Friday, December 29, 2017

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/ commencement/graduation ceremonies on the horizon.  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

Sites/Apps Every Teacher Should Try in 2018

Regardless of if you're making a New Year's resolution to integrate new, more or better technology into your teaching in 2018, here are a few outstanding tools that almost every teacher should consider using:

*In alphabetical order


  1. BoomWriter - BoomWriter is a group writing site and a Google for Education Partner that lets students write, share and assess original fiction and nonfiction content in a highly engaging, collaborative environment.  BoomWriter lets teachers provide their class/groups with guidance and directives to reinforce what's being taught in the classsroom followed by personalized  feedback to support and instruct individual students using their own writing submissions. 
  2.  Buncee - Buncee is a fantastic learning tool that educators are using in a wide variety of             ways.  This simple-to-use tools gives students and educators a digital canvas to create               presentations, digital stories, announcements, and much much more.  Best of all is the               educational portal that allows teachers to create and manage students as well as a wide variety   of educational resources/templates to help educators integrate Buncee into their curriculum.
  3. EDpuzzle - EDpuzzle is a wonderful website that educators around the world are using to          "flip" their classroom or lesson.  This tool lets any user take a video and "make" it their own      by adding questions or voice to assess their audience's learning.  This makes it easy to                differentiate instruction.  Also, EDpuzzle has a fantastic online curriculum which makes it        easy for educators to find resources to meet their needs.
  4. Storyboard That - Storyboard That is a widely popular website that teachers are using to            integrate technology in their classroom.  This is a great learning tool that educators are using      for project based learning, graphic organizers, digital storytelling, writing prompts, and much    much more.  Also, there are lots of lesson plans, assignments, and templates, for teachers to      choose from to help meet their needs.
  5. ThinkFluency - ThinkFluency is an innovative new iOS app that lets teachers easily assess        student's Reading fluency.  Best of all, the scoring is done in real-time and generates detailed    reports that can then be shared w/ others.  Finally, ThinkFluency helps create individualized      instruction plans for students, saves teacher's time, and makes assessing super-easy.








Friday, November 17, 2017

Answerables

Answerables the innovative educational tool that combines the best features of game based learning w/ a learning management system has just released their free iPad app.  Answerables is being used by educators in a variety of ways from collaborating w/ other classes, to browsing the web, all in a secure 3D virtual environment.

Answerables is used as a:

• Virtual classroom 
• Lesson planner
• Learning manager 
• Quest creator
• Resource manager 
• Web browser (managed)
• Social Network
• Student portfolio
• Presentation space

Features include:

• Multiplayer game environment
• Learning management system
• Quests and badges
• Assessment tools
• Analytics
• Resource/Content management system
• Web browser
• Secure audio/video streaming

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

*Answerables is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Sketch Nation

Sketch Nation the amazing free web tool or mobile app (iOS/Android) has just released their latest update to bring new exciting features to game creation.  Students can now create a multiplayer "platform" game in their new "Arena".  Also, users now have the ability to upload their own sound effects or music to add into a game,

Here are more details regarding Version 4.2...
* Side Running, Arena and Platformer now have double jump as an option.
* All genres now have a powerup duration slider for changing the player.
* New Background scrolling, Zero gravity, Always moving, and Player firing direction on Arena and Platformer. This lets you create RACING and ROLE PLAYING type games!
* Hold down the shoot button to fire.
* Match 3 can now generate a powerup when matching 3, 4 or 5 tiles at the same time.
* Lots of bug fixes.
Also, new tutorials (i.e. storytelling, multi-level games) and Lesson ideas for teachers can be found here.
I highly recommend checking out Sketch Nation by clicking here!!!
*Sketch Nation is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

MathScienceMusic.org

MathScienceMusic.org is a innovative site that I just found out about from renowned educator, Shelly Terrell.  This is a fantastic site for educators looking to teach STEM concepts such as: Coding, Math, and More, all through the use of music and other resources.  This is done by watching videos to see how these concepts are taught and what resources are being used w/ them (i.e. Scratch).  This site was designed for grade K-12.

