Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Photos for Class

Photos for Class is an excellent new site that is ideal for finding safe images for students.  This search engine uses Flickr safe search as well as some built in filtering to find Creative Common licensed images.  Best of all when a user clicks download the image gets cited automatically w/ the proper licensing terms.

I highly recommend checking out Photos for Class by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational Images click here.

Zap Zap Math

Zap Zap Math is an excellent new free mobile (iOS/Android) app for Math grades K-6th.  ZZM focuses on a lot different such as: addition/subtraction, multiplication, geometry, and more.  All of this is done in a fun self paced game environment where students can add rewards and level up by answering questions correct.

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

For my Pinterest board on Educational iOS Apps click here.

Monday, October 26, 2015

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

Friday, October 23, 2015

EDpuzzle

EDpuzzle the excellent and free learning tool for flipping a classroom and adding questions to a video has just released a new update.  This update has a new landing page making it easier for students/teachers to sign in, as well as a drag-n-drop interface to add questions to a video.  Also, EDpuzzle allows educators to track and monitor student assignments as well generate detailed reports.

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

Below is a brief demo...



*EDpuzzle is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

For my Pinterest board on Flipping a Classroom click here.

Seesaw

Seesaw the innovative free iPad app for creating digital portfolios has just released their latest update, to 2.5.  What this update allows is for users to seamlessly create screencasts or voice recordings of their drawings.  This is a great tool to introduce a topic, present, digital story tell, and can even be used for professional development or flipping a classroom.

Here is more info...

*NEW* synchronized drawing plus voice annotation tool. Starting with a blank canvas or any photo, you can now draw AND record an audio annotation together. A simple, flexible way for students to explain their thinking, now built right into Seesaw!

Plus other improvements and bug fixes:
- More folder colors
- More drawing colors
- Improved eraser and 'Erase All' button on iPad
- Easily access parent invites for your class from main menu
- Fixed front-facing video camera on older iPads


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

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

30hands Pro v. 2.0

30hands Pro the excellent iOS app for project based learning, flipping a classroom, and digital storytelling has just released an update to version 2.0.

These new features include...

• New Features in Pro:
— Enhanced Drawing with Editing, Adding Images to canvas, Layering Images, more! (Basic Drawing is still there, too)
— Share-a-Slide to create a single slide video
— Stop Motion is easier with settings and Enhanced Drawing
— Storyboarding is faster and easier
• New icons from Font Awesome and ION
• added support for iOS 9
• fixed some bugs

• Pro has 2 Drawing Modes: Enhanced and Basic
— Enhanced Drawing is vector based which is huge!
— Add images + photos to a drawing
— Edit a drawing after saving
— Drawing lines are crisper
— Text can be on multiple lines
— Resized and stretched text can still be edited!
• Pro has Share-a-Slide to create a single slide video
— Share a single narrated drawing or image to parents, teachers or friends
— Share-a-Slide allows for better collaboration
— Add video slides from multiple students into a central presentation
• Pro has easy Stop Motion settings
— Stop Motion slides can be within a normal presentation
• Easier Storyboarding in Starter and Pro
— New + icon to add a drawing from slide preview/record screen removes extra steps

For more information on 30hands Pro & 30hands Starter click here!!!

*30hands is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Oncore

Oncore is a free iPad app that acts as a learning management system for teachers.  This simple to use app allows educators to track student behavior as well as assess students in real-time.  The way this works is by uses color-coded data, to help educators visualize student's performance and help assess data.

"By using the seating chart as the classroom interface, Oncore helps teachers collect color-coded, one-touch data on student learning, integrating formative assessment and feedback into their daily practice.

Oncore focuses any K-12 classroom on mastery learning by helping teachers engage all students, check for understanding, create collaborative groups and communicate learning and behavior progress to parents. 

Unique to Oncore is its integration of Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. Teachers can tie a standard to classroom activities, groups, assignments, or individual participations with students."

I highly recommend checking out Oncore Classroom Productivity app by clicking here!!!

Friday, October 16, 2015

Buncee for Halloween

Buncee is a fantastic and simple tool to use for education.  Educators are using it for project based learning, digital storytelling, and much much more.  A great way to use it is for holiday projects and Halloween is ideal.  Buncee, has lots of free resources to explore through and lesson plans, as well as state of the art clip-art, animations, backgrounds, etc.

Below is a buncee I created for Halloween...



I highly recommend checking out Buncee for Education by clicking here!!!

*Buncee is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

dotstorming

dotstorming is a new site for brainstorming that I just found out about from Richard Byrne's excellent blog.  The way this works is a by placing "dots" on a digital canvas acting like a sticky note (i.e. padlet).  Once the dot is place, a user can then add text or an image next to it.  Finally, other users can then vote on the "dots" or notes that have been placed.

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

Halloween Classroom Activities from Storyboard That

Storyboard That the innovative classroom tool for creating storyboards, timelines, graphic organizers, and more has just released their latest free classroom activities for Halloween.

This is a great way for educators to integrate technology into the classroom in fun ways and base lessons or projects around Halloween.  These activities include story starts, ways to celebrate, scary stories, and more that can be customized to meet each teacher's needs.

I highly recommend checking out Halloween Classroom Activities by clicking here!!!

*Storyboard That is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

PBS Students

PBS Students is a free educational iPad app designed for students K-12.  Students can access 1000's of resources to help learn any subject through the use of educational games, activities, or videos.

