Technology Tidbits: Thoughts of a Cyber Hero

Alien Buddies

2012-01-27T15:57:00.001-06:00

Alien Buddies is a nice inexpensive app ($1.99) for the iPad/iPhone. I decided to check it out since it is available for free today at the app store 1-27-12 (click here) and would be great for my youngsters. This app has lots to like for PreK-1 aged students. It helps teach numbers, letters, and shapes through a variety of games. The games include: matching, puzzles, connecting dot to dot, and stickers.

I highly recommend checking out this fun app by clicking here!!

AnMish

2012-01-27T11:38:00.000-06:00

AnMish is new (beta) site that I found out about from Cliotech and is great for digital storytelling. Not only is this site super fun and easy to use but it allows users to select characters and then record their own voice to add to them. A person can then embed videos to share w/ others. This site does have cartoon celebrities, puppets, and more to choose from, while not ideal for education it can be used by a teacher or w/ proper supervision.

I recommend checking out AnMish by clicking here!!

AmyLovesYA

2012-01-27T09:53:00.000-06:00

AmyLovesYA is a new blog dedicated to young adult literature. This is a great place to find reviews, collaborate on books, and so on. It's written by an English teacher who is going for her MLIS (Master of Library and Information Speciliast).

I recommend checking out AmyLovesYA by clicking here!!

Quixey

2012-01-27T08:26:00.000-06:00

Quixey is a great search engine for finding apps. A user just types in what they want the app to do and search through the results. The results show the price and rating of an app on a 5 star scale. Keep in mind not all search results are for mobile app devices but computer applications as well.

I highly recommend checking out Quixey by clicking here.

For my top 10 sites for educational apps click here.
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Tutorspree

2012-01-26T13:42:00.000-06:00

Tutorspree is an excellent new site for finding private tutors. This is a very easy site to use and people can search for tutors by subject or by area. All tutors list how much they charge per hr and have a bio that shows their educational background. Also, educators can sign up if they would like to become a tutor and earn some extra income.

I recommend checking out Tutorspree by clicking here!!

For my top 10 sites for online teaching/tutoring click here.

Check This

2012-01-26T12:21:00.001-06:00

Check This is a site that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers, for creating simple web pages. This is a very simple site to use that reminds me a bit of Loose Leaves or Scriffon. A user can add: text, videos, photos, or backgrounds. Once a page is done, all a user has to do is share the unique URL that is generated.

I recommend checking out Check This by clicking here.

For my top 10 website creators click here.

HipChat

2012-01-26T08:38:00.000-06:00

HipChat is a site I've known about for quite sometime but decided to give it a look. This is a great site for creating a chat room. These rooms can be set to public or private, are very user friendly, and has a nice polished look to it. As w/ most chat rooms, people can send private messages to an individual user, attachments, and even do video and voice chatting.

I highly recommend checking out HipChat by clicking here!!

For a brief demo view below..

For my top 10 sites for creating a backchannel chat click here.

ScootPad

2012-01-25T18:34:00.000-06:00

ScootPad is an excellent site for free online math and reading practice, grades 1-3. This is done in an easy and intuitive way through the use of unique reward system. A great feature is the ability for a parent to register and then create a kids account w/ username and password. Plus, there is a very nice analytics feature which shows progress through real-time charts. Best of all, there is an educational portal in the works which is ideal for the reading and math curriculum.

I highly recommend checking out ScootPad by clicking here!!

Lingibli

2012-01-25T10:12:00.000-06:00

Lingibli appears to be a great free app for learning a new language. This is done in a 100 words or less and lets users download/buy what language they want to translate to. Once a language is selected a person can select through common languages or even practice through the use of word games.

I recommend checking out Lingibli by clicking here!

Math Game Time

2012-01-25T10:05:00.000-06:00

Math Game Time is a great site for educational math games, videos, and worksheets. These games are arranged for grades PreK - 7th grade and by category. Also, there is a nice mobile app ($2.99) available as well.

I highly recommend checking out Math Game Time by clicking here!

For another great site for math games check out DimensionU.

Tumble Cloud

2012-01-25T09:57:00.000-06:00

Tumble Cloud is an excellent new site for collaborative digital storytelling. This site allows users to upload digital content such as photos, video, notes, etc to create a stunning story. These stories can be shared and collaborated on w/ others and users have lots of options to choose from such as effects, transitions, etc.

I highly recommend checking out Tumble Cloud by clicking here!!!

For my top 10 sites for digital storytelling click here. FYI, it's a bit older as other sites have since come around which should be included too, such as Little Bird Tales and Story Jumper.

Microsoft in Education

2012-01-24T12:51:00.000-06:00

Microsoft in Education is an excellent resource for educators as it helps teachers implement Microsoft tools into their curriculum. This includes links for all subjects and other nice items such as: Kodu Game Lab, calculators, worksheet generators etc.

I highly recommend checking out Microsoft in Education by clicking here!!

