Teacher Gaming Network

Teacher Gaming Network is a excellent site where educators can go to create their very own games.  Educators control all the content in the game and choose different styles questions to incorporate into the game such as: T/F, matching, multiple choice, etc.  Also, there are up to 5 different styles of games they can create (plus account) as well as browse through other games created by other educators.

I highly recommend checking out Teacher Gaming Network to help "Gamify" a lesson by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief video...



For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

To find Teacher Gaming Network on Edshelf click here.

GoClass

GoClass is a amazing web tool/app for creating lessons that can done on mobile devices.  This is all done through an innovative user interface where educators use the web to create their students/class/courses and then have students complete them on their mobile devices.  Best of all, the teacher creates all the content, student accounts, and then has the option to "lock" down the device while they are presenting a lesson to them and "unlock" them for assignments to be completed.  Finally, educators can then assess students work and in real-time while archiving and generating reports.

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

*GoClass is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Edueto

Edueto is a great new site for educators to create homework online and then grade it once students have completed it.  This is done from a easy to use interface and allows teachers to add text, images, videos and more.  After the students complete the assignment teachers can then grade them in a fast organized manner.  Also, educators can find other assignments already created on Edueto and customize them to meet their own needs.

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

How Video Lessons and Sample CBSE Papers Can Help You Tackle the CBSE Syllabus | Education Portal

The CBSE course of study is kind of large and sophisticated, particularly for the tenth and twelfth standards. whereas plenty of steps are taken in recent years to assist lighten the burden on students on the brink of offer the board exams, the actual fact is that the CBSE course of study continues to be a hurdle for several students, even intelligent ones. the share of scholars UN agency pass the CBSE board exams isn't inconsiderable; so, the trend has been a rise within the range of scholars UN agency manage to pass. The CBSE course of study is associate obstacle therein it will deter several students from achieving their full potential. they're not capable to urge the high marks that they be, as a result of they're not capable to totally grasp the CBSE course of study. {this is|this is often|this will be} wherever video lessons and sample CBSE papers can assist you. scan the temporary descriptions below to urge a concept concerning however they'll assist you tackle the CBSE course of study effectively and expeditiously.

Video Lessons:

Video lessons, because the name suggests, are lessons that are imparted to students within the kind of videos. These videos may be live action, exploitation footage of academics giving sensible demonstrations of educational ideas, and photographs of real objects, that illustrate the ideas being explained within the video lesson. Video lessons might conjointly embody animated explanations of various subject topics. These are typically obtainable on instructional TV channels and on education portals.

The sight may be a terribly powerful one and thus, video lessons ar terribly effective in serving to students grasp completely different ideas and ideas of the CBSE course of study quickly. Moreover, students ar ready to retain these for a extended time, than if that they had learnt these solely through pen-and-paper explications. These videos conjointly facilitate students notice however textbook formulae and ideas ar applied in real world.

Sample CBSE Papers:

Sample CBSE papers are papers that ar sculptured on real CBSE papers of past years and are obtainable to students from many various sources. excluding the 'official' sample papers the CBSE itself brings out, alternative players within the education sector conjointly supply their own model CBSE papers. These embody publishers of instructional books, employment institutes, and academic websites.

These are a study resource that can't be neglected by any student UN agency desires to attain excellent marks within the CBSE board exams. Sample CBSE papers are a decent method for college students to measure their examination readiness a lot of before the important examination, particularly if students observe giving on-line, real-time, mock tests. it'll facilitate them establish their weak areas, in order that they'll get their doubts and queries within the specific areas cleared with the assistance of their college academics or employment instructors. Such CBSE papers conjointly facilitate students learn higher time management, with reference to the time they ought to assign for finding every question.

ClassDojo

ClassDojo is one of my all-time favorite Web 2.0 sites and is widely popular for their free classroom management learning tool.  This is an excellent easy to use site/app for gauging student's behavior and tracking a class.  Also, students have a login in this safe COPPA compliant environment where they can visualize how they are doing in school.  Best of all are the features that allow educators to generate reports and even share this data w/ other educators and parents w/out having to give out personal information (all sharing is done through the app).

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

For my Pinterest board on Web 2.0 for schools click here.

