Early in my career, the technology for my review games consisted of flyswatters: Each team was given a flyswatter, and an opponent from those teams would stand on opposite sides of the table and slam down their flyswatter to “buzz in.” These days there are countless online review games, complete with buzzers, questions, scoreboards, and… Read more
Brainstormer Brainstormer is a great tool for group brainstorming. Teachers and students contribute ideas to a shared board, build on each other’s thoughts, and vote for their favorite ideas. Plus, it’s completely free and no accounts are required. Set Up a Brainstorm Go to Brainstormer.online and click “Setup Brainstorm.” Type in the topic or problem… Read more
SlidesMania – Way More than Presentations While there are several slides template sites, SlidesMania is hands-down the best one for teachers and students. They’ve embraced the idea that there’s a lot more to Google Slides than presentations. Choice Boards Interactive Game Templates – Let your students make a review game. Digital Notebooks Weekly Class Planners They… Read more
99math 99math.com 99math is an engaging review game exclusively for math. Intended for grades 1-8, 99math covers the basics, but also offers more advanced topics like equations, perimeter and area, conversion of fractions, and more. Like many of my favorite games, 99math provides reports — making it a great formative assessment tool. Easy Teacher Setup Teachers… Read more
Check out these essential Google Chrome shortcuts to save some time while streamlining a few common tasks. With no extensions needed and no keys to memorize, these shortcuts couldn’t be easier: they can all be done right in the omnibox (Chrome’s name for the URL/address bar). These “Tech in 20” videos explain each shortcut in… Read more
Whiteboard.chat I wasn’t going to share another web whiteboard, but I really can’t categorize Whiteboard.chat as just a web whiteboard. It’s a combination of some of the handiest EdTech tools in one platform. It’s also free and doesn’t require users to sign in. Rather than try to describe all of the features, I’m just going… Read more
Even students’ favorite review games like Kahoot, Quizizz, and Gimkit can get a little dull if they are overplayed. That’s why I’m always excited to find another engaging review game to add to the mix. Blooket is a free, fun, and engaging review game with tons of built-in variety. Start with a Question Set Teachers… Read more
Here’s a look back at my top #EdTech picks of 2020: Engaging eLearning Activity Templates, Building Relationships During Remote Learning, Virtual Waiting Room Slide Templates, How to Make a GIF in Google Slides, Virtual Manipulatives That Work on Any Device. 10 Engaging eLearning Activity Templates to Promote Deeper Learning Coming up with meaningful eLearning assignments… Read more
I was just starting to think about my annual Tech/STEM toys of the year when my friend and mentor, Dr. Marshall Jones, shared his holiday gift guide. I’ve relied on Dr. J’s recommendations for years now, and think you’ll find this guide both helpful and timely. While nobody is being compensated for any of these… Read more
We’ve all been there. You can’t access a website and wonder if it’s really down for everyone or just you. Is It Down Right Now? will quickly test any site you enter from their servers and let you know if it’s working. In addition to their tests, they also rely on crowd-sourcing to report possible… Read more
