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Discover innovative online tools for education. Explore strategies and resources to enhance teaching, learning, and collaboration in the digital age.

YouTube Editor
Online Tools and Apps

What Your Students Want You to Know About YouTube Editor

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Sure, we are all aware that anyone can upload and share a video on YouTube. After all, there are four BILLION videos viewed there each day (according to this article). But did you know that your students can do so much more there? Forget about being passive video viewers; have them create and edit their own videos, sharing their own stories, on this same site using the YouTube Editor.

Along with videos, you can add images as stills in your project. And, aside from simply combining clips, you can also trim (customize the length of the clip). There are even special tools and effects available. How about a lower third? YouTube has you covered. A title card? YouTube can help you there. Need some music? YouTube has you covered there as well. You can even use some of today’s popular music.

These great features all tie into your Google Apps for Education account. Sign in and your project will be saved in the cloud.

Get started here. With your videos displayed, you can quickly drag and drop clips onto your timeline. Pinch the clip from either side to trim the clip. Once you’re ready to complete your masterpiece, save your video.

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digital storytelling
Online Tools and Apps

Getting Started with Digital Storytelling

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Digital storytelling is the method of using technology to share your narrative. The tools that students use can run the gamut from very simple presentation tools that just use audio recordings and photos to more complex creations requiring screencasting and appsmashing. If you are just getting started and trying to figure out the best tool for your students, then consider the following sites to acquaint you with some of the more popular tools used:

 

Regardless of which tool(s) you use, consider the following to help ensure your students’ success:

  • What do you want them to do with the end product? Will their stories be shared in a public online place for a wider audience or just viewed from the device on which they are created? Your answer to these questions will narrow the field of possible options.
  • Younger students, or students that may be open to distractions, will do better if you have them use tools that have fewer bells and whistles. These no-frills tools (such as 30hands Starter) minimize distractions and help students focus on the content of their story.
  • Have students plan their digital story prior to using the apps/websites. Consider using a template such as the 8 panel (Word) template, the film and video projects (Zipped) template, or the TCEA storyboard (Google Doc) template. Look through this Google search of completed storyboards and select a few to share that are relevant and appropriate for your content as examples.
  • Provide your students with a rubric to hold them accountable and guide them through the assignment. Consider using this general storytelling rubric, one of Rubistars rubric templates, or Kathy Schrock’s digital storytelling rubric.

 

Digital storytelling is a great way for students to demonstrate understanding of the content and in a context that makes sense to them. After all, we all love to both hear and tell stories. You should find that your students are more motivated to do their work when given the option to use digital storytelling as an assignment choice. Let us know your favorite digital storytelling tools and how your students used them to create amazement in your classroom.

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SketchUp Pro
Online Tools and Apps

Eight Reasons Why We Love SketchUp Pro (And You Should, Too!)

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Sure, TCEA offers SketchUp Pro absolutely FREE to all students and teachers in public K-12 schools in Texas. Yes, we offer big discounts on SketchUp Pro for private schools as well. But free and cheap don’t always equal love. Here are our reasons for absolutely loving SketchUp Pro, the amazing 3D drawing and design program you and your students should be using.

1. It’s so easy to learn. If this is your first time with SketchUp Pro, be amazed at how fast you can get started designing in 3D. With tips and hints popping up and guiding you through, you’ll be sure to create something interesting, beautiful, and useful.

2. It’s authentic. SketchUp Pro is used by architects, designers, builders, and more in the “real world.” Give your students an edge by having them use the same software they’ll experience once they are employed.

3. It’s not just about buildings. With the free software, students can draw an accurate picture of the human heart, a new type of engine, or a better wheelbarrow.

4. It offers a full warehouse of starting ideas. Think you can’t design with SketchUp Pro? Why not try the Warehouse, a website that lets you download thousands of user-created designs from ancient monuments to mythological creatures? Add the Mexican army around the Alamo or create a home for the 22nd century along with its family. Place multiple designs in one project to create a spectacular mash-up.

5. It’s free. Let me say again that SketchUp Pro is free to public K-12 schools and deeply discounted for private schools. You can receive one license for every PC or Mac computer you have in your district at no cost. The software normally is $495 per license!

