Technology Tidbits: Thoughts of a Cyber Hero

Super Teacher Worksheets for Easter

2022-04-12T20:03:00.001-05:00

*Be Sure to check out the printable activities on Easter.

Super Teacher Worksheets is one of the best sites around for finding educational resources on a wide range of subjects. Educators can find, worksheets, printables, puzzle generators and more. Also, they are constantly updating their site w/ more resources all the time and recently released new crossword puzzle worksheet generator.

I highly recommend checking out Super Teacher Worksheets by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational Resources click here.

*Super Teacher Worksheets is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Super Teacher Worksheets for St. Patricks Day

2022-03-03T10:22:00.003-06:00

Be sure to check out STW for all their St. Patrick's Day ideas such as: educational games, word searches, activities, and more!!!

Super Teacher Worksheets is one of the best sites around for finding educational resources on a wide range of subjects. Educators can find, worksheets, printables, puzzle generators and more. Also, they are constantly updating their site w/ more resources all the time and recently released new crossword puzzle worksheet generator.

I highly recommend checking out Super Teacher Worksheets for St. Patrick's Day by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational Resources click here.

*Super Teacher Worksheets is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

TypeTastic for Game Based Learning

2022-03-03T10:06:00.001-06:00

"Game-based learning (GBL) is a type of game play that has defined learning outcomes. Generally, game-based learning is designed to balance subject matter with gameplay and the ability of the player to retain, and apply said subject matter to the real world. (wikipedia)" Game Based Learning has stood the test of time and been going on since schools have been around. Lately, it's been getting more and more attention in the media and easier to integrate into the classroom through technology. Not only is GBL making learning fun, through innovative technology and websites like TypeTastic, kids are easily learning vital real-world skills such as Typing/Keyboarding.

TypeTastic is an excellent K-12 site for students learning how to Type/Keyboard. TypeTastic's School Edition has an educational portal that allows educators to track, monitor, and assess student progress. This is a fun and great way to integrate technology into a classroom's curriculum. TypeTastic uses over 400 innovative games, activities and drills to help teach and reinforce keyboarding/typing skills.

The expanded curriculum introduces students to more than 250 entertaining new keyboarding activities that move from locating letters to fluent typing in four fun steps:

Explore the Keyboard: Unique keyboard visualization splits the letters into nine color-coded groups so students see the keyboard like a map and can quickly find the correct letters.

All Fingers Aboard: These games are designed to challenge kids to learn the fundamentals of typing. All sections are centered on finger movement, often first separated into either right- or left-hand activities, followed by more challenging games that use both hands.

Ready, Set, Type!: Keyboarding activities take kids on an adventure through underwater coral reefs, thick jungle vegetation, and serene beach vistas to collect words and letters, with the goal of typing simple words and sentences.

Master Those Keys: In the final step, students dig into the secrets of fluent typing, challenging themselves with more complex words, building up their typing speed, and discovering numbers and symbols.

*TypeTastic was one of Technology & Learning's Top Sites/Apps of 2018 (click here)

Below is a brief demo...

I highly recommend checking out TypeTastic School Edition by clicking here!!!

For more detailed information on Game Based Learning click here.

Mr Rogers - "Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children playis serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood."

TestMe

2022-03-03T09:36:00.005-06:00

TestMe is a wonderful new site for creating online flashcards. What separates TestMe apart from other
similar learning tools is that it can take educators notes or lesson plans and turn them into educational flashcards that can be used for: studying, quizzes, and more. Finally, a student can answer/respond to the flashcard easily "natural language" allowing TestMe to automatically grade their responses and then share their results.

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

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo's blog for the tip.

simpleshow video maker

2022-02-24T19:54:00.003-06:00

simpleshow video maker is the best online tool around for making explainer videos. These "simple shows" are very easy to create and can be used in education in a wide variety of ways, such as: digital storytelling, introducing a subject, project based learning, professional development, and much more. Best of all, simpleshow is very user friendly and lets educators/students seamlessly create engaging videos by just selecting a template, typing up a script (storyline) and simpleshow takes care of the rest. There are lots of videos and examples teachers can find on the simpleshow website and a finished video can then be embedded into a website or blog.

