Visual Ranking Tool Used by Class

Today, I took my homeroom to the computer lab to try out the visual ranking tool. I had created a project of ranking healthy foods yesterday and was a little apprehensive about using it with my class. Well, they really surprised me and did great! They really had no trouble getting to the website and logging in. I heard a lot of discussion going on in the computer lab. They were discussing (arguing sometimes) about why broccoli was more healthy than a banana or a salad. Since I had already come up with that list myself, I needed to have another project that they could do on their on. So, I gave them the task of coming up with naming the important parts of an ecosystem, if they were an animal. They came up with things like: space, shelter, air, sunlight, food, water. They discussed with the rest of the class why they ranked them a certain way. We had some interesting discussions about why shelter was not as important as air. Anyway, I thought it was great! I'll definitely use it again.

Technology Strand

Today's technology session was a blast. I have actually created a visual ranking project for my students. I must admit though, what made it fun was the craziness of my co-workers! I love you guys!

Okay, now I have an official Intel Teacher Workspace. I feel like I have accomplished something.. The url is: http://educate.intel.com/workspace/auth/RegConfirm.aspx?LID=en&

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Wow, I can't believe it's October already! Time is flying by. I'm hoping to apply these higher order thinking lessons to my "real" teaching soon. There's just not enough time in the day.