6. It can be aligned to all content areas. We can see clear correlations to the standards for 3D design and animation. But the program can also be used in every other subject area. Interact with a digital environment, create amazing works of self expression, or use simulated models in the classroom. Discover real-world geometry and math as you design complex structures. Create and label the parts of a cell. Draw famous buildings from literature. SketchUp Pro really does provide a wide range of applications for your classroom.

7. It can grow with your students. For students who are already knowledgeable about 3D drawing and design, they can expand the program with the many free extensions available. From animation to productivity to 3D printing tools, there are lots of additional resources to choose from.

8. It comes with assistance. Still a little worried about diving into SketchUp Pro? TCEA provides free online training several times a year, as well as digital resources and tutorials to make you an expert.

What are you waiting for? Get your free SketchUp Pro licenses by completing this simple form.

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Online Tools and Apps

Celebrate the Season with Holiday Websites

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

Looking for some fun holiday websites for your students? Here are a few of our favorites, both old and new.

Grinch-mas

Grinch-mas is a holiday tradition inspired by Dr. Seuss’s classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas!  Grinch-mas encourages readers to “grow your heart three sizes” through the celebration of family reading, giving from the heart, and community spirit. National Grinch Day, on December 1, will kick-start the 25 Days of Grinch-mas. During this time, bookstores and local retailers all over the country will be hosting Grinch-mas events that will incorporate holiday storytimes for families with opportunities for kids to win prizes for doing good deeds throughout the month of December. It might be too late to join in this year, but the website includes print-color-create activities, clips to watch, and games to play.

Play the Game: How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Pinterest

Explore tons of Grinch ideas found on Pinterest!

Reindeer Cam

Watch Santa feed two of his reindeer during this holiday time on the Reindeer Cam.

Snowflake Maker

This easy-to-use website allows you to virtually cut folded paper and preview the snowflake. Whether you have students create a flake and then write a story of the flake’s travels or whether you have them incorporate specific mathematical features (rhombus, trapezoid, triangle, etc.), this site will be a fun start.

Holiday eCard

This site shares a lot of different options for sending a holiday e-card. 

Holiday Activities

Northpole.com celebrates the holidays with dozens of activities for children and families. A child-safe, award-winning holiday site, northpole.com promotes a traditional look at Santa’s Secret Village at the North Pole, but with high-tech, creative features to keep children and adults entertained—all for free.

Winter and Christmas Mad Libs

Mad Libs is a phrasal template word game where specific parts of speech are substituted for blanks in a story and then read out loud.  A little history on Mad Libs:  110+ million copies of Mad Libs books have been sold since the series was first published in 1958. This site has some fun holiday-themed Mad Libs your students are sure to enjoy.

41 Christmas Songs

Here you’ll find the lyrics to popular Christmas songs and carols. The Grinch Theme, of course, is included.

20 Christmas Stories

Links to the full stories.

The Polar Express

A Teacher’s Guide

Interactive Activities

Math Activities and Problems for The Polar Express

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Lesson Plans and Activities

The Twelve Days of Christmas

12 Days Lesson

Trivia Facts

Holiday School Party Games

Great Holiday School Party Ideas

More Winter Resources from TechNotes

Featured Image: Created in Canva by TCEA staff.

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photos
Online Tools and Apps

Communicating with Photos

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

It’s estimated that we will take more than 10 trillion photos in 2015. They seem to fill a need in everyone for telling a story. But just taking photos doesn’t foster communication or allow us to express our deepest thoughts and feelings. For that, we need a way to edit the photos into something amazing.

Autodesk offers an excellent solution for photo editing with its Pixlr suite of tools. Available as a free Android or iOS app, on the web (for Chrome), or as a free download for Mac or Windows computers, Pixlr is simple and elegant. Like more expensive programs such as Photoshop, it includes the ability to use layers, transform objects, add creative effects and borders, and change colors.

Besides standard photo editing tools, Pixlr also has some extra features that could be very useful in the classroom. The History Brush, for example, allows you to start with a photograph of a friend or loved one and, by using various overlays, end up with a portrait that places your subject in the foreground with an illustrative background — almost like a comic book. You’re basically creating a very rich, textured background while leaving your subject in real-world focus. This would work well with a photo and essay writing assignment where students are illustrating an emotion, like joy, or a concept, like diversity.

