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Digital Sticky notes, and possible way of creating a data wall.

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lino is an online web sticky note service that can be used to post memos, to-do lists, ideas, and photos anywhere on an online web canvas. lino is a completely free service that runs on all popular web browsers.

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First things first. It's never just about the apps. End of. That said being guided around tried and tested apps from the classroom can be really helpful. With that in mind, back in 2014 I created my first periodic table of iPad apps. Little did I realise how popular it would be with more than 7 million downloads in those two years. As with most things to do with technology, times move on and apps change, new technologies bring new ways to use technology to enhance learning. What has been interesting in the process of creating the periodic table has been looking at the apps which still work really well at doing what they do best. Interestingly, many of the apps on this updated table were on the original table too but there are plenty of new ones to look at too. Overwhelmingly, the majority of apps shown are free too.

The last periodic table was taken by a number of schools and rebranded, removing my name and having their name put on by them in replacement. Please note that this is unacceptable. If you are interested in having a copy of the table rebranded for your school, please get in touch. There is a link to a higher resolution version of the table below. Please respect the license on this image.

For those that are interested, I made it using Photoshop. It has more layers than anything else I have ever made. The font used in various weights, is the brilliant Myriad Pro.

If you'd like a higher resolution version of the image, please download it from here or share this link >> http://bit.ly/periodictableofipadappsvol2

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First things first. It's never just about the apps. End of. That said being guided around tried and tested apps from the classroom can be really helpful. With that in mind, back in 2014 I created my first periodic table of iPad apps.

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Robots are increasingly being used to teach students in the classroom for a number of subjects across science, maths and language. But our research shows that while students enjoy learning with robots, teachers are slightly reluctant to use them in the classroom.

In our study, which saw staff and students interact with the Nao humanoid robot, teachers said they were more sceptical of robots being integrated into the classroom.

from www.shutterstock.com

They preferred the robot to not have full autonomy and instead take on restricted roles in the classroom. The teachers also wanted full control over the robot. We observed that the teachers were in general unaware of robots and hence there was a technological bias associated with their opinions.

They said they did not trust the technical capabilities of the robot and wanted the robot to function and behave as a learning "buddy" of children and not as a teacher. We think this reluctance may have occurred primarily due to an uncertainty of how best to incorporate robots in the class, and a lingering concern that robots may eventually replace teachers.

This is despite research showing that robots are much more likely to be used as learning tools than as teachers in a classroom.

The students, on the other hand, were much more enthusiastic about a robot in their classroom, enjoying the human-like interaction.

However, they wanted the robot to adapt its behaviour to their feelings and display a wide range of emotions and expressions. Such fully autonomous behaviour will require further research and development in robotics.

For example, some of the children felt the robot's voice was unnatural and did not adapt to situations by changing tone or pitch.

The children preferred as natural behaviour from the robot as possible, even to the extent that they were untroubled by the robot making mistakes, such as forgetting. It was clear the children were imagining the robot in the role of their teacher.

How robots are currently used in the classroom

from www.shutterstock.com

Numerous types of robots are being incorporated in education. They range from simple "microprocessor on wheels" robots ( boebot), to advanced toolkits, ( mindstorms) to humanoids (robots that resemble humans).

The choice of the robot is usually dictated by the area of study and the age group of the student.

Smaller robots or toolkits are particularly used to teach robotics or computer science. These toolkits can be physically manipulated allowing students to learn a variety of disciplines across engineering. However, the human-like shape of humanoids makes them easier to interact with, and for this reason are often used for language lessons.

Thomas Hawk/flickr, CC BY

Humanoids have the ability to provide real-time feedback, and their physical shape increases engagement. This often leads to a personal connection with the student, which research shows can help resolve issues related to shyness, reluctance, confidence and frustration that may arise in dealing with a human teacher. For example, a robot will not get tired no matter how many mistakes a child makes.

Humanoid robots are being widely utilised in classrooms in many countries including, Japan and South Korea.

Amber Case/flickr, CC BY

Nao, Pepper, Tiro, IROBI, and Robovie, for example, are primarily used to teach English.

Telepresence - where a teacher can remotely connect to the classroom through the robot - is also being used as a way to teach students English. The teacher can participate in the classroom by being virtually present through a display mechanism. In some instances, the display is embedded in the robot's torso.

Western countries have been much more hesitant in acknowledging the integration of robots in classrooms, with privacy, developmental hindrances, the rise in unemployment and technical deficiencies stated as the major drawbacks.

Robots as learning tools, not teachers

Humanoid robots are still a fair way away from being autonomously situated in schools due mainly to technological limitations such as inaccurate speech or emotion recognition.