Musicshake

2012-01-24T08:09:00.000-06:00

Musicshake is an excellent new site for creating music that I just found out about from Larry Ferlazzo's blog. This is a site that allows users to create copyright free music straight from a browser. Best of all, there is an educational portal which allows students to create all the music they want to share/download for one low price. Everything is done from the browser and is very easy to use. A user selects a theme, and then clicks on blocks next to the instrument they want to hear.

I highly recommend checking out Musicshake for education by clicking here!!!

For my top 10 sites for creating digital music click here.

Studyers

2012-01-23T12:31:00.000-06:00

Studyers is a excellent site for note taking that I found out about from equally excellent blog, Educational Technology Guy. This site is still in private alpha, but is very nice for taking class notes w/ the ability to upload photos and then share w/ others.

I recommend checking out Studyers by clicking here!!

For my top 10 sites for note taking click here.

Live Binders App

2012-01-23T10:14:00.000-06:00

It has just come to my attention thx to Free Technology 4 Teachers, that Live Binders has released a free iPad app. This is nifty little app that lets users browse their collections and then rate and share them w/ others.

I recommend all Live Binder users to check out this app by clicking here!!

Open Class

2012-01-23T09:25:00.001-06:00

Open Class is a new Learning Management System which has potential to revolutionize cloud based learning. This is a totally free and easy to use online solution for educational/course management. The best way to describe it is something very similar to Moodle that fully integrates w/ Google Apps educational suite.

I highly recommend checking out Open Class by clicking here!!

View brief demo below....

I'd like to thank David Andrade for this excellent find!!

Taweet

2012-01-23T08:08:00.000-06:00

Taweet is a nice twitter app/site that I found out about from a friend on Twitter (weird huh?) This is a great site for professional development as it can help presenters spread the word of their upcoming workshop on twitter. Taweet is a super easy to use social calendar and helps promotes events.

I highly recommend checking out Taweet by clicking here.

Below is a brief short demo...

Hopper

2012-01-23T08:02:00.000-06:00

Hopper is a new web tool designed to let users save anything fast and easily. This is done by installing a bookymarklet (similar to Diigo) and then clicking on Save to Hopper on any website that you want to bookmark. Also, a user can just copy and paste a URL, text, or image right into Hopper from their webpage. Another nice feature is the ability to make a URL private or shorten when managing information from your Hopper account.

I recommend checking out Hopper by clicking here!!

For my top 10 sites for bookmarking click here.

gText

2012-01-20T10:39:00.000-06:00

gText is a new site that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers. This is a great free service for group text messaging. A user can use a cell phone to send group text messages that other people can receive. Not only can a person send text messages but they can share files, photos, and calendars as well.

I recommend checking out gText by clicking here.

For other great sites using cell phones check out:

Story Patch

2012-01-20T09:02:00.000-06:00

Story Patch is a wonderful app ($2.99) for the iPad for digital storytelling. This app allows users to create a story from scratch or build one using their money templates. A user can add text to each page, objects, characters, backgrounds, etc. Once a story is finished it can then be shared w/ others via email as a PDF.

I highly recommend checking out Story Patch by clicking here!!!

iBooks Author

2012-01-19T11:17:00.000-06:00

iBooks Author is a new free app for the Mac that is ideal for digital storytelling and publishing any kind of book online (or in the iBooks 2 mobile app). First off, a Mac must be running at 10.7.2 in order to install this app, once that is done a person can select through multiple layouts and by drag and dropping create any type of publication they want. These digital books can include images, keynote presentations, etc etc. It is then all synced through iTunes into the iBooks 2 library catalog.

I highly recommend checking out iBooks Author by clicking here!!!

iBooks 2

2012-01-19T10:57:00.000-06:00

Well, there has been a lot of hype leading up to today on what Apple was going to unveil for their big educational keynote. They have just released two new impressive apps, iBooks 2 and iBooks Author. iBooks 2 is the new free update for iBooks that allows users to download and interact w/ textbooks. These textbooks include moving images, 3D graphics, and more. As of right now there are only 8 categories to choose from such as: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, etc.

I highly recommend checking out iBooks 2 by clicking here!!!

20 Hottest Hashtags for Teachers

2012-01-19T08:09:00.000-06:00

This morning I received an email from Online Degrees regarding a top 20 list on hashtags for Twitter. After looking at this list I must say I'm pretty impressed and guessed top 2 right off the bat. #edchat and #edtech are two of the most popular hashtags I see on Twitter through the use of my PLN.

I highly recommend checking out the rest of this list by clicking here!!!

Another useful site for hashtag users.

Wolfram Education Portal

2012-01-19T06:58:00.000-06:00

Wolfram Education Portal is a new (beta) spinoff site of their success Wolfram Alpha computation engine. This portal allows educators and students to use their learning and teaching tools. In this portal users will have access to digital textbooks, lesson plans, interactive demonstrations, and more.

I recommend checking out Wolfram Education Portal by clicking here!!

Squidoo

2012-01-18T21:47:00.000-06:00

Squidoo is a nice free site for users to create a page filled w/ content on any topic they choose. These pages can be viewed by others and then commented on in this community styled site. People can browse by subjects and there is a nice education section.

I recommend checking out Squidoo by clicking here.

For my top 10 self help sites click here.