Rate my Professor! Tool for scheduling classes

Website:  Rate My Professors

Cost: Free

Rating by Jules: 5 star

Difficulty Level: Easy

Device: All

This is for all the teachers and/or college students that are still taking college courses.  My husband and I discovered this website from his current college experience.  He attends class on an extension campus and found that students were attending from other areas.  He asked why they were not attending at their local campus.  The response was "I go to campus with the best professors".  Rate my Professor is how they find out who is the best professor.  Rate my Professor gives you an inside review of the professor and what to expect from his or her class.  Could be a very valuable tool when scheduling classes.

App:  Little Bird Tales

Website:  For more information on the app

Cost: $ 2.99 (50% off for 20+)

Rating by Jules: 5 star

Difficulty Level: PreK-6th Grade

Device: iPad

This is an amazing little app.  It is perfect for 1st grade students but can also be used PreK-6th grade- depending on students abilities on the iPad.  Our first graders produced some super cute little ebooks that they can easily share with parents via email.  This very user friendly app and the kids love it!   I am always truly amazed how fast the kids catch on.  In this app, the kids can use their own pictures (by taking a photo with the iPad), create their own art (by drawing pictures that go along with their story) and use their voices by recording their own where they become the storyteller.  If you link up to the Little Bird Tales website you will find Lessons linked to the common core standards for K-6th Grade.  Also they have a link to public created tales for more ideas.

COPY! A great online hard drive that can be utilized on any device. Great Alternative if your Dropbox or Box is Full!

Website:  Copy.com

App:  Copy

Cost:Free With 15 Gig of Storage!

Rating by Jules: 5 star

Difficulty Level: Beginner

Device: Across Platform

Awesome alternative to Dropbox or Box.  Copy is a  free online storage for anything you want. If you are anything like me, I love to take photos and videos with my iPhone.  I had my iPhone set up to backup all my photos/videos to my dropbox.  Well, the 2 gig of space I have with Dropbox is beyond filled.  Now I download Copy and YES! I have 15 gig of space AND you can get more by referring friends!  Awesome way to store your pics and/or videos and this is a great resource for transferring them to your PC.  All you do is login on any device and grab any of your files/photos/videos with your login.  Highly recommended! Here is your invitation  https://copy.com?r=2zwhLI

App:  Cursive Writing HD

Cost:Free- Today 3/21/2014  $0.99 normally 

Rating by Jules: 5 star

Difficulty Level: PreK-3rd grade

Device: iPad

Our kids in the K,1,2, 3 grades love this app.  I paid $0.99 per copy when I purchased it last fall.  Today you can get it for free!  It is great in that it shows the order of the strokes for creating the perfect cursive letter.  It also provides the lines just like if you were using lined paper. Great free app for today!

21 Things 4 Students Technology at it's best!

Website:  21 Things 4 Students

Cost:Free

Rating by Jules: 5 star

Difficulty Level: Beginner
Device: PC (There is also a 21things4iPads)
Rated: Everyone (focus is on 6th-8th grade)

If you haven't heard about 21 Things 4 Students then I am here to tell you it is the next best thing to sliced bread!  I have to admit I am a bit biased as I helped create some of the "quests" and was an integral part in the design of the webpage.  This website was created for the 6th-8th grade student but believe me when I say everyone can learn something new from this site.  It is completely free!  It has teacher resources and is linked to common core standards.  This site can be utilized as a self directed site for students or can be gone through together as a group.

MeL: The Michigan eLibrary - Super Resource for Kids

Wesite:MeL- Michigan eLibrary

Cost:Free

Rating by Jules: 5 star

Difficulty Level: Beginner

Device: PC 

Rated:  Everyone

Attention Teachers, Moms, Dads, and Kids:  Researching just became easier when looking for information from validated sources!  All information on this site is checked and approved by Librarians and is credible information.  Instead of having kids and teens just "google" to research, students can go to this eLibrary and search through the hundreds of ebooks through the eLibrary.  Also, there is a listing of free educational sites for kids to access.  This site is filled to brim with information!

