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Archive: 2018-2019 Cool Tech Tools of the Week

Monday, April 22, 2019

With Clever, learning applications get a platform to easily connect with schools and school districts have a central location to manage their technology. Clever works seamlessly with Chromebooks and allows students and teachers to access all of their learning applications while only logging in once per device.

Monday, April 15, 2019

Open Culture is one of the best free cultural and educational media sites on the Internet. Find thousands of free online courses, audio books, textbooks, eBooks, language lessons, movies and more. Open Culture has information and resources that touch on nearly every knowledge base and brings together high-quality cultural & educational media for the worldwide lifelong learning community. The website was founded in 2006 by Dan Coleman, who is the Director and Associate Dean of Stanford University's Continuing Education Program.

Monday, April 08, 2019

Gooru is a platform that provides teachers and students with the ability to search for and develop collections of multimedia resources, digital textbooks, videos, handouts, games, and quizzes, specifically around science, math and social studies and language arts.

 

Gooru designed the Learning Navigator as a “GPS for Learning” — a way for each student to follow their own path to mastery. The Learning Navigator meets each student exactly where they are and navigates them to their learning goals. 

Monday, April 01, 2019

Polyup free math education app that involves an open computational thinking playground. Modify expressions, functions, and algorithms to discover the beauty of math. With the goal of instilling creative problem solving and computational thinking skills to K-12 students, Polyup allows students to play with numbers and functions in a freeform environment. Available on any device and integrates with Google Classroom.

Monday, March 25, 2019

Save, organize and share content from across the web with Wakelet. Users can save articles, videos, images, Tweets and more, organize them into stunning collections to share. Create student portfolios, house a collection for research, or pull together current event articles.

Monday, March 18, 2019

Deck.Toys is a classroom tool that allows teachers to teach and engage students. With minimal changes to the lesson content and delivery methods, the lesson can now be transformed into an immersive, engaging experience for every student in the classroom

Monday, March 11, 2019

Metaverse Studio is a tool for creating your own augmented reality learning experiences. With Metaverse you can create interactive, augmented reality games and challenges for students to complete. Metaverse Studio is a block programming interface which means you don't write code. Instead of writing code, you create your augmented reality experience by selecting commands and selecting pieces of media from a menu. Then put the commands together in the proper sequence.

Monday, March 04, 2019

MakeCode offers free programs that students can use to develop their programming skills. Microsoft MakeCode brings computer science to life for all students with fun projects, immediate results, and both block and text editors for learners at different levels similar to Scratch or Code.org, and also a JavaScript editor for more advanced users. Includes coding with Minecraft, LEGO Mindstorms, Adafruit, Micro:bit, and many more.

Monday, February 25, 2019

Immerse yourself in great content anywhere – even offline. Read or listen without distraction, on any device. Pocket, the world's leading save-for-later service is integrated into more than 1500 apps including Flipboard, Twitter, and Zite. It is available for major devices and platforms including iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac, Kindle Fire, Kobo, Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, and Windows. Pocket saves articles, videos, and stories from any publication, page, or app. Curate your own space filled with everything you can’t wait to learn. Pocket was previously known as Read It Later.

Monday, February 18, 2019

Slick Write is a powerful, free application that makes it easy to check your writing for grammar errors, potential stylistic mistakes, and other features of interest. Slick Write can help take your writing to the next level. No software download or installation is required.

Monday, February 11, 2019

FutureLearn is an online education provider based in the UK that offers online courses, popularly known as “MOOCs” or Massive Open Online Courses, from top universities and institutions around the world.

They offer a diverse selection of courses from leading universities and cultural institutions from around the world. The free two week-long courses are delivered one step at a time and are accessible on mobile, tablet, and desktop devices, so you can fit learning around your life. FutureLearn’s purpose is to transform access to education.

Monday, February 04, 2019

Math Playground is a free learning site for 1-6 grades filled with math games, logic puzzles, and a variety of problem-solving activities. Many of the games can be played on any mobile device with wi-fi? There are currently 150+ games and we'll be adding more throughout the coming year. In addition to math games, our mobile site contains logic puzzles that provide a secondary level of support for mathematical learning. These games emphasize spatial reasoning, logical thinking, problem-solving, trial and error, perseverance, and more. Math Playground provides a safe place for children to learn and explore math concepts at their own pace and is kidSAFE COPPA CERTIFIED. 

Monday, January 28, 2019

Make teaching and learning more collaborative and interactive with the real-time co-authoring function of Jamboard powered by G Suite. Teachers can start lessons by pulling in prebuilt materials stored in Google Drive: Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Additionally, Jamboard allows video import and image capture from the embedded Google Search function. Students can join and post questions or share ideas anytime via the Jamboard app on Android and iOS devices or from a web browser. Elevate collaborative education whether you're working together in a group setting or looking to make distance learning more engaging.

Monday, January 21, 2019

WiseMapping is a web-based open-source mindmap tool. Teachers and students can create a free diagram (concept map, graphic organizer) to represent words, ideas, or tasks to aid in studying, organizing, or problem-solving. Link documents to a wise map and share or embed diagrams with other maps.

Monday, January 14, 2019

Wooclap is a free, interactive voting/questioning system on the Internet, that helps engage students with interactivity during class lessons. There are more than 20 features for teachers to use to interact with students, such as multiple choice questions, open questions, word clouds, matching, an area to identify on an image, a number to guess or more brainstorming in which students respond with their smartphone, tablet or computer.

Monday, January 07, 2019

Mission US is a multimedia project featuring free interactive adventure games set in different eras of U.S. history. Developed for use in middle and high school classrooms, Mission US engages students in the study of transformational moments in American history. Each mission consists of an interactive game and a set of curriculum materials that are aligned to national standards and feature document-based activities. The game immerses players in rich, historical settings and then empowers them to make choices that illuminate how ordinary people experienced the past. The Educator's Guide provides a wealth of resources and activities for both teachers and students, including primary source documents that show the broader social, political, and economic context of events and perspectives featured in the game. 

 

Activities/lessons can be shared with students via Google Classroom and Remind.

 

Funding for Mission US is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. Educational outreach support provided by The Page & Otto Marx, Jr. Foundation and Atran Foundation. 

Monday, December 17, 2018

Screencastify is a screencasting extension for Google Chrome. It allows you to record your screen activity for creating tutorials, etc. and runs entirely in Chrome. Screencastify is the easiest way to capture your entire desktop, browser tab or webcam. This is a free screen recorder extension for Chrome. Capture, edit and share screencasts. No software download required. Works on Mac, Windows, and Chromebooks.

Monday, December 10, 2018

Pixlr Editor is a powerful, free browser-based online photo editing tool. Pixlr Editor is a robust tool that rivals Adobe Photoshop in terms of its feature set.

Monday, December 03, 2018

Kami is your paperless classroom hero allowing students to annotate and comment on PDF files. Kami is a digital pen and paper where you and your students can learn, create, and collaborate. Kami's annotation tools and Google Drive Auto-Save feature encourages student collaboration and engagement. 

Monday, November 26, 2018

Quizizz allows you to conduct student-paced formative assessments in a fun and engaging way for students of all ages. The free gamified quizzes for every subject can be played in class and at home. Access hundreds of ready-made learning quizzes or create your own. Quizziz works on any device with a browser.

Monday, November 19, 2018

Zoom In is a free, web-based platform that helps students build literacy and historical thinking skills through “deep dives” into primary and secondary sources.

