Teacher Gaming Network

Teacher Gaming Network is a excellent site where educators can go to create their very own games.  Educators control all the content in the game and choose different styles questions to incorporate into the game such as: T/F, matching, multiple choice, etc.  Also, there are up to 5 different styles of games they can create (plus account) as well as browse through other games created by other educators.

I highly recommend checking out Teacher Gaming Network to help "Gamify" a lesson by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief video...



For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

To find Teacher Gaming Network on Edshelf click here.

GoClass

GoClass is a amazing web tool/app for creating lessons that can done on mobile devices.  This is all done through an innovative user interface where educators use the web to create their students/class/courses and then have students complete them on their mobile devices.  Best of all, the teacher creates all the content, student accounts, and then has the option to "lock" down the device while they are presenting a lesson to them and "unlock" them for assignments to be completed.  Finally, educators can then assess students work and in real-time while archiving and generating reports.

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

*GoClass is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Edueto

Edueto is a great new site for educators to create homework online and then grade it once students have completed it.  This is done from a easy to use interface and allows teachers to add text, images, videos and more.  After the students complete the assignment teachers can then grade them in a fast organized manner.  Also, educators can find other assignments already created on Edueto and customize them to meet their own needs.

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

ClassDojo

ClassDojo is one of my all-time favorite Web 2.0 sites and is widely popular for their free classroom management learning tool.  This is an excellent easy to use site/app for gauging student's behavior and tracking a class.  Also, students have a login in this safe COPPA compliant environment where they can visualize how they are doing in school.  Best of all are the features that allow educators to generate reports and even share this data w/ other educators and parents w/out having to give out personal information (all sharing is done through the app).

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

For my Pinterest board on Web 2.0 for schools click here.

*ClassDojo is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Poetica

Poetica is a new (private beta) for collaborative writing.  This is a site where users can import any Word, PDF, or RTF file to edit w/ another another person in real-time.  It has really nice tools that allows two people to work back and forth and see all edit while working together.  This is great for Collaborative Learning, reviewing rough drafts, and more.

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

Answerables

Answerables is a wonderful site that is a cross between Game Based Learning meets a Learning Management System.  This is an innovative place where educators can "Gamify" a lesson and have their students collaborative learn in a safe 3D dimensional environment (think Second Life for kids).  Teachers can use the latest in technology for many different strategies for teaching such as: Guided/Blended Learning, Project Based Learning, and even Differentiating Instruction.  The LMS component of Answerables allows educators to assign lessons/quests to kids, assess learning, tutor, and much much more.

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

Below is a brief demo video...



*Answerables is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

BoomWriter Storytellers Camp

BoomWriter is a company I've worked w/ in the past and love blogging about.  They are known worldwide for their innovative way to integrate technology into classrooms through their collaborative writing process.  Their site w/ educational portal (i.e. safe for students no email necessary) allows teachers/students to collaborative create a book, get it published, and then get a free class copy (or order their own).

Last summer they launched their successful online virtual Summer Writing Camp and are doing it again this year.  This summer they have two different writing courses for students, Realistic Fiction and Mystery.  Each camp is only 1 week long (5 days for $99) and a child can take both if they like (discount for more then 1 child), and receive 1 free published book of their own creation.

For more information on this innovative fun Summer Camp click here!!!

DimensionU

DimensionU is a fantastic site/apps for Game Based Learning in the areas of Math and Literacy.  These innovative games take place in an interactive 3D world and are designed for grades 3rd-9th and aligned to Common Core Standard.  Also, these games are contained in an educational portal, safe to play, and help develop collaborative learning.

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

DimensionU Games

Comprised of four engaging, multiplayer games with access to curriculum in both Math and Literacy, grades 3 – 9. Each game is designed with unique features to bring out distinct academic and strategic skills in students.

Click here to view all content available in mathematics.
Click here to view all content available in literacy. 

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.

