Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Seesaw


*Now supports Google login!!

Seesaw the wonderful free site/app (Android, iOS, etc) for students making digital portfolios has just released their biggest update so far.  Students can upload photos, videos, PDFs, or even create their own digital content for their portfolio.  Educators can manage, monitor, and organize student work in folders, flag items, and invite parents to view their student's work.

Here is a list of their new features in version 2.0...

  • Seesaw is now fully supported on iOS, Android, Chromebooks, and computers with Firefox/Chrome.
  • We’ve added support for Google sign in, so that older students can login with their existing Google account and access their Seesaw portfolio from anywhere.
  • We’ve enabled likes and comments for students so that classes can use Seesaw as a place for peer feedback and review. Teachers can choose to enable these feedback options, or keep portfolios private.

I highly recommend checking out Seesaw by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief demo video....


*Seesaw is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.





Expeditions Pioneer Program

Expeditions Pioneer Program is an innovative virtual field trip program from Google that I found about from Larry Ferlazzo's excellent blog.  The way this works is a teacher/school signs up and then teams from around the world will come visit them using expedition kits.  These kits are the 3D cardboard glasses from Google.  Right now, they are visiting schools in the US, UK, Australia, and Brazil.

Expeditions are guided virtual reality tours/field trips that student's couldn't normally visit.  The 3D cardboard glasses turns it into a 3D experience for students and is a g
reat way to use mobile devices in the classroom.

I highly recommend checking out Expeditions by clicking here!!!

Chronicle

Chronicle is an amazing iPad app that helps educators harness and organize their best teaching methodologies.  This is done by "chronicling" a students' data and using it in a beneficial and meaningful way.  Chronicle is an all-in-one tool that teachers are using for classroom management, grading, assessing, and so much more.

Here are some of Chronicle's features...

1. Ideal for Reading and Writing Workshop conferring notes, but great for any subject
2. The ability to capture multiple pics, videos, and audio recordings within a note enables teachers to easily provide rich feedback, document student growth, share student achievements, and intervene for student needs.
3. The integrated grade book and traffic light system equip teachers with a means of formatively tracking unit goals, grades, report card descriptors, and more!
4. Many customizable features, including the option of associating any Common Core Standards with a class, if desired.

Below is a demo video...



I highly recommend checking out Chronicle by clicking here!!!

*Chronicle is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits

Projector Screen

ProjectorScreen.com is an excellent site for people or educators to find projectors and other type of equipment for their classrooms.  Not only can a person search through an immense amount of screens, but from other categories such as fixed or manual, multimedia carts, boards, chairs, and more.

I highly recommend checking out ProjectorScreen by clicking here!!!

*ProjectorScreen is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Plotagon for Educati

Plotagon is an excellent app for digital storytelling that reminds me of the now defunct Xtranormal.  It's a super easy tool to use that lets students create a digital story by choosing a character and selecting and then typing their script.  Plotagon does the rest.  However, a user can also create their characters from scratch, add sound effects, and more.  Best of all, is the educational portal that allows educators to manage/create student accounts as well as "house" their animations/stories in a safe controlled environment.  Finally, educators are using Plotagon to help teach any subject and curriculum as well as for Project Based Learning and to "flip" their classroom.

I highly recommend checking out Plotagon by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Digital Storytelling click here.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Brainstormer

Brainstormer is a fun little iOS app that is ideal for brainstorming by spinning a wheel.  This wheel will has 3 categories such as: theme, setting, and location, and is ideal for generating writing prompts.

I highly recommend checking out Brainstormer by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational iOS apps, click here.
For my Pinterest board on Brainstorming & Mindmapping, click here.

Buncee Fall Projects

Buncee easily one of my favorite Web 2.0 sites for education has just released a nice collection of presentations for "Fall Projects".  Buncee's are beautiful looking presentations, greetings, eCards, posters, or pretty much anything that can be put on a digital canvas.  Through their educational portal, educators can create, manage, and assess student projects in real-time.  Best of all everything is done in a safe environment and there lots of educational resources and lessons to be found on Buncee's website.  These projects are being use to flip a classroom, differentiate instruction, project based learning, and much much more.

