Crickweb - Free Online Education Resources & Games

Looking for ways to get your kids excited about learning? Crickweb is a fantastic collection of educational interactive teaching resources and activities. If you have an Interactive Whiteboard or Projector, let the kids take the controls and watch them learn. If you do not have an Interactive device, no problem! The activities and games are just as fun and beneficial when using a computer mouse!

Their resources are organized into Early Years (PK-K), Key Stage 1 (1st-2nd grades), and Key Stage 2 (3rd-6th grades).

 

Don't forget to check out the Fun Games and Links sections of the site. Be sure to check the activity first because of the terms this site uses aren't exactly the same ones we use on this side of the pond, and some activities might be confusing. 

What's your favorite Crickweb activity?

Boom Writer

Are you looking for ways to get your kids excited about writing? What about creating a class book? BoomWriter seems like a great place to start!

BoomWriter is easy and free (two things teachers LOVE, right?) You can even get a free copy (an actual printed book!) of your first class book.

• The teacher selects or produces his or her own story start, and the students let their imagination and writing skills take over.
• One chapter at a time, the students write, read, and then vote on the submissions they like the most. The winning chapter is then added to the story and the process continues.
• The teacher determines the total number of chapters to be completed, and when the competition is over a new book is ready to be published.

Want to learn more? Check it out ...

If you create a class book, be sure to let us know by adding the link as a comment!

ScootPad

ScootPad is a user-friendly, FREE (even ad-free!) site that delivers personalized math and reading "practices" that are tailored to each student's specific learning needs. It's advertised as "the ultimate way to master math and reading skills. Self-paced and personalized practice keeps kids engaged and challenged."

ScootPad is available on any browser, anytime ... this means students can work in the classroom or from home on a computer or any other internet-enabled device.

This Prezi (another one of my favorite tools!) is a quick tour of ScootPad:

Want to learn more?

This 2 minute overview walks you through all you need to know to get started with ScootPad: 

Are you using ScootPad with your students? What are your thoughts?

Using YouTube Safely

Anyone who's spent any time on YouTube knows that there's some really valuable material out there that can be used effectively in our classrooms.

Anyone who's spent any time on YouTube knows that there's some pretty inappropriate stuff (ads, comments, suggested videos, etc.) out there that should not be a part of our classrooms.

Several tools are available to help clean up all of that "clutter" that is a party of YouTube and allows you use the  videos without fear of what might be coming next. Check out some of these options:

SafeShareTV - Copy/Paste a YouTube link into the field and click "Generate Safe Link". When you click the "Take me to the Safe View" link, your video will open into a new window without any of the extra "stuff" you usually see in YouTube.

ViewPure - Copy/Paste the YouTube link and hit "Create" to open the video into a new, cleaner screen. You can also drag the "Purify" button into your bookmarks toolbar and easily and instantly view a YouTube video in a cleaner environment without having to copy/paste the URL

Want an even simpler option? Simply type the word quiet in front of the "youtube" in the address, and you will see a much cleaner, clutter-free screen.

As always, check with your campus principal before using videos in the classroom. =)

ClassDojo

ClassDojo looks like a promising tool for teachers to help manage and track student behavior (positive and negative) and participation.

• Teachers can use the classroom computer or any other internet-connected device (smartphone, table, i-device, etc.) 
• The initial setup looks to be quite easy and there seems to be several ways you can customize it to work for your students in your classroom. 
• There are some awfully cute little monster and critter icons that can be used for students or you can even upload actual student pictures, which would be a real help to substitute teachers! 
• You even get to decide which types of behaviors you will track with ClassDojo.
• Easily print or email behavior reports with a click of a button!
• Want to get your students excited about participating in class? ClassDojo can be used with your data projector to show instant visual notifications for your students ("Well done Josh! +1 for teamwork!").

This video review shows some of the most helpful features of ClassDojo.


Want to learn more? Head over to ClassDojo and check it out. According to their site, you can sign up now for a FREE account. (I'm not sure how much longer it will be free, so you might want to grab an account now even if you don't want to use it right away.)

