2017's Twelve Apps of Decemeber

It's that time of year again...which is hard to believe.  Due to a crazy busy year, I have been extremely delinquent in posting things to the blog this year.  I am making one of my New Year's resolutions for 2018 to post more.  Even with my delinquency I didn't want to miss posting my 2017 Twelve Apps of December...so here goes

I hope you find something in this list that can be of use in your classrooms:

1. Recap:  designed to have students create short videos highlighting their reflections on the learning they're doing in the classroom
2. Quiznetic: Looking for a Kahoot alternative, try Quiznetic.  Create a variety of learning games where students race each other in answering the questions
3. Erasures:  Looking for a creative exercise in your classroom.  Have students create blackout poetry using Erasures.  The concept of blackout poetry is to take a page from a book or newspaper and create a poem using selected words from that page and marking out the rest. Erasures lets you create a version of Blackout Poetry online (if you are looking for ways to do this using your own text, contact me and we can work together on getting it done)
4. Verse:  allows you to create interactive videos
5. MySimpleShow:  great tool for creating animated explanatory videos.  MySimple show for students is great because they have to create a script in order to produce the video
6. Web Whiteboard:  an online collaborative whiteboard.  Passwords and accounts are entirely optional.  You can just create a board and share it live by sending the link to students. 
7. Mathigon: engage, play and explore math.  This is a math site that supports active and inquiry based learning for math.  It offers interactive content the lets students explore and discover new ideas.  
8. CommonLit: a free website that helps students develop advanced reading and writing skills.  It provides free digital curriculum that enable to assign texts to students, score written responses and send real-time feedback and collect analytics on student progress. 
9. Chart Accent:  lets you create charts and then annotate them
10. Google Arts and Culture: website that offers many fantastic media resources, including Google's street view and museum view experiences. 
11. Google's Science Journal App: free digital science notebook for recording data and writing observations.  There are sensors built into the app for recording sound, speed, light, direction and magnetism. 
12. The Learning Network:  this is a New York Times website full of resources.  It includes articles written specifically for student readers and lesson plans that cover a wide range of topics, writing prompts, contests, multimedia resources.   

Happy Holidays to you and your families.  I hope you all enjoy your break and look forward to seeing you all in 2018...again hard to believe and weird typing it!

Book Creator (an awesome iPad App) is coming to the web

Book Creator is an iPad app that provides a simple way to create ebooks and since its creation in 2011 has been one of the best-selling Education apps in the App Store.   Book Creator can be used in any subject area with any age from 4 year olds to adults.  It can be used to create resources to share with your class or better yet, put the creation in the hands of the students.   It is an open canvas that allows students to create by adding text, images, annotations, sound, video and voiceover.  Use the app to create interactive stories, digital portfolios, poetry books, science write-ups, research journals, etc.

The possibilities of what you can create are endless.  The only limitation today is the device you can create on...book creator is only available as an app on mobile devices.   However, this summer that all changes.  Book Creator will be launching a web-based version that will allow users to create ebooks on ANY DEVICE (Chromebooks, Macs, Windows devices, Android, and iPhones).  The web-based version will be as fully featured as the mobile app:

• Add text, images, drawings, shapes, audio and video
• Create awesome comics with built in comic templates
• Publish and share books online
• Work collaboratively and combine books from multiple authors (this is an awesome feature for the classroom)
• Access all your books on any device (work on a book using in school on one device and get home to work on it on another device).

Put Book Creator on your radar to check out this summer for use in your classroom.  

GOOGLE SLIDES FEATURE UPDATE: Add Google Drive Videos into Google Slides Presentations

Over the past few years, I have been utilizing Google Slides more than any other platform for presentations.  I love being able to access it from any device and the ability to add collaborators is second to none.  One of the major down sides to using Google Slides however, has always been with adding video.

If any of you have tried embedding video into a Google Slides presentation, you will know that the only option has been to embed a video through YouTube.  This in my mind has provided limitations to the videos I wanted to embed, often times adding additional steps if I wanted to use my own video or forcing me to use links.  

