Have you used iTunes U before? It's likely you have heard of iTunes, but maybe not iTunes U, which is a part of the iTunes store. What we love about iTunes U is that: (1) it's free, (2) you don't have to have an iTunes account to download things, and (3) it's constantly growing. You can also use it on a variety of non-apple devices---just download iTunes (free) on your device.
Here is a great video showing a little bit about what iTunes U can offer. This video is older though, so realize there has been so much growth since then. Downloading content from iTunes means not having to stream it from the internet. It's permanently on your device! iTunes U contains content from universities, schools, independent consultants, etc. TEA has their own page on iTunes U where they provide excellent content available for download. Here is some information about Texas Education on iTunes U. We are also hosted on TEA's iTunes U page. You can find us by searching "Amoeba Sisters" in the iTunes store search bar. Pinterest is one of those websites where hours can go by without you noticing. We all know why. It has some great ideas---for tons of topics---and education is no exception! We have a Pinterest page ourselves.
So what kind of things might you look up on Pinterest in education? Try searching for these below topics in Pinterest to start finding some awesome ideas: -"Science comics" (or your subject area) -"Classroom displays" (for classroom ideas!) -"Anchor charts" -"Science resources" (or your subject area) -"Educational technology" We are really getting into GIFs. You can read more about why on our GIF page.
After you check that out, we mentioned on that page that there are lots of places to host GIFs. Here is our Padlet example. A teacher can create a Padlet page and then only needs to provide students with the link. Students don't need an actual account. By just double clicking, they can make a post and comment on a GIF. They can also post their own. Padlet also allows you to turn on "approval only" so that posts only show if you approve them. We have our Padlet commenting turned off right now. Here is our Linoit example. The navigation menu is in the bottom right. If you drag that white rectangle around, you can see where we have posted some of our GIFs with questions. We have commenting turned off, but if turned on in the settings, it allows students to answer questions about GIFs on different colored sticky notes. Students don't need an actual Linoit account---they just need the link provided by their teacher! Perhaps you can relate to this----let's pretend you have some great website bookmarks that you love to use in the classroom. One day, you are on a different computer and want to get to one of those bookmarks. But you can't!
Well you could, if you sign into Chrome. Or Firefox. Or...well those are really the only two browsers we use. But then you have to sign into a browser and there are a few reasons why you may not want to do that. Browser sign ins contain more than bookmarks. Plus, what if you use two browsers...which one is the one that has the bookmark you need? Did you import bookmarks into both browsers? Enter Symbaloo! We love Symbaloo! Once you make a free account, it lets you make your bookmarks in a cloud. You can easily organize your bookmarks, add pictures to them if you want so they are easy to identify, and you can make your Symbaloo private or public. Then all it takes it signing on to Symbaloo from any computer and *poof* all bookmarks present! Response systems allow you to immediately collect student responses, which makes them powerful when used as formative assessments throughout a lesson. Response systems not only tell you what your students do and do not know, but they can help you in modifying your instruction to meet student needs during instruction.
Here are some our (FREE) favorites! Plickers- Print out free Plicker response cards from their website (it's better if you print them on cardstock rather than just paper). Install the free Plickers app on your mobile device. Students hold up the printed Plickers cards to respond to a multiple choice question (A,B,C, or D) and all you need to do is just wave your mobile device in front of the cards. It captures footage of them and immediately gathers results. It is awesome! Kahoot- An awesome quiz show game that works on all kinds of devices! Teachers can make their free quizzes on getkahoot.com. After making your quiz, you can activate it. This will give a pin number so that students can join your quiz by visiting kahoot.it and typing in the pin number. Poll Everywhere- A great way to poll your students! This website not only does multiple choice but also allows participants to text in responses. Create your poll and it will walk you through the process! |
About This PageThis page features some of Pinky's favorite instructional technology websites, apps, online resources, response systems, and other tools. Please always read the terms and privacy policy of any technology tool that you plan to use in the classroom.
Disclosure? If we share a tool or website on this page, it's because we like it and find it useful. We don't have affiliate links on this blog. If we use affiliate links at any point on this blog, we will announce on the individual post. Topics
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