Below is brief demo...

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

*simpleshow video maker is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Mobile Permissions Virtual Field Trips

2022-02-24T19:50:00.002-06:00

Mobile Permissions is the excellent free site the educators are using to easily send "digital" permission slips for FREE. Recently, they launched a new feature which lets educators send permission slips "on demand" which is ideal for when teachers need immediate permission of a parent/guardian and don't have time to wait for a form to be returned. Also, this is a perfect tool to use w/ Remote Learning due to the closures of school from the worldwide pandemic.

Finally, Mobile Permissions has been hard at work creating Virtual Field trips. These field trips can be an asset to any educator for students required to do Distance Learning at home. These field trips are easy to use as they incorporate "guided tours" of different museums and cities around the world. These "guided tours" come w/ a packet of questions/answers for teachers to use w/ their students when taking their virtual tour.

I highly recommend checking out Mobile Permissions Virtual Field Trips by clicking here!!!

*Mobile Permissions is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Wizer

2022-02-24T19:32:00.002-06:00

Wizer is an interesting site for creating blended digital worksheets that I just found out about from Richard Byrne's award winning blog. Wizer lets educators create digital worksheets from scratch by through either a fill in the blank style or by labeling a object. A very nice feature is that a teacher can browse through a wide collection of worksheets already create it and then customize it for their own purpose. Finally, a finished worksheet can then be shared through Google Classroom or through a unique generated URL and code.

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

Projector Screen

2022-02-24T18:58:00.004-06:00

Projector Screen 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: how to build a home theater or how a green screen works.

I highly recommend checking out Projector Screen Store by clicking here!!!

*Projector Screen is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Brush Ninja

2022-02-24T18:29:00.003-06:00

Brush Ninja is a super-fun site for creating customs animations, digital art, collages, and more. Also, Brush Ninja has an abundance of educator resources to help integrate Brush Ninja into the classroom. Educators are using BN in a wide variety of ways such as: digital storytelling, project based learning, "spicing" up a project, and much more. Best of all, Brush Ninja is free, easy-to-use, and requires no student registration making it CIPA compliant for the classroom.

I highly recommend checking out Brush Ninja by clicking here!!!

Thanks to Richard Byrne's wonderful blog for the tip.

Socrates

2022-02-24T16:54:00.000-06:00

Socrates is an innovate new site where educators can seamlessly differentiate instruction for each student through a unique game based learning system. This is done through fun and engaging learning games w/ educational portal where teachers can track and monitor student progress, assign educational videos, use a digital badge system, testing, benchmarking, and much much more.

Below is a brief demo...

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

*Socrates is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Kialo Edu

2022-02-24T16:37:00.004-06:00

Kialo Edu is an excellent learning tool designed to facilitate classroom discussion and ignite critical thinking while providing platform for educators to make it easy to gauge student understanding and differentiate instruction. The way this works is through Kialo's online collaborative platform that creates an interactive tree that depicts pros and cons of a discussion/debate. Students can use this for self paced learning and to get their points of across in a clear precise way.

Below is a brief demo...

I highly recommend checking out Kialo Edu by clicking here!!!

BookWidgets

2022-02-24T16:23:00.002-06:00

BookWidgets is an excellent site for creating educational games/quizzes. BookWidgets is ideal looking for teachers to save time by having their educational games/quizzes automatically graded. This is all done in a user-friendly interface and educational portal that allows teachers to: track and monitor students in real-time. Best of all, BookWidgets makes it easy for educators to assess student learning and differentiate instruction through detailed reports/graphs.

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

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo's blog for the tip.

*BookWidgets is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Type to Learn

2022-02-24T16:15:00.003-06:00

Type to Learn to is an excellent online Keyboarding program ideal for grades K-12. Type To Learn easily lets teachers teach integral Typing skills through game based learning. These games are integrated into 34 lessons that teach the basics from HomeRow to complicated keys such as numbers and other characters. Best of all, Type to Learn tracks WPM (words per minute) , assessing students in real-time and then differentiates instruction by adjusting the difficulty on how well the student is doing.

I highly recommend checking out Type to Learn by clicking here!!!

