My Story

Today I am spotlighting My Story-Book Maker for Kids. This fun and engaging iOS app allows students to create and share ebooks.

Students become authors as they add text, drawings, photos, and stickers to each page. Then, they can record their own voice on each page and share the story with friends, family and classmates via email, iBooks, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.

My Story is very teacher friendly because you can add multiple authors to the app and sync across multiple iPads. You can have all of your classroom iPads sync to one teacher account via a free Bright Bot Classroom account. It is a perfect app for the classroom and well worth the $3.99 purchase price!

View the video below for a demonstration of how the app works.

Grants AWARDED!

Teachers at East Sandy Elementary have a reason to celebrate!  Alison Stroud, Lora Griffin and Karen Johnson were all awarded Donors Choose grants.  With the help of their Achievement Coach, Brooke Rauzon, the teachers wrote grants to purchase technology for their classroom.  Alison wrote her grant for two iPad Minis which was fully granted.  Alison stated that it was very easy to complete the grant and that it only took about 30 minutes to complete.  She would love to do it again and says, "Take the time!!!  It is well worth it.  I am so excited to have two new iPad Minis in my classroom to enhance my technology curriculum throughout the day."  Lora and Karen also applied for iPad Minis through Donors Choose. Lora included headphone splitters and other accessories for her iPad Minis.  They agrees that the process was easy and only took thirty to forty minutes to complete.  Karen and Lora were both very excited about the support that their Donors Choose grants will help in their 'College and Career Ready Classrooms.' Lora states, "Would you like to earn $800 in an hour?, It is possible! I have applied and received numerous grants...but Donors Choose is by far the shortest and easiest grant to apply for...no excuses unless your classroom doesn't need $800."

For more information about grants available for teachers, visit ProLearning!

TeachingChannel

As winter draws near, it is easy to fall into the slump of the winter teaching blues.  The TeachingChannel is a great way to rejuvenate yourself and remind you why you became a teacher! For example, watch the video below by Taylor Mali posted on TeachingChannel.org. 

The TeachingChannel has a collection of videos and other resources to keep you motivated.  The free site houses nearly 800 videos in many different content areas and topics.  These short video clips provide a wide variety of teaching strategies for pre k-12, and are a great way to renew engagement in your classroom. The videos have great lesson plan ideas, engagement and behavior strategies, and even have ideas for new teachers.

By using the share button in the Resources tab, the website can be used as a web 2.0 tool.  You can upload videos, lesson ideas, or other documents and presentations.  You can also follow other teachers, creating an extensive collaborative network.

So, instead of dreading going to school during the cold wintery months, try visiting the TeachingChannel and get some new ideas to brighten and cheer up your classroom.

Tales2Go

Tales2Go is a kids audiobook service that streams books to computers and mobile devices.  Parents and teachers have unlimited access to thousands of name-brand audio titles that can be used in the classroom and even in the home.  Titles are available from pre-school up to eighth grade.  Tales2Go is a paid service, but a free 30-day trial is offered for those who are interested in trying out the service.  There is a monthly subscription of $9.99 a month or a yearly subscription of $99.99. Audiobooks are used in the classrooms to teach reading, build critical vocabulary, and to help with fluency and listening skills. Student achievement can be improved when adding a listening component to reading instruction.  This is a great resource for kids to have and another way to get them involved with reading. 

Information:
Tales2Go

Link to free app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tales2go/id458539653?mt=8

How to Download Youtube Videos

Did you use a YouTube video last year, but this year the video is gone?  Know that you are not alone.   I found a great five-minute video teaching students about political cartoons my first year of teaching in a way that I could never do by standing in the front of the room lecturing.  However, I went to show it the following year and it was gone.

At that point I decided “NEVER AGAIN!”  I searched the web for a way to download Youtube clips and save them to my hard drive and/or insert them into PowerPoint.  Listed below are different tools for downloading videos and safe viewing of Youtube videos.  Resources were shared by CSD EdTechs and are free. 

     Downloading Tools:

        Downloadhelper –Plug-in for FireFox

         * This is my favorite.  Here is a How to Document. 

        Fast Video Download - plug-in for Firefox.
        DownloadYouTube Videos as MP4- Plug-in FireFox

        iSkysoft – Free download

    Safe viewing options:

       quietube.com

       tubechop.com
       Safe Share

Music for Learning

Music is one of the most prevalent and universal forms of expression in our world. Music is not only one of the biggest money making industries around, but is also a staple of most people's daily routines and is included in everything from a morning workout to an afternoon drive home from work, yet we don't see many teachers utilize music for learning in most classrooms.

According an article from Johns Hopkins University School of Education entitled "Music and Learning: Integrating Music in the Classroom,"author Chris Boyd Brewer states that "music can be used to help us remember learning experiences and information..." and it "...can also create a highly focused learning state in which vocabulary and reading material is absorbed at a great rate." 

The article includes many fantastic ideas for using music in the classroom as a way to help the learner and the learning environment be more effective. Click here for more of his ideas and the research that supports music for learning. 

If you decide that adding music to parts of your teaching is something you'd like to try, talk to your Ed Tech about options and possibilities, but another great place to start is Pandora. 

Pandora is a free music-playing website that you can customize with the kind of music you prefer to hear. (This does require you to set up an account, but you can select the free option.) This is just one of many resources available to teachers and is a great place to start when it comes to changing a stuffy classroom atmosphere! 

(Just be sure to use caution and common sense when selecting types of music to play for students. Be sure that all music is age and language appropriate for your classroom.) 

SpellMania App

SpellMania is a free app available in the iTunes store.

 It is available for the iPad and iPhone.

This app gives players 16 letters to make words.
Words must be 3 or more letters.
Players use their finger to connect letters to form words.

This app has a timed and un-timed feature

The Un-Timed Feature

The un-timed game shows the player how many words can be made with the 16 letters.
This player has made 4/148 words, words are shown in the center.

The Timed Feature

The timed game has a timer that runs out.
Once the timer has ran out, the player must start a new game.
The game can be paused and resumed.

This app is great for all grade levels. It gets the brain working. 

For an extension of this app, teachers could have students make sentences using one, two, or three of the words that have been made on the app.