Friday, October 28, 2011

FREEbie Friday

Nothing is SWEETer to a teacher than the word FREE. Here are some awesome free tools to use in the classroom.

Online Publication from Issu
Get your online publications online and promote your students love of reading and writing by creating their own publications and posting online for others to read. This awesome resource has been around for a couple of years. It's really easy to use and once you publish one, you'll be hooked. Check out this video and get inspired. 







Math Freebie from Xtra Math
Xtra Math is a free web program that teaches addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts which are critical to success in mathematics.


Productivity Freebie from Learnboost
Gradebook, lesson planner (lesson plans are integrated with state standards), attendance, reporting and calendar all in one place!

And these cool resources I learned about yesterday at the Technology Conference I attended here in Houston, Texas.

Writing Freebie from Quiet Write
Need a display area that's neat and clean and well...QUIET? Check out Quiet Write for an interface that hides the clutter and keeps you focused. Write online and save either privately or for the public to see and if you have a FREE WordPress blog, you can export it to your blog with one easy click.

Virtual Bookshelf from Shelfari
See what your friends are reading. Create virtual bookshelves for your books to keep track of what you've read. Discuss your favorite books in a book club. Promote a healthy competition among your students while promoting the love of Reading.

Virtual Keyboard from Type It
This site allows you to easily type accents and other characters without using special keys. You can edit your text in the box and then copy it to your document, e-mail message, etc. The sample below is the Spanish keyboard. Pretty neat!
 

Class Jump

Get your FREE teacher website at Class Jump! It's offered world-wide for a low price of, FREE. Register as a student or as a teacher to get started. There are over 23,000 teachers on Class Jump, over 10,000 schools and over 400,000 students. As a teacher, you can post homework, upload documents, post upcoming events and articles/links of interest, receive documents uploaded by students, have a class message board, create unlimited numbers of photo albums and much more. More new features are being added by the new year. Check out this awesome resource and get to creating your own stamp on the web today.


Get Your...Game On!

Create your own games and put them to the test with these awesome resources. Introduce students and inspire creativity for them to not be on the receiving end of cool games but on the offering end. So often we take in but let's start encouraging our kids to be the developer and not just an "end user". You may want to dapper in to one of these resources first, spark their creative problem solving skills and then introduce the software to the students...and let their imagination "run wild".








And here are a few more to check out:
BYOB
Panda 3D - FREE
Sploder
Game Book
Phrogram
RPG maker has a free trial.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

What is BlogThis! ? - Blogger Help

What is BlogThis! ? - Blogger Help

If you have a blog, then check out Blog This, a new app that makes it easy to blog anything on the web with a click of a button...The Blog This Button. Check it out, now available on Google Chrome.

Google This!

Who hasn't heard of Google? You'd have to be from the dark ages if you haven't heard of it. Even the least tech savvy folks should know the name. For those of us who know, use and love google, have you seen their Official Blog? If not, a simple google search will "click" you in the right direction. It's loaded with info on all their products. Most recently is Slide Rocket EDU. Slide Rocket has been out for a while but now there's an education version (presentation software for collaborative education) and yes, it's FREE if you have a google apps account through your district. This is just one great app but trust me...there are tons more.


The Amazing Life of Steve Jobs [Infographic] - Edudemic

iPads in Education

When the iPad first appeared, people were in awe about the device and the many ways they could use it. Business people said it was a must tool! But what about the education world? Could it possibly be used in this field. The answer is without a doubt, ABSOLUTELY! Check out this amazing presentation on ways you can use an iPad in the classroom. Get inspired, get moving and grab your kids attention.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

iBoard

iBoard+Smartboard=Aweseomeness. iBoard is a great online site with tons of resources designed for use by the teacher on their interactive whiteboard but many are also suitable for pupil use, usually responding to a task or challenge set by the teacher.



We Are Teachers

Here's another great teacher support site to help get cash in your room. We Are Teachers provide ways to win cash, prizes, technology and more by applying for one of their teacher grants. Also available are resources and ideas and a teacher community forum. Click this to learn more or get started on applying for grants.


