Thursday, June 29, 2017

Buncee Doodle

Buncee Doodle is the new "game" being used by Buncee users for a variety of educational purposes.  It reminds me of the mobile app Draw Something, where a user creates a drawing/doodle using Buncee and then have another person guess what it is.  This can be done for introducing subjects/concepts, for computer groups, for project based learning, and much much more.

For more information on Buncee Doodle click here!!!

*Buncee is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

ToonSpaghetti Story Lab: Classroom Edition

ToonSpaghetti Story Lab: Classroom Edition is a educational iOS app that I just found out about from Class Tech Tips.  ToonSpaghetti is a fantastic app for kids ages 5 and older and ideal for digital storytelling and project based learning.  Also, ToonSpaghetti is aligned to Common Core Standards, lets users solve word games (to build vocabulary), and add music to animations/stories.
Best of all, a user can record their own voice to create dynamic and engaging stories.

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

30hands

30hands is the excellent and easy-to-use learning tool that educators/students everywhere are using for a wide range purposes, such as: digital storytelling, project based learning, blended learning, and much much more.

I highly recommend checking out 30hands Pro by clicking here or 30hands Web here!!!

30hands has lots of exciting news on the horizon...

After upgrading to Pro, users will have access to existing advanced features and new features in the works:
• Video clips as slides
• Google Drive + Dropbox Integration
• Importing of Google Slides and PDFs as 30hands slides
• Backgrounds and scenes
• Higher quality videos
• Advanced drag-and-drop drawing with editing 
• Slide sharing with parents and students 
• Slide Transitions 
• Unlimited presentations
• Unlimited saves to Camera Roll

Districts that purchase 30hands Pro will get free or discounted professional development (depending on licenses purchased). The PD can be onsite or virtual and selected from our areas of expertise: Digital Storytelling, PBL, Blended Learning, Teaching Coding, and Teaching Entrepreneurship. 

For more info on how your school can participate, email info@30hands.com.
Join our newsletter here: http://30hands.com/newsletter.

*30hands Learning is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Letter Quest EDU

Letter Quest EDU is the new Spelling game from Filament Games.  Letter Quest is a super fun turn-based fighting game where a student spells words to defeat their enemy.  As the game progress the words get harder and this is a great way to build up Spelling/Vocabulary skills.  Best of all, a paid/registered user can track/save student progress.

I highly recommend checking out Letter Quest EDU by clicking here!!!

I Know It

I Know It is the excellent new site from Super Teacher Worksheets for interactive Math lessons grades K-5th.  This is a super fun easy to use site for practice on a wide range of topics, such as: place value, multiplication, counting coins, time, and more.  Best of all, I Know It, allows a user to use a certain number of "hints" to help solve a problem and it gives the correct response w/ reason for the wrong answers.

I highly recommend checking out I Know It by clicking here!!!

*I Know It is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Quiz Game Master

Quiz Game Master is a neat little site I just found out about from Larry Ferlazzo's blog.  This site lets users create their own custom quizzes or use one of their own.  Quizzes can then be shared w/ others or downloaded to save them.  Best of all, are the abundance of different quizzes/games a user can create such as: Racing Quiz, Dragon's Lair, QuizBoard, and much much more.

I highly recommend checking out Quiz Game Master by clicking here!!!

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Answer Pad

The Answer Pad is an awesome teacher tool that has two powerful functionalities: it is both a student response system with a focus on drawing and "show what you know", and a grading solution for your teacher created quizzes.  It is browser based for teachers, and works on any device (BYOD), browser or on free apps for iOS or Android for students.  It is an ideal tool for engaging students for any grade/subject area, and turning a classroom paperless.

