PortaPortal

PortaPortal is a free bookmarking site that allows you to give students s protected access to a list of websites or links you have selected.  Students and parents may be given a guest login so that they can access the links from home.  This guest access allows them to access the links without having access to alter or add information to your site.  You can create tabs or subject headings to organize your links.   Check it out at ... http://portaportal.com/

Sign up for this free bookmarking tool!

Organize your links for parents and students to easily access by subject or skill.

Remind

 

Remind (formally know as Remind 101) is a quick and easy way to alert parents of information regarding your classroom or school activities through text messages.  Parent sign up for your text messages via a secure code....you send information directly to parents...it's that simple!  This is a great tool to increase parental involvement and keep parents informed of tests, field trips, project due dates, BYOD dates, monies due and activities here at school!   This app is available in iTunes and Android Play Store and is accessible through mobile devices and the web.

Check it out by visiting... https://www.remind.com/

Web Whiteboard

Thank you, Mrs. Brewer, for discovering this new web application that turns your devices into interactive whiteboards!  Web Whiteboard is a web-based site that allows you instantly interact with others on a common whiteboard.  You may create a whiteboard ID which allows others to access your whiteboard.

Today, Mrs. Brewer's third grade class used Web Whiteboard to solve various math problems.  Students were able to work out problems on multiple devices while collaborating together on various strategies to solve their problems.

Students see the same screenshot on each device and interactions between devices are delivered in real time.

Teachers can monitor on their "whiteboard".

Student solved the real-time interaction; since this is web-based, students see immediately when another writes on the class whiteboard.  Currently, this is free to use and offers many features such as drawing and sticky notes.

Here is what a few of our third graders thought about Web Whiteboard...

Tucker - "I think it was good for us because everyone could see what we were doing and some people could see our different strategies in math."

Gracie -"It was pretty cool how our work showed up on everyone's device. At times it would slow up, but that was because everyone was thinking and trying solve the problem to show what they know."

Ashley - "I like the web whiteboard because you can call on a student and everyone can see them answer on the board. It's a whole lot more fun than writing just on paper."

Too Noisy

 
This paid app ($1.99) has our some of our teachers (and students) hooked!  Too Noisy is a noise level meter app that you can use to help monitor the noise level in your classroom.  Several of our teachers have incorporated this during station time or partner work to help manage the classroom noise level.  Teachers may adjust the sensitivity level to meet their needs.  One great use for this app is to display it using your Apple TV.   Students can reference the meter and monitor themselves as they work.   Very cool!

Acceptable noise level...keep working!

Getting noise...check your level!

 

Too noisy...lower your voice level!

For more info about this app, check our their website or find it in the App Store...
http://toonoisyapp.com/

Team Shake

Team Shake is a cool new find for some of our teachers.  This paid app (cost $0.99) will allow you to generate and evenly distribute students into teams.  Settings allow you to designate ability level, gender or designate who can/cannot be together on a team.  The app will distribute names based upon the number of "teams" you need for a given activity. 

Here are a few features that are outlined about this app in the Apple Store:

* Create completely random or balanced teams
* Import lists from email or spreadsheet
* Temporarily disable people who are absent
* Set groups of people to always be on the same team
* Set groups of people to always be on different teams
* Set user strength to make more even teams (now supports fully balanced teams)
* 5 users strengths level
* Pick a single random person from the list of players
* Option to balance male / female team members
* "Equal Ability" option to create teams where all players have the same strength

Third grade has incorporated this app and the students love seeing who is "shaken" together to be on their team or group.  This is a great classroom management and student engagement tool. 

Stick Pick

 

 
During Appy Hour, we discovered an app called Stick Pick.  This app is simply a can of equity sticks on your mobile device.  The app allows you to track student responses, they types of questions asked, rate them with a critical thinking scale, as well as calculate their accuracy in responses.  The app costs $2.99 and is available in iTunes.

 

  

One teacher found another way to use this app.  She is using the app to review vocabulary.  Vocabulary and key terms are listed instead of student names.  Students pass the device and shake to pick a word.  The students then define, illustrate or act out the meaning of the word.