Tech Tips: Quizlet

Tech Tips

Issue 11

This Tech Tip will look at Quizlet.  This is a fantastic site to make, share, and study flash cards.  There is so much that this site offers.  The only way to see it all is to set up a free account and try it out.   

What is Quizlet?

Quizlet is an online tool designed to study key vocabulary terms and other concepts.  It allows teachers to create flash cards and have students practice online.  Teachers can make their own, or choose from millions of flash cards sets created by others.  But that's just the beginning - once you've got flashcards, you can use several study modes including multiple choice tests and study games. You can add images and listen to audio, and even study on the go with Quizlet-compatible mobile apps.  This is a great tool for classroom quiz/test preparation.

What Are the Benefits of Quizlet?

For Teachers: This is a very easy site to upload terms and create study tools.  It is free and offers many great tools to make studying vocabulary fun.  There are millions of already made vocabulary flash card decks already made and ready to share.  Often times the perfect card deck is already created and ready to go!  All a teacher needs to do is create a list of terms and definitions.  If these are already created in Excel they can be copied right into the web site and auto-create study cards.  Each term card can be individually created as well.  After the terms are entered they can be shared by a web link with students to study.

For Students:  This is an easy tool to use.  Quizlet will help students study terms with a few entertaining methods to help vocabulary retention.  Best of all, no student account is needed.  All a student needs is a link from the teacher and a computer with Internet access.  Perhaps the best part of Quizlet, and what sets it above many others, is the options offered for studying.  There are 5 different study formats to work with (Speller, Learn, Test, Scatter, and Space Race).  These offer different ways to practice and learn the same terms, and best of all the teacher doesn’t need to set them up.  They are part of Quizlet!

Visit http://www.quizlet.com to get started!

Tech Tips: FreeTech4Teachers.com

Tech Tips

Issue 10

This Tech Tip will look at a fantastic web site devoted to sharing technology for teachers called FreeTech4Teachers.  This is a great source for classroom teachers looking to integrate technology. I visit it often and follow the author on Twitter and Facebook.  He posts tweets many times each day with great technology sources.

Great Resources.

Many of the tech tools I have discovered have come from Richard Byrne’s web site/blog.  There are multiple daily updates with a new tech tool or idea.  He invites others to comment and give input on all posts.  Not only are these new and exciting tools shared, they are archived for future visits.  Every post is saved and viewable at any time from his archives (right side of his site).  This is one of the most comprehensive collections of technology tools any classroom teacher could find.  There is no need to Google search for ideas, just visit www.FreeTech4Teachers.com and search for what you need.  You are sure to find almost anything you need, and many ideas/tools you never even considered.

Timely updates on Twitter and Facebook.

I find the best way to keep up to date with Mr. Byrne’s postings is to follow him on Twitter.  If you have an account just follow him at @rmbyrne or go to https://twitter.com/rmbyrne to see his page.  If you need help setting up an account I can help you out, but you can not acces Twitter from school so you are better off setting up your account at home.  Here you will find a link each day to his postings.  Mr. Byrne also logs the same information on his  Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FreeTech4Teachers(also only accessed from home).

Professional Development.

There are additional oppertunities to learn more from Richard Byrne through webinars and PD days.  These are the only part of his service that would cost  funds.

Visit Richard Byrne’s site to get started:  http://www.FreeTech4Teachers.com 

Tech Tips: Evernote

Tech Tips

Issue 9

This Tech Tip will look at one of my most used and favorite Apps/websites.  Evernote is a great resource that I use daily.  It is the tool that can help organize your entire life:  classroom, school, home, personal, family, etc.   Not only is Evernote one of the greatest tools, it is FREE and easy to use!  Evernote helps you remember everything at any time.  It syncs across all the computers, phones and tablets you use.

Capture Anything: Save your ideas, tasks, projects, files, research, and more.  Just clip or add a picture, website, audio file, word/PDF document, or just about anything to a notebook and have it stored for as long as you wish.

Access Anywhere: Evernote makes all of your memories available anywhere you go.  You can access all your notes with the iPad/Android App, desktop version, or any computer that has internet access by going to www.evernote.com and signing in.

Find Everything Fast: Search by keyword, tag, and even find text inside images.  This way you don’t lose all those notes you created. 

Evernote for the Classroom:  Evernote has a lot of uses in the classroom.  I use it for clipping websites that are helpful.  If you use Google Chrome, there is an extension that you can install that allows you to save the entire website as a note (not just the address, but the actual viewable site).  This is great for keeping all those great sites organized and not lost in your bookmarks.  Another great classroom use is student notes.  In a notebook you can create a note for each student in your room and keep notes, observation, and data for later use (conferences, phone calls, etc).  This is like the notebooks most teachers already keep, but it is accessible anywhere without having to lug around that binder.

Evernote for You:  Evernote can even help you keep organized.  You can create notebooks for your personal life as well.  You can create notebooks for holiday shopping, recipes, websites, personal lists, to-do lists, etc.  This is one of my most used apps/tools. 

Download the App on your device or visit Evernote online to get started:  http://www.evernote.com