New Features

Interactive 

  • Quick Connect - no student registration required or prep time for teachers (login via a code).
    • quick checks for understanding by just asking questions and sending a response type make it super simple.
    • draw tool can easily be sent out for students to work through a problem etc.
  • Feedback - color and text feedback w/ the unlock so that students can retry their answer.
  • Broadcast - teachers can send out one of the students responses to the entire class.  This is great way for classroom discussion w/ the names hidden.
    • Hide names, send out a multi-step problem.  Students complete the first step and classroom discusses the anonymous responses.  As a group decide which answer is best and broadcast response to entire class.
    • Yes or No, students discuss response and incorrect response can be sent to group to correct.
  • Send a Web Page - Teacher can send a web page, video, etc to students so they can view w/out having to leave the interactive session.
Answer Sheet
  • Essay question and multiple correct multiple choice question types now available.  These work in conduction w/ the built-in scratch pad that allows a teacher to see and give partial credit for work.
  • Live Monitor - watch live as students work through an assessment
More resources

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

Below is a demo video...



*The Answer Pad is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Memrise

Memrise is a fun mobile (iOS/Android) app for learning foreign languages.  This is done through Game Based Learning as a user plays through a variety of games such as: speed review, listening skills, difficult words, and classic reviews.  Also, there are lots of resources to help learn a language such as chatbots and videos from actual foreign language speakers.

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

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Otus

Otus the excellent and easy to use Learning Management System for schools has a sleek new design, that allows for easier functionality, a brighter customizable color interface, and real-time analytics and third party integration (i.e. Khan Academy), and of course Otus Worksheets.

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 and Learning.

*Otus is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Blue Apprentice

Blue Apprentice is an innovative new iOS/Web game designed to help students 6-12 yrs old learn Science.  Blue Apprentice takes kids on an intergalactic adventure that has them learning about different Science concepts such as: periodic table, energy, space, ecosystems, and much much more.  Also, Blue Apprentice is aligned to state standard and mets COPPA compliance making it safe for kids.  Best of all, BA tracks students progress, has lots of features/levels to unlock, and has high replay value.

I highly recommend checking out Blue Apprentice by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief demo...

Monday, June 26, 2017

DimensionU

DimensionU is one of my favorite companies for Game Based Learning.  These games take place in an interactive 3D virtual world where students strengthen their Math/Literacy skills.  The games are designed for kids grades 3rd-9th and are aligned to Common Core Standards.

Here are a list of DimensionU games...

Watch the videos below to see all 4 AMAZING
DimensionU Games in action:
Meltdown is the DimensionU game that
offers students a second chance
when answering difficult questions, and
rewards creative strategies to achieve victory.
Swarm is DimensionU's team-based
game that most strongly reinforces
cooperation and collaboration between
students to achieve a common goal.
Towerstorm is the DimensionU game
 that is best for working through the most
 curriculum in the shortest amount of time.
Velocity is DimensionU's high-speed
obstacle course that ensures players
answer questions correctly in order to
continue progressing through the race.
Click to view the MATHEMATICS or LITERACY content included in
DimensionU Games.


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

For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

*DimensionU is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

EdVisto

EdVisto is a innovative new site that I just found out about from Larry Ferlazzo's excellent blog.  EdVisto lets educators create "virtual" classrooms, then add members/students.  Once the students are entered, a teacher can create groups, start a chatroom for group discussion, and create assignments/stories.   Best of all are the clips/videos (i.e. similar to iMovie), and the educational portal that lets educators control users, privacy settings, etc. Once a story is finished it can then be shared w/ others.  EdVisto is a fantastic site to use project based learning, digital storytelling, and more.

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

Thursday, June 22, 2017

WordWanderer

WordWanderer is a site I just found about from Larry Ferlazzo's great blog for making word clouds.  This is a neat way to create a word cloud where you can edit what types of words you want to see or hide, such as: nouns, verbs, prepositions, etc etc.  Also, a user can click on a word to see a definition or how it is used in context or drag-a-line between to words to see how they are related.

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

CodeMonkey

CodeMonkey is a great site for students learning how to program/code.  This is done by guiding a monkey to collect his bananas from gorilla and meeting other characters along the way.  The farther along a user progress the more complex the stages/lessons are.  Students will learn basic JavaScript and principals such as: loops, variables, functions, conditions, and more.

Best of all is the educational portal that allows students to create and track 30 student accounts, a full teacher dashboard, and access to lesson plans.