Don't forget to check with your campus principal before making significant changes to any behavior plans in your classroom or grade level!

No Poster Printer? No Problem!

We've been preparing for our upcoming Technology Academy and have been looking for an economical way to print posters advertising our sessions. (Let me start by saying that we have a budget of $0.00 ... yes, seriously.)

I called a local printer who would be oh-so-happy to print the posters for a mere $115 each. One hundred fifteen dollars each! After I regained consciousness, I started looking around for other options! We can have them printed at a variety of office supply or photo stores, but those posters still range $15-25 each. Since we need 25 posters printed, this is quite a bit over our budget (of zero).

I was thrilled to read about Block Posters on Free Technology for Teachers this morning. This free, web-based tool allows you to upload a high quality image and then determine how large you want the final poster. It then "slices" your images into full-page size chunks and you can immediately download a PDF version of your poster. You can then print them out on a regular printer, trim edges, and tape them together to make a poster.

Remember the What About Me? infographic I created a few weeks ago? Here's how Block Posters has sliced it to print on individual pages:

Try it out ... see what you think!

Guest Post: A Few BrainPop Features I Forgot About

I'm excited to share a post from Becky Burnett's Tech Tips and Such blog today. Be sure to check it out. If you'd like to receive emails when her blog is updated, sign up for her mailling list here!

From Tech Tips and Such:

I was in a session earlier today about BrainPop at my local education service center, and decided that there are "A Few BrainPop Features I Forgot About". Since I forgot about them, I thought some of you might have too. Our district is fortunate enough to have a BrainPop subscription, but if your district is not, have no fear, there's some wonderful free features too!

If you have ever seen a BrainPop video you know that they are short and sweet, as well as very informative (if you haven't, click here to view one). I think they are a great way to intro a concept or reinforce. They can be class activities or individual student activities. Also, BrainPop is adding to the collection of activities that support their videos and the concepts that they deliver. Read on to learn (or be reminded) of a few.

FREE STUFF! That's right, I said free =)
You can get free stuff from all of the BrainPop sites (BrainPop, BrainPop Jr., BrainPop Español, BrainPop ESL), but it's best to go from the main BrainPop site so that you can see ALL of the free stuff from ALL of the sites! Just go to the main BrainPop page (brainpop.com) and click the button for free stuff. 

Search By Standards
I think this comes in particularly handy when you have a student or students that are struggling with a particular skill but it's also good for many more reasons. Just click the Standards button, select your state/subject/grade, and then click the link for the proper video or resource. It's not just videos listed here, but also games, which leads me to...

GameUp

These games are ALL FREE and intended to be reinforcement for skills that are demonstrated in the videos. This being said, they work well after a video has been watched, and also for reinforcing a concept that has been covered in class in a different way. The games can be accessed by clicking the GameUp button on the main page, or after a video has been watched.

That's just a few, but there's lots of other great things on their site too. I definitely suggest that you go check it out or revisit if you haven't been there in a while. Enjoy and Happy Friday!!

Thanks Becky! That's good stuff!

10 Tech Skills Every Student Should Have

I just came across a GREAT article that I hope every one of you will read! The only thing I would change is the title. I would call it "10 Tech Skills Everyone Should Have" ... not just students!

Be sure to check it out here. It's a great blog, Educational Technology Guy. I especially like this post because he doesn't just list the things for you. I've listed the ten skills below, but be sure to click the link to read more because he explains why he believes students should have these skills and even provides additional resources for further information.

10 Tech Skills Every Student Should Have (from Educational Technology Guy)
  1. Internet Search
  2. Office Suite Skills
  3. Self learning of tech and where to go for help
  4. Typing - yes, typing
  5. Social Media
  6. Netiquette - Internet/Email/Social media etiquette
  7. Security and Safety
  8. Hardware basics and troubleshooting
  9. Backup data
10. Finding apps and software

Click here to read the full blog post!

