30hands Pro

30hands Pro the excellent iOS app for project based learning, flipping a classroom, and digital storytelling.  Educators are using 30hands to integrate technology in a easy and seamless way.

• New Features in Pro:
— Enhanced Drawing with Editing, Adding Images to canvas, Layering Images, more! (Basic Drawing is still there, too)
— Share-a-Slide to create a single slide video
— Stop Motion is easier with settings and Enhanced Drawing
— Storyboarding is faster and easier
• New icons from Font Awesome and ION
• added support for iOS 9
• fixed some bugs

• Pro has 2 Drawing Modes: Enhanced and Basic
— Enhanced Drawing is vector based which is huge!
— Add images + photos to a drawing
— Edit a drawing after saving
— Drawing lines are crisper
— Text can be on multiple lines
— Resized and stretched text can still be edited!
• Pro has Share-a-Slide to create a single slide video
— Share a single narrated drawing or image to parents, teachers or friends
— Share-a-Slide allows for better collaboration
— Add video slides from multiple students into a central presentation
• Pro has easy Stop Motion settings
— Stop Motion slides can be within a normal presentation
• Easier Storyboarding in Starter and Pro
— New + icon to add a drawing from slide preview/record screen removes extra steps

For more information on 30hands Pro and 30hands Starter click here!!!

*30hands is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

EDpuzzle

EDpuzzle is vastly becoming one of the premiere web/iOS tools around for learning in the classroom.  This is fantastic free tool for editing a video, cropping, adding quizzes/polls, narration, etc. then embedding into site/blog.  It is being used to flip a classroom or lesson, Project Based Learning, grading/assessing, and even for differentiating instruction.  The educational portal allows students to sign-up w/out needing an email account and lets educators track student progress in real-time.

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

For my Pinterest board on Flipping a Classroom click here.

*EDpuzzle is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Answerables

Answerables the innovative educational tool that combines the best features of game based learning w/ a learning management system has just released their free iPad app.  Answerables is being used by educators in a variety of ways from collaborating w/ other classes, to browsing the web, all in a secure 3D virtual environment.

Answerables is used as a:

• Virtual classroom 
• Lesson planner
• Learning manager 
• Quest creator
• Resource manager 
• Web browser (managed)
• Social Network
• Student portfolio
• Presentation space

Features include:

• Multiplayer game environment
• Learning management system
• Quests & badges
• Assessment tools
• Analytics
• Resource/Content management system
• Web browser
• Secure audio/video streaming

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

*Answerables is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

FotoJet

FotoJet is an excellent online tool for editing photos.  W/ FotoJet a user can upload any image and create stunning looking, collages, banners, posters, etc.  Also, there are lots of different features to help edit a photo such as: filters, exposures, crop/size/reshape etc. etc.

I highly recommend checking out FotoJet for all photo editing needs by clicking here!!!

Projector Screen

ProjectorScreen.com is an excellent site for people or educators to find projectors and other type of equipment for their classrooms.  Not only can a person search through an immense amount of screens, but from other categories such as fixed or manual, multimedia carts, boards, chairs, and more.

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

*ProjectorScreen is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Tinycards

Tinycards by Duolingo is the new free iOS app for flashcards.  Tinycards lets students memorize anything by playing through a game and unlocking levels.  A user can play through an already created deck on any number of subjects or create their own.  These flashcards can
contain text, images, and animations making learning fun.

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

For a more detailed review check out Edshelf.

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.

Symbaloo Lessonplans

Symbaloo Lessonplans is the new feature from the ultra-popular bookmarking site for education, SymbalooEDU.  This lesson plan creator lets educators create interactive lessons similar to the game
based style that is found in most mobile app games.  The lessons can contain text, video, audio, interactive elements, and even questions/quizzes/polls.  Best of all, the teacher gets real-time data for assessing students that helps them differentiate instruction.  This is great for students so they can learn at their own pace and level.

I highly recommend checking out Symbaloo Lessonplans by clicking here!!!

Below is a demo video...



Click here for a demo of a interactive Symbaloo Lessonplan on Energy.