Here is more from their press release... "For the first time, users can now access learning resources on tablets through the official PBS Student app, available for free for iPad. The PBS Student app is the ideal platform to watch and learn with videos, games and images from PBS and PBS KIDS content including resources from NOVA, DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD and the Ken Burns collection anytime, anywhere. Designed specifically for students in grades K-12, the app provides access to thousands of resources covering all subject areas, from math and science to English and social studies."

I highly recommend checking out the PBS Students app by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational iOS Apps click here.

Otus Worksheets

Otus Worksheets is the latest update from the innovative easy-to-use Learning Management System, Otus.  This feature allows educators to create a assessment/worksheet for students to take inside of Otus.  The questions can be T/F, multiple choice, EdPen, or short answer.  Best of all, Otus grades the assessment automatically except for short answer

Below is a brief demo...



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

Monday, October 5, 2015

Milk Hunt


Milk Hunt is a super fun highly entertaining iOS Math game designed for grades 1st - 5th.  This game plays like a typical "Platform" game and has students running, jumping, and flying w/ a jet pack as they try to collect bottles of milk while answering different questions.  Best of all, is the detailed reports that shows how well a student is doing as well as being able to select wh
at grade/subject (i.e. multiplication, addition) of Math you want to cover.  This makes it very easy to different instruction and a great way to integrate Game Based Learning in the classroom!!!

I highly recommend checking out Milk Hunt by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief demo...



For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

SpellingCity

SpellingCity w/out a doubt is my favorite site for Spelling and Vocabulary.  This is a great site w/ educational portal that allows educators to create word lists that can be incorporated into educational games.  These games are not only fun but highly engaging and help students learn their "words".  Also, an educator can track students, find an abundance of resources/videos, and even use it for mobile learning w/ a free mobile app  (iOS/Android).

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

Below is a brief demo of the free mobile app...



*SpellingCity is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Friday, October 2, 2015

EDpuzzle

EDpuzzle the excellent and free learning tool for flipping a classroom and adding questions to a video has just released a new update.  This update has a new landing page making it easier for students/teachers to sign in, as well as a drag-n-drop interface to add questions to a video.  Also, EDpuzzle allows educators to track and monitor student assignments as well generate detailed reports.

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

Below is a brief demo...



*EDpuzzle is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

For my Pinterest board on Flipping a Classroom click here.

Zing

Zing is a fantastic site for finding free ebooks that I just found out about from Richard Byrne's award winning blog.  This is a great site for education as a user can search search through thousands of books by subject, topic, or reading level.  Best of all, is the ability for an educator to track their student process through built-in reporting and assessments.

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

Answerables


Be sure to check out the latest updates!!!

Answerables is one of the most unique sites to come around in awhile.  It is a cross between a Learning Management System and Game Based Learning environment to deliver a innovative and fun learning experience for students.  All of this takes place in a 3D virtual world (i.e. think Second Life but geared towards education) that allows educators to create lessons, scavenger hunts, collaborate w/ other educators, and much much more.  Best of all, all of this takes place in Answerables safe interactive environment.  Also, Answerables can be used by any curriculum to teach any subject using Project Based Learning, "gamifying"a lesson, and differentiating instruction.

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

Below is a brief demo video...



*Answerables is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Modern Chalkboard

Modern Chalkboard is a wonderful new free site for finding SMART board resources.  This is a great place to find interactive lessons on a wide variety of subjects such as: Math, Grammar, Science, Social Studies, and more Also, this is a nice place to find other resources such as links and help files.

I highly recommend checking out Modern Chalkboard by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational Resources click here.

Otus

Otus the excellent and easy to use Learning Management System for schools has just released a new polished design for their free classroom mobile app and web portal.  This new design, allows for easier to functionality, a brighter customizable color interface, and real-time analytics and third party integration (i.e. Khan Academy).

Here is a list of their updated features...
  • Cleaner Interface: A polished, streamlined functionality lets users more easily navigate existing features including polling for instant feedback, a real-time assessment center, blogging capabilities and classroom organization tools.
  • Real-Time Analytics: A comprehensive analytics dashboard integrates a wide range of performance indicators into one place, including content from select third-party apps like Khan Academy. Teachers can link data to Common Core State Standards or integrate their own custom standards to report on. Otus tracks a variety of data like attendance, participation, student blogs, assessments and grades. In addition, teachers can also create and track meaningful behaviors like grit, leadership and staying on task through Otus ‘Recognitions’. Because Otus logs all student activity in real-time, teachers can quickly gauge their impact on student growth and provide timely, constructive feedback.
  • Toolbox:  Otus functions as an open, interoperable educational ecosystem allowing teachers to integrate and quickly access the third party apps and content that they use everyday in their classroom. Any Otus user can access free third-party apps or content. If third-party apps and content require a subscription, the subscriber must simply link their account to Otus and they will never have to sign-in to access it again.
  • Colorful Work Environments: Now teachers and students can choose from a variety of theme and background color options to create a more personalized, vibrant work environment.


Below is a brief demo...



I highly recommend checking out Otus by clicking here!!!
For more information check out Otus on Technology & Learning.

*Otus is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

BoomWriter Halloween Activities

BoomWriter the fantastic free collaborative writing platform has just released their free Halloween Vocabulary Activity Packet.  This includes activities and word lists using all three of BoomWriter's tools: WordWriter, StoryWriter, and ProjectWriter.  These activities are for all grade levels and are ideal for History and ELA teachers.  Finally, the fun BoomWriter characters are back in their Halloween Boomer Decorations.

I highly recommend checking out BoomWriter Halloween Activities Pack by clicking here!!!

*BoomWriter is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.