Education, Interactive White Board, K-12, Teaching Tools

Triptico (Reblog)

For the summer, I have decided to use my Tuesday and Thursday posts to reblog some of my favorite posts that some of my readers may have missed the first time around.

Triptico is one of the most user-friendly teacher tools I’ve come across in a long time.  Designed by a teacher named David Riley to use with interactive whiteboards, this is free software that you download to your computer. Don’t despair if you don’t have an IWB, however.  If you can project your computer to a screen in the classroom, the activities (over 20, and the teacher plans to add more) can still be utilized.  Included in the package are random name generators, timers, text and photo spinners, word magnets with graphic organizers, and several games.  One intriguing game is “What’s in the Box?”, and eerily reminds me of the game show “Deal or No Deal”.  The interface is very simple, and the download takes less than a minute. I guarantee you will capture your students’attention – or your money back!

Apps, Education, K-12, Student Response, Teaching Tools, Web 2.0

Socrative (Reblog)

For the summer, I have decided to use my Tuesday and Thursday posts to reblog some of my favorite posts that some of my readers may have missed the first time around.

Socrative is a student response system that pretty allows you to use any device with internet access, instead of having to purchase expensive separate hand-helds.  Once registered (and it is free), the teacher can create quizzes, exercises, and quick exit tickets.  It could be used in “real time” by students who each have an iPod Touch/iPad or laptop, teams of students who share an internet enabled device, or even by students at home or rotating through one computer in a classroom center.  I used this on a regular basis with my students last year, and they loved it.  I appreciated getting instant feedback on what they knew or how they felt about a topic.  They enjoyed making it into a game with the “Space Race” feature that showed their team rockets moving forward on our classroom screen as they answered questions correctly.  The teacher can have a spreadsheet with the results sent by an e-mail when the quizzes are completed, and graphs can be viewed by the entire class of the results.  Many of these things can be done using Google Forms, but Socrative makes it easier and more fun for the students.

UPDATE:  Socrative can be used as a web-based program, but now also has an app for  Android and iDevices available (also for free).

Apps, Education, K-12, Motivation, QR Codes, Teaching Tools, Websites

QR Code Classroom Coupons (Revised)

In December, I posted some QR codes that could be used as reward coupons in the classroom.  I suggested cutting them out and putting them in your class treasure box so your students could be surprised.  My students loved them – until the website I had used to store the documents expired.  (Tagmydoc.com allows you to create QR codes for documents that you have uploaded for free, but, unbeknownst to me, they are only stored for 14 days.)

I have posted new coupons under my Weebly account, so these QR codes will not expire unless Weebly goes out of business or I remove the site.  These coupons were created with the iPad TypeDrawing app, which I highly recommend.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, you might want to put a QR code in each of your student’s Valentines.  They will enjoy scanning them to discover the reward you have given them.  Or, maybe get an old chocolate box, and let the students choose a “chocolate.”

If you are interested in using more QR Codes, you might also want to check out my QR Code Countdown, QR Code Tic-Tac-Toe,  and my QR Code Interactive Bulletin Board.

QR Codes – Classroom Coupons

QR Codes – Classroom Coupons Answers

Apps, Bloom's Taxonomy, ESL, K-12, Teaching Tools

Stick Pick

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Stick Pick is an iPhone/iPad app with great potential as a teacher tool. The teacher can add one or more classes within the app. To each class, the teacher adds individual student names, determining the type and level of questioning to use for each student from the following categories: Bloom’s Taxonomy, Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, or ESL. Once all students are entered, their sticks appear in a cup from which the teacher can randomly or purposefully choose names. As each student is chosen, a list of question stems from their particular assigned level appears on the screen. This is a wonderful way for teachers to customize impromptu questions based on ability.