*ClassDojo is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Poetica

Poetica is a new (private beta) for collaborative writing.  This is a site where users can import any Word, PDF, or RTF file to edit w/ another another person in real-time.  It has really nice tools that allows two people to work back and forth and see all edit while working together.  This is great for Collaborative Learning, reviewing rough drafts, and more.

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

Answerables

Answerables is a wonderful site that is a cross between Game Based Learning meets a Learning Management System.  This is an innovative place where educators can "Gamify" a lesson and have their students collaborative learn in a safe 3D dimensional environment (think Second Life for kids).  Teachers can use the latest in technology for many different strategies for teaching such as: Guided/Blended Learning, Project Based Learning, and even Differentiating Instruction.  The LMS component of Answerables allows educators to assign lessons/quests to kids, assess learning, tutor, and much much more.

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

Below is a brief demo video...



*Answerables is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

BoomWriter Storytellers Camp

BoomWriter is a company I've worked w/ in the past and love blogging about.  They are known worldwide for their innovative way to integrate technology into classrooms through their collaborative writing process.  Their site w/ educational portal (i.e. safe for students no email necessary) allows teachers/students to collaborative create a book, get it published, and then get a free class copy (or order their own).

Last summer they launched their successful online virtual Summer Writing Camp and are doing it again this year.  This summer they have two different writing courses for students, Realistic Fiction and Mystery.  Each camp is only 1 week long (5 days for $99) and a child can take both if they like (discount for more then 1 child), and receive 1 free published book of their own creation.

For more information on this innovative fun Summer Camp click here!!!

DimensionU

DimensionU is a fantastic site/apps for Game Based Learning in the areas of Math and Literacy.  These innovative games take place in an interactive 3D world and are designed for grades 3rd-9th and aligned to Common Core Standard.  Also, these games are contained in an educational portal, safe to play, and help develop collaborative learning.

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

DimensionU Games

Comprised of four engaging, multiplayer games with access to curriculum in both Math and Literacy, grades 3 – 9. Each game is designed with unique features to bring out distinct academic and strategic skills in students.

Click here to view all content available in mathematics.
Click here to view all content available in literacy. 

Meltdown is the DimensionU game that offers students
a second chance when answering difficult questions,
and rewards creative strategies to achieve victory.

Swarm is DimensionU's team-based game that most strongly
reinforces cooperation and collaboration between students to
achieve a common goal.

Towerstorm is the DimensionU game that is best for
working through the most curriculum in the shortest
amount of time.

Velocity is DimensionU's high-speed obstacle course
that ensures players answer questions correctly
in order to continue progressing through the race.

For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

*DimensionU is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Modern Chalkboard

Modern Chalkboard is a wonderful site for finding free interactive SMART board lessons for your whiteboard.  This site contains tons of lessons on a wide range of subjects (i.e. Math, Grammar, Science, etc) w/ more being added all the time.  Also, this is a nice place for finding other educational resources such as links and help files for those that use SMART boards in th
eir classrooms.

I highly recommend checking out Modern Chalkboard by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational Resources click here.

To find Modern Chalkboard on Edshelf click here.

Been for Education

Been for Education is one of my new favorite Web 2.0 sites for collaborative browsing and bookmarking the web in a safe environment.  The way this works is educators create, manage, and monitor the student accounts while the "guide" learning by browsing the web and collaborating in real-time.  This is all done through an easy to use interface and browser extension and is ideal for researching/introducing a topic, guided learning, and much much more.

I highly recommend checking out Been for Education by clicking here!!!

*Been is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Brainthud

Brainthud is a nice new (beta) site for creating flashcards that I just found out about from a reader.  These flashcards can contain images, links, and text and are ideal for studying to help remember a topic/subject.  What's nice is that Brainthud works on any device and through their spaced repetition allows for differentiating instruction to help learn troubling topics.  BT, even generate
s a report that shows correct/wrong answers.

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

Door 24

Door 24 is fantastic iPad app for learning computational fluency in 4th-8th grade Math.  This game has students trying to solve the mystery behind Door 24 while completing Math equations that focus on a wide range of problems (i.e. division, multiplication, order of operation, etc).  W/ their unique reward system, multiple endings, and engaging narrative makes for a fun/high replay value game.  Best of all, is the Math review screens that help students learn how to solve the problems they got wrong.

