Girls Who Code

Here's a cool program: Girls Who Code. They have summer immersion programs and other great resources. We need more girls interested in learning computer programming!

Math Growth Mindset

Amazon recently released a program called With Math I Can. It gives students stories of other students persevering through difficult math concepts. Teachers can use videos to learn more about growth mindset, establishing a culture of grit in the classroom, and how to personalize learning for all students. Parents can use the videos to reinforce the growth mindset at home. I'm excited to see where Amazon goes with this program!

Apps for Kids

I stumbled across this interesting blog: Best Apps for Kids. The site is written and managed by a group of mothers. Users can search for apps by age group, subject, platform (iOS, Android, etc.), or by bestseller lists. Seems like a great resource for teachers and parents!

Brain Teasers

Educational Tech & Mobile Learning recently posted an article about 10 iPad Apps for Brain Teasers. This could be excellent apps for parents to put on their iPads for their kids to use, or it could be a great way for students to use a "brain break" in you class. Would you add any apps to this list?

Halloween Safety

It's that time of year, again! Halloween can be a fun time of year for our students, but how can we keep them safe while wandering the neighborhood? Free Tech 4 Teachers has a few helpful reminders for keeping the young ones safe on Halloween.

Maker Movement

All those teachers, students, and parents interested in making new things should subscribe to Makezine. Especially with Halloween quickly approaching, they have numerous ideas on creating costumes and decorations. Also, you can follow them on twitter: @make. Check them out!

STEM websites

As a technology teacher, I have a ton of students interested in makerspaces and coding. My goal is to collect as many resources as possible for both students and parents. Information Week posted an article covering 8 STEM websites students can use. I've had them work on a few including code.org but am excited to see the other ones as well.

Summer Activites

Here's an interesting read from Edudemic. It lists activities kids can do during the summer to insure it a more creative and active one. Would you add anything to this list?

Writing Prompt Tool

Here's an interesting tool allowing teachers to create writing prompts online, students respond to the prompts, and their responses are shared with their parents. The online tool is called Apricot. It's great way to share student work and to keep parents in the loop. Here's a full review of Apricot on Free Tech for Teachers.

Summer Learning

With summer vacation quickly approaching, parents and educators are working together to create learning opportunities for our students to prevent the "summer slide." Educational Technology and Mobile Learning released a few game based learning opportunities. I'm familiar with Minecraft, but this list also includes games for gaming consoles like Xbox and Playstation. Would you add anything to this list?

New for Kids

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning had a wonderful blog post recently about 4 different sites for kids to read the news and current events. I've used a few of these before including DOGOnews and CNN Student News. Are there any news sources appropriate for kids you would add to this list?

Internet Safety

Last night, we held an Internet Safety Night for parents and community members to attend. We discussed our use of Digital Passport, Common Sense Media as a tool for parents, and Common Sense's other website, Graphite. We had some great discussions about our students use of technology. Here's a link to my presentation. Let me know what you think.

Math & Literacy Songs

There have been numerous studies conducted around the benefits of songs in the classroom and their affects on learning. It's a great way to "engage learners in kinesthetic, auditory, and visual modalities. Using music in the classroom can create a positive, energized and focused environment. Music has even been shown to help bridge language gaps for English Language Learners." Just to name a few reasons from Rock 2 the Core's website. Rock 2 the Core is a website housing songs aligned to the Common Core Standards. As of now, Rock 2 the Core has songs for K-5 Math and Literacy.

Makerspaces

Recently, our 5th grade science/math teacher received a grant to purchase a 3D printer. The students LOVE it! They've printed a a life size human heart, braille dice, and other wonderful creations. They've been using Google SketchUp to design these creations.

Edudemic recently posted an article on how to make Makerspaces like the one we have in 5th grade. It's not all about 3D printers but also includes robotics, game creations, and Makey Makey. The article also includes videos to inspire students to become inventors.

PARCC test videos

A colleague of mine found the following video on an educational blog, Teched Up Teacher.  It's a screencast of the many nuances of the test many students will find difficult or may not realize at all.  He walks the students through the tech skills associated with the test including the drag/drop questions, scrolling through texts, checkboxes vs multiple choice questions, etc. It's an extremely valuable video for the students to see before taking the tests this spring.

5 Tools for Sharing Ideas

Richard Byrne's blog, Free Technology for Teachers, recently posted about tools used to for sharing ideas online (much like a corkboard).  I've used Padlet to have my students collaborate about assignments and discussions, but he posted about 5 alternatives to Padlet.  These are all great ways to get your staff, students, or community to collaborate and share ideas.

K-3 Writing Contest

Once again, PBS acknowledges the brilliance in K-3 students through their annual writing contest.  The contest asks students to create short works of fiction (50-200 words for K-1 students, 100-350 words for 2nd and 3rd grade students).  There are prizes awarded for students who place.  Learn more by reading Richard Byrne's blog, Free Technology for Teachers, or by reading the contest rules on PBS Kids Writers Contest.

Scannable

After browsing through the Educational Technology and Mobile Learning blog, I discovered an exciting new tool from Evernote called Scannable. The app, which is designed for both iPads and iPhones, allows users to "scan" their documents by taking pictures of them and easily uploading them into the Scannable app.  Users can then store and share the documents from one saved location. It's a great way to organize and store hand written notes/letters, business cards, sticky notes, etc.

Free Webinars and Professional Development

Edutopia compiled a large list of educational webinars/un-conferences/professional development from a wide range of educational outlets. The webinars range from helping teachers in classrooms, parent involvement, and community outreach.  Check out the entire list at Edutopia.  Any other free webinars you would add to this list?

iPad Apps

Richard Byrne (Free Technology for Teachers) has a separate blog titled, "iPad Apps for School."  He updates it frequently and it's a great resource for any elementary teacher or parent. What would you add to his list of iPad Apps?