Make Beliefs Comix Give Me Words

Make Beliefs Comix is a excellent site that educators around the world are using for digital storytelling, project based learning, reinforcing vocabulary, and more.  Recently, they launched their "Give Me Words" feature which lets students supply words to their talking heads.  This is great for adding dialogue to a character and giving them a "voice" letting students experiment w/ language making it ideal for Vocabulary and ELL.  Finally, Make Beliefs Comix has an abundance of lesson plans, the ability to translate comics into other languages, and story starters/writing prompts to help get the student's creative juices flowing.

I highly recommend checking out Make Beliefs Comix and their Give Me Words feature by clicking here!!!

15 Sites for Online Tutoring/Teaching

Online tutoring/teaching is a nice way for educators to earn some extra money doing what they love to from the comfort of their own home and setting their own schedule. Plus, students should love the ability to view and choose courses that work for them.

*This list is in alphabetical order.

15 Sites for OnlineTutoring/Teaching

1. BitDegree - A nice place for students looking to find a tutor on a wide variety of subjects (i.e. programming/coding, etc), and for educators to make some extra money.
2. Buddy School - A excellent site for tutoring online w/ the ability to promote your classes and increase your teacher score (rating by students).
3. Chegg Tutors - A fantastic site for students to find a tutor in any subject.
4. Classmill - A free site that lets users create classes that includes: links, videos, images, and more.
5. Course Hero - A great site where educators specialize in their subjects and teach students w/ step-by-step instructions.
6. eTutorworld - Ax excellent tutoring site where every session is recorded to help for revision and students to retain information.
7. Happy Tutors - Is a free place where tutors and students can go to find what they're looking for.  Also, tutors can pay a fee for extra exposure on Happy Tutors.
8. Sophia - A great site w/ a very polished look where educators can share what they know via different teaching strategies (ie, blended instruction, flipped classroom).
9. Studydraft - An interesting site where a educator places a bid on a student's order and then the student's selects who gets to teach them.
10. Tutoo - A wonderful place to find either an online tutor or one to face-to-face.
11. Tutor.com - One of the best and most popular places to go for online tutoring. Students can not only get help w/ any subject but homework as well. Also, there are nice mobility features as well.
12. Tutor Hub - A UK based community where students can find answer to their questions or find an online tutor who sets their own rates.
13. Tutor Hunt - A nice site for teachers looking to earn some extra money by tutoring online.
14. WizIQ - Probably one of the most popular online sites for teaching/tutoring. There are different pricing plans available for students who take classes in a private virtual classroom.
15. Wyzant - A fun place for students to find a tutor on any subject or even for test preparation. 

Actively Learn

Actively Learn is a site I've blogged about in the past that is ideal for increasing reading comprehension or adding "depth" to 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.

More updated features include:

• Updated instruction for thousands of ELA, Science, and Social Studies texts
• Text pairings for topics and novels that help teachers find content related to what they already teach
• Videos that tie to academic topics, w/ embedded questions to monitor student comprehension
• The ability for students to highlight key vocabulary right in the text and hear an entire text read aloud
• A redesigned catalog and workspace to improve navigation and usability

Below is a brief demo video...



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

Otus

Otus is a all-in-one mobile learning solution for schools that combines the best features of a: learning management system, data management system, and more.  The sleek new design, 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 some of their 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.

• New Lesson Builder - makes it easier then ever to create, share, and view learning activities

• Differentiate Instruction - now easier w/ more efficient tools 

• Side by Side - new view for for rubrics w/ documents, better organization, and synced calendars

• New Student Profile

• Browser Lockdowns

• Video Feedbacks - great for leaving feedback and more personalized for students then just reading comments.

• Schedule Assessments - a nice feature to let teachers have control of when they want to assess students/assignments

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.

30hands Learning

30hands Learning is the excellent company for creating an innovative LMS (Learning Management System) as well as the popular mobile iOS app that is ideal for digital storytelling 30hands Pro.  The 30hands community is a perfect cloud based solution that allows educators to: manage/track students, hand in/out assignments, schedule events, and more.  While the mobile is being used in education for project based learning, digital storytelling, and more.

More features...

• 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

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.hand

Recast

Recast is an excellent site for creating videos/presentations that can then be embedded into a site or blog.  Recast offers lots of templates for users to choose through and then easy-drag-drop controls to add text, colors, animations and more to create a stunning product.  Finally, Recast be used in the classroom for digital storytelling, project based learning, and even to introduce a topic.

