Friday, June 29, 2012

InSkilled

InSkilled is a new (beta) site for curating the web into online learning lessons that you can share w/ others.  This is done through a very user friendly interface and there is a even a Chrome app/browser plugin that makes curating super easy.

Another nice feature is the ability to view your profile and see how much time you've spent on online lessons and more.

I highly recommend checking out InSkilled by clicking here!!

For another similar site I recommend checking out SideVibe.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Qwiki

Qwiki is a site that I've covered before in the past but was just reminded about when receiving a press email from them.  Qwiki Creator is now open to the public and a fantastic site for creating interactive stories.

From their press email... "Using our new product, right through your browser, you can combine text, photos, videos, maps, tweets, animated articles and more into a beautiful interactive experience - embeddable and shareable anywhere - narrated by you (or via text to speech if you like)!"


I highly recommend checking out Qwiki by clicking here!!



Mural.ly

Mural.ly is a new (beta) site that I just found out about from Larry Ferlazzo's award nominated blog.  This is a site that reminds me a lot of Wall Wisher, where a user creates a board w/ the ability to add: notes/text, images, videos, and more.

I highly recommend checking out Mural.ly by clicking here!!!!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

PowToon

PowToon is a wonderful new (beta) site that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This looks to be a fantastic site for creating animated slideshows/presentations.  This is done in a very user friendly drag-n-drop interface and finished presentations can be saved/exported.

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

For my Pinterest board for slideshows/presentations click here.

PlayBrighter

PlayBrighter is a new educational site for online games that I just found out about.  It kind of reminds me of Magna High but doesn't just focus on Math.  A user starts out by creating a "Peeble" (avatar), then going on a variety of educational missions.  These missions focus on different subject areas such as: Geography, Economics, History, and more.  As a person completes a mission more and more of them become "unlocked" and they are able to purchase items/buildings.

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

To check out my Pinterest board on educational games click here.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Remind101

Remind101 is a great site/app for teachers to text students and parents.  This is ideal for education and privacy as students and teachers don't see each others phone numbers.  The way a person signs up is by texting to an assigned number.

I highly recommend checking out Remind101 by clicking here!!

For a more detailed review check out The Educational Technology Guy blog.

  • For my top 10 sites for mobile phones in education click here.
  • For my Pinterest board for mobile phones in education click here.

Backpack.tv

Backpack.tv is a very new site for finding and curating educational videos.  It kind of reminds me a cross between Kahn Academy and Watch Know.  A person can search by subject, teacher, school, etc.

I highly recommend checking out Backpack.tv by clicking here!!

Vialogues

Vialogues is an interesting site that reminds me a lot of Grockit Answers.  This is a site where users can upload videos (not just YouTube) and then create discussions or "vialogues (video dialogues)" around it.  A vialouge can be made public or private and even embedded into a site.

I highly recommend checking out Vialouges by clicking here!!

For a more detailed review check out Free Technology 4 Teachers.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Literacy Shed

The Literacy Shed is a fantastic blog that I just found out about from iLearn Technology.  This is a great site for ideas all related to literacy.  The sites is organized by genre or "shed".  Each shed has lots of different teaching ideas such as: writing prompts, vivid images, videos, and more.  Also, this is a great place to find lesson plans for English/LA teachers.

I highly highly recommend checking out The Literacy Shed by clicking here!!!

Demo Lesson

Demo Lesson is a new site that I like to think of as Linkedin for educators.  This is a great place for teachers to create a digital portfolio and upload their resume w/ video examples of their work.  Also, this is a nice play for schools to find excellent teachers.

I recommend checking out Demo Lesson by clicking here!!!

WordontheWire

WordontheWire is a new search engine that is supposed to keep people in the "know".  This engine mainly indexes through Bing, FB, Twitter, and YouTube.  The results that come across are done in visual columns which is a nice change of pace.

I recommend checking out WordontheWire by clicking here.

Keep in mind this is not a filtered site and not safe for students w/out adult supervision.


For my Pinterest board on search engines click here.

