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GimKit

  This week's tech tool is Gimkit --a fun interactive game-based learning tool for classroom use. One of my favorite parts of this tool is that it was created by a high school student who wanted more interactive fun ways to learn and review knowledge. So this is basically created for students BY a student!  I would use this tool with students grades 6-12, for formative assessments--checking to see what students know to guide further instruction. This would be a great way to start a class to review previous day or see what they know before instruction, or could be a fun exit ticket activity.  It reminds me a bit of Kahoot (another fun web tool for student engagement) but has more popular gameshow type interactives that might be a fun way to change up how students play and retain knowledge. Teacher basic accounts are free, but varying levels with a cost are available that allow creating your own questions and quiz sets. Students can also register for their own accounts to c...
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ClassHook

  I'm always on the look for multimedia components that can engage students in discussion or inquiry and this site looks to have all that! ClassHook was a "best of" website recommendation by AASL and has been reviewed by Common Sense Media as a great tool for engaging students in critical thinking. The whole premise of this website is a curated library of movie and TV show clips. So often a small snippet of a video will demonstrate a concept, or be the perfect hook for launching a lesson, but I don't have the video, and now I'm very thoughtful of copyright and fair use guidelines. Never fear, ClassHook not only has browsable subjects and genre areas, but they also curate by major standards, AND there is a section on "copyright"! This site states that they host the video content on YouTube and use Content ID system to verify that the small quantity of video clip is usable and copyright permissible. Having someone else do the work of getting permission is...

Library of Congress

  I have been a fan of the Library of Congress (LOC) for a long time--the size of the collection, the beauty of the building, the systems and structure of item delivery (conveyer belts, need I say more?). And that doesn't even get into the beauty of the online system. There are a gazillion (it's a real number, I checked) resources on the site. The US Copyright Office is even linked in the top menu bar!  The resources available range in content and original format. There are collections and ways to teach students about topics in multiple ways, including original audio and video pieces.. The filters and searching capabilities are amazing, and everything I have checked include citation information for the three major formats (Chicago, APA and MLA). This is website is solid gold for teaching primary documents and should be a top recommended source for student research and UDL lesson plans. 

CodeMonkey

  Common Sense Media gives CodeMonkey five stars and says that it is "a great intro to coding that, with solid teacher support, gets students using real programming languages." With this week's focus on maker activities and makerspaces, I wanted to promote a digital tool that wasn't just "arts and crafts". With the new implementation on the Computer Science standards in New York State, CodeMonkey teaches students how to program and understand algorithms in a fun and interactive way. The many varied activities include both block coding as well as text coding. For teachers, each game-like platform includes lesson plans and implementation strategies, with scaffolding and supports. CodeMonkey is Ed Law 2D compliant if teachers want to set up students with an account for monitoring and grading purposes, but students can also play in "guest" mode without creating an account or saving progress.  CodeMonkey is perfect for students in grades K-8, with algo...

Night Sky app

  This week's recommended digital tool is Night Sky. This is an AR app that works on iOS devices. When the app is opened, it shows stars, planets, constellations, and even satellites.  Teacher users have called it "a planetarium in your pocket"! The best part is that it doesn't have to be night time to use it--you can can just point the camera aperture anywhere and it shows the stars and planets in that direction. Students can even point at the ground and it will show items on the other side of the world!  This app is a great AR option for students, with many educational benefits. There is a premium option but the free version is very robust with so many opportunities to see space that I don't think it's necessary for the average educator. So many students don't see a clear night sky, and this tool provides the expanse of space without the interference of light pollution. Perfect for content lessons or the student who just loves space and can't get eno...

Talking Points

  After reading so much about social media this week, and embracing the power to use it for good, I went looking for a tool that could connect people. I found this great messaging tool, Talking Points . Many school districts have a parenting messaging platform, but some do not, and in districts with diverse families and languages, this tool is such a value add for communicating with students and families.  Common Sense Media rates this application as a 5 out of 5 stars, and AASL promoted it as a top web tool in 2020. It includes simple messaging as well as polling and information gathering in order to serve students and families best as an educator.  There are several translating services available (google translate has come so far in the past few years), but this tool provides onboarding learning and tech support, templates, and roster integration, with privacy features. You simply type your message in your native language, and the receiver sees the message in their...

Education.com

  In my recent searching for free (or mostly free) and not copyrighted materials for use by teachers and librarians, I came across the website, Education.com . And I quickly lost an hour of my life diving into all the resources that they offer... The first thing I noticed was that I could see all resources, even without an account. I could really tell that this was a place that could help my teaching, and not just another sales job. In order to download lesson plans, worksheets, or other activities, you will need an account. And if you want unlimited downloads or the option to enroll your students in the digital features, you will need a paid subscription.  BUT The free offerings are pretty great. There are resources for PreK-grade 8.  There are great reading passages, writing prompts, math worksheets, coloring pages. (you won't be breaking any copyright laws by using these!) There are complete lesson plans if you are looking to change up your teaching or maybe even just ...