Thanks to Mrs. Hoff for sharing this super awesome tool that is high touch and high tech.  Plickers uses cards that you print from their website and then assign to a student to hold up during question/ response.  Using your smart phone, you simply add questions and answers then scan your classroom using the camera on the app, and it captures the students A,B,C, or D responses for you.  When you log in to the website, you can view your classes and their responses - color coded - red (incorrect)  and green (correct).  I find this is easy to use when incorporating a PowerPoint or simply a paper quiz by groups to respond to as a formative assessment tool.  Students enjoy it once they realize the direction they point the card determines their answer submitted to me.  Have fun plicking!

One of our new team members at work shared this cute plug in that creates embeddable 'bling' titles for you.  You simply type in your text, select a glitter style and copy the embed code to paste. *Note: It is a flash based plug in, which means if you use Apple products or tablets, the flash may not appear.  It is super easy and fun to use - and if you are into bling...this is definitely for you!

After a quickly passing month, I have found the new love for more effectively teaching students: Nearpod!  This BYOD and very device neutral app (it works on Apple, Android, Windows, and Blackberry) allows for teacher led instruction and interactivity; a.k.a. taking powerpoint to the next level! You can take previously created powerpoints and upload them to the program, then add in the free interactive tools (open ended questions,  polling, mulitple choice, and drawing).  If you don't want to recreate the wheel, the Nearpod Store features lots of free lessons and some paid that you can use to start your journey.  Take a look, I think you will love it as much as I do.

When you are always finding great resources but would like to keep them all in one place, then share them with students, parents, or colleagues, Symbaloo is the answer!  This tool uses tiles within webmixes to keep your websites, videos, rss feeds, etc. in one place.  You can search for topics made by others and 'borrow' them, or make your own. It really has some amazing uses for your classroom and the possibilities are endless - the only catch is that is will only be as good as you make it.  So set aside some time to look around, create an account, then get yourself organized.  It will pay off in the end.  It may be just what you need to get started for the fall!