For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

*DimensionU is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Modern Chalkboard

Modern Chalkboard is a wonderful site for finding free interactive SMART board lessons for your whiteboard.  This site contains tons of lessons on a wide range of subjects (i.e. Math, Grammar, Science, etc) w/ more being added all the time.  Also, this is a nice place for finding other educational resources such as links and help files for those that use SMART boards in th
eir classrooms.

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

For my Pinterest board on Educational Resources click here.

To find Modern Chalkboard on Edshelf click here.

Been for Education

Been for Education is one of my new favorite Web 2.0 sites for collaborative browsing and bookmarking the web in a safe environment.  The way this works is educators create, manage, and monitor the student accounts while the "guide" learning by browsing the web and collaborating in real-time.  This is all done through an easy to use interface and browser extension and is ideal for researching/introducing a topic, guided learning, and much much more.

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

*Been is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Brainthud

Brainthud is a nice new (beta) site for creating flashcards that I just found out about from a reader.  These flashcards can contain images, links, and text and are ideal for studying to help remember a topic/subject.  What's nice is that Brainthud works on any device and through their spaced repetition allows for differentiating instruction to help learn troubling topics.  BT, even generate
s a report that shows correct/wrong answers.

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

Door 24

Door 24 is fantastic iPad app for learning computational fluency in 4th-8th grade Math.  This game has students trying to solve the mystery behind Door 24 while completing Math equations that focus on a wide range of problems (i.e. division, multiplication, order of operation, etc).  W/ their unique reward system, multiple endings, and engaging narrative makes for a fun/high replay value game.  Best of all, is the Math review screens that help students learn how to solve the problems they got wrong.

I highly recommend checking out Door 24 by clicking here!!!

*Door 24 is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Otus

Otus is a wonderful mobile learning environment that is ideal for a 1:1 iPad classroom or school.  These free apps blend perfectly together to give teachers the tools to host all their student data and needs on their iPad.  Educators can take attendance, manage class/students, do grades, assess students, create polls, browse the web, and much much more, while using this easy to use app.  Best of all, Otus integrates seamlessly w/ Google Drive and has lots of video tutorials on how to integrate Otus into your classroom.

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

*Otus is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Ready-K

Ready-K is a wonderful iOS app for assessing kindergarden aged students for parents and teachers.  This is a great game/test that adults can use to evaluate how ready their student/child is ready for KDG through a range of educational/activities and games.  The concepts covered are: shapes, colors, sizes, and more (1 of 8 fundamental concepts).  Best of all, the results can then be emailed to a parent/teacher and a detailed progress report is given on each child.

I highly recommend checking out Ready-K by clicking here!!!

Buncee

Simply put, Buncee is one of the best Web 2.0 sites for education for making beautiful looking presentations, eCards, digital signs/posters, scrapbooks, and more.  This innovative site makes it very easy for educators to create students, manage assignments, and share/comment on presentations through their educational portal.  No student email is necessary, as Buncee follows COPPA compliance guidelines and creates a safe environment for students and educators to interact.  Best of all, Buncee is a very user friendly site w/ a drag-n-drop interface where their finished products can then be embedded into a site or blog.

Click here for a great list of educational examples.

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

Below is a brief demo...



If you would like a brief/free demo/tutorial let me know and I can help arrange it.

*Buncee is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Oncore

Oncore is a new classroom productivity iPad app that acts as a Learning Management System (LMS) and helps differentiate, assess, and facilitate instruction.  This app allows educators to manage their classes and students and even create a custom seating chart.  Educators can take attendance, grade assignments/quizzes (on a 5 pt scale), track participation/behavior (similar to Class Dojo), and more.  Another nice feature is the ability to group students by similar abilities which makes it easier for teachers to visualize students learning and differentiate instruction.  Finally, Oncore is aligned to Common Core Standards and helps educators integrate them into their classroom.

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

30hands

30hands is one of my favorite free iOS apps for easily creating a digital story.  This is a great app because it can be used by any curriculum for any subject and is very easy to use w/ a drag-n-drop interface.  All a user has to do is upload a photo, add text, and then record their narration to create a story.  Also, 30hands has an excellent video tutorial which shows educators how to integrate into the classroom.  Finally, a student can upload their finished product into the safe educational LMS designed by 30hands http://www.30hands.net.

