The Best Edtech Tools for Learning

The Best Edtech Tools for Learning

Let me start by saying I LOVE edtech tools, they really are AWESOME!  

I remember being at Microsoft HQ and Satya Nadella telling us about 

HoloLens for the first time.  My mind started thinking of all the different 

possibilities that it could be used and how VR could become 

part of my reality, not from some science fiction movie set in 2030, 

but here today, I mean WOW!

Before I start I need to mention that not all the ed-tech tools are new, 

some of them are ancient, but I still think that they are great.  The 

other thing is although there are really amazing paid for apps, 

I am going to only look at edtech tools that you do not have to pay for
or there is a free version.

One other thing before we get to the good stuff... 

I know that the dream is to have student-centred, hands-on, 

personalized instruction,  but we need to remember that

technology is not the solution to success. 
It is a tool that if used effectively can
enhance teaching and learning.

OK now let's look at the Ed Tech tools I love.

In no particular order…

Kahoot  (https://kahoot.com) 

I first stumbled across this in August 2014, 

but have been using it ever since.  I love the fact that you can create your 

own quiz and then play it with your class or you can use one of the quizzes 

that another person has created.  (A word of caution, go through the 

quiz before you play it with your class….)  Regardless of what device 

your children have, as long as they have Internet access they can play.  

To me this has to be one of the top tools, fun and easy to use!

 Commonlit (https://www.commonlit.org)

This is a great site for any English teacher.  So often you are looking for

passages to show or explain and can never find the right ones.  Well here they are.  

It is ideally suited for Grade 5 – 12.  There are hundreds of passages of texts 

that you can go through and best of all it is completely free.   I like the online 

version that allows you to highlight words, change the font size and go 

through the guided reading mode more than printing out the pdf.  There 

is also a handy quick assessment, but I really like the discussion topics that they have.

Brilliant!

OfficeMix (https://mix.office.com)

O my word, this is really incredible.  It is a free add on for PowerPoint 2013 

or higher that totally changes the way in which you can make PowerPoints.  

I love the fact that it becomes interactive, you can record and screen cast  videos 

straight in PowerPoint and you can add quizzes, polls, etc.  I used this to create 

all my learning content for ECDL year 10 students which then also allowed 

them to watch it whenever they wanted!

Have a look at my office mix video that I made to show you how to use it

StoryboardThat (http://www.storyboardthat.com/)

This is a free digital storyboard that is quick and easy to use.  I used to hand 

out templates for the students to draw, but this is so much quicker and easier, 

plus the students love using this.  It means that they do not need to be artists 

or keep loosing their pieces of paper. 
Love this!

Scratch

This is a great piece of software that is free and will allow you to learn how to
code quickly and easily using either online or offline.  The 2 versions are a little
bit different, but not much.  I have created 6 lessons that you can
download for free. 
These can be found below:

There are so many others that are really brilliant.

You might want to have a look at some of these below as well.

Book creator (https://bookcreator.com/)

Nearpod (https://nearpod.com/)

Minecraft (minecraft.net)

Minecraft education Editon (https://education.minecraft.net/)

Padlet (https://padlet.com)

Dualingo (https://www.duolingo.com)

Padlet (https://padlet.com)

Dualingo (https://www.duolingo.com)

Storybird (https://storybird.com)

Triptico (https://www.tripticoplus.com)

Have fun with these and I hope that you will use these next year!

#CMRubin, #cmrubinworld.com, #teachersmatter
#Varkey Teacher Ambassador  #MIEExpert #MSFTEdu #Education

Using Scratch 1.4 for Programming and Control Lesson 3

Using Scratch 1.4 for Programming and Control Lesson 3

This is a 16 page pdf to create  an underwater game

Lesson 3:

You will understand how to:

 Import sprites

 Edit costumes of sprites given in Scratch

 Animate sprites using scripts

 Control the movement of sprites using the arrow keys

 Create scripts that move sprites around automatically

 Create interaction between sprites

 Use co-ordinates and random numbers to set start position of sprites

 Use variables and scripts to allow scoring and countdown

 Use backgrounds built into Scratch

 Making autonomous sprites

#teachersmatter #SDGs #Varkey Teacher Ambassador

 #MicrosoftEDU #MIEExpert #MSFTEdu #Education #coding

Using Scratch 1.4 for Programming and Control Lesson 1

Using Scratch 1.4 for Programming and Control
Lesson 1

Scratch is a free visual programming language developed by the MIT Media Lab. 

Scratch was created to help young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically

and work collaboratively. 

I have found that some teachers struggle with this, so here is a 16 page book to 

give to students so that they can follow the book and learn how to code.  

All the steps are included.

Lesson 1:

You will understand how to:

 Create a simple script that animates the sprite automatically

 Create a script that allows the user to control the movement of the sprite using

the arrow keys

 Combine the different scripts to work together on the same sprite

 Make the sprite reverse direction

 Edit the stage using the Paint Editor facility within Scratch

 Make the sprite react to the background

 Import a new sprite from the ones available within scratch

 Create and edit new costumes for an existing sprite

 Create a simple script that move the sprite automatically

 Create variables to set the score and the countdown

 Set a sprite to start in a certain position

 Save your work

Have fun!

#teachersmatter #SDGs #Varkey Teacher Ambassador

 #MicrosoftEDU #MIEExpert #MSFTEdu #Education #coding

Mitch Resnick Scratch TED Talk

Mitch Resnick Scratch TED Talk

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Mitch Resnick, one of the main creators of the coding program called Scratch, 

delivered a TED Talk outlining the benefits of teaching childrens to code, so 

they can do more than just “read” new technologies — but also create them.

Just under 16 minutes, but very worthwhile!!

Scratch

Scratch programming language

 Scratch is a free educational programming language. 

It is a tile-based visual programming environment and toolkit,
It lets kids make games, animated stories, interactive art, and share with others on the Net.