Duolingo

Have you ever wanted to start learning a new language or master your skills in another?

Duolingo is a FREE app that has over 20 languages to choose from. The app is available for Apple, Android, and Windows or you can use the Duolingo website. To start, you select the language you want to learn and you can set a goal to practice five, ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes a day. From there you can take a placement test or start with the basics as a beginner. Duolingo has a variety of questions that incorporate reading, listening, and speaking skills to help you master your new language.

There is also a way to incorporate Duolingo in the classroom. Duolingo for Schools allows a teacher to invite students and keeps track of each student’s progress while also giving feedback. As a teacher, engaging students in a new language can be difficult. With Duolingo, students can practice their skills in a game like setting that is fun and inviting!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OebgtUjLg4

ClassDojo

It's time to throw out the old star stickers with each students' name on it and welcome ClassDojo! In ClassDojo, teachers can give out points to students for helping others, staying on task, participating, persistence, teamwork, and working hard! Need more options? Teachers can add more skills to their list with no problem! Also, there is an option to take points away from students if they are not following directions. The straws and solo cups are no longer needed! As a former first grade tutor, my students loved getting points! When points were giving out, students would notice and try to be the perfect student we wanted them to be. Talk about a way to get your class to be quite! This website is also an app on mobile devices. So if little Jimmy acts up at recess, you pull out your smartphone and deduct his points. This app/website is also available for students and parents. Teachers can invite parents to see what is happening in the class and what their student is doing. Teachers have the option to write a post or post pictures! Also, parents and teachers can privately message each other on ClassDojo. As for students, they can show off their classwork by posting photos or videos to their story! ClassDojo is a wonderful tool for communication and creating positive behavior in the classroom.

• Llama Drama (iOS) by Lighthouse Learning uses llamas to conceptualize multiplication arrays. Arrays (grids with equal rows and columns) are a classic thinking tool used to model, investigate, and build multiplication facts. Multiplication is also a key part of 3rd grade math. Students love this fun app! It helps kids understand the tricky topic of multiplication by solving visual problems. Kids build number fluency, develop strategies for multiplication, and learn properties of operations as they sort rowdy animals into arrays of different sizes. There is a free trail or the full version for $2.99

Countable

When teachers teach a subject such as government they get kids who ask, "what's the point? I don't have a say anyway". Which would be partially true if not for the Countable app. This app allows students and teachers to be involved in the political decisions of our country. All you have to do is put in your district and BAM! Not only do you know who your representatives are, but you can find the major issues at hand and the bills that will pass in congress. It also allows you to discuss your views with your representatives and allows you to have say in the passing of actual law. This app shows students that anyone can be a part of government, no matter how young you are. It also allows students to research different issues that are important to them in a civic class or while discussing current events. This makes students be a part of history. 

Lego WeDo 2.0 Software

Keeping children interested and focused in learning has always been somewhat of a problem. A technology that I found that could be incorporated into the classroom to help with this problem is the Lego wedo software. It seems perfect for students in elementary school because they will believe they are playing a game and having a lot of fun, but they are learning at the same time. The WeDo software is based on the latest science standards and enhances students’ curiosity and skills in science. Some of the technology included in the kit includes: a Smarthub, which connects your students creations to a computer or tablet through Bluetooth, a Medium Motor, Motion Sensor, a Tilt Sensor, and enough building elements for two students. It is important to introduce technology like this to students early in their lives and the Lego WeDo software is a great way to do it because the students will enjoy their time with it. The Curriculum pack that comes with WeDo 2.0 featuring projects totaling over 40 hours of content teaches students subjects such as: life science, physical science, earth science, space science, and engineering.

VoiceThread

Have you ever wanted to take your class on a field trip somewhere that just isn’t possible? Maybe this place was somewhere from long ago, or maybe it is across the world. Have you ever wanted to help your young students become better speakers? What if there was a way to have your middle schoolers give a presentation without feeling uncomfortable up in front of the class? How about trying to find a way to better engage your high school students in a lecture? This all becomes possible with VoiceThread!

VoiceThread is an internet based platform that allows both teachers and students to upload documents, images, video, and audio to create presentations, interactive lectures, and virtual tours. By using VoiceThread you can travel back in time with your students and tour Ancient Egypt, take a field trip through a concentration camp, or even replace individual reading assignments with audio lectures and pictures.

This is something that is simple and easy to use that will benefit your classroom greatly. By using VoiceThread, your students will be more engaged in the lesson and discussion along with being more eager to learn.  

MORE THAN A WILD GOOSE CHASE!

As a teacher, some of the most difficult things to do is to keep students engaged and make sure that they take something educational away from a school or class trip.  I have found a perfect solution to these problems: Goosechase.  Goosechase is a scavenger hunt mobile app based on a website.  The app allows you to create missions (scavenger hunts) for students to accomplish goals of answering questions or taking pictures or videos of certain things.  Each goal that you accomplish gives the individual or team a set amount of points.  Teachers have the ability set point values for each question/goal and all scores are calculated real time.  Students will enjoy the activity because they are able to compete, participate in teams, and use their cell phones in the activity.