I didn't just play videos games...

As I get ready to return to work on Monday from my holiday break I want to reflect on what I have learned over the past two weeks. Besides learning that potty training is still difficult and that I am not as good at playing video games as I once was, I did gain a lot from the numerous conversations I have had with my PLN. I have broken them down into a few categories below...hopefully you will find something interesting of valuable to your teaching.

Motivational Post:
This post from George Couros was one that I found particularly motivating. This has already given me some ideas that I will be working on in the coming weeks. If you have not read this, check it out.

Favorite New Tool:
This site I originally found on Angela Maier’s blog. It is a great collaboration tool where you can share our desktop with multiple people called "join me". I am thinking of how cool it would be in PD sessions as well as the classroom. Rather than interrupting the entire class I can connect with a small group of students and do individual help and tailor it to the individual student or small group. Very cool potential for collaborative work with colleagues as well.

Subject Area Resources:

I have picked up a lot of subject area resources over the holiday break as well. Many are from Richard Byrne’s blog which is a great resource for all subject areas.They are listed below by subject area as well as a few others I picked up in twitterverse of the break. If you have not been to Richard's blog yet, you need to make a point to check this site regularly and add it to your reader.

Math:

• Huge resource with lesson ideas, drills, and games. http://mathsyear7.wikispaces.com/
• A variety of math related resources from Richard Byrne’s blog. http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/01/11-mathematics-resources-to-try-in-2011.html

Science:

• 11 science resources to try this year from Richard Byrne: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/01/11-science-resources-to-try-in-2011.html

Art and Music:

• A variety of resources from Free Tech 4 Teachers  http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/01/11-art-music-resources-to-try-in-2011.html
• A sweet create your own music site. You sing the lyrics and it creates the background music tailored to your style (rock, country, rap,etc.)Personally, I love this site!  http://www.ujam.com/

Social Science:

• I variety of resources for different areas of history and geography. http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/01/11-social-studies-resources-to-try-in.html
• A great listing of Google Earth tours for US history. http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/america8/full/historytours.aspx
• A great tool for organizing information as well as a unique presentation tool. http://museumbox.e2bn.org/

Language Arts:

• A variety of resources from Richard’s blog again for Language Arts teachers. http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/01/11-language-arts-resources-to-try-in.html
• This neat little site has Garfield doing videos on a few different topics; one of them being fact/opinion. This would be a great introduction to younger aged students doing research for the first time. http://infinitelearninglab.org/