Wow…December already??

I can’t believe it is that time of year again to sit down and write the Twelve Apps of December blog…is it true time flies when your having fun?

In keeping up with tradition, here are the 2018 Twelve Apps of December:

  1. JeopardyLabs:  This is the simplest way to build Jeopardy-like games online for your classroom.  Use the template to build your own game and play it online.  If you are not interested in creating your own game search the million other templates to see if there is one you can use for your content.
  2. Flipgrid: A video discussion platform that has become increasingly popular to use in the classroom.  Teachers create the grid and ask a question to students.  Students will verbalize their learning by recording their thoughts via video to the grid.  
  3. Book Creator: This is another application that is great for a BYOD environment to allow students (or faculty) to easily create books. This used to be only available on iOS, but in the recent months, it launched a web-based version. Create books easily by adding text, graphics, shapes, audio, and video easily. Once the books have been completed, you can export them to the web, pdf, or print.
  4. Adobe Spark: One application with 3 tools in to choose from. Adobe Spark is a great application to use in the classroom for content creation and can be used in endless ways for students to show mastery of topics. It is a great tool for BYOD environments as it offers mobile device options as well as web-based.
    • Adobe Spark Video: Create a video with ease by adding images, videos, music and text.
    • Adobe Spark Page: Create a dynamic flat scrollable web page.
    • Adobe Spark Post: Quick and easy way to make a Meme, Facebook Cover, Twitter post image, etc.
  5. Classroomscreen: This is a webpage filled with widgets that most teachers will find useful in the classroom (random name generator, sound meter, QR code creator, text pad, drawing pad, student work symbols, red/yellow/green light, timer, clock and exit tickets). You can customize/set each widget and display it on your display or board through the projector
  6. Motivational Poster: Resource that allows students/faculty to create, share, and/or print customized motivational posters. Make motivation posters for your classroom or have students make them to display a concept, describe a character, define a word, etc.
  7. Wonderscope:  This is an iOS App (iPad/iPhone) that uses augmented reality to transform ordinary spaces into extraordinary stories.  Students interact with the story through voice and touch.  Once the story is open, students move around the room to make the animations and read the lines to unlock the other chapters of the story.  The first story is free, and two others can be purchased with i-app purchases.  Just to be aware…the free story does have lines about burps and farts…
  8. Flippity:  Easily turn a Google Spreadsheet into a set of online flashcards, quiz show, name picker, mix and match, and much more.  Each activity comes with a demo, instructions, and a template.  Once you have completed the template, publish it and share the link.
  9. PDF Candy:  This a a great application.  It is a free online PDF editor.   It offers over 24 different ways to process PDF files (convert to or from PDFs; Split, Merge, Rotate, Compress, Watermark PDFs and much much more) 
  10. Aviary: Another great application for a BYOD environment and is owned by Adobe. This tool allows you to easily edit photos online…some of its features include resizing, filters, text, meme generator, and much much more.–THIS APP HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED BY ADOBE SINCE THIS POST
  11. Timeline JS: I may have blogged about this application before, but I think it is worth mentioning again. This application allows you to build timelines using the website and a Google Sheet template. You can add text, images, and video which can be placed online and included in the sheet via a link. You also have the ability to generate an Embed code allowing you to place it onto a Canvas page if you’d like.
  12. Sli.do: This application made the list last minute…thanks for introducing it to me Tim (Tim used it at a conference as a participant). It is a powerful backchannel communication tool. Engage your students with live polls, brainstorm, and/or lets you crowdsource the best questions from your students by letting them ask questions and vote for ones they like. Easily distribute slides to your participants and use the application to gain insight with analytics.  This application has a free and paid version.  Click here to learn about what features are available in each.   

And one more to wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR:

  • Insert Learning:  This is a chrome extension that lets you turn websites into interactive lessons.  Once the extension is loaded in the chrome browser you can use it to add questions, videos, and discussions directly into a web-page…including Google Docs! 

WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON…SEE YOU IN 2019!!!