Monday, June 20, 2016

Androidify

If you are looking for a way to spruce up your website or identity, check out Androidify.


This site allows those 13 or older a way to create a personalized android avatar.  The site guides the user through a series of steps to add clothing, eyewear, accessories, and even fun movements!



The final step guides the user to save or share the final animated GIF.

Application for Teachers

Teachers could digitize the All About Me first day of school activity with an Androidify Yourself activity instead.



Friday, April 22, 2016

Discovery Ed's SOS

Many educators use Discovery Education for their vast database of videos and teaching materials.  However, there are many other resources found in the DE system.  For example, the Spotlight on Strategies (also known as "SOS") initiative has laid out a wealth of instructional strategies that teachers from all curriculum areas and levels can utilize.

To find these effective teacher created resources, log into your Discovery Education account and search for SOS:
 You may want to click the VIEW STRATEGIES BY SKILL button:
The strategy categories will appear, such as ASSESSMENT, COMPARE AND CONTRAST, SUMMARIZING, etc.

 Click VIEW ALL from within a category area to see more strategies:
Select the preferred strategy to view a description, a short video, and a PDF explaining the strategy:

Click the  to ADD TO MY CONTENT, ASSIGN TO CLASSROOM/STUDENT, ADD TO BUILDER TOOL, or SHARE.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Share to Classroom Chrome Extension


The Share to Classroom Chrome extension allows teachers to easily push out websites and resources from their browser to their students.

Adding the Extension

Sign into your Chrome account:

  1. Click the CHROME MENU 
  2. Click SETTINGS
  3. Click SIGN IN
Complete one of the following:

  1. Go to the Chrome webstore and search for Share to Classroom
  2. Go to Share to Classroom
Click ADD TO CHROME

Using the Extension

While on a site you would like to share, click the SHARE TO CLASSROOM extension button found in the top, right corner of your screen:
Select the desired class:
Complete the process by completing the options in the SHARE TO CLASSROOM window:



Find more information on the Classroom Help page

Monday, February 8, 2016

Watchkin, Safeshare, and More


If you've ever had something inappropriate appear on the side of your YouTube screen or have been distracted by the many YouTube suggested videos, this post is for you.  Watchkin is a site that allows users to paste a YouTube link into a simple text box and create a new link that points to an ad-friendly video format.

Simply COPY the URL from YouTube:

Next, navigate to Watchkin and PASTE into the Watchkin URL field:
TIP: Use the FULLSCREEN VIEW button in the lower, right corner of the video window:


SafeShare.tv also assists in producing a clean screen for video watchers.  Complete a similar process for SafeShare.tv.

COPY the URL from YouTube:

Now, go to SafeShare.tv and PASTE the URL into the text box:


Click the button.

Change the TITLE if you would like, add a description, select additional preferences and click SUBMIT

A video screen will appear with a new SAFESHARE link at the bottom of the screen:



Viewpure will complete the same task, however the  bookmarklet can be added to the BOOKMARKS BAR for more convenience.



Read more on the Viewpure website.


Monday, January 11, 2016

Voc App Flashcards


VocApp flashcards are wonderful for learning vocabulary.  The flashcards can be accessed via the web, the iOS app, or the Android app.  The VocApp flashcards are unique because they are multisensory.  If learning a new language, learners can have VocApp read answers or display photos on the cards.  Pre-readers can surely benefit from the audio feature.

Create an account to save flashcard lists.  There are several ways to create cards.  You can simply enter in the information or if learning a language, select the language and have VocApp supply the answer for you.

A list of words can quickly be imported or a larger amount of text can be assessed to auto-create flashcards from the most used words.

Click the button to personalize the autocomplete settings:
Flashcards can be enhanced with the onscreen tools in the web app:

Flashcards can be created in the mobile apps as well.