I highly recommend checking out 30hands by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Digital Storytelling click here.
For my Edshelf collection on Digital Storytelling click here.

*30hands is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

FluencyFinder

FluencyFinder the wonderful mobile app for assessing a student's Reading/Comprehension level (grades 1st-8th) is now available for Android!!  This is a great app that educators/parents are using everywhere to assess students w/ the simple tap of a button.  Once the assessment is done a teacher can get instant real-time results.  This is a great way to manage and track all student's reading level as well as share them w/ other educator educators and parents w/ FluencyFinder's built in email capability.

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

For the Android version click here.

*FluencyFinder is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Sphero: Polygons and Angles

This is my second post in a series that will cover the educational lesson plans from the SPRK (Schools Parents Robots Kids) program.  In this lesson (designed for 4-5th graders) students will use Sphero to draw polygons and learn the relationship between heading angles and the number of sides in a polygon where all sides are equal.

*All data will be recorded by the student in the downloadable worksheet.

Objectives (aligned to Common Core Math Standards)

• Learn about how the Sphero has a heading that goes from 0 to 360 degrees, and it determines in which direction it will roll.
• Students will write a program to make the Sphero draw a square, where each side of the square is a different color.
• Students will write a program to make draw a triangle, determining the heading angles from clues.
• Students will write a program to make draw a pentagon, determining the heading angles from a formula.

Square

To start out the students will create a new macro using the free MacroLab app.  They will do this adding a color (RGB) command and then a roll command.  They will then repeat this step but w/ a 90 degree heading.  Again they will repeat this step w/ a 180 degree angle and finally a 270 degree heading.  Of course it is vital that students test these commands by running them to see how the Sphero reacts and adjust accordingly.

Triangle

After having the Sphero draw a square they will draw a triangle.  After discussing why 360 degrees in a circle is divided up into 4 equal parts at 90 degree angles forms a square students will divide 360 degrees into 3 equal parts at 120 degrees.  Students will create a new macro and add a color (RGB) command w/ a roll command of a heading of 0.  They will repeat this step w/ a 120 degree heading and a stop command delay of 255.  Finally, they'll add another macro w/ a color (RGB) command, w/ a 240 degree heading, and a stop command w/ a delay of 255.  Finally, they modify their macro by adding stop/delay commands at the end of each side of triangle.

Fun Challenge

This challenge is to see if the students have understood the concepts by having a Sphero draw a pentagon.  They'll need to figure out that a pentagon has 5 sides and heading directions will be 360 / 5 = 72 degrees.  Their macro will need to look like this... 

1. Add a RGB command for red and roll w/ heading of 0.
2. Add a RGB command for green and roll w/ heading of 72.
3. Add a RGB command for blue and roll w/ heading of 144.
4. Add a RGB command for yellow and roll w/ heading of 216.
5. Add a RGB command for purple and roll w/ a heading of 288.

For my Pinterest board on Sphero Apps click here.

Science Heroes

Science Heroes is an excellent mobile (Android/iOS) app for helping kids learn about the Digestive system in a fun game.  This game designed for kids 5-8 focuses on the five phases of digestion (i.e. mouth, esophagus, stomach, etc.)  The way this works is through a fun shooter-style game that has kids blasting their way through digestive system while learning different terms and concepts to complete 15 different missions.  At the end of the mission is a quiz which educators/parents can access through the parent dashboard to assess their student/child's progress.

I highly recommend checking out Science Heroes by clicking here!!!

For more excellent games on Math, Recycling, and more, checking out Yogome by clicking here!!