I highly recommend checking out MathScienceMusic.org by clicking here!!!

Storyboard That Illustrated Guides

Storyboard That the amazing site that educators are using for creating timelines, graphic organizers, digital stories, storyboards, project based learning, and much much more, just released their
Illustrated Guides.  These one cell storyboards are great for teaching any number of subjects such as: Mythology, Literature, History, and more.

I highly recommend checking out Storyboard That's Illustrated Guides by clicking here!!!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, Storyboard That is the perfect tool to create a wide variety of projects, such as: Thanksgiving Cards, Stories, I am Thankful for..., etc etc.

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

*Storyboard That is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Gimlet

Gimlet is a excellent new site for creating quiz style games that I just found out about from Larry Ferlazzo's great blog.  Gimlet reminds me a lot of Kahoot where a teacher creates a quiz (or converts a Quizlet), has students join on their device via unique code and then take the quiz.  A teacher can see all student's results in real-time and then differentiate instruction.  Best of all are the detailed reports that make it easy for teachers to track a students progress and see how their whole class is doing.
 
I highly recommend checking out Gimlet by clicking here!!!

EDpuzzle Curriculum

EDpuzzle is the amazing learning tool that educators everywhere are using to flip their classroom, assess student learning, differentiate instruction, and much much more.  This is done by adding questions to a video and modifying it to make it work for YOU.

Best of all, are the wide range of lessons and resources that are available for students and educators.  A user can search through subject and grade level to see how best EDpuzzle can work for them.

Finally, EDpuzzle is available as a browser plugin and free mobile app for Android and iOS.

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

*EDpuzzle is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.


Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Kid Heroes Verbs

Kid Heroes Verbs is the new educational game from RoomReccess.  This is an innovative strategy game that has students selecting the correct verb (i.e. past, present, past participle) to place a hero in front of their king to protect from him from enemies/monsters.  As w/ all RoomRecess games, Kid Heroes Verbs has lots of replay value and requires lots of strategy on deciding where to place your heroes (i.e. warrior, archer, healer).  This is a great learning tool and excellent way to integrate Game Based Learning into the classroom.

I highly recommend checking out Kid Heroes Verbs by clicking here!!!

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Night Zookeeper

Night Zoopkeeper is a new free site for students to help their Writing skills through fun interactive lessons.  Best of all, the educational portal allows educators to: assign lessons, track student progress, and assess their work in real-time.  This makes it easy for teachers to differentiate instruction and implement project based learning in their classroom.

Below is a brief demo...

Night Zookeeper in 80 seconds from Night Zookeeper on Vimeo.

I highly recommend checking out Night Zookeeper by clicking here!!!

Finally, the people at Night Zookeeper have released a free learning tool that easily creates Writing Prompts for students.  All a user has to do is select their writing style, age, and then time on how long they want to write and Writing Sparks creates the challenges/prompts for the students.  As w/ Zookeeper, Writing Sparks will assess students in real-time to help teachers assess student's learning.







For more information on Writing Sparks click here!!!

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

BoomWriter PRO


BoomWriter is a terrific site that I’ve written about many times because it lets elementary, middle, and high school teachers conduct non-fiction, fiction, and vocabulary development group-writing activities in almost any subject area. 

Now they’ve added BoomWriter PRO, which is a paid version of their product, and any teacher whose work with students involves writing should definitely consider this upgrade (only $2.99 a month) for the following reasons:

  • Standards-based Rubrics! Boomwriter has made Argument/Opinion, Information/Explanatory, and Personal Narrative rubrics that will resonate with and prove useful to any teacher regardless of the state or region they may teach in.

  • Makes Grading Easy!!  BoomWriter has done a very clever job of overlaying the rubrics and grading feature atop the individual student’s submission.  This allows the teacher to look at the work and the performance descriptor simultaneously before then applying the grade/score with a single click. 