Pixlr Express (for both the web and mobile devices) also has the ability to create a collage of up to 25 images. This could be used for a group project with a team of students taking photos, editing them appropriately for the theme, and then merging them into one collage for publication. The Pixelate Brush can take existing works of art and pixelate them into new masterpieces reflecting a more modern feel.

In addition, if you use Gmail or Google Drive, you can set your email photo attachments to open automatically in Pixlr. Tutorials, tips, and templates are also provided, as is a blog with regular #pixelate challenges and ideas for photos. And this school district site has a nice introductory PDF on using Pixlr for students.

Students of any age will love the opportunity to showcase something they are passionate about through photography. But take the lesson to the next level by having them communicate an important lesson, a deep concept, or a difficult topic using appropriate photo editing and enhancement. Photos aren’t going away, so we must be sure our photo editing skills are up to our needs!

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8 Electrifying Tools graphic
Online Tools and Apps

Eight Electrifying Elementary Web 2.0 Tools

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

Here are some fun Web 2.0 tools to use in your elementary classroom.

1. You’ve heard of the fastest draw in the west? Well, here is the quickest timer on the Internet. In the Chrome browser omnibox (search box), type “timer 30 seconds.” As soon as you press enter/return, the timer starts! Try it out; any length of time will work.

2. The thought of letting students search on Google for images…very scary. Photos for Class from the good people of Storyboard That is a website for students to access images that are age appropriate. Flicker safe search and proprietary filters make it possible for teachers to breathe a little easier. The downloaded images are licensed for school use under Creative Commons and are automatically cited.

3. Canva is a free graphic design tool with drag-and-drop functionality where teachers and students can create presentations, posters, and so much more. Students can collaborate on the same design or provide view-only access. Teach your students to use the free images or upload your own photos.

4. Kahoot! is a quick-paced game learning environment that includes suspenseful music (which can be turned off) and an instant scoreboard. Easy interface for teachers to set up a quiz, discussion, or survey. Teachers create an account at GetKahoot.com. Students on any type of device enter a game pin at a different URL – kahoot.it. If you’re already familiar with Kahoot!, check out this blog on how to take it to the next level.

5. Try out the online form of Boggle. How many letters can you chain together to form a word before time runs out? Point value: 3 or 4 letters = 1 point, 5 = 2 points, 6 = 3 points, 7 = 5 points, 8 or more = 11 points.

6. Check out these Magical Math Puzzles to mystify your students.

7. Wheel Decide is a nice online spinner that is great for vocabulary, student voice and choice, and questions. Keep a spreadsheet with your students’ names, then copy and paste them for a quick decision-maker.

8. Have students write their scripts and enter their text into the online Cue Prompter. After adjusting the speed and controls, they are ready to use the monitor as a real teleprompter. Have them use the laptop’s webcam to record as they follow the prompter on the monitor.

Featured image created in Canva by author.

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Online Tools and Apps

Tech and Treat: A Free, Fun-Filled Webinar for Everyone!

by Chance McKee
written by Chance McKee
The bewitching hour is here at last
And we’ve planned an event sure to be a blast!

 

From witches to warlocks, goblins to ghosts,
Join TCEA as your spooktacular host!

 

The staff are dressed up and wanting to teach
Fun resources to use that will earn you a screech!

 

October 22nd – what are you doing, I ask?
How about teaching and learning and wearing a mask?

 

Creep and crawl on over, monsters and ghouls,
And learn from TCEA about some wonderful tools.

 

Just trust when we say this won’t be a fright.
You’ll learn all the tricks to do your Halloween right.

 

4-5 pm Central, it’ll be a treat, oh my!
Just keep an eye out for bats and broomsticks that fly.

 

We hope to see you there, costumes and all.
This will be a treat for one and for all.

 

Join TCEA on October 22, 2015 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central for a fun, free-to-anyone webinar as we show you wonderful tech ways to get your students into the spirit for Halloween.
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Kahoot
Online Tools and Apps

Take Kahoot! to the Next Level

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

By now, most of you have tried Kahoot!, the game-based student response system that is a wonderful tool for formative assessment. The teacher creates a free account and then can design quizzes with embedded images and video or use one of the millions of already-created quizzes. Students respond to the quiz using any device with Internet access. The faster they respond, the more points they score. In addition, teachers can create items in Surveys, which does not use points, or Discussions, which are single questions without points that can be used at the beginning of a unit to get ideas flowing.

