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  It always seems as soon as you learn how to use something, it quickly becomes outdated, and there is something "new".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.

Tuesday Teacher Tips: Free Technology for Teachers website

I posted about this site once last year, but I thought it would be a good idea to share it again.

Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

Mr. Byrne is an educator/blogger/ and speaker.  He was the "keynote" speaker at last year's TIE conference in Rapid City.

I would highly recommend following his blog, or if you are a twitter user...you can follow him on twitter, as he is constantly posting his links to his articles on free technology resources.

To be honest, I'm not actually sure how he gets it all done, as he is a teacher, and all his blog updates, and his speaking engagements.

It's a really excellent resource, complete with discussion of many, many different web applications, iPad apps, free guides and favorite resources.

Tuesday Tidbits: instaGrok

Getting this up and online late today!
(Very Busy Morning)

Over the next few weeks, I plan to share a few new tools and websites that I learned about at the TIE Conference.

First off, got to give credit where credit is due:  Richard Byrne is the presenter I got most of these sites from. (That is the link to his twitter account)

He runs the educational blog:  Free Technology for Teachers
-It's a really wonderful site where he breaks down numerous tools and tips and ideas.  Give it a browse, I can pretty much guarantee that you can find something useful.

Today's Site is:  instaGrok

instaGrok is a really neat tool for research.  It sort of makes "interactive" customized bubble charts.

Here is a screen capture from the "Example" of "Earthquakes" on the instaGrok site:

Definitions for the key terms are given.

You can add notes, to each item in the bubble chart

On the right hand side, there are links to Websites, videos, images, and yes...you can even put quizzes on there.

I haven't played around with it enough yet, to consider myself any sort of "expert", but it really seems like a great tool for students....get them interacting with your material.

I know, we are coming to a close for this school year...but I always liked to be introduced to new tools in the Spring, so I could kind of plan out some possible things to use them on for the following year.

If you try instaGrok and like it, or dislike it.... let me know!  I would love to share your experience.