Here is a great list of learning games for kids. Get started helping your child to love learning today!

http://www.jumpstart.com/parents/games/learning-games

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This article is an amazing resource for educators and students. It allows teachers to have tools at their fingertips to enhance their lesson planning and to use technology social media, learning, lesson planning and more. Here is a partial list of the tools they recommend with links to the sites to learn more about each tool.

1. Khan Academy: Many teachers use this excellent collection of math, science, and finance lectures and quizzes to supplement their classroom materials.
2. MangaHigh: MangaHigh offers teachers a wealth of resources for game-based learning in mathematics.
3. FunBrain: If you’re looking for a great collection of educational games, look no further than FunBrain. On it, teachers can take advantage of fun tools for math and reading.
4. Educreations: Educreations is an amazing online tool for the iPad that lets teachers (or students) create videos that teach a given topic. Perfect for studying or getting students to show off their knowledge.
5. Animoto: Animoto makes it simple to create video-based lessons or presentations for the classroom and to share them with students or anyone else.
6. Socrative: Available for computers, mobile devices, and tablets, this student response system engages students through games and exercises on any device they have on hand. Even better, teachers can easily assess student progress and track grades.
7. Knewton: Adaptive learning has been a hot topic in recent months, and with Knewton it’s something that any teacher can access and use. The site personalizes online learning content for each student according to his or her needs.
8. Kerpoof: On Kerpoof, students can get creative with their learning with games, interactive activities, drawing tools, and more that are both fun and educational.
9. StudySync: With a digital library, weekly writing practice, online writing and peer reviews, Common Core assignments, and multimedia lessons available, this site is a fully-featured tool for teaching and learning that can be a big help in the classroom.
10. CarrotSticks: On this site, teachers can take advantage of a wide range of math learning games, giving students practice while they have fun.

Computer tables are not just a place to hold your computer for work; they can be the key to making your child’s education fun and exciting. The number of computer-based gadgets designed to give kids a great learning experience is astounding.

Does your child take music lessons, guitar perhaps? A neat little gadget called the iRig hooks up to an electric guitar so that the musician can then play his guitar into the iRig device and then out through any i-device such as an iPad, iPhone or laptop. This gives the musician the ability to tune up and play music right there, with no need for a heavy, inconvenient speaker. A great benefit for parents is that it is possible to also listen through headphones.

One gadget that is sure to be popular with teens is the Nintendo 3SXL. Load that up with any one of many educational games, and you have a portable school right at your fingertips. Many games are geared to math training, memory improvement, and hand-eye coordination practice.

Is dancing your child’s first love? The Nintendo Wii can be fitted with a dance program that will get your child up and moving, and perhaps more adventurous parents as well. Dancing is a fantastic aerobic exercise, and the program also teaches steps to many popular modern dances.

No question, the gadgets that are most likely to be placed up on the podiumsof innovation, are called the Nabi and the Nabi Junior. These gadgets are the world’s first full-featured Android-platform tablets made with kids in mind. Almost anything an adult can do on a tablet, a kid can do on a Nabi, including reading books, exploring the internet, learning math, and much, much more.

If you’re serious about expanding your use of technology in the classroom, Brainpop is the way to go. This innovative site, founded in 1999, allows you to create animated content that will engage students and support educators and their needs. They have award-winning online educational resources.

As they describe on their website, “In traditional, blended, and “flipped” learning settings, BrainPOP supports individual, team, and whole-class learning. At school and in informal learning environments, our characters help introduce new topics and illustrate complex concepts. Our Mixer^™tool lets users tailor their assessments to meet all students’ needs. A great fit for mobile learning and BYOD classrooms, BrainPOP’s educational apps have been downloaded millions of times and lauded in countless reviews. ”

Get your brain moving with Brainpop today.

Today some schools not only allow children to bring in mp3 players (a device that stores and plays back music files), but actually encourage their use.  This does not mean that students are to sit
at the school desk and listen to the latest pop music while ignoring the teacher.  But what it does mean is that they can be used as an educational aid.  According to Pew Internet 2009 research, 79% of children aged 12-17 own an mp3 player.