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

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

NameCoach

NameCoach is a wonderful web service that educators are using to learn student's names and pronounce them correctly.  This is especially useful w/ commencement/graduation ceremonies on the horizon.  The way this works is simple as a teacher creates a name/web page and then has the student's speak their names.  The audio gets embedded into a page and a user can access them all on one page at anytime.  Also, NameCoach makes it very easy to share recordings and keep track of student's name/email.  It's easy, accurate, and 100% safe for schools to use.

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

Below is a brief demo...



*NameCoach is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Parapara Animation

Parapara is a neat little site that for making animations/slideshows that I just found out about from Richard Byrne's excellent blog.  This is a simple to use site that lets user select and color then draw on a screen/frame.  These frames are automatically stitched together to create a slideshow.

I highly recommend checking out Parapara Animation by clicking here!!!

BoomWriter Virtual Summer Camps

Summer is almost here and BoomWriter's Virtual Summer Camps are right around the corner and a soon to be reality for educators!!! This is an excellent solution for teachers looking to make some extra money over the summer (from the comfort of their own home) using BoomWriter's innovative collaborative writing tool.

More info below...

BoomWriter is a site that I’ve written about many times because it lets elementary, middle, and high school teachers conduct engaging nonfiction, fiction, and vocabulary development group-writing activities in almost any subject area. But their new offering is not just another product- it’s a chance for teachers to completely change how they make money (and relax) over the summer!

BoomWriter announced a while back, that they are developing The BoomWriter Virtual Summer Camp to create engaging, flexible, and profitable experiences for teachers as they work to make extra money over the summer. Teachers can make upwards of $1,200 per week with their camp by facilitating online instruction and writing activities for campers in Grades 4-9 using BoomWriter’s easy to use group writing site.

At $0 cost to teachers, BoomWriter will provide the curriculum, camper sign-up web page, and everything else needed to run a camp, so all teachers have to do is recruit students from their own schools or learning communities to participate. Educators can run as many sessions as they want from wherever they want and truly become their own boss on their own schedule.

Register for their mailing list to receive more information and updates to get you ready for Summer of 2017. BoomWriter is a free site that keeps finding new and better ways to support teachers through technology, and The BoomWriter Virtual Summer Camp is no exception!

I highly recommend checking out BoomWriter Virtual Summer Camps by clicking here!!!

View a sample Virtual Summer Camp "splash page" by clicking here.

Below is a brief video...


*BoomWriter is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Ratio Rumble

Ratio Rumble is a super fun iOS app that has students doing battle w/ an opponent creating ratios.  This is a nice way to integrate Game Based Learning into the classroom and helps students work on their Math skills by creating ratios by mixing potions.

More features include:

  • Identifying ratios when used in a variety contextual situations
  • Providing visual representations of ratios
  • Solving common problems or communicating by using rate
  • Explaining why ratios and rates naturally relate to fractions and decimals
I highly recommend checking out Ratio Rumble by clicking here!!!

Super Teacher Sweepstakes

Super Teacher Worksheets one of the best sites around for finding educational resources, worksheets, printables, and more... just announced their latest sweepstakes that will have one educator win a Shel Silverstein poetry collection.  The contest ends on June 30th and no membership is required, just a valid email address.

For more information the Super Teacher Worksheets Sweepstakes click here!!!

*Super Teacher Worksheets is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Renderforest

Renderforest is a new site for creating videos.  This is a great presentation/slideshow tool that educators can use to create explainer (how to) videos, introduce a subject, a more.  Best of all a user can embed a video into a site/blog.

Below is a brief demo...


Renderforest Tutorial / How to Use from Renderforest on Vimeo.

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

Class Dojo Student Stories

ClassDojo the widely used (free) tool for behavior management and communication for education now offers Student Stories. Student Stories is a new way for students to create digital portfolios and share them w/ others.

New Features...

  • 5 minute video creation
  • drawing annotations
  • journal entries
  • filters, frames, and stickers

For more information on the Student Stories update click here.