Website:  TedEd- Flipped Lesson on Time

Cost: FREE
Rating by Jules~ 5 Star

Difficulty Level: Beginner

Device: Across Platform

Rated:  Social Studies

Here is a great Ted Ed Lesson that is already flipped for you to share with your class on the topic: How did trains standardize time in the United States? by- William Heuisler. One of our teachers uses this video in the beginning of the school year when they discuss westward expansion. This is a great lesson because the kids can watch and answer questions and re-watch if needed to properly answer questions. It is also awesome for teachers because it  literally takes a couple of seconds to flip it as it is already designed with questions (and answers). Teachers can add more questions and/or delete questions as needed.  As always with Ted Ed, if the students use their login then the teacher can track the results.

Screen Cast-O-Matic Easy Video creation for recording your computer screen

 

 

Website:  Screencast-O-Matic

Cost: FREE
Rating by Jules~ 5 Star

Difficulty Level: Beginner

Device: PC

Rated: Everyone
Materials Needed:  Java on your computer, Microphone if you plan to talk in the video



This is one of my favorite websites for creating professional development videos.  I create all my "how to" videos from this site.  It is one of the more user friendly sites available without having to download anything to your computer.  Simply click on the "Start Recording" button at the top and the screen of your computer is instantly trasformed into the background for your video.  I loved this website because I can record whatever I want to teach or show someone and save the file right to my computer (which is my choice most of the time), publish directly to Screencast-O-Matic (limited space) or publish right to YouTube.  Screencast gives the option to save at MP4 (Quicktime), AVI (windows media), FLV (Flash) or GIF (Animated gif) and it gives a full set of options for the size of the file.  This is a great option again for teaching anything you would like for people to have options for rewatching or being able to pause and/or rewind to follow along.  Great for the teacher flipping the classroom or even the student creating a "teach me" presentation.  Give it a try - you won't be disappointed.

 



App:  Stack the States
iTunes Link:  Stack the States

Cost:  Free (limited) or .99 cents
Rating by Jules~ 5 Star

Difficulty:  Beginner

Device:  iPad

Rated: Everyone

 

This app is a staple on any device we own.  We started with the Free version, but the capabilities were limited so I purchased the full version for a whopping .99 cents~well worth the money!  This game is great for the 5-10 year old and even fun for the older kids.  It offers reading and comprehension skills.  It also includes deductive reasoning and visual recognition for answering the questions.    When the question is answered correctly, you get to drag the state down to stack on top of each other.  Once stacked to the top, you move on to another level.  What better to learn the United States! 



App News-O-Matic Super Cool Online News for Kids 7-11

App: News-O-Matic 

Website (for more information):  News-O-Matic-Press 4-Kids

Cost:  FREERating by Jules~ 5 Star

Difficulty Level:  Beginner

Device:  iPad

Rated:  Kids 7-11

What a cool App!  I found this app by default while searching the App Store for informational apps to add to our elementary carts.  I love this app for several reasons- 1.  very user friendly  2.  interactive  3. information is relevant to kids age 7-11, and 4.  there are five new/exciting stories each day.  I had my daughters try it out and they loved it as well.  The kids may create a login if they wish to and add their photo (although I have camera set off at our elementary). If the camera is turned off, they may choose a pre-composed photo (cartoon animals).  The five new news stories appear upon login or turning the app on.  Students may scroll down to see the previous days stories.  They can access each story with a tap.  Many of the stories are interactive by adding videos, pictures, underlined words that define the word and questions about the article for comprehension.  The stories also offer a "read to me" feature and a "go there" feature that takes them to a map of the world and pin points where they are and where the story is taking place.  Lastly, there are games that offer puzzles, mystery words and trivia about "on this date".  Overall, this is a fun app that kids will play with and not even realize that they are learning :-) !