More with Kahoot!

Website Wednesday

Kahoot is a website that allows teachers to create multiple choice questions with images, text and video. Students then join the game using a code provided by the teacher. The faster the student answers the more points they get. Of course, correct answers also get points. Best of all, the site works on any device - laptop, macbook, iPad, Chromebook, smart phone . . . anything with internet access. 

Even better, Kahoot has added a NEW game and data results features. 

Data Results can be saved to your Google Drive with one click of a button. Quiz results will open in a Google Sheet allowing you to manipulate the data. This is great for helping set-up RTI or Enrichment Groups. Classes can also celebrate the top 3 placed students with the new game option, Podium.  

With the new Ghost Mode feature, classes can play the game again. As they play again,Kahoot keeps, shows, and compares student scores and answers from the live game (first game played) and the Ghost Mode game. It's a great way to motivate students to beat their previous score while reinforce learning through repetition. Since students can create their own free account, assign Kahoot as homework and with Ghost Mode students can play again and again. While at the same time, you can see all the data in a google sheet with a click of a button. 

The new Kahoot Jumble, a sequencing game, "promotes accuracy over speed". Put historical events in chronological order, sort the parts of a word problem, or rearrange sentences. The possibilities are endless. 

Here's a handout to get things started for you. I promise your students will love it!

Web Sites for Social Studies

Websites Wednesday

Attended a webinar today from TCEA and wanted to share some of the spectacular social studies' apps from the session. 

Tween Tribune from the Smithsonian Institute - Find free current event articles. Teachers can differentiate for their students by choosing different lexile levels. Quizzes, lesson plans, and other resources are also available. 

Newspaper Archives from the Library of Congress - Read all about it. Primary sources from 1690 to present. Get first-hand accounts of important historical events and people. 

National Archive - Enhance and support student learning with digitized primary sources. Provides political cartoon resources and online exhibits. 

iCivics -  Students experience civic roles and address real-world issues through the sites interactive games. 

Google Arts and Cultures - This site offers historical online exhibits and virtual tours. 

Oyez, Oyez, Oh Yay!: Civic Resources -  This site has lesson plans, videos, notes pages, and games that focus on landmark court decisions to help Texas students master TEKS in US government and history. 

PBS - It's Not Just for Television

PBS has some great broadcasting for television, but did you know they also great broadcasting online? PBS Learning Media is an outstanding resource for videos, images, interactive elements, webinars, virtual field trips and much more. 

On the site you will find "This Day in History" and it shares videos for various subject areas. For example, you might find information about the 100th day of school for math or a video about Mark Twain for English. 

Just create a free account and start your search. You can search by grade level, subject area, and content type. Save what you find to favorites. I encourage you to explore everything this website has to offer. 

Shmoop.com

Shmoop.com isn't the easiest website to explain. It has so much great content that it's hard to know where to start.

Free stuff you'll find on the website - 
1. Study Guides for ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies, Art & Music and more.
2. College & Career Help
3. Over 3,000 videos
4. Writing Labs
5. Teacher Guides

They also have online courses, test prep materials for SAT, ACT, PSAT and AP courses - these aren't free.

Shmoop aims to combine a teen-friendly, approachable style with academically rigorous materials. Here's a link to their video explaining a little more about their site - What is Shmoop?

Pic Collage - The Ultimate Photo Collage Creator

Pic Collage was one of the first apps I downloaded on my iPad and I've been using it ever since.

Using the simple layout options, select the best one for your photos,  and then add photos from your device or from the web. You can also add text and stickers, change the background, and create special effects for your photos. 

Your creations can be saved to your device, instagram, twitter, facebook, or tumblr.

This app is an absolute must for students. It can be used in any subject area and can be as detailed as you want it to be. 

Need some ideas? Just click on this Pinterest search to be inspired - Pic Collage App Search

The Sky's the Limit with Padlet

I remember back in the day when Padlet was Wall Wisher. That was a while back - I loved Wall Wisher, but it seemed to have a few issues - well NO MORE! Along with the name change, Padlet has gotten it together and is now one of my absolute FAVORITE websites (and apps) for sharing content and ideas. 

So what is Padlet you ask? Padlet is, at the most basic level, an online bulletin board or virtual wall. You and your students can post information for others to view. But really, Padlet is so much more than that. Here are just a few ways teachers and students can use Padlet in the classroom - teachers can post questions that students can answer, students can provide feedback/evaluation of a project, students can upload their work for others to see, teachers can use it as a communication tool for parents, students can write book reviews, teachers can post links to video tutorials or websites to be used in research, and the list could go on and on.

I encourage you to take a look at Padlet.com (and the app). Here's a link to a video explaining how to use Padlet and it also has a few examples - https://youtu.be/8VcSQygAf6E.

Creating Videos with Shadow Puppet Edu

Using Shadow Puppet Edu makes video creation super simple. With only a few clicks, students can create videos to tell a story, share ideas, or show what they know. 

Using images from the iPad or the built in image search including the Library of Congress, NASA, Creating Commons and much more, students can create videos with up to 100 images per video and up to 30 minutes long. They can also add narration, background music and text to each slide. When the video is complete, students can save it to the camera roll and then easily share it through social media, email or copy to Google Drive, Classroom, or OneDrive. Best of all, there are over 30 activity ideas built into the app to help everyone get started.

Check out the Shadow Puppet Edu app in the app store.