  • Capture Student Writing Data!!!  If the first two reasons were not convincing enough, this one should seal the deal.  Are you frustrated by having to wait until the following school year when the standardized testing results arrive to learn how your students’ writing is progressed?  Not particularly helpful, is it?  BoomWriter PRO lets teachers capture whole class and individual student writing data in real time before then presenting it to the teacher in a highly visual and easy to interpret manner.  This allows you to identify any potential writing instruction ‘blindspots’ that you may need to address with your class, as well as the ability to consistently assess and monitor the progress of each individual student in your class in all areas of writing throughout the entire school year.   

BoomWriter is a free site that keeps finding new and better ways to support teachers through technology.  If you join, be sure to opt for the PRO upgrade.

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

*BoomWriter is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Squiggle Park

Squiggle Park is an excellent program/educational apps for grades PreK-2nd that focuses on Literacy and Reading skills.  This is done through fun engaging games and activities that focuses on skills such as: phonics, spelling, word/letter recognition, and more.  All of this is done in a safe environment that tracks students usage/progress.  As students progress through the games they will unlock more levels and learn new skills.  Finally, the teacher dashboard makes it easy for educators to monitor student progress through detailed reports that makes it easy to differentiate instruction.

Below is a brief demo...



I highly recommend checking out Squiggle Park by clicking here!!!

Friday, October 27, 2017

EDpuzzle

EDpuzzle the amazing simple to use site that educators everywhere are using to "flip" a classroom and differentiate instruction has recently release their "online" curriculum for teachers.  Educators can now access all video-lessons and questions for the whole school year and search for them by subject or grade level.  This is a great way to easily gage student learning in a wide range of subjects and save educators a bunch of time.

New mobile (iOS/Android) Updates

  • revamped player design - cleaner, faster, and sleek
  • improved security and privacy
  • new progress page features


Below is a brief demo video...



For iOS click here.
For Android click here.

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

*EDpuzzle is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Andi's Adventure on Buncee

"Andi's Adventure is a tale of one little girl whose imagination brings color to her world.  When she's given the freedom to create and share her story in school, she brings this magic to her classroom and keeps the sparkle in her eye."

Andi's Adventure is the new educational initiative to help educators keep creativity alive in their classroom and their student's lives.

Be sure to watch Andi's Adventure below...



Then read her story/buncee "My Trip to Space" w/ your class and sign the pledge and receive a #andicreate digital badge in your email.

For more information on Andi's Adventure click here!!!

*Buncee is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Zebra Math

Zebra Math is an innovative new iOS app for working on basic Math skills.  Zebra Math is a fun app that focuses on skills such as: addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc etc by having a student just draw the correct answer to the problem in the allotted time.  As a student progresses they will learn more skills and move on to the next level.  Also, a student can share their scores w/ others.  I only wish there was a reporting feature that shows which problems a user got right/wrong, etc.

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

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Choosito

Choosito is a search engine for education that I found out about from Technology & Learning.  This is a great way to search the web in a safe way as well as library resources.  Best of all, all search results display a reading level which makes it similar to Nettrekker and ideal for education.

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

Below is a brief demo...



For my Pinterest board on Search Engines click here.

Monday, October 23, 2017

Super Teacher Worksheets Contest

Super Teacher Worksheets the excellent resource for educators recently announced a contest for this month (October 2017).  The rules are simple, just go to this link https://www.superteacherworksheets.com/contest.html and fill out your name and email address and click submit.  The winner will receive Beatrix Potter's World of Peter Rabbit book collection ($100 value).

For more information click here!!!

Super Teacher Worksheets is a wonderful site w/ printables, worksheets, quiz/puzzle generators, and more for a wide range of subjects and grade levels.

*Super Teacher Worksheets is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

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!!!

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Answerables


*Be sure to check out their latest updates!!!
**Answerables iPad app available here!!!

Answerables is a wonderful new innovative site/game that is perfect for Game Based Learning (or more accurate Game Based Learning meets Learning Management System).  It reminds me of Second Life but geared more toward kids w/ their fantasy/SciFi environment.  The game takes place in the 3D virtual world of Answerables on a planet called Proxima, where the native Ansibles (students) encounter an alien race.