I highly recommend checking out Buncee's Fall Projects in their "Ideas Lab" by clicking here!!!

Below is an example...









*Buncee is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Matific

Matific is a free Math resource for grades K-6.  This excellent site/app has over a 1000 educational activities that are aligned to Common Core Standards.  "Matific offers more than 700 game-based episodes, which are short interactive activities, and digital worksheets that students can access on any device with internet access, including Mac, PC, iPad and Android."  Best of all is the teacher dashboard that allows educators to monitor student's activity as well as assess their learning through detailed progress reports.

I highly recommend checking out Matific by clicking here!!!

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Classloom

Classloom is a new social network for parents and educators that I just found out about from Class Tech Tips.  The way this works is a educator creates a group and then shares events (i.e. documents, homework, pictures, etc.) in one place.  Parents can then view the information, comment, and collaborate w/ educators on what is going on in the classroom.  This makes communication seamless and users no longer need to worry about papers get lost.  Plus, it is a 100% free and works on any mobile device.

I recommend checking out Classloom by clicking here!!!

Below is a demo video...



For my Pinterest board on Social Networks in Education click here.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Monster Math

Monster Math is an excellent iOS app/game for learning basic Math skills (i.e. addition, multiplication, etc.).  This is done through an engaging and fun game, as a student helps Maxx solve Math problems to find his friend Dextra.  Best of all, is the detailed reporting that allows parents/teachers to track student's progress.  Also, Monster Math adjusts skill level based on a user's performance and differentiates instruction accordingly.  Finally, Monster Math has lots of replay value as there are lots of levels and worlds to explore, and is aligned to Common Core Standards.

I highly recommend checking out Monster Math by clicking here!!!
For a more detailed review check out Edshelf.

Below is a brief demo...

 Monster Math - Trailer from Roopesh Shenoy on Vimeo.

For my Pinterest board on Educational iOS Apps click here.

NameCoach

NameCoach the innovative site for learning students names and how to pronounce them correctly has  just released their latest update, Directory Integration Service.  Directory Integration Service allows a district/school to embed a voice recording of your students' name pronunciation directly into your existing directory listings.

Here are some more benefits...

  • Build a stronger community, promoting diversity and enhancing team relations. 
  •  Encourages inclusion not just diversity
  • Helpful in orientation and recruitment
  • Helpful with Alumni relations
  • Communication made easier across your institution
  • Helps build student-faculty rapport
  • Seamlessly integrate with our Commencement Service
  • We make all of this secure, scalable and easy to deploy
I highly recommend checking out NameCoach's Directory Integration page for schools by clicking here!!!


Below is a brief demo...



*NameCoach is an advertiser of TechnologyTidbits.

Quick Rubric

Quick Rubric is the wonderful new (beta) site for creating rubrics from the creators of Storyboard That.  This is far and away the easiest site I've seen for creating a beautiful rubric where a user can add a row or a column w/ a tap of an arrow button.  Everything inside of the rubric is customizable (i.e. from the heading to customizing points) and a user can save/print out as many rubrics as they need.

I highly recommend checking out Quick Rubric by clicking here!!!

Monday, September 14, 2015

Prodigy

Prodigy is a fantastic free online Math game that is ideal for Game Based Learning.  This super fun highly engaging game designed for grades 1st-6th and is aligned to Common Core Standards.  Best of all is the teacher portal which allows for educators to assess students and get instant real-time reporting.  Prodigy, even has a unique learning engine which allows the game to differentiate instruction and help students w/ areas they are struggling in.  Teachers can modify the game to suit their needs and select which skills their students need to focus on too.  Also, Prodigy is browser based and works on any device (i.e iPad or Chromebook).

*Prodigy is now for 7th-8th grade too!!!
** Prodigy has added thousands of questions covering more than 150 new Math skills!!

I highly recommend checking out Prodigy by clicking here!!!

For more information on the latest news from Prodigy click here!!!

Below is a brief demo...