Digital Wish

As a teacher, I know you've heard of Donors Choose...but have you heard of "Digital Wish"? Digital Wish develops new online tools and promotions that empower teachers and their supporters to get new technology for their classrooms and enhance learning for our children. Technology is a must in the classroom. Let's face it, that's the way today's children learn best. Whether you're a donor or a recipient, Digital Wish is worth a look!

Popplet

With Popplet, you and your students have a powerful tool to brainstorm ideas and share images and videos as well. Popplet is a platform for your ideas. Popplet's super simple interface allows you to move at the speed of your thoughts. With Popplet you can capture your ideas, sort them visually, and collaborate with others in realtime.Check out Popplet online or in the App store.


Keyboarding Greats!


Practice keyboarding while having fun! My favorite is the Cup Stacking game because it reminds me of the game Speed Stacking. This is basically the same concept expect you're doing the game with your fingers instead of using you hands. Check out the other great games below as well.




Type 'em Up

Spider Typer

KeyBricks

Key Man (pac man version)

Bubbles

Monday, October 24, 2011

Photon Flash Web Browser App

Photon Flash Web Browser App- Tabbed and Full Screen Anonymous Private Browsing plus Flash Player downloader for free video, games, music & news download on iPad with Remote Cloud Browse Desktop

Got an iPad? Can't see flash? Well, now you can with...

Cover Art

Photon Flash Web Browser App- Tabbed and Full Screen Anonymous Private Browsing plus Flash Player downloader for free video, games, music & news download on iPad with Remote Cloud Browse Desktop

Appsverse Inc.

Category: Utilities

Updated: Oct 18, 2011

32 Ratings



Arika's Pad

Friday, October 21, 2011

Triptico...

Inspiration for Imaginative Teachers! According to David, the creator of Triptico, his resource application currently contains 20 differnt interactive resources - all of which are easy to edit, adapt, save and share.

It takes only one simple download...and YES, everything is completely FREE! David even promises to give you updates whenever new resources are added. Check out David's spot on the web and download this awesome resource today!

Fun Friday!

Eye Charts
Remember those eye charts to test how well you can see? Well there's a neat little tool where you can create a chart with letters you choose. Make a phrase and with a click of a button, you'll have something unique for your classroom. I originally saw it on a crafters blog and she used it for something family oriented (which inspired me to make one for my family) but then I thought it would be neat to use in the classroom (so I created a few examples below). To make your own chart, check out EyeChartMaker.








And this one I did a quick edit to add my name at the bottom of the chart and a different border:


Sound files, Notebook files, Clipart files and more!


Thursday, October 20, 2011

Gamequarium

Gamequarium has been around for quite some time but they've undergone a facelift that is far more student-friendly. Cleaner interface is only one of the upgrades. You'll find loads of links organized into categories. Check out Gamequarium for learning fun.


2 Teaching Mommies

When does learning start? Before kids even enter the first day of school! Parents have to step in and be an advocate for preparing their child or children to be successful in school, whether that's in a public school, private school and even homeschooling. 2 Teaching Mommies are well, two ladies, who love to teach. They get together to bring other mothers organized materials (lesson plans and ideas) that they can use to teach their toddlers and preschoolers. As an educator and a mommy, I know that this is essential for kids to have a great start. It takes preparation and the right tools. So if you teach little ones, check out this neat little blog. (They offer plans and ideas for free with an option of a donation...I support mothers, please do the same).

(I have created a page of links for the preschool years. Look for it under my pages.)



ClassDojo is a Must!

Need an online, real-time behavior management system? I am completely floored over this next school tool. ClassDojo recently won NBC's Education Nation's first place prize (click this to read an article). Improve student behavior and engagement by awarding and recording real-time feedback. Print or email beautiful behavior reports to easily engage parents and staff. Save time by recording behaviors and accomplishments right in class, with just one click. No extra data entry required.

I just set up a FREE account in under a minute. I set up a class in under 2 minutes. Add as many classes as you need. Add as many students as you need. Add positive or negative behaviors or just use what they have already in place. It's super simple and super AWESOME! You'll wonder how you managed without it. Get your free account today! You'll have a brilliant tool with instant feedback! Click this for ClassDojo Videos.


