netTrekker Blog

It’s Linda Morrell Day!

At Thinkronize, we value our customers and continue to appreciate their feedback and support towards our mission… ”enhancing the education of youth with highly effective technologies”.

Linda Morrell

Today, we would like to honor one of the first and most prominent advocates for netTrekker d.i. – Linda Morrell – Instructional Technology Director at Cobb County, GA.  Linda provided netTrekker d.i. district-wide to Cobb County in the earliest years and with her team have provided us with a wealth of knowledge.  We want to honor Linda Morrell by officially making today, February 27, 2009 – Linda Morrell day at Thinkronize!

You can join in on our well wishes at the netTrekker Village.

Joel Petersen

VP Strategic Relations

Thinkronize – Makers of netTrekker d.i

Tags: Cobb County, customer, Linda Morrell, netTrekker d.i., Thinkronize

A Biting Find to Read

Psst. Wanna know a secret? I’m terribly afraid of vampires. Yeah, they really freak me out. Which is probably why I’m the last one on planet Earth to read the series Twilight. Jill Allen, the Director of netTrekker’s Customer Relationship and Training Department, seemed shocked that I, an avid reader, had not read this series. She almost convinced me to begin Twilight during FETC. Almost, because, well, I was still a bit nervous about the whole vampire deal. (Yes, I know there are no real vampires. I have an overactive imagination though.)

On March 2nd we will be celebrating Read Across America, and it should be a celebration for all readers, not

How many of you have read Twilight by Stephenie Meyers?

just limited to elementary students. Middle school and high school students should also enjoy this day of reading. And from what I understand, Twilight is the new Harry Potter,  when it comes to encouraging reluctant readers to crack open a book.

With Twilight being a newer book that’s just starting to take hold in the classroom, I wasn’t sure if I would find any resources in netTrekker d.i. . Not only was I pleasantly surprised to find a few, I was also pleased to find results that were not from bookstores selling the book or movie reviews. I used “twilight” as my keyword search. My first two results were related to the series! The first site was the official website of Stephenie Meyer. It was interesting to read about the dream that inspired her to write the story and how the town of Forks became the setting.

The second site is the one that I’m enjoying right now as I write this. It’s a site from the Library of Congress and includes a presentation from Stephenie Meyer at the 2006 National Book Festival.

If you search with Stephenie Meyer as the keyword, you’ll find three websites about the author. On the same note, there are 30 sites about vampires, most dealing with other writings involving these legendary creatures.

If you know of any great sites with lessons on how to use Twilight in the classroom, please share those links with our content editors in the netTrekker Village. Our content editors are always on the prowl for fresh new relevant sites.

Tags: netTrekker, read, read across America, Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, vampire

Seussical Reads

We enjoyed writing our own story using characters from Dr. Seuss.

By the way, the blog is written in collaboration with Amanda Barton from Content Editors and the entire Customer Relations Team. My name is Danielle Abernethy, the main voice of the blog. I am a former military BRAT, and once lived in Bitburg, Germany. On Saturday mornings, my brother and I would go down to the German bakery for fresh bread.  On the way, we would pass a “Dr. Seuss”. I firmly believed that this  Dr. Seuss (a family doctor)  was my favorite author Dr. Seuss. So one morning I got up, grabbed my Dr. Seuss books, and went to visit the good ole’ Doc. Thankfully he was a very understanding old man and didn’t turn away this naive eight year- old. He told me he wasn’t the author Seuss, but he would read with me just the same. We read quite a few books that day.

On March 2nd, all across the world, we’ll be celebrating Dr. Seuss’s 105th birthday, along with the celebration of reading during Read Across America. This is one of my favorite days in schools, and I personally love the fact that Dr. Seuss is celebrated at the same time. He is the reason I love to read! I am tempted to take my son (Joey) out of school, drive down the road to Universal Studios to Seuss Landing and celebrate with them. It’s my favorite place to play in Universal.

But I’m a responsible parent, so we’ll take our trip on the weekend. In the meantime, I’ll find other learning activities for school or home, and what better place to find these activities than through netTrekker d.i. By using “Suess” as my key word I was able to find 40 results in elementary. My favorite website found there is Seussville. This weekend Joey and I created our own story using characters, backgrounds, and sounds from Seuss world. We also found a website that had Joey practicing his math facts with Dr. Seuss.

Dr. Seuss also explored politics in his writing.

When Joey gets older, I can go to the middle school tab and type in Seuss to find 16 results or the high school tab to find 14 results. Among those results are sites showcasing the political side to Dr. Seuss books. Here’s a trivia question, which famous World War Two Leader was the basis for Yertle the Turtle? Social Studies Teachers studying World War Two could have students study the different leaders and try to deduce who the leader was. If you know the answer, leave it in a comment below.

So with that, I’ll leave you to netTrekker to explore.
Use Seuss as the search keyword to open the door.
More than lessons, games and resources you’ll find.
For one of the greatest authors of our time.

(I think I’ll stick to writing blogs
Instead of leaving my audience in a fog!)

Tags: Dr. Seuss, netTrekker, read, read across America

100 Ways, 100 Days

I remember my first year of teaching when a small party was held in a teacher’s room to celebrate the 100th day of school. This day of celebration was new to me at this point, and not nearly as popular as it is now. I asked what was the big deal? Her response – “We are celebrating all that we have learned, all that is yet to come, and the fact that we’re half way through the year. It’s a chance to reflect on how much we have learned and how much we still need to learn.” Before I could tell her that half way was actually the 90th day of school she said, “And 100 sounds so much more impressive than 90, don’t you think?”

Has the 100th day of school already passed for you? If so, how did you celebrate with your students? If not, how do you plan to celebrate? I’d like to share with you a few possibilities.

I was told the reason I was not familiar with 100th Day of School celebrations is because it’s usually an early childhood or early elementary lesson. I learned from another teacher at a conference that the 100th day of school does not have to stop with our primary students though. This high school teacher has her students reflect on the 100th day by writing 100 things they learned that year, and only 25 could be personal. After all, we’re helping our students develop into the successful adults they will become. She found this activity to be a great opportunity for students to go beyond a learning log and really reflect on all they have learned.

In netTrekker d.i., you can find some other great activities for the 100th Day of School. I went to the Thematic Units (bottom of elementary page) and chose to browse all themes. From there I selected 100th Day of School. I love interactive activities, so I refined my search and found a really neat Promethean Board Activity. It has even more ideas to help with your planning. (Don’t forget, if you don’t have Promethean’s ACTIV Boards, you can download the viewerto use these great interactive lessons!)

I then reset my refinement and then chose “learning games”. I was so surprised at what I discovered! I found my favorite little monkey, Curious George! He sponsors a video where students explore what a 100 looks, feels, and even sounds like. The video is on Teacher’s Domain and is available for streaming.
Another resource is the Scholastic Resource. What I liked about this article from Instructor Magazine is that on the right hand side you can click on Math or another subject and pull up activities for them. I loved the Zero Hero and the Community Service Lessons I found there.

Whether it’s your 100th day of teaching or 120th – let’s celebrate how much we have learned!

Admin Tools Update

netTrekker Administrators, this is for you! In addition to providing new resources, the latest nT release offers Admins the ability to assign and revoke the Teacher role directly from the User Management page in Admin Tools.

You can still set up a Teacher Code in the Admin Tools, and have users login and change their user role from Student to Teacher for added functionality. However, now you can assign and revoke the Teacher role simple click of your mouse within the User Management interface, as well as take care of other important Administrator tasks that you are already familiar with:

• Review usernames and roles;
• Change passwords;
• Review and alter a username’s status and ability to log in;
• Review most recent login by username;
• Assign administrative rights;
• Delete a username.

Need more clarification on the User Management tool, or a refresher of other administrative functionalities? Log in to your nT account, click on the  Admin Tools link, and view our helpful Admin Videos. If you want, you can click here to go directly to the Admin Video on User Management.

Tags: Admin Tools, Teacher Code, Teacher Role

You mean I can add MORE collections?

YES, YOU CAN add to the collections already in netTrekker d.i.!  And you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find out that it’s Weekly Reader Express (WRE).   If you’re like me, you have fond memories of getting this great magazine as a child.  Now you can provide your students with the same great info through your netTrekker subscription!  It simply appears in your Collections Refinement Menu as well as integrated with other resources in Search Results pages once you order it.

And the best part is that you can search their database of articles, teacher’s guide content, and reproducible activities from eleven Weekly Reader classroom magazines from 2000 to the present.  —over 7 million words in all!

WRE covers a broad range of academic topics, from social studies and English language arts to science, health, current events, and career development in all eleven of their magazines. 

Can you honestly resist a magazine with such great covers?  Give me a gorilla any day! “How do I get this?” you ask.  You can get a free trial or add it to your subscription by calling 877-517-1125 or emailing sales@netTrekker.com.

For even more details, check this out:  Weekly Reader Express.

Tags: netTrekker, netTrekker d.i., weekly reader, weekly reader express

Teachers’ Domain: Interactive Fun!

Teachers’ Domain offers a diverse collection of activities and media resources for your classroom. The netTrekker sites in Teachers’ Domain contain video, interactive media, images and .pdf files.  Resources accessed through netTrekker pertain to Social Studies and Science topics, but, once you log into Teachersí Domain you can search any topic and find rich resources that address all areas of the curriculum.

Refine your searches to show Teachers

The Teachers’ Domain site encourages you to register, requiring you to complete a short and simple profile. The process asks:

• The type of school
• Where it is located
• A user name/password you would like to access Teachers Domain
• Your name
• Email
• A COPPA regulations confirmation that you are over 13 years of age
• A question of how did you hear about Teachers Domain?

If your school uses a universal user name for the students to access netTrekker d.i., consider registering it here as well!

To continue on with the theme of hearts that Amy introduced with the SMART resources, here is an example of an interactive resource found in netTrekker d.i. from Teachers’ Domain. My search word was heart. I refined my search to only show Teachers’ Domain resources and then selected the entry about

Teachers

heart transplants. It pulls up an interactive program for your students to actually conduct a heart transplant. It includes the background information, questions, and the standards for this activity.

It is simple and truly a rich resource to enhance your classroom, all available in netTrekker! View this short video to see this classroom application in action.

Teachers’ Domain in Action

Tags: interactive media, netTrekker, Teachers' Domain, The Collections, video

Handheld Technology from TI

Texas Instruments’ Activities Exchange is a collaborative forum of activities for use with TI calculators, complete with downloadable handouts and access to calculator and PC software applications. These resources are not only free but also linked to state standards and to textbooks. They’re perfect for supplementing lectures and required reading, practicing standardized tests, and, last but not least, motivating students via a wide variety of projects and investigations.

A search for TI resources using nT will reveal over 2,500 math and science resources for classroom, small-group, and individual use.

If integrating this type of handheld technology into classroom instruction is new to you, you’ll benefit from the training and support materials Texas Instruments provides for its users. Here are a few places for those just getting started:

Click here for downloadable Guidebooks, manuals for TI’s family of products, from the TI-Nspire operating system, to computer software and calculator applications, to the calculators and their accessories. Click here to access all TI Freeware available for your calculator(s).

Before downloading and using using TI’s Activities Exchange resources, it’s a good idea to pre-download and install the LearningCheck App for the popular TI-83 Plus and TI-84-Plus calculators. An advanced search on TI’s site indicates that there are over 500 math activities that utilize this application, which allows students to monitor their own progress as they complete teacher-generated questions, practice tests, and exams. Click on the image on the left to see two screenshots from a sample program that uses the LearningCheck App.

If you’re interested in creating and uploading your own activity, click here for file-extension guide. This is useful, too, for educators new to Activites Exchange who need help with activity downloads.

Last, but not least, here’s a teacher-authored resource that will help you with your calculator. Based on common issues faced by new users of the TI-83 and TI-84, it’s organized into problem-and-solution format and is intended to help students fix errors they might encounter. See sample problem and solution by clicking the image at right.

Tags: Activities Exchange, Texas Instruments, TI

Be SMART with Interactive Notebooks

Earlier in the week, we featured the Promethean Collection of interactive Flipchart lessons.  The SMART Collection in netTrekker d.i. also provides you with over 1,000 interactive whiteboard lessons to use with your students, even if you don’t have a whiteboard.

Check SMART on the Collections menu to browse SMART notebook lessons

Developed in SMART Notebook software, lesson activities are correlated to curriculum standards and you can easily customized each lesson to suit the needs of your classroom. Each one is created in a subject-specific template with an age-appropriate design and works for a range of grades. Many SMART-created lesson activities have interactive multimedia files and dynamic graphics that students will love.

To locate SMART resources, perform a keyword search and then use the Collections refinement menu to quickly browse over 1,000 SMART notebook lessons.

This week to celebrate Valentine’s Day, American Heart Month or during your study of the body systems, have a great hands-on review of the functions of the chambers of the heart by doing a keyword search for the Circulatory System. In the Refinement Menu for collections check SMART on the Collections menu. Once you learn about the heart, there is an interactive piece where you actually put the heart back together and resuscitate a patient.

Simply click on Download Notebook Interactive Viewer to download SMART notebook lessons

Don’t have a SMART Board yet? Follow the link to the smarttech website at the bottom of the screen, select software downloads and simply click on “Download Notebook Interactive Viewer” . You will then be able to view any of the Notebooks found in netTrekker d.i.

It’s that SMART!

Tags: Interactive White Boards, netTrekker, netTrekker d.i., SMART

The Venerable PBS

First, I searched for “pbs teachersource” and got several results, one of which was the PBS Teachers site, of course. From there it’s easy enough to look around and seek specific items of interest. They have a large amount of Professional Development, Teacher Resources, and Standards-based Resources available from the home page. Nice.

Curious about just what I’d find using netTrekker like most folks do, I performed a couple of fairly random keyword searches to then refine using the Collections. Here are some winners:

I tried “wolf” from the High School tab and got a lesson plan from NOVA about wolf relocation programs that included handouts and answers!

I tried “twain” from the Middle School tab and found a fairly extensive curriculum from a PBS show, “Culture Shock,” for teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and dealing with the controversial material in the book. I know I hated reinventing the wheel when teaching, so having a unit I could modify instead of creating one from scratch was always welcome.

Lastly, I thought I should try an Elementary tab search, so I looked for “president” and got a short, cute activity from PBSkid’s Arthur section. I happen to like Arthur, so it looks like fun to me, and it also includes everyone’s favorite part of early childhood education: snack! Maybe I’ll talk Presidential elections, Arthur-style with my kindergartener and we can vote on the snack, too.

Tags: Arthur, huck finn, NOVA, PBS, PBSTeacherSource, professional development, The Collections

Lions, Tigers, and Koala Bears! Oh My!

  

As I looked through the website, I noticed how easy it is to navigate, which is a necessity for younger kids (GLOBIO’s target audience is 7-12 years old.)  It also has great curb appeal which is very important.  A website can have great information and be easy to use, but if it’s not pleasing to look at, kids won’t stick around long. 

GLOBIO consists of several areas.  One that is content related, a kids community, an area for grown ups and educators, and more.  They have also even begun creating Learning Activity Guides for educators that correspond with their content. These resources consist of great articles, pictures, videos, audio, and more.  The subjects matter varies from different animals, light, behavior, the human body, ecosystems, all the way to the moon.  Just to name a few.

Tags: animals, globio, lessons, resources, science, The Collections

Promethe-WHAT?

Pro-ME-thee-in, that’s what!

Some of you are quick to brush this wonderful resource aside because your school or district doesn’t own Interactive Whiteboards, but WAIT!    

You can still view & use Promethean Flipcharts even if you don’t have Interactive Whiteboards!

Simply click on   to download software which will allow you to view these teacher created resources.

Then click on and either open the flipchart immediately or save it to your desktop.

“I don’t have time to find the Promethean Resources.” 

By utilizing netTrekker’s COLLECTIONS refinement menu, you’re able to quickly and easily browse through thousands of Promethean resources. 

“What kind of resources does this Promethean offer?”

These educator created flipcharts allow teachers to browse lesson plans, in multiple subjects, and incorporate into their curriculum.  Whether it’s to be used in the planning of a concept or for the students to master a concept, Promethean flipcharts will enhance any lesson.

In fact, here’s how you find one!

Under the Middle School Tab, I entered the keyword, government. 

I narrowed my results by selecting Promethean located in the Collections refinement menu. 

Scrolling down, I found the flipchart Promethean: A New Government. 

Tags: Integration Ideas, The Collections, Training