Top 100

Thursday, December 15, 2016

TubeQuizard Use YouTube to Assess Grammar and Vocabulary #edtech #wsdtech @tubequizard

The tool I got excited about today is called Tube Quizard. Briefly, students watch a YouTube vidoe that has subtitles and as they watch it they answer grammar or vocabulary questions about the words. My first thought was that it will be very engaging for students because they spend a lot of time on YouTube but my next thought was how powerful it would be for students to make their own quizzes. That way not only are they in charge of the game but they also have to be masters of the content in order to create a successful game.


The video below shows how it's used, although it's not really a tutorial, just someone using it. A student watches part of the video and follows along with the text. When they get to a blank they have to type in the correct answer and then check to see if they got it right or wrong, then move on through the video. Although the tool is not super flashy it definitely might get kids a bit more excited about grammar and vocabulary if it's based on YouTube.


What is Tube Quizard?

Tube Quizard lets you create interactive listening quizzes based on subtitled Youtube videos.
  • Boost your listening skills. Do you want to understand top frequency expressions and grammar? Using research into listening skills, we've created highly effective listening quizzes that will train you to understand real life pronunciation of high frequency language.
  • Understand Youtube videos. Is there a Youtube video that you want to understand better? Create quizzes for the video, do the quizzes and then watch the video.
  • Learn grammar and vocabulary. Do you want to practice specific words, expressions and grammar structures? Find them in Youtube subtitles and create quizzes based on the videos that you find.
And like all best things in life, Tube Quizard is absolutely free!

Monday, December 5, 2016

Upcoming Coding Nights #hourofcode #coding

There are two upcoming coding nights in the Wenatchee School District. Tuesday, December 6th at Washington Elementary and Wednesday, December 7th at Lincoln Elementary. Learn how to write code and make games.

Both events are from 6-7pm and tablets will be provided if you don't have your own. Lots and lots of prizes will be given away too! Come, have fun and learn a new language...how to code!



Thursday, December 1, 2016

Awwapp Collaborative Whiteboard #awwapp #ipaded #wsdtech

I heard about a collaborative whiteboard tool today called awwapp.com (A Web Whiteboard) and gave it a spin. My first impression was that it was very simplistic but also very usable. All of the tools that a teacher or student might need for a collaborative session are there. If you want to sign up as a teacher then you can share it to Google Classroom as an assignment or an announcement. The best part is that it is available on any device.

The tools included a pen, image insert, text, eraser, and pencil color palette. There is also a chat feature on the bottom which seems to randomize the names of the participants

You can use it for free, without a login and even invite others with email, QR code, or by sending the link.

A Web Whiteboard is touch-friendly online whiteboard app that lets you use your computer, tablet or smartphone to easily draw sketches, collaborate with others and share them with the world.




Monday, November 7, 2016

Save Notes on Websites in Chrome #gafe #addons #wsdtech #chrome #ourstickys

I love to use Chrome extensions because they make me more efficient and do cool things. One of the neatest ideas for an extension is Note Anywhere, which allows me to put sticky notes on web pages and when I come back to them they are still there. Pretty neat.

Another one similar to this I learned about is called OurStickys and it has a few more options that might make it my default web page note extension. OurStickys allows you to simply right-click and create a sticky note very quickly. It also allows you to make a sticky appear on an entire domain, for example, you could put a sticky on google.com. Then anytime you went a Google website that sticky would be there.

Like Note Anywhere, you can resize notes, move them around and change colors too. They are both great tools that could be useful for teachers trying to remember information or students doing research on specific websites.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Revision Assistant Google Add-on to Help Grade Ss Writing #gafe #gsuite

I saw this great Google Docs Add-on today that is geared toward teachers who are grading student writing called Revision Assistant. Both of my parents were newspaper editors so when I asked them to read my writing it always came back with marks and write-ups and suggestions galore. Sometimes I liked it, other times not, but I learned how to recognize the marks on my paper.

