5 Great Tech Resources for the End of the Year

Isn't it amazing how consuming the end of the school year can be? I feel so fortunate to have a group of students that I adore, but- let's be real- it is EXHAUSTING. So, I apologize for my diminished presence of late. Lots of great reasons for the absence, but- good news- I'm baaaaack!

To make up for it, I have a few recommendations for the end of the year. It's always nice to have a few filler activities to try out- see if they are worth pursuing for next year.

Customize your own digital learning activities with Zondle. I will be writing a more lengthy tutorial about Zondle later this week, but it is a terrific tool to begin exploring. Create your own bank of review questions and activities for students to use in the classroom!

Place value set to rap?
Yes, please!
Flocabulary has a tons of great videos set to rap songs that cover content across the curriculum. They currently offer a free trial period. The end of the year is a great time to try these kinds of services out for the coming school year!


Let's just say that, in the students' eyes, this Flocabulary place value video is a stark improvement over my all-time personal favorite- the timeless Place Value cover of Werewolves of London. (I dare you not to sing along!)

NOT Flocabulary- the kids still can't figure out why I find this one so funny.

Awesome, content-driven, web games for your students. This website has some really fun, high-quality learning activities for your students. Great for reviewing a concept that may still be tricky at the end of the year.






An oldie-but-goodie... this is one that I like to dust off at the end of the year. I can customize it with
content from throughout the year or even random trivia. It's always a hit and it's a great paperless filler at the end of the year!

Last but not least, or perhaps most excitingly, check out my End of the Year activity featured in this month's issue of Scholastic Instructor for a great, memorable activity to try with your kiddos featuring my favorite photo app,  Pixntell.

What is your favorite end of the year activity? Leave it in the comments below.

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Save your Sanity with IFTTT

Just a neat little productivity site to share with you today... not necessarily teaching related, but it can certainly make your life a whole lot easier.

If This Then That (IFTTT) is a tool that allows you to  automate, integrate, and streamline the services and web tools that you use on a daily basis. For instance, by nature, I am the world's worst multi-tasker. I cannot do one activity at a time... If I am watching tv, I am also checking my email, pinning on Pinterest, following a twitter chat, and reading an article. Naturally- this is very effective ;)

IFTT allows me to save and automate information that may otherwise get lost. For instance, if I favorite a tweet on Twitter, I have created a recipe that sends that Tweet to my Pocket account so that I can read it later. Also, anytime I save an article to my Pocket account, it is automatically stored to my Evernote account... all without having to take any additional steps or time. Automated and wonderful ;)

Now, I could recreate a tutorial for this particular application, but there are a few others that have already done that and have done a terrific job. So, check out these tutorials below.

http://www.howtogeek.com/73611/program-your-online-life-with-if-this-then-that-ifttt.com/

Now- start saving all of those amazing professional development articles for future reading in one safe place... that way you actually finish reading them- while watching TV and pinning, of course ;)

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Organize your @Evernote account with @Kustomnote

My undying love for Evernote is no secret here, but it has been greatly enhanced over the past few months with the addition of Kustomnote.

For those of you who have not checked out Evernote, I strongly encourage you to try do it- now....Here is a link to my series on using Evernote for the classroom to get you started:

Today I want to share an add-on with you that really enhances the function and aesthetics of Evernote called Kustomnote. With Kustomnote, you can create templates into which you can enter information into and create functional, beautiful notes.

Why use Kustomnote?

• Easily standardize note-taking for classroom documentation
• Greatly improves the aesthetics of your Evernote Notes
• Easy formatting makes your documentation predictable
• Quickly route your notes to the correct notebook

The Kustomnote gallery includes a wide-variety of notes that have already been created including incident report forms, reading and writing conference forms, and lesson plan templates. If you don't see something that tickles your fancy, so to speak, create your own!

For a quick tutorial on using Kustomnotes for classroom documentation, check out my video:

How can I use Kustomnotes?