I highly recommend checking out Door 24 by clicking here!!!

*Door 24 is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Otus

Otus is a wonderful mobile learning environment that is ideal for a 1:1 iPad classroom or school.  These free apps blend perfectly together to give teachers the tools to host all their student data and needs on their iPad.  Educators can take attendance, manage class/students, do grades, assess students, create polls, browse the web, and much much more, while using this easy to use app.  Best of all, Otus integrates seamlessly w/ Google Drive and has lots of video tutorials on how to integrate Otus into your classroom.

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

*Otus is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Ready-K

Ready-K is a wonderful iOS app for assessing kindergarden aged students for parents and teachers.  This is a great game/test that adults can use to evaluate how ready their student/child is ready for KDG through a range of educational/activities and games.  The concepts covered are: shapes, colors, sizes, and more (1 of 8 fundamental concepts).  Best of all, the results can then be emailed to a parent/teacher and a detailed progress report is given on each child.

I highly recommend checking out Ready-K by clicking here!!!

Buncee

Simply put, Buncee is one of the best Web 2.0 sites for education for making beautiful looking presentations, eCards, digital signs/posters, scrapbooks, and more.  This innovative site makes it very easy for educators to create students, manage assignments, and share/comment on presentations through their educational portal.  No student email is necessary, as Buncee follows COPPA compliance guidelines and creates a safe environment for students and educators to interact.  Best of all, Buncee is a very user friendly site w/ a drag-n-drop interface where their finished products can then be embedded into a site or blog.

Click here for a great list of educational examples.

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

Below is a brief demo...



If you would like a brief/free demo/tutorial let me know and I can help arrange it.

*Buncee is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Oncore

Oncore is a new classroom productivity iPad app that acts as a Learning Management System (LMS) and helps differentiate, assess, and facilitate instruction.  This app allows educators to manage their classes and students and even create a custom seating chart.  Educators can take attendance, grade assignments/quizzes (on a 5 pt scale), track participation/behavior (similar to Class Dojo), and more.  Another nice feature is the ability to group students by similar abilities which makes it easier for teachers to visualize students learning and differentiate instruction.  Finally, Oncore is aligned to Common Core Standards and helps educators integrate them into their classroom.

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

30hands

30hands is one of my favorite free iOS apps for easily creating a digital story.  This is a great app because it can be used by any curriculum for any subject and is very easy to use w/ a drag-n-drop interface.  All a user has to do is upload a photo, add text, and then record their narration to create a story.  Also, 30hands has an excellent video tutorial which shows educators how to integrate into the classroom.  Finally, a student can upload their finished product into the safe educational LMS designed by 30hands http://www.30hands.net.

I highly recommend checking out 30hands by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Digital Storytelling click here.
For my Edshelf collection on Digital Storytelling click here.

*30hands is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

FluencyFinder

FluencyFinder the wonderful mobile app for assessing a student's Reading/Comprehension level (grades 1st-8th) is now available for Android!!  This is a great app that educators/parents are using everywhere to assess students w/ the simple tap of a button.  Once the assessment is done a teacher can get instant real-time results.  This is a great way to manage and track all student's reading level as well as share them w/ other educator educators and parents w/ FluencyFinder's built in email capability.

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

For the Android version click here.

*FluencyFinder is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Sphero: Polygons and Angles

This is my second post in a series that will cover the educational lesson plans from the SPRK (Schools Parents Robots Kids) program.  In this lesson (designed for 4-5th graders) students will use Sphero to draw polygons and learn the relationship between heading angles and the number of sides in a polygon where all sides are equal.

*All data will be recorded by the student in the downloadable worksheet.

Objectives (aligned to Common Core Math Standards)

• Learn about how the Sphero has a heading that goes from 0 to 360 degrees, and it determines in which direction it will roll.
• Students will write a program to make the Sphero draw a square, where each side of the square is a different color.
• Students will write a program to make draw a triangle, determining the heading angles from clues.
• Students will write a program to make draw a pentagon, determining the heading angles from a formula.

Square

To start out the students will create a new macro using the free MacroLab app.  They will do this adding a color (RGB) command and then a roll command.  They will then repeat this step but w/ a 90 degree heading.  Again they will repeat this step w/ a 180 degree angle and finally a 270 degree heading.  Of course it is vital that students test these commands by running them to see how the Sphero reacts and adjust accordingly.

