quizflight

 

quizflight is an amazing new site for creating quizzes and flashcards.  What separates quizflight from other quiz generators is the robust amount of features (styles of questions, timers, etc.) as well as educational portal that allows educators to track/manage: classes/students, assessing student learning, and generate detailed reports.  quizflight is an excellent new learning tool that teachers should definitely consider looking at especially if they want to integrate technology into their curriculum and easily differentiate instruction.

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

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo's blog for the tip.

SplashLearn

   

SplashLearn is a wonderful, super easy-to-use, free all-in-one online Math platform for grades K-5.  SplashLearn is an ideal learning tool to use for teachers and parents because of the educational portal.  This portal/dashboard allows educators/parents to create and manage student accounts, track/manage progress, generate detailed reports that can emailed, and even set daily schedules.  Being online, SplashLearn is ideal for Remote/Distance Learning and uses Game Based Learning to help students learn and reinforce their basic Math skills, such as: addition, multiplication, and more.  Also, SplashLearn has lots of different features where students can play or practice a specific skill or follow a "set" learning path where students complete games and levels collecting coins and gaining stars (similar to mobile games) on how well they completed the skill.

Finally, SplashLearn makes it easy for educators to assess students and differentiate instruction.  Students can even use SplashLearn for Self Paced Learn, making it a great way for students to strengthen their Math skills.

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

*SplashLearn is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

NBA Math Hoops

NBA Math Hoops is a super-fun free mobile (iOS/Android) app that helps students strengthen their Math skills while building their fantasy basketball team.  Best of all, Math Hoops uses actual NBA stats that lets students create their "dream" teams then play a game of basketball.  The way this works, right answers
scores points/baskets while wrongs answers become a turn over.   Also, there is a NBA Hoops Skills & Drills which is ideal for students working on their basic Math skills, such as: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and more.

I highly recommend checking out NBA Math Hoops by clicking here!!!

For a more detailed review check out Richard Byrne's excellent blog.

Cloud Stop Motion

      

Cloud Stop Motion is an innovative site for creating and storing stop motion video projects.  This is
ideal for educators looking to integrate technology into the classroom and can be used for project based learning, digital storytelling, and more.  Best of all, the educational portal allows teachers to track and manage student accounts, organize all projects, and export/watch all videos, all from w/in the web/browser.

I highly recommend checking out Cloud Stop Motion by clicking here!!!

*Cloud Stop Motion is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Belouga

Belouga is an excellent new site that I just came across that is ideal for social/collaborative learning, and can be used for "blended learning" as well.  This is all done through an innovative online curriculum that contains different many different forms of activities (i.e. videos, lessons, etc. etc.).  These lessons are broken down by grade level/subject and aligned to state standards.

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

SlidesMania

SlidesMania is a fantastic site site for finding free PowerPoint and Google Slides templates for education. This is a great place to find all kind of presentations, such as: notebooks, daily planners, certificates, and much much more.  Finally, there are lots of how-to templates and walkthroughs making it ideal to introduce a topic or subject and Guided Learning.

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

Otus for Remote Learning

    

Otus is an ideal tool for Remote Learning w/ schools being closed.  Their learning platform makes it easy for educators to build dynamic engaging lessons, deliver instruction, and then assess student learning.

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.

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.

Social-Emotional Learning Coalition

The Social-Emotional Learning Coalition (SEL) is a fantastic site for grades K-12 looking to integrate Social Emotional Learning into their classroom.  This is done through a wide range of resources such as: virtual field trips, videos, exercise, and more, that are broken down by each grade level.  Finally, there are resources for professional develop to help guide teachers in integrating SEL and help manage best teaching strategies. 

I highly recommend checking out The Social-Emotional Learning Coalition by clicking here!!!

Mobile Permissions

 Mobile Permissions is the excellent free site the educators are using to easily send "digital" permission slips for FREE.  Recently, they launched a new feature which lets educators send permission slips "on demand" which is ideal for when teachers need immediate permission of a parent/guardian and don't have time to wait for a form to be returned.  Also, this is a perfect tool to use w/ Remote Learning due to the closures of school from the worldwide pandemic.

Finally, Mobile Permissions has been hard at work creating Virtual Field trips.  These field trips can be an asset to any educator for students required to do Distance Learning at home.  These field trips are easy to use as they incorporate "guided tours" of different museums and cities around the world.  These "guided tours" come w/ a packet of questions/answers for teachers to use w/ their students when taking their virtual tour.

