There is no better way to find out whether an LMS solution will be a good fit for your company than by asking questions to current customers. We are so confident in ShareKnowledge and the value we provide, that we are disclosing a Q&A that went on between a potential client and current customer. These are real questions that extend beyond the standard sales and marketing jargon you'll find on a website - the crucial info you'll want and need before making a big purchase.

An Every Classroom Matters Episode with Josh Stumpenhorst Wish your school would remember what teachers are supposed to be? Sick of the buzzword bandwagon? This is THE episode to share about how we need to reinvent teaching today. Josh Stumpenhorst will get you motivated to teach. We can get kids excited about learning! You can be a better teacher. Here’s how. Important Takeaways for Listeners What does a modern teacher look like? Josh exposes the shows why "teaching the way we were taught" kills learning. Why buzzwords get us off track. The one question about technology we must answer. If we can’t, get rid of it. How some teachers have been shamed into using technology (and slowing down learning). What we should say instead of "21st Century Skills" and "Digital Citizenship." Kids are different today. Josh gives 2 forgotten motivators. If you want to get motivated about teaching and get past the buzzwords, this is it. Scroll down for an awesome sketch note from listener Lyndsay Buehler. Educator Resources Josh’s resignation letter that I mentioned at the beginning of the show. (You’ve got to hear his response of how it is going. Yes, he’s still teaching.) Excerpt of Josh’s ISTE 2015 Keynote The New Teacher Revolution by Josh Stumpenhorst we discussed in the show. Interview Links @stumpteacher Sponsor Staples. Staples has everything a teacher needs for Back to School. Remember to check out the Teacher Rewards Program. Join theTeacher Rewards program and check out my Top 10 School Suppliesto buy at Staples. Remember that the week of August 2 - 9, there is a massive Teacher Appreciation Event ! See Staples Back to School Deals What Teachers Say Listener Clara Maxcy says Excellent post. This is exactly how I feel about what I want to do in my classroom this year. I want to encourage student conversations; let students develop and take ownership of how they learn. It is truly about knowing my students, who they are, what they need (and don’t need - I’ll have to remember that sometimes I just need to get out of the way!) and the best ways to facilitate learning. Thanks, Josh! Then, I got this amazing sketch note from listener Lyndsay Buehler. (You’ll want to read her blog post with reflections about sketchnoting!) @coolcatteacher First try with #Sketchnoting : your Aug 4 podcast! Will blog later. pic.twitter.com/0UPnSaKQLh — Lyndsay Buehler (@apples4theteach) August 5, 2015 You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or elsewhere, get the RSS feed, or listen via the media player above. You’re invited! Join the Every Classroom Matters Awesome Educators Network on Facebook.   The post These 5 Things Won’t Make You a Better Teacher, This One Will appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

August 5, 2015 Preparing your curriculum materials for next semester? Updating what you already have? Revising lesson plans from someone else to fit your class? Here are some tools that may help in... ....read more

August 5, 2015 Game-based learning is a learning trend with an increasing attraction in today’s classrooms. At its core, game-based learning deploys learning principles incorporated in the gaming... ....read more

August 6, 2015 In today’s post we are revisiting some excellent websites and mobile apps  you can use with your students to virtually explore some of the most reputed world museums. Most of... ....read more

August 6, 2015 As is the case once every week, we feature here a compilation of educational apps that are on sale. These deals are valid at least here in Canada and also the States. To keep track of... ....read more

