What’s new this week in my Diigo bookmarks? Check out the links shown below for some of the latest and greatest web tools and resources that can be utilized to engage students in your classroom! » CheckiO A browser-based game in which users solve problems through Python coding activities in order to advance. More suitable for older students. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

I’m not much of a gamer, but one video game that always piqued my interest as a kid (OK, and as an adult too!) was/is Pacman, so when I saw this app shelf I knew I had to somehow make use of it. So here it is… Make your way around the Pacman gameboard to locate the best posts of March 2015: Tech it Up Tuesday with the latest cool tools reviews… Spotlight on Strategies focusing on integrating digital media into the classroom… New Diigo bookmarks highlighting useful resources… All of this and more lives within the must-see collection edtech goodies that can be utilized to tech out your lessons and assignments. Just hover over the interactive image below to expose what lies beneath the Pacman arcade! Check out the full screen version of this image here. Like this interactive image? Then be sure to visit the following must-see sites for tons of ideas for incorporating ThingLink into classroom activities: 87+ Interesting Ways to Use Thinglink in the Classroom created by Donna Baumbach (Aunty Tech) and the ThingLink Toolkit developed by Susan Oxnevad. Of course, my Educate with ThingLink post also contains a variety of integration strategies as well.

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 now thanks to Lance Rougeux, Vice President of Learning Communities and Educational Consultants at Discovery Education and all-around DEN tech guru, I will now be featuring these techniques on my space. Two thumbs up to this guy! So, enough of that. Let’s fast forward to the good stuff… This week’s feature—Whittle It Down—is an instructional strategy that reinforces summarization skills. Big Idea Summarizing is an important comprehension strategy which involves more than retelling content. In order to summarize effectively, students must have a solid understanding of the presented material (reading passages, videos, audio files, etc.) in order to synthesize large chunks of information into generalizations. The Whittle It Down strategy is designed to scaffold summarization by having students work independently, then collaboratively as part of a small group, and finally as a whole class to ‘whittle down’ a list of vocabulary words that are most important to understanding the topic being studied. This final list is then used to compose a summary of the topic. 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, steps for integrating the Whittle It Down strategy into lessons, an example and extension activities. 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 be sure to check out other ideas in this series: » Reading Between the Lines » ABC Summary » 6-Word Stories » What Did They Say? » A-E-I-O-U » Snowball Fight

What’s new this week in my Diigo bookmarks? Check out the links shown below for some of the latest and greatest web tools and resources that can be utilized to engage students in your classroom! » Classmill A free web tool that enables educators to easily create classes using links, YouTube videos, images and files. Login and immediately start creating online courses! » Plotly An online data visualization tool that provides graphing, analytics and stats tools that can be shared with others. Users also have access to scientific graphing libraries for Python, R, MATLAB, Perl, Julia, Arduino, and REST. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

What’s new this week in my Diigo bookmarks? Check out the links shown below for some of the latest and greatest web tools and resources that can be utilized to engage students in your classroom! » Zotero A free, easy-to-use tool for collecting, organizing, citing and sharing research sources. » Timeglider Create, collaborate and publish zooming and panning interactive timelines. It’s like Google Maps, but for time. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

What’s new this week in my Diigo bookmarks? Check out the links shown below for some of the latest and greatest web tools and resources that can be utilized to engage students in your classroom! » Lynda.com An online collection of over 3,400 instructional video courses (and counting) in subjects ranging from photography to web graphics to 3D animation. Teachers and students can learn what they want when they want! » BrightLoop Focus on what matters with a formative assessment web tool that allows educators to document learning, plan based on student need and communicate progress to families. All in one place! Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

What’s new this week in my Diigo bookmarks? Check out the links shown below for some of the latest and greatest web tools and resources that can be utilized to engage students in your classroom! » HistoryWiz Step into the past with over 1,000 pages of fascinating history from three time periods: Ancient, Medieval & Early Modern and Modern. A great informational site for students, teachers and all lovers of 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 and resources that can be utilized to engage students in your classroom! » FontFile The most extensive collection of fonts and dingbats on the web. It contains over 750 free fonts to download and use—all for free! Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

Hey, edtech peeps! This one’s for you: A recap of the posts that appeared on this blog during April 2015 compiled in one really swell interactive image. There’s a little bit of somethin’ somethin’ going on for everyone! Find the tech-knowledge-y that awaits you by hovering over the ThingLink mashup shown below. Check out the full screen version of this image here. Like this interactive image? Then be sure to visit the following must-see sites for tons of ideas for incorporating ThingLink into classroom activities: 87+ Interesting Ways to Use Thinglink in the Classroom created by Donna Baumbach (Aunty Tech) and the ThingLink Toolkit developed by Susan Oxnevad. Of course, my Educate with ThingLink post also contains a variety of integration strategies as well.