I Know It

2022-01-25T16:45:00.003-06:00

I Know It is a fantastic site for interactive Math lessons grades K-5th. This is a super fun easy to use site for practice on a wide range of topics, such as: place value, multiplication, counting coins, time, and more. Best of all, I Know It allows educators to assign lessons and track student progress to make it easy to differentiate instruction.

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

Below is a brief demo...

I Know It is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Floop

2022-01-25T16:42:00.003-06:00

Floop is an excellent learning tool for educators to give and receive student feedback in real-time. Floop is very easy to use and uses a drag-n-drop interface to collect student assignments and provide feedback and resubmissions through conversations threads, making it simple to assess students and differentiate instruction.

Below is a brief demo...

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

Chronicle Cloud

2022-01-25T16:41:00.002-06:00

Top 5 Features that make Chronicle Cloud the best notes taking app for teachers:

What should a teacher consider when choosing the best mobile application for managing their classroom efficiently? A tool that assists teachers with taking notes, grading, assessm
ents, maintaining a record of every student, organizing classes, and connecting with parents to efficiently manage their classroom. A few of my friends suggested Evernote when I was looking for such an App. After playing around with it for a few days, I realized that though Evernote was a good app, it was not custom-built for teachers. I was looking for an app that helped teachers efficiently manage their classroom activities. I even browsed the internet for suggestions but to no avail. There were not nearly as many apps that brought most of the tasks on one platform. Then, one of the parents suggested the Chronicle Cloud App because this parent was receiving assignments from teachers via the Chronicle Cloud teacher app.

"I have been using Chronicle Cloud for two years, and I am convinced that Chronicle Cloud is one of the most powerful apps that brings most of the classroom tasks on one platform."

Teaching is not easy. As teachers we know how we have to juggle teaching, classroom activities, meet deadlines, plan and execute lesson plans and assessments. With all that, we have to observe student progress, give feedback, manage individual and group tasks, create reports, and take care of administrative tasks also! :)

Let me tell you all the features I like on Chronicle Cloud, and then I will tell you the best five that have made my life easy! With Chronicle Cloud, I have been able to:

• organize classes-

• organize, and share classes and rosters with other teachers

• retrieve Notes and Speed Notes from archives

• attach multimedia files

• create artifacts for quick reference

• record formative assessments

• quick calculation of grades

• share assignments with parents via the parent app

These are the features that I like the best on Chronicle Cloud. Take a look!

Advance Note-taking

Chronicle Cloud is an advanced note-taking system that assists teachers with conferring notes on individual students. The note-taking feature also has a separate block to write about the instructional needs of every student. Because of the user-friendly interface and simple

design, the note-taking feature helps teachers monitor and record individual student growth. Follow-ups are an integral part of learning, and effective learning happens when teaching and feedback go simultaneously. The note-taking feature acts as a motivational tool for me.

I can write detailed Notes on an individual student, define learning goals, note down my observations on every child, and plan instructional needs.

• I document progress and formulate strategies for optimum student performance. There is a ‘Miscellaneous Notes’ section where I write down the behavioral aspects. That gives me a better understanding of a student's learning needs and helps me understand the student better. I also use the Miscellaneous Notes to write things that amuse me about the student. With Chronicle Cloud Note Taking, I can record assessments, track performance, and share with linked contacts.

Chronicle Cloud is an advanced note-taking system that allows me to add multimedia notes images, audio, video, and write text in the space given. I capture photos, take videos and add multimedia notes. I can also load it from the device gallery- whatever it is- audio, video, and text files that will help my students with a better understanding of a concept.

Capturing thoughts with Speed Note and Organizing with Tags

Tag a note by clicking on the tag icon, and run a keyword search when you want to refer to the Notes. There! You will find all the tagged Notes separately!

Speed Notes

If ever there was a time-saver, then Speed Notes is the one! Increase efficiency levels by quickly searching and reusing previous notes or student feedback with Speed Notes! You can search with a keyword also! Bingo! There you go!

Let us see how you can add Speed Notes-

• you can import speed notes from .txt or .csv format.

• Speed notes are reusable notes that you can retrieve by clicking on the ‘Bolt’ or the ‘Lightning’ icon.

• Speed notes are in alphabetical order, hence use a keyword to search any specific Note you want on the Chronicle Cloud App.

