Problem Attic: "Standarized Bell Ringer"

Problem Attic is a website/test generator that houses a collection of over 80,000 of the best questions from NY Regents, state assessments, and academic competitions. The website is free and fairly easy to navigate and use. You can browse almost an endless supply of questions and narrow them down by type of question (NY Regents, State Assessments)  subject matter, (ELA, Math, S.S., Science), class (Algebra, Geometry) and even strand (Rational & Irrational Numbers).  My initial thought is that these would make great bell ringers or reviews for students. As a special education teacher I am constantly running out of sample problems for my students to practice completing. I think exposing students to standardized questions will help get them prepared for the high stakes testing they are required to complete in this day and age.

Send Hub: Instant & Direct Communication With Your Group

Would you like to be able to communicate with multiple groups of people with one click on your phone (Android & iOS) or computer and have them actually see your message right away? Don't want to give out your phone number to students, players, or participants in a club or group?  The Send Hub app solves all of these problems. I have been using Send Hub this year to communicate to my basketball team that I coach. It has been a life and time saver!  The best part is that it can operate as an opt in service. Where people subscribe with just your Send Hub phone number (which is in your own area code) and a code word. The app can also make and receive phone calls on your extra line. Many teachers are just starting to email a list of parents for class updates. That is a good start but most emails are briefly read and deleted and many are never read at all. In this digital age people pay attention and are more likely to take action when they get a text message sent right to their phone. I have used this service for almost a year now and would recommend it to anyone who needs to communicate and disseminate information to a group of people. 

Simple Booklet: Digital Book Perfect For Project Based Assessments

Over the years I have experimented with multiple websites and avenues for students to be able to show what they have learned on a given subject or topic. Two years ago I was using Glogster EDU as a way for my students to complete project based assessments. For the last year I had been using Lino, which is basically a glorified bulletin board. Both of the sites can serve a purpose but I still felt as if there had to be something better out there for students displaying content they had learned over a period of time. At first glance, it appears Simple Booklet might just be that diamond in the rough I have been looking for all these years. They have a regular version and an educational version. The educational is the most affordable service I have seen, only $10 a year for 30 students. Perfect for a special education or elementary teacher.  The site basically allows students to build digital flip books and then share them via almost every way imaginable. A teacher can even upload a PDF or PowerPoint and the site will automatically turn it into a book that can be shared anywhere. Content created can even be viewed on tablets and smart phones.  The site appears to be very solid with quick loading, automatic saving, and easy navigation for students. I used the down time after students completed their mid-term exams this week to get them all signed up and experimenting with the site. I will be posting assignment and student examples in the weeks to come. In the mean time, I highly suggest you give SimpleBooklet a try.

Video On How I Use Socrative In My Classroom

I was getting ready to review for an Economics test the other day and just randomly decided to pull out my iPhone 5 and do some recording of how I was using technology in the classroom.  I stayed home with my ill son today so I had some time to throw the footage into iMovie and share it with you. I think most teachers know what Socrative is and what it can do; I just think many of them are too busy to try an incorporate it into their classroom. Hopefully actually seeing how a real teacher uses it in a classroom will encourage them to give it a try. One thing I forget to mention is how the students know the correct answer. In this example I verbally tell them the answer to the question and we then discuss and review the concepts with that question.  

Easy To Use Calendar Template

I can vividly remember the last time I tried to create a document using Microsoft Word.  My cursor would not go where I wanted it, using tab would result in moving down a line, and auto numbers were appearing everywhere.  I can also remember hurting my hand from punching my desk and cursing the name of Bill Gates at least 5 times.  I remember thinking there had to be a better way. From that moment on I swore I would never use anything Microsoft again and since have used Google Docs (Drive) exclusively. It is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life! Sure Google doesn't have 249 bells and whistles for a Word document but who needs all that? Below is a very simple easy to use editable calendar template Vertex42 made. You can also embed this calendar on a blog or website. You can find the 2013 calendar here. Need another kind of template? You can search for any Google Document templates here.

I, Pencil: The Movie

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE politics and economics. This year I am teaching economics at the high school level and am enjoying it immensely.  We had already watched some older  I, Pencil videos and discussed how amazing free markets operate when left to their own devices. This is a brand new video that I think will communicate this idea even better, especially to special education students.  I plan on having my students watch it this week. It's simple enough to play even at an elementary level but so complicated and deep that well educated adults can garner knowledge and a deeper understanding of economics from it.

Using Lino for Project Based Assessments

Last year I used Glogster exclusively as a medium to have my students create project based assessments in my social studies classes.  It can be a great service but I just had too many issues with glogs disappearing and our school had a new firewall that was not allowing pictures to be uploaded. I had a couple options of what to use but decided to go with Lino because it was simple and allowed for a google sign in. (All the students at my school have a student Gmail account.)  So far Lino is working out great for my classes. The students can post sticky notes and explain the concepts we are covering and add photos to illustrate the concepts they have learned. They could post videos but most of those are blocked at our school. I have my students turn in their assignments on my class Moodle page by embedding the link to their board on a forum I created. What you see below is how they show up in the forum.Click on the pictures below to open the entire Lino board.

Types Of Economic Systems

economic part 2