9Slides

9Slides is a new and innovative site for creating multimedia slideshows/presentations.  This is ideal for educators or school districts (especially those interested in professional development) for creating a that syncs both slides and video together into a seamless presentation.  This is done in a very user friendly way by uploading the presentation and video, then syncing them together, and finally sharing them in a secure way either online or embedding.

Also, presentations from 9Slides usage statistics can be tracked (think SlideShare), saved/shared online, password protected, and even viewed/used on mobile devices such as the iPad.

I highly recommend checking out 9Slides by clicking here!!!

Visit them on:

9Slides is a paid advertiser of Technology Tidbits.



Friday, June 22, 2012

Gnowledge

Gnowledge is a site I've covered before and used to be an advertiser on Technology Tidbits.  This is a wonderful site for creating/storing online quizzes.  Also, this is a nice site sharing, finding, and collaborating w/ others to finding quizzes that work for you.  Gnowledge is a very polished looking site w/ excellent tutorials as well.

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

Thursday, June 21, 2012

19 Pencils

19 Pencils is a site/company that is very dear to my heart.  It's a site that I used to do social media for and one of my favorite "web 2.0" educational sites around for teachers.  This site is ideal for finding and saving educational content on the web.  Teachers can easily create web pages of educational online  content to share w/ their students.  Also, this is a fantastic site for creating assignments as well as quizzes.

I highly recommend checking out 19 Pencils by clicking here!!!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Lumosity

Lumosity is a rather innovative site that I found out about from a commercial on tv.  This site allows a person to sign up for free and train their brain to improve cognitive abilities.  This is done by creating a profile and then doing the online exercises for 15 min a day.  These exercises get harder as one improves.  A person can pay a monthly fee to unlock unlimited access to games and exercises and more.

I recommend checking out Lumosity by clicking here!!

TechTalk.tv

TechTalk.tv is a fantastic new (beta) site that reminds me a lot of 9 Slides.  This is a free site that allows users to upload videos and slides and then sync them together.  A person can then published their finished product to popular social network sites or even just publish the slides or video.

I highly recommend checking out TechTalk.tv by clicking here!!!

Thanks to Richard Byrne's award winning blog for the tip.

For my Pinterest board on slideshows/presentations click here.

Piktochart

Piktochart is a site I just found out about on Twitter today.  This site is ideal for creating infographics amd reminds me a lot of Easel.ly.  Pikto has a very easy to use drag-n-drop interface and lots of templates to choose from.

I highly recommend checking out Piktochart by clicking here!!

understoodit

undetstoodit is an interesting web app that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This is a nice way to gauge students/audience understanding of a topic by simply opening up the web poll and having student vote, understand or confused.  What makes this nice as it can be done via any mobile device as long as there is internet access.

I recommend checking out understaoodit by clicking here!!

Teach with Portals

Teach w/ Portals is an innovative site for educators to teach using the award winning gaming tools from, Portal 2.  This is designed for students 9-12 and uses Portal 2's puzzle maker to teaching STEM.  Once an educator signs up they'll have access to the Portal community as well as lesson plans to see how Portal is being used throughout education.

I highly recommend checking out Teach w/ Portals by clicking here!!!

Arcoiris

Arcoiris is a online site for educational games that I just found out about.  This site is designed for kids 3-10 yrs old and has games in English & Spanish.  These games range from shapes, colors, letters, and more.  Also, there are pictures to colors and online stories to read and fill in the blanks.

I recommend checking out Arcoiris by clicking here!!

For my Pinterest board for educational online games, click here.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Display Recorder

Display Recorder is probably my new favorite app for recording a screen cast on an iOS device.  This wonderful inexpensive app ($1.99) is very user friendly and allows a user to record anything from their screen (audio/video) w/ the simple press of a button.  Once the video is recorded a user can then export the video to YouTube, iPhoto Library, or open in other apps.

I highly recommend checking out Display Recorder by clicking here!!!'

For my educational iOS board on Pinterest click here.

Edshelf

Edshelf is a site I've covered before and one of my favorite finds of the year.  This is an outstanding site for finding web 2.0 sites/reviews and then curating them into lists.  A person can register for free and then starting adding sites to their collection.  Also, they can search for other colleagues similar to a social network.  A user can even submit sites to be reviewed.

