Padlet is still one of the more dynamic resources you will find today for teachers and students. We have a school subscription to the EDU version so your options for using it are not limited (though the free version is very strong). Padlet basically exists as a digital bulletin board that an entire class can access and collaborate together on at the same time. The most recent updated versions allow you to embed video, documents directly from Google Drive, audio, text, and and more. You can customize backgrounds, sort posts in a variety of ways, and can easily clone existing Padlets so many people can personalize their notes. As a note-taking tool, it is a fantastic option and you can customize fonts and features as you would in any other digital document. Students as young as third grade have had success using it, though obviously the older the grade level, the broader the possibilities. Check out some of our own student and teacher examples below!

August 27, 2018

Apple CLIPS

CLIPS is a relatively new app (also a site) that was released late last year. It is a FANTASTIC alternative to iMovie, especially for our lower school students as it allows for an engaging, visual project but can be condensed into a one-off lesson. It is simple in its layout and can be used in a variety of ways. From narrating and animating a story or poem, to labeling parts of the ecosystem, to breaking down the cause and effect of a moment in history, it is all very easy and engaging for our students. It can also be a powerful tool for our youngest learners because of its ability to show the words you speak in “real time”. The possibilities for students to be able to narrate and illustrate their own books with words that fly out on the screen in any style they choose is really exciting. Clips is available on all school iPads (including the Library if students would like to check one out for a project).

Check out a student-created example below!

August 21, 2018 0

Google Sites: Middle School

Google Sites is one of many options for easy, template-based website creation. Various grade levels and subject areas have used it in a variety of ways. It embeds content directly from student Google Drives with ease, though is also designed to add content from anywhere in seconds. It is a great option for sharing student work with extended families who live across the world.

CLICK HERE to check out how Middle Schoolers have used it to house their projects.

August 20, 2018 0

Busuu

Busuu is a popular resource for learning a new language, and it has one critical feature that sets it apart. You can practice with actual native speakers across the globe. However, because it almost operates in the same vein as social media, it may not be ideal for use with our students on their own. Still, the free version has a large number of flashcards available to practice with.

August 19, 2018 0

FluentU

FluentU is super pricey but it is worthy of mentioning when it comes to digital resources for teaching languages. It is a massive library of videos that students can isolate words from conversations to gain an understanding of the language in an engaging way. While the cost for a full program may be prohibitive, it could be worth looking into one single subscription that could be shared as a resource.

August 19, 2018 0

Skritter

Skritter is an app that receives solid reviews for its effectiveness in teaching the writing of Mandarin Chinese letters and characters.

August 19, 2018 0

Vice Verba

This is a well-reviewed app for teaching Latin. It contains a number of game style lessons that educators seem to rate highly.

August 19, 2018 0

Duolingo

Duolingo is both a free app and free website that is a leader in popular digital platforms for teaching languages.

August 19, 2018 0

Tiny Cards by Duolingo

Tinycards is a similar flashcard app that is supported by the language education company, Duolingo. It contains study resources for subjects outside of world languages, but the largest volume of created materials and flashcards is for language-based learning. You can check out the video below to get some ideas of how it can be used.

August 19, 2018 0

Memrise

Memrise is a digital flashcard app that allows you to take photos and videos to incorporate into vocabulary building. It uses mnemonic devices to help engage student learning and memorization.

Screen Shot 2018-08-19 at 10.57.11 AM — Online Version

Screen Shot 2018-08-19 at 10.57.55 AM — APP Version

August 19, 2018 0

KAHOOT

Chances are, you are already familiar with Kahoot and are actively using it with your class for fun review sessions. If you are unfamiliar, it is a quiz making platform that has an interactive student/teacher interface. There are many ways to personalize it beyond its surface features. It is also worth noting that it is available on all library iPads as an app, which can be useful in groups or as a more mobile option when reviewing for a test.

Click HERE for a video overview

August 16, 2018 0

POWTOON

Powtoon is an interactive presentation format that is vastly more engaging that google slides or powerpoint. The free version still has enough features to allow it to be more visually appealing and engaging than traditional presentations.

August 16, 2018 0

EMAZE

Emaze is a super visually appealing platform for creating presentations. Because it contains such a robust catalog of templates and tools, it probably is more powerful in older grades. However, it can be made simple for those who are more comfortable sticking with the basics. For those who wish to pursue extended enrichment opportunities, they can dive into a deep well of features.

August 16, 2018 0

Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark has been a popular free program for creating multimedia presentations for a while now. There is a “video” version and a more text-heavy “pages” version. Watch the video below to get a sense of the options available, even just in the free version.

August 16, 2018 0

Quizizz

Quizizz is similar to Kahoot but with the added bonus of being able to display the quiz questions directly on all student devices. It also has a large library of premade quizzes from teachers and students all around the world.

Quizizz also has an app is on all library iPads so theoretically, a class could borrow them so they all had an iPad in front of them and their laptops could be freed up (or put away) depending on need.

August 16, 2018 0

Socrative

Socrative is in the same family of quiz creators and interactive digital learning platforms that help track student understanding in real time. You can set up classes as well so in effect it is a more formalized collection of student data than other quiz platforms like Quizlet or Kahoot.

Watch a video demo below!

August 16, 2018 0

FLIPQUIZ

FLIPQUIZ is a resource for making Jeopardy-style games. It doesn’t link you to student responses, in the same way, some of the other platforms like Kahoot or Quizlet do, but it is a good option to have on hand, particularly for students that want to use this as a component to a presented lesson.

Click HERE try out a live demo template

Click HERE for a video overview

August 15, 2018 0

FLIPGRID

Flipgrid is a popular platform for sharing and valuing individual student voice. As the teacher, you “proctor” in a sense and students submit responses to lessons, homework, discussions, chapters, videos etc…

Click HERE for a quick video overview.

August 15, 2018 0

EDpuzzle

EDpuzzle is a program that lets you easily create lessons/mini-lessons and quizzes that incorporate video clips that you and/or students can annotate. It is a solid tool for both teacher designed and student created lessons.

August 15, 2018 0

Google Tour Builder

Google Tour Builder continues to become more powerful in its ability to create interactive maps and presentations, blending a multimedia map-making platform within Google Earth. Virtual reality is at the forefront of some of the biggest additions to the latest version. NOTE: The Tour Builder platform will be discontinued and merged into Google Arts and Culture in June 2021

August 15, 2018 0

Google Earth (With New Features Including VR)

While Google Earth has been around for a while now, the recent updates are really eye-popping. The possibilities with which you can use Google Tour Builder alone make it a very powerful tool in teaching social studies and geography. New 360 degree images also allow for the incorporation of virtual reality experiences for students.

August 15, 2018 0

ThingLink

ThingLink is another option for independent student projects, or unit wrap-ups for students to show what they have learned. There are unlimited possibilities for using this platform either in teaching, student learning, assessment, and lesson enhancement.

Click HERE to check out how some of our middle school students used ThingLink when reading Lord of the Flies in a 7th grade English class

Click HERE to examine the picture below to see how one could embed info into an animated gif.

August 15, 2018 0

CoSpaces

CoSpaces could actually live anywhere on this menu as it is more a platform where

can create a 3-D world embedding any content they wish. One particularly powerful possibility is having students create a virtual museum, either collectively or individually.

Students wishing to code may do so as it can use drag and drop for the non-coder, block-based coding for the novice coder, and java for the advanced coder. As a cherry on top, students can explore their world, museum, etc… using a virtual reality headset.

August 7, 2018 0