50 Essential EdTech Tools By Category

From Teachthought.com

"Technology and education are pretty intertwined these days and nearly every teacher has a few favorite tech tools that make doing his or her job and connecting with students a little bit easier and more fun for all involved. Yet as with anything related to technology, new tools are hitting the market constantly and older ones rising to prominence, broadening their scope, or just adding new features that make them better matches for education, which can make it hard to keep up with the newest and most useful tools even for the most tech-savvy teachers.

Here, we’ve compiled a list of some of the tech tools, including some that are becoming increasingly popular and widely used, that should be part of any teacher’s tech tool arsenal this year, whether for their own personal use or as educational aids in the classroom.

1. Social Learning

2. Learning Content

3. Lesson Planning

4. Useful Tools"

Made with Code

CODE CAN BE THE MOST CREATIVE TOOL IN YOUR TOOLBOX. SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF AND LET'S GET CRACKING

10 Good Google Docs, Sheets, and Forms Add-ons for Teachers

From: Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

"This afternoon I was asked if I could put together a list of my favorite Google Docs, Sheets, and Forms Add-ons. In the past I had put together lists of Sheets scripts, but most of those lists are outdated as Add-ons have mostly replaced scripts. Here's my updated list of my favorite Google Docs, Sheets and Forms Add-ons."

Article: School Districts Benefit from Marrying Curriculum and IT Planning

To put the focus squarely on student learning goals, schools blend the teams that develop scholastic and tech strategies. Read here!

by Tommy Peterson

Tommy Peterson is a freelance journalist who specializes in business and technology and is a frequent contributor to the CDW family of technology magazines.

Exclusive Access to Brand New Teacher Conference All About Google

==> Claim Your Spot At the Google Conference for Educators
 
What:    Online Conference for Educators
Topic:  Using Google in the Classroom
When:   Saturday, March 28, 2015
Time:    10am - 4:00pm EST

==> Claim Your Spot At the Google Conference for Educators

Come to one session, or come for them all.

But hurry, this conference is sure to sell out - especially the
free seats - so claim your spot today.

Sincerely,

The SimpleK12 Team

Using Google Forms to Collect Student Projects

81 ways to use Google Forms with your students

"Google Apps is one of the powerful digital toolkit for teachers. It is packed with all kinds of apps you can use both  in your teaching and for your professional growth . Think about services such as Gmail, Google Docs, Presentations, Forms, Google Calendar, Google Education, and the list goes on and on. Most of these tools are free and are part and parcel of our digital being. I am personally a huge fan of Google services and I use almost all of them including Google Code.I have been writing a lot of tutorials on each of these tools and I will still keep you updated about any new releases in this regard. Just keep in mind that I am just a teacher like you, I have no affiliation with Google and I am not paid to write about its services here, the only things that drives me to cover Google services in my posts are their practical productivity and relevance, their powerful free features, their awesome user experience,  and the level of security they provide its users." From:

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/11/81-ways-teachers-can-use-google-forms.html

Building the Habits of Close Reading to Support Comprehension

Dear educator,
I would like to invite you to our upcoming web seminar on Wednesday, April 1 at 2:00EST, entitled Building the Habits of Close Reading to Support Comprehension.
As our presenter for this event, we're fortunate to welcome D. Ray Reutzel, distinguished professor and chair of early childhood education at Utah State University. Ray will discuss strategies for fostering close reading of complex texts in literacy instruction, and how close reading is key to meeting the Common Core and ensuring students are college and career ready.
We're looking forward to a very informative discussion, plus live Q&A.
Can't attend on April 1st? Register anyway and you will receive access to the presentation and the archive recording.
Hope to see you there!

Sincerely,
Kurt Eisele-Dyrli
Web Seminar Editor
District Administration

Register here

Google for Teachers: 100+ Tricks

"It's Google's world, we're just teaching in it.

Now, we can use it a little more easily. With classes, homework, and projects–not to mention your social life–time is truly at a premium for all teachers, so why not take advantage of the wide world that Google for teachers has to offer?

From super-effective search tricks to Google for teachers tools to tricks and tips for using Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar, these Google for teacherstricks will surely save you some precious time when using technology in the classroom."

From http://www.teachhub.com/google-teachers-100-tricks

Kahoot!

A GAME-BASED CLASSROOM RESPONSE SYSTEM

FOR SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES, & BUSINESSES

https://getkahoot.com

The Best Google Chrome Extensions for Your Classroom

Inside this eBook, you will discover some of the
best Chrome extensions to use with your students.
And... step by step instructions on how to get started.
Whether you are working with Chromebooks, or just prefer
the Chrome Browser...