Accessing the Data

Kahoot! is lots of fun and really engages students. But you may not know that, once the quiz is over, there is good data that you can access and analyze. After logging in to her account, the teacher can look at data from each quiz by clicking on the cloud download icon next to the name of each quiz. This will download an Excel spreadsheet that includes a minimum of three tabs: an overview of the total percentage of correct and incorrect answers, ratings from students on the activity, and a detailed breakdown of each student’s answers and the time they took for each question. This last tab is color coded to make it a quick read with correct responses in green and incorrect ones in red. All of this data is automatically generated and is an excellent resource to guide future instruction.

Taking Kahoot! to the Next Level

Here are some other great ideas for taking your Kahoot! to the next level.

  • If your students are using iOS or Android devices, you can have them add a quick link to the game on their home screens with these guides. There is also a free Android app and a free iPad app for Kahoot! that you may download.
  • Have a class-to-class battle. Use the link in the Results page to get one class to play against the results of a previous class.
  • Do you have students who want to take the quiz again? Now they can in Ghost Mode. Once a quiz is over, you will see a Play Again button that contains a ghost icon. When you click on the button, the same quiz is re-launched. Now, as the class plays again live, all students are joined by their “ghosts,” their previous answers. So students can easily see how they did before on each question and try to increase their score. This is a good way to increase retention.
  • Use the Send a Link feature to provide the link to each student after they’ve played it once in class. Then ask them to take the quiz again at home to try and beat their previous score.
  • If your class has a partner class in another location, the teacher can use the Send a Link tool to share a completed ghost game with them. This can give your students the chance to compete against others around the world.
  • For a major holiday, create a Kahoot! and share it with other classes who will all play the game at the same time. You could do an Earth Day game, one for Martin Luther King Day, or just one over a particular math skill.
  • Keep a Leaderboard of high scores in Kahoot! and watch your students try to reach the top.

New Features

Kahoot!Kahoot has upped its game by adding a Team Mode. Students get into teams with just one device between them. The teacher opens up a Kahoot! and now has the choice of selecting between Classic and Team Mode. Team captains (kids holding the devices) enter their team’s name and their players’ nicknames. Then they begin the game. This will be great for helping kids learn to work together or for those classrooms where devices are limited.

Another recent feature is Ghost Mode, which allows a student to play against himself. This is a good way for students to informally assess themselves to see if they are mastering the required content. They can play the same review game over and over, comparing their current score with their previous ones.

The latest Kahoot! update offers Jumble, a new game format. Like earlier games, Jumble has students take part in quizzes. But in the update, players are challenged to place the answers in the correct order by dragging and dropping rather than just selecting one correct answer.

On May 2, Kahoot! announced two Windows apps. Kahoot Create is the app for teachers to use to create and run Kahoot quiz games. Kahoot Play is the app for students to use to play a Kahoot game individually or in team mode. Both apps are now available in the Windows Store

Updates from ISTE

Kahoot!At the ISTE conference in San Antonio, Kahoot! unveiled a new mobile app for the game. What’s great about the app is that now both the questions and the answers will appear on the student screens. (Before, students had to look at the projected image in the classroom to see the question and then answer it on their own devices.) It also includes Challenges that can be issued by the teacher or by students to each. You can preview the new app (available in both Android and iOS) by signing up to be a beta tester here.

New: Kahoots Aligned to the Math Standards!

Kahoot! has now released some wonderful resources for math teachers. These quizzes are aligned to the national standards and are top quality. Additional games for science and ELA will also be coming soon.

Additional new features will be added. To make sure you have access to them, go into any of your Kahoots as if you were going to start the game. You’ll see a new option called Kahoot! Experiments. Turn this on and a list of add-ons will appear. Right now, the only one is Answer Streak Bonus, which is designed to reward player accuracy with bonus points for correctly answering multiple questions in a row. Get an answer wrong, and the streak is broken.

This post was updated on September 2, 2017 to include new features.

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