Ditch That PowerPoint (Part 2)

The last post looked at using Adobe Spark as an alternative to PowerPoint for student content creation. This post looks as another alternative - Buncee. Buncee is very simple to use and geared towards younger students but still a viable alternative for older students. After logging in to Buncee (using a Google account), you can...

Ditch That PowerPoint

When given a choice of content creation which includes either PowerPoint or an alternative students will almost always choose PowerPoint.  Why?  Because it's easy and requires very little thought or effort to create.  I would like to suggest that you ditch PowerPoint as an option and instead encourage students to use more creative and engaging...

The “sticky note” reinvented

I don't know about you but I love my "sticky notes"; I'm always jotting down items I want to remember.  I also use them a lot with my students as exit tickets or posting questions. The problem with "sticky notes" is that how do you keep up with them.  How do you keep a record...

SnapChat Geofilter Creation

  I became green with envy after attending a football game where the other school had their own personalized geofilter.  I had to have one for my school!  So I started researching how to create a Snapchat geofilter.  When I asked some of my more knowledgeable high schoolers, I was given reasons why it would...

Displaying IPAD Screen Without a Cord

There are times we want to share an IPAD screen with all of our students.  For example, I had a teacher want to use her IPAD as a document camera for editing papers and completing worksheets.  After pricing lightning to VGA cords around $50, I began looking for other options. Apple TV which would also...

For the Organizationally Challenged

Being a high school librarian on a flex schedule means that my days and weeks vary. Some days I may not have any classes; other days I may have four or more classes back to back.  Sometimes it can be difficult to keep up with calendars and lesson plans across multiple subjects, grade levels, and...

Wizen up..Get to know Wizer.me

I ran across this website while reading the Weekly Newsletter for Tech Tips 411.  I was immediately intrigued and decided to take a look.  My first thought  was "Finally, I've been looking for a way to do that." This free website integrates easily with Google Classroom and allows you to both create your own worksheets and...

Head in the Clouds

In a recent professional development, word clouds, specifically Wordle ,  were discussed as a way to teach vocabulary to students.  While Wordle is a great tool, it can sometimes be difficult to create and print.  Here are three great alternatives that I've found are a bit more user-friendly and customizable.  WordClouds.com - Use the wizard to quickly...

Cut the Cord

Tired of being tied to your laptop and projector when presenting?  Try Doceri.  Doceri is an app that allows you to use your IPAD to control your computer screen. Simply visit the App Store to download the free app (Doceri Interactive Whiteboard).  Then download the Doceri software on your laptop or desktop.  You can download...

Revisiting an old friend

After attending the VAASL state conference and attending a session by Brooksie Kramer and Kim Arrington, I have decided to revisit a website that's been around for awhile - Thinglink.  It's also available as an app on the App store.  Thinglink allows you to take a photo, illustration, any visual and embed content.  Look at...

Game-ifying learning

This week's post is about tools to game-ify learning. The first application is an online website called Jeopardy Rocks.  Some of you may remember that when you wanted to use a Jeopardy game as review for a test you would have to create an involved PowerPoint with various hyperlinks to other slides.  It was very...

An Oldie but a Goodie

This week's featured educational tool is Edmodo.  Edmodo has been around for a long time by tech standards and continues to adapt and add features as needed.  It would be impossible to list all of the applications you can find within the Edmodo platform so I'm going to stick to highlight three that I fell...