Deb Norton Tech

You may have noticed that Ted.com has become a very popular site.   Ted.com is all about providing news and information on technology through videos, blogs etc.  One area of Ted.com is Ted Ed which uses engaging videos to create customized lessons.  After watching the video below, I could see the amazing potential for Ted Ed in any Elementary, Middle, or High School Classroom.   Imagine being able to customize a lesson that includes a video of your choice,  a quick quiz, open answer questions, and additional references.  You can even make your own video and create a lesson for that video.  I'm totally on board with this kind of "Flipped Classroom" approach.  I know my students would be excited about this as well. Here is the short Ted Ed Website Tour Video that shows how making these Flipped Lessons works. The only stumbling block is that the video platform used for Ted Ed is You Tube and this is blocked to the students in our dist...

As I was visiting all of the topics I follow on Scoop.it ,  I found  this post about making mini books on Fuel the Brain by Steph Westwood. So I went to Fuel the Brain and gave it a try.  I did not create an account, but entered as a guest.  This tool is so easy to use and has great results.  I love the simplicity and I'm sure my students will as well.  This is another great tool for students to create their own content. Here are the highlights: use with or without an account you need an account in order to share and save without an account you can print your book sharing is simply downloading or printing your mini book view other public books and download or print if you'd like there is no embed code or email option I plan to use this great mini book creator with my students soon!

Check it out!  Make sure to click on the tabs to find out about games and mobile etc.  

Sunday was Earth Day.  Here are a few resources I plan to use as well as some great collections. Enjoy! Earth Day Quiz Earth Day Virtual Clean Up  Earth Day Interactive Jigsaw Puzzle Eco Kids Games and Activities A Talking Book and Interactive from Starfall More resources Wednesday's With Sam Ed Tech Ideas Free Technology For Teachers Larry Ferlazzo

On April 23rd, the newest version of Smart Notebook software will be available.  It looks like there will be some awesome upgrades.  One I am really looking forward to is the toolbar upgrade. Read this blog post from James Hollis about the new version of Smart Notebook.  There are even some video tutorials. Click here to read another great blog post from The Whiteboard Blog. Here is a video highlighting the newest version of Smart Notebook.  Here is a video showing how to put a Voki onto a page in Smart Notebook 11. Please take the time to download Smart Notebook 11.