Super Teacher Worksheets

Super Teacher Worksheets is one of the best sites around for finding educational resources on a wide range of subjects.  Educators can find, worksheets, printables, puzzle generators and more.  Also, they are constantly updating their site w/ more resources all the time and recently released new crossword puzzle worksheet generator.  Finally, there are lots of activities/worksheets on a wide range of subjects (i.e. Math, Reading, Writing, etc) for the summer.

I highly recommend checking out Super Teacher Worksheets Summer resources by clicking here!!!

Check out the new puzzle generator by clicking here.

For my Pinterest board on Educational Resources click here.

*Super Teacher Worksheets is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Sketch Nation

Sketch Nation the simple to use mobile (iOS/Android) app/site for creating games recently updated their lesson plan ideas page.  This is a great place for educators to go to find ways on how to integrate Sketch Nation into their classroom.  These lesson ideas focus on a wide variety of subjects such as: Coding, History, Math, and more.  Sketch Nation makes it a seamless way to introduce STEM into their classroom in a fun and engaging way.

I highly recommend checking out Sketch Nation Lesson Plans by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief demo...

*Sketch Nation is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

WriteWell

WriteWell is a very innovative learning tool that helps students w/ their writing by breaking it down into chunks.  It allows users to organize their writing in a visual way by dragging and dropping blocks/chunks of text.  Best of all there is a writing "wizard' that shows a user where and what kind of text they should type.  Also, there are a wide variety of templates that help students write different styles of material such as: research papers, essays, persuasive arguments, etc etc.

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

Below is a demo video...

Owl Eyes

Owl Eyes is an innovative free Larry Ferlazzo's excellent blog.  Owl Eyes lets teachers create "classrooms" where their students can read and interact w/ texts.  Student's are able to select through a wide variety of literature and then annotate the text.  This is helpful as they can take notes and pickup right where they left off when reading.  Best of all, the teacher tools allows educators to create quizzes to assess how students are doing and they can even track and manage their student accounts.
new site for Reading/Comprehension that I just found out about from

I highly recommend checking out Owl Eyes by clicking here!!!

ClassDojo Student Stories

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

More info from their press release...

• Students take the lead - students can share and celebrate their learning by snapping photos of projects, taking videos of presentations, and writing reflections.
• Work is shared, not stored away  - rather than being stashed in desks or stored in boxes, work is shared instantly w/ parents sparking hours of conversations at home.
• All communication in one place - parents, teachers, students, and school leaders on ClassDojo can now use it for all communication between home and school.
• Perfect for shared device classrooms - no need for every student to have their own device; Student Stories can be used on one device shared by all students in the classroom.
• Closed platform creates a safe space for sharing - a student's Story can only be seen by the teacher, and that student's parents.

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

*ClassDojo is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Storyboard That

Storyboard That the wonderful site for education to create a wide variety of things such as: timelines, storyboards, digital stories, graphic organizers, etc etc, has recently released a bunch of updates.  These updates include new teacher guide/lesson plans,  smart scenes, and a storyboard save history.  Also, educators are using Storyboard That for Project Based Learning, Blended Learning, and much much more.

More info on their latest updates...

• Smart Scenes: Smart scenes are scenes that can be customized in one way or another, similar to how we can customize characters. So far, we have 60+ Smart Scenes! These scenes will have a blue ‘Edit Scene’ button (in the same place that a character’s ‘Edit Pose’ button is) that allows the user to edit things such as time of day (daytime to nighttime), weather (raining, snowing, sunny), and more!
• Storyboard Save History: This feature allows users to pull up previously saved versions of their storyboards in case they want to go back and fix something, or just in case they want to see a previous version! You can find this feature by clicking the ‘View Save History’ button below a storyboard that you have edited and saved at least once before. 

I highly recommend checking out Storyboard That by clicking here!!!

To schedule a demo for Storyboard That click here.

Storyboard That is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Seesaw 4.0

Seesaw the wonderful free site/app (Android, iOS, etc) for students making digital portfolios has just released their biggest update so far.

Version 4.0 allows users to...

• view all class activity in one place
• smarter push and email notifications
• simpler printing for sharing and conferences

NEW Seesaw Plus - includes advances assessment tools

I highly recommend checking out Seesaw by clicking here!!

