Answerables

*Be sure to check out their latest updates!!!
**Answerables iPad app available here!!!

Answerables is a wonderful new innovative site/game that is perfect for Game Based Learning (or more accurate Game Based Learning meets Learning Management System).  It reminds me of Second Life but geared more toward kids w/ their fantasy/SciFi environment.  The game takes place in the 3D virtual world of Answerables on a planet called Proxima, where the native Ansibles (students) encounter an alien race.

What makes this so great for education that is the safe/COPPA compliant environment that Answerables provides.  This is an ideal place for students to collaborate w/ others and develop their social learning skills.  Answerables provides windows (i.e. Second Life) to view the web, go on quests, etc.  The student dashboard allows students to track their quests, notifications, events, PODS (Personal Online Development Spaces), and more.

Educators can create a lesson/POD (manage permissions), create webquests, internet scave
nger hunts, host live events, and best of all "Gamify" their lesson.  This is great for introducing a new concept, guided/differentiated instruction, and even "Flipping" a classroom.  Also, teachers (parents too) can track/monitor student progress, share and view resources by collaborating w/ other educators, and even setup tutoring courses where they set their own rate.

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

Below is a brief demo that has to be seen to be believed...



For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

*Answerables is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Waypoint EDU

Waypoint EDU is a innovative new iOS app that uses augmented reality to create a fun learning experience for students.  Teachers are using this tool to bring their classroom outside and have students go on geocaches (scavenger hunts) to learn more about a subject.  Best of all, a teacher can add questions to their geocache to create an authentic learning experience and gauge students understanding.

I highly recommend checking out Waypoint EDU by clicking here!!!

Help Teaching

Help Teaching is an excellent site for educators, parents, and others looking for educational resources such as quiz/test creators, online assessments, or worksheets/printables.  These printables are for K-12 and cover a wide range of subjects.  Also, there is a test/virtual room where students can take online assessment and get results in real time.

I highly recommend checking out Help Teaching by clicking here!!!
For my Printerest Board on Educational Resources click here.

*Help Teaching is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Math Classroom Challenge

Math Classroom Challenge is a excellent (iOS) app for learning basic Math skills (i.e. additions, subtraction, etc.). This is done in innovative 3D first person/shooter environment that has students trying to shoot the correct numbers to solve the equations.  Best of all, a user can customize their own learning experience by selecting what type or problems to include in the game.  Also, this is a great way to integrate Game Based Learning into the classroom.

I highly recommend checking out Math Classroom Challenge by clicking here!!!

For a more detailed review check out Edshelf by clicking here.

EDpuzzle

EDpuzzle is the amazing learning tool that educators everywhere are using to flip their classroom, assess student learning, differentiate instruction, grade, and much much more.  This is done by adding questions to a video and modifying it to make it work for YOU.

Best of all, are the wide range of lessons and resources that are available for students and educators.  A user can search through subjects and grade levels to see how best EDpuzzle can work for them.

Finally, EDpuzzle is available as a browser plugin and free mobile app for Android and iOS.

I highly recommend checking out EDpuzzle by clicking here!!!
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*EDpuzzle is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Learning Mole

Learning Mole is a nice site for finding educational videos in the subjects of: Math, English, and Crafts.  All videos are organized by age level and provide interactive lessons that students can do.  Also, there are lots of resources for educators and parents and new videos are added weekly.

I highly recommend checking out Learning Mole by clicking here!!!

Photos for Class

Photos for Class is an excellent new site that is ideal for finding safe images for students.  This search engine uses Flickr safe search as well as some built in filtering to find Creative Common licensed images.  Best of all when a user clicks download the image gets cited automatically w/ the proper licensing terms.

I highly recommend checking out Photos for Class by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational Images click here.

Night Zookeeper

Night Zoopkeeper is a new free site for students to help their Writing skills through fun interactive lessons.  Best of all, the educational portal allows educators to: assign lessons, track student progress, and assess their work in real-time.  This makes it easy for teachers to differentiate instruction and implement project based learning in their classroom.

Below is a brief demo...

Night Zookeeper in 80 seconds from Night Zookeeper on Vimeo.

I highly recommend checking out Night Zookeeper by clicking here!!!

Finally, the people at Night Zookeeper have released a free learning tool that easily creates Writing Prompts for students.  All a user has to do is select their writing style, age, and then time on how long they want to write and Writing Sparks creates the challenges/prompts for the students.  As w/ Zookeeper, Writing Sparks will assess students in real-time to help teachers assess student's learning.

For more information on Writing Sparks click here!!!