*Yogome is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

MathFileFolderGames

MathFileFolderGames is an excellent company that specializes in making fun iOS games for Math.  The majority of these games are blue-tooth enabled that allows students to play against a friend or classmate on separate devices.  Also, these games have an email button that makes it easy to share scores w/ parents or teachers.  Finally, these games cover a wide range of subjects (i.e. Fractions, Order of Operations, Tangrams, etc), and make it easy to create a 21st Century Classroom w/ centers and mobile learning.

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

5 Dice: Order of Operations Game

(Cost: FREE!)
5 Dice: Order of Operations Game is a math app intended for upper elementary and middle school students that helps students enjoy practicing their order of operations. Read More Here

4 Dice: Fraction Games

(Cost: $1.99)
4 Dice: Fraction Games is a math app for middle school and upper elementary students. The goal of the game is to present fractions in a way that is both conducive to learning and fun. Read More Here

Ordered Fractions: Comparing & Ordering Fractions

(Cost: $1.99)

Ordered Fractionsgame begins by pressing the button that rolls the dice. Students then insert these numbers into the boxes on the board, which creates the fractions. Students then position the fractions in ascending order by comparing fractions. Read more here

Grid Lines: Ordered Pair Game

(Cost: $1.99)

Grid Lines is a Battleship-style math app used to teach students the coordinate plane. Students will get practice plotting points on a coordinate plane by playing a game similar to Battleship. Read more here

Tangram Chess: Transformation Games

(Cost: $1.99)

Tangram Chess For Kids, Translations (slides), Rotations (turns) and Reflections (flips). Every game of Tangram Chess has its own story. Some are long-drawn out strategic affairs; others can be quick, but complicated, tactical battles. The winner is the player who can out-think his or her opponent, and make the best plans for attack and defence. Read more here

Skip Math: Skip Counting Games

(Cost: $0.99)
Skip Math is a simple math game that helps practices skip counting. Skip Math is a a Doodle Jump style math game in which a girl or boy who jump from platform to platform counting by a certain number. Read more here

Jack and the Beanstalk a Mathematical Adventure

Hi, my name is Jack. I know you have all heard of me before, I'm the guy who climbs an enormous beanstalk to retrieve the princesses amulet. But today I would like to tell you the real story of HOW I was actually able to accomplish such a feat.  Read more here

*MathFileFolderGames is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

EverySlide

EverySlide is a fantastic new presentation tool that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This is a great place for educators to create or upload a presentation (i.e. Keynote, PPT) then share it w/ others via a unique access code.  Being browser based this works on any mobile device and best of all an educator can assess an audience/students level of learning by embedding a poll that they can take.  Results of the poll are then displayed in a spreadsheet and makes it easy for an educator to differentiate instruction.

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

Below is a brief demo...

Everyslide - your old slides made interactive from KPicture Inc. on Vimeo.

For my Pinterest board on Creating Slideshow/Presentations click here.

EDpuzzle

EDpuzzle is a fantastic free tool for educators or students to take a video and "make it their own".  The way this they do this is by uploading a video (i.e. YouTube, Vimeo, TeachersTube, etc) and then edit it by: cropping, adding their own, narration, and even embed a quiz.  This is ideal for educators looking to Flip a Lesson/Classroom and differentiate instructions.  Finally, a finished video/presentation can then be embedded into a site.

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

Below is a brief demo...



For my Pinterest board on a Flipped Classroom click here.

*EDpuzzle is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Play Zone

Play Zone is a nice iOS app designed for young learners by having them play 6 different educational activities.  These activities arrange from dressing up a character (creativity) to recognizing patterns (logic) and even addition/subtraction.  The "gold star" system and great animations make this a fun game w/ lots of replay value.

I highly recommend checking out Play Zone by clicking here.

For my Pinterest board on Educational iOS Apps click here.
For my Edshelf collection on Educational iOS Apps click here.

Booktrack Classroom

Booktrack Classroom is a new site/app that I just found out about from Richard Byrne's blog.  This is an interesting tool that allows students or teachers to add a soundtrack to their writing.

Here's a list of ways Booktrack Classroom is being used in education...

