Scoop.it is a digital curation/social bookmarking tool that is free and very easy to use. Like other curation tools you have a way to save websites or other pieces of media and place them in one location to share with others. There is a simple button you can install on you bookmark bar or you…
PowToon is a simple, web-based cartoon creator that can create simple, fun presentations. The program is web-based so that means that you can start on one computer and finish on another. There are ample free options inside the program and it is very simple to use. Instead of creating a boring presentation, you can create…
Google Hangouts has been updated. The video below will go over the basics of Google Hangouts including how to get started and the uses for a teacher in the classroom. YOUTUBE VIDEO
The updated Google Maps tool allows you to easily create maps that contain any information you want. You can create a map showing places you have visited, a map that contains information about certain events, or even a map that includes stories written by students and the locations that they took place. The Google Maps…
Google just released the Google Earth Tour Builder tool to allow you to create your own tours in Google Earth. As a science teacher I have used Google Earth in many ways, sometimes just to show students where something is and how it really looks, but this new tool opens it up to even more…
Starting a New Project Open iMovie and go to File, select “New Project”. The New Project window will open and here you can select some features to get your project started. First you will select other a Theme or Movie Trailer. Themes have transitions and certain formatting already inserted into the project. Movie Trailers does…
Any time that I get to talk to other educators and they ask about what tips I have, I always start with telling them they need to be on Twitter. I have said this when giving presentations at conferences, I have said this when talking with teachers at my school, I have said this when…
One of the best things that I heard while at the Midwest Google Summit was said by Krista Moroder (@edtechcoaching) when she was discussing the Ed Tech Challenge (http://www.edtechchallenge.com/). She stated that one way to decide whether to use technology as a tool or not depends on it making things more efficient or effective. I…
A few years back I saw a video of Aaron Sams and Jonathan Bergmann that got me started on the path towards a Flipped Classroom. My school was already a 1:1 school, every student had a white macbook laptop, and I was still trying to find a way to change my teaching style to better…
I used to have hanging in my classroom a piece of paper that said “Failure is an option, failure to learn is not an option.” The purpose of this was to help show to my students that they were allowed to make mistakes and even fail along the way. We are not perfect creatures and…
Donovanscience 