I am excited to say with a new feature in Google Slides this is no longer the case.  This new feature will now allow you to embed video stored in Google Drive into a slide presentation.  Once the video is added from Drive you can access Video Options to specify where you want the video to start and end, enable autoplay during a presentation and toggle audio on and off.  

Please note a few things:  

1. Adding video to a presentation through Google Drive is only available on the web version of Slides, but viewing them is possible on both web and mobile.  
2. If you've shared your presentation ensure your video is shared as well.  If the video is not shared, those users who do not have permission to view the video will have the option to request access. 

12 Apps and Websites for World Read Aloud Day

World Read Aloud Day is this week...Thursday, Feb 16th.   So what is World Read Aloud Day?

World Read Aloud day was started by LitWorld to bring attention to the power of reading stories aloud to children.  Research shows when children listen to stories read aloud they can become stronger readers.  I recently read an article that shared some great resources to use for World Read Aloud Day (don't be afraid to use them any day) and thought I would share them.  Here is the list of 12 Apps and websites:

1. EPIC (website and app):  gives elementary-school aged readers access to thousands of books. Users can set their preferences, browse the collection and earn badges for achievements.  
2. One More Story (website): This is an online library with plenty of fiction titles that would be great for read alouds 
3. Speakaboos (app): The free version of this app provides 3 free books to download with access to many more with the upgrade.  The stories are engaging with audio and interactive features
4. Blue Planet Tales iOS/ Blue Planet Tales-Android (apps):  This interactive reading library provides lots of choices for students
5. Storyline Online (website):  This is a website you should be familiar with.  Presented by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation, stories are read by well known actors reading picture books aloud. 
6. Oceanhouse Media (apps):  Offers dozens of apps from Dr. Seuss to the Little Critters series and plenty of nonfiction titles.  The apps let students read independently by swiping from one page to the next or listen as the books are read aloud. Available in iOS and Android
7. Brainspace (print with app): This educational print magazine is interactive with iPads, iPhones, Android Tablets and smartphones.  The pages come to life with extra content for 8-14 year old students by scanning the page with the augmented reality app Blippar
8. PlayKids Stories (app):  Terrific eBook library that lets you download stories on an iPad.  Kids can listen to a story read aloud or read by themselves
9. Reading Rainbow (website and app):  Reading Rainbow has plenty of titles for independent readers.  Students can work on any device to explore stories independently or with a partner.  
10. Caribu (app):  This app connects two reader (down the street or across the world) so they can explore a picture book together (long distance read alouds...cool). 
11. Goodnight Safari (app):  This is an illustrated interactive book that children can explore independently
12. Shout Science (app):  Interactive book that tells the stories behind science discoveries using nonfiction text features.  

The Most Dangerous Writing App...don't stop typing, or all progress will be lost!

Practice makes perfect.  That is what I share with my own children, my students athletes and former students when I taught.  The same holds true with writing.  I still remember hearing my high school english teachers telling me the best way to become a better writer is to write.

I recently was told about an interesting application that could be a fun and interesting way to have students practice writing.  The app is a website based application called The Most Dangerous Writing App.  This application encourages you to keep writing...no matter what.  Here is how it works:

The application forces users to keep a writing flow.  It is designed to "shut down your inner editor and get you into a state of flow."  Before you begin typing, you have the option to set the amount of time you would like to type for (3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60 minutes or hardcore mode...which I have not tested so I am not sure what that means).  Once you click start, begin typing and continue typing for the duration of the time you selected.  If you stop typing for more than 5 seconds all of your work will be deleted.  If you type without interruption for the duration you selected you have the option to save your work (copy/paste it somewhere or download it as a .txt file). 

The Most Dangerous Writing App could be great for brainstorming activities or free writing, but I would definitely avoid using it for essays and research papers...you will see why once you try it.  I've also heard teachers using it as bell work assignments leading into lessons.