 

Zoom In’s online learning environment features 18 content-rich U.S. history units that supplement regular instruction and help with the use of technology to support students’ mastery of both content and skills required by the new, higher standards:

  • Reading documents closely and critically

  • Identifying the author's point of view and purpose

  • Engaging in higher-order, text-based discussions

  • Writing explanatory and argumentative essays grounded in evidence

Monday, November 12, 2018

LearnZillion is the first K-12 Curriculum-as-a Service company. LearnZillion provides teachers with a library of interactive math and language arts lessons, videos, quizzes, and assignments for students. LearnZillion is changing the paradigm of curriculum from a static product to an adaptable, cloud-based service by combining digital curricular materials, an enterprise platform, and professional services to empower districts and states to take ownership of their curricula and provide their teachers with the best tools to make engaged learning possible. 

Monday, November 05, 2018

AWW App. is an online whiteboard for real-time visual collaboration. The web whiteboard is a touch-friendly online whiteboard app that makes drawing, collaboration, and sharing easy. Forget about annoying registration forms, just enter awwapp.com and start drawing immediately! Easily create, save and share boards with others by sharing the URL link.

Monday, October 29, 2018

Book Creator is the simple way to make your own beautiful ebooks. Choose the platform that suits your classroom. Whether you're using Chromebooks, Android tablets, Windows PCs or MacBooks, Book Creator comes with all the great features. With over 30 million ebooks created so far, Book Creator is ideal for making all kinds of books, including children's picture books, comic books, photo books, journals, textbooks and more.

Monday, October 22, 2018

Teach your students to code with fun activities and games. Activities are sorted by ability/age and are drag and drop. Code.org® is a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by women and underrepresented minorities. Their vision is that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science, just like biology, chemistry or algebra. Code.org provides the leading curriculum for K-12 computer science and also organizes the annual Hour of Code campaign. All curriculum resources and tutorials will forever be free to use and openly licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Monday, October 15, 2018

TES Teach (formerly known as Blendspace) is a free online resource that is designed to help teachers create digital lessons that can be shared with students. Students can also use TES Teach as a “digital locker” or online portfolio for content that they create as a way to showcase their understanding of a particular topic. TES Teach also integrates with Google Classroom.

Monday, October 08, 2018

Google My Maps allows students to drop pins at certain locations throughout a map and provide a description of that pin. Students can add different layers for different regions or topics. Other features available to use in My Maps are drawing a line between multiple locations, adding directions to get to a location, and measuring the distance between locations. Students can all be on the same map simultaneously, collaborating on locating different locations to drop pins on or measure. With Google My Maps, students can explore the basics of cartography, create their own highly customized maps, share information about local communities, identify and log important historical events, map settings in a novel, and take standard mapping activities to the next level. The map is their canvas on which they can build with points, lines, and polygons, and they can go as far as their imagination leads them.

Monday, October 01, 2018

Adobe Spark is a free online and mobile graphic design app. Easily create beautiful images, videos, and web pages that make you stand out on social. Adobe Spark is an integrated suite of storytelling applications for the mobile and web developed by Adobe Systems.

Monday, September 24, 2018

Bloomz is a free tool designed to help teachers and parents share information and photos through real-time communication and coordination. Built primarily for the K-8 environment, Bloomz is an excellent tool for helping create connections between parents and teachers.

Monday, September 17, 2018

NewseumED offers free educational programs, primary sources and standards-aligned resources that focus on history, media literacy, civics and the First Amendment. 

Monday, September 10, 2018

InsertLearning is an extension that lets teachers turn websites into interactive lessons, and it is the perfect companion to blended learning lesson plans. Easily scaffold text with questions and media that help all of your students be more successful learners. Teachers can insert questions, discussions, and insight directly into any website or article.

Monday, September 03, 2018

Hemingway Editor is a simple word processor and proofreading tool designed for writers. It can help users write in a simple, clear, and powerful manner.

Monday, August 27, 2018

Creaza is a digital learning tool that enables students to work with different subjects and topics by creating mind maps, presentations, comic strips, movies, and audio productions.

Monday, August 20, 2018

Factitious is a game for testing your skill at identifying fake and misleading news stories. The game was developed by the American University Game Lab and the American University's School of Communication. 

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