Best of all is how nice and polished this site looks.  All sites have a brief summary w/ reviews from other people/educators (ie, Amazon book reviews).  Also, these reviews cover 3 different categories on a 5 star scale such as:

  • Learning Curve
  • Pedagogical Effectives 
  • Student Engagement
I highly recommend checking out Edshelf by clicking here!!!

*Edshelf is a paid advertiser for Technology Tidbits.

Monday, June 18, 2012

BeeClip EDU

BeeClip EDU is a new "web 2.0" site I've covered in the past and am really impressed with.  This is a wonderful free site for students to create online digital scrapbooks.  These scrapbooks are simple to create w/ BC's drag-n-drop interface and beautiful in design.  A student can add anything they like to their book such as: text, images, video, etc.  Plus, students can share, collaborate, and comment on others work.  Best of all their is a educational portal which allows teachers to track their students and projects.

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

BeeClip is a paid advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Wyzant

Wyzant is a great site for finding tutors that I just found out about from a member of my PLN.  A person can search by zipcode, subject, or test prep to find a tutor.  Also, this is a nice place for teachers who want to become tutors to find a place to offer their skills.

I recommend checking out Wyzant by clicking here!!

For my Pinterest board on online tutoring click here.

Friday, June 15, 2012

inClass

inClass is a free iOS app that I just happened to stumble across today when searching for iPad database solution.  This is a wonderful app for HS/college students looking to keep track of their classes, organize their schedule, take/share notes, and more.

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

For my educational iOS apps board on Pinterest click here.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

DimensionU

DimensionU is an innovative educational gaming site for teaching math in a 3D virtual world.  Also, DimensionU offers unique incentives such as educational allowance which allows kids to earn rewards by succeeding in DimensionU games.

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

*DimensionU is a paid advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

applist.me

applist.me is a wonderful free app for sharing a users lists of iPad/iPhone apps (that I found out about from a friend on Twitter).  All a user has to do is download the app, which then scans iTunes for your iOS apps.  A user can then uncheck which apps they don't want to share.  Once that is done the appme scanner then provides a unique link that a person can share.

I recommend checking out applist.me by clicking here!!!

Printable Flash Cards

Printable Flash Cards is a site I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This site is great for finding free printable flashcards on a number of different subjects such as: Math, Geometry, Language, etc.  Also, there is a nice printable flash card creator for those people that want to make their own.

I highly recommend checking out Printable Flash Cards by clicking here!!

For 15 Sites for creating flash cards click here.

Google Blockly

Google Blockly is a visual web based programming language that is easy for users to learn.  It reminds me a lot of the way Scratch works in where a user just puts pieces of code/blocks together to assemble a command.

I recommend checking out Google Blockly by clicking here!!

Thanks to David Andrade's blog for the tip.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

SpellingCity

SpellingCity is a wonderful site that I've covered in the past.  This is an excellent site for creating Vocabulary/Spelling lists and then embedding them into educational games.  Also, there are lots of resources for educators to enjoy such as worksheets, printables, videos, and more.  Another very nice feature is the ability to print out games or send home parent letters of word lists.

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

*SpellingCity is a paid advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

BoomWriter

BoomWriter is an excellent free site for students and teachers for enhancing reading and writing skills.  This is done through an educational portal in a competitive story writing competition.  This is done by having students type a chapter of a story then have their peers vote on the "winning" chapter to be included in the finished book.  Once the book a hard copy can be ordered.  BW is designed for students 3rd thru 8th grade but used by much more.

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

*BoomWriter is a paid advertiser for Technology Tidbits.

10 Sites for Keyboarding & Typing

Keyboarding or Typing is one the first and most vital skills for students to learn for technology literacy.  This skill is the building block for using a computer and one that starts as early KDG if not sooner.  Also, this is a nice skill/unit to teach in using "centers or blocks", free time, or even summer school.