What’s new this week in my Diigo bookmarks? Check out the links shown below for some of the latest and greatest web tools and resources that can be utilized to store and share all kinds of files with your colleagues and students! » Dropbox Install this application on your tablet, smart phone or laptop, and you will be able to access your files 24/7. An excellent tool for students who are working on different devices at school and at home! Flash drives no longer necessary! » Send to Dropbox Ever wish you could email files to your Dropbox? Well, now you can! It’s free, fast, secure and super simple too. All you have to do is connect with Dropbox, get your unique email address, and start sending files! » Senduit A quick and simple way to upload and share large files with others. Links remain active for up to one week. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

What’s new this week in my Diigo bookmarks? Check out the links shown below for some of the latest and greatest web tools and resources that can be utilized to finish out the school year! » Braingle With over 20,000 brain teasers, riddles, logic problems, quizzes and mind puzzles submitted, this resource boasts the largest collection anywhere on the web! » drawonthe.net Draw collaboratively with colleagues, students or friends online. Works with any internet image or website! » GroupBoard Interactive website tools for distance learning, online tutoring, collaboration and fun. Add whiteboard, chat, games, message boards, VOIP and web conferencing to any website by simply copying a few lines of HTML code. Compatible with any web browser as well as iOS and Android devices. No downloads or plugins required. » Voxer A next generation push-to-talk messaging app that includes live voice that is simultaneously recorded, delivered over any data network, and stored in the cloud. It also includes text, photo and location sharing. Download for iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8 devices. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

What’s new this week in my Diigo bookmarks? Check out the links shown below for some of the latest and greatest web tools and resources that can be utilized to finish out the school year! » Wiggio A free, online toolkit that makes it easy to work in all types of groups (academic, clubs, organizations, sports teams, social groups, etc.). The platform is designed to be easy and straightforward, even for the least tech-savvy members of your group. » Curriculet Embed a layer of questions, quizzes, and rich media annotations into any reading assignment to track mastery of literacy skills and Common Core standards in real-time. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

What’s new this week in my Diigo bookmarks? Check out the links shown below for some of the latest and greatest web tools and resources that can be utilized to finish out the school year! » Speakpipe A tool that makes it super easy for your website or blog visitors to leave feedback or testimonials regarding content directly on your page. No phone calls required! » Pinside This is a cool notetaking and sticky notes platform In which users can create pinboards to post comments, text and/or images that can shared either privately or publicly. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

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! » Wildscreen ARKive Discover and learn about the planet’s endangered animals, plants and fungi via an awe-inspiring record of life as seen through the eyes of the world’s best wildlife filmmakers, photographers, conservationists and scientists. Reveal what they look like, what makes them special, and why we should protect them. » Audionotegrabber Take screengrabs, import presentations slides or PDF documents and annotate recordings with text and color to create the most comprehensive notes ever! Can be used for teaching, research, assessment, webinars and more! Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

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! » Freerice.com Have your students play this online vocabulary game, and they’ll learn while donating food to people in need! » ImageQuiz Use predefined or create customized interactive quizzes based on the use of images that represent academic content. » Litfy A site that provides access to 30,000+ free classic books with the ability to bookmark and notate pages. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

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! » Stickfigure Animator Software that allows users to create stick figure animations easily and without any artistic skills. Finished projects can be exported to video format for use in other programs and/or on YouTube. » ClipConverter A free online media conversion application which allows users to convert and download YouTube URLs to formats such as MP3, MP4 and more! Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

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? Ever feel like you’ve been caught up in this vicious circle! What a drag!

