Oh, the world we live in!

You guys, the world we live in is AMAZING sometimes, don't you agree?!

Two things today caught my attention that I am dying to share with you!

First of all, have you heard of a website called Upworthy? Each day they share a variety of videos. They describe themselves by saying, "at best, things online are usually either awesome or meaningful, but everything on Upworthy.com has a little of both. Sensational and substantial. Entertaining and enlightening. Shocking and significant."

One that I loved today had the caption "If 3 little girls did this to my house, I'd do everything I could to get them full rides to Stanford":

So while Upworthy is a fun site for personal use, many of the videos that I've seen have the potential for CSL, Second Step, classroom meeting, and writing activities. Of course preview the videos first, but I hope you find something nice to share with your class! To search for videos, you can choose from a variety of categories, including Inspirational. 

Next up is an idea that I found awhile back called Augmented Reality. When I first saw the video, I was like OMG! How cool! I want to be able to do that in our Learning Commons! Here's what it looks like:

Well my friends, today I discovered that it is totally possible for us to do this! It's an app called Aurasma. The app is free, and to create your own you can create a free account. 

Here's an example of how kindergarten teacher Matt Gomez uses it in his classroom, which I found through the Technology Tailgate:

I've had a little bit of time to play with it, and I can't wait to use it! If anyone wants to explore it with me, let me know and we can learn together. 

Songza

Do you like to play music for your class for transitions or work time? Songza is a quick and free website you can use for just that!

So it's Wednesday afternoon.. if your kids are writing, maybe you want working music with no lyrics. Click and play!

Maybe it's Monday morning and you're dragging.. choose waking up with energy and get your groove on!

Or it's Saturday night and you want a "sweaty dance party" or to "entertain cool friends"... yes, even those are options!

Enjoy!

BrainPop: GameUp

BrainPop and BrainPop Jr. both have a new section called Game Up! They have improved upon many of their educational games, and in most cases, partnered with different foundations to provide fun learning games for kids. Clicking on each category (Science, Health, Reading & Writing, Social Studies, Math, and Arts & Tech) brings up more games available, but here are a few favorites:

3rd grade teachers! There is a Simple Machines game that kids explore the different basic simple machine properties to help a character named Twitch get around the museum at night. 

K-2 teachers! There is a game called "Chain Game" that has students replace sounds in words to make new words. There are different letters and sounds to choose from for various levels.

3-4 teachers! There is a game called "Treefrog Treasure" that my kids in summer school couldn't get enough of. Students make a frog bounce from place to place, and have to have him land on certain parts of a number line involving fractions. The levels get tricky and involve some problem solving and fraction thinking!

While these are all games on BrainPop Jr., check out BrainPop also for more games at higher levels. 

Sushi Monster

A new app that was just put onto our iPads is Sushi Monster! 

Sushi Monster by Scholastic is a fun way to practice addition or multiplication facts with your students. It has multiple levels that are unlocked as the player moves on, so it is easy to differentiate with your class working on different levels!

Students feed their Sushi Monsters by correctly choosing two numbers that when added or multiplied result in the number that the monster wants to eat. When the monster has been fully fed, students move onto feeding a new monster.

Check out an iPad and give it a try!

iOS 7

I'll be honest.. as much as I was excited about Apple's latest update to iOS 7, I was also very nervous for the change. I reluctantly updated my iPhone last week and after the initial shock of things looking different, I am now pretty comfortable with everything. It just took a bit of time, research, and playing around. 

However, this was my initial feeling about my "new" iPhone:

As our iPad minis are currently updating to iOS 7, I know some of you, like me, may be weary of the change and others will embrace it. (But, of course we know the kids will adapt.. except for maybe Jack :)

To help you with the change, I've collected some articles that can help you see the differences between the old and new. They definitely helped me as I embraced the change and figured it all out.

Apple's Guide to iOS 7

USA Today: 7 Tips and Tricks for Navigating iOS 7

BuzzFeed

Back to School

After a nice long summer and a break from blogging, I'm so excited to share the fun things I've been finding and stockpiling all summer long!

Photo from Matt Gomez

First up, I found a blog post written by Matt Gomez, a teacher on the Technology Tailgate, entitled My Focus for Technology. I thought it was a great way to think about ideas for the upcoming school year, as some of you may have a goal to "use technology more in the classroom". He says we should be thinking about the learning first. 

"I love technology and strive to incorporate it in my classroom daily but my goals are never about the technology themselves. When I see a new tool I don't try to incorporate it simply because it is new and cool. It is important that I see an opportunity to encourage, foster or enhance learning with that tool. So I came up with the top reasons I think I use technology in the class."

Check out his blog post, where he also has linked examples for the top reasons he uses technology in the classroom. He has some really great and easy ideas for integrating technology into the classroom!

Tune into Technology Linky: Integrating Technology into Reading

Happy Summer! I got an email that iTeach 1:1 and Learning to the Core were doing a summer technology linky, so I decided to join! Each Thursday through August there will be bloggers linking up their ideas on iTeach 1:1 and Learning to the Core. Here is the "schedule of events":

Check our their blogs to see all the links!