• Narrative Writing – Students add music and audio to their original stories.
• Informative and Explanatory Writing – Students compose essays and articles selecting suitable audio to accompany their text.
• Literature Study – Students gain insight and increased understanding of the text by creating their own soundtracks for novels, stories, and plays they are reading in class.
• Read-Alouds – Teacher and student led read-alouds are enhanced through the addition of sound and music to the chapter or act being presented.

Also, BC has a nice selection of free lesson plans to search through and is aligned to Common Core standards.

Below is a brief demo...

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

Fraction Ninja

Fraction Ninja is a nice little iOS game that has users throwing shurikens at a stick to form the correction fraction.  It's a fun game that has high replay value as it has users playing through story or survival mode and tracks users progress.  It also has different achievements that the players must gets and shows the total number of correct and wrong answers.

I recommend checking out Fraction Ninja by clicking here!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational iOS Apps click here.
For my Edshelf collection on Educational iOS Apps click here.

Level it Books

Level it Books the wonderful iOS app for scanning a book and getting a Reading Level has just released an Android version.  This app is great for educators or parents looking to build a digital library of books for their kids by Reading Level.  Also, teachers can create a class list and monitor the  Reading Levels of their students, as well as manually search for books, and have a book of the day.

I highly recommend checking out Level it Books for Android by clicking here!!!

*Level it Books is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Sphero for Education

Last week I was lucky enough to receive a Sphero from the generous people of Orbotix.  Kelly Tenkely just recently reviewed her Sphero which you can read all about here.  Basically, the Sphero is a programmable orb that can be used to play games, as a controller, or even integrate into education.  BTW, did I mention that it is waterproof too, and already has over 25 mobile apps to download.  This post is going to be the first in a series that focuses on the SPRK (Schools Parents Robot Kids) program.

The lessons in the SPRK program focus on Math, Physics, and Computer Science and are designed for 4th-5th graders.  Of course, these lessons use the Sphero robotic ball to complete a variety of educational activities that can be done in groups and are easy to integrate into any classroom.

The Sphero itself is a ball that can roll at a given speed (that can be programmed), can light up in any color (can be programmed), and connects to almost any mobile device via bluetooth.  Syncing of the Sphero is quite simple and just requires enabling blue tooth and rotating your finger on the device until the blue "tail" light of the Sphero is pointing directly at you the controller.

There are four educational apps (iOS/Android) for the Sphero that are listed below...

• Sphero - This is the basic app of using Sphero to do updates as well as just drive around for free play.
• Draw and Drive - A user draws a shape in a certain color on their device and the Sphero lights up in that color while following that pattern.
• MacroLab - Uses a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to program the Sphero using simple commands/macros.
• orbBasic - Uses a text based interface for more complex features of programming the Sphero.

Sphero has an excellent web page for free downloadable lesson plans (5) that can be used by teachers and students.  It includes a teacher guide, student guide, as well as a worksheet.

MacroLab Lesson #1 - Rate and Time

The first lesson is for students to use the Sphero to show that there is a linear relationship between time, speed, and distance.  Students will do this by programming the Sphero using the MacroLab app to travel at a particular speed for a certain amount of time and then measure the distance (using a tape measurer).  They will then use division to find out the relationship between speed, time, and distance. Afterwards, the students will be given a task to have the Sphero move to a given location and then return to them using their knowledge from the MacroLab lesson.

*All data will be recorded by the student in the downloaded worksheet.

Objectives (aligned to Common Core Math Standards)

• Create a one-line program (macro) that moves Sphero at a steady speed for specified amount of time
• Perform measurements to determine the distance traveled
• Perform division to compare different measurements
• Create a two-line (macro) program that moves the Sphero to a certain position and then moves it back to where it started

In starting out the teacher will provide the data for the student to use in their macro for programming their Sphero.  Using MacroLab is pretty straight forward, launch the app on the mobile device, create a new macro, add a roll command, set the roll to move at 20% speed for 3000 milliseconds (3 sec).  Finally, add a stop command to have the Sphero stop after completing the action.  Anybody familiar w/ DOS or programming using Scratch or Alice should have no problem picking this up.

