Have a good one!

Have a safe and healthy holiday break with friends and family. We'll see you in...

Skitch by Evernote

Skitch allows you to annotate on photos or images and save them to Evernote for future access. The premise behind Stitch is to draw attention, say it with fewer words and move projects forward. You use the annotation and markups (shapes and arrows) to quickly draw attention to what's important in the photo. Skitch can be used on your computer or mobile device. The video below shows Skitch in action. 

Splashtop

Splashtop allows you to display your computer screen (PC or Mac) onto any mobile device and use it as a slate. Splashtop is a paid app for your mobile device, and also must be downloaded on to your computer.

From the comfort of your mobile device, you can:

• View and edit files remotely (no transferring or syncing)
• Use your favorite Windows and Mac apps and programs
• Give presentations with full audio and video that engage your audience
• Play graphic-intensive games from your iPad or other devices
• Watch HD movies/TV shows/Flash videos up to 30 frames p/sec with low latency
• Stream your music collection from another computer

Reasons to use it: 

1. Easy-to-use interface
2. Optimized for new hardware (Think: Retina display)
3. Supercharged network performance (3G/4G)  
4. Enhanced security
5. Support for multiple devices  

Over 15 million users are using Splashtop. It's worth a try!

CleanPrint

From Free Technology for Teachers

Have you ever wanted to use an article from the Internet in your classroom, but spent lots of time trying to remove the ads and pictures? Not anymore!  CleanPrint® can be added to your browser to help you! Download this tool and use it to clean up the articles for you!  According to their site, “CleanPrint® is an economically and ecologically friendly print tool that saves you paper and ink while making your output look great. Before printing or saving content you can add a note, eliminate images, increase or decrease font size, and eliminate text to save ink and paper.” If you have not tried this before, you must!

Share My Lesson, Share Your Lesson

400,000 members

From the Website: “Share My Lesson is a place where educators can come together to create and share their very best teaching resources. Developed by teachers for teachers, this free platform gives access to high-quality teaching resources and provides an online community where teachers can collaborate with, encourage and inspire each other.

Share My Lesson has a significant resource bank for Common Core State Standards, covering all aspects of the standards, from advice and guides to help with dedicated resources that support the standards.

Share My Lesson was developed by the American Federation of Teachers and TES Connect, the largest network of teachers in the world.

Here are 10 reasons to join:

1. Get free access to over 270,000 high-quality teaching resources.
2. Resources are rated and reviewed by other educators.
3. You can search by subject, topic, grade, type and format.
4. The site includes a dedicated Common Core State Standards information center.
5. Find additional resources from our content partners.
6. Gather advice and inspiration from your colleagues.
7. Share your favorite resources with fellow educators.
8. Be part of the fastest growing network of teachers in America.
9. Access to the site and resources will always be free.
10. Register today and be entered to win!

Automatically Cite Internet Resources... What!?!

Citelighter allows you to easily save, organize, and automatically cite Internet resources.

How it Works:
Once you register, you download the Citelighter toolbar. It can be added to multiple browsers like
Chrome, Firefox and Safari. At the time this article was written, it was not available yet on Internet Explorer. You then create a new project and enter the title of your paper. Next you begin your research by going to trusted sites on the Web. When you find a fact or quote that you want to include in your paper, you highlight it using your mouse and press the capture button. This will automatically be stored in your Citelighter cloud for later reference. When you capture information from a Webpage, Citelighter will grab most of the bibliographic information. Click the "See Citation" button to verify or change the information.  You can also add offline sources (books, journals, etc.) manually.

Smore, please!

Sample Newsletter via Smore

With Smore you can create beautiful flyers and newsletters. According to their website, it's "as easy as a marker and a piece of paper. Smore makes you look like a pro every time. Even if you have zero design experience." There are tons of elegant, customizable templates to choose from with foolproof design. Sounds good to me! Best of all, it’s free!

These flyers can be printed via Smore's handy print tool, so you can hang them on your bulletin board or have stellar handouts. Flyers can be instantly sent to your mailing list. You can also see who's read the email and who hasn't. Smore flyers work seamlessly on phones and tablets. Smore also has tools that make promoting your content easy and effective. You can share on social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more.

QR Codes Add Depth to Book Fair





QR codes enhance Book Fair experience.

Several books at this year's fair had QR codes that student and teacher's could scan to find out more about those particular titles including, free podcasts, author interviews, book talks, which feature students providing peer reviews about the book.

Earlier this year, Scholastic Book Fairs went digital with a new FREE app designed to help students, parents and teachers find the right book in a “snap.” They have a uniquely created “SCAN A COVER” option, where you can simply point and scan the cover. This connects the user with digital experiences (media) to physical products (books). The Book Fairs app reveals valuable information about each book, including reading levels, age range, videos, summary and similar titles.

 

The Scholastic Book Fairs app is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch at www.AppStore.com. The app is also available for free download on select Android devices. For more information about the app, go to www.scholastic.com/apps/bookfairs.