What Revision Assistant allows you to do is add those types of proofreading marks to students' work quickly and easily within their document. The window that opens up on the side has marks for Conventions and Structure with proofreading marks for about 20 different items including where to put periods, apostrophes, question marks, capitalization, as well as where to denote sentence fragments, run-on sentences, transpositions, etc.

One other nice feature is that any comments the teacher or another editor put on the paper get neatly dropped into a table at the bottom that lists who made the comment and what the comment is. If you are an ELA teacher this is a great, free tool.

Friday, May 27, 2016

Digital Challenge #21 Winner - Best PSA #ipaded

Congratulations to Madison from Washington Elementary for her public service announcement about texting and driving. She used a combination of stop-motion and Adobe Spark Video to let us know, if a very humorous way, why we shouldn't text and drive. She received a $`0 gift card to Blue Spoon Frozen Yogurt.




We also wanted to recognize our other three top entries from Freya, Teyo and Kolby about prescribed burning, not using tobacco and quitting smoking. All FOUR of these winners were from Ms. Christensen's classroom at Washington Elementary. Great job!




Friday, May 13, 2016

eBooks from Pioneer Middle School #wsdtech #wenatcheeschools #wenteched

Congratulations to Mrs. Wilson's 7th grade students who created eBooks but then went one step further. They took those eBooks to the elementary schools and taught younger students! Great idea and great follow through.

Check it out! We made books!!  Teams of 7th grade scientists from Pioneer Middle School in Mrs. Wilson’s classroom created books to help 5th graders learn all about food chains, food webs, and the cycling of matter and energy in an ecosystem (as aligned to NGSS 5-LS2-1 & 1-1). This book project was funded through the Gear Up SOAR Grant through CWU. All proceeds from the sales will go towards our next book adventure to bring science learning to a different grade level. Enjoy!

The Golden Pandas & The Return of the Bears  http://www.blurb.com/b/7100722-the-golden-pandas-the-return-of-the-bears

Squirrels & Survival of The Horses  http://www.blurb.com/b/7100654-squirrels-survival-of-the-horses

Hedgehogs Take A Swim & In The Grassland  http://www.blurb.com/b/7100597-hedgehogs-take-a-swim-in-the-grassland

Alaskan River Cycle & Coyote Canyon  http://www.blurb.com/b/7100471-alaskan-river-cycle-coyote-canyon

Antlers of Safety & The Clear Path  http://www.blurb.com/b/7100529-antlers-of-safety-the-clear-path

Brown Bear Hunt & The Little Springbok  http://www.blurb.com/b/7100567-brown-bear-hunt-the-little-springbok

Hammer's Adventure  http://www.blurb.com/b/7100582-hammer-s-adventure

Regaining The Sea Turtles  http://www.blurb.com/b/7100636-regaining-the-seaturtles

The Prairie dogs Home & The Lost Baby Shark  http://www.blurb.com/b/7100610-the-prairiedogs-home-the-lost-baby-shark

Rainforest Trouble & Home  http://www.blurb.com/b/7100621-rainforest-trouble-home

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Digital Challenge #20 Winner #ipaded #wsdtech @wenatcheesd #wenatcheeschools

Digital Challenge #20 Winner! Congratulations to Madison from Washington Elementary for her stop-animation of the adventures of her doll and dog "Meatloaf". The judges really liked the story the video told and how it was clear and easy to follow as well as the humor and shot selection. It was our favorite of all of the entries we received. Madison will receive two tickets to Gateway Cinema shortly.

The next challenge is due on Thursday, May 26th and it is to create a public service announcement video that highlights a problem or situation that your audience needs to pay attention to. This week's prize will be a $10 gift card to Blue Spoon Frozen Yogurt.






Friday, May 6, 2016

Digital Challenge #19 Winner - Best Newspaper Article #ipaded #wsdtech

Digital Challenge #19 Winner

This week's Digital Challenge was to see who could create the best newspaper article about a topic of their choosing. Congratulations to Finnley from Washington Elementary for her newspaper article about her brother's avalanche safety dog, Avie. She won herself a $10 gift card from Hastings.

Finnley's Newspaper Article




Thursday, May 5, 2016

New Google Slides Updates #gafe #googleslides #wsdtech

Google updated a few new features for its Slides app that are worth mentioning, in fact they're pretty cool. One is the ability for audience members to ask real-time questions that the presenter can see in the Presenter Notes. What's even better is that other audience members can vote those questions up or down and the popular ones rise to the surface so the presenter knows what the audience thinks is important.

Another small change that's equally cool is a laser pointer that can be turned on/off in presentation mode. There is a new little button on the bottom that toggles it on/off and wherever you move your mouse that's where the laser pointer goes.

The final one allows you to present to a new Hangout or a Hangout on your calendar.

Here are directions from Google

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Newsela Adds Leveled Speeches #newsela #ipaded #wsdtech

Newsela is a great service that provides current events and news stories at different Lexile levels so students in one classroom can read the same story at their reading level. It's great, especially for kids that might be self-conscious about others knowing that they are not reading at the same level.

Today Newsela added 18 famous speeches, six of those translated into Spanish.

ScribEasy iOS App - Write with Pictures #ipaded #wsdtech #writing

I played with an app this morning that was pretty fun and could be very useful for students in K-3 to use pictures to help as story starters. ScribEasy gives you the option for a background when you open it up and then allows you to add characters such as the hulk and a mermaid. Based on what students choose for their characters and setting they then write a story that is based on their choices. The app lets them choose to do a short, medium or long story and gives them a timer countdown to encourage them to write in a time frame.

This app could be useful for older students if you were focusing on story structure.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Digital Challenge #18 Winners - Best Nature Photo #ipaded #wsdtech #nature #photocontest


Digital Challenge #18 - Best Nature Photo

We live in a beautiful place. North Central Washington has amazing scenery and geography and we challenged our students to take the best nature photo and upload their three best. Congratulations to Digital Challenge #18's winner Ellen from Orchard Middle School whose photo of a yellow flower with the unfocused background captivated us and made us smile (a lot). We appreciated the line of rocks and beauty bark that centered the frame and the flower seemed to be like a sunshine in an elementary school drawing, warming everything up.


Honorable Mention goes to Holly, also from Orchard Middle School for her shot of the lilacs. Judges appreciated the contrast between the green and purple.


It was an all-Orchard podium as Jacob also wowed us with his shot of the tree and roots.


This week's challenge is to write the best newspaper article following the template provided in Google Classroom.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Google Keep Chrome Extension #googlekeep #wsdtech

Google Keep has come to be my go-to note and list taking tool. Not only because it's easy to use but especially because it's available on all devices and syncs seamlessly.  One example of how I use it in my family is lists for shopping and packing for trips. I appreciate how I can use my phone or computer to quickly make a bulleted or check-list and it gets shared with whomever I want.

In the classroom it's easy to share to-do lists with students or other colleagues. Yesterday Google added Google Chrome Extension that allows you to easily save a web page or something you find online that in turn syncs across all of your devices.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Recap: See How Students Learn #recap #ipaded #edtech #wsdtech

I saw on Twitter today a few teachers talking about a new site/app called Recap (here is the iOS app) that allows teachers to pose a question to students who are then required to reply back with a video.  After playing with it for ten minutes I think it has a good place in the 1:1 classroom.  Basically, the teacher posts a question online and the students get a prompt in the app to respond to it via video.  All of the videos are collected and organized for the teacher who can then watch them individually or all in a row in a nice recap.

This is a great app because it forces students to explain their thinking using their voice and brain and possibly other manipulatives they can film themselves using.  It would be ideal for entry and exit tickets as well and I think it has appeal all the way from K-12.

