Good Technology Blog

One of the difficulties with working with Technology in the classroom, is trying to stay current.  There are always new apps, new websites, and new resources available.  It always seems as soon as you learn how to use something, it quickly becomes outdated, and there is something "new".  It can be difficult to "keep up" with new programs and ideas.

A few  years ago, at TIE conference, I was able to see Richard Byrne speak.  

He is a former teacher and a leader in the field of incorporating technology use into the classroom.

His Blog:  Free Technology for Teachers is a great resource for teachers of all grade levels.

There is a great deal of information on his blog, including apps for ipads, chromebooks, etc...

He updates the blog frequently, so I follow him on Twitter, as he posts on there whenever the blog is updated.

Hope this is a resource that can utilize to help you.

Spruce up your Presentations

I am thinking most teachers can relate to this.

You have some notes to give, but you just don't want to use "PowerPoint" again.

OR, perhaps you have an assignment where you want the students to present some information, but you would like to try something new?

Well, for the sake of variety, perhaps you could use a different presentation application?

There are a number of online resources, out there.  Some of them incorporate video, some of them are for "booklets" or "magazines", some of them are for animation or comic strips.

The point is, there is a lot of different resources available, and by "mixing up" the variety of your presentations and/or assignments you can keep things a bit more fresh.

I am going to post a list of them below.

1.  Google Slides "Google Drive" version of PowerPoint.
2. Prezi - Interactive slide show
3. Glogster - Poster Creator
4. Go Animate - online animation resource
5. Info.gram - creates graphics and Charts
6. Issuu - creates online documents "magazines"
7. Knovio - online presentations, with audio or video embedded?
8. Metta.io - online presentations with Video... compatible with Google Drive
9. SlideRocket - online presentations
10. StoryJumper - create online Story Books
11. SimpleBooklet - create online "Booklets"
12. Storybird - create, read, and print Art inspired stories.
13. StripCreator create and share comic strips
14. ToonDo - create your own comic strips and comic books
15. VoiceThread - create and share images with images, audio, and video
16. Zentation - Presentation tool that brings together slides and video.

Note:  This is certainly not an "all-inclusive" list.  There are always new websites, and new ideas being implemented.  This is a just a list I had on hand.

ALSO:  Most of the sites are free, or have a free option.  It is possible that some of them are NOT free and that there is a charge for their service.

I haven't used them all, but I have had students who have used many of the sites discussed here for various products, and I have been very pleased when getting the results.