What makes this so great for education that is the safe/COPPA compliant environment that Answerables provides.  This is an ideal place for students to collaborate w/ others and develop their social learning skills.  Answerables provides windows (i.e. Second Life) to view the web, go on quests, etc.  The student dashboard allows students to track their quests, notifications, events, PODS (Personal Online Development Spaces), and more.

Educators can create a lesson/POD (manage permissions), create webquests, internet scave
nger hunts, host live events, and best of all "Gamify" their lesson.  This is great for introducing a new concept, guided/differentiated instruction, and even "Flipping" a classroom.  Also, teachers (parents too) can track/monitor student progress, share and view resources by collaborating w/ other educators, and even setup tutoring courses where they set their own rate.

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

Below is a brief demo that has to be seen to be believed...



For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

*Answerables is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Tinycards

Tinycards by Duolingo is the new free iOS app for flashcards.  Tinycards lets students memorize anything by playing through a game and unlocking levels.  A user can play through an already created deck on any number of subjects or create their own.  These flashcards can
contain text, images, and animations making learning fun.

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

For a more detailed review check out Edshelf.

Thursday, October 19, 2017

I Know It

"i Know it just keeps getting bigger and better! Currently, there are more than 22,000 interactive math questions live on the site! Sign up for a free account, and you'll see why iKnowit.com is the next best thing for your classroom!" 

Be sure to check out this excellent site for grades K-5th for interactive Math practice in these fun engaging games/exercises.

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

*I Know It is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

mysimpleshow

Mysimpleshow is an excellent site for educators and students to make videos/presentations.  This is done through a easy-to-use interface where a user selects a template and then creates a script for their project/story.  The mysimpleshow engine does the rest and creates a beautiful looking video.  This is great for creating explainer videos to introduce a topic, assess student understating, and even for blended/flipped learning.

Below is a demo video...



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

Storyboard That for Halloween

Storyboard That the wonderful resource that educators everywhere are using for a variety of educational purposes (i.e. timelines, digital storytelling, project based learning, etc), has just release their latest bundle for Halloween.  These activities cover a wide range of topics from story starters, holiday cards, monsters, safety tips, and more.

Storyboard That is an excellent learning tool w/ educational portal, where teachers can manage, track, differentiate instruction, and assess student accounts in a safe environment.  This easy-to-use site has an abundance of teacher guides and lesson plans, that makes it easy to integrate into any classroom or curriculum.

I highly recommend checking out Storyboard That for Halloween by clicking here!!!

*Storyboard That is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

TypeDojo

TypeDojo is an excellent site for students grades 1st-8th looking to improve their typing/keyboarding skills.  All a user has to do is select how long (1,3, or 5 min) they want to take their typing test and grade level and begin.  Also, a user can select what kind words, or keys (i.e. home row) they want to practice on.  Once a student is done they get a detailed report or certificate that shows how many words per minute and accuracy they preformed.

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

For a more detailed review check out Monica Burns amazing blog.

4K Projector


4KProjectors.com 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 their projector screen and aspect ratio calculator.

I highly recommend checking out 4KProjectors.com by clicking here!!!

Click to view the Projector Screen Calculator.

*4KProjectors.com is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Reading Racer

Reading Racer is a free new iOS app that I just had the pleasure of reviewing.  This is an excellent easy-to-use app that uses the mobile device's microphone to "listen" as a student speaks the words on the screen.  This is really innovative and separates Reading Racer from other educational apps on the market.

Reading Racer is designed for kids ages 5-8 and uses speech recognition as the user speaks the words/sentences as fast as they can.  The way this works is the student presses the microphone button and holds it down while speaking the word.  The words highlight as they are read and calculating how many in a row are read.  If a user takes their finger off the microphone the word is then read to help them along.  This continues as other characters race against them.  The better a student finishes the more points they get to help them unlock other racers and tracks.

This is a great educational app to use for Reading and Comprehension and to use Game Based Learning in the classroom.

I highly recommend checking out Reading Racer by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief demo...

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Owl Eyes

Owl Eyes is an innovative site that lets teachers create "classrooms" where their students can read and interact w/ texts.  Student's are able to select through a wide variety of literature and then annotate the text.  This is helpful as they can take notes and pickup right where they left off when reading.  Best of all, the teacher tools allows educators to create quizzes to assess how students are doing and they can even track/manage their student accounts.  Educators are using Owl Eyes in a number of different ways such as: differentiating instruction or flipping a classroom.

I highly recommend checking out Owl Eyes by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief demo...



*Owl Eyes is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

WittyWe

WittyWe is a new site I just found out about from Monica Burn's amazing blog.  WW reminds me of q more robust version of BrainBop and is a excellent place to find online courses/educational videos on a wide range of topics (i.e. Math, Health, Science, etc.)  These animated lessons (5-10 min in length) are designed for El Ed kids through college and can be accessed on any device.  Also, there are special courses that will help students develop their "life" skills.  Finally, there are interactive resources, activities, and quizzes that can be taken after each video (w/ more coming).

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

Below is a demo video...

Sketch Nation Lesson Plans

Sketch Nation the simple to use mobile (iOS/Android) app/site for creating games recently updated their lesson plan ideas page.  This is a great place for educators to go to find ways on how to integrate Sketch Nation into their classroom.  These lesson ideas focus on a wide variety of subjects such as: Coding, History, Math, and more.  Sketch Nation makes it a seamless way to introduce STEM into their classroom in a fun and engaging way.

I highly recommend checking out Sketch Nation Lesson Plans by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief demo...


*Sketch Nation is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Otus

Otus, the wonderful mobile learning solution and teaching and learning platform was hard at work this summer w/ over 50 updates.  Best of all, all of this happens in one safe controlled environment.  These updates exist in one single platform.

Here is a brief look at some of the new features:


  • enhanced Google Integration
  • embed third party content (i.e. YouTube, NearPod, etc.)
  • teachers can build assessments
  • new grade book
  • robust reporting features
  • detailed graphs/data visualizations
  • and much much more
For more details on Otus's new features click here!!!

*Otus is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Quizster

Quizster is a innovative site/app that I just found out about for assessing and grading students work.  All a student has to do is snap a photo of their work and send it via the free mobile (iOS/Android) to their teacher.  The teacher can then annotate, comment, and grade using Quizster and respond instantly to the student.  All information then gets backed up to the cloud and helps decrease the frequency of lost homework.  Best of all, this is a great way to gauge student's learning and differentiate instruction.

Below is a brief demo...



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

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Help Teaching

Help Teaching is an excellent site for educators, parents, and others looking for educational resources such as quiz/test creators, online assessments, or worksheets/printables.  These printables are for K-12 and cover a wide range of subjects.  Also, there is a test/virtual room where students can take online assessment and get results in real time.

I highly recommend checking out Help Teaching by clicking here!!!
For my Printerest Board on Educational Resources click here.

*Help Teaching is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Baamboozle

Baamboozle is a super fun site for creating games that I just found out about from Ozge Karaoglu's amazing blog.  All a teacher has to do is login and then start adding their questions to create a game.  They can even add their own image and then put students into teams to start playing the game.  The game can also be played as a quiz.












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

Monday, September 25, 2017

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/ commencement/graduation ceremonies on the horizon.  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

ClassClimate

ClassClimate is a fun little site that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This site allows students to login and rate how they are feeling by clicking on a word.  It kind of reminds me of ClassDojo w/ less features.  A teacher then gets the results in real-time and view the word/emoji to see how their students are feeling.  Best of all are the detailed reports/graphs to help teachers assess behavior.

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

Friday, September 22, 2017

SmartKids

SmartKids is a fun iOS app for students grades K-6 for Game Based Learning.  SmartKids has over a 1000 mini-games in a wide variety of subjects such as: Math, Science, Programming, etc.  These games have high replay value as there are lots of features to unlock, stars to uncover, and more.  Best of all is the teacher/parent dashboard which lets them: filter games, adjust difficultly levels, etc etc.

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

30hands

30hands is the excellent and easy-to-use learning tool that educators/students everywhere are using for a wide range purposes, such as: digital storytelling, project based learning, blended learning, and much much more.

