Even though there is always a mind-boggling amount of invaluable info shared on the Discovery Educator Network (DEN), one of the best resources available is the Spotlight on Strategies (S.O.S) series, a must-see DEN favorite designed to provide teachers with simple yet effective instructional practices for using digital content to support student learning. To date, there are 70+ teacher tried and tested strategies featured on the DEN blog, and with permission from Discovery Education, I am now featuring some of these techniques on my space. So, enough of that. Let’s fast forward to the really good stuff… This week’s spotlight—The Question Is…—is a formative assessment strategy that can be utilized to guide instruction, intervention planning and delivery.  Background Formative assessment can help teachers better understand what students have learned as they progress through a unit of study. As a result, it’s important to find creative, effective and efficient ways to incorporate ongoing formative assessment. This strategy is easy to implement, requires no preparation, and uses materials commonly found in most classrooms. Yep, all you need is the answer to a pre-determined question and some sticky notes for student use. And best of all? It works in any classroom, with any age group! The Question Is… technique is also a good springboard for classroom discussion, if students are asked to justify the questions they are posting, and obviously, it affords students an opportunity to practice formulating questions as well. Now that I have your attention, all you have to do is click here to snag a PDF version of this super cool strategy which includes info related to materials needed and step-by-step instructions for utilizing the The Question Is… strategy in the classroom. There’s even a video overview you can check out here. Pretty cool, eh? And last, but certainly not least, here’s a visual to get those wheels turning… Better yet—click here to check out the entire S.O.S. series on the DEN blog! So, there you have it: Another S.O.S. trick to add to your edtech toolbox. Stay tuned for additional ways to activate learning in your classroom… Like what you see? Then take the digital integration challenge by trying to implement the Half the Story strategy and/or one of these additional ideas into a classroom lesson: » Reading Between the Lines » ABC Summary » 6-Word Stories » What Did They Say? » A-E-I-O-U » Snowball Fight » Whittle It Down » Concept Circles » The Envelope Please » Get Venn-y with It! » MVP » Partner Time » Half the Story

I’ve previously featured Tackk on this space, but I’m back again—this time to share another example of how this super cool tool can be used in education. Need a way to visually communicate important info, videos and links to your colleagues during a professional development session? Then Tackk just might be your answer! The Back Story: My District recently adopted the Class Messenger tool across the K-12 spectrum to communicate with parents and students about the happenings in the classroom and at school in general. Along with the elementary principal, yours truly was not only responsible for introducing the new initiative to our staff, but for training them to use the tool as well. That said, instead of distributing a traditional paper handout, I created the digital flyer shown below to use as a visual, a landing page for a video overview of the tool and a "cheat sheet" containing access to the site as well as other useful "quick links" for teachers to become familiar with the use of this new resource. View full version on Tackk Create your own customized Tackk page Click here to view a full screen version of this Tackk. In addition to including web links and inserting videos and images, Tackk pages can also accommodate all sorts of embeddable content, audio, maps, forms and there’s even an RSVP option. Users do not need to register for an account to create a Tackk; however, unregistered pages expire after seven days, so I would highly recommend creating an account—especially if you plan to use content you develop over an extensive period of time. Classroom Connection: In addition to utilizing Tackk for professional development purposes, the image shown below highlights a variety of ways Tackk can be incorporated into the classroom. And besides that, users can check out the education section of Tackk which includes examples and ideas for using this cool tool with students. Some of my favorite ways to incorporate Tackk into the classroom include the ability to develop digital assignments, flip classroom content and/or to blend learning lesson materials. Students can also create digital portfolios to showcase photo, video and/or audio projects. Imagine a Tackkboard filled with student-generated media! Oh, and there’s also a comment section automatically generated for each Tackk, so an instant discussion forum is available for you and your students!

As Quincy Jones once remarked, "I’ve always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying, "Ain’t that the truth." That said, Edu-fun Friday is a series devoted to adding some humor to the lives of teachers who visit this blog. After all, there’s nothing better than ending the week on a positive note! Plus, do we have the best topics to provide us with some comic relief or what? The funniest thing is that a similar situation really did occur with a few of my students referring me to their social media pages when I asked them questions about their summer vacations. I tried not to laugh, but I did—alot! And so it begins: Another year and another edtech adventure, for sure!

What’s new this week in my Diigo bookmarks? Check out the links shown below for some of the latest and greatest web tools that can be added to your edtech toolbox for the upcoming school year! » Long Div An excellent interactive math site which helps students learn and practice long division. » Craftyy A fun site in which users can create or remix games to make their own adventures. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

