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Download this free app for your Google Chrome browser. Within Google Docs a TextHelp toolbar provides many features including: highlight and read text, dictionary, picture dictionary, translater and collect highlights. While there are some glitches - I noticed that the highlight and collect feature didn't always pull what I highlighted - this free tool is a great additional to supporting students reading and writing.

Check out free online thinking tools/graphic organizers. Also explore the Online Interactive Resources. These are text heavy/dependent resources so consider how you can make them accessible to all learners. For example, use word prediction support, recreate them in a tool such as Inspiration that allows learners to add ideas in pictures, words and recordings. Or recreate the graphic organizer in another format such as an interactive whiteboard application - build in supports for success.

Interesting article. I'm not so sure that Ian Jukes, quoted liberally throughout the article, would be a big fan of RTI but I could be wrong. "Drill and kill" has been around a long time. Whether this transfers to higher level thinking is debatable. Simply providing apps that replicate drill activities we do on paper won't, in my opinion, capture students used to video game quality action - at least not for very long. The reality is classroom time is limited. If we drill students this time has to be taken from somewhere - inevitably it comes from the "real" learning time. My greatest fear of mobile technology is that it will become modern day "flash cards'. If we are going to use mobile technology, let's use it to build in support (within an exciting cross-curricular, inquiry-based classroom) such as screen readers/word prediction, and use it to provide access to apps that help students analyze, synthesize, evaluate, collaborate and create - real 21zt century fluencies. http://www.committedsardine.com/fluencies.cfm

A variety of templates, tutorials, and graphic organizers introduce and explain the major forms of writing (narrative, persuasive, expository, research, response to literature) and help students develop practical writing skills - from coming up with a topic idea to publishing a polished work. Developed in collaboration with Microsoft for Learning Essentials, these tools offer solid instruction from the popular, research-based Write Source series of writing programs.

Yodio uses your phone number to recognize you and get your recording to the right account. The next step is to create something. Begin thinking about an interesting topic, recent trip, or business idea to record. Or, grab a photo and tell its story!

The Fifty Tools Below you will find 50+ web tools you can use to create your own web-based story. Again, the mission is not to review or try every single one (that would be madness, I know), but pick one that sounds interesting and see if you can produce something.

Great site for teachers and students. Focuses on reading strategies including video, songs, interactive games, posters, lesson outlines, research.