Jellies

Jellies is a new iOS app for finding educational videos similar to YouTube Kids.  However, what makes Jellies an intriguing alternative to YouTube is that all videos are curated by people instead of a computer algorithm.  What this means, is that there is a very scrutinive process that most be met for these videos to be available.  All videos, are age appropriate and do not have any "stars" or ads for commercial purposes.  Best of all, is the Kids Mode where parents can curate and control what videos their kids can watch.

Below is a brief video...



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

For a more detailed review check out Tech Crunch.

Super Teacher Worksheets

Super Teacher Worksheets is one of the best sites around for educators looking for printables, worksheets, puzzles, activities, and much much more.  Also, all items are labeled if they are aligned to Common Core Standards and there are even generators/wizards for users to create their very own worksheets/puzzles/etc.  Best of all, teachers can use STW for any subject and browse through 1000's of educational resources that can work for them.

I highly recommend checking out Super Teacher Worksheets for all Back to Schools needs by clicking here!!!

*Super Teacher Worksheets is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Actively Learn

Actively Learn is a site I'm just finding out about that is an excellent resource for educators looking to increase comprehension and "depth" of any text.  AL reminds me a lot of EDpuzzle but instead of "making a video your own" it is "making reading material your own".  This can be done using any text and lets educators track student's learning and understanding of a passage through the use of asking questions, annotating, collaborating, and more all in real-time.  This is a great resource for teachers and easily lets them gauge a student's understanding, differentiate instruction, or even "flip" a lesson.

Below is a brief demo video...



I highly recommend checking out Actively Learn by clicking here!!!

Storyboard That Illustrated Guides

Storyboard That the amazing site that educators are using for creating timelines, graphic organizers, digital stories, storyboards, project based learning, and much much more, just released their
Illustrated Guides.  These one cell storyboards are great for teaching any number of subjects such as: Mythology, Literature, History, and more.

I highly recommend checking out Storyboard That's Illustrated Guides by clicking here!!!

Below is a nice intro video to Storyboard That...



*Storyboard That is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Empatico

Emaptico is a new learning tool that connects teachers and classrooms around the world.  Empatico reminds me of a cross between Skype and Wiziq and is a great way for educators to easily teach online classes.  The way this works is a students selects their desired activities, availability, and then get selected w/ a teacher.  Best of all, Empatico has lots of free resources for teachers to use while interacting w/ their online.

Below is a brief video...



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

Owl Eyes

Owl Eyes is an innovative site that 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/manage their student accounts.  Educators are using Owl Eyes in a number of different ways such as: differentiating instruction or flipping a classroom.

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

Below is a brief demo...



*Owl Eyes is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Codemoji

Codemoji is a innovative new website for grades 1st-8th grade learning how to code or program.  CodeMoji is an excellent learning tool to introduce html, CSS, and Javascript, while integrating STEM into the classroom.  Best of all, it makes coding fun and easy to learn through the use of emojis.   Also, the educational portal or teacher/student dashboard makes tracking student's data/progress easy to do.  Educators can even grade students and generate detailed reports to help differentiate instruction.




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

Class Dojo Student Stories

*ClassDojo Portfolios is live and FREE for all teachers!!!

ClassDojo the widely used (free) tool for behavior management and communication for education now offers digital portfolios.  ClassDojo Portfolios is a great and safe way for students to share digital stories, projects, classwork, etc.  Best of all, this is done through the innovative ClassDojo app/web interface where the teacher moderates/approves all of the their student's work and the parent sees only their own child's work.

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 ClassDojo Portfolios by clicking here!!!

*ClassDojo is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

MathTango

MathTango is a wonderful new/free iOS app for addition and subtraction grades 1st-3rd.  MathTango uses Gesame Based Learning through 20+ levels of solving puzzles and equations.  As a student progresses through the game they will unlock more monsters, levels, and features, while "building" their own unique island.  MathTango tracks student data and makes it easy for parents and educators to reinforce basic Math skills.

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

Reading Racer

Reading Racer is a free new iOS app that I just had the pleasure of reviewing.  This is an excellent easy-to-use app that uses the mobile device's microphone to "listen" as a student speaks the words on the screen.  This is really innovative and separates Reading Racer from other educational apps on the market.

Reading Racer is designed for kids ages 5-8 and uses speech recognition as the user speaks the words/sentences as fast as they can.  The way this works is the student presses the microphone button and holds it down while speaking the word.  The words highlight as they are read and calculating how many in a row are read.  If a user takes their finger off the microphone the word is then read to help them along.  This continues as other characters race against them.  The better a student finishes the more points they get to help them unlock other racers and tracks.

This is a great educational app to use for Reading and Comprehension and to use Game Based Learning in the classroom.

I highly recommend checking out Reading Racer by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief demo...