I highly recommend checking out Mobile Permissions Virtual Field Trips by clicking here!!!

*Mobile Permissions is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Parlay

 

Parlay is a very innovative online tool that educators are using to take classroom discussions to the next level.  Teachers can use Parlay in a number of different ways such as: browsing through a robust library of discussion prompts (w/ resources), creating a online roundtable, or by creating a "live" verbal roundtable.  Also, Parlay is great for assessing students making it easy to differentiate instruction and for "blended" learning.

Below is a demo of a "live" roundtable discussion...


Parlay - Live Round Table Demo from Parlay Ideas on Vimeo.

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

TypeTastic

    

*A great way for students to practice their keyboarding/typing skills while school is doing Remote Learning.

TypeTastic is an excellent K-12 site for students learning how to Type/Keyboard.  TypeTastic's School Edition has an educational portal that allows educators to track, monitor, and assess student progress.  This is a fun and great way to integrate technology into a classroom's curriculum.  TypeTastic uses over 400 innovative games, activities and drills to help teach and reinforce keyboarding/typing skills.

The expanded curriculum introduces students to more than 250 entertaining new keyboarding activities that move from locating letters to fluent typing in four fun steps:

1. Explore the Keyboard: Unique keyboard visualization splits the letters into nine color-coded groups so students see the keyboard like a map and can quickly find the correct letters. 

2. All Fingers Aboard: These games are designed to challenge kids to learn the fundamentals of typing. All sections are centered on finger movement, often first separated into either right- or left-hand activities, followed by more challenging games that use both hands.

3. Ready, Set, Type!: Keyboarding activities take kids on an adventure through underwater coral reefs, thick jungle vegetation, and serene beach vistas to collect words and letters, with the goal of typing simple words and sentences. 

4. Master Those Keys: In the final step, students dig into the secrets of fluent typing, challenging themselves with more complex words, building up their typing speed, and discovering numbers and symbols.

Below is a brief demo...



I highly recommend checking out TypeTastic!!!

For more information from their blog click here.

Blended Play

 

Blended Play is an excellent new site that I just found out about from Larry Ferlazzo's blog.  Blended Play brings Game Based Learning to the classroom in a fun and easy way.  All a teacher has to do is select the game (i.e. Mountain Climber, Viking Fleet, Sushi Take Over, Space Sale), add the questions, group the students into teams, and then display/project it on a board.  This is excellent for education as it can be used for any subject/grade level and for blended learning.

I highly recommend checking out Blended Play 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, storyboards/telling, etc.) last week released a free teacher guide for different Thanksgiving activities.  These activities are great for telling the story of Thanksgiving, labeling different items, telling what you are "thankful" for and more.  Best of all, a teacher 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!!!

*Storyboard That is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

ClassPoint

ClassPoint is a excellent learning tool that lets users take their powerpoint presentations to the next level. What makes ClassPoint such an ideal tool for teachers are the abundance of educational features such as: adding quizzes/polls, annotating slides, whiteboards, and more.  Best of all, ClassPoint makes it easy for educators to assess student learning and differentiate instruction.

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

For a more detailed review check out Richard Byrne's award winning blog.

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.

Comic Strip Maker

Comic Strip Maker is an excellent online comic strip creator that reminds me of Comic Life.  This is a
simple tool to use that lets users, select their background, add text/speech bubbles, add stickers, and much more to create a digital comic.  Best of all, educators can use this for project based learning and integrating digital storytelling into their classroom.

I highly recommend checking out Comic Strip Maker by clicking here!!!

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.

SpiderScribe

SpiderScribe is a state-of-the-art mind mapping/brainstorming tool that is ideal for education.  SpiderScribe is a great tool that educators can use for project based learning, group collaboration, and much much more.  Best of all, SpiderScribe lets users link a wide variety of items into their "maps" such as: files, calendars, notes, etc, and can easily be shared and generate detailed reports.

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

For a more detailed review check out Technology & Learning by clicking here.

Socrates

Socrates personalized learning for the students so they are progressing automatically, and provides teachers with tools to monitor progress and assign topics.  Teachers can control the learning remotely or just allow Socrates to adjust automatically - making it a perfect tool for teachers with closed classrooms.  

