Candice Karas
  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact

edteCK Blog

Favorite Tech Tools for 2017

12/13/2017

4 Comments

 
As I reflect on 2017, I wanted to share the top 30 technology tools I've used, trained on, or recommended to teachers this year. 
Picture
  1. Answer Garden: quickly gather data in the form of a word cloud
  2. Canva: create images, posters, and presentations
  3. Classroom Screen: all your must-have tools are located in one place online
  4. Go Noodle: free brain breaks all in one spot
  5. Google Chrome and its extensions: log in to save all your bookmarks and preferences (click here to see a list of my favorite extensions)
  6. Google Custom Search: create a custom internet search with pre-approved websites
  7. Google Drive and all its components: I cannot say enough good things about Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Forms...the possibilities are endless!
  8. Google Earth Voyages: fantastic for virtual field trips or to just add a little extra "oomph" to your lesson
  9. Google Hangouts: Conduct meetings even when you're not in the same room! I love the "share my screen" feature, which allows me to let teachers see what my screen looks like as I walk them through a project
  10. Google Voice: gives you an extra phone number that connects to your existing mobile number. Great for making parent phone calls or texts without revealing your personal phone number. 
  11. Instant Classroom: upload your class roster and generate seating charts, groups, and more. 
  12. Kerem Erkan QR Code Generator: there is no shortage of QR code generators online, but this one is my favorite because you can create codes to plain text, maps, text messages, and more. 
  13. Online Stopwatch: counts up or down, includes fun animations (if you want to use them), and gives your students a visual as to how much time is left 
  14. Padlet: virtual corkboard that can be used for exit tickets, question parking lots, backchannel tool, and more. The addition of a column layout was HUGE this year
  15. Pic Collage: create posters, collages, and other projects by layering images and text
  16. Plickers: a digital assessment tool that only requires one device (the teacher's!)
  17. Poll Everywhere: use the "clickable image" feature to assess very young students or those that struggle with reading 
  18. Popplet: create online brainstorm webs that include pictures, drawings, and text
  19. Quizizz: a fun game that provides practice for students and assessment data for teachers
  20. Reflector Teacher: mirror your mobile device on your computer screen, record movements on your mobile device, and all students to project as well
  21. Remind: communicate with a large group via text or email without revealing your personal information. I regularly recommend this just for the scheduling feature
  22. SafeShare.tv: crop YouTube videos while filtering ads and video recommendations
  23. Screencast-o-Matic: create videos of your computer screen
  24. Seesaw: ePortfolio tool geared toward young learners. The Activities feature has been a game-changer this year
  25. Shadow Puppet Edu: create slideshows with music or narration 
  26. Sign Up Genius: I used this when I taught Science Lab to gather volunteers for stations during Science Night. Since then, I've seen it used for potluck lunches, field trip volunteers, and mystery reading guest sign-ups. 
  27. Socrative: a digital assignment tool where any amount of planning will work
  28. Symbaloo: Out of all the ways to share links with students, this one is probably the easiest and most universal. 
  29. TweetDeck: schedule your tweets in advance and keep up with Twitter chats more easily
  30. Wifi Mouse: an iOS app that works over Wifi to connect to your computer and act as a mouse, letting you control your computer screen from anywhere in the room

​Are there any tools you'd add to my list?
4 Comments

Safe Search Sites for Kids

5/12/2017

3 Comments

 
As a teacher, I want my students to ask questions and then work to find the answers themselves. I will always be there to guide and support my students to find the answers they need, but I think the process of searching, filtering sources, and deciding which information is best is more valuable than the actual answer. 

That said, I would never direct students to just search in Google for their answer. I am of the belief that kids are only young once and that they are exposed to enough "adult content" at an early age via various forms of media; I want to let my students "be little" for as long as possible! And I'm always surprised when I search for something seemingly innocent and receive some...not so innocent results. 😳

​The happy medium I've found is to guide students to search on "kid friendly" search engines. Our district subscribes to a number of these...if you work in my district, check with your campus librarian to see exactly which databases are available to you. 
Picture

​However, if you're looking for something free that can be used at any time, here are some kid-friendly search engines I like:
  • KidRex.org
  • Kiddle.co
  • KidsClick.org
  • FactMonster.com
  • SafeSearchKids.com
  • SweetSearch.com
  • DibDabDoo.com
  • KidzSearch.com
  • Kidtopia.info
  • Custom Google Search - Create your own! Use Google's powerful, tried-and-true search methods combined with parameters to search only the websites you specify. For instance, I have a custom Google search already created with all of the above-mentioned kid-friendly search sites. You can access my custom Google search by clicking here. If you'd like help creating your own Custom Google Search, click here for directions. 