Below is a brief demo...



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

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo's blog for the tip.

Knoword

Knoword is a super fun Vocabulary game that I just found out about from Richard Byrne's blog.  The way this works is definitions are given w/ the starting letter of the word while a timer counts down.  The player tries to answer as many correct words by typing/spelling them correctly before the timer runs out.  Best of all, there is a teacher portal where educators can create their own "word" packs to integrate w/ their curriculum as well as track student data.

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

*Knoword is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

DOGOnews

DOGOnews is an excellent site for creating Reading assignments for grades K-8 that can then be integrated into Google Classroom.  This is done through 1000s of curated educated articles in a wide variety of subjects (i.e. Science, History, Current Events, etc.) where educators can then select lesson plans, create assignments, and help students increase their Reading and Vocabulary skills.

Below is a brief demo...



I highly recommend checking out DOGOnews for teachers by clicking here!!!

Microsoft Math

Microsoft Math is an excellent free mobile (iOS/Google Play) app for all things Math grades K-12.  All a user had to do is scan, type, or draw a math problem to get a answer and other results.  Also, Microsoft Math generates detail step-by-step instructions on how to solve the problem, videos, graphs, and more.  Finally, Microsoft Math lets teachers create printable Math worksheets for their students to use.

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

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo's blog for the tip.

Math Attax

Math Attax is a super-fun free mobile (iOS/Google Play) Math game that helps students w/ their basic Math skills (i.e. addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc.).  This is a 2 player game where students move their player up/down a grid while trying to shoot the correct answer to a equation.  Also, they can freeze the other player and reset their score.  The first to reach the target number at the bottom of the screen wins.  Also, there is a tournament mode w/ three different games.

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

*Math Attax is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Venngage

Venngage is an excellent site for creating stunning infographics, mind maps, and more.  Also, Venngage has an easy to use drag-n-drop interface, lots of templates, can be used for brainstorming, and is a great graphic organizer.

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

Click here for 20+ mind map templates.

Socrates

Socrates is an innovate new site where educators can seamlessly differentiate instruction for each student through a unique game based learning system.  This is done through fun and engaging learning games w/ educational portal where teachers can track and monitor student progress, assign educational videos, use a digital badge system, testing, benchmarking, and much much more.

Below is a brief demo...



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

*Socrates is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

SlideLab

SlideLab is a new (beta) site for creating beautiful looking slideshows/presentations.  SlideLab like similar sites lets users add text, images, and beautiful looking backgrounds to create incredible slideshows in seconds.  Educators can use this for digital storytelling and project based learning.  Best of all, finished presentations can be embedded into a site or blog.

Below is a brief demo...



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

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo's blog for the tip.

Chronicle Cloud

Chronicle Cloud is an innovative educational all-in-one iOS app for teachers.  Educators can use Chronicle Cloud in a number of different ways such as: assessing (using their "traffic light" system), note-taking, providing feedback, and much much more.  Also, being on the "cloud" teachers can collaborate and share best "teaching" practices in an easy way.

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

*Chronicle Cloud is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Super Teacher Worksheets for Thanksgiving

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.

I highly recommend checking out Super Teacher Worksheets for Fall and Thanksgiving  by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational Resources click here.

*Super Teacher Worksheets is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Edulastic

Edulastic is an innovative online assessment platform that makes it easy for teachers to assess students and differentiate instruction in real-time.  Also, Edulastic can help turn a classroom paperless where teachers can upload PDF's or scan bubble sheets for students to take tests and get graded automatically.  Finally, Edulastic can be used by any curriculum for any subject, is customizable, and has detailed instant online reporting for assessment purposes.

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

Edpuzzle

Edpuzzle the world's leading digital tool for taking a video and making it your "own" has released a bunch of new updates for the upcoming school year.

New Features

• Live Mode - project Edpuzzle videos up on a screen and have student answer questions in real-time on their won devices
• easily assess and differentiate instruction
• Open Class - student's can join an existing class w/out having to create an account
• ideal for PD or El Ed students
• LMS Integration - Edpuzzle synce w/ most popular LMS such as: Google, Moodle, Blackboard, etc.

Below is a brief demo on their latest features...

Teacher are using Edpuzzle to flip their classroom, assess student's learning, and easily differentiate instruction by assigning videos and then adding questions to gauge student's understanding.

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

*Edpuzzle is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

BlockSurvey

BlockSurvey is an excellent site for creating surveys, polls, and more.  What separates BlockSurvey from other similar sites is their security and how they encrypt a user's data.  That means there is no tracking, no cookies, no digital "fingerprints".  Finally, a finished poll or survey can be embedded into a blog or site.

Below is a brief demo...



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

Buncee for Thanksgiving

Buncee easily one of my favorite Web 2.0 sites for education has just released a nice collection of presentations for "Fall Projects".  Buncee's are beautiful looking presentations, greetings, eCards, posters, or pretty much anything that can be put on a digital canvas.  Through their educational portal, educators can create, manage, and assess student projects in real-time.  Best of all everything is done in a safe environment and there lots of educational resources and lessons to be found on Buncee's website.  These projects are being use to flip a classroom, differentiate instruction, project based learning, and much much more.

I highly recommend checking out Buncee's Fall Projects in their "Ideas Lab" by clicking here!!!

Below is an example...

*Buncee is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

ThinkFluency

ThinkFluency is an oral reading fluency assessment app developed by a teacher for teachers.  ThinkFluency replaces the tedious paper, pencil and timer assessment with an app that enables teachers to quickly assess students’ Oral Reading Fluency Rate. ThinkFluency is easy to use, provides instant results with data that is easy to download and share, and is perfect for RTI and showing student growth. It comes with 6 passages each for grade levels 1-5, but users can add their own passages for the ultimate customized assessment tool. ThinkFluency gives users the option of going PAPERLESS. The student reads the passage from a second device as the teacher follows along in the app. When the student finishes reading, the results are displayed (only to the teacher) and saved so you are immediately ready to test the next student. ThinkFluency is FREE to try when you download the app.

Features included:

• Paperless assessments
• Smart diagnostics for developing individualized instruction plans
• Spreadsheet data for sharing and tracking
• Dashboard for quick view of student data

Saves valuable teacher time

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

*ThinkFluency is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

KidCitizen

KidCitizen is an excellent site for teaching students about political history through interactive primary resources.  KidCitizen is designed for grades K-5 and where student's view photos/videos to learn about primary resources.  Best of all, educators can create their own resources and share them w/ students while tracking their progress.

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

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo for sharing this site.

Watch Know

Watch Know is a wonderful free site for finding educational videos. It has thousands of videos and categorized in every subject imaginable for education. This site is very user friendly and built around a "wiki-style" interface. This is ideal for districts that are especial worried about maintaining CIPA compliance.

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

Makerdemy

Makerdemy is an excellent site for learning how to program/code in different languages such as: Raspberry Pi, Google Assistant, Alexa, and more.  This is done through self paced learning where students can select their own level (i.e. advanced) and then take courses at their own pace.  Finally, Makerdemy has excellent online support and answers questions w/ detailed timely responses.

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

Speechling

Speechling is a excellent free site for learning a language.  The way this works is a student listens to a professional voice actor say the word or phrase and then repeats it and records themselves.  Then a professional will listen to recording and provide feedback on how the word was spoken to help learn the language.

Below is a brief demo...



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

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo's blog for the tip.

Showcase

Showcase is an interesting new site for students to create digital portfolios.  What makes Showcase unique, is that it is only for students and educators have no control over the content of what goes in there.  Portfolios can contain, images, links, documents, and more.  This is a great way for students to show their classwork or talents to educators, family, and even potential employers.

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

Storyboard That for Thanksgiving

Storyboard That the excellent learning tool that educators are using in a wide variety of ways (i.e. project based learning, graphic organizers, timelines, storyboard, etc.).  Storyboard That activities are great for telling the story of Thanksgiving, labeling different items, telling what you are "thankful" for and more.  Best of all, a teachers can copy the storyboard and use or edit it for creating their own template.

I highly recommend checking out Storyboard That's Thanksgiving activities by clicking here!!!

November Updates

• updated characters, templates, and more

*Storyboard That is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Kialo Edu

Kialo Edu is an excellent learning tool designed to facilitate classroom discussion and ignite critical thinking while providing platform for educators to make it easy to gauge student understanding and differentiate instruction.  The way this works is through Kialo's online collaborative platform that creates an interactive tree that depicts pros and cons of a discussion/debate.  Students can use this for self paced learning and to get their points of across in a clear precise way.

