Friday Favorites

It's Friday ... time to share more of my favorites!

Click here to see the full-size Smore. (If you are reading this via email, you probably don't see anything below. Be sure to click here to see the content!)

Friday Favorites

It's Friday ... time to share more of my favorites!

Click here to see the full-size Smore.

Free Parent-Teacher Conference Scheduler

Parent-Teacher Conferences are right around the corner in our district, so this is the perfect opportunity to share VolunteerSpot!

Top 3 Ways VolunteerSpot Makes Parent-Teacher Conference Scheduling Easier

1. Schedule and sign up parents - fast, easy and FREE!
2. Save time planning and coordinating (up to 85% faster than clipboards, online groups, phone tag and email!)
3. Automated reminders increase parent turnout

VolunteerSpot was originally launched in 2009 as a way to easily organize volunteers for schools, clubs, churches, neighborhoods, and more. Now it can be used to easily schedule parent-teacher conferences! Check it out ...

Parent Teacher Conference Scheduling Online Free Easy from VolunteerSpot

You will need to register for a "Register Organizer Account" at VolunteerSpot, then set up your conferences (HINT: If you are setting up times on multiple days, get one of them set up and copy/paste it to other days!)

WOW! I think this could be a GREAT tool! Let me know what you think.

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?

Remind101

If you're looking for a quick and effective way to communicate with your parents (or other groups), you may want to check out Remind101. Many of our teachers are already using  Remind101  as a safe way to send text messages to parents for FREE!

As soon as you set up a free account, you will create a class. You can create up to 10 classes with your teacher account. A code will be generated from your class name. You send home the code and a phone number. The parents can text that code to the number to join the group.

Cool reasons I like  Remind101 :

• The teacher is the only one that needs an account!
• No texting plan? No problem! Parents can sign up with their email address to receive messages via email.
• A simple instruction sheet can be generated right out of Remind101 for our parents that may need a little "tech help" signing up. (It's a PDF, so it can be printed or emailed home.)
• Teachers send out the text once and all of the members of the group will receive it.
• Phone numbers are kept confidential (Teachers don't see them and Group Members don't see them either!)
• Group Members cannot text each other or text you back. 
• Yep ... there's an app for that! 

This short video tutorial shows you exactly how Remind101 works:

What can you send via  Remind101 ?

• Reminders (permission slips due, planners signed, picture day, etc.)
• Alert the parents that grades have been updated online
• Invitation to PTA meetings, Open House, Curriculum Night, etc.
• Share special class announcements

How else would you use  Remind101 ?

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!

What About Me? Infographic

Are your students concerned about their social media footprints? Are you concerned about your own?

Be sure to check out What About Me?, a fun infographic-creator from Intel. During the process of creating it, you grant access to your Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts (you don't have to have all three!) and it compiles your most recent posts, your friends' responses, and even the time of day when you post most often. The result is a full infographic just about you. Pretty interesting! 

At the risk of being ridiculed, I've included my very own Infographic in this post. Click on it to see the full-size version. (You may even need to resize the new window. My favorite way to do that is press Control and + (plus) on the keyboard to enlarge the image or Control key and - (minus) to minimize it.)

Kid Friendly Search Engines

I will admit that Google is my go-to search engine about 99% of the time, but it's good to remember that there are other search engines out there that have some really great features. As educators, we need to show our students options rather than just limiting them to what we are most comfortable with or what we know. That being said, it is our responsibility to protect the students from obscene or harmful images or materials. (Read more about CIPA here.) One way to help protect students from inappropriate content is to use kid-friendly search engines. Here are a few options I like:

KidRex is powered by Google, but uses a combination of tools to make internet searches safe for students. Since NO filters are 100% foolproof, they do have a site removal request form for parents or teachers who see inappropriate material. 

Ask Kids is a search engine designed exclusively for 6-12 year old kids. According to their note to parents, each web site in the Ask Kids search index was hand selected as a good site for kids. Ask Kids also adds some fun and games in their searching, which makes learning more fun!

In all honesty, WolframAlpha deserves its own blog post (and will get one soon!) but I really think it needs to be included on this list as well. This is a "computational knowledge engine," rather than a run-of-the-mill searching tool. Check out the video to see how it all works!

Do you have favorite kid-friendly search engines that should be included on this list?

Santa Fun

Do you want PROOF that Santa visited your home or classroom? Check out these fun sites where you can create photos or videos. Neither of these options are free, but they seem fairly reasonable to me!

Capture the Magic
In just three easy steps (and $9.95), you can have 3 high-quality photos of Santa in your own home or classroom! Just upload photos of your home or classroom, select a Santa (they've got LOTS of poses - surely you can find one just right!), and the site will merge the image and you can download your photos. Check out these samples:

Merry Christmas Santa Video
This one is similar in that it uses images you supply, but it actually uses green-screen technology to impose video images of Santa in your own home or classroom for $14.95. Once you're finished, you will receive a streaming video link online or you can download a high quality copy to burn to a DVD, edit, or even add to YouTube! Be sure to check out the short and informative video explaining how easy it is to create a Santa video in your own home or classroom!

I have not personally used either of these two sites, but they look fun to me and have lots of positive reviews. If you use them, I would love to hear how you liked them. More importantly, what did your kids think???

A Parents' Guide to Facebook

If you are a parent, you will definitely want to check out ConnectSafely.org. You will find safety tips and advice, current news stories related to children and social media sites, and lots of other great resources. There is even a forum where you can post questions and get answers from other parents and Social Media "experts". 

The section that really caught my eye was A Parents' Guide to Facebook. This 34 page PDF document will help you understand what Facebook is and how to use it safely. 

Be sure to take a look at the Recommended Facebook Privacy Settings for Teens. It gives specific suggestions on profile settings, contact information, how to block or invite other users, as well as other information. Although I'm well past the teenage years myself, I'm going to be updating my Facebook settings tonight using these guidelines! 

You will also want to check out the Safety Tips and Advice - they offer topics about how to keep kids safe while playing online videogames, using cellphones, using devices with GPS Location-Sharing, as well as many others.

I hope these resources can be helpful to you at home as well as in the classroom. What other online safety sites do you like? Be sure to leave them in a comment.