Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Teachers Tech

Teachers Tech is an excellent iOS app ($1.99) for teachers for integrating technology into their classroom.  This is done by viewing web 2.0 tutorial videos on over 200+ topics.

I highly recommend checking out Teachers Tech by clicking here!!!

Easy Teach

Easy Teach is a new teaching tool that will become available for teachers soon.  I'm posting about this now in case any tech pioneers want to get a first look at this cool sounding app.  This iOS app for iPhones or iPads will allow teachers to incorporate their lessons into customizable educational games for their students.  Another nice feature will be the ability to track students progress as well.

I recommend signing up for Easy Teach by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board for educational iOS apps click here.

Monday, July 30, 2012

9Slides

9Slides is a wonderful site for create a slideshow (or uploading one) and syncing video/audio to that.  Also, what makes 9Slides so nice is how it can be used for professional development and even track usage stats.  Another nice feature is the ability to use 9Slides on a mobile device such as an iPad.

I highly recommend checking out 9Slides by clicking here!!!

*9Slides is a paid sponsor of Technology Tidbits.

Edshelf

Edshelf is one of my favorite sites to come around this year.  This is a great place for educators to find educational sites.  These sites include a brief summary as well a screen shot/video of the site in action.  Also, these sites can be organized into lists by members and even reviewed.

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

*Edshelf is a paid sponsor of Technology Tidbits.

Sharendipity

Sharendipity is a fun site for creating games and then sharing them w/ others.  This can be done by creating a game from scratch or using one of tit many templates.

I recommend checking out Sharendipity by clicking here!!!

For my top 15 sites for learning how to program or code click here.

SpellingCity iOS App

SpellingCity has just released a free iOS app that goes hand in hand w/ their educational website.  This app allows students to play 7 of SC's most popular games.  Also, these games can incorporate vocab and word lists from their teachers/parents (members) of SpellingCity.  This is a great mobile tool to increase vocab and spelling w/ the ability to integrate word lists from SpellingCity's website.

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

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Maily

Maily is a wonderful free iPad app for letting kids email in a safe environment.  This is an app designed for elementary school children who want to learn how to email.  Parents don't have to worry as they can view/control everything going on from Maily's online dashboard.  Once a child is setup w/ Maily, they can draw, write, add pictures, to their email and then w/ a push of a button send an email to one of their contacts (setup by their parents).  A person then responds to a child's email through Maily's online interface to keep it safe and simple.

I recommend viewing the demo video below....



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

CubertsCube

CubertsCube is a excellent site for creative writing for kids aged 7-12 yrs old.  This is all done online in a user friendly environment where kids can write/draw a rough draft, get feedback, revise, and then publish and share a finished product.

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

Game-o-matic

Game-o-matic is a site for creating short simple games that games that I found out about from Larry Ferlazzo's blog.  The way this is done is quite innovative as a person creates a diagram of how things relate to each other and then choose which game suits them best.

I recommend checking out Game-o-matic by clicking here!!!

For my top 15 sites for learning how to code or program click here.

Verbase

Verbase is an interesting new search engine that is ad and spam free.  Also, Verbase offers a nice viual experience w/ lots of information upon searching.  It claims to get "smarter" the more you use it.

I recommend checking out Verbase by clicking here!!!

Saturday, July 21, 2012

StudyShuffle

StudyShuffle is an excellent site for kids that I covered before.  This is an ideal site for teachers to create online flash cards for students to study.  This is done in a safe environment and these cards can contain, text, images, and more.  Also, SS offers student tracking, the ability to bring up cards that are more difficult for students, and various assessment methods.

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

View the brief demo below...

Friday, July 20, 2012

Speek

Speek is a cool site that simplifies the process of conference calls.  No longer doe a person need a phone # and a pin.  W/ Speek a person just names a unique URL and then shares that w/ others to join a conference call.

I recommend checking out Speek by clicking here!!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Avatar Classroom

Avatar Classroom is a innovative site that allows users to create a class in a 3D virtual world.  AC is powered by Moodle and the class is hosted in Second Life.  In Avatar Classroom students can turn in assignments, take quizzes, join discussions, and more.