And now, with Speed Notes, you can write a quick note, no matter what you are doing. Just

jot down information on any student, anywhere, and retrieve it whenever you like from the backend.

Group-Notes-

• Group notes refer to notes that you write for a group of rosters or students. • Make a group according to proficiency levels and learning needs.

• Define groups by shared instructional needs or behavioral aspects for positive reinforcement.

• Create group notes on the Chronicle Cloud app. Make a group for achieving better learning outcomes. You can also share group notes according to proficiency levels and learning needs.

Whether I am assigning group project work to students or assessing group instructional needs, Chronicle Cloud makes communication easier for teams in different settings.

Formative Assessment

As teachers, we always wished there was some way to record Formative assessments and keep the data in one place, didn't we? Chronicle Cloud offers innovative ways to evaluate students in ways that are not possible with traditional multiple-choice tests. Chronicle Cloud app makes it very easy to record formative assessment data. For instance, I conduct discussions and record the formative data simultaneously on the app. The traffic light system helps me in assessing quickly. All I have to do is note my observations in the colors of the traffic light. That gives me an idea of a student's learning needs. And I have seen the students responding beautifully to the traffic lights. I have observed remarkable improvement in their concentration whenever I announce I will be giving them colors according to their understanding and delivery of the concept.

Grading and assessment

A gradebook that records quantitative data and writing descriptive notes to record details on an individual student is not connected most of the time, in both use and purpose. But the Chronicle Cloud app bridges the gap and creates synergy, promoting all types of data to be used as formatives. And a combination of the two has helped me maximize student learning. I can navigate easily between the gradebook and the note-taking feature. I confer text notes in the Note Taking and calculate the numerical averages in the grade book. O, by the way, there is an incredible feature of tagging descriptive notes with the grades too! I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it the first time! So, this is how it went- I was conducting formative assessments just before the final grades, and I chose to use the grade book to evaluate students and give them a lucid picture of their preparation. And there it was! The note tagging with grades helped me recall my observations after the assessment, and we had a fun exercise recalling and eliminating the minor -but-important errors!

Connected parents app

There is a connected Chronicle Cloud Parent app too! The connected Parent App has made my life immensely easy! I can share notes and assignments with parents, and together we can monitor student progress. My interactions with parents via the app have proven invaluable! We often ignore human bonds and the impact that can have on education.

Chronicle Cloud has made collaborating with other teachers and parents very easy. I share notes and grades with other teachers and home assignments with parents. I sometimes share anecdotal notes and instructional needs also with parents.

Great features should not come at the cost of our privacy. Chronicle Cloud provides security, encryption, and the cloud to share and store student data safely. Chronicle Cloud is the only app I have come across that takes care of most of my classroom teaching tasks.

Breshna

2022-01-25T10:36:00.005-06:00

Breshna is a super-fun site for creating free flash-based web browser games. All a user has to do is create an account and then select the style of game they would like to create. There are a bunch fo different templates to choose from and Breshna makes it easy to integrate game based learning into the classroom.

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

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo's blog for the tip.

Genially

2022-01-25T09:57:00.004-06:00

Genially is an innovative tool that lets educators turn materials into digital interactive lessons. This is done through a digital canvas where educators can add any type of multimedia content they can think. Best of all, Genially has an abundance of teaching materials for creating :infographics, presentations, gamification, and more, to help integrate Genially into the classroom.

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

Storyboard That for Winter Holidays

2021-12-21T10:19:00.002-06:00

Storyboard That the free online resources that educators everywhere are using for a wide variety of teaching strategies has just released their Winter Holiday Classroom Activities teacher guides...

From their site.... Sometimes we use the seasons and holidays around us to engage our students in the skills we are teaching. Whether you want to use these activities just for fun, or if you have lesson plans centered around the winter holidays, Storyboard That is an excellent resource. Check out some of the great things your students can do!

I highly recommend checking out Storyboard That for Winter Classroom Activities by clicking here!!!

Storyboard that is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

KidNuz

2021-12-21T10:07:00.005-06:00

KidNuz is an amazing way for students to learn about current news in the world that is non-partisan and age appropriate for them. This is done through carefully curated podcasts that are fun and catered towards student learning. Best of all, there are lots of free educational resources for educators looking for worksheets, quizzes, and more to use in the classroom.