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.

Top 15 Educational Sites/Apps of 2021

It's that time of year for to list my favorite sites/apps of the year.  This years list has quite the variety and covers a wide range of educational content, such as: game based learning, programming/coding, educational resources, and more.  As in previous annual end of the year lists, any site/app listed before will not be listed here.

Top 15 Educational Sites/Apps of 2021

1. BookWidgets - BookWidgets is a fantastic that lets teachers become "paperless' and create interactive quizzes/games that can automatically be graded.  This is all done through an educational portal making it easy to assess student learning and differentiate instruction.
2. CodePen - CodePen is an innovative site that is ideal for teaching students how to program/code.  This is a great way to integrate STEM into the classroom as well as monitor student's progress in real-time.
3. Thinkio - A great learning tool for educators to make interactive worksheets/lessons online.
4. SplashLearn - A super-fun, easy-to-use online Math platform for grades K-5.  SplashLearn uses "game based learning" to teach a wide range of subject.  Finally, the educational portal makes it easy for teachers to track and manage student accounts.
5. GamiLab - A excellent to create and play educational games while assessing student's learning.
6. BombBomb - A useful site that makes it easy for teachers to create "free' video emails to students and parents.
7. Blackbird - One of my favorite sites for students to learn how to program/code in an educational environment.
8. Edform - A wonderful site that turns worksheets into interactive graded assignments.  Also, these graded worksheets can generate a detailed report making it easy to assess student learning.
9. WisdomMaps - An innovative site uses "mind maps" to teach history and humanities.
10. edu-pal - A nice Chrome extension that lets users create polls/quizzes in Google Meet, while users respond in real-time.
11. Pedagogue - A fantastic new social network where educators can collaborate and find educational resources.
12. Tract - An interesting new site where students collaborate w/ their peers to learn about different topics.
13. Brainstormer Online - A new "spin" on brainstorming where users create and then vote on their favorite brainstorm to use.
14. Peanuts in the Classroom- A fun site for educational resources for ages 4-13.
15. Ducksters - a nice safe friendly search engine for students. 

The Learning Network

The Learning Network is an excellent site from the NY Times that provides an abundance of of educational resources and lesson plans for students and teachers.  This free and "reliable" news source is ideal for HS aged students and covers a variety of current events going on in the world.  Best of all, The Learning Network has a a wide range of activities such as: quizzes/vocabulary, writing prompts, images, lessons, and much much more.

I highly recommend checking out The Learning Network by clicking here!!!

Quick Rubric

 Quick Rubric is the wonderful site for creating rubrics from the creators of Storyboard That.  This is far and away the easiest site I've seen for creating a beautiful rubric where a user can add a row or a column w/ a tap of an arrow button.  Everything inside of the rubric is customizable (i.e. from the heading tocustomizing points) and a user can save/print out as many rubrics as they need.

I highly recommend checking out Quick Rubric by clicking here!!!

I Know It

 

I Know It is a fantastic site for interactive Math lessons grades K-5th.  This is a super fun easy to use site for practice on a wide range of topics, such as: place value, multiplication, counting coins, time, and more.  Best of all, I Know It allows educators to assign lessons and track student progress to make it easy to differentiate instruction.

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

Below is a brief demo...



I Know It is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

iCivics

 

iCivics is a fantastic site for learning about Civics through Game Based Learning.  Best of all, iCivics has an educational portal that allows educators to create and manage student accounts.  Also, teachers can create assignments such as games/webquests and track student performance w/ detailed reports.  Finally, a educator can create a forum or message board to engage students in online discussions and send out class announcements.

Here is a bit more on iCivics features...

• Lessons: Print-and-go lesson plans make civic learning fun, relevant, and easy. Lessons may include PowerPoints, and ALL are aligned to state standards. 
•  Webquests: Our webquests help students connect civics concepts to the real world with readings and questions that link to specific web resources. Webquests can be used on individual computers or by the whole class using a projector or a smart board 
• Games: Expand the learning experience for your students by putting them in the action. Each game is accompanied by a teacher guide with tips for game play, pre– and post-game discussion questions and ideas for additional activities. 
•  Drafting Board: Guide your students through the process of producing a clear and polished argumentative essay. This blended learning tool brings the skills of writing persuasively together with civic topics that matter to your students. 

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

For a more detailed review check out Graphite.

For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.