*This list is in alphabetical order

10 Sites for Keyboarding/Typing
  1. ABCya - A fun site/app for kids trying to learn how to type in games such as: Alpha Munchies, Cup Stack Typing, and Jump Key.
  2. Dance Mat Typing - A 12 level game for kids aged 7-11 yrs old for Typing.
  3. Learning Games for Kids - A great site for educational games including over 20 games for Keyboarding.
  4. Letter Bubbles - A fun game w/ three different levels that has a user trying to type the letter in the bubble before they reach the edge of the screen.
  5. Power Typing - A nice collection of 5 online Typing games.
  6. RoomRecess - An excellent site for games for all subjects including Typing.  Some of their more popular games in Keyboarding include: Letter Bursts, Popcorn Typer, and Launch Key.
  7. TypeDojo - A wonderful site that lets students grades 1st-8th practice their keyboarding skills while printing out detailed reports/certificates. 
  8. TypeKids - An innovative game which introduces students to keyboarding/typing w/ over 30 interactive lessons.
  9. Typing Agent - An amazing site for grades K-12 for learning how to type.  Best of all are the abundance of features that Typing Agent offers users such as: teacher dashboard to track/monitor student progress, educational games, learning how to code, and more.
  10. Typing Web - A excellent free typing tutor that has a teacher portal for student tracking.  Also, certificates can be printed out on completion of lessons.
For my Keyboarding/Typing Pinterest board click here.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Loupe

Loupe is a new site by the creators of Shape Collage, that is fantastic for making collages.  These collages can be made from pics from any site (ie, Flickr, FB, Pinterest, etc), or computer and can be turned into collages of a variety of shapes.  These shapes can be from online templates on Loupe or even from a logo.   Loupe has a wonderful user friendly interface and all photos are linked back to their original source.  Collages can also be made from videos.

Best of all Loupe has an educational portal which is ideal for students.  These collages can be made to private so only those w/ a unique URL can view the collage.  Also, these collages can be embedded into a site.

Here is a list of ways Loupe is being used in the classroom (straight from their site):


  • As a poster for print for the back of the class
    • Eg. Field trip memories
    • Eg. Ski camp
    • Eg. Each class has their own collage
  • As a support for student's statement
  • As attractive presentation for work on the web or social networks
    • Eg. Photos in the collage on Loupe link to site where photo lives can be used as a resource for students
  • Assignments
    • Creative: Eg. Project is about the Island where the elementary school is. Children were asked to search for photos about the island and arrange the photos into a shape of the island. Island Project
    • Reporting/Journalistic: Eg. To create a presentation document or as a title page for report
  • As a word wall
  • In mixing or pairing games
  • As a choosing board
I highly recommend checking out Loupe by clicking here!!!


Cropp.me

Cropp.me is a excellent site for cropping images that I found about from Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This site allows users to upload photos and then crop their photo or pre-select a number of cropping templates.  Best of all a person Cropp.me can automatically crop a photo by detecting the source image and adjusting accordingly.

I recommend checking out Cropp.me by clicking here!!

Click here for my top 10 sites for photo editing.

SlickFlick

SlickFlick is a nice free iPhoto app that is great for digital storytelling.  All a user has to do is upload their photos, put them in linear order, and then add captions.  Once the story is done it can be shared w/ others.

I recommend checking out SlickFlick by clicking here!!!

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Plag Tracker

Plag Tracker is a nice site that I just found out about for checking for plagiarism.  All a user has to is upload a document and then PT scans it for plagiarism.  A detailed report is then given for results.

I recommend checking out Plag Tracker by clicking here!!

Thanks to Education Technology Guy for the tip.

Also, try Eduify , Plagiarisma, and Paper Rater for plagiarism checkers.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Quipper

Quipper is a wonderful free iOS/Android app for finding or creating quizzes.  This app already has a large repository of quizzes but a user can create their own as well.  A nice feature is the ability to track your progress on a quiz/subject as well as the detailed explanations around each topic.

I recommend checking out Quipper by clicking here!!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Memrise

Memrise is a new (beta) site for learning a variety of different topics.  Ideally, this site is great for learning a foreign language but is also good for other subjects too.  It works kind of the way a flash card system works by associating words w/ pictures and then answering a variety of questions to reinforce learning.

I recommend checking out Memrise by clicking here!!

