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Free, fun online practice for homophones

Rubrics can be an incredibly useful tool for your classroom. Aside from being one of those cool words that sounds a little weirder every time you say it, using a rubric can help your students understand the assignments in your classroom, and will make your grading process clearer, faster, and more objective and consistent. Online rubric makers can make rubric creation pretty simple, so we've collected a few sites that offers online rubric makers (some of them are free) that can help you out in your classroom. There are many sites out there that also offer shared rubrics from other users that you can use as well - quite a helpful tool if you're either in a pinch, or at a loss for where to start.

"Using Prezi, you can create a visual classroom without succumbing to death by PowerPoint. Its interactive features, zooming display, and creative options will enable your visual lessons to engage students without distracting them from lesson objectives. With all those bells and whistles, Prezi might sound complicated, but it's actually quite simple to use. Read on, and I'll show you how to use this innovative tool."

"Looking for a pair of wireless headphones to complement your super tight jeans? JayBird's SB2 Sportsband headphones should serve as the perfect tech-cessory for your 80′s inspired hipster wardrobe thanks to their wide headband and small collection of colors ranging from subtle to almost neon. But what's that you say? You embrace the 80′s except when it comes to technology? Well you'll be happy to know that in addition to Bluetooth A2DP support, the headphones also support the newer apt-X Bluetooth audio codec, which is apparently included in Apple's new Mac Mini. However, if you wanted to take advantage of its CD-quality wireless sound with other gear like the iPhone. The iSport (pictured above) which is compatible with the iPhone and other iDevices, or the uSport which connects to the headphone jack of pretty much any other audio source. like with most Bluetooth headphones they include buttons on the side for controlling your music, as well as an integrated mic for making calls." By-The Xpert Crew @ http://techvedic.com https://www.facebook.com/techvedicinc https://twitter.com/techvedicinc http://pinterest.com/techvedic1 http://techvedicinc.tumblr.com/ https://plus.google.com/u/0/110467075169904075419/

Facebook offers you a special domain email ID as username @facebook.com. However, with a bid to popularize the Facebook ID, it has taken a stringent action, which may not be acceptable to all. What's that? In the profile page you may notice the replacement of your original email ID with the newly introduced one. If the change doesn't interest you then go ahead.

"Today it's possible to film, edit, and publish movies all on an iOS device. There's no more importing video into a computer, and apps are making the process easier than ever! See a demonstration and examples of how to create excellent educational films by using a variety of iPhone and iPad apps to film, edit, enhance, and publish videos. Learn about tips and tricks for helping students memorize lines, improving sound quality, changing camera angles, improving lighting, and much more. We'll even produce a short film together!"

"There has been much focus on shifting our assessment practices in education and, particularly in BC, moving toward more Assessment For Learning (or formative assessment) in schools. This is such an important conversation and needed change but at some point along the way, Assessment OF Learning (or summative assessment) has been given a bad rap. To have sound assessment practices in a classroom and school, we need a solid balance of ongoing formative assessment (click here for more info) as well as an effective way to verify that learning has occurred (summative). Formative assessment should be where we spend most of our time but summative assessments are still very important. As we engage in dialogue in our school around assessment, I recently posed a question at our staff meeting that said: Are we marking assignments or assessing learning outcomes?"

"Innovation… Versatility… Performance… What teacher doesn't want to provide the best technology has to offer for students? But with a plethora of choices, sometimes it's overwhelming trying to determine what device best suits the needs of all learners. So, what should educators choose-the power of a laptop or the compact, lightweight portability of a tablet? Well, it's no longer necessary to settle for one option when the best of both worlds are at your fingertips. Yep, it's true. With the latest and greatest technologies currently available on the market, students now have access to the functionality of a laptop while also having the capability of completing captivating assignments and/or creating meaningful content via a tablet. And better yet: The instruction and learning goals can dictate the type of device being used as opposed to the reverse, which typically occurs in classrooms today. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm referring to a super cool technology known as the 2-in-1. Whether your students need to generate a document or spreadsheet, transfer files, read an e-book, capture photos or create media, this hybrid does it all with just one simple twist, click or flip. Not only is this option flexible and convenient, but cost-effective as well because schools no longer need to provide students with more than one device to achieve desired outcomes. It's really all that-and much more!"

"Our brains absorb information in many, many different ways, where each of our senses offer a different interface to process information. In classrooms, this may be through text, video, interaction or any number of different mediums, but one channel that is often disregarded is audio. AudioBoom (formerly audioBoo) is a super simple tool that puts the focus back on the sense of sound by allowing students and teachers to record, playback, share and search audio online, providing a unique and in many cases more appropriate medium for learning."

"This year, I've spent a good deal of time coaching students and teachers to make learning visible within and beyond their classrooms. This may sound easy, but it isn't. There's a difference between displaying student work and capturing the actual moves that deepened understanding or improved performance. Those who strive to make learning visible appreciate how messy and overwhelming this work can be."

