FPS Integrating Technology into Your Classroom

"Maps can be a remarkably powerful tool for understanding the world and how it works, but they show only what you ask them to. So when we saw a post sweeping the Web titled "40 maps they didn't teach you in school," one of which happens to be a WorldViews original, I thought we might be able to contribute our own collection. Some of these are pretty nerdy, but I think they're no less fascinating and easily understandable."

"I take a look at four ways that teachers can add questions to a YouTube video for their students to answer when watching a video at home or on their own."

"What are best practices to make a flipped classroom model work?"

"Simple: Whether you're uploading, sharing, or viewing files, everything is just a click away! Smart: Folders are automatically named based on the number and types of files uploaded. Powerful: View photos, videos, documents, presentations, spreadsheets, books, audios, fonts, codes & more, online." 100 MB maximum file size; can transfer 2 GB per share

"Last year my students designed infographics for the first time. I enjoyed the process and the products. It was a fun strategy to teach my students crucial research skills while encouraging them to think creatively about how to visually communicate information. This year I was literally blown away by the work my students did on their infographics. I wanted to share my process and examples of student work to help support other teachers."

The Buck Institute is a national leader in Project-Based Learning. There are a number of great rubrics on the website that assess 21st Century Skills (collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creative thinking, problem solving, and citizenship). As we look for projects to assess students' 21st Century Skills, this resource is a one-stop-shop for those rubrics.

"The fully automatic bibliography and citation maker. Save time by creating a cited page instantly in the MLA, APA,or Chicago referencing styles! It's easy, fast and it's free!"

"Managing tablets as learning tools in the classroom is not easy, especially when many kids use them largely as toys outside of school, if they have access to a tablet in their home environment. Kids often come to school and instinctively want to engage with a tablet as a toy, expecting to be free to play the games they want to play and explore the apps they are interested in. To get kids to shift into tablet as learning tool, teachers are finding that instilling fair, reasonable and consistent classroom habits in tablet learning environments is key."

"The Maker Movement, a technological and creative learning revolution underway around the globe, has exciting and vast implications for the world of education. New tools and technology, such as 3D printing, robotics, microprocessors, wearable computing, e-textiles, "smart" materials, and programming languages are being invented at an unprecedented pace. The Maker Movement creates affordable or even free versions of these inventions, while sharing tools and ideas online to create a vibrant, collaborative community of global problem-solvers. Fortunately for teachers, the Maker Movement overlaps with the natural inclinations of children and the power of learning by doing. By embracing the lessons of the Maker Movement, educators can revamp the best student-centered teaching practices to engage learners of all ages."

Mobento is a video learning platform. We think education is under-served by video technology. High quality videos are hard to find while lots of dross is pretty easy to stumble into. And searching for the pearls amid the clutter is time consuming. In short: we think the world where video meets education "could try harder"… as your old school report used to say. Mobento can help by organizing content better, being brutal in quality control, and being top of the class in innovation.

"Want to Make Your Own Set of Flashcards? Step 1: Modify the Google Spreadsheet Template Copy this template into your Gmail or Google Apps account. Enter as many terms as you want. Name your set of flashcards by changing the name of the worksheet (at the bottom)."

"What does student engagement look like? I have received this question from teachers in a number of different forms. Often the words "apathetic" or "unmotivated" are used in place of "disengaged." But the point is the same. Many of us have had students in the classroom whose stubborn lack of interest or motivation threatens to undermine the positive learning environment we've tried to create. How do we turn this around?"

Field trips generally venture only as far afield as the local heritage village, where you're likely to catch pilgrim 'Ezekial' behind the butter churning hut sneaking a modern-day cigarette. Google wants to offer a more far-reaching experience, with a new Connected Classrooms initiative that lets classes take "virtual field trips" using Google+ Hangouts. So instead of learning about pioneer times from a local drama student who has to keep the goat stables clean in addition to infotaining the kids, you'll check out the Seattle Aquarium, Minnesota Zoo or the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Google says that teachers already employ its social network in classrooms, but the Connected Classrooms program is designed to make it easier for more of them to do so. It offers not only those virtual excursions mentioned above (along with a number of other destinations), but also provides teachers a chance to work together on class plans and learning experiences for use both in the classroom and out.

Our belief is that technology should empower teachers. Each student has unique learning needs and teachers don't have the tools to personalize their lessons to those needs. The eduCanon platform is a tool for teachers to build lessons with interactive timed questions and engaging video content. Already, we've been amazed by the creative and inspirational uses of eduCanon by teachers--for flipped and blended learning environments.

"The days of foldable paper maps are numbered but the world wide web is opening up the potential of maps by offering an amazing variety of cool websites that teachers should take the time to explore. Below are ten great mapping sites for you to use in the classroom."

Interested in what an infographic is and what it can do? Check out Kathy Schrock's website on infographics. Great possibilities with the PLDs. Consider doing this in your classroom.

"Build better video lessons, together Find a video and make it yours" Crop YouTube, Khan Academy videos, explain the video with your voice including audio notes for clarification, introduction, etc., and add a quiz/check for understanding at the end.

"Over time we have built up a collection of 33,984 free PowerPoint templates, themes and PowerPoint Backgrounds. We have made available a wide range of these professional designs for you to download for free. You can browse all of our PowerPoint templates or select them by category or colour or by tag. We also have a range of PowerPoint Backgrounds."