However, the intention of most researchers in robotics is not for robots to replace teachers. Rather, the design goals of most robots are to function as an aid in the classroom and to enhance the added value they can bring as a stimulating and engaging educational tool.

In order to facilitate the integration of robots in the classroom, we need to be able to provide appropriate interfacing mechanisms (software, hardware or even mobile apps), allowing the human teacher to control the robot with minimal training.

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Robots likely to be used in classrooms as learning tools, not teachers

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Robots are increasingly being used to teach students in the classroom for a number of subjects across science, maths and language. But our research shows that while students enjoy learning with robots, teachers are slightly reluctant to use them in the classroom.

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Jam packed with resources and teaching ideas!!!!!!!

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Support for the Australian Curriculum Digital Technologies with lesson plans, case studies, advice for school leaders, activities for students and for families. See links to the digital technologies industry events and programs. Get support with the development of computational thinking and coding skills in Australian students.

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NSW BOSTES Guide to Computational Thinking and Coding across the Curricu

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NSW BOSTES Guide to Computational Thinking and Coding across the Curricu

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Remember that the NSW curriculum is organised slightly differently to the Australian Curriculum, but this provides some very useful ideas and resources to help teachers begin thinking about Computational Thinking

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Move over, Space Camp: Coding is quickly growing as a popular activity for kids, and not just for those who dream of being programmers when they grow up. The logical thinking required to code can help kids succeed in school and other day-to-day activities-it's no wonder why big companies are getting behind the effort to help students learn the needed critical thinking skills.

If you want to help them get started, there are a number of visual, kid-friendly apps that teach users how to build games and code other simple activities on their own.

It won't be long until your daughter learns JavaScript or your son starts debugging all the devices in the house. But don't rule out the fact that you may pick up some things along the way-all of these apps do a great job at introducing you to the problem-solving type of thinking required for good programming. Sure, most of them feature cartoony characters, but the principles underlying it apply to all.

Hopscotch schools you in the basics

If you want to pick one app to start with, go with Hopscotch (free). It turns you (and your kid!) into a game creator with simple-to-learn tools.

Hopscotch walks you through a visual tool for making games-you can even make a Flappy Bird clone. There are a lot of good, tutorial videos that explain how you connect the pieces together, which correspond to actions within the game.

Hopscotch videos narrate instructions while you're learning how to use it.

You can then try out your creation after adding in some commands of your own.

Hopscotch also has a smart method of integrating social aspects into its apps without sharing your child's personal info-something that, hopefully, will make parents feel more comfortable. You can view a stream of other games created by the community, but you don't have to create a specific account with email or other information to check it out.

Tynker helps kids solve the puzzle

Tynker (free) turns things up a notch, with a visual programming method that is capable of creating some impressive games and tools.

There's a free app that you can grab to try it out on your own, but Tynker also has bigger ambitions with a separate edition specifically for schools that use it for teaching programming strategies to their students.

Tynker uses a drag-and-drop interface for programming actions.

Tynker includes a game called Codey's Quest, which uses various programming puzzles that you must solve in order to lead the wayward one home.

Tynker is also available on the web and for Android devices, so if you sign up with an account your child can access his or her project from multiple devices. It's grown to become a popular platform, so it's worth checking out eventually even if you hit some of the other options first.

Move the Turtle teaches you through play

Move the Turtle ($3) is a good choice if you would rather introduce coding concepts in a more linear format. This app adapts a "learn as you go" strategy, where your child will give programming-style instructions to a turtle through a series of challenges.

You must move the turtle according to the directions in this game of logic.

Like most iOS games, it moves you along through a variety of levels, elevating the challenge as it goes on. In this case, that means introducing more programming commands at each level, so after a while you'll have a solid understanding of how to issue commands to your turtle by dragging and dropping the various tasks into place.

Program your way through Cargo-Bot

Cargo-Bot puts you in charge of a giant crane, which you must control through commands.

Cargo-Bot (free) is another pick that infuses programming instruction in the form of a game. You'll control a robotic arm and command it to move boxes into predetermined areas.

Once you've mastered how this works, you'll find a lot of logical challenges await in the more difficult levels. One perk is that you don't have to go sequentially through the game-if you're ready for a more difficult level, you can jump into it right away.

Cargo-Bot is also a good showcase for the type of games that one can make on an iPad, as it was coded entirely with Codea, a touch-based coding application.

Daisy the Dinosaur sucks you in with cuteness

A cute dinosaur is always an inviting way to suck you into something. Daisy the Dinosaur (free) introduces you to such a creature, which can be commanded with visual programming commands. This app was created by the team behind Hopscotch, so you know it's a good one.