Below is a brief demo video....

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 & Learning.

*Otus is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Chronicle

Chronicle is an amazing iPad app that helps educators harness and organize their best teaching methodologies.  This is done by "chronicling" a students' data and using it in a beneficial and meaningful way.  Chronicle is an all-in-one tool that teachers are using for classroom management, grading, assessing, and so much more.

Here are some of Chronicle's features...

1. Ideal for Reading and Writing Workshop conferring notes, but great for any subject

2. The ability to capture multiple pics, videos, and audio recordings within a note enables teachers to easily provide rich feedback, document student growth, share student achievements, and intervene for student needs.

3. The integrated grade book and traffic light system equip teachers with a means of formatively tracking unit goals, grades, report card descriptors, and more!

4. Many customizable features, including the option of associating any Common Core Standards with a class, if desired.

Below is a demo video...



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

*Chronicle is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits

Lyrics2Learn

Lyrics2learn uses Hip-hop and rock to boost K-5th grade reading fluency, and offers 4 levels of interactive comprehension practice.  Kids read along with rappers and rockers during each lesson.  Kids memorize quickly while learning about about character building, history, science, and grammar and boost reading skills.  Each fluency video is followed by 4 levels of interactive comprehension.  Lyrics2learn gives students and educators immediate feedback and tracks data.

L2L offers free, full access trials to teachers, parents and entire schools.

I highly recommend checking out Lyrics2Learn by clicking here!!!

Below is a demo video...

Qiuzalize

Quizalize is a great site for creating game-quizzes to assess student's learning in real-time.  A educator can browse Quizalize's library of quizzes created by other users or use one of their many templates to get started.  Best of all is the all NEW teacher's dashboard that allows educators to track student's progress and differentiate instruction in a fun "Gamify" way.

New Features

• New Teacher Dashboard (making it even easier to integrate into the classroom)
• Export from Quizlet into Quizalize
• Export from Zondle into Quizalize

Below is a brief demo...



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

For my Pinterest board on Quiz Creators click here.

Animatron

Animatron is a new free online animation creator (i.e. reminds me of PowToon) that makes it easy for students/educators to create stunning presentations.  Educators are using this to introduce subjects/topics or for explanation videos for professional development.  While students are using it for digital storytelling, to create presentations, and much much more.  Also, Animatron makes it easy to work in groups by allowing students to collaborate/create in real-time on multiple devices.

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

Below is a brief demo...



Check out their education page w/ examples by clicking here.

PaGamO

PaGamO is an interesting new site for Gamifying a classroom that I just found out about from Larry Ferlazzo's excellent blog.  This is a great and fun way to track student's performance and allow them to learn at their own pace.  Best of all, educators can easily differentiate instruction while generating detailed student reports.

I recommend checking out PaGamO by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief demo...



For another excellent site on Game Based Learning check out Answerables!

Noplag

Noplag is an excellent online free plagiarism, spell, and grammar checker for student and teachers.  It's a very easy to use site (i.e. similar to Grammarly) and best of all a user can generate detailed reports to make checking their documents/text that much easier.

I highly recommend checking out Noplag by clicking here!!

Summer Games from Digipuzzle

Digipuzzle is an excellent site for parents/teachers to find (free) online educational games/activities for grades K-8.  Recently, they have updated their summer section w/ fun activities such as puzzles, word searches, games for any subject, and much much more.

I highly recommend checking out Digipuzzle's Summer Games/Activities by clicking here!!!

*Digipuzzle is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

GatherEducation

GatherEducation is a innovative new virtual learning platform that educators can use to reach students from around the world.  This is done in a easy to use way where teachers create their avatar and present to a virtual class of students.  Students logon from any mobile device and can give a thumbs up/down to let the teacher know if they understand the content or even raise their hand to ask a question.  This is a great way for educators to differentiate instruction, lead professional development, and integrate mobile technology into their teachings.  Finally, there are lots of options for educators such as: chatting, adding polling questions, and even the ability to record a session/presentation to "flip" a classroom/lesson.

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

Below is a brief demo...


GatherEducation - Interactive Online Learning Anywhere, Anytime, on Any Device from GatherEducation on Vimeo.