Triangle

After having the Sphero draw a square they will draw a triangle.  After discussing why 360 degrees in a circle is divided up into 4 equal parts at 90 degree angles forms a square students will divide 360 degrees into 3 equal parts at 120 degrees.  Students will create a new macro and add a color (RGB) command w/ a roll command of a heading of 0.  They will repeat this step w/ a 120 degree heading and a stop command delay of 255.  Finally, they'll add another macro w/ a color (RGB) command, w/ a 240 degree heading, and a stop command w/ a delay of 255.  Finally, they modify their macro by adding stop/delay commands at the end of each side of triangle.

Fun Challenge

This challenge is to see if the students have understood the concepts by having a Sphero draw a pentagon.  They'll need to figure out that a pentagon has 5 sides and heading directions will be 360 / 5 = 72 degrees.  Their macro will need to look like this... 

1. Add a RGB command for red and roll w/ heading of 0.
2. Add a RGB command for green and roll w/ heading of 72.
3. Add a RGB command for blue and roll w/ heading of 144.
4. Add a RGB command for yellow and roll w/ heading of 216.
5. Add a RGB command for purple and roll w/ a heading of 288.

For my Pinterest board on Sphero Apps click here.

Science Heroes

Science Heroes is an excellent mobile (Android/iOS) app for helping kids learn about the Digestive system in a fun game.  This game designed for kids 5-8 focuses on the five phases of digestion (i.e. mouth, esophagus, stomach, etc.)  The way this works is through a fun shooter-style game that has kids blasting their way through digestive system while learning different terms and concepts to complete 15 different missions.  At the end of the mission is a quiz which educators/parents can access through the parent dashboard to assess their student/child's progress.

I highly recommend checking out Science Heroes by clicking here!!!

For more excellent games on Math, Recycling, and more, checking out Yogome by clicking here!!

*Yogome is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

MathFileFolderGames

MathFileFolderGames is an excellent company that specializes in making fun iOS games for Math.  The majority of these games are blue-tooth enabled that allows students to play against a friend or classmate on separate devices.  Also, these games have an email button that makes it easy to share scores w/ parents or teachers.  Finally, these games cover a wide range of subjects (i.e. Fractions, Order of Operations, Tangrams, etc), and make it easy to create a 21st Century Classroom w/ centers and mobile learning.

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

5 Dice: Order of Operations Game

(Cost: FREE!)
5 Dice: Order of Operations Game is a math app intended for upper elementary and middle school students that helps students enjoy practicing their order of operations. Read More Here

4 Dice: Fraction Games

(Cost: $1.99)
4 Dice: Fraction Games is a math app for middle school and upper elementary students. The goal of the game is to present fractions in a way that is both conducive to learning and fun. Read More Here

Ordered Fractions: Comparing & Ordering Fractions

(Cost: $1.99)

Ordered Fractionsgame begins by pressing the button that rolls the dice. Students then insert these numbers into the boxes on the board, which creates the fractions. Students then position the fractions in ascending order by comparing fractions. Read more here

Grid Lines: Ordered Pair Game

(Cost: $1.99)

Grid Lines is a Battleship-style math app used to teach students the coordinate plane. Students will get practice plotting points on a coordinate plane by playing a game similar to Battleship. Read more here

Tangram Chess: Transformation Games

(Cost: $1.99)

Tangram Chess For Kids, Translations (slides), Rotations (turns) and Reflections (flips). Every game of Tangram Chess has its own story. Some are long-drawn out strategic affairs; others can be quick, but complicated, tactical battles. The winner is the player who can out-think his or her opponent, and make the best plans for attack and defence. Read more here

Skip Math: Skip Counting Games

(Cost: $0.99)
Skip Math is a simple math game that helps practices skip counting. Skip Math is a a Doodle Jump style math game in which a girl or boy who jump from platform to platform counting by a certain number. Read more here

Jack and the Beanstalk a Mathematical Adventure

Hi, my name is Jack. I know you have all heard of me before, I'm the guy who climbs an enormous beanstalk to retrieve the princesses amulet. But today I would like to tell you the real story of HOW I was actually able to accomplish such a feat.  Read more here

*MathFileFolderGames is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.