What do you think?

Dollar Days at Scholastic Teacher Express!

It's that time of year again ... Dollar Days at Scholastic Teacher Express! Better hurry though, because the sale is only good through Wednesday, 3.28.12.

These downloadable "e-books" and "e-pages" are PDFs and can therefore be read on a computer or most mobile devices.

You will need a Paypal account to make your purchase, but as soon as you do, you will be redirected back to the Scholastic site to download your items (including the items you downloaded last year if you took advantage of their Dollar Days then!)

I just downloaded two books ... what about you?

Grammaropolis

Grammaropolis is a fun site that's been around for quite some time. This recently upgraded site provides lots of great ways for students to learn about nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions and interjections! Some of the content of the site is only available to Passport subscribers ($3.99/month or $29.99/year), but there is quite a bit that is available for free. Be sure to check out the Nouns section - the whole section is free!

Looking for more information or specific ways you can use Grammaropolis in your classroom? Be sure to check out this fantastic post from one of my favorite blogs, ilearntechnology!

Black History Month Resources

This summer, I spent a few days in Memphis, Tennessee. The highlight of the trip (other than catching up with my fantabulous college friends) was visiting Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum.

We had a delightful tour guide that showed us the house and shared stories that have been passed down through the generations. The moment that made the biggest impression on me was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with 10 other adults in the tiny basement. I'm 5'2" (in shoes!) and I had to stoop down in some places so I wouldn't hit my head. Our guide explained that there could be as many as 40 slaves living in this basement for days at a time. It was such a humbling experience. If you're ever in Memphis, please take the time to stop by and visit.

Unfortunately, we can't really take actual field trips to Memphis, so I hope you can use some of these resources with your students.

• Scholastic's Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery - this interactive unit includes a teaching guide, myths of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman Web Hunt and Reader's Theater, Slideshows, and several images, documents and interviews in the Primary Source Gallery.

• Scholastic's Celebrate African American Heritage Resources - In addition to the Underground Railroad unit, Scholastic also provides a wealth of other online resources (History of Jazz, Rosa Parks' Story, a class play called A Long Road to Freedom, Jackie Robinson: Athlete and Hero, and more.)

• Fact Monster's Black History Month Links - includes many short articles about Civil Rights Heros, Notable Speeches, the March on Washington, and more. 

• The Underground Railroad from National Geographic Education  - Be sure to run through this interactive journey and see some of the other resources here.

• The Underground Railroad from The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center - this site does a great job of explaining what the Underground Railroad was, the risks Escaping Slaves endured, Maps of some of the routes, and more. 

• Songs for Black History Month

• KB...Konnected's Kaleidoscope of Wonderful Websites - is a fantastic collection of online activities to celebrate Black History Month by one of my favorite bloggers over at KB...Konnected.

Do you have a favorite resource that I haven't listed here? If so, leave a comment!

Tech Tip Tuesday ... Magisto!

Do you have a video camera? I'm not talking about a big fancy-schmancy professional camera. I'm talking about a "Flip" style camera, or a digital camera that takes stills AND video, or even a video camera on your smart phone or iPod! Chances are, you have access to some sort of video camera and you may even have hours (or at least minutes) of video just sitting on the device itself or transferred over to your computer. What are you going to do with it? How will you share it with others?

Magisto is a fun and easy way to create and share videos. You will need to register for a {free} account, then begin your first project. Just upload your video files, create a title, and select a soundtrack (they provide some music or you can select your own). Magisto somehow magically analyzes your video and selects the most important portions, adds professional transitions, effects, and highlights and ..... voilà ... you've got a professional looking video ready to share with your students, their parents, and the community!

What is Magisto from magisto on Vimeo.

Guess what? Last week, Magisto released a free iPhone app that allows you to create these professional videos right from your phone!

How can you think of ways to use Magisto with your students? I can't wait to hear some of the ideas and see some of the video projects! If you're an EM-S ISD teacher, don't forget that we have several small video cameras that can be checked out to teachers for classroom use. (Just contact your IT!)