Daisy the Dinosaur is a great option for a simple introduction to programming.

There's a free play mode, which you can use to just tinker around and get familiar with everything that you can command the dino to do. You'll learn more, however, if you work your way through the challenge mode, which starts with a step-by-step tutorial before unleashing you into more challenging adventures.

Daisy the Dinosaur is a good option if you want something simple with clear, guided practice for a first go-around at programming.

iOS coding is just getting started

These apps, along with the work of tools like Codea, demonstrate that iOS is gaining traction as a platform for helping kids learn computer science principles. The popularity of the iPad in education and kids' familiarity with its capabilities and gaming selection mean it has a lot of potential for shaping how they interact with computer science and learning to code.

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Teach your kids (and yourself!) how to code with these iPad apps

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Move over, Space Camp: Coding is quickly growing as a popular activity for kids, and not just for those who dream of being programmers when they grow up. The logical thinking required to code can help kids succeed in school and other day-to-day activities-it's no wonder why big companies are getting behind the effort to help students learn the needed critical thinking skills.

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free website creator - education.weebly.com allows you to create student accounts for website creation.

http://mbyplearning.weebly.com/salt-water-national-park.html  (student created)

http://getsmarts.weebly.com/
(school links)
http://mbyptechtools.weebly.com/
(school links)
The above are examples.

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Weebly is the easiest way to create a website, store or blog

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Weebly’s free website builder makes it easy to build a website, blog, or online store. Find customizable designs, domains, and eCommerce tools for any type of business using our website builder.

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Computer Science without computers

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CS Unplugged is a collection of free teaching material that teaches Computer Science through engaging games and puzzles that use cards, string, crayons and lots of running around.

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Learn computer science. Change the world.

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Every student in every school deserves the opportunity to study computer science.

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Interactive tools for reading and writing.

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We have launched the new ReadWriteThink.org and we would love to get your feedback: Give Feedback

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ThingLink: Create unique experiences with interactive images, videos & 360° media

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Easily create interactive and immersive visual experiences for online communication and learning. Start a free trial!

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design discussions
no-schedule meetings
professional development
collaborate with clients
sales and marketing

replace text-only discussions
interactive lectures
support UDL principles
no-schedule office hours
professional development

student presentations
conversational practice
professional development
rich assessment
safe and accountable

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Transforming media into collaborative spaces with video, voice, and text commenting.

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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Microsoft has some great free resources to help you better integrate technology into your classroom and turn it into an engaging learning environment. We have gone through all of these resources and we 've found them very interesting and worth sharing with you. Check them out below and let us know what you think about them.

With Microsoft's Flashcards application, teachers and students alike can create, share and study flashcards online

Free for schools, Microsoft's Office 365 offers faculty and students exciting new ways to collaborate. Easy to administer and even easier to use, Microsoft's Office 365 is backed by the robust security and guaranteed reliability you expect from a world-class service provider

Encourage creative learning in your classroom by using interactive 3D technology to tell personal stories and explore places, events, and activities. Microsoft Photosynth lets anyone reconstruct a 3D experience from flat photographs and offers both detailed synths and panorama experiences

4- Microsoft Mathematics 4.0

Equip students with the tools needed to grasp mathematical concepts by complementing your teaching with Microsoft Mathematics 4.0. This powerful computer algebra system has a friendly user interface and a step-by-step equation solver, helping students understand the path to a correct answer..

5- Math Worksheet Generator

It creates multiple math practice problems, from basic math to algebra, in seconds. You provide a sample math problem and the Math Worksheet Generator does the rest.

6-Digital Storytelling Teaching Guide

Storytelling is an ancient art that is undergoing a renaissance with modern technology. By incorporating digital storytelling projects into classroom learning you can reach today's students and at the same time help them develop the skills needed to be successful in our complex, technology-rich world

This PowerPoint and OneNote add-in lets you insert customized classroom polls (multiple choice, yes/no, or true/false) and notes into your presentations, while your students get to participate with subject material in real-time.

8- Sky Drive

Manage, store, and share your classroom documents all in one place, securely and easily, with Microsoft SkyDrive. It's a password-protected hard drive in the cloud that you can use to store thousands and thousands of files

The Chemistry Add-in for Word gives students and teachers an easier way to insert, modify, and present chemical symbols and data sources within the familiar Microsoft Word environment.

Mouse Mischief is a fun way to keep your students' attention and increase participation in the classroom. This PowerPoint add-in lets each student use their own mouse to click, circle, cross out, or even draw answers for lessons you present with PowerPoint.

Songsmith automatically generates musical accompaniment for anyone's voice and can help you teach music, math, and many other subjects in innovative new ways.

