FPS Integrating Technology into Your Classroom

"So what if you could make your own infographics? What would you make it of? It's actually easier than you think… even if you have zero design skills whatsoever."

"Sophia was created with a vision of transforming education through a vibrant online community of teachers and learners. Our goal is to provide self­-paced, inspirational and relevant curriculum to learners of all stages and ages."

Services like CK-12 make it easy for teachers to assemble their own textbooks. Content is mapped to a variety of levels and standards including common core. You can start from scratch or build from anything the the FlexBooks library.

Free gathering data tools, analyzing data tools, and printable recording and analyzing data tools

Great selection of various graphic organizers for print.

"In an effort to bring my own classroom to the present, I've put together a list of 10 icebreakers that use technology and fit with 21st century students"

"Kahoot! empowers educators and captivates learners. Through the creation of a trusted learning space, educational content is delivered by asking meaningful questions in real-time, creating a social, fun and game-like environment. Kahoot! flips the classroom with a pedagogy based on encouraging a loop from 'learner to leader' within the learning space, which maximizes the precious learning time spent in the classroom and empowers learners to lead."

"You may feel like it's just one more thing to add to your plate. In reality, figuring out more efficient ways of working means you have more time to devote to your students, more time to be creative, and more time to relax and recharge your batteries."

"Google Drive has enabled Google Add Ons and there are some that you and your students will want to enable right away. Others may appeal more to professional developers or those who work remotely ."

"The new Add-ons feature for Docs and Sheets makes it really easy to bring some advanced functionality, or just some missing features, to your most important Drive files."

"Collect audience intelligence while presenting PowerPoint. Run polls and ask questions using audience's devices."

"A while back, I was asked, "What engages students?" Sure, I could respond, sharing anecdotes about what I believed to be engaging, but I thought it would be so much better to lob that question to my own eighth graders. The responses I received from all 220 of them seemed to fall under 10 categories, representing reoccurring themes that appeared again and again. So, from the mouths of babes, here are my students' answers to the question: "What engages students?""

"Between societal changes and technological breakthroughs, it's become abundantly clear that the human brain is transforming the way it processes and learns information. While there are many discussions about whether or not this is good or bad for us as a society, it's definitely a change. As educators, it's our job to make sure that students (and adults) are learning. Part of that process isn't only about making an engaging activity or lesson, but also realizing how the modern brain learns. Teachers all over America are faced with this challenge of keeping students engaged in the classroom when their world outside of school is one of constant engagement and stimulation. Knowing the world outside of our institutional walls is only one step in addressing modern learning styles. How to act and adjust schools today is the next step in making the classroom of today ready for tomorrow."

"FlipQuiz was created to provide educators with a quick way to create gameshow-style boards for test reviews in the classroom. Traditionally, these are created (tediously) using posterboard, chalkboards, or dry-erase markers on an overhead slide. The review questions are usually even written on a separate sheet of paper. With FlipQuiz, questions are displayed on-screen and boards are saved for later use. Combined with a well-designed board, students are more likely to be interested and stay engaged with an otherwise disjunct test review process."

ThingLink is a simple piece of code that users can install on their website or blog. This code allows teachers or students to designate parts of sites or pages (pictures, etc.) that will produce a pop-up with a description and or a link to something else on the web.

"Here is a handy guide for students published by EasyBib. The guide takes students through a variety of websites, pointing out signs relating to their reliability.  By looking closely at information relating to a site's author, date of publication, citations and links, as well as publisher information, students can get a better grasp of what makes a website a credible source. "

"Tablets for Schools recently commissioned research on e-safety  (done by Family, Kids and Youth, an independent research agency) with over 3500 students aged 11-18. We asked for their thoughts on what their schools and parents were doing with regard to internet safety."

"Here are 100 great tips for using the documents, presentations and spreadsheets in Google Docs."

"Maps seemed to be everywhere in 2013, a trend I like to think we encouraged along with August's 40 maps that explain the world. Maps can be a remarkably powerful tool for understanding the world and how it works, but they show only what you ask them to. "