Tech Tip Tuesday ... Pinterest!

Today's post is so exciting that it should probably come with strongly worded warning about possible probable addiction issues!

You may have already heard about Pinterest. If not ...
where you have you been? 

Anyway ... I think of Pinterest as a virtual bulletin board where you can "pin" things (images) that "interest" you. Pinboards help you gather and organize all kinds of fantastical ideas. The BEST thing about Pinterest is that these pins link back to the original source. That means you don't have to keep track of those website URLs anymore - just click on your pin and it will take you to all of the information!

I will admit that the first several months that I've been "pinning", I have focused on craft projects, recipes, decorating ideas, funny sayings, and more. Unfortunately, I have run across a few inappropriate pins too, so I wouldn't necessarily use this with students. Recently though, there has been a growing number of educational pins on Pinterest which makes it the perfect place to get classroom ideas, teaching resources, and more.

I've created a new professional Pinterest account that is set up with boards including General Classroom Ideas, Classroom Management, Techtastic Project Ideas, and Blogtastic! (which currently has pins for 30+ educational blogs). You can find and follow my professional Pinterest page at pinterest.com/tuckertech.

Because I knew I would be sharing this on the blog, I created a professional account. If you already have a Pinterest account, I don't think it's necessary for you to create a new account. You can just create new pinboards for your classroom ideas. In fact, you probably already have!

You do not need an account to look around and gather ideas. You will only need an account if you want to create your own pinboards and start pinning ideas. If you are interested in creating an account, you can "Request an Invite" on Pinterest or just ask an existing Pinterest user to invite you. I'll be happy to invite you - just send me your email address. You will need a Facebook or Twitter account when you sign up.

Here are a few of my favorite Educational Pinners/Pinboards:
http://pinterest.com/teachwithprek/
http://pinterest.com/sciencestuff/ - really good MS & HS science ideas and links!
http://pinterest.com/lauracandler/
http://pinterest.com/jenrunde/

Please leave your pinterest link (or others) in a comment below if you've got Educational resources to share. I'm looking forward to following some of you!

Tech Tip Tuesday ... Triptico Toolkit

Oh wow ... I feel like I kinda hit the jackpot when my coworker, Lisa, shared this resource with me. If you've been looking for ways to jazz up your lessons or increase student participation and enthusiasm, you will love the Triptico IWB Toolkit!  (IWB stands for Interactive White Board, but you can use these resources whether you have interactive devices or not in your classroom!)

David Riley (of Triptico) created this amazing desktop application that currently contains 22 different interactive resources. Each of the resources are easy to personalize for your class(es).

Click here or on the image above to go to Triptico and click the Download Now link. (That was easy!) After the installation is complete, you are ready to go!

Once it's running, use the scroll bar across the bottom to move back and forth between the 22 available applications. Double-click on the one you want to try. It will open in a new window and it's ready to go!

Here's a look at the activities that are currently available ...

What do you think? 

Tech Tip Tuesday ... GAMEUP (from BrainPOP!)

If you're anything like me, BrainPOP is already one of your favorite educational resources. I started hearing rumors (and then even confirmed rumors) last year that BrainPOP was working on something new ... GAMES!

Each game (I used to make my kids call  them "educational activities" so it didn't sound like we were having TOO MUCH fun in class!) ties directly into curriculum. There are also links with each of the games to other BrainPOP resources about the subject matter. Since we are lucky enough to have a district subscription for our K-8th graders, all of the suggested videos will be accessible with the click of the mouse!

GameUp has categorized the games into Science, Math, Social Studies, and Health right now. There are even a few student-made games available on the site. These games look like they're most appropriate for our older elementary and middle school students.

For our younger kiddos, be sure to check out the BrainPOP Jr Games site. There are already more than 225 games that fall into Science, Health, Reading & Writing, Social Studies, Math, and Arts & Technology.

Check out this sequencing game about email.