Below is a brief demo...



I highly recommend checking out Kialo Edu by clicking here!!!

40 Sites/Apps to Learn how to Program or Code

In today's classroom STEM is a vital topic covered universally.  With that being said, more and more students are being introduce to coding and programming earlier then ever before.  Best of all, new technology and apps makes it easier and easier for students to learn these useful skills.  Below is a list of some of the best resources for students and educators looking to learn how to program and code.

*This list is in alphabetical order.

40 Sites/Apps for Learning how to Program or Code

1. Boogie Bot - A super fun iOS app that teaches kids how to program/code.  This is done by dragging and dropping code to make your robot dance.
2. Coda Game - A nice free iOS app that helps students create their own game and learn how to program/code.
3. Code Avengers - A great site for teachers wanting their students to learn how to code games, websites, apps, or more.
4. Code Karts - A interesting fun iOS game designed to teach students how to code by programming a car to drive through a racetrack and finish a race.
5. Code Kingdoms - An excellent site for students to learn how to code games like Minecraft and Roblox through a drag-n-drop interface.  Best of all is the educator portal which allows teachers to track and monitor student progress.
6. Code Kingdoms: Treasure - A cool free iOS app that teaches young students how to program/code by drag-n-dropping blocks of code to have their character move around a board and collect an item.
7. Code Monster - A fantastic very user friendly site that has students learn how to program Javascript by practicing in a side-by-side window and watching what happens as they type in commands.
8. Code w/ Google - A new initiative from Google to help students strengthen their STEM skills and learn to program/code.
9. Codecademy - A interactive site that helps students learn how to program in Javascript,  PHP, Ruby, or Python by step by step instructions.
10. CodeCampKidz - A great way for students to learn live (i.e. Microsoft stores) or online to program in html, CSS, JS, and more.
11. CodeCombat - A fantastic way to teach coding such as: html, CSS, and more through playing a game by typing text not dropping blocks of code.
12. Codelicious - A wonderful Computer Science Curriculum for grades 3rd-8th designed to teach students Javacsript, Photoshop, game creation, and more.
13. Codemoji - An innovative new site that lets students learn how to code through the use of emojis as well as track student progress through the educational dashboard.  This is ideal for assessing students and differentiating instruction.
14. CodePlayer - A nice site to learn HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript through video walkthroughs.
15. CodeWizardsHQ - A fantastic site for kids 8-18 wanting to learn how to program/code through live online classes.
16. CoderZ - A innovative site for learning how to program/code 3D virtual robotos through gamified lessons.
17. codeSpark Academy - A fun way for kids 4-9 yrs old to learn how to code through activities, puzzles, projects and more by interacting w/ the Foos.
18. Coding the Musical - A free iOS game designed for girls 4 - 8 yrs to teaching programming/coding by creating their own musical.
19. Daisy the Dinosaur - A fun iPad app that teaches kids how to program and animate by dragging blocks together and watching Daisy preform the action.
20. Dystopia - An innovative site that teaches students how to code through a digital graphic novel.
21. Gamefroot - Is an excellent resource for teachers looking to learn how to code or teach it in their classroom.  Also, the easy-to-follow tutorials and professional development help educators integrate Gamefroot and STEM into their classrooms.
22. Gamestar Mechanic - A nice site for teachers wanting to teach their students how to program games.  This is done by reinforcing skills such as, problem solving, writing, storytelling, and more.
23. Grasshopper - A free mobile app that teaches students how to program through Javascript by playing through games and puzzles.
24. Hopscotch - A wonderful iOS app that teaches kids how to program and create animations by dragging-n-dropping blocks together.
25. Human Resource Machine EDU - A fun iOS game where a students programmers their worker to complete a job their boss gives them.
26. hyperPad - Formerly known as GamePress, allows students to create games, apps, interactive books and more.  This iOS app is ideal for learning the basics of programming w/ lots of resources and activities for educators.
27. Kodable - A fun iPad app designed for younger kids that has them controlling fuzzballs to complete each level.  Each level deals w/ a simple concept of programming and gets more advanced as they get higher.
28. MIT App Inventor - A wonderful site filled w/ lots of educational resources for teaching students how to program mobile apps.
29. Osmo - An award winning education game system for the iPad that lets students learn how to code through three different games (i.e. Awbie, Jam, and Duo).
30. Pixel Press Floors - An amazing app that lets students create games by drawing them.
31. Programmr - A nice way to learn programming by solving coding exercises.
32. Quest - An innovative site/app for creating text based games that will show/hide the programming language while it is being worked on.
33. Sam Labs - Sam Labs Alpha Kit is an educational kit designed for the classroom that ignites creativity and teaches students how to code and more.
34. Scratch - Probably the most popular site on the list as 1000's of students have created online games through their very easy to use web interface.
35. Scratch Jr - A spinoff of Scratch designed for younger kids 5 - 7 yrs old to teach them how to code and create interactive stories by drag-n-dropping blocks of code.
36. ScreenPlay - A fun game that introduces the basics of programming by solving puzzles through a variety of worlds.
37. Sketch Nation - A fantastic easy-to-use mobile (iOS/Android) app for students learning how to create games.  Also, there are lots of lesson plans for educators to help integrate STEM into the classroom.
38. Stencyl - A wonderful site for creating iOS or Flash based games by putting blocks together (i.e. Scratch).
39. Swift Playgrounds - A free iPad app that lets students learn how to program in Swift.  This is a fun and easy-to-use app that has users take on different challenges and even integrates w/ iTunes U.
40. Tynker - A great site for students 4th-8th grade learning how to program.

Projector Screen

Projector Screen 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!!!

*Projector Screen is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Studydraft

Studydraft is an excellent site for online tutoring.  The way this works is an educator can place a bid on a student's order and then the student can select the tutor of their choosing.  A student can check the tutor's background, reviews, and more to find what best meets their needs.  This is a great place to find homework help and learn any number of subjects.

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

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/ school starting up and teachers want to learn the correct way to pronounce their student's names.  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.educational resources

ClassroomQ

ClassroomQ is an innovative easy to use tool that acts a "digital' hand raising device.  This is all done via the web and requires very little setup.  All a teacher has to do is a create an account and then students join by typing in their name and a unique code that the teacher gives them.  From there, a student click on the assistance button and can even type a comment which then a teacher sees.  This is ideal to assess student's to learning and differentiate instruction w/out having to disrupt classroom time to do it.

Below is a demo video...



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

Otus

Otus is a all-in-one mobile learning solution for schools that combines the best features of a: learning management system, data management system, and more.  The sleek new design, 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 some of their 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.

• New Lesson Builder - makes it easier then ever to create, share, and view learning activities

• Differentiate Instruction - now easier w/ more efficient tools 

• Side by Side - new view for for rubrics w/ documents, better organization, and synced calendars

• New Student Profile

• Browser Lockdowns

• Video Feedbacks - great for leaving feedback and more personalized for students then just reading comments.

• Schedule Assessments - a nice feature to let teachers have control of when they want to assess students/assignments

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.

NBC Learn

NBC Learn is the educational division of NBC News and delivers award winning educational content for grades K-12.  This media contains, news archives, interviews, live broadcasts and more.  Best of all, NBC Learn provides detailed educational resources, lesson plans, and professional development to help integrate their technology into the classroom.

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

Math Attax

Math Attax is a super-fun free mobile (iOS/Google Play) Math game that helps students w/ their basic Math skills (i.e. addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc.).  This is a 2 player game where students move their player up/down a grid while trying to shoot the correct answer to a equation.  Also, they can freeze the other player and reset their score.  The first to reach the target number at the bottom of the screen wins.  Also, there is a tournament mode w/ three different games.

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

*Math Attax is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Newsela

Newsela is a fantastic instructional content platform for all subject areas.  It is a great learning tool that helps students learn content in an easy way.  This is done by curating reading material and adjusting to each student's Reading level.  For example, by a click of a button a student can adjust the reading level of the passage they are about to read so it aligns w/ their Reading level.  Finally, a Pro account lets teachers create assignments, detailed tutorials, and much much more to help grade and assess students learning.

Below is a brief demo...



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

Knoword

Knoword is a super fun Vocabulary game that I just found out about from Richard Byrne's blog.  The way this works is definitions are given w/ the starting letter of the word while a timer counts down.  The player tries to answer as many correct words by typing/spelling them correctly before the timer runs out.  Best of all, there is a teacher portal where educators can create their own "word" packs to integrate w/ their curriculum as well as track student data.

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

*Knoword is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Gimkit

Gimkit is an excellent game based learning solution that makes it easy for educators to assess learning and differentiate instruction.  This is done through fun educational games that even students can help create and use for self paced learning.  Best of all, Gimkit generates detailed reports for teachers/students and can even grade assignments in real-time.

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

30hands Learning

30hands Learning is the excellent company for creating an innovative LMS (Learning Management System) as well as the popular mobile iOS app that is ideal for digital storytelling 30hands Pro.  The 30hands community is a perfect cloud based solution that allows educators to: manage/track students, hand in/out assignments, schedule events, and more.  While the mobile is being used in education for project based learning, digital storytelling, and more.

More features...

• 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

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.hand

Formative

Formative is a great standards-aligned way to go paperless in your classroom for all your assessments.  You can easily and quickly transform your current files onto Formative and start getting live results from students.  Students can show their work and receive your feedback in real-time. 

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

EDpuzzle

Edpuzzle the world's leading digital tool for taking a video and making it your "own" has released a bunch of new updates for the upcoming school year.

New Features

• Live Mode - project Edpuzzle videos up on a screen and have student answer questions in real-time on their won devices
• easily assess and differentiate instruction
• Open Class - student's can join an existing class w/out having to create an account
• ideal for PD or El Ed students
• LMS Integration - Edpuzzle synce w/ most popular LMS such as: Google, Moodle, Blackboard, etc.

Below is a brief demo on their latest features...

Teacher are using Edpuzzle to flip their classroom, assess student's learning, and easily differentiate instruction by assigning videos and then adding questions to gauge student's understanding.

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

*Edpuzzle 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!!!

For a more detailed review click here.

DOGOnews

DOGOnews is an excellent site for creating Reading assignments for grades K-8 that can then be integrated into Google Classroom.  This is done through 1000s of curated educated articles in a wide variety of subjects (i.e. Science, History, Current Events, etc.) where educators can then select lesson plans, create assignments, and help students increase their Reading and Vocabulary skills.

Below is a brief demo...



I highly recommend checking out DOGOnews for teachers by clicking here!!!

ShowMe

ShowMe is an excellent free mobile (iOS, Android, Chromebook) app for creating beautiful looking screencasts, or "flipping" a lesson/classroom.  ShowMe provides an interactive whiteboard to allow educators or students to create lessons, presentations, etc. while recording and narrating their own voiceover.  Best of all, a finished product can then be shared online in ShowMe's educational community where other users can find, share, or embed, other screencasts.

Below is a brief video...



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

Socrates

Socrates is an innovate new site where educators can seamlessly differentiate instruction for each student through a unique game based learning system.  This is done through fun and engaging learning games w/ educational portal where teachers can track and monitor student progress, assign educational videos, use a digital badge system, testing, benchmarking, and much much more.

Below is a brief demo...



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

*Socrates is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

The Globe of Extremes

The Globe of Extremes is a very cool interactive globe that has "hot keys"/plots w/ interesting facts about extreme information in the world.  For example, if you wanted to learn about what the highest populated city is away from an ocean or the lowest point below sea level is on earth, this would be the place to go.

I highly recommend checking out the Globe of Extremes by clicking here!!!

Thanks to Richard Byrne's blog for the tip.

Buncee for Halloween

Buncee is a fantastic and simple tool to use for education.  Educators are using it for project based learning, digital storytelling, announcements, digital cards, and much much more.  A great way to use it is for holiday projects such as Halloween.  Buncee, has lots of free resources for educators (lesson plans, i.e. ideas lab), as well as state of the art clip-art, animations, backgrounds, etc.

Below is a buncee I created for Halloween...



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

*Buncee is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Noisy Book

Noisy Book is a wonderful new innovative iOS app for kids.  Noisy Book works by supplying sound effects to a book by processing what is read (i.e. adding a horn honking to a car).  Also, a user can create their own story and add sound effects for a fun way to incorporate digital storytelling.  Best of all, Noisy Book understands what is being read and creates an educational quiz for the main parts of a story to gauge understanding/comprehension.

I highly recommend checking out Noisy Book by clicking here!!!

For a more detailed review click here.