A student will then put a piece of masking tape on the ground and place the Sphero there before tapping Play in the MacroLab.  Once the ball is done moving they will measure from the tape to the ball.

The second test will have the student modifying the macro to run at 6 seconds and then at 9 seconds recording the results.  At the end they will divide the distance of the 6 second experiment w/ the 3 second experiment, and also the distance of the 9 second experiment w/ the 3 second experiment.

Students should be able to notice that when something travels at a particular speed if it goes twice as fast it will goes twice as long forming a linear relationship.

Speed and Distance

For the second experiment the students will modify the macro to run again at 20% speed and 3000 milliseconds (3 sec) and record the data again (it should be similar to the first time).  Then they will modify it to run at 40% speed and 3000 milliseconds and run the test again recording how far it goes. Finally, they will modify the macro to run at 60% speed and run at 3000 milliseconds to see how far it runs and record the data.  At the end they will divide the distance from the 40% experiment to the 20% experiment, and also the distance from the 60% experiment by the 20% experiment.  

Again students should notice that if something travels twice as fast it should go twice as far again showing a linear relationship.

Fun Challenge

After the students have completed the previous two exercises a teacher can then give them a challenge to see if they can program the Sphero to go a certain distance and then have it return to them.  

To do this the students can modify the macro to roll for 40% speed and a delay of 5000 milliseconds (5 sec).  Then to modify it to roll at 20% speed w/ a heading of 180 degrees (which will cause the Sphero to return from the direction it came).  Finally, they need to add a stop command so the Sphero stops and then see if it has returned to them.  

The students have to determine what the correct value is for the delay to have it return exactly to them.

For more information on using Sphero in Education click here!!!

Stay tuned for my follow up post on 2D Geometry.

For my Pinterest board on Sphero click here.

iPracticeMath

iPracticeMath is a wonderful site for all things having to do w/ Math.  Recently, they updated their Algebra section w/ 30 new topics.  Also, this is a great site for finding worksheets, problem walk-throughs and more.  There is even an educational portal that allows for educators/parents to track student progress and generate detailed reports on how they are doing.

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

iPracticeMath is a advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

The Math Hunter

The Math Hunter is a new iOS game for helping students w/ their basic Math skills (i.e. addition, multiplication, subtraction, etc.)  This is a super fun app that has players trying to solve Math equations so they have the ability to shoot monsters w/ their bow before they reach the player (or bottom of the screen).  A nice feature is the ability to select which type of Math operation you want to work on (or can select multiple) as well as difficulty level.  Another nice bonus is the ability to defeat the monsters a few ways such as: upgrading your bow, bombs, freezing them, etc.

I highly recommend checking out The Math Hunter by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational iOS Apps click here.
For my Edshelf collection on Educational iOS Apps click here.

PiggyBot

PiggyBot is a fun free iOS app that teaches children about counting money and the value of money through a virtual allowance.  The way this works is an adult give them a set out of money and the child allocates on how they are going to: save, spend, and share their money.  They can also take pictures of items they want and upload them to use their "money" to purchase them.

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

Kahoot

Kahoot is a fantastic easy to use learning tool that can be used to Gamify a classroom.  The way this works is very similar to when a person goes to a restaurant/sports bar and then get a device to use to answer questions that are being displayed on the TVs.  The players then answer in real time and see the results up on the TV to see who was correct and leading w/ the highest score, etc.  Kahoot works very similarly like that.

The this works is the educators creates a free account and then the students join a session via a browser based device (this is great for mobile devices).  The educator then asks qu
estions (i.e. quizzes, polls, surveys, etc.) that the students try to answer first, while their results get displayed in real-time up on a screen.  The questions a user creates can include images, video, text, etc and is done through a very user friendly drag-n-drop interface.

This is a great tool for differentiating instruction as educators can find which areas that specific students may need help in.  Students can even be the leader and be the one to create a "Kahoot" (session) and quiz their peers.

