Category: Resources

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Evaluating Educational Apps

ipadsApps are an extension of our learning experience by means of mobile devices. The following list has been put together by Apple for Learning and Teaching.

 

  1. Engagement – Featured App, NOVA Elements (free)
    Does the app have an intuitive interface?
    Is it user friendly?
    ‘Does the app opens new ways to learn?
  2. Developmental appropriateness – Featured App, Bobo Explores Light ($)
    Is the app’s content appropriate for the intended age group?
    Does it have  an age-appropriate interface?
    ‘Does the design appeal to the intended level’
  3. Instructional design – Featured App, BrainPop Featured Movie (free)
    Does the app support your teaching goals?
    Does it meet students learning expectations?
    Does it include interactive features that allow for feedback, assessment and reflection?
  4. Motivation – Featured App, Project Noah (free)
    Is the app’s content inviting and relevant for the intended grade level ?
    Does it include gaming principles and motivating methods?
    Does it help students connect learning with their lifeworld experiences (e.g via GPS, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi).
  5. Accessibility – Featured App, Proloquo2Go ($$$)
    Does the app multiple learning stiles?
    Does the app include personalization features?
    ‘Does the app include a range of levels for a variety of users with differing skill levels?’
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Zunal Webquest Projects

Zunal is a free online resource for creating webquests with a template but better yet it is a repository of thousands of webquests created by teachers and shared with the general public ready for use. Webquests are designed as projects for small groups of students to work together in completing the assigned task. Click the image below for a chart categorizing webquests by subject matter and grade level. The examples listed are for grades 9-12.

chart
Search webquests by subject matter and grade level.
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Active Body, Active Mind – GoNoodle

Physical activity helps stimulate the brain and improves retention and focus. Students with low energy become sluggish and fidgety, their thoughts wander, they have a hard time recalling or retaining class discussions and their test performance tends to drop.

GoNoodle is a fabulous resource to get your students moving and stimulated in between lessons or before testing. GoNoodle energizes students to where they become more focused and ready to learn.  Even test scores have been known to improve.

GoNoodle videos provide movement breaks that get kids up and moving. There are all sorts of different videos with dances and songs, etc. Some simulate running and jumping and others are calming breathing exercises.

Join the movement and sign up today.

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Creating Rubrics in a Snap

Rubrics make grading papers and projects fast and easy. You know exactly what you’re looking for in your student’s assignments and students also know what the expectations are for earning the best grade possible.

quick rubricFrom the creators of Storyboard That, QUICK RUBRIC is a user friendly new (beta) site for creating crisp, clean, modern looking rubrics with ease.  Users can add a row or a column with a tap of an arrow button.  Everything is customizable and an account holder can save or print out as many rubrics as they wish.