For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

*Prodigy is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Tiperosity

Tiperosity is an interesting new search engine that is good for finding "tips" on any given subject.  Right now they do have a section for education where people can search for tips on things such as studying or applying for a job.

I recommend checking out Tiperosity by clicking here!!!

Help Teaching

Help Teaching is an excellent site for educators, parents, and others looking for educational resources such as quiz/test creators, online assessments, or worksheets/printables.  These printables are for K-12 and cover a wide range of subjects.  Also, there is a test/virtual room where students can take online assessment and get results in real time.

I highly recommend checking out Help Teaching by clicking here!!!
For my Printerest Board on Educational Resources click here.

*Help Teaching is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

The Answer Pad

The Answer Pad the fantastically simple mobile learning tool and student response system has been busy over the summer months.

Here is a list of some new functionality.

1.  Integrated with Google in a couple of ways... Single sign on for teachers and students. Upgraded users can upload images to the Template Gallery from Drive and can export saved work from Portfolio to Drive.

2. Broadcast: Upgraded teachers can now select as received response from the dashboard and send it back out to the entire group, which is great for working collaboratively through multi step problems.

3. Sharing Tests - all teachers can share answer sheets to other TAP users via email.
4. We just released Live Monitor also. This is for answer sheets. Teachers assign the quiz and can monitor the results live.

Answer Pad still is a great way to turn a classroom paperless and assess students learning in real-time on a iPad/mobile device.  Educators are using Answer Pad to differentiate instruction and for all subjects in any curriculum.

I highly recommend checking out Answer Pad by clicking here!!!!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

How to Make Electricity

How to Make Electricity is a super fun educational iOS app that teaches kids the principals of making electricity.  It does this through easy to understand animations and a virtual lab that lets students experiment using a variety of plug-n-play items (i.e. potato, lightbulb, fan, etc).  How to Make Electricity has 4 lab sections that focuses on: solar, chemical, hydro, and thermal.  Best of all there is a parents guide and even a "science" view that allows students to view electrons at a molecular level.

I highly recommend checking out How to Make Electricity by clicking here!!!

Below is a demo video...



For my Pinterest board on Educational iOS Apps click here.

Monday, September 7, 2015

iPracticeMath


iPractice Math is a excellent all-in-one solution for Math.  This is an excellent resource for students/teachers wanting help in all areas of Math of over 600+ skills (i.e. Algebra, Decimals, Fractions, etc.)  Also, this is a great place for real-time online help w/ practice problems, printables, and worksheets that can be solved online.  Finally, through a free educational portal parents and educators are able to track student's usage and see how well they are doing on any given subject or problem (displaying right/wrong answers).  This is a great way to assess student progress and differentiate instruction.

I highly recommend checking out iPractice Math by clicking here!!!


Thursday, September 3, 2015

Brownie Points

Brownie Points is an excellent free iPad app for Math grades K-7th.  This app uses an incentive based learning system to help students w/ their basic Math skills in areas such as: addition, multiplication, algebra, geometry, etc.  When a student finishes their lessons they earn "brownie points" that allows to unlock and play pre approved apps/games.  Best of all Brownie Points tracks all students progress and is aligned to Common Core Standards.

I highly recommend checking out Brownie Points by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief demo video...

Introduction to Brownie Points from Brownie Points on Vimeo.

For my Pinterest board on Educational iOS Apps click here.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

QuBowl

QuBowl is a innovative quizzing platform that I just found out about from Technology & Learning.  This site allows educators to quiz students and then track their progress.  This is ideal for differentiate instruction as well as finding where a student's strength and weakness lies.  Also, there is a moderator section that allows teachers to create tournaments for their students.  This is a great way to help teach any subject.

I highly recommend checking out QuBowl by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Quizzes/Test Creators click here.

Noteimals

Noteimals is a fun little free iOS app for teaching youngsters musical notes and the piano keyboard (If only I had this when I was learning how to play the piano when I was 5).  The way this works is the musical notes takes on shapes of animals (think Mario Paint SNES) making it easier to learn notes.  Users can choose a song to play through or create their own music in "Free Play" mode.

I highly recommend checking out Noteimals by clicking here!!!