Thinglink- Make your pictures worth 1,000 words

Make pictures interactive with Thinglink! Students can use thinklink for any area as a way to present and share information. Find a meaningful image and begin to add tags, which are links to more information, videos, etc.) that open right on your image. This can be a great alternative to an old slide presentation! Student can use map images of historic places to bring an explorors journey to life! Or dive deep into the depths of the ocean and explore the layers of the ocean! The options are endless!

Thinglink 

See some examples below...

Get Moving with GoNoodle!

GoNoodle is a free site that gives you and your students the opportunity to take a much needed brain break! Give your students physical activities like stretching, yoga, and dance to help them focus. Activities are short, easy, and effective. Join the 68,000 schools and 10 million students who are taking time to get refocused with GoNoodle brain breaks.

Click Here To Learn More...

Noisli

I came across Noisli and I thought it could be a really helpful tool for students and teachers. Noisli is a web application that allows you to play various white-noise or background sounds to help your productivity, focus, and stress level. Our school, as many others, has a silent reading time that all students participate in. I have been around the school visiting classrooms during this time and it is DEAD silent! Some students may have a harder time focusing without any sound at all because the silence allows their mind to wonder. Noisli could be a great way to break the silence. Teachers can also use Noisli for the whole class while working on an activity or have students use headphones to select their own sounds. Noisli is a free tool that requires no log in. However, if you do log in using your Google account, Facebook, or email you will have a few more options such as saving your favorite sound mix to a favorites tab and more. To learn more about Noisli check out the video below and visit their site. There is also a Google Extension available in the Chrome Web Store and an iOS app!

Flocabulary

Flocabulary is a web tool that allows your K-12 students access to engaging educational hip-hop videos. Each video is accompanied by interactive activities, and assessments. You can search by grade level, topic, or subject area and each video can be aligned to Common Core Standards. I love that the videos are relevant to today's students and the music is well written and catchy! Even if the kids pretend that they are too cool to sing or listen to an educational hip-hop song they will still remember it because it's so catchy! The interactive lyrics that they offer can be used to create an active listening experience for students. There are also links within the lyrics document that students can click on to learn more about a particular item within the song. The only drawback to Flocabulary is that it is a paid site. An individual teacher can purchase an account for $96.00/year. A 14 day free trial is offered to individual teachers to try it out. There is also an option for school accounts. A school account is $1600/year and there is a 60 day free trial that is offered for schools. Although, this tool is not free, it is still a very valuable and relevant resource that can engage and spark interest in learning for your students.

Schoology

Schoology (skoo.luh.jee) is the worlds leading learning management system (LMS). So what is a leaning management system? An LMS is a software application or web-based tool that is used to plan, implement, teach, and assess a specific topic. Many schools and classrooms that are turning toward blended and flipped classroom models are using a LMS to help manage the course. Schoology is one of the most user friendly and connected learning management systems.

Some of the Features...

• Seamlessly access your documents from Google Drive as a teacher or student
• Enhance your lessons and assignments with YouTube, Khan Academy, and more.
• Create or upload assessments and administer them all from within Schoology.
• View data and feedback from test/quiz results. 
• Comment on student work
• Create class discussions
• Post course updates
• Create and manage a grade-book
• Use the Calendar to manage upcoming assignments and due dates
• Align assignments to Common Core Standards
• Connect with peers

Blended and Flipped Classroom Models

As technology and web tools are being used more and more in classrooms today, so are new ways of instructing. Blended and Flipped learning environments are on the rise and for good reason. The blended learning model allows students to work in a classroom with a teacher in the traditional sense, as well as use computer software, LMS (learning management system), and web tools to personalize learning and work at their own pace. Using the flipped classroom model, students are able to spend class time engaging in meaningful activities because the content was obtained outside of class-time. The teacher is still teaching, using class-time to apply and practice learning. To learn more about blended and flipped classroom models, click here.

Blended Classroom

Flipped Classroom

PBS LearningMedia

PBS LearningMedia is versatile resource for anyone in education. PBS LearningMedia offers access to thousands of digital media resources that are aligned to Common Core and National Standards, engaging, innovative, and free! There are interactive activities, lesson plans, images, videos and more. PBS LearningMedia has a collection of productivity tools that include a Lesson Builder, Storyboard, and Quiz Maker to help personalize lessons for your students. This can be a valuable tool for self-paced learning, and flipped/blended classroom models. The site also offers Professional Development for teachers in the form of webinars, training, and in-person events geared toward supporting 21st century instruction. It is a great way to connect with other professionals, educators, and instructional technology specialist. Join the PBS LearningMedia Community today!

Welcome to PBS LearningMedia. 

Here is a quick guide to get you started.