This mini portable hard drive (which is basically what an mp3 player is), can give students the capacity to assemble substantial amounts of digital music/files which means they don’t have to carry so many papers.  Further, in 2006 CA middle school teacher Blaisell commented that “forcing students to use outdated equipment and old technologies risks boredom and lower interest in schoolwork.”

So if students are not just going to be using their mp3s to enjoy their own music, how can they be positively used in the classroom?  One way is by teaching them to make their own podcast (aka an iPod broadcast).  Once it is put on iTunes, others can benefit from it by subscribing.  They can also be moved onto one’s own mp3 player and listened to when convenient.

Learning to create and benefit from a podcast is very important for advancing today, in the world of technology.

New in the gamut of technological educational tools available today are document cameras.  They offer a way for educators to show their students different methods of examining various objects.  This is great for science projects too which can often be challenging for the student that lacks interest in the subject.  The problem is, they are not cheap and thus there can be an issue of theft between students.  That is why it is most advisable for the school children to keep them in secure school lockers.  Thus camera owners can be sure they will not be stolen.

Document cameras are also great for teachers to use to share 3D objects, maps, and other living objects (such as small animals, etc.).  Students are able to benefit from them by interacting with them.  When students learn interactively, they are more likely to integrate it into their subconscious, thus learning about it more easily and deeply.

There are many uses for document cameras at school.  The list includes: explaining a complicated scientific experiment, show and tell, sharing student work, demonstrative use of GPS or other gadget, modeling a process, etc.

Today, there are so many ways to use technology to enhance student learning. Sure, sometimes technology is misused in the classroom and mismanaged. But, for the most part, the possibilities with technology are endless and amazing. Here are some great examples of technological resources that teachers can use and that students can use on their own.

Zap Reader: This speed reading program is supposed to help you increase the speed at which you read on your computer. It’s worth a look. http://www.zapreader.com/

Blogger: One great tool for English teachers and language teachers is to show students that their work is relevant to their lives. Help students to build their own blog and ask them to blog on it twice a week. You can check their blogs and require certain things from each blog, or let them use it for free writing and expression. http://www.blogger.com/home?pli=1

Mind Mapping: This is an incredible tool that allows the teacher or the student to brainstorm ideas and to map plans. It enables you to prepare for a writing assignment, to plan out your history work, to device a science project and much more. http://www.mindomo.com/

Maps of War: If you’re a history buff or just need to look something up, Maps of War is the place to be. You can find almost anything you need here to learn more about a period in history and to see a corresponding map of that time and place.  http://www.mapsofwar.com/

21^st century school education is very different to how it was for the previous generation.  One of the main reasons is due to the huge advancement in technology.  Thus, when visiting schools, one will find much typical school furniture has been replaced by very different, modernized, technological-appropriate versions.  For example, gone are the days of blackboards; instead, interactive whiteboards are used.  Say goodbye to paper-and-pen for note-taking, instead make sure your child has the latest laptop or tablet.  Of course, as with any radical change, there are pros and cons to these new ways of learning but the fact is that this is now the way of the world.

Since at home and during playtime children today are used to living with gadgets, it really does make sense for this to be extended to school.  In addition, the younger generation has more of a natural capacity to acclimatize to gadgets, making technological learning relatively easy and comfortable for them.

Some of us resist using technology when teaching our kids today. We don’t want our children sitting on their computers all day long and we want them to learn in a traditional way. However, as long as the technology is being used to actually enhance learning and to teach, it can actually be quite an asset in the classroom and in the home. Learning can be done with classroom furniture, but it can also begin in the home. Here are some gadgets that can enhance student learning for young learners.

LeapReader: LeapFrog: This is a learning and reading tool for kids. Kids can sound out words and read sentences. They can learn to write letters while receiving guidance. There are Learn to Read programs, Learn to Write programs and Learn to Listen programs that all enhance learning for kids from 4-8.

ABC Adventure Elefun: This item is for even younger learners from six months to 3 years approximately. It helps infants to learn their first 100 words including learning colors and other items.

Roll & Learn Activity Suitcase: This suitcase has an activity panel with four light-up piano keys, a phone that you can remove, spinning gears and more. Kids can learn their first words, learn greetings in both English and Spanish, learn about modes of transportation and sing along to more than thirty songs.

These are but a few of the thousands of technology gadgets out there today that are intended to help children of all ages with their learning.