3 for Thursday
December 18, 2014
1. Click Bait in the Classroom
When a news article or link has a provocative title in order to get you to click on it, this is known as "clickbait". The true goal is to trick the viewer into clicking on the link so that the writer can collect view stats -- usually for monetary or for narcissistic purposes. It can be irresistible..."Six Foods You Must NOT Eat", "Signs You Will Die Before Age 50", etc...
The people who write clickbait know how to pique your interest in a way that causes you to choose to engage. So.....what if the daily tasks assigned to students were just as enticing as the clickbait found on social media? Sensational headlines work because they plant a question in the reader's mind-a hook, really. When essential questions in the classroom are phrased similarly, we can "hook" our students into wanting the answers. Check out the articles below if you'd like to know more about this interesting concept:
What if Classic Books Were Given Click-Baity Titles?
2. Time Capsule: This Day in History
Find out the top headlines, songs, minimum wage, (and lots more) about a specific date in history with Time Capsule. Simply enter any date and click the Quick Page button. This will return a page with headlines, songs, prices, and other information for that day, week, or year. At the top of the page, you’ll find a link to open a printable version. If you click the Advanced Page button, a wizard will allow you to choose specific events for the selected date. Students can find out what happened the day they were born, chart the price of bread over a given period of time, compare prices from the day they were born to prices from the day the teacher (or a parent) was born, or use the information in an “All About Me” presentation or an autobiography. What other uses can you think of for this nifty tool?
3. ABCya! Animate
Many of you use the activities from ABCya! in your classroom, particularly in the younger grades. But do you know about ABCya! Animate? It's such a fun and easy tool for creating animations....and somewhat addicting. Animate stories, steps in a process, a cycle, book reports, etc... I promise that your students (and YOU) will love it! Each project can be saved as an animated .gif file. Check out my example to see a holiday message.
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About 3 for Thursday
Tech tips and timely topics presented for the teachers of Mashburn Elementary (and anyone they'd like to share with.) At Mashburn Elementary, Our Mission is developing deep levels of Relationships, Engagement, and Rigor.
Email: klochbaum@forsyth.k12.ga.us
Phone: 770-889-1630
Twitter: @KimLochbaum