I highly recommend checking out Avatar Classroom by clicking here!!!

Kidzvuz

Kidzvuz is a safe site for kids ages 7-12 to review videos.  These reviews are shared in a online community where kids can collaborate as well as the ability to earn badges by interacting on the site.

I recommend checking out Kidzvuz by clicking here.

Foboko

Foboko is a new (beta) for creating digital books.  These books can also be collaborated on w/ others and then published online.  It kind of reminds me of BoomWriter w/out the ability to vote on finished chapters.

I recommend checking out Foboko by clicking here!!!

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo's blog for the tip.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Minilogs

Minilogs is a new site for curating the web.  All a user has to do is enter a URL and compile sites into logs.  These logs can be shared w/ others, commented on, and even have more then one person collaborate on it.

I recommend checking out the brief video below...



Check out Minilogs by clicking here!!!

iStudiez Pro

iStudiez Pro is a nice all-n-one iOS app for students.  This app acts as a student planner and helps them keep track of assignments, classes, and more.  Also, it syncs w/ iCal and the could, and has an interactive calendar as well.

I highly recommend checking out iStudiez Pro by clicking here!!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Trash Chaos

Trash Chaos is a very unique and fun game ($.99) for teaching kids about recycling and the environment.  This is done by choosing a character and exploring different worlds while trying to rid it of trash and recycle it in the proper container.

I highly recommend checking out Trash Chaos by clicking here!!!

Math Dojo

Math Dojo is an exciting new iOS app for students for learning/practicing addition.  This game as w/ all Yogome games has wonderful graphics and very easy to play.  This game has kids playing in a fighting style game while trying to answer addition questions before a timer counts down.

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

Share my Lesson

Share my Lesson is an online community for teachers to find and share free educational resources.  This is a great place for educators to collaborate as well as find resources for common core standards.

I highly recommend checking out Share my Lesson by clicking here!!

For my Pinterest board for educational resources click here.

Friday, July 13, 2012

15 Sites for Learning how to Program or Code

There is no denying the popularity of computers and technology in schools.  More and more students are integrating technology into their everyday lives and learning new skills at a younger age.  Programs such as Project Lead the Way and Gen-Y help facilitate these skills w/ innovative technology tools.  Computer Programming is another one of these topics that is being covered more and more in school and a great way to integrate technology into the classroom.

*This list is in alphabetical order.

15 Sites for Learning how to Program or Code
  1. Alice Storytelling - A free Windows app that is ideal for Digital Storytelling.  This app teaches students how to program by drag-n-dropping actions/blocks into sequential order.
  2. C Programming - Want to learn C and C++ programming, this is the place to start.
  3. ClassTools.net - A site that allows teachers to create games, quizzes, activities, and more through the use of templates.  The finished product can then be embedded into a site or blog.
  4. Code Academy - A nice free site that allows users to learn to code for creating websites, games, apps, etc.  This is done in step by step instructions and a user can track their progress.
  5. Code Avengers - An innovative site that teaches Javascript in 40 short lessons filled w/ 5 tasks each.  HTML/CSS coming soon.
  6. The Code Player - A nice way to learn HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript through the use of video tutorials.
  7. Gamestar Mechanic - A fun site for students to learn how to make games.
  8. Google Blockly - Is a visual program editor that reminds me a lot of Alice Storytelling and Scratch, in that a user arranges blocks of code to create an action.
  9. MIT App Inventor - A wonderful site filled w/ educational resources from the creators of Scratch.  This site teaches users how to create mobile mobile apps.
  10. Playfic - A unique site that teaches programming through the use of Digital Storytelling by text based games.
  11. Programr - A nice site for learning a variety of programming languages over the web.
  12. Scratch - One of the most popular sites for students to learn how to program through the creation of interactive games.
  13. Stencyl - A great site for making iOS and flashed based games by putting blocks together (ie, Scratch).
  14. What2Learn - A nice site for educational games as well as creating your own.
  15. YoYo Games - A great company w/ apps for Mac and Win to make games.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

iTeacherBook

iTeacherBook is a wonderful iOS app ($4.99) for teachers.  This is a great all-in-one mobile app for teachers w/ lots of features such as: student tracking, planning, assignments, and more.  A really cool feature is the ability to create a course and then attach students to them their attendance and progress.  Also, iTeacherBook has the ability to create reports and export them.

