4 Teachers has loads of tools for you!

www.4teachers.org

I've recently rediscovered 4Teachers, a free site full of online tools for teachers. There are instructional videos, educational games, professional development opportunities and more! Most teachers are familiar with one of their time tested tools, Rubistar - an online rubric generator. If you're not grading projects with Rubistar, you are missing out on a time saving opportunity. Rubistar is a wonderful tool for grading all kinds of projects; posters, storytelling, paragraphs, slide show presentations, and websites, etc. You choose your project, the content you are scoring, (grammar, design, sentence structure, etc) and the points. Rubistar then creates a rubric that you can edit, print, or store for later. No teacher should be without it!

This week, I used another of their tools, QuizStar, with my 7/8th grade students. QuizStar made it possible for me to create, administer, and score a quiz. Once my questions and answers were setup, I randomized the quiz set so that each student in the computer lab was completing a different question. No "screen sharing" here! Having QuizStar score my quiz enabled the students to receive immediate feedback. They liked taking the quiz online, having the opportunity to reveiw their answers, and ultimately see their score upon completion. I'll be using QuizStar again soon.

Educational Powerpoint Review Game Templates and More!

I've recently been asked to share some ideas for using PowerPoint in the K-12 classroom. The following is a collection of links to sites that provide free educational powerpoint presentations. They include lecture notes on a wide variety of topics as well as review games and tutorials.

Pete's PowerPoint Station - a collection of educational PowerPoint presentations

Collection_from_Kentucky_Schools -Loads of Jeopardy games - complete with questions

Who_Wants_To_Be_A_Millionaire? - directions and downloads

Internet4Classrooms_PowerPoint templates and tutorials - includes tutorials for Office 2007

EdGames - this site contains game templates for you to download and edit. No more starting from scratch!

http://www.templateswise.com/ - Free templates and backgrounds

http://www.brainybetty.com/K_to_12_powerpoint_templates.htm - more free templates and backgrounds

Educational Powerpoint Tips/Articles - from the folks at Microsoft

PowerPoint in the Classroom - Free tutorial for teachers

FREE SMART BOARD ACTIVITES @ blossomlearning.com

Use Blossom Learning for more free SMART Notebook lessons. They are organized by subject area easily downloaded to your computer. Blossom Learning is endorced by Scholastic and "Best in Tech" -

I hope this resource is helpful to you.


https://www.blossomlearning.com/Resources.aspx?ty=1

Brain Pop is Gearing up for Back to School

BrainPop has what you need!

Start off your school year with resources just for you!

www.brainpop.com

• BrainPop has launched a free app for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch.
• Back to School means new movies on topics such as test prep, reading skills, stress, listening, speaking, and making friends.
• The educator resource section is a great place to find graphic organizers to download or use on your SMART Board.
• Free Webinars in August will help you find your BrainPop groove.

If you've forgotten your BrainPop username and password - just shoot me an email :)

Education City

www.educationcity.com

I'm so happy to share with you a free trial to Education City. Education City offers students and teachers in grades PREK THROUGH FIFTH GRADES activities aligned to the state standards in Language, Math, and Science.

I will be using Education City in the computer lab this month and encourage you to use in with your SMART Boards to support your current curriculum.

Enjoy your time in Education City! Check your e-mail for a trial username and password.