29 Incredibly Useful Websites You Wish You Knew Earlier There are so many wonderful websites around, and it is difficult to know each and every one of them. The below list provides some of those websites that I find particularly helpful, even though they are not as famous or as prevalent as some of the big names out there. 1. BugMeNot Are you bugged constantly to sign up for websites, even though you do not wish to share your email? If yes, then BugMeNot is for you. 2. This nifty little website tracks whether the emails sent by you were opened and read by the receiver. If you are on a constant lookout of free full length movies, then Zero Dollar movies provides a collection of over 15,000 movies in multiple languages that are available to watch for free on Youtube. 4. Livestream allows you to watch and broadcast events live to viewers on any platform. scr.im converts your email address into a short custom URLs, that can be shared on public websites. 6. 7. Fax Zero allows you to send faxes to US and Canada for free. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
50 Digital Education Tools and Apps for Formative Assessment Success The beauty of formative assessment is that there is no shortage of strategies and techniques available to teachers to use in their classroom. They provide teachers the valuable feedback they need to adjust their teaching so student learning moves forward. Today, digital tools available in smartphones and tablets make implementing formative assessment as easy and effective as ever. Back in April, we updated our growing list of digital formative assessment tools and it’s time to update that list again. AnswerGarden – A tool for online brainstorming or polling, educators can use this real time tool to see student feedback on questions.Ask3 – This app for the iPad allows students and teachers to collaborate on lessons both in and outside of the classroom. With so many tools available, teachers should easily be able to find one (or many) that work for them and their style of teaching.
10 Emerging Education and Instructional Technologies that all Educators Should Know About (2012) Naturally, as author of EmergingEdTech, I’m always keeping an eye out for education and instructional technologies that are emerging from the seemingly endless array of tools and concepts that are out there – which applications and ideas are rising to the fore and best positioned to enhance engagement and impact learning? This year I’ve also been working with constituents at The College of Westchester to develop a Strategic Technology Plan for the next 3 years, so it’s never been more important for me to be aware of those impactful education technologies and concepts that are on the horizon or are already in use and pulling ahead of the pack. Since this listing is more pointedly focused on emerging technologies and looking out over the next few years than the list I published at this time last year, it should not come as a surprise that there are a lot of new entries here (edging out six technologies that remain prevalent and potent, but are more ‘established’ than ’emerging’).
How to flip your class with quizzes in 5 steps Measuring a student’s knowledge state is the typical purpose of quizzes in education. Can these short tests do more? Quizzes have long been used as a “stick” in education. Did you ever scramble at the warning from your own teachers during class, “y’all better do your work…or else.. I am going to give you a quiz!” Of course, most educators use quizzes for a more evolved reason. Memory researchers Roediger and Butler (2011) note: “Learning is usually thought to occur during episodes of studying, whereas retrieval of information on testing simply serves to assess what was learned.” I tried using quizzing as a teaching tool in my graduate education course at The University of Texas at Austin the past two semesters. 5 step protocol for flipping learning with quizzes Step 1: Design an out-of-class assignment for students to complete. Tip: Pick content that aligns tightly with what you want students to learn and remember. Step 2: Design a short quiz for students to do before every class meeting
7 Online Quiz Tools Perfect For Classrooms Whether you want to have students turn in homework via an online form or simply take a quiz or test, online quiz tools are critical to having a connected classroom. Most tools are free, all are robust, and they’re quite easy to use. What could be better than that? Below is simply an introduction to each tool in case you aren’t familiar with it so be sure to dive into any that interest you and give them a try in the classroom! Quizlet Quizlet A free and popular online quiz tool, Quizlet lets you easily build – you guessed it – quizzes. Yacapaca You’re going to love the mascot of Yacapaca. Quia Quia Similar to Yacapaca, Quia has a dedicated student sign-on that’s managed by teachers. Google Forms Google Forms You can’t do a post on the best online quiz tools without mentioning Google Docs / Drive / Forms (or whatever it’s called these days). ProProfs ProProfs Here’s one to watch. Quiz ME Online QuizMeOnline QuizStar QuizStar QuizStar is a popular and powerful tool worth knowing about.
11 Quick and Amazing ways to use PowToon in your Classroom by PowToon! I recently read a study on creativity that blew my mind: “A major factor in creativity is education: not whether you had a “good” or “expensive” or “public” education, but whether you were encouraged to develop your creativity starting at an early age and continuing throughout your school years.” – Adobe.Inc We saw this first-hand, when Edson Tellez, a volunteer teacher in rural Mexico, wrote to us about how PowToon changed the way his students viewed the world, “they’re getting more creative, more receptive, and more dynamic in each class.” The mind blowing fact is that developing creativity is the number one determining factor in the overall success of your students! Even if you teach in the most affluent school, with the most high end gadgets - your students are still only as good as the instructions given to them. And PowToon wants to help you ignite this creativity! Each template is a compact lesson plan that provides the starting point for infinite creativity. 2. 3. 4. (Ms. 5. 6. 7.
Testmoz - The Test Generator Crossword puzzle maker The Crossword puzzle maker is used to make simple crossword puzzles. It turns out that good crossword puzzles of the type found in newspapers are fairly hard to generate, and require a pool of lots of words, not all of which are used. This program puts all of the words you specify (no more, no less) into a simple crossword puzzle. The puzzle that is generated will remain on this server for about two months. If you want to ensure that you have a copy of the generated puzzle, make sure you save a copy. If you want help with international characters, you can call up an Alphabet chart to use for cutting and pasting letters that are hard to type. The first part of this is for you to enter a list of words and clues. Once that part is done, hit the Make Puzzle button for a puzzle which incorporates your words. As the number of words you put in the puzzle, increases, the wait increases exponentially.