I highly recommend checking out Student Stories by clicking here!!!

*ClassDojo is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Buncee Classroom

Buncee is the amazing learning tool that provides a digital canvas for students to create amazing projects, presentations, and much much more.  Educators have been using Buncee in a wide variety of ways through their educational portal "Buncee Classroom" to create virtual classrooms for students to complete assignments, take quizzes, etc.  Best of all, Buncee Classroom lets students track students, assign quizzes, and even differentiate instruction.  Finally, w/ the vast amount resources, lesson plans, templates, and tutorials, teachers can easily integrate Buncee into any subject/curriculum.

More features include:
  • Stitching Slides
  • Google Classroom Integration
  • State of the art/custom animations, clipart, and backgrounds
  • COPPA compliant
  • Complete Multimedia integration w/ voice recording
  • Quiz/assignment creation (multiple choice/free answer)
  • iPad app
  • much much more...

Below is a brief demo...



***For more exciting news from Buncee such as: ISTE, Summer Sparks Reading Contest, Buncee Chat on Twitter, and more, check out their blog by clicking here!!!

W/ Father's Day right around the corner, Buncee is a fantastic tool to use create stunning cards or e-Greetings.















*Buncee is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Interland

Interland is the new online game from Google regarding their "Be Internet Awesome" campaign.  This is an innovative new way for students/kids to learn about Cyber Safety and Digital Citizenship.  The "Be Internet Awesome" initiative helps students explore the online world focusing on areas such as: share w/ care, don't fall for fake, secure your secrets, and it's cool to be kind.

Interland is the learning tool that uses Game Based Learning to teach these elements through an interactive 3D virtual world.  Interland has 4 different games for students to master and even an online curriculum for parents/educators to use.

For more detailed information click here.

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

Below is a brief demo...

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Math TuThor

Math TuThor is a wonderful mobile app (iOS/Android) for student's working on their basic Math skills (i.e. multiplication, division, etc. ). Math TuThor is ideal for integrating Game Based Learning in the classroom and has students using answering questions while defeating enemies using the Norse god himself, Thor.  This game has super-high replay value, sporting over 30 levels and monsters to defeat, and 9 characters to choose from.

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

Below is a brief demo...

Storyboard That for Father's Day

Storyboard That just released a collection of activities to use for this upcoming Father's Day.  Students can use it to:

  • make a printable Father's Day card
  • tell a story about Dad
  • create a storyboard thanking Dads
  • make a comic about a memory
I highly recommend checking out Storyboard That for all Father's Day needs by clicking here!!!

Storyboard That is an excellent learning tool that educators are using in a wide variety of ways, such as: project based learning, timelines, digital storytelling, storyboarding, and much much more.  Also, Storyboard That has a wide variety of resources and lessons packs to help teachers integrate into their classroom.

*Storyboard That is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Monday, June 5, 2017

Math Run: Panda Chase

Math Run: Panda Chase is a super fun iOS app for grades K-5th learning basic Math skills (i.e. addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc.)  This game follows the familiar "running" game-style and has students avoiding obstacles while solving Math problems.  Also, there are lots of characters and levels to unlock to enhance replay value.  Best of all, Math Run is tracks students progress, generates detailed reports, and is aligned to Common Core Standards.

I highly recommend checking out Math Run: Panda Chase by clicking here!!!

Projector Screen Store

Projector Screen Store is a great site for educators or parents looking to find screens, projectors, cables, and more for home or their classroom.  Also, this is an ideal place to find good deals and other resources such as: how to build a home theater or how a green screen works.

I highly recommend checking out Projector Screen Store by clicking here!!!

For an interesting read on the evolution of the green screen click here.

*Projector Screen Store is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Mathmatical Run

Mathmatical Run is a easy-to-learn iOS app that helps students practice their basic Math skills (i.e. addition, subtraction, etc.).  This game is similar to any "running" style game and has players collecting stars, avoiding obstacles, and solving equations.  The player goes until they get a problem wrong.

I highly recommend checking out Mathmatical Run by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief demo...