Teachers can create their own classes and then students just have to enter a code to join the class. From there it's a few easy taps for students to find the prompt, record their work and submit.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Change AirDrop Download Location #airdrop #wsdtech

Since I use Google Drive for almost everything these days I'm either uploading documents, folder, images, videos, etc there constantly or moving stuff from my hard drive into the cloud.  Plus I usually manage all of my files from my Desktop so I don't like them landing in other spots, like my Downloads folder.  So today I went looking for a way to automatically move any files to my Desktop that found their way to my Downloads folder, more specifically images that I AirDrop from my phone.

I found the directions on this site (Note: I also had to follow Karen's steps in the comments to 'Show Enclosing Folder'). Do NOT be afraid of using Automator.  It's a great program that's easy to use and not intimidating once you play with it for just a bit.

I chose a specific file type, just a .jpg, so all of my AirDropped images go directly where I want them to go. If you have Google Drive installed on your computer you could point Automator to a file on your Google Drive and automatically have those images backed up.

Friday, March 25, 2016

Digital Challenge #15 Winner for Best Caption #ipaded #wsdtech #meme

This week's winners for the digital challenge "Create the Best Caption" is Esmeralda from Orchard Middle School. Students had to caption this image (or meme this image, as the kids call it these days):


The judges liked her caption "When the song comes on that you've been waiting for" because the baby had fists clenched in excitement. It was also funny because we knew that cat could not have been singing a very good song. Esmeralda wins a bluetooth keyboard to keep and use at school and at home! 



Honorable Mentions go to Hannah from Washington Elementary and Faith from Orchard Middle School.  And here are all of the entries.



This week's digital challenge is to create the most persuasive or argumentative video.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Quizlet Collaborative Game Now Available #ipaded #quizlet

Quizlet is a great tool for doing flashcards and helping kids with academic vocabulary through games and study cards.  They recently released a beta version of a collaborative game that has some great features.  The new game can be accessed here and once a teacher logs in Quizlet will allow them to start a game and pull from the teacher's already created study sets.

Students go to quizlet.live and enter a join code and then enter their name and then Quizlet puts them into random teams to compete against each other to see which team can answer the questions first.  Two things set this Quizlet game apart from others.  One is that if a team misses a question they have to start all over.  Second, each team member only gets a certain amount of responses so one team member cannot dominate the whole game.  This is especially good if they're dispersed around the room and don't know who their teammates are.

The teacher can share their screen and show in real-time where each team is at in the race.  It's well thought out and very engaging for kids.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

QR Code Scavenger Hunt #qrcodes #ipaded #wsdtech

QR Codes are a great way to get information to someone without them having to type in a lengthy URL or web site address.  At Orchard Middle School in Wenatchee the math team does a scavenger hunt for its students using codes spread throughout the building.  In order to get the next clue and eventually the prize students need to solve math equation and then decipher the riddle.  Got your Little Orphan Annie Decoder Ring?

Friday, March 18, 2016

Digital Challenge #14 Winner Stop Motion Using Google Slides #ipaded #wsdtech

Digital Challenge #14 Winner!  Congratulations to Finnley from Washington Elementary for her stop-motion animation about dogs.  She met all of the judges criteria and had a great story about dogs making friends and then convincing other dogs to make friends too!  Your prize of a movie night package is on it's way!

Digital Challenge #15 will be announced shortly.

Check it out here

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Google Sharing Allows Expiration Dates #gafe #googledrive

A new feature (I think) a colleague pointed out today is pretty cool in that it allows you to share something in Google drive only for a specific timeframe.  After you choose who to share a document with a little clock appears to the right of their name that allows you to set the expiration date.  There are obviously a lot of great uses for this, for example in the classroom to limit how long students can be in a document.  Great job Google.  Keep it up!



