We have probably all used YouTube to show our students some neat learning concept, and have often been met with frustration that YouTube is blocked for students. We understand the reasoning, but really would like our students to have access to view the great resource we showed earlier.
There are some alternatives that you could use. Here are a few of them: SchoolTube.com. This is not blocked on our district and if you sign up for a FREE account, then YOU could make a neat video and upload it to YOUR channel and then share the link via Google Classroom. Another option is to simply peruse their library selection.
TeacherTube.com is an another option. Sign up for FREE, upload your own video, or peruse their library.
Nextvista.org. There are already hundreds of videos--all education based, for you to use and share with your students via Google Classroom.
If there is a video that seems to only be on YouTube, don't forget there IS a work around. Check out this post from a few weeks ago for a reminder.
Hopefully, the next time you feel discouraged because you can't share a YouTube video with your students, you're remember that YES! you have options!
Teachers, do you find yourself giving pretty much the same comments all the time to your students when they turn in a writing assignment via Google Docs? Wouldn't it be a time saver, if you could somehow turn those repeated responses into canned responses?
This add on, according to the description mode, has 3 useful tools:
Rubric Builder
Commenting Tool
Grading Tool
Discovered this tip via Richard Byrne, the Practical Ed Tech guy from FreeTech4Teachers.com
Below is a YouTube tutorial of how it works. It's looks like a pretty cool tool. Check it out!
An app I have rediscovered is Doceri. An IWB app, it does what most IWB apps do. Allows you to create presentations straight from your iPad or Android Tablet. There is a free app, with the option to upgrade to the paid version.
What I REALLY like about this, is the freedom it gives you to NOT be bound to your computer or projector in the front of the room. Using the 30 day demo version, I have been able to wirelessly connect my Doceri app to my Mac computer using my iPad. Without having to physically be at my computer (which is wired through a data projector) I'm able to show long division problems, do markups on a map, highlight words in a PDF, and just about anything I want to do. Draw shapes in certain areas, erase a few strokes, or simply delete the whole thing and start over again.
There are two setbacks that concern me with this app. The app hasn't been updated since October 2015. That's over a year ago. We've had countless upgrades on multiple OS of both platforms, so isn't there SOMETHING that needs updating? However--it seems to be working fine. Maybe the old adage of, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies here..?
The second setback is the cost. While there is a free app, and a 30 day demo for the desktop, the cost for the "real" desktop app is $30! Then again, is it worth $30 to not have to be tied down to your computer or the front of the room? Is it worth it to be able to stand by "little Johnny" while you continue to teach, using the "close proximity" technique for classroom management? Is it worth it just to be able hand your tablet to a student and have them work the problem out at their desk while their classmates watch his/her work in real time on the board?
You decide. Download the demo app on your computer, and app on your tablet. Try it before you buy, and see if YOU think it's worth it.