• Lesson Planning
• Anecdotal Records
• Reading and Writing Conferences
• Guided Math Plans and Notes
• Guided Reading Plans and Notes
• Behavior Documentation
• Artifact Collection

Don't wait- get started today- You'll love them!

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Creating Your Own QR Codes with QRstuff.com

Hey there,

QR codes are everywhere. Seriously, a search of Pinterest yields the following:

Given their presence in education, I have had a few friends ask me about QR codes recently. Everyone has phenomenal ideas about utilizing QR codes in the classroom, but there are not very many tutorials for actually GENERATING your own QR Codes.

Farrah, a fellow coach on the Technology Tailgate, wrote a great post about creating plain text QR codes here, so I didn't touch on that in my video. Just check out her great post!

If you are ready for something a bit more advanced, check out my tutorial on embedding webpages, YouTube videos, and documents- images, PowerPoint slides, PDFs, and more- from your Google Drive into a QR Code.

Check it out, ya'll!

Now that you can create your own QR codes, the options for your classroom are endless....

Here's a quick sampling of ideas and instructional activities just from Technology Tailgate:

Getting Started with QR Codes

Check Your Answers with QR Codes

Go On a Treasure Hunt with QR Codes

How to Scan QR Codes With an "i" Device

If you haven't tried creating your own codes yet, check out my tutorial and give it a whirl! You are sure to impress and wow your little ones. Truly, I can get my kiddos to do just about anything if I put it in a QR code! It's a win/win!

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Fun Friday- Organization with The Hands-On Teacher in First

Hi there-

It's been a busy week around these parts, geesh. Can you believe that it's already April?

My husband is a law student and he lives about 300 miles away, so I went to visit him over Easter with the kitten in tow. Much to our surprise, the kitty and puppy were fast friends. I foresee many wild chases and play fights in our future.

Today I am guest blogging over at my sweet friend Marie's blog, The Hands-On Teacher in First. She has a terrific Spring Cleaning series right now- so I am talking a bit about organizing your iPad. It is much easier for me to get a handle on my digital clutter than the drawers full of miscellany in my room right now. Be sure to check out my guest post and her entire series. You are guaranteed to feel inspired.... or at the very least, shamed into action- although, that may just be me ;)

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Self- Grading Google Forms with @Flubaroo

Hi there!

Just a quick tip for you today regarding Google Forms.

If you haven't gotten on board with Google Forms yet- do it. Now. Google Forms is a tool that is embedded within the Google Drive suite of tools.

Here are a few tutorials and tips to get you rolling:

Creating a Google Form
Embedding a Google Form on your Website or Blog

Now that you are set up, try this tool:

Flubaroo.

Flubaroo is a script in the Google Forms Script Gallery that allows you to create self-grading spreadsheets. This is awesome for quick assessments!



I recently created a self-grading Google Forms assessment to assess basic geometry skills for my students. I was able to assess a multitude of standards without any grading!

Flubaroo has a great demo video- check it out here:

This tool also works well for administering common assessments. It's a quick and easy way to administer the same assessment, in the same way, to a larger number of students. The script even provides an item analysis so that you, as a teacher, can identify areas of need quickly and painlessly.

How can you see utilizing this FREE tool in your classroom?

Share it out in the comments below!

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Mirror Your iPad to Your Computer Wirelessly

Hey there!

Have you ever wanted to display something on your iPad for your entire class to see?

Perhaps you wanted to model how to use an iPad app or game for your students before you put it into centers?






There are a few ways to do this...

1. You can get a dongle.... just like this one.

2. You can hook up an Apple TV- up until the last week or so, this is what I have been using.... BUT my husband has demanded requested it back to catch up on The Walking Dead. Priorities, ya know.

3. You can try this amazing app that my sweet friend and talented colleague, Sara, suggested. Reflector.

For some tips on setting this up, check out the video below:

So, now that you can mirror your iPad, what apps and tools are you going to share with your students?

Also, for more tips on how to use your iPad as an interactive tool in your classroom, check out my guest post over on my sweet friend Christina Bainbridge's blog by clicking her button below!

Leave it in the comments :)

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