Friday, March 11, 2016

Free & Easy Parent Teacher Conference Creation Tool #classtag

ClassTag is a great tool that's aim is to take the headache out of trying to schedule and remind parents to come to conferences.  First of all, it's free, which is always a bonus and secondly it's pretty darned easy to setup.  I was able to make a conference schedule and put in some email addresses all in about one minute.

The teacher simply indicates their availability day and time, adds parent email addresses and ClassTag does all of the heavy lifting by sending a customized initial email along with follow-up emails to keep parents in the loop.

Sunnyslope Hour of Code #hourofcode #wsdtech

Sunnyslope Elementary is hosting an Hour of Code open to all K-5 students and families in the Wenatchee School District.

Do you like playing Minecraft? How about solving puzzles? Would you like to learn more about Coding? Sunnyslope will host a Night of Code open to K-5 Wenatchee School District students and families. There will be many robotics and technology prizes from Academic Toolbox as well as the chance to win a Smartab kids Tablet. Bring your own device or borrow one of ours as we walk you through Coding games!


March 30th  6:00-7:00PM   Sunnyslope Multi-purpose Gym

*Children need to be accompanied by an adult for this event.

English Flyer
Spanish Flyer

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Add Captions to Google Drive Videos #edtech #gafe #googlevideo

I discovered a trick today after reading Gooru's blog about adding captions to Google Drive videos after they've already been uploaded to your Drive.  When you right-click on a video and choose 'View details' a window pops up on the right that contains Details and Activity.  Within the Details tab you'll see 'Caption tracks' and here's where you can upload a .srt file with your captions in it that will show up on the bottom of the video.  Instead of me explaining it all again I'll let this YouTube video do the talking.


Friday, March 4, 2016

Digital Challenge #12 Winners #ipaded #edtech #wsdtech

Congratulations to Clara from Orchard Middle School for winning this week's digital challenge. She created a very ethereal sounding song using GarageBand that put a smile on our face and left us wanting to hear more. It sounded like it could have been a song performed by Coldplay with a great piano introduction that crescendoed nicely and then tailed off to a pleasing conclusion. Nicely done. Clara received a $15 iTunes card for her prize.

Second place went to Kolby from Washington Elementary with his funky song that brought us back to the 70's. The only thing missing were the big hats, glasses and Earth, Wind & Fire t-shirts. We also liked the way his song started and ended and it kept us tapping our toes throughout. Great job, Kolby. He will receive a small prize too.

We had a lot of additional entries but they didn't follow the requirements or we were unable to open the files. Special nod goes to Austin who boldly recorded herself singing on video while using the iPad to play the instruments.

Listen to the winners here


Clara
Kolby

Monday, February 29, 2016

NCCE 2016 Takeaways #ncce16 #edtech @NCCE_EdTech

I was lucky enough to attend and present at NCCE 2016 in Seattle and here are some of my random thoughts after three days of workshops and sessions:


  • Thursday's keynote by Kevin Honeycutt was brilliant.  What a great storyteller.  Funny, passionate and creative.
  • I want to find a free tech ticket system that students can use for a student help desk
  • I love the name Tech Ninjas for student helpers, come in silently, get the job done, but train others to be masters too
  • I love the thought of students getting trained to fix Chromebooks.  They need to be empowered.
  • Drones are cool.  I want one.  Especially when students pair with community members and businesses and shoot photos and videos for them for training.
  • Sustainable change comes from the ground up, not the top down.
  • Cool Google Drive keyboard shortcuts
    • Shift + t - new Google Doc
    • Shift + p - new Google Slides
    • Shift + s - new Google Sheet
    • Shift + d - new Google Drawing
    • Shift + f- new folder
    • Shift + o - new form
  • OneTab is an awesome way to organize a lot of tabs.
  • Switcher is a great Chrome extensions manager, better than Extensify.
  • Sqord looks like a cool fitness tracker for kids.
  • youcanbook.me can also be used to check out devices.  Never thought of it in that way.
Beyond the cool tools, I noticed what a foothold Google has taken in technology and education.  Their mark is everywhere from Google Apps for Education to Chromebooks to hosting their own summit at NCCE.  I saw how allowing kids to invest in the technology learning, building, fixing, and teaching is very valuable.  They want to be a part of the process.  They want to have a social presence.  They want to be experts.  But they are kids and they will make mistakes and we need to teach them constantly and let them learn from their mistakes.