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! » Permission Click Create permission slips using an existing process or from a template in the easy form builder. Once generated, parents simply click a link which takes them directly to the digital permission slip anywhere, anytime! » Wowed An iOS app that can be used to create word clouds from Twitter, Facebook, webpages and more! Choose from a range of different fonts, colors, and layouts to customize the appearance of the clouds that are generated. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

Need a really cool summer vacation app that can double as a pretty powerful instructional tool? Then Photo Mapo is a must-have digital gem that has countless classroom app-lications. That’s right! This really swell resource can transform photos into mapped masterpieces that can be shared with family and friends across social media networks including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Instagram. Here’s how Photo Mapo works: Choose one of 23 template styles (Postcard, Treasure, Retro, etc.) and tweak the background color. Then select a favorite photo from the camera roll and add an optional description to the image. Other information that can be customized on each "postcard" includes date, time, latitude, city, state and country. Map type (terrain, roads, hybrid and satellite) as well as Map Zoom (how much detail is displayed) can also be determined in the settings. Another super cool feature is that Photo Mapo has the GPS technology to attach the actual location where the picture was taken or the user can enter a specific address. The latter is a very cool option, especially when third party photos are being utilized (Flickr, Creative Commons and the like). Check out a few samples shown below. Hopefully they’ll get those wheels turning! For fun… For the classroom… Classroom Connection: Do I even have enough space to share the ways Photo Mapo can be utilized in the classroom? Seriously, when I first saw this app, I immediately thought of the social studies angle: Historical figures, events, places and/or landmarks. But after giving it some additional thought, this cool tool has potential far beyond one content area—field trips, setting of a story or book, visual writing prompts or even the creation of graphics to accompany writing activities (favorite and/or bucket list destinations) and lit trips (similar to those created with Google Earth) to name a few. A Photo Mapo image could also be a nifty way to promote school or professional events—assemblies, conferences, trainings, workshops, etc. As a creative twist, students can get busy with an app smashing project by doing the following: Create a mash-up of several photos utilizing the Pic Collage app and then import that image into a Photo Mapo to create a unique geographical masterpiece.

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! » Picjumbo Totally free stock photos for educational, commercial and/or personal use. No attribution needed! » Every Last Drop An interactive website about conserving water. Scroll through the page to reveal how the average person consumes water on a daily basis and learn ideas for reducing waste. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

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! » Clarisketch A web tool and Android app that allows users to create messages by combining speech, drawing and photos. Once shared, the sketch can be played in any browser. » Algodoo A 2D simulation software that provides users with the opportunity to use their own hands and simple drawing tools to design, construct and explore the world of physics. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

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! » Braingle With over 20,000 brain teasers, riddles, logic problems, quizzes and mind puzzles submitted, this resource boasts the largest collection anywhere on the web! » SoundBible.com Free sound clips, bites and effects for all kinds of multimedia projects. Download files in either wav or mp3 format. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

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! » MultiURL This web tool makes the process of sharing multiple links at once much quicker and easier by combining multiple links into just one shortlink. It’s the ultimate url shortener! » Remember The Milk A popular to-do list generator that syncs across platforms, devices, Google Apps, Evernote and more… Never forget anything again! Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.

Did you know that the human brain can process visuals way faster than text? Yep, not only are they more interesting and eye-catching, it’s a proven fact that we’re actually wired to respond more favorably to visuals. Furthermore, according to a recent study, 65% of the population now consists of visuals learners which would explain why our society is so hooked on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram—all technologies that are essentially image-based. Obviously, we are living in the age of visual information. So, if that’s the case, then shouldn’t we be teaching and learning in that same age of age of visual information as well? As educators, shouldn’t we be leveraging the power of visuals in all types of instruction? Of course, these are rhetorical questions because it’s apparent that images are clearly the key to engaging students. They quickly transmit messages, improve comprehension, strengthen retention of knowledge and motivate learning. That said, check out the infographic shown below that illustrates the types of visuals that ignite our brains. A shout out to SH!FT eLearning for sharing this useful graphic! Learn more about how each visual shown on the infographic can impact learning here. Classroom Connection: This "visual about visuals" focuses on the type of content that should be used to create a more engaging online course, but this info can be applied to all types of learning situations. If you would like to read more information about the power of visuals in learning, check out an interesting article here.

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! » Blubbr Create interactive quizzes based on YouTube videos. Viewers watch a short clip and then answer a multiple choice question about the content. Feedback is immediately provided. » Zaption A web tool for creating interactive and engaging video-based quizzes using YouTube, Vimeo, PBS or National Geographic. Questions are displayed for students as they view the video. Don’t just watch. Learn! Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links can be found here.