Top 10 of 2015

Here, in no particular order whatsoever, are the 

Top 10 Technology Apps and Websites for 2015.

If you haven’t used them yet, try them in 2016!

Have a Happy & Healthy New Year!

1. Nearpod allows you to control the flow of the lesson as a whole class and get awesome feedback data on the students’ learning OR let them learn asynchronously by logging into “Homework” mode.

2. EDpuzzle allows you to pick an online video and add questions, a voiceover, or music to the video. Teachers can use it for lessons and students can use it to create presentations.

3. Google Hangouts is a great resource to connect with other classes within the district, with other schools throughout the world, experts in the field and SO MUCH MORE! Globalize your curriculum with a Hangout!

4. Quizizz, similar to Kahoot!, for test review. Each student connects to the game through their Chromebooks or tablets and can play as a whole class in a live session or asynchronously in “Homework” mode.

5. Storybird is a completely free site for students to create their own digital storybooks using beautiful illustrations.

6. Bookshelf allows students to read a multitude of eBooks on their IRLA reading level, asynchronously, just by downloading the app and logging in. Available on the Nexus tablets.

7. MobyMax has a games and resources for reading, writing, math, and science. Embrace asynchronous learning with this great website.

8. duolingo is a free site for learning languages. The site makes asynchronous learning into a game with daily goals kids can meet, and the cute graphics make it fun. Teachers can monitor individual progress.

9. Send out assignments, make announcements, and allow 

Google Classroom to be your one stop shop for all your classroom needs. Asynchronous learning with a digital and creative spin.

10. VoiceThread is an interactive collaboration tool that enables users to add images, documents, and videos. Other users can add voice, text, audio files, or video comments. Post your VoiceThread on your website or save it to as an MP3. Digital and creation at its finest.

BONUS PICK!!!

Hapara Highlights allows teachers to enhance learning using new features:

• Focused browsing - restrict a student to specific websites for a set period of time.
• Multiple tab opening - open up to 5 tabs at a time for your students.
• Activity Viewer - see a summary of your entire class activity at a glance.
• Snaps - capture student browsing activity (meta data and screenshot) at any point in time to explore/investigate it at a later stage.

Have a WONDERFUL break! 

Nearpod to the Rescue!

Differentiate Student Learning with... 

Nearpod!

Use Nearpod for Formative Assessment...

Use Nearpod for Summative Assessment...

Use Nearpod as a whole class...

Use Nearpod independently...

Use Nearpod asynchronously...

Use Nearpod as a review...

Use Nearpod for answers in the form of:

* Multiple Choice

* Open-ended Questions

* Drawings

* Fill-in-the-Blanks

* Polls 

BOTTOM LINE BEING: USE NEARPOD!

Graphite for ALL the best Apps, Games, Websites, and Digital Curricula You Need!

Graphite is an awesome resource to find new apps, websites, and games...AS WELL AS...lesson plans that can be used with them!

Simply go to graphite.org, sign up for a FREE account and start exploring all the awesome resources!

Graphite categorizes by subject area, student population, grade level, and skills. WOW!

Want something BETTER than Kahoot? Meet Quizizz

Are you using Kahoot in your classroom but can't stand how the students don't see the question and answer choices on their devices?  Sob no more!  

Meet Quizizz - virtually identical to Kahoot but shows the question and answer choices on the student devices.  It's one of the fastest and easiest tools to use! Quizizz works on both Chromebooks and Nexus Tablets (there's no Nexus app but works from Chrome).

She had her students joined the quiz, they were assigned a little monster icon.  From her screen, she could see who had joined.   Depending on the features you enable, kids answer questions and score points based on the correctness of their response and how quickly they give it.  They can run out of time and lose the opportunity to answer too.  The students thought the memes that pop up after correct and incorrect answers were really funny.  While the game is on, she couldn't see how everyone was doing individually, but could see a tally of right and wrong answers, so she had a sense of how the class was doing as a whole.  After the game, she saw a chart that showed how each student did on each question.

If you're looking for a fun and easy content-review or formative assessment tool, Quizizz is worth a look!