M-TRACT

Hi all

I have been playing with a really neat tool! I sure wish I’d known about this when I was in the classroom. It’s called Office Lens and is a free app available with Windows, iPhone and Android devices.

Watch the video to see how Office Lens works with Word and PowerPoint (also works well with OneNote)

I’ve placed links for the Windows Launch as well as iPhone and Android. Enjoy – let me know how you like it!

Windows Launch Link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/office-lens/9wzdncrfj3t8

Android and iPhone Information: https://blogs.office.com/2015/04/02/office-lens-comes-to-iphone-and-android/

Hi All,

Welcome back from break! I’ve updated the Courses page with many new offerings from different teacher centers and colleges. Take a look!

Hope you enjoyed learning to Flubaroo your PearDeck (our last post). If you missed it, take a look – I think you’ll enjoy..

Now, my latest find! It’s call OpenEd and MANY of the resources are FREE – you never know how long these things last but I’m loving it for now. It is a treasure trove of resources that you can use. Some publishers are only in the premium version but there’s plenty to choose in the free version. Select your subject / standard and state whether you’d like to find video, game, worksheets, assessments, lesson plans, homework, audio… I’ve been working with some teachers in Freeport and they are loving it. Here’s the link: Open Ed

Here we are – our first snow day and hopefully our LAST…though my son sent me an image of the next five day forecast and all I saw was SNOWFLAKES 😦

Since I had some extra time, I searched around for what I could share. Many of us are using Kahoot, Quizizz, and Pear Deck for formative assessment. I’m a spreadsheet gal and love the summary sheets I get easily from Kahoot and Quizizz. You can get similar results with PearDeck using Flubaroo. I’ve showed some of you Flubaroo when I taught the online Google classes. Here’s a video on how to use Flubaroo with Pear Deck. Enjoy!

Hi everyone! (editing this post… the free version only allows for a limited number of flyers) 😦

Happy New Year! Hope you had a terrific break! Thankfully we didn’t have to deal with any of this!

I wanted to share a tool that I think you’ll love! You can create flyers, reports invitations… and it’s free for a limited number of flyers.

I’ve created one at the following link: https://www.smore.com/hzaag to give you an idea of what can be done.

Click the link at the end for access to a Google form and let me know what you think.

Have a great year!
Barbara

Hi all

It’s been a VERY busy year! I’ve been playing around with several formative assessment tools and thought I’d share. We’ve used Pear Deck, Google Forms, and Haiku to inform our instruction and each has its strengths. I recently have been playing with Kahoot and just heard about Quizziz.

What I really liked about Kahoot was the data that is generated and the engagement of my students. Each answer is timed and you can choose anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. That works in some cases but not all. That’s where Quizziz comes in. Quizziz allows from 30 seconds to 5 minutes for each question. What I really like about Quizziz is that students work at their own pace. The teacher can view the data as the students are working so if I see that a student is struggling I have the time to go over and help him/her.Both give data that can be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet with information about EACH question – very, very cool!

Take a look at the following video for what Kahoot has to offer. Then watch the video about Quizziz. Both platforms have public quizzes so you can search for a specific topic. In Kahoot, you can duplicate the quiz and modify to your heart’s content. In Quizziz, you can choose individual questions from various public quizzes. I really like that idea! 21st century is all about sharing and collaboration and that’s exactly what you’ll find in both platforms.

Here is a really cool way to use YouTube, Khan Academy, and Vimeo video with your students. As the video displays students can take notes. The notes are automatically uploaded to their Google Drive and can be shared. Take a look at the video for more information on http://www.videonot.es/

I showed you Zaption – now here’s eduCanon. It’s another interactive video tool. Have fun exploring and choose the right tool for YOUR classroom! See the video below and a link to eduCanon’s blog below. As with most educational tools, there is a free version and a premium.

And a link to the blog: http://blog.educanon.com/

A well-deserved break is upon us and I found this video that says it all.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukah 🙂

The SMART Schools Bond Act passed on November 4th. Two billion dollars will be allocated and districts may apply to spend the bond money on new equipment such as:

• interactive whiteboards
• computer servers
• desktop, laptop, iPads, and other tablet computers
• Installing high-speed broadband or wireless services for better internet access
• Install high-tech security features inside buildings or on campus
• Modernize educational facilities to accommodate pre-kindergarten programs
• Provide space to replace portable classrooms

Visit the following website http://www.governor.ny.gov/smart-schools-ny to find out how much money each district may apply for.