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

For my educational iOS board on Pinterest click here.

Kids Fun

Kids Fun is a nice iOS app ($.99) for preschool aged students.  This app has over 70 activities for kids to choose from such as: coloring, puzzles, shapes, animals, and more.  I've downloaded it for my 3 yr old and he seems to really enjoy it.

I recommend checking out Kids Fun by clicking here!!!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Mergely

Mergely is a cool site that allows users to differentiate and merge documents in a browser.  This is done by uploading or typing a document on the left side of the screen and then watching the changes occur on the right hand side of the screen.  This is a handy tool for LA teachers teaching writing composition and showing how to edit a document.  A nice feature is the ability to share a URL to share w/ others.

I recommend checking out Mergely by clicking here!!

Thanks to TXTNLRN Dan for the tip.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Adam Dream: Numbers Nightmare

Adam Dream: Numbers Nightmare is a wonderful iOS app that is free for today.  This is a great app for kids to learn basic math skills such as addition.  This game features wonderful graphics and addictive gameplay that has kids controlling Adam as he makes his way through four magical worlds.

I highly recommend checking out Adam Dream by clicking here!!!!

For my Pinterest board for Educational iOS apps click here.

JoyTunes

JoyTunes is a site I just found out about from the excellent site, Edshelf.  This is a wonderful free site for Music teachers to teach students learn how to play an instrument.  This is done by playing real instruments in combination w/ online games.  As of right now there are only games for two instruments, the piano and the recorder.  A great feature is the educational portal which allows teachers to send invites to their students and track student performance.

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

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Code Avengers

Code Avengers is a great site for learning Javascript.  The way this works is it is divided up into 40 lessons w/ 5 short tasks in each interactive lesson.  Also, a user can login to continue where they left off.

I recommend checking out Code Avengers by clicking here!!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Inklewriter

Inklewriter is a wonderful site for creating interactive/choose your own adventure style stories.  This site is free to use and ideal for students to create a story and then share w/ others via a unique URL.  These stories allow for others to create their own path or choose an existing one.  Best of all there is a nice feature for teachers to create student accounts w/ a unique username/password.

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

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo's excellent blog for the tip.

For other similar sites check out:


LearningJar

LearningJar is a new (beta) site for learning or teaching a skill.  This is done informally where people can follow others who are sharing skills online.  Also, a person can create a digital portfolio to share w/ others or complete online challenges to improve your skills.

I recommend checking out LearningJar by clicking here!!!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

TalkTyper

TalkTyper is a super cool tool for speech recognition in a browser (only Chrome).  All a person has to do is enable their microphone on their computer and start talking into the browser and the text should appear on the screen.  It can then be edited, printed, and shared w/ others.

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

Monday, July 2, 2012

QR Voice

QR Voice is a neat little site that I found out about from a friend on Twitter.  This site is simple to use and ideal for generating a synthesized voice speaking text (100 characters) from a QR code.

I highly recommend checking QR voice by clicking here!!!

Chegg

Chegg is a wonderful site for college students to buy, sell, or rent new/used text books.  Also, this is a great place to fine online course reviews, ebooks, and even homework help.  A member can access 1000's of great resources for homework and also partake in a Q/A through an online forum.

I highly recommend checking out Chegg for all your college textbooks and all your higher ed needs!!!

GrammarCheck.net

GrammarCheck.net is an excellent free site for checking grammar & spelling and getting instant feedback.  It's very simple to use and has a nice user interface.  All a person has to do is copy/past their text into a     text box and click on the check button.



I highly recommend checking out GrammarCheck.net by clicking here!!