There is something for everyone!

Don't miss your chance to snag this eBook for free
for a limited time.

You'll Discover Chrome Extensions to Help you...

- Create Classroom ePublishing Projects
- Keep your Students Safe from Advertisements
- Eliminate Distractions from Online Reading Projects
- Improve Communication Skills of Students
- Make Rubric Based Assessment a Breeze
- And so much more!

Free Online Event: All About Mobile: Apps Smackdown

During this fast paced "smackdown" style event, we promise you that
you will learn more in ONE 30-minute session than you do
at a traditional 3 day conference.

And... we have FOUR 30-minute app sessions back to back to back to back!

Want to learn about apps for struggling readers?
Apps to immerse your students in new digital projects?
Apps to improve student performance through creation?

Then this free online event is perfect for you! 

Learn at least 15 new apps per 30 minute presentation.

Join for one session, or come all day.

Free Online Event: Flipped & Blended Learning

Interested in learning how to go on field trips without leaving the classroom?
Need help using Web 2.0 technologies to get started with blended learning?
Want to design a flipped lesson to encourage student exploration?

Then this free online event is for you!

Join for one session, or come all day.  Perfect for all teachers and administrators
that work with students in a k-12 setting.

You'll learn how to...

• go on field trips without leaving the classroom

• use Web 2.0 technologies to get started with blended learning

• design a flipped lesson to encourage student exploration

• and much more!

Gynzy for Interactive Whiteboards

Are you a first time Gynzy user? Watch this video and learn how you can get more out your interactive whiteboard. Try it out for yourself at www.gynzy.com

SMART Notebook for Chromebook

"SMART Notebook has, until recently, only run on Windows and Mac computers, but with more schools choosing Chromebooks over standard desktops SMART has had to keep up with the game and released two versions of SMART Notebook for the web." 

BY KARL RIVERS ON 22 AUGUST, 2014 (ClassThink.com)

http://www.classthink.com/2014/08/22/smart-notebook-for-chromebook/

Simple Introduction to Google Hangouts

Hangout is one of the best features of Google+. You can easily send and receive messages or just simply make a video call to anybody.  Whatever device you’re using, you will always connected from your G+ buddies because hangouts are automatically synched.

Google Apps for Education

A great website with resources for Google Apps for Ed by Roger Nevin, Micah Melton and Dr. David Loertscher Click here!

Gotta Love Google Week: Get Your FREE Training Video Here

Watch Going Google: The Quick Start Guide to Getting Started with Google Tools, and become the Google Go-To Teacher in your school. Click here!

Free Web Seminars!

All web seminars are free - only registration is required. From District Administration
Access here:

Chromebook Extension: Awesome Screenshot by Diigo

Capture the whole page or any portion, annotate screenshot, 

blur sensitive info, one-click upload to share. More here

TechSmith.com

TechSmith's Hub for Experimental Innovation

ScreenChomp

Serve up tasty screen videos from your iPad.

TechSmith AppShow

Record the screen of your iOS devices to create clear and compelling videos. No previous editing experience necessary! TechSmith AppShow features a new kind of video editing that anyone can use.

TeacherTube

After beta testing for almost two months, TeacherTube officially launched on March 6, 2007. Our goal is to provide an online community for sharing instructional videos. We seek to fill a need for a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners. It is a site to provide anytime, anywhere professional development with teachers teaching teachers. As well, it is a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill.

TeacherTube was the idea of Adam and Jason Smith, a 14-year veteran educator. Jason has been a teacher, coach, campus administrator and district administrator in public schools. He asked the question, "Why can't teachers, students, and schools utilize the power of the read/write web for learning?" To overcome barriers, he decided to just create a site and get started trying to help. He turned to his brother, Adam, who is a younger, digital native, with technical skills. Adam used his skills to develop the site and found a web host. Soon, Jason's wife, Jodie, joined the team to start populating the site with videos and help improve the communication. She too has 14 years of experience in education as a classroom teacher, campus technology integrator, and district curriculum coordinator.

Most importantly, TeacherTube community members are a major part of the evolution of the site. Members are encouraged to not only upload educationally relevant videos, but also to make constructive comments and use the rating system to show appreciation for videos of value to one as an educator or learner. Users also have the ability to preserve the integrity of the site by flagging inappropriate videos. TeacherTube staff review flagged sites and will remove any inappropriate posts. With more collegial commentary and discussion through messaging and responses, the quality of this resource will only increase.

(http://www.teachertube.com/about-us/)