FPS Integrating Technology into Your Classroom

"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."

"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."

"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. "

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

"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 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. "

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.

"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."

"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."

"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?""

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

"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."

"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 ."

"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."

"Frequently this conversation focuses on the most effective hardware for teaching and learning. While this is an important decision to make, it should not be the focus. In fact, the best devices a school can employ are great teachers."

"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."