Pirate Pop

Pirate Pop is a fun educational iOS app ($.99) for learning multiplication.  This is a game that has a pirate shooting cannon balls at balloons that hold the correct answer.  It's a fun game that reinforces multiplication and has over a 100 levels.

I recommend checking out Pirate Pop by clicking here!!

Teacherlinx

Teacherlinx is a site I just found out about from Twitter the other day.  This is a nice social network for educators to share and collaborate.  There is lots of resources to find here such as worksheets, videos, lesson plans and more.

I recommend checking out Teacherlinx by clicking here!!

For my top 20 social networks for education click here.
For my Pinterest board on social networks click here.

Scroll Kit

Scroll Kit is a nice site from creating a website from scratch.  What is nice that SK provides a blank canvas for a user to do whatever they want such as: draw, add tables, images, text, video, etc.  Once a page is created it can then be shared w/ others via unique URL.

I recommend checking out Scroll Kit by clicking here!!

Thanks to Free Technology 4 Teachers for the tip.

For my top 10 sites for website creators click here.
For my Pinterest board on website creators click here.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Education Dive

Education Dive is a site/blog that I just found out about from David Andrade's excellent blog.  This is a site that has a nice byline (mobile dashboard for educators) that has lots of interesting articles for K-12, Technology, trends, and more.

I recommend checking out Education Dive by clicking here.

Marble Math

Marble Math is the same company (Artgig Studio) that brought you the excellent iOS app Alien Buddies. This is a wonderful iOS app ($1.99) for teaching/learning/reinforcing a wide variety of Math concepts, such as:

  • multiplication
  • division
  • fractions
  • roman numerals
  • decimals 
Ideally, this app is designed for kids ages 9-12 yrs old.  MM is a fun game that game that has a user drag/roll a marble through a variety of mazes while trying to avoid obstacles and achieve highscores.

Also, there are lots of features to this app that make it attractive for students/parents/educators such as the ability control how the game is played by dragging or rotating the iPad/iPhone, customizing the content, unlocking new marbles.

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

Subtext

Subtext is a wonderful free iPad app that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This is a great app for students for guided digital book discussions.  A student can create a Q/A session on a book, annotate, and even create quizzes right in the text.

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

Airtime

Airtime is a site that has been quite a bit of buzz this week on the internet.  It reminds me very much of Google+ Hangout's and is a great way to "live" video chat.  All a person needs to use Airtime is a FB account and then can start chatting w/ people over the web.  Both people participate in the chat and can share live experiences such as watching the same YouTube video, etc.  A unique feature is the ability to search for people based on similar interest and then start video chatting right away.  There is some definite education potential if done in a secure way.

I recommend checking out Airtime by clicking here!!!

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Widbook

Widbook is a new (beta) site that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This is a wonderful site for creating digital multimedia books that can contain, text, images, and videos.  These books are can then be commented and shared w/ others.  Also, a user can collaborate w/ others online and take part in creating books together.

I recommend checking out Widbook by clicking here!!

Picisto

Picisto is a nice site for creating photo collages.  This is a very user friendly site and all a user has to do is select a template, upload photos (or export from FB), and text, and then create their collage.  A finished product can then be saved/downloaded.

I recommend checking out Picisto by clicking here.

Other nice collage maker sites:

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Story Dice

Story Dice is a nice iOS/Android app for storytelling.  This app is ideal for younger students as it can act as a story starter/writing prompt to help students think of topics to write about.  Also, users can use Story Dice as tool for learning through the use games.

I recommend checking out Story Dice by clicking here.

Friday, June 1, 2012

EdApps.ca

EdApps.ca is a wonderful site/blog for finding all things educational about the iPad.  There are a ton of things to be found here such as: apps, resources, links, and articles for using the iPad (ie, 14 ways to use Garageband in the Classroom).

I highly recommend checking out EdApps.ca by clicking here!!

Myoats

Myoats is a new (beta) community for creating digital art.  A person uses online tools to draw, color, add effects, and more to create digital art.  Being in a community these designs are shared w/ others and can be voted on.

I recommend checking out Myoats by clicking here.

For my top 10 sites for creating digital art click here.
For my Pinterest board for creating digital art click here.