Digital citizenship is not going to become any less important so we need to be teaching it to kids from Day One to Cap and Gown.  We also all have a story to tell and an obligation to share stories for those who cannot.  Be social.  Use Twitter and Facebook, Seesaw, blogs, web pages and communicate with parents.  Create a digital refrigerator and use it for more than just stale milk.

Let students see you reflect on your learning and more importantly your mistakes.  That's where true learning lives.

“Wanna make change? Break into the classrooms and burn down the file cabinets full of lesson plans.” Kevin Honeycutt

Finally, apparently there is a delineation between Geeks, Nerds and Dorks.  I'm still searching my soul for my best fit.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Middle School Student eBooks #ipaded #gafe #ibooks

One thing we stress with our 1:1 teachers and students is to use the devices they have for more than just substitution, meaning don't just do the same stuff you always do in class with an expensive tool.  Look beyond the walls of the classroom and stretch kids' audience.

Mr. Hansen from Foothills Middle School in Wenatchee did just with his students by publishing three eBooks that were created, edited and published all by students.  You can check them out below.


Thursday, February 18, 2016

Digital Challenge #11 Winners! Best Force Perspective Image #ipaded #edtech

Digital Challenge #11 - Best Forced Perspective
Congratulations to this week's winner

Winner is from Columbia Elementary - Judges were looking for a forced perspective image that:
  • was visually appealing, meaning the picture caught the judges' attention
  • contained interesting, original or creative subject matter or location
  • (optional) you may use an app to add graphics
Congratulations to a 5th grader from Columbia Elementary who took first place for his great forced perspective image that we titled "Genie in a Bottle". The judges liked the emotion in the face of the person coming out of the cup. The perspective was right on and the picture was framed well so that it looked realistic. Great job! You will receive your selfie stick prize shortly.

*We do not have parent permission to share his photo.

Honorable mention went to Estefanye from Orchard Middle School who had a great image of being plucked up by a huge hand.  We liked the fear in her face and how big the hand looked in comparison with the girl in the doorway.  Good job Estefanye.

*We do have parent permission to share her photo.

Next week's digital challenge last for two weeks and it's about who can create the best original song.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Mystery Hangout with Independence, MO #mysteryhangout @SamalaRobinson @tinanicpanbrown

I got to spend the morning with Mrs. Nicpan Brown's class at Abraham Lincoln Elementary doing a Mystery Hangout with a classroom in Independence, MO.  If you've never heard of a Mystery Hangout (or Skype) here are the details.  Two classes try to guess where the other class is located based on yes and no questions.  Each person in the classroom has a job to do so they stay on task (here is our jobs list) and keep motivated.  Google Hangouts is a great tool to accomplish this.

By process of elimination each classroom uses a map to try to narrow down where the other school is located before making their final guess.  Although we didn't "win" this time, we had a great time connecting with @SamalaRobinson and her 5th graders.

After the Hangout, each classroom shared a bit about their school and their city, including school songs, weather, mascots, and, in our case, construction!