After I drag the pictures to the correct order, Mobi gives me a "thumbs up" and then gives me the opportunity to play again or learn more. By clicking Learn More, I go right to the BrainPOP Jr. E-mail video and all of the other tools that go with it.

I'm excited to see how much our students enjoy BrainPOP's newest feature, GAMEUP! Let me know what you think. =)

Tech Tip Tuesday ... Arcademic Skill Builders

Arcademic Skill Builders combine arcade-style games with academics to equal fun learning!

The first games I played on this site (years ago) were all math games, but I was happy to see that there are plenty of activities for a variety of subjects. (Some of which include: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fraction, geography, language arts, and even typing!)

Students who simply want the practice can play single-player games. Students who enjoy (and benefit from) a little friendly competition will love playing the multi-player games. They can either join a game and compete against other students, or they can create their own game and compete with each other in the classroom. 

This video is from a couple of elementary schools in Olathe, Kansas, that tried out Arcademic Skill Builders:

I certainly haven't tried them all, but my favorite games so far are Penguin Jump Multiplication and Furious Frogs. What are your students' favorites?

Check out Arcademic Skill Builders today! 

Flash for iPad??? Yes, sorta.

Thank you Erin (Kleinspiration) for sharing this great tool! If you haven't checked out her blog yet, you're missing out!

I love my iPad. My only real complaint is that it doesn't use Flash, which is limiting. Although you can't actually LOAD flash on your iPad, this is a neat workaround. You will basically be using an app on your device to remote in to your computer. You will be able to browse the internet (watching Flash videos, playing Flash games, using Eduphoria!, etc. as well as access any of the programs or documents on your machine.)

All of this being said, I know our schools do not provide iPads, so this post is mainly for people who have their own personal devices. 

It's really easy to set up and even easier to use ...

• Download and Install Splashtop on your computer (Click here for the download)
• Download the Splashtop Remote app from the App store ($4.99 on 9/4/11)
• Create a password for your computer (my iPad found my computer right away - you may need to enter your computer's ip address though)
• Open the Splashtop App and follow the directions

Why am I so excited about this? What types of things can I do now that I couldn't do before? I'm so glad you asked! I can ...

• use Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer to surf the web rather than only relying on Safari.
• use tabbed browsing - my favorite!
• watch Flash videos online.
• access files saved on my computer.
• edit the files saved on my computer or create new documents (yep, in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, even Photoshop!)
• access Eduphoria to check on class schedules, submit a help request, etc. (This is probably only important to employees in districts that use Eduphoria, but it's a big one to me!)

All of these things are well and good, but what about Educational Purposes? (This is a blog about using Technology in the Classroom!) Well, there are many great uses for a tool like this. To me, the biggest advantage to using Splashtop Remote with an iPhone or iPad or something similar is that it allows the teacher to use the computer without being tethered to the actual desktop machine. 

You do have to be on wi-fi to use the application, which might be a problem in some spots in our schools. 

Let me know if you download it and what you think!

Tech Tip Tuesday ... Online Timers

Do you give timed quizzes or tests? Do you need a way to visually remind students how much longer they have for Centers time? There are several different online timers available that might make things a little bit easier in your classroom.

	E.gg Timer is a super simple interface. Just type in the amount of time you need and click Go and watch it count down to zero.
	ClassTools.net has many, many great tools including this timer. The thing I really, really like about it is that you can set a "soundtrack" to go with it. Just use the dropdown window at the top to select a song. It will automatically set the timer to the number of minutes of the soundtrack, but you can be changed to fit your needs.
	Online Stopwatch allows you to choose to count up from zero (click the UP arrow) or count down to zero for a specific amount of time (click the DOWN arrow). Like the others, this one is very simple to use.
	Now, this one is totally a different than the others. Sometimes we all just need 2 minutes of calm. Give this a try during your planning period (if you have 2 minutes), lunch break, after school, or even at home tonight! Do Nothing for 2 Minutes

How do you use online timers in your classroom? Do you have another one we should add to this list?