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

Super Teacher Worksheets for Christmas

2021-12-21T09:42:00.003-06:00

Be sure to check out all their worksheets/printables on Christmas!!!

Super Teacher Worksheets is one of the best sites around for finding educational resources on a wide range of subjects. Educators can find, worksheets, printables, puzzle generators and more. Also, they are constantly updating their site w/ more resources all the time and recently released new crossword puzzle worksheet generator.

I highly recommend checking out Super Teacher Worksheets by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational Resources click here.
Check out their new interactive Math site by clicking here.

*Super Teacher Worksheets is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

SpinnerWheel

2021-12-21T09:23:00.001-06:00

SpinnerWheel is a super-fun site for creating random spinning wheels. This is a great free tool for educators that can be used in a number of ways such as: writing prompts, randomly choosing a student, math problems, and much much more. Best of all, a user can create up to 8 wheels on one page and even add sound effects and images to a wheel making the possibilities endless.

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

Thanks to Richard Byrne's wonderful blog for the tip.

Chronicle Cloud

2021-12-13T19:01:00.007-06:00

Top 5 Features that make Chronicle Cloud the best notes taking app for teachers:

"I have been using Chronicle Cloud for two years, and I am convinced that Chronicle Cloud is one of the most powerful apps that brings most of the classroom tasks on one platform."

Let me tell you all the features I like on Chronicle Cloud, and then I will tell you the best five that have made my life easy! With Chronicle Cloud, I have been able to:

• organize classes-

• organize, and share classes and rosters with other teachers

• retrieve Notes and Speed Notes from archives

• attach multimedia files

• create artifacts for quick reference

• record formative assessments

• quick calculation of grades

• share assignments with parents via the parent app

These are the features that I like the best on Chronicle Cloud. Take a look!

Advance Note-taking

I can write detailed Notes on an individual student, define learning goals, note down my observations on every child, and plan instructional needs.

Capturing thoughts with Speed Note and Organizing with Tags

Tag a note by clicking on the tag icon, and run a keyword search when you want to refer to the Notes. There! You will find all the tagged Notes separately!

Speed Notes

Let us see how you can add Speed Notes-

• you can import speed notes from .txt or .csv format.

• Speed notes are reusable notes that you can retrieve by clicking on the ‘Bolt’ or the ‘Lightning’ icon.

• Speed notes are in alphabetical order, hence use a keyword to search any specific Note you want on the Chronicle Cloud App.

And now, with Speed Notes, you can write a quick note, no matter what you are doing. Just

jot down information on any student, anywhere, and retrieve it whenever you like from the backend.

Group-Notes-

• Group notes refer to notes that you write for a group of rosters or students. • Make a group according to proficiency levels and learning needs.

• Define groups by shared instructional needs or behavioral aspects for positive reinforcement.

• Create group notes on the Chronicle Cloud app. Make a group for achieving better learning outcomes. You can also share group notes according to proficiency levels and learning needs.

Whether I am assigning group project work to students or assessing group instructional needs, Chronicle Cloud makes communication easier for teams in different settings.

Formative Assessment

Grading and assessment

Connected parents app

EDpuzzle Originals

2021-12-12T18:02:00.003-06:00

EDpuzzle the leading digital video platform for education just got better w/ the introduction of "EDpuzzle Originals". EDpuzzle Originals are professional made curated videos by educators that cover a wide range of subjects such as: Social Studies, science, Math, and more. EDpuzzle is the innovative platform that lets educators seamlessly flip a lesson or classroom and make any video their own.

Below is a demo...

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

ClassroomQ

2021-12-09T16:15:00.002-06:00

ClassroomQ is an innovative easy to use tool that acts a "digital' hand raising device. This is all done via the web and requires very little setup. All a teacher has to do is a create an account and then students join by typing in their name and a unique code that the teacher gives them. From there, a student click on the assistance button and can even type a comment which then a teacher sees. This is ideal to assess student's to learning and differentiate instruction w/out having to disrupt classroom time to do it.

Below is a demo video...

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