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

For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.
For my Edshelf collection on Game Based Learning click here.

Flocabulary

Flocabulary is a fun Web 2.0 site for education that I've mentioned a few times on my blog.  This is a great site for introducing or reviewing a subject/concept.  The way this works is through innovative animated videos (or as Flocabulary puts it "Educational Hip-Hop"), that helps students learn through visual and auditory means.

Also, there are some great features that make Flocabulary perfect for the classroom.  For example, the lyrics of each song are displayed below the video and are interactive filled w/ words that are hot-linked to explore in more detail.  The lyrics can also be downloaded or printed out.  Best of all, are the lessons that are included w/ each video to help students reinforce their learning on each topic.

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

For my Pinterest board on Web 2.0 click here.
For my Edshelf collection on Web 2.0 click here.

Virtual Nerd Mobile Math

Virtual Nerd Mobile Math is an excellent free iOS app by education leader Pearson.  This is a great Common Core aligned app that allows users to find educational videos, concepts, and tutorials on MS/HS Math.  The app has over 1500 easy to follow tutorials and are ideal for students, educators, and parents looking to review fundamental Math concepts in a wide variety of areas.  An Android version of the app will be released this coming Fall.

I highly recommend checking out Virtual Nerd Mobile Math by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational iOS Apps click here.
For my Edshelf collection on Educational iOS Apps click here.

Classcraft

Classcraft is a site/game I covered awhile back when it was part of a kickstarted campaign.  I'm happy to say that this innovative RPG style game is now available for classrooms.  This is a fantastic site for bringing Game Based Learning to the classroom by putting groups of students into teams to work together to enhance their learning experience.  This is all done in a unique way that incorporates familiar elements of a RPG by: choosing a class (i.e. Mage, Warrior, Healer), forming a strategy,  completing events/quests, and more.

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

Below is a brief demo...



For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

Pear Deck

Pear Deck is a cool educational tool that interacts w/ Google Chrome (extensions) or Google Drive to create interactive quizzes/slides/presentations.  The way this works is an educator creates a dynamic deck/slide w/ or w/out multiple choice questions, then has students join the sessions via their Google in Education domain or Chrome extension.  Then the teacher can ask questions and have students respond to them on their own devices.  This is ideal for Differentiating Instruction and assessing students in real-time.

I highly recommend checking out Pear Deck by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Differentiated Instruction click here.

Padlet Update

Padlet, formerly know as WallWisher, has just released a major update that will have a major impact in its use in education.  Thanks to Richard Byrne's award winning blog, I noticed that Padlet now will let users use a username to login rather then an email address.  This is ideal for schools where sites requiring a student email address is an issue (CIPPA/COPPA compliance).

For more information on Padlet's login change click here.

For my list of educational sites that don't require a student login click here.

Sanderling

Sanderling is a new social network for professional development.  This online community lets educators share their professional development stories as well as resources.  Members can also find a nice list o resources such as: lesson plans, reviews, articles/links, and more.

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

Thanks to Technology & Learning for the tip.

For my Pinterest board on Social Networks in Education click here.

Tocomail

Tocomail is a site/app I recently covered that is ideal for having kids email in a safe environment.  Not only does this site have a built in filter for catching inappropriate words but it just recently updated their app w/ a bully filter which looks for patterns of bullying and then quarantines them for parents to look at.  This is just another safety feature for parents like controlling the contact list as well as viewing all emails that are quarantined.

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

LOTR Map of Middle Earth

Recently, I came across a interactive Lord of the Rings Map of Middle Earth.  I know lots of schools and students are reading this so I thought I'd do a brief post on this.  This is a great place to find facts about the interesting locations in Middle Earth as well as being able to zoom in/out, click on items, and find out other interesting facts (i.e. age, population, life expectancy, etc.)  Also, there's an excellent timeline feature that people can use to find out info on all 5 books (Hobbit/Simarillion included).

I highly recommend checking out the interactive LOTR Map by clicking here!!