12-Microsoft Accessibility Technology for Everyone

Students with disabilities and learning style differences face unique challenges in learning and in life. Microsoft is dedicated to building accessibility into our products, and also providing accessibility resources for educators.

13- Worldwide Telescope

With Microsoft WorldWide Telescope, you can explore outer space in detail, studying the sky in a way that has never before been possible without powerful ground and space telescopes

14- Project Tuva

Project Tuva explores core scientific concepts and theories by presenting timeless videos through an enhanced Video Player that features searchable video, linked transcripts, notes, and interactive extras.

Help your students start writing their first programs quickly and easily. With only 15 keywords and an inviting development environment, Small Basic is structured to help them succeed.

16- Digital Literacy Curriculum

Help your students live and thrive in the 21st century digital world with Microsoft's Digital Literacy Curriculum. These e-learning materials help you teach and assess computer concepts and skills so your students can use technology to develop new social and economic opportunities for themselves, their families, and their communities.

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16 Great Free Teaching Tools for Teachers

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Microsoft has some great free resources to help you better integrate technology into your classroom and turn it into an engaging learning environment. We have gone through all of these resources and we 've found them very interesting and worth sharing with you. Check them out below and let us know what you think about them.

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Are you interested in a list of 23 free teaching tools that you can use in your classroom? From helping students learn through interactive 3D experiences to transforming ordinary classroom experiences into immersive education and much more...

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23 Microsoft Free Teaching Tools for Educators - eLearning Industry

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Are you interested in a list of 23 free teaching tools that you can use in your classroom? From helping students learn through interactive 3D experiences to transforming ordinary classroom experiences into immersive education and much more...

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50 Ways to integrate technology in your classroom

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50 Ways to integrate technology in your classroom

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2.Use Brain POP to show short, animated videos as a lesson opener.Brain POP is available in its original version (appropriatefor grades 3-8), Brain POP Jr. (appropriate for grades K-3), Brain POP Español, and Brain POP ESL.There is a 30-day free trialavailable.

7.Have students create a daily or weekly live broadcast on Ustream about school news, new concepts or original ideas.

14.Find out what your students know before a unit or how much they've learned after a unit through an online survey. Surveys give students a way to give feedback quickly.

15.Have students create a time line to have a visual representation.

Using Free Websites for Management

Using Web 2.0 Tools for Projects & More
sites.google.com
Using a Digital Camera in the Classroom

42.Use a series of pictures to give steps and visual instructions.This is a great tool for primary and special needs students.

Using Digital Storytelling in the Classroom

Download Photo Story 3 for FREE at: www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/PhotoStory/default.mspx

46.Have students create digital books by scanning/photographing their illustrations and adding narration.

Using a Slideshows in the Classroom

47.Create a jump slide for students to use as a center during a unit of study.

To create a jump slide using Microsoft Power Point, insert a graphic on your slide.Then, right click the picture or clip art,click "Hyperlink" and type the URL address into the "Address" box at the bottom.

48.Create a template for students to fill in using "Master Slide".With this feature, the structure of the project cannot be changed.

Using a Google Tools in the Classroom

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50 Ways to Integrate Technology - Ways to Anchor Technology in Your Classroom Tomorrow

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2.Use Brain POP to show short, animated videos as a lesson opener.Brain POP is available in its original version (appropriatefor grades 3-8), Brain POP Jr. (appropriate for grades K-3), Brain POP Español, and Brain POP ESL.There is a 30-day free trialavailable.

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Book marking tool

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Save, organize and share your favorite online resources with Symbaloo! Use tiles to store links to websites, videos, web docs, and more.

Make your online life easier by keeping all your favorite websites organized in a visually-appealing, personalized environment.

Save your links in tiles that you can customize with different colors, icons or images. Organize all of your favorite websites, videos, documents, articles and more - all in one place!

Symbaloo PRO for Teachers helps you bring personalized online learning to your classroom and keep your educational resources easily accessible to your students.

Make online resources easily accessible on your own public domain. Available at any time, on any device.

Distribute the right educational resources to the right person using personalized Groups

Collaborate with other teachers and students to create the best digital content compilations

The ultimate platform for managing and distributing personalized content. Support teachers within the School and make it easy to save and share educational resources online.

Make sure that your educational resources are always accessible and available at any time, on any device.

Optimize content distribution across schools by connecting and syncing students and teachers to Symbaloo.

Provide all teachers with their own PRO Webspace and allow them to manage online resource distribution to their students.

Add teachers and other coordinators as Administrators for assistance with managing digital resources.