Throughout the spring and summer I offered a five week course on using blogs and social media in schools. Over the last few weeks I've had requests to offer the course again. But school is starting soon and many of us are pressed for time so I decided to offer a three part version of the course. Classroom Blog Jumpstart is a three night event (August 17,18, and 19) in which I'll cover how to set-up a blog, features many people overlook in their blogs, picking the best blog platform for your situation, and share strategies for engaging students and parents through blogging. Does this sound like a course you could use? Click here to register or read on for more information. Whether you’ve never tried using a blog in your classroom or you’ve tried it before and it didn’t work out like you hoped, this course is for you. Blogging isn’t new and it isn’t as flashy as say iPads in the classroom, but it is a very valuable activity for students, teachers, and school leaders. In fact, I think that too often it is under-utilized by teachers. One cause that under-utilization is due in part to not having a clear strategy for implementation. Another reason for under-utilization of blogs is a lack of understanding of just how many ways blogs can be used by students, teachers, and school leaders. I developed this course to address all of those issues and help teachers develop a better understanding of the many ways they can use blogs in their classrooms. In this three night event you will learn:*How to use Blogger and KidBlog. Dive into features many people overlook.*Determine which blogging platform is best for you and your students.*Learn valuable strategies for engaging students and parents through blogging. When? This three night event is happening on August 17, 18, and 19 at 7pm Eastern Time. Click here to register today! ***********All sessions are recorded.************ Cost:I usually charge $97 for a course like this one. As a back-to-school promotion it costs only $65 if you register before August 10th. Use the discount code "backtoschool" to receive the discount. Space is limited. Click here to register today! About the costs and my decision to advertise these opportunities on my blog: Sometimes when I advertise one of these webinars I get messages from people who are upset that I am advertising it here and or that I am charging for it. I understand why some people feel that way. I thought long and hard about how to offer these opportunities. In fact, I thought about it and talked about it with trusted advisors for a year before offering the first webinar series. The purpose of this blog and my goal for years has always been to help people use free technology in their classrooms. The tools and strategies featured in my webinars and at the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp are free to use. However, my time for teaching isn't free. Further, I pay licensing fees to GoToTraining and to Wistia for hosting all of the media content of the courses. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHow to Schedule Blog Posts on Blogger, Edublogs, and KidblogMove Your Body, Move Your MindSupporting Teachers With Four Blog Posts 

Seterra offers a large selection of free geography quizzes. The collection includes dozens of quizzes covering everything from country identification to identifying physical geographic features like mountains, rivers, and seas. There are seven categories of quizzes arranged by continent. Seterra's quizzes are available in sixteen languages. Seterra's quizzes available as a free download for Windows computers. The games can also be played in an online version. If you download the quizzes you can keep track of your scores on your computer. The online version of the games do not allow you to keep track of your scores. Applications for Education I downloaded Seterra and tried a couple of the quizzes on my desktop. The quizzes are very straight-forward in terms of how to use them. Your cursor will become highlighted with a prompt to identify a state, city, or geographic feature. You could easily have a whole classroom using Seterra in minutes. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesJohnnyAppl - Play Trivia Games and Plant Real TreesAn Easy Way to Create Your Own iPad & Android GamesMake Lesson Plans and Storyboards Pop With These New Guides 

Alphabet Organizer is a free resource produced by Read Write Think for the purpose of helping students learn the alphabet and learn new words. Alphabet Organizer is available as an iPad app, as an Android app, and as a web-based tool. When you first open the app you will be asked to create a user profile. Multiple profiles can be created on the same installation of the app. Creating a profile only asks for a first name and that name could be a pseudonym. Once you have created a profile or selected a profile on Alphabet Organizer you are ready to start building alphabet charts and books. In the first screen you will given the choice of making simple word lists or making word lists with pictures and definitions. Should you choose to use pictures you will have to find the pictures somewhere outside of the app and import them to the app. You can make lists for every letter of the alphabet or make lists for just a few letters at a time. After making your lists you can move on to having those lists used in printable charts or picture book pages. Applications for Education Read Write Think offers an extensive list of lesson plans that incorporate Alphabet Organizer. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHow to Create a Picture Book Online With Jellybean WriterMay Flowers - A Writing LessonAn Easy Way to Create Your Own iPad & Android Games 

Parts of this post originally appeared on my other blog, iPadApps4School.com Penguin Jump Maths is a free iPad app that offers a fun game for students to play to practice their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills. Students play the game in the role of a penguin trying to jump from iceberg to iceberg. The object of the game is to be the first penguin to make it across all of the icebergs without falling into the water. In addition to measuring success by being the first to cross the icebergs players also earn points for speed and accuracy. Applications for Education Penguin Jump Maths isn’t a revolutionary app by any means. But if you’re looking for a fun and free app for your students to use to practice their basic math skills, the app could provide just what you need. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesAn Easy Way to Create Your Own iPad & Android GamesBest of the Web - Summer 2015 UpdateeduClipper Updates With New Tagging and Discovery Features