Below: students use sticky notes on an old school map to narrow down the other school's state

Friday, February 5, 2016

Digital Challenge #9 Winners! #ipaded #selfie #edtech #wsdtech

Digital Challenge #9 - Best Selfie
Congratulations to this week's winner

Kaylynn from Abraham Lincoln Elementary - Judges were looking for a selfie that:
  • image is visually appealing, meaning the picture catches the judges' attention
  • it contains interesting, original or creative subject matter or location
  • (optional) you may use an app to add graphics or filters
Congratulations to Kalynn from Abraham Lincoln Elementary who took first place for her great rainbow selfie. The judges liked how her face filled out the frame and how the washed out rainbow affect enhanced the overall image. The judges liked the Mona Lisa look that Kalynn portrays as well and especially how the selfie was captivating and we didn't lose interest the more we looked it. Great job Kalynn! You will receive your selfie stick prize shortly.
Jodi, also from Mrs. Nicpan Brown's classroom at Abraham Lincoln Elementary, took second this week. The judges liked the clarity of her image and the 'cuteness' of the placement of her hand and smile. We also appreciated the amount of work that went into the picture and despite the amount of work involved, it didn't look too overdone. Initially, it jumped off the screen and made us say 'wow'. Great job Jodi!

The judges enjoyed looking at all of the great selfies. The next (Super Bowl) challenge will be posted later today!
* parent permission was given to post student images online

Friday, January 29, 2016

Digital Challenge #8 Winner! - Best How-to Video #ipaded #diy #wsdtech

Digital Challenge #8 - How-to Video

Congratulations to this week's winner

Winner - Monique from Foothills - Judges were looking for a how-to video that:
  • must be between one and five minutes in length (no short videos)
  • must show us how to do something
  • speaker is engaging and informative
  • video is easy to follow and clear
  • video may be edited to fit timeframe (don't bore the judges with repetitive actions)
  • (optional) can include royalty-free music, titles, graphics, transitions
The judges liked Monique's pacing, editing, use of music, and professionalism that she showed. It was enjoyable to watch and very well done. Great job Monique! Monique will receive her Apple ear buds soon.

YOUTUBE VIDEO



Annalise from Orchard took second this week. The judges liked her very clear video that detailed the steps on how to make a light saber.

YOUTUBE VIDEO



The judges enjoyed watching all the videos. This week's digital challenge is see who can take the best selfie.

Honorable Mention this week went to Austin from Washington Elementary for her knitting video. 

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Looking for the perfect app?   

Well it is your lucky day...  App Recommendations - By EdTech Teacher

This website allows you to search by type of device OR by learning activity.  Searching by learning activity will assist in finding apps that you wouldn't necessarily find on your own.

Research is clear that when you give students choice into how they show their learning they have a higher level of engagement and their learning is improved.

The ability to search by learning activity would allow you to have several apps on hand for students to choose from to show their learning, enabling you to move up the SAMR model in your classroom.

Another awesome feature of this website is the ability to choose device type once you find the activity or the app, so if you have Chrome, Mac, iOS, or Android this will find the app you might need.

Check out the site and see the results and please share the site with other teachers...

App Recommendations - By EdTech Teacher

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Ancient Egypt Minecraft Buildings #ipaded #minecraft

What to do when your teacher asks you to recreate some buildings in Ancient Egypt and you're a game?  Why you use Minecraft, of course!  Check out Pioneer Middle School students Alexis and Jared's Minecraft buildings based on their study on Ancient Greece.  Nicely done gentlemen.


Friday, January 22, 2016

Digital Challenge #7 Winner! #edtech #ipaded #donuts

Digital Challenge #7 - Rube Goldberg Video

Congratulations to this week's winner

Winner - Ethan from Pioneer - Judges were looking for a Rube Goldberg video that:
  • video completes a task
  • video has a 'wow' factor that impresses the judges
  • there is a creative use of materials
  • video is easy to follow and is organized
  • whole event uses at least seven components or actions (for example, five dominoes falling is ONE component)
  • whole video is under three minutes in length
Ethan's Rube Goldberg video followed the rolling ball on it's way to spilling the dog food into the dog's ball.  The judges liked a lot of elements to it, including the music, titles, editing, pace and originality.  Great job Ethan!

Honorable Mention went to Rilee at Orchard.  We love your hard work, Rilee.

YOUTUBE VIDEO