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

ABCya

ABCya has long been a favorite site of mine but I haven't used it in quite some time. To my surprise when I revisited the site, it had a whole new design and many more activities that are geared toward the elementary age level, grades K-5. Educational games+Loads of fun+ABCya! 

If you haven't heard of this site or had the pleasure to play any of their games, then you're missing out on a real treat. Stop what you're doing, and click this: ABCya


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Project Share...It's Global!


Have you been looking for a way to connect with other professional teachers to collaborate and share resources? Are you a Texas educator? Check out this awesome FREE resource for the educational world. Project Share is an online resource that incorporates Web 2.0 tools and applications. Collaborate with teachers, share ideas, grab awesome resources, create a website or blog, create an ePortfolio, upload documents and files up to 50MB (yes I said 50...no more worrying about if my file is too big to send via email), take online courses, connect with students and parents...the list goes on. I did I say FREE. Yes, it's free for any Texas educator (provided by TEA).

Once you establish your spot on Project Share, no matter where you go, near or far, out of the state, out of the country, you will always have this resource. On top of that, this tool is open to all Texas students and their ePortfolio will follow them throughout school.

If your Texas District does not already have this powerful resource, then direct them to Project Share Texas or Epsilen to learn more. Project Share Texas is part of Epsilen which is in collaboration with The New York Times.







Say Hello to Trello!

Trello is a collaboration tool that organizes your projects into boards. In one glance, Trello tells you what's being worked on, who's working on what, and where something is in a process. This is simply an awesome tool that synchronizes no matter what type of device you are on including mobiles. Make as many boards as you need. Invite members to join boards or keep a board private to yourself. Issue task and assignments or make to-do-list all while keeping it in one central organized place and all for FREE (the company has promised that it will always be free).

Don't take my word for it! Watch the YouTube video and see why companies are using this tool to stay connected and organized. And once you love what you see, go sign up online or download the app.




My Great Maps

Need a great tool to use with students to teach maps? Check out My Great Maps and be amazed at what you can do with a simple but very effective tool on maps. Choose maps that outline the World, USA or Countries or check out their tool on Flags. Add editable text and pictures too! Sign your students up for free accounts and watch them create interactive atlases with maps that communicate! Hundreds of outline maps are available such as all fifty states, continents, historical maps, world maps, and country maps.


Check out a quick one I made just to show you some of the things you can do with this online tool. Then check out My Great Maps and create your own!

Flipping Over Flip Snacks


I'm flipping over FlipSnacks! It's 4 something in the morning and I couldn't sleep because I still had some great finds on my mind from last night. Took out my laptop and stumbled upon another great find and I had to check it out and make an example. This great find takes a pdf file and transforms it into a flipping book. There are some limitations to the free version with options to by points for the premium version. Here's what I made with the free version. I was able to embed it into by blog (or website). This example was made by one of our district administrators (Brett S., Dean of Schools, Phoenix Schools).

Monday, October 17, 2011

Educational Freebies from Lakeshore Learning

What a gem! One, two...no three FREE apps from Lakeshore Learning. These apps aren't average, they're not great...they're fantastic. Better hurry and get them while it's free which is until December. Although if you miss the free version, it will be well worth it to get the paid version.
These awesome apps include:
1. Phonics Tic Tac Toe LeApps, iPad, iPhone, iPodarning Interactive for ages 6-8
2. Letter of the Day Interactive for ages 4-6
3. Beginning Sounds Interactive for ages 4-7
To find out more about these apps and and view a demo, click this:
http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/mobile_apps/mobileApps.jsp
Or visit the app store and get them now!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Check out Facebook

The latest Facebook app is officially ready for the iPad. Before it was a phone app that you could use on the pad but now you can view FB on the entire pad screen in a beautiful, smooth-flowing interface. It is missing the favorites icon as of now but overall it looks awesome. 

Check out this application on the App Store:

Cover Art

Facebook

Facebook, Inc.

Category: Social Networking

Updated: Oct 13, 2011

1818535 Ratings



Arika's Pad