Encourage educators to collaborate and work together to compile the best digital resources

Affordable & Transparent Pricing for Educators

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Symbaloo: Bookmarks & Favorites - The #1 Homepage for Educators

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Save, organize and share your favorite online resources with Symbaloo! Use tiles to store links to websites, videos, web docs, and more. Make your online life easier by keeping all your favorite websites organized in a visually-appealing, personalized environment. Save your links in tiles that you can customize with different colors, icons or images.

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Ask a questions and get short responses in a word cloud

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AnswerGarden is a new minimalistic brainstorm tool for online brainstorming, real time audience participation and classroom feedback.

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Create digital books. Create a teacher account.

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Storybird - Read, write, discover, and share the books you'll always remember.

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Become a better writer with Storybird's creativity tools. Online courses, challenges, and reader feedback will help you improve your writing.

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Science Games and Videos | Educational Games for Kids

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Teachers! Make your class fun and interactive with interesting videos, games & activities for 100+ K12 topics. Improve student motivation, learning and grades!

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The page you are looking for is no longer available. As stated in our communication in January 2018 and subsequent site banners; as of July 31st, 2018 all Free and Classroom Wikis were disabled and are no longer accessible. We thank you for your interest in Wikispaces over the years and wish you all the best with your future endeavours.

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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 .

I have updated this post and also held a free webinar talking about my favorite Google Drive Add Ons. I've updated this post originally written in 2014 to reflect current information. This remains one of my most popular posts to date, so I want it to be current and to remove links that no longer work. At the bottom, I include a list of all Add-Ons removed from this post and why.

Want a video tutorial? Texthelp has agreed to send you a link to the video of the webinar I did on my new 15 best add ons. You can get it free if you fill out this Google form.

Here's a tutorial on enabling add ons. For purposes of this article, add ons, extensions, and other tools are beginning to overlap, so I've included some of each in this post. Lots of people still call all of these add ons. Technically, the add ons are within Google Drive or G suite now. Many of these tools have several options: add ons, extensions, and more. All of them add features to Gsuite tools, so I've included my top 15 here for you! Enjoy!

Add-On #1: Extensity

The biggest issue that teachers and students often have is having too many extensions and add ons enabled. Sometimes they will conflict with each other. For this reason, the first thing everyone should install in their web browser is Extensity. [ Read more]

Ok, it isn't really an add on, but it can be accessed through an add on. First, make sure you know how to use Google Voice Typing in Google Docs. You have to use Google Chrome. Learn how to use it.

Then, if you want to use Google Voice typing everywhere, all you need is the Read Write Toolbar for teachers (see below.) After you install it, you'll click the "speech input" button. Now, I say for teachers because Teachers get it free. (When you download it, you have a full 30-day free Premium. In that 30 days, click the ? and then click the I'm a teacher button. Now, they'll confirm you ARE a teacher - don't clog up the works if you're not. Then, you'll have all this.)

This handy toolbar will make Google voice typing available throughout the web. Very cool.

On the original 2014 post, this tool was called "Text Help for Study Skills" and I recommended it. Now it is Read&Write for Google Chrome and it can do so much more. This tool is a must use for younger kids and English Language Learners (ELL's) Here are some of the features:

You can highlight words on a web page and then pull those highlights into a new document. You can also take the words and put them into a vocabulary list.

Hover Speech reads the speech for you.*

Dictionary looks up the word and you can also get a visual dictionary picture.

Translate will convert the words into the language of your choice.*

Speech maker will create an audio file that you download.

Screenshot reader will read text to you from a picture.

Screenmask gives you a reading strip that you can move along the page as you read. Dyslexics will want to use this feature.

Simplify works like the Evernote clearly tool used to. It takes all the ads and other items off so you just have the text to read. You'll want this if you take kids to some websites that have inappropriate articles listed.

Practice reading aloud - can read aloud and be sent to the teacher. However, if you really want kids to read to you, I recommend trying Fluency Tutor instead as it will go longer than 1 minute.*

Voice Notes lets teachers leave notes of up to 1 minute inside Google Docs for kids. If you are teaching writing, you should be leaving voice notes.

Predictive typing helps beginning writers have better writing skills as it coaches them as they type. Fantastic tool. (Part of premium, though.)

Not all of these features (and there are more) are free. I've put a star by those that are. This is one of those must-use for kids learning to read. All teachers should install and activate the free version.

Grammarly is a fantastic tool. You'll use it throughout the web. It will spell check and also has a fantastic plagiarism check that I use on student papers. However, it doesn't work inside Google Docs, so there, I recommend Pro Writing Aid instead. These two tools are an essential part of my workflow. I've shared the tutorial covering them. [ Read more]

To get Grammarly free, make sure you're using the Chrome web browser. Then, go here. Don't sign up on any other browser except Chrome or it will NOT BE FREE. I do pay for the premium version because I get all kinds of features.

Pro Writing Aid has a Google Doc Add in, a web tool, and one for Microsoft Word. For serious writers, it is a must-use.

Pro Writing Aid is a robust tool with more features than any grammar guru could use. But it coaches you ot make you a better writer! The two features you must use are:

Sticky sentences check. These types of sentences slow down your reader and cause them to stop reading. They inlude the most commonly used words in the English language. I ask my students to remove all sticky sentences from their writing.

Transition words. While Google prefers 30% transition words in online writing, I set a minimum of at least 25% transition words.This is another thing hard to coach as a teacher. Because it is so hard to count and monitor just how many words begin with transitions, letting the computer do it for you is a great idea.

Fluency Tutor is a handy tool can transform read alouds. Everything is free in this except the detailed scoring and data collection and comprehension questions.

So, you can assign reading to kids and they can read it to you. You can also have all kinds of feedback, etc. This is a must-install for elementary schools with Chromebooks.

This app is AWESOME for giving feedback to students. I've been recommending this since 2014 and still do. Think about it. When you give students feeback on writing - it should be in a way they understand best. If they are a strong reader, they may be a strong writer - however, weak readers are often weak writers. It makes sense to give students feedback in a way they understand. I love Kaizana for this reason.

You can insert citations directly into Google Documents directly within the Document using EasyBib. MLA, APA and Chicago Style are available. The EasyBib Add On for Google Drive is one of the first you should enable if you are a writing teacher. Since I first recommended this tool in 2014, they've added new features like the credibility guide and the ability to search sources directly within EasyBib.

(G)math gives you the ability to create:

Additionally, you can even hand write formulas and (G)math reads your handwriting and converts it to a new chart or formula. Awesome!

If you want help with this handy tool, the Gmath help forum rocks!

Geogebra has many teacher created tools that you can use and assign to your students in Google Classroom. For example, you can see in the gif I embedded below a simple game to teach exponents. I played level 1 in the gif.

To use Geogebra with google Drive, make sure you have a Google Drive (or GSuite) account. Then, go to
http://login.geogebra.org/user/create and just click "sign up with a Google Account.

If you use Graphic organizers in the classroom, Lucid Charts is a must add for you! It has so many templates that you can use and add to Google Drive. Awesome!

Now this is more an extension than an add on, but for teachers who grade a lot of online work like I do. GET IT. You can quickly open up multiple links into tabs in the browser. I've found that it greatly reduces my grading time. I also teach students to use this tool for Google search results so they can quickly open the results and go through them.

Now, I use PowerSchool Learning LMS and my rubrics are built in. But for a while, this was an awesome tool and I know people still using Goobric with their Google Classrooms and Doctopus Add-On for Google Sheets.

This tool lets you remotely share a computer over the web. So, you can access your other computers. Even better, your students can share their screens and you can see them for troubleshooting or other purposes (like putting their screen up on your projector.)

This tutorial is the best one I've found for setting up Chrome Remote Desktop.

This handy tool lets you immediately share a link to everyone in your Google Classroom, helping you get everyone on the same page in a moment. It lets you push links to classrooms set up in your Google Classroom and you're immediately on the same page.

What was on the list in 2014?

Lots of the items above were on the original list, but here are some I didn't include in the update but some of you may still find useful. I've also included a screenshot of the original graphic at the bottom.

Tools that Still Exist but Didn't Make the Cut This Time

Mindmeister - lets you turn a bulleted list into a quick mindmap from inside Google Docs. This is a cool tool but I'm using Lucid Charts for most graphic organizers now.

Workflows - This lets you automate gathering signatures and approvals. I no longer recommend this because there are tools like HelloSign that let people sign off on contracts, etc.

Uberconference Calls - When I included this in 2014 - no one had ever heard of Uber, the car service. However, this lets you make phone calls inside of Google Docs. I use as a variety of tools as do many of you for voice calling. They are so good that I no longer recommend this tool - it just isn't necessary or is replaced but what we already have.

Gliffy Diagrams lets you make charts and more. I use Lucid Charts instead.

Twitter Curator let you pull tweets into Google Docs. Storify does the job much better, in my opinion. If you need a storify-like tool for Google Docs, then this is your tool.

Open Clip Art - While this lets you find clip art, I no longer recommend it for children because they have not done a good job of filtering pictures for appropriateness. Adults may find it helpful if they're not in a location where innappropriate images will get them in hot water.

No longer available or not needed:

Some of the best add ons had features that were so useful that Google Docs added them to their feature set. For reference, here are the names and functions of the add-ons that don't exist any more or just aren't necessary.

Track Changes - you could track and edit changes for each other. This is now built into Google Drive with the edit, suggest, and read only features.

Table of Contents - This is a built in feature in Google Docs. Just add headings. Then, go to Insert -> Table of Contents. You can also bring it up in the sidebar and use for navigation. Sure, this add on still exists, but why would you use it?

Thesaurus - When explore and define were added to Google docs, many tools like Thesaurus became unnecessary. It has one star now and doesn't work well so I'm not linking to it. Just click a word and right click and say "define" right inside Google Docs.

Template Gallery - These are also now built into Google Drive and will be taken down soon, however, they are replacing them with GSuite Custom templates. I'm not really sure about all of the differences, but you can set up templates in GSuite.

Consistency Checker - This was replaced by Pro Writing Aid for me and is no longer necessary.

Document Merge - This let you do a mail merge inside Google Docs. It doesn't exist, but was rather clunky and the Microsoft Word merge is better in my opinion.

Other Notable Add-Ons for Some Teachers

While there are other add-ons including those that can let you send a fax from within Google Drive and others that let you sign contracts and documents, these are my favorites for educators. Let me know your favorites in the comments. To see the whole store, just open a document or spreadsheet and go to Add-Ons >> Get Add-Ons

This post is provided "as is" without any representations or warranties, express or implied. Coolcatteacher makes no representations or warranties in relation to this website or the information and materials provided on this website. The open clip art should be for college and adult students only. Vicki Davis will not be liable to you (whether under the law of contract, the law of torts or otherwise) in relation to the contents of, or use of, or otherwise in connection with, this post.

What my recommendations look like now

The 2014 Version of this Chart

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15 Best Google Drive Add-Ons for Education

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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 . How To Enable Add Ons for Google Drive Here's a tutorial on enabling add ons.

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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Free resource of educational web tools, 21st century skills, tips and tutorials on how teachers and students integrate technology into education

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10 Mind-blowing Google Drive Tips & Tools for Teachers

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Find resources here, Bit.ly/eltlinks Pear.ly/cw_yj and Bit.ly/Gtools

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Ideas and links to useful ideas for technology in the classroom

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The Shake Up Learning Blog by Kasey Bell offers educational technology and digital learning resources, tips and tricks, tutorials, Google cheat sheets and more to educators across the globe.

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It's Google's world, we're just teaching in it.

Now, we can use it a little more easily. With classes, homework, and projects-not to mention your social life-time is truly at a premium for all teachers, so why not take advantage of the wide world that Google for teachers has to offer?

From super-effective search tricks to Google for teachers tools to tricks and tips for using Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar, these Google for teacherstricks will surely save you some precious time when using technology in the classroom.

These search tricks can save you time when researching online for your next project or just to find out what time it is across the world, so start using these right away.

1. Get around blocked sites. If you are having problems getting around a blocked site, just type "cache:website address" with website address being the address of the blocked site to use Google's cached copy to get where you are going.

2. Use the image search. Type in your search word, then select Images to use the image search when trying to put a picture to your term.

3. Get a definition. If you want a definition without having to track down an online (or a physical) dictionary, just type "definition:word" to find the definition of the word in your results (i.e.: "definition: serendipity" will track down the definition of the word "serendipity").

4. Search within a specific kind of site. If you know you only want results from an educational site, try "site:edu" or for a government site, try "site:gov" and your search term to get results only from sites with those web addresses.

5. Time. Enter "what time is it" and any location to find out the local time.

From Google Scholar that returns only results from scholarly literature to learning more about computer science, these Google items will help you at school.

Google Docs is a great replacement for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, so learn how to use this product even more efficiently.

22. Use premade templates . Use these 50 pre-made templates to track spending, keep up with your health, and much more.

26. Add video to your presentation . Learn how to seamlessly add video to your Google Docs page to really give your presentation or project a boost.

The super-popular Gmail is full of fun and fast ways to make your life and communications easier.

Save yourself some time by keeping track of appointments, assignments, and more with Google Calendar.

45. Customize reminders. Set reminders in your Google Calendar so that you never forget an appointment again. Choose from email, pop-up, or SMS reminders and even set when the reminder comes.

Whether riding the bus or walking to class, use Google Mobile to stay productive while away from your computer.

If you are using the Google Chrome browser, then you will love these time-saving tips and extensions.

Learn how Google Books can save you time and trips to the library with these tricks.

1. Create a personalized library. Click on "Add to my shared library" to start your own personalized library where you can label books to keep them organized for each class or project.

2. Find books in your college library. Each book in Google Books has a link to find the book in a library. It can tell you exactly where to look at your own school.

