Love, love, love all of these EASY to use tools! I can only wish I had these while I was in college! I hope we can all share things that we use because there are a lot of good things out there. I love anything that helps me stay organized or makes things go faster.
For apps, I added Monster Math Flashcards, Haiku Deck and Newsela (already had Pear Deck). Monster Flashcards will be helpful for all kids. I find basic facts a huge struggle with kids and all they need is practice! I like that it offers addition, subtraction and multiplication. You can set the range of numbers and number of problems. I had my second grader try it out and she liked doing it. I added Haiku Deck, also. This is my most favorite thing to use with students. It is such a great way for them to organize and present on things they have learned. I am amazed how quick they pick up on it and the quality of their final product! The last one I added was Newsela. I used this a lot in my class last year. I love the option of students doing it online without printing the articles out. Newsela does such a great job offering articles at different lexile levels. It makes for an easy way to differentiate within your classroom. It also has new articles all the time. Current events helps boost motivation and interest which is KEY to reading.
Extensions were my favorite. Quick and easy....one click get it done! I could see myself adding more and more of these. I added Add This (to instantly share, print or email things online), Last Pass (saves login information for sites) and Save to Google Drive. I am excited to use these on a regular basis.
I also played with Add-ons. I love the idea of Bibliography but it is a bit advanced for my students. That is one I wish I had. I think older students would LOVE this. It makes things SO easy. I remember spending hours on that!! I did add Thesaurus and Open Clip Art. I do a lot with Shades of Meaning and using synonyms. Using the Thesaurus makes looking up different words so easy. Forget the ABC order.....just click and search. So much easier. I think students would actually use it because it is right there. The Open Clip Art is good, too. Who doesn't like adding graphics to enhance your documents?
Super excited about this lesson. I am ready to share them with other teachers & students.
Here is a Haiku Deck that a third grade student made. It was her first time using Haiku Deck.
Hershey - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires
I love reading about the apps, add-ons, and extensions that people have found. I haven't seen many duplicates, and there are so many useful ones out there. Thanks for sharing the sample Haiku Deck; I haven't tried those before and it would be a great tool for students to use. You found lots of other great tools, too! :)
ReplyDeleteIt looks like I need to give Haiku Deck a try. I too wish I had some of these extensions in college, especially the bibliography app.
ReplyDeleteLove seeing how Haiku Deck was used by your student--seems like a great tool, something fun and different for students to explore.
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