Be aware that none of these safe-searches are going to catch 100% of the icky stuff, so I still recommend being present and aware of what children are looking for online. 

Once you have these links, there are several ways you c
3 Comments

#TCEA17 Favorite Finds

2/17/2017

0 Comments

 
Now that I'm back from TCEA 2017 and have had a little time to process what I've learned, it's time to share my favorite finds. {If you attended the conference, I'd love to know about your "favorite finds!"
Picture

Here are my favorite finds from #TCEA17:


1. Create Cartoons/Avatars in Google Drawings or Microsoft PowerPoint -- Kristy Edgar is a middle school teacher who creates cartoon videos to spice up her American History lessons (here's an example called "American Revolution, ep. 2: Allies are Friends"). She creates characters using basic, 2D geometric shapes and then uploads her final products to her YouTube channel. Not only could this be a fun addition to your instruction, but it could also be nice for students to make their own characters to review geometric shapes and show their learning in a creative, "techy" way. Click here for her full presentation.
​

2. Symbaloo Lesson Plans -- This hidden feature of Symbaloo allows teachers to find structured, media-rich lesson plans in the marketplace or create their own. The resulting plan looks similar to a board game with text instructions, web pages, search bars, web articles, videos, math formulas, and/or embedded content sprinkled inside. Teachers can even customize the board so it forces learners to go on a specific path based on their answers. (Click here to see an example lesson plan about the solar system.)

Teachers need a free Symbaloo account (or upgrade to the Edu version for free) in order to create or assign lessons, but students don't have to log in at all, which makes this tool perfect for everyone -- including young learners without an e-mail address. When students start a Symbaloo assignment, it prompts them to enter their name and the assignment number. Then the teacher can easily track data -- including results, when assignments were started, how long they took to complete and/or how far each student was able to progress in the assignment, questions answers correctly vs. incorrectly, and more.

Click here for the Symbaloo Lesson Plan Manual, or click here for a quick YouTube video overview.

3. Photos for Class -- Part of practicing good digital citizenship is making sure we use only images we have permission to use online and in presentations. Teachers and students can always conduct advanced Google Image searches to filter pictures based on rights...or we can use websites that make the process a little easier. For instance, Tony Vincent tweeted about PhotosForClass.com, which allows users to search for copyright-friendly photos that are already watermarked with a citation when downloaded:

□ Need photos for a project? Trying searching https://t.co/1yZP46IQQ6!#ArcadiaSUSD #tcea17 pic.twitter.com/JL9Jh1GPFp

— Tony Vincent (@tonyvincent) February 8, 2017
To access over 500 TCEA session handouts, click here. You can also follow along on Twitter by searching for #TCEA17 to read everyone's tweets. ​
0 Comments
<<Previous

    About

    edteCK is a blog that focuses on educational technology tools -- written by Candice Karas. 

    ​Categories

    All
    Assessment
    Brain Breaks
    Brainstorming
    Communication
    Conferences
    Digital Citizenship
    Free Images
    Google
    IOS
    Management
    Math
    Microsoft
    Online Safety
    Ready-made Lesson Plan
    Social Media
    Symbaloo
    Teacher Tools
    Time Saver
    Time-saver
    Transitions
    Volunteers
    Web 2.0 Tools
    Web Search


    Archives

    June 2018
    December 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    September 2016


    RSS Feed

Services

Staff Workshops/Trainings
1:1 or Small Group Technology Tutoring
Small Business Social Media Management

QUICK links

Blog
Current Students
​Workshop Feedback​
Terms of Use

disclaimer

The views expressed on this website are mine alone and do not reflect those of my employer. I do not speak on behalf of my district. 
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ​WEBSITE POWERED BY WEEBLY. 
  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact