QR Codes

Know what this is? This is the QR code for my blog! Many of us have QR readers installed on our smartphones. Kaywa is a site that gives you the ability to create QR codes for yourself. What is the application for education? Well, that depends on your creativity!

A coworker of mine has created a QR code and posted it on her weekly newsletter. The QR code links parents to her classroom website. I have also seen educators use QR codes to create review sheets for students. You would have to have the available technology for your students, but it creates an interesting twist for students!

Here is a fantastic post from "Free Technology for Teachers" that explains more! Have fun!

http://qrcode.kaywa.com

HippoCampus

HippoCampus is an educational site for secondary teachers. "Teaching with the power of Digital Media" is their slogan and I am very impressed with the layout and content. This is not just a site filled with games, but rather with lesson planning tools and educational content.

Use materials found here for display during guided instruction or on a computer station for tutorials. Students can work in a group or independently and the activities are self-checking and self-pacing.

Content includes: Algebra, Geometry, Government, Biology, Calculus, Environmental Science, Physics, Psychology, Religion, Statistics, and US History. (The Algebra and Calculus sections are also presented in Spanish!)

http://www.hippocampus.org/

What's the Score?

Have you ever spent time designing a fun game for your students but then you ran out of creative options for keeping score? You'll love this! Curriculum Bits hosts two versions of score keeping programs for use on your IWB. You can even add sound! What a fun way to jazz up a game!

You can keep score using a two-team format:












Or a four-team format:












Make sure to check these two options out for your next review game!

YouTube SearchOn

I just recently stumbled across an easy way to create videos on YouTube. Visit http://www.youtube.com/searchon and create short videos for your class. It is basically a video of an internet search. You are given six search boxes that connect with Google and you can choose to display a web search, maps, images, etc. When you are satisfied with the content, you can add music, preview and upload your video to YouTube.

How is this relevant for the classroom? Well, first of all, it's fun. It would be a fantastic way to differentiate the process or product for a classroom assignment. It is a great first step for teachers just beginning to integrate technology into the classroom. You can easily add the video to your classroom website or blog! It could even be used as a tool to aid communication with parents.

I'm very sleepy this morning since my crazy puppy woke me up at a ridiculously early time this morning. After my coffee kicks in, I plan to play with the tool more!

Interactives

Interactives is a great website to check out for middle & high school teachers. There are several activities in Math, History, Language Arts, and Science. Only two of the games are reserved for elementary students. The games are all well done and would be a great resource for either introducing or reviewing content. Enjoy!

http://www.learner.org/interactives/

Fakebook

Looking for a great new differentiated activity for your students! Tired of reading boring book reports or your basic project? Need a creative way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of historical figures or fictional characters?

Try Fakebook! Fakebook is powered by Classtools.net and will pull images for historical figures. Students can create a Fakebook page for their historical figure! What a fantastic way to integrate technology in the classroom and differentiate instruction! Students can add friends, write comments, and provide basic information on their "wall". This is too much fun!

Thank you to In Tec Insights for this great post! Couldn't wait to pass it along to my readers. All 4 of you! :) Smile! It's Monday!

http://www.classtools.net/fb/home/page

Create A Graph!

Create A Graph is a fantastic tool for middle school and high school teachers. Upper elementary students will also be able to make use of this great tool! You can create bar, line, area, pie, and coordinate plane graphs. Students can completely customize this graph and print their results when finished! Take a look around the site! You'll be surprised!

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx?ID=52cd6409573b4382b47ea618895d4622

Topmarks

Topmarks is a teaching resource site that is absolutely HUGE! Can you sense the excitement? I'm positively drooling over some of the great resources. Of course, this being a technology blog...let's talk interactive ideas for your whiteboard.

Topmarks breaks down their content into key stages. These stages correspond with primary/elementary/middle/high school ages. There are interactive games and activities for all of the core subject areas. There's something for everyone! Once you've arrived at the site, please look around for other great content. Enjoy!

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Interactive.aspx?cat=76

Pete's PowerPoint Station

Pete's PowerPoint Station contains hundreds of PowerPoints and games for use in your classroom. All grades and almost all subjects are represented. You can easily search out PowerPoints for use in your instruction. I used to import these PowerPoint files directly into ActivInspire on my Promethean board, but I felt limited by what I could do with the file. Annotations were always having to be "cleaned" off before I moved on to the next slide.

Now, I simply open the PowerPoint file in MS and I hover my stylus over the lower-left corner of the board. This brings up a menu for me to use. I can advance the slides, choose pen colors, and choose marker colors. This only works in "slideshow" mode. I'm sure there are similar options with SMART boards but I only have experience working with Promethean.

http://www.pppst.com

Pic-Lits

Pic-Lits is a fantastic site for upper elementary, middle-school, and high-school teachers. This interactive website encourages students to become better writers. Bright, colorful picture prompts are combined with key words. Students can freestyle write or use the drag and drop feature.

The drag and drop feature is a perfect way to differentiate this writing activity for your struggling writers. When the assignment is completed, it can be uploaded to Facebook, Twitter, or embedded in a blog. Of course, there is a print feature too! Make sure to check out this site. It's worth the time!

http://www.piclits.com/compose_dragdrop.aspx

"Choose Me!"

What is it? Save the Words is a website dedicated to vocabulary instruction! This site is geared towards middle and high school students. After the page loads, students will scroll around the page looking for new and interesting words. When they select a word, it will be defined for them and students have the opportunity to "adopt" the word for the week. Great way to expand vocabulary instruction!

www.savethewords.org