netTrekker Blog

ELL Channel Brings World Culture Experience to All Learners

Described in this article are two lesson plan ideas created by NT101 Summer Session participants, Ryan Cummings (Jennings, IN) and Rachel Erickson (Aurora, CO). Both educators used resources from netTrekker’s ELL Channel and the literary tales, The Bear Prince and Jack and the Beanstalk to design an interdisciplinary cultural exploration.

These lessons, through the use of resources from the ELL channel take students to China, France, Mexico, Spain and the United States to learn about mathematics, literature, people and the cultural traditions that surround these countries.

Rachel’s lesson is geared toward primary and elementary students. The lesson is centered around the Mexican folktale, The Bear Prince. Students explore the Sierra Madre Occidental region of Mexico through Google Earth and the eyes of Rosa, a Mexican girl who is forced to marry a mysterious bear. Using interactive websites, videos and images from netTrekker’s ELL channel students will sketch cultural items and work with a partner using Microsoft Paint to create a visual representation depicting the cultural items/traits they researched in My Portfolio folders Rachel compiled.

For secondary students, Ryan brings fun, practical application, and thorough understanding to the complex skills of calculating currency exchange and crop yields.

Students in Ryan’s class will research using netTrekker resources to decide what type of currency Jack takes from the giant depending upon a teacher-assigned geographic location of Jack’s origin. Students will research and decide during which season, in different countries Jack could have planted and grown the beans to yield the best monetary crop. Students will work in groups to design a graph of their choice and present a two-minute debate about where Jack should live to be most successful in his business.

Thanks to Ryan and Rachel for sharing these wonderful lesson ideas for all netTrekker learners. Enjoy reading reflections below from these NT101 Alumni and visit the ELL Channel to explore the amazing tools and resources in the ELL Skill Development and Multicultural Pavilion areas.

“I absolutely love using netTrekker. The different uses I can get out of netTrekker for my everyday lessons are remarkable. The ELL Channel is a feature that is going to help me enhance my students’ knowledge of world culture as I am teaching them mathematics. My students will have a more enriched learning environment because of the ELL Channel in netTrekker.

My Jack and the Beanstalk lesson is going to allow me, using features inside of the ELL Channel, to enrich my students’ understanding that the world we are apart of is much bigger than the town we live. It will allow them to research different areas of the world while sitting in their local classroom. They will be able to experience different cultures that they may not normally get to study. The more I can let my students see what similarities and differences there are in different parts of the world, the more I am going be able to prepare them for their future lives.

The ELL feature also allows them to get help with the understanding and meanings of different words and different languages. With the different options they can use in netTrekker, students will be able to learn at their own reading level and move at their own pace. The other thing I like about this feature is the read aloud button. If an article is a little too difficult for a student to read, then they can use this feature to help them get the understanding they need. What a great feature for all of our students. Each student now has the opportunity to push the limits of their own learning.

Net trekker is a tool that I am so glad our school has for me to use and the ELL Channel is just one part of it that will help me to diversify my students’ learning.”

Ryan Cummings
Secondary Teacher and Coach
Jennings, IN

“The increase in ethnic and language diversity of students in our schools requires educators to teach students to value diversity and understand cultural differences in order to be successful participants in a global society. People don’t often recognize the impact culture has on behavior until they interact with someone whose culture differs from their own. netTrekker’s Multicultural Pavilion within the English Learners’ channel gives both teachers and students a window into various cultures. The resources found provide a means to increase cross-cultural awareness, which will lead to a greater understanding of the world. I am grateful that netTrekker has included the Multicultural Pavilion as part of the English Learners channel so educators and students may benefit from the variety of resources that help us reflect on our own values, beliefs, and perceptions while gaining perspective on cultures that differ from our own.”

Rachel Erickson
Instructional Technology Coach
Aurora, CO

Tags: ELL, lesson plans, literature, math, NT101, staff development

The Reference Link

During the NT101 course participants collaborate on the discussion boards to share tips, strategies, resources and Best Practices.  Often times, early in the course I have to send out a few re-assuring words to make people feel comfortable to post ideas.  However, this summer the discussion boards are “on fire.”  During the first content module, Barb Wagers from Aurora Colorado posted a great sample best practice article about the power of the Reference Link.   Enjoy Barb’s Best Practice article below.  Thanks to Barb for her great submission.

The Reference Link

If you have not explored the References link in the Features box, you are missing a ton of resources for you and your students. Teaching students to access the References button gives them several resources, literally, at their fingertips. There are two areas that I would like to specifically highlight.

Students always want to use images and sounds that may be copyright protected. Using Find Sound, students can download free sound clips that can be used in presentations or video production. Click on the Reference tab and scroll down to Find Sound under the category of Finders. You can search for a specific sound or browse through a list of sounds available by clicking on See Examples in English link. Once the students find the sounds they want, they can download them onto their computer and use them legally.

In the Multimedia area on the References page, there are several sites that offer free clip-art and images. The Elementary tab is a bit limiting, but have your students use the Middle or High school tab and they will see several websites that offer free clip-art and images. Many of the sites have the images in subject categories, which is very useful to the students.

There are several more resources in the References link, so check them out and teach your students to use them as well.

Barb Wagers
Instructional Technology Coach
Aurora Public Schools, CO

We would love to hear your tips, strategies and Best Practices for implementing  netTrekker in your classroom, school or district.  Your ideas may be published on nT Village or in our netTrekker newsletter.

Best Practice Submission Process:
Please describe (in 500 words or less), a netTrekker Integrated Best Practice. Include details that support using the Collections, the Features, Web Tools, and any of our Integrated Partner Products. In your entry, include the external links, a copy of any educator created materials, and any other pertinent documents and resources you incorporated to make your lesson a Best Practice.

Send this information to aellisor@nettrekker.com to be considered for publication in the Best Practice section of the netTrekker newsletter or on netTrekker Village.

Tags: best practice, Features and Tools, lesson plans, NT101, references, staff development, Training

Save 20% on netTrekker Professional Development

How do you maximize the value of your netTrekker subscription? By giving your teachers the professional development they need to ensure successful implementation and classroom use!

Save up to 20% on all netTrekker Professional Development offerings through July 15, 2010!

Here’s how it works:

If you order netTrekker Professional Development and your purchase order is received by July 15, 2010, you’ll get 10% off*!

Order netTrekker Professional Development and schedule your training session before you send in the order, and you’ll receive 20% off*! The purchase order must be received by July 15, 2010 and your training must be scheduled for a date prior to December 31, 2010.

*Travel expenses will not be discounted.

Creating awareness of netTrekker and training on its features contributes greatly to high and effective usage. Our team of experienced educators developed specific training programs designed to meet the needs of today’s classroom teachers. We can accommodate small or large groups meeting on-site or online with a customized agenda to meet your training goals.

Schools and districts that have invested in netTrekker Professional Development have seen a dramatic impact on usage rates. Susan Joyner, an Instructional Technology Teacher from Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools, saw immediate results. “We trained media specialists and second year teachers in March, and all of the trainings were quite successful.” Before netTrekker Professional Development, Savannah-Chatham’s total number of netTrekker page views sat at 277,674.  “By March 24th we were at 432,925 total page views. We are so grateful for netTrekker’s support!” netTrekker training almost doubled Savannah-Chatham’s usage, and could help your school or district achieve the same results!

netTrekker’s Professional Development offerings include Online Courses, Webinars, On-Site Workshops and Differentiated Instruction Packages. View a comparison of these options to see which training best corresponds with your needs, or contact your netTrekker Account Manager for more information.

Tags: NT101, professional development, promotion, Training, webinar

Are You the Biggest User?

This blog post is the first of an exciting series to come. Many of us are inspired by the hard work and accomplishments of the men and women who participate in The Biggest Loser. Through coaching and the support of peers these dedicated individuals learn new things and discover tools and strategies to gain a wonderful new lifestyle.

This experience is much like the virtual community in NT101, netTreker’s Online Professional Development Course. We are currently in our sixth session and our participant group includes a diverse group of over 200 people including teachers, media specialists, curriculum coordinators, administrators, and content evaluators all representing many regions of the United States.

I recently sent out a request to the NT101 Alumni groups to write in and let us know how they are doing “after they left the training camp.” Within just a few minutes, I had an amazing response. Jo Anne McClelland from Sierra Sands School District in Ridgecrest California wrote back to me, “I Have a Great One!” She explained to me that on the first day of school, during first period, as she was checking attendance, she noticed one of her eighth graders who had not answered roll call. Knowing he was a new, unfamiliar face, Jo Anne matched him up with the one name left on her roster. At the end of the day she received a message from the office that this new student was from China, had only been in the United States for two weeks and spoke very little English. JoAnne knew absolutely NO Chinese. After working with him a few days, it was evident that he read and understood English a little better than he could speak.

JoAnne called in “netTrekker to the rescue” with the Read Aloud feature. “I just pull up a list of search results that relate to our lesson of the day, have him use my computer and he loves exploring, with the assistance of ‘Mike’ or ‘Lauren’ to help him learn English and history. It’s been 7 weeks and now he brings an electronic translator to class and is able to complete most of the written work that the class is working on. Thank you netTrekker!”

This is just one of the many training success stories. Visit netTrekker Village to join our online learning community, meet members in your regional group, participate in discussions, enjoy reading Best Practices, watching videos and learning about exciting upcoming events. If you have training success story to share, please let us know. You may be the next Biggest User.

Tags: netTrekker, NT101, Training