Top 10 Tech Tools: #2 Prezi

#2 is Prezi!

Prezi is an awesome modern presentation tool! One of its best aspects is that it is cloud-based which means you can access, edit and present from anywhere you have an Internet connection. An app is also available for mobile devices. Different than most presentation tools, Prezi's interface uses a single "page" or board and a zooming feature that allows the user to visually explain how concepts relate to one another. There are also tons of great professional templates to get you started.

 

I've used this tool with several classes and for various projects.  The students love, love, LOVE it!  It is so easy for them to learn and use. I have used this tool with third graders to create presentations on famous Americans.  Fourth grade students created presentations on famous Virginians in the Virginia Studies standards.  Last spring, 6th grade students created presentations for SOL review on language arts topics.  There are endless ways to use Prezi.  Be sure to check it out for yourself!

Top 10 Tech Tools: #1 Nearpod

It's almost Back to School time, so it's time for me to share my Top 10 Tech Tools with you.  Hopefully you will find at least one that you LOVE and want to implement in your class this year.

So, here we go...

#1 on the list is Nearpod

I LOVE this tool!  Nearpod is both an online tool and an app.  This tool is a creative way to present to your students.  Create a presentation within Nearpod or upload a PowerPoint or pdf file.  You can even choose a presentation from the Nearpod library and use as is or edit it to make it your own. 

 

There are several great things about this presentation tool... First, you can make it interactive!  Within your presentation, add polls, quizzes, open-ended questions or have your students draw a response.  Second, you control your when and what your students see on their computers or devices.  As you move through the presentation on your device, the "slides" automatically move for your students on theirs.  If you have a mobile device (tablet or phone), you can move around the classroom as you present to your students.  Next, is the ability to access and download reports which makes it a great assessment tool!  Want your students to be able to access the presentation from home?  No problem.  You can also assign it as a Homework session.  If you'd like to learn more, check out this great video on Nearpod. 

 

 Stayed tuned for the next 9 on my Top 10 list! :)

1, 2, 3... An App-tastic Monday!

Well, we are home today with yet another snow day...  Living in southeast VA, it is quite unusual for us to miss more than maybe one or two school days a season, but today is our 6th day home this winter so far!  Wow!  What a strange winter this has been.  Yesterday my husband and I took a walk at the park to enjoy the nice 70 degree weather and today we get ice and snow.  Gotta love Virginia weather.  I'm guessing we will be home tomorrow too since our streets are still a sheet of ice.

I recently found some new apps I have shared with my teachers, so I thought you might like them, too. 

 

#1  The first is Tellagami.  Create awesome animated videos called a "Gami"!  Students create an avatar using the simple tools in the program.  They can either choose a background in the free pack, draw their own background, or upload one from the iPad library.  Then students can type what they want the avatar to say and choose a voice or they can record their own voice.  I can see students uploading pictures of historical events or places and then talking about them!  The video can be shared via email or social network or can be downloaded to the iPad library.  I am getting ready to work with classes who are studying famous Americans and I hope to use this app with them. 

 

 

Click this link to see a Gami that I created for my teachers.

 

#2  The second is ChatterPix Kids.  ChatterPix Kids can make anything "talk".  Import a photo, drawing, or clipart, draw a line for a mouth and record your voice.  The app will create a video of your person or object talking.  So, how can you use this?  Have your students draw a character from a book, then have the character "talk" about the book.  Or use pictures of famous people recording facts about that person.  I'm sure you will come up with some great ideas for using this app! 

 

 

#3  The last app I want to tell you about today is an awesome fractions app called Fractions by Brainingcamp.  This FREE fractions app has everything you need for teaching and learning.  For each topic there is a narrated lesson, practice questions, virtual manipulatives and a challenging game.  Students can "write" on the app like a white board as well as manipulate fractions pieces.

Topics covered include:

• Fractions Intrroduction
• Equivalent Fractions
• Common Denominator
• Comparing and Ordering Fractions
• Adding and Subtracting Fractions
• Multiplying Fractions
• Dividing Fractions

 



 

I hope you get some use out of these apps.  Enjoy your snow day if you are having one after this storm.  Since I started this post, I have received "the call" that we will be home again tomorrow.  

"App"solutely Cool Tools

I've been off from school for the past 2 days enjoying the SNOW we got here in southeast VA!  It snowed about 6 inches here in Gloucester after getting about 3" last week.  This is really unusual for us.  We usually get a good snow like this once every couple of years and we've had 2 within a week!  Crazy!  But we are loving it.  And... I just got word that we are off again tomorrow.  Last week we only saw students for 1/2 a day Tuesday (Friday was a teacher work day) and this week we only saw them on Tuesday (Monday was a work day).  As much as I love the days off, I'm sure I won't be loving them when we have to make the days up.  Oh well... :)  My co-teacher and I are working on this big project... the book trailers I talked about in an earlier post.  At this rate, it'll be March before we finish them, but I promise to post about them soon.

I've been saying to myself over the last few weeks that I really need to share the resources I obtained from our annual state technology conference on this blog, so here goes...  Back in December we attended the VSTE conference.  VSTE is the Virginia Society of Technology in Education and I LOVE going to this 3-day conference.  I always learn so much and come home rejuvenated!  My colleagues and I created a document that we shared with our teachers with all the resources we learned about.  There are many great apps and websites in this document.  I hope you are able to find several that you can use.  Click on the picture below to access and download the document.

 

 

Some of my favorites are EduCreations, NearPod, Poll Everywhere and Socrative.  I also love the website Interactive Sites for Education.  This site has a great listing of K-5 online, interactive, educational games and simulations all in one place.  It's awesome!

 

Enjoy these resources!

Happy New Year!

Hi Blog Readers!

Happy New Year!!!

 

It's been a busy start to the new year so far, but I have spent some time reflecting on the past year and making some New Year's resolutions for the coming year.  Last year was a great year of new beginnings for me.  I started several new endeavors... selling on TpT and TN and last summer I started this blog.  I'm excited about sharing all of the neat technology projects and lessons I do with teachers and I had great plans to do that.  Then school started and things got crazy.  Every time I thought I might have time to write in my blog, something more pressing came up. :(  So... this year's resolution is to work harder at adding to my blog!    I've been working this week on an Animoto book trailers project.  Stand by for information about this awesome project coming soon...  :-)