Techie Tuesday - Version 1.3 - A Couple Apps and Digital Learning Day

Hello, all!  With all the time off lately I have had time to review some blogs and other websites I've been putting on the back burner.  I found some neat information that I thought might be of some interest to you.  In case you were wondering, yes, I am a nerd, and I learn a lot from reading blog posts and other teacher's ideas I get from Twitter.  BUT, what better way to learn about new technologies and ways to teach a 21st Century student than from other teachers.

This brings me to my first tidbit I would like to share with you.  It is called, "Digital Learning Day". Digital Learning Day is on February 5th of this year.  Multiple schools and school corporations are making lesson plans that include implementing digital technology for their students.  If you go to the website, http://digitallearningday.org/, you can search for lesson plans and toolkits in your subject area. I'm planning on providing my own lesson plans to the website, as soon as I get a good one.  :)

Are you up to the challenge?  Even if you think your lesson plan is not as great as it could be, share it anyway!  Maybe someone can give you a suggestion where you can make it even better.

Secondly, here are a couple apps that you may be able to use for yourself in your classroom:

1.  Remind101 - This is a FREE (aside from normal texting rates) online text messaging service.  Have you ever forgotten to tell your class something important, only to remember it after school hours or over the weekend?  I know I have. Wouldn't it be nice to contact your students to give them this information?  Remind101 does just that!  Your students can sign up very easily, similar to what is on the right.  The VERY BEST thing...you do not use your own phone number AND the students cannot respond to you.  Remind the students of what pages to read for their English novel.  Be sure the students stop by in the morning for a worksheet they forgot.  Let them know of an engaging video they can watch to prepare for the next class.  (This would be extremely beneficial over the past couple of weeks.)  You can also send messages from your computer.  So if you do not have a smart phone, do not fret.  It can be done at school, home, or from any web-enabled device.  (There is an iPad app as well.)

2.  Bitly (FREE) - This is a weblink shortener.  If you have a weblink that you need to share with your students, yet it is super loooooooooong, just insert your link next to the blowfish, and Bitly will give you a shortened link to share with others.  The other thing I really like is that you can see how many people have clicked on the link.  If you have 42 students in your class, but only 25 clicks on a link, then you can easily see how many students have done the necessary work.