Thursday, May 28, 2015

Scratch for iPad

Finally, the MIT Media Lab released an iPad app for Scratch. It's more geared towards younger elementary students (the iTunes store states it's for 5-8 year olds), but it's helpful for building games and other exciting activities. Here's a review of the app on Free Tech for Teachers.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Google Classroom

Here's an excellent resource from Educational Technology and Mobile Learning for teachers interested in using Google Classroom. For those that don't know, Google Classroom allows teachers to create virtual classrooms where assignments can be created and submitted by students, discussions can take place, and teachers can grade and organize assignments. The Ed Tech blog post has step-by-step instructions for both teachers who want to get started and for students to use Google Classroom.

Friday, May 22, 2015

ABCYA story maker

Here's a great new tool from ABCYA: Story Maker. It's perfect for the primary grades to type stories they've written and create drawings based on those stories. It's an excellent way for students to practice typing and be creative at the same time! Here's a full review from Free Tech for Teachers.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

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.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Teacher Apps

I've been following and reading Educational Technology and Mobile Learning's blog for quite a while now, but I hadn't discovered their database of Apps available for teachers. They even have them organized according to use. Great resource!

Monday, May 18, 2015

Google Certificed Educators

Do you use Google regularly in the classroom? Have you though about learning more about Google Education? With summer break quickly approaching, teachers have the opportunity and the time to become Google Educators. Here's more information on how to apply and learn about Google Certified Educators.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Free Tech Resources

Emerging EdTech just released a FREE technology resources ebook. It includes over 200 free software applications to use in your classroom and tips on how to implement them. Download your FREE copy today at Emerging EdTech.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Web Tools for Teachers

Here's an interesting blog post from Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. They provide 10 tools for teachers to use with their students. I've used Emaze with my 5th graders, but I'm intrigued by Galaxyz, Clarisketch, and Widescreen Arkive. Would you add any tools to this list?

Monday, May 11, 2015

Summer Courses for Teachers

Recently, TeachThought  provided an an index of online courses available for teachers this summer. Many of the courses are self-paced and free for all K-12 teachers. Any other free courses available this summer?

Friday, May 8, 2015

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?

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Review Games

We've all created review games, usually in the form of jeopardy, to help students prepare for an upcoming assessment. What2Learn has created a way for teachers to use more than a jeopardy game. Users can create a Hangman style game, Q & A quizzes, Anagram games, Matching activities, Interactive word searches. Free Tech 4 Teachers has a full review of the What2Learn website.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Apps for Teachers

Here are a few Apps teachers can use to make their lives a little easier. This list was provided by Emerging EdTech and includes some Apps I've used in the past. Nearpod is a great tool if you have a class set of iPads to create interactive lessons for the kids, but I'm interested in Splashtop which allows users to display you iPad screen through your laptop for FREE. Any other apps we could add to this list?

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

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?

Monday, May 4, 2015

Google Webinar

On Saturday, March 16, SimpleK12 hosts a webinar on all the Google tools available for teachers. Much like their other webinars, you can register and have the webinars available to view at your convenience. The webinars include search skills, Google hangouts, Google Classroom, and much more. Register today for FREE!

Friday, May 1, 2015

Publishing Visual Content

Happy Friday!!

After reading through posts on TeachThought, I discovered this gem on 33 ways to publish visual content. I especially like and have used PicMonkey and Phonto, but there is a long list of other ways to publish visual content. The great thing about this list is the diversity amongst ease of use. Some of these tools are great for elementary students and some are more appropriate for more advanced students. Would you add anything to this list?