I highly recommend checking out 30hands Pro by clicking here or 30hands Web here!!!

30hands has lots of exciting news on the horizon...

After upgrading to Pro, users will have access to existing advanced features and new features in the works:
• 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

Districts that purchase 30hands Pro will get free or discounted professional development (depending on licenses purchased). The PD can be onsite or virtual and selected from our areas of expertise: Digital Storytelling, PBL, Blended Learning, Teaching Coding, and Teaching Entrepreneurship. 

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.

Pixel

Pixel is a new free mobile (iOS/Android) app for students learning how to program or code.  This is ideal for educators looking to introduce STEM and is very user friendly.  Pixel uses the familiar drag-n-drop blocks of code formula (i.e. Scratch) to make a robot preform functions such as speech and emotion.

Below is a brief demo...



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

Friday, September 15, 2017

BoomWriter Goes Global

BoomWriter is going global, officially!

Regular readers of this site are undoubtedly familiar with and know I’m a big fan of BoomWriter.  It’s a free site that lets teachers conduct collaborative fiction, nonfiction, and vocabulary-focused writing activities with their students.

Not only is BoomWriter a Google for Education Partner with a presence in tens of thousands of classrooms, they just announced they are now officially expanding their reach overseas by establishing a partnership with U.K. based Learning Technologies.  Learning Technologies promotes strategic partnerships with schools, academies and other educational institutions throughout the U.K. and have received accolades in the Services and Support category from the London-based BETT Awards. 

Gavin Hawkings, Head of Learning Technologies is thrilled with the partnership stating, “What we are seeing on our own and hearing directly from the teachers regarding students’ engagement levels while writing on BoomWriter has been immensely positive, and we’re excited to play a role in delivering this experience to many more classrooms throughout the U.K. in the future.”

The partnership kicked off last spring in the City of Wolverhampton, U.K. with BoomWriter facilitating a ‘Writing Bee’ type experience to the students collaboratively generating content centered around the district’s anti-bullying social curriculum that was being implemented.

According to Chris Twyman, CEO of BoomWriter, this collaboration won’t be limited to just BoomWriter and Learning Technologies.  “We’re thrilled by the growth this relationship will undoubtedly deliver, but what is equally exciting is the prospect of transatlantic collaborative writing events that’s sure to follow between U.S. and U.K. based classrooms using BoomWriter.”

Students in different countries working together to generate and publish original content sounds like a tremendous use of educational technology.  Go BoomWriter!

For more information from their press release and collaboration w/ Wolverhampton click here.

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

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Easyblog

Easyblog is a simple way for students to blog and create digital portfolios to share w/ parents.  Best of all is the teacher portal that allows educators to create a class blog and add students.  Educators can then send a secure subscription link to parents.  These blogs can include, text, videos, photos, and more and is a great way to keep parents informed.  Best of all are the security features that lets educators moderate student posts, view comments, and protect student profiles.  There is even a free mobile app called ClassPack for users to download.

Below is a demo video...



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

For a more detailed review click here.

Storyboard That

Storyboard That is a excellent learning tool that educators are using in a wide variety of ways in their classrooms.  STB is being used as a graphic organizer, for creating storyboards, digital storytelling, project based learning, and much much more.  Also, STB has lots of educational resources for teachers and templates to make it easy to integrate STB into the classroom.

New Features

  • New Content: We now have teacher guides for French, Health, Science, and a brand new concept called Illustrated Guides. These guides include Shakespeare Plays,Literary Elements, Famous People,Innovations & Myths!
  • Advanced Cropping: Now you can crop in a circle, and many other shapes with advanced cropping. 
  • Smart Scenes: We introduced Smart Scenes last year. Now all of our scenes can be edited and layered. Click "Edit Scene" after you drag it into the Storyboard Creator.
  • New Characters: We now have over 700 characters. 
  • New Teacher Dashboard: We will be launching a new dashboard very shortly. We hope you love it!
New Resources


Blog

Teacher Guides
  
Illustrated Guides

I highly recommend checking out Storyboard That by clicking here!!!

*Storyboard That is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits