Monday will be the first day for students to come back from summer vacation.  The White Oak Intermediate teachers have been hard at work the past few weeks getting everything ready, me included.  The Mac laptops have been updated and re-configured for a new year of learning.  I am excited about the new experiences I will get to share with my 3rd-5th graders this year.  I added some new shortcuts to the desktop and some new applications to the dock.  The picture below is a screen capture of the desktop the students will be working from.

The shortcuts at the top left are websites that were on the desktop last year that we frequently use. From top left to right, they are Keystrokes (my blog), The View (our Moodle courses), Student Google Apps, Accelerated Reader, Study Island, White Oak Elementary Blog, Facts4Me, Switch Zoo, and Primary Games.

The shortcuts to the right of the derrick include a few Web 2.0 tools we used some last year with some new options.  From top left to right they are: Animoto, Blabberize, Glogster EDU, Prezi, Voki, VoiceThread, and Zooburst.

The ladybug icons to the bottom left of the desktop are the TodaysMeet rooms created specifically for running back channels with the 3rd graders, 4th graders, and 5th graders.  I set up a room to be kept open for the school year for each grade level.

The bumblebee at the top of the derrick is a new site I am trying out this year called Only2Clicks.  I have set this site up to contain those websites I want my students going to for research and extra activities.  They can click on that one webpage and have access to all the other web resources I have chosen for them.  Last year the default for their browser was Google.  Their webpage will no longer go to Google for web searches.  Their browser will now take them to Ivy’s Search Engine Resources for Kids.

One of the great Web 2.0 treasures I found over the summer is called Socrative and it is the little icon under the derrick.  This website allows a teacher to have access to a student response system using any device that will connect to the internet: iPod, iPhone, Android, or computer (PC, Mac, or Linux).  After setting up an account, the teacher logs in to http://t.socrative.com and is given a room number.  The students open http://m.socrative.com and enter the room number given to them by the teacher. Then the cooperative learning begins!  This is one tool I KNOW the teachers on my campus are going to get excited about.  The website has loads of ideas for using this tool to engage and inspire your students!  I cannot wait to check it out with my students.

So, we have a lot to look forward to in our lab this year.  I almost forgot to  mention how we are going to be labeling our nature center using QR Codes,  Geocaching with our iPod Touches, and collaborating with our friends from Sharon, Massachusetts and the new friends we will meet this year through Skype.  Monday can not get here soon enough!  Be sure to check back as we share what we learn along the way!