""How did you get your kids to do that?" It's a question I often get from colleagues when they see a picture a student took in my digital photography class - a class I dub iPhoneography, as much for the ubiquitous accessory that many of my middleschoolers wield like an appendage as for the hipster play on words, although the name belies the fact that any smart phone will do. That, and an eye for observing the sometimes aesthetic but always interesting minutiae of the day-to-day, or what Picasso called, "the dust of everyday life." Sound pretentious? Sure, but that doesn't mean it isn't doable for 12- and 13-year-olds."

"Using technology for learning makes sense. Technology creates access, transparency, and opportunity. Any smartphone or tablet is media incarnate-video, animation, eBooks, essays, blog posts, messages, music, games. The modalities of light, color, and sound all arranged just so to communicate a message or create an experience. But there is a difference, claims this graphic from teachbytes, between using technology and integrating it deeply into the learning experiences of students. This is, of course, what models like the SAMR model are based on-that idea of mere use to automate, to redefining what's possible."

"Innovative educators always want to know the latest and greatest tools and resources for teaching and learning. The problem is they are busy people and keeping up with what's new takes a lot of time! If this sounds like you, you'll be happy to learn about these free tools that summarize reading. "

"News that Microsoft is buying MinecraftEdu and beefing up the classroom version of the insanely popular game got us thinking about all the great ways educators use Minecraft to teach everything from math and social studies to team building and cell biology. "As an educational tool, Minecraft is a wonderful platform for learning," says Pam Simon who runs an after-school program called Fidgets2Widgets that has incorporated Minecraft since 2013. "You have to have mathematical understanding to build sound structures. Architecture and design features allow for innovation. Redstone in the game acts as the electrical circuitry system, so you can run minecarts, light torches, and create pressure plates." Read these six articles to get ideas for using Minecraft to engage students in deep leaning in your classroom, school or program."

"One of the best gifts you can possibly give your child is an education in computer programming. Not only is it a fun, intellectually-challenging pastime, but it's also a solid guarantee of a future career in an industry that not only offers competitive wages, but also promises to provide stable and steady employment. One of the best tools for teaching coding to kids is the Raspberry Pi. At $30, these are cheap enough for most parents to buy. Using the built-in GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output), they can attach electrical components, and build their own physical computing devices. Because you're unlikely to use a Raspberry Pi as your main computer, your children can experiment and play without the fear of causing damage to your system or your documents. But if you aren't a coder, and don't know your Python from your Prolog, you might not know where to direct your children to. If that sounds like you, don't worry. Here's five simple activities to teach your child how to code with the Raspberry Pi."

"In this series of tutorials I'll give you a detailed introduction to Scratch and how to use it. This first part will give an overview of how Scratch works and its main components and concepts. I'll cover: getting started projects assets: backdrops, sprites, costumes and sounds scripts where to get help First, here's how to get started with Scratch. "

"It's time for my students to make a guess: Where is the class they are meeting for the first time via Skype? "Is it North Carolina?" There is silence in the classroom as my fifth graders crane their necks toward the screen. "No!" shouts a voice from the computer speakers, and my students scramble back together. A buzz of "What could it be then?" envelops them. This is what it sounds like when 23 students engage in what is known as Mystery Skype. The idea is incredibly simple, but how it unfolds can be downright magical. When else can you see students using all of their background knowledge, tech savvy and common sense just to figure out where someone is in the world?"

"It takes time to build up a strong inquiry-based teaching practice, to learn how to direct student questions with other questions, and to get comfortable in a guiding role. But when Laufenberg talks about what it takes, she makes it sound easy. We've broken her advice down into digestible tips for anyone ready to jump in and try for themselves."

"THE TECH-BUYING PUBLIC is all abuzz about drones! Even drones are abuzz about drones, because that's generally the sound they make! But there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all drone. Whether you're looking for a fun flying toy, a UAV that can take some serious lumps, a high-speed racer, or a professional flying camera, here are the hot picks this holiday season."

"16Hertz, an educational electronics company based in New York City announces the release of their illustrated, graphic-novel style guide, "The Illustrated Arduino". The guide is over 75 pages long, and contains hundreds of hand-drawn illustrations that take the readers through getting up-and-running with electronics prototyping and Arduino programming.   Written by career educators and makers, Aditya Kumarakrishnan and Adiel Fernandez, "The Illustrated Arduino" is a comprehensive guide created to be easily accessible to readers of all experience levels looking for a way to jump into the world of microcontrollers. When the duo dove into the Arduino community, they had a difficult time finding a comprehensive, clear guidebook for beginners. Having taught programming, physical computing and design to students of all ages from middle schools to universities, they sought out to create a guide that is easy-to-follow, great to look at all while still being rigorous. "We set out to create the most beautiful, user-friendly, pedagogically sound and rigorous guide book for the Arduino in the world", says Aditya. They've released the guide under a Creative Commons license, encouraging the larger community to share and use its content freel"