Hey, tech gurus! It’s Tuesday, which means I’m back and ready to get this school year rolling with new segments of "Tech It Up Tuesday", a series devoted to sharing an edtech tool, app, site or other resource that can be utilized in the classroom setting. So, here’s the first feature of our 2015-16 adventure: Wordmark.it, a web utility that allows users to preview a word of their choice with the fonts installed on their computer. OK, so if you’re like me, you might just have an addiction to fonts. I download them more than music from the iTunes Store, which is saying a lot of a lot. The only problem with all that is trying to remember the crazy font names as well as what each one looks like when you want to utilize one of them. No matter what the project, I sometimes spend more time browsing through my font list to find the perfect style of lettering as opposed to the content itself—sigh! Well, thanks to Wordmark.it, gone are those days of wasting hours of your life trying to locate that one typeface. Yep, this nifty tool takes the guess work out of designing your next project—a classroom newsletter, directions for an activity, a presentation or even a new logo. And it’s as simple as this: Access the site, type in a sample word or phrase, click the "load fonts" button and bang! You’ll get a preview that looks like the one shown below. After the computer loads a preview of all fonts installed on your machine, you can click on those you like followed by the "filter selected" button at the top of the page to show a side by side comparison of your choices. Other features include the "negative" option, which provides users with a glimpse of what the fonts look like in reverse—meaning white lettering with a black background. You can also select to view your fonts in different sizes as well. And lastly, if you need some advice from some of your font obsessed friends, you can also share and solicit feedback about your selected typefaces from others, save the list or even print a copy of it. Of course, you’ll need to register for an account if you want to resort to these drastic measures. Classroom Connection: You and your students can save time when creating documents, presentation and/or graphics by using Wordmark.it to preview exactly what your words will look like when using certain fonts. In addition, art or graphic design teachers could even utilize this site to demonstrate design aspects of different fonts. I personally think it’s pretty cool and useful to be able to view all of my fonts laid out in a grid-like format on one screen as opposed to messing around with a bunch of annoying drop-down menus to see what my projects might look like in print. OK, maybe it’s because I’m a font junkie. If you’re not, be sure to check back later this week… I’ll have another tech gem waiting just for you!

Whether you choose to focus on the events that occurred in our country on September 11, 2001 for one class period, or maybe you’re planning to incorporate a special project in honor of the countless American heroes that emerged on that day… Either way, utilize the resources located within the interactive image shown below to connect classroom curriculum to a day Americans will never forget. Be sure to hover over the image to reveal a variety of "hotspots" containing 9/11 lesson plans and activities. Click here to access a full-screen version of this image. Also, if you’re a Flocabulary fan, they just released a new video, Week in Rap Extra: 9/11, which explains what happened on September 11 and why, the terrorist group responsible for the attack, how the U.S. responded and how the country and world continue to remember the lives lost that day. Check it out here! Classroom Connection: Most of our students were too young to fully understand what occurred on September 11. The resources—videos, primary source documents, images, timelines and maps—can provide some background information that can lead to classroom discussions, writing activities, projects and/or research about this event in American history.

What’s new this week in my Diigo bookmarks? Check out the links shown below for some of the latest and greatest web tools that can be added to your edtech toolbox for the 2015-16 school year! » Classroom Authors Students can become published authors with this free online writing platform. » Riddle A web tool that can be utilized to create interactive content such as quizzes, lists, polls and more under 60 seconds or less! Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

Time for the next tech-isode in my "Tech It Up Tuesday" series in which I will share an edtech tool, app, site or other resource that can be utilized in the educational setting. This week the focus is on Knoword, an online word game that can help boost vocabulary, spelling, and speed of thought while increasing analytical, observational and typing skills as well. Knoword is a pretty simple and straightforward web resource to use. Begin by selecting the level of difficulty from the menu at the top of the home page—Novice, Hotshot or Wizard, click the big blue "Let’s Go!" button, and let the fast-paced fun begin! When users begin a new game, they are given one randomly generated dictionary definition along with the first letter of its corresponding word and one minute to solve the problem. The object of the game is to fill in the remainder of the word as fast as possible. Points and and additional time is earned based on how accurately and quickly the answers are provided. Don’t know the word? No problem! Just hit the skip button and a new definition will appear. The initial screen looks something like this: Since I entered the correct answer (Boom!), here’s what happens next: At the end of a game, users receive the following data: Perfect! Of course, I don’t hear that word very often so I was more than happy to receive these results—even if it was after only one round of play! Anyway, users do not need to register for an account to play Knoword, but creating one provides users with the option of keeping track of game statistics. Registered users can also earn badges based on their performances. Classroom Connection: Whether this site is used independently, in small groups or as a competition in a whole class setting, Knoword is a fun yet challenging game that can be used to reinforce students’ vocabulary, spelling and keyboarding skills. It would also be a great resource for students preparing to take the SATs. FYI: Based on the difficulty of the words I’ve encountered while experimenting with this resource, I would recommend that Knoword be utilized with middle and high school students.

OK, so here it is… Technology is everywhere. It’s basically twisted and tangled into every part of our lives in some sort of way. It impacts how we work, socialize, shop, play, and most significantly, how we learn. With devices, tools and apps increasing their presence in our lives, it only makes sense for educators to influence the learning process with relevant and real world technologies. Check out the nifty infographic shown below, one that illustrates ten ways in which going digital can create more meaningful classroom experiences for students. A shout out to Sylvia Duckworth for creating and sharing this very useful visual. Click here to view a full screen version of this sketch note. Classroom Connection: Use the infographic as a reminder regarding how technology can be used effectively in the classroom.

What’s new this week in my Diigo bookmarks? Check out the links shown below for some of the latest and greatest web tools that can be added to your edtech toolbox for the 2015-16 school year! » Portfoliogen Educators, teachers and students can showcase their skills and achievements with this free digital portfolio tool. » Kahrds An interactive learning website that allows users to create study sets that are transformed into games, flash cards and tests. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.