3. Access text books. Many text books are available on Google Books, so see if you can save a trip to the bookstore next semester.

4. Find books to supplement your assigned texts. Search by subject to see what books you may be able to read to get the extra leg up in your classes.

These other Google products will help you save time by offering you everything from alerts to online collaboration to help working with data sets.
How do you use Google in the classroom? O\How tdo you use other technology in the classroom? How are you integrating technology in the classroom? Share in the comments section! Edited version republished with permission of Amber Johnson.

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what google applications are available for teachers

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100+ google tricks that will save you time in school

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It's Google's world, we're just teaching in it. Now, we can use it a little more easily. With classes, homework, and projects-not to mention your social life-time is truly at a premium for all teachers, so why not take advantage of the wide world that Google for teachers has to offer?

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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February, 2014
Technology is transforming the educational landscape at a tremendous speed giving birth to a new learning culture radically different from all kinds of learning that were prevalent in the past centuries. With this digital revolution emerges a whole new set of educational technology concepts that provide the theoretical background for the implementation of these emerging technologies in education.

To help teachers, particularly those of you who are novice to the world of educational technology, have a grasp of some trendy concepts in today's educational literature, We went ahead and created the poster below for you to use in your class with your students or keep on your desk for later reference. The definitions on this cheat sheet are taken from different sources. Check the 'sources' section at the end of this post to learn more. Enjoy

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A New Educational Technology Cheat Sheet for Teachers

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February, 2014 Technology is transforming the educational landscape at a tremendous speed giving birth to a new learning culture radically different from all kinds of learning that were prevalent in the past centuries. With this digital revolution emerges a whole new set of educational technology concepts that provide the theoretical background for the implementation of these emerging technologies in education.

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by

Jeff Dunn

There's a reason teachers like Google tools. They're free, easy to use, and you already have an account on basically all of them. Add in the fact that Google is making a huge push into the world of teacher tools and you quickly realize it's a good time to be a teacher.

There are a ton of Google tools that you should try out. But not all of them are relevant to your classroom. What's a teacher to do? Well, leave it to the Daily Genius team who had waaay too much fun making this graphic and list. We experimented with every single one of these tools to make sure they're highly useful.
See Also: 6 little-known Google tools you should try today
First, check out the graphic we worked hard on making for you. Then, scroll past the graphic to view links and descriptions of each tool. Want to add a Google tool? Do so down in the comments of this post - just add the tool and how to use it in the classroom. Looking forward to your contribution(s)!

Google Tools Teachers Should Try (And How To Use Them In Classrooms)

Scroll the whole way down this VERY long visual for links and more!

Links And Other Information
Privacy and Security Tools
Ensure your students' (and your!) data is safe and secure with things like 2-step verification, analytics opt-out, off the record, incognito mode, and more.

Take your classroom paperless, collaborate, and share easily with this one stop for all of your documents.

Easy to use word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation tools for classroom work and professional development.

Build a personal website, a classroom site, or have students build project sites with no coding necessary

Keep all of your appointments straight (across all your devices). Keep/share/collaborate on group calendars (classes, departments, whole school).

Create polls, feedback forms and more. Great for class projects, data collection, and teacher feedback.

Create communities, host and participate in hangouts, bring virtual guests to your classroom, connect with just about anyone you choose

Connect with other like-minded groups around the globe via email and online forums

Get input from your various audiences. Works especially well for large professional development groups, or very large classes.

Have your students create and maintain blogs, or make one for your own purposes!

An open source education platform that lets you put your course content online for just about any audience! Use for your classes or to share your edtech prowess with other educators.

An excellent web browser that supports a myriad of awesome extensions

These relatively inexpensive laptops are a great choice for classrooms and offer a lot of bang for your buck

A search engine especially for rooting through scholarly literature.

Update Google maps with information pertinent to your area. Could make an excellent geography and cultural project.
Cultural Institute/Art Project/World Wonders
Explore things like world heritage sites, famous art collections, and information on significant historical events in this virutal museum.

This game encourages efficient web researching. It is a great way to help your students rsearch quickly and easily - and it is fun, too!

Tools to help blind, low-vision, deaf, and hard of hearing users navigate all that Google has to offer. A huge bonus for both special-ed classrooms or anyone that needs it.

A personalized homepage of sorts for your device. Includes personalized weather, calendar, traffic, and other information it guesses will be relevant to you.

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by Jeff Dunn There's a reason teachers like Google tools. They're free, easy to use, and you already have an account on basically all of them. Add in the fact that Google is making a huge push into the world of teacher tools and you quickly realize it's a good time to be a teacher.