com

Bloglines www.bloglines.com Bloglines is a FREE online service for searching, subscribing, creating and sharing news feeds, blogs and rich web content.

Class BlogMeister http://classblogmeister.com. Class Blogmeister is a online classroom blogging tool provided free of subscription or purchase charge by The Landmark Project, a consulting firm providing information and services for educator and education agencies.

Elgg www.elgg.org Elgg is a new breed of social software based around choice, flexibility and openness: a system that firmly places individuals at the centre of their activities.

EduBlogs www.edublogs.org We provide free blogs for teachers, researchers, librarians and other educational professionals.

How to Create a Blog for Your Classroom from Edutopia.org www.edutopia.org/how-to-blog

GabCast www.gabcast.com This site is a podcasting and audio blogging platform that offers an easy way to create and distribute audio content. Most people will use a touch-tone telephone to make their recordings but we also provide worldwide access to the service through VoIP.

KidBlog http://kidblog.org/home.php This site is designed for elementary and middle school teachers who want to provide each student with their own, unique blog. Kidblog's simple, yet powerful tools allow students to publish posts and participate in discussions within a secure classroom blogging community. Teachers maintain complete control over student blogs.

Reluctant Blogger from TechLearning http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196605109

Weblogg-ed www.weblogg-ed.com Welcome to Weblogg-ed, maintained by me, Will Richardson, blogvangelist and Supervisor of Instructional Technology and Communications at Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington, NJ. This site is dedicated to discussions and reflections on the use of Weblogs, wikis, RSS, audiocasts and other Read/Write Web related technologies in the K-12 realm, technologies that are transforming classrooms around the world.

WordPress http://wordpress.org WordPress started with a single bit of code to enhance the typography of everyday writing on the web and fewer users than you can count on your hands and toes. Since then it has grown to be the largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world, used on hundreds of thousands of sites and seen by millions of people every day.

5. Spreadsheet Skills All teachers should know how use a Spreadsheet (usually Excel). A spreadsheet gridded system is used to compute grades and charts can be used extensively in the classroom. Spreadsheets can be used to create rubrics and schedules as well as for gathering numeric data. Charts can be created in and used to visually depict a variety of information and students can also create their own charts, thereby learning higher order thinking skills from this type of activity. Here are some useful links.

Integrating Spreadsheets in the Classroom http://www.amphi.com/~psteffen/excel.html

Everyday Spreadsheets in the Classroom http://www.belmar.k12.nj.us/public/everyday_spreadsheets

Using Spreadsheets in the Classroom http://www.trumbull.k12.oh.us/teachers/resources/usingss.htm

Dr Christie’s Using Spreadsheets in K-12 Classrooms http://alicechristie.org/edtech/ss

Everything You for Using Spreadsheets in the Classroom http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/techknowpark/freefall/resources.html

Doc & Spreadsheets in the Classroom from Google Teacher Academy http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www....

Spreadsheet Resourses from LT Technologies http://www.lttechno.com/links/spreadsheets.html

Classroom Activities using Spreadsheet – student created http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110054/Classroom_Activities.html

Using Databases and Spreadsheets in the Classroom http://www.nelliemuller.com/Databaseandspreadsheetsintheclassroom.htm

Spreadsheet Integration http://homepage.mac.com/drtlo//mywork/tlo/Reno2006/xls/resources/Resourc...

Steven Bell’s PowerPoint and Presentation Skills Resource Page http://staff.philau.edu/bells/ppt.html

Excelets: Excel's Excellent Adventure from TechLearning http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.php?articleID=196604791

Quick and Simple PowerPoint Photo Shows from TechLearning http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604704

Technology Tools for Teachers http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/pd21byersj/prodtls/spreadsht.html

Using Excel for Classroom Activities http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:TN9xjCC2bL0J:sbaran...

Using Spreadsheets and Databases in the Classroom from Half-Baked Ideas http://k8baker.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/spreadsheets-and-databases-in-th...

Tricks, Spreadsheets and Databases downloadables http://sites.google.com/site/cuttingedgeclassroom/tricks-spreadsheets--d...

Computer Lessons - Spreadsheet Downloads http://lessonplans.btskinner.com/computer.html