Great Apps That Are Free Now!

Engage students in making a hypothesis, plan, procedure, test.  Students will experience  with their plan or re-plan and test again.  Some of the levels work great with partners.  So many possibilities for app smashing!  Use apps like Write About This or Tell About This to explain what happens in the game.  Perhaps, your students may want to write an adventure story about the characters in Cut the Rope, "The Nommies." Apps like  Toontastic or Shadow Puppet Edu

Cut the Rope 2    .




If you like the Toca Boca apps you will love Toca Builders.  On an island far away your students can create a world with blocks.  They can jump, walk, roll and rotate the builders and build whatever is in their imagination.  Toca Builders allow you to drop, spray, smash and lift blocks to cocnstruct.
The Builders inclcude the characters:
Blox: Great at dropping and smashing blocks

Cooper:  A fantastic painter

Vex: amazing at putting bloccks in stacks

Stretch: Specialized at placing blocks anywhere

Connie:  Enjoys lifting and moving blocks

Jum-Jum: Loves to spray paint.

To save your world, just tap the Back-button to go back to the main menu and everything is saved.  Take photos of your constructions.

No rules

No third party advetising

No-in app purchases                                                                                                                                                                                                              Toca Builders

Watch the video to learn how to create in Toca Builders.  Just imagine the great videos your students could direct with Toca Builders!

Dollar Tree Offers Educational Opportunities

I love Dollar Tree.  Besides the great prices I get lots of inspiration from the cute colors and seasonal items.  I recently purchased some National Geographic for Kids books.  I purchased several in a series.  So I started thinking about how I could expand the books to be interactive.  On one the pages it had a sort of Mad Libs story. I took the story and typed it into a Google Form then copied the link and created a QR code.  Now when students read the book they can scan the QR code and complete their own story on a mobile device or desktop computer.

This is the link to the Google Form http://goo.gl/forms/r2v8XNTNyu

A Conversation with Catlin Tucker and Simple K12

I just attended a webinar conversation with Catlin Tucker.  The webinar was FREE and hosted by Simple K12.  Catlin shared her experiences with teaching in a blended learning environment. The conversation provided examples and sharing of experiences. Participants were provided the opportunity to post questions and actually talk live with Catlin.
It was a great experience and I can't wait until the next one.

Virtual Reality

 Meets Google Spotlight Stories

Virtual reality is easily accessible with your mobile device.  Many vr apps or free and don't require additional equipment.  One such amazing app is Google Spotlight Stories. This app tells stories in three-hundred and sixty degrees.  It's available on Android and on iOS for free.

The app features four amazing stories:
HELP - which takes place in Los Angeles after a meteor shower in Chinatown.  The shower results in an unbelievable surprise.
Duet -  An incredible, heartwarming, animation of  life.
Buggy Night - You will definitely want to explore this nocturnal group of bugs and a very hungry frog.
Windy Day - A mouse, hat and a windy day make this adventure a three-hundred and sixty degree experience you don't want to miss.

So what are waiting for?  Download it and begin the experience and experiencing storytelling will never be the same for you.

Google Hangouts Easier to Access!

Google Hangouts now has its own website.  Now you can go to hangouts.google.com and you will find instant messaging, and video chats.

 It is still available in     

Let Summer Learning Begin!

  Starting out summer PD this week with a two day Google Summit in Lafayette.  This summit began Tuesday and ends for met today.  Yesterday was a day filled with learning and fun.  I learned something new in each session.  That's what I love about Google is the constant changes.  Everyday Ij learn new and better ways to use the tools. The presenters provided slides of their presentations along with a slice of their personality. I ended the day with a fun session on augmented reality.  Did you know the Guinness Book of Records has augmented reality built in to their hardcover book?  It is so cool. I stood next to the tallest man in the book and like magic you could take a picture of us standing next to each other. You can even put in your height and he will bend to your size. Fun with lots of classroom possibilities!

Guinness Book of World Record with Augmented Reality

Time for a Remix

My new blog will be up shortly.