Random Ramblings

No theme…No connection…Just random thoughts.

This week I’m sharing some of the favorite apps and tools I’ve used recently in my classroom.

1.    Moby Max:  How have I not heard about this before?  This site is amazing.  It is an adaptive curriculum.  It has reading, vocabulary, math, facts, writing, language, and test prep areas.  It has placement tests, adaptive lessons, and IEP reporting.  Students login to the program and complete lessons.  Students are rewarded with game time for correct answers.  You can also set up weighted contests in your room.  It identifies missing skills and provides practice for those skills.  The Fact Master portion is very similar to FASTT Math.  You can click on the questions they’ve mastered and it tells you the correlated Common Core Standard.  Between the real time data and the fun the students have with the games, it is a Win-Win for everyone.  Oh, did I mention the basic Moby Max is free.  Some of the modules and reports are in the paid version.  It is $79.00 per year.  If you have an android device or a Kindle Fire, there is an app.  Moby Max recommends that you create a home page icon for apple products.  It is fully functional on an iPad.

2.    Boom Writer:  This is a site for collaborative writing.  Boom writer gives story start. A story Start is the first chapter of a book.  It can be written by anyone, even a celebrity.  Students continue with chapter 2 and write.  At the same time other Boom writers will be writing their version of chapter 2. Once the chapters are submitted, students vote on their favorites.  Then the names of the writers are revealed and they’ve created a book.  This book can be viewed online or purchased.

3.     Animoby:  This is a free app that turns your tablet into an interactive whiteboard.  Animations and videos can be created.  I tallows students or teachers record themselves as they create a screencast of a picture or a pdf.  With a completed project you can generate a URL to embed in blogs or share in other ways, such as edmodo.

4.    Story Me:  This app lets you turn pictures into comic strips.  Students create a collage, add speech bubbles, and add a fun comic effect.  Individual images can become s story in seconds. Here is one of my 2^nd grade student’s Story Me created about Martin Luther King, Jr.

Story Me app Project

5.    Be a Part of Digital Learning Day on February 5, 2014:  Let’s celebrate innovative teaching and highlight practices that personalize learning and engage students, exploring how digital learning can provide all students with the opportunities they deserve—to build the skills needed to succeed in college, a career, and life. In other words, show the world what Talladega County does everyday!

Have a Great weekend!