Five Found From my Feedly

Another week has gone by and it is time for another dose of posts that I read from my Feed.ly Reader.  It is starting to grow on me after being used to Google Reader for so long.  There are several features that I am still getting adjusted too, but so far Feed.ly is working out just fine as a replacement.

1.) So....You Wanna Use Blogs in the Classroom is a great introduction post to learning about blogging in the classroom.  More and more students and teachers are turning to blogs as a way for students to write and then publish their writing.  From the Blogging About the Web 2.0 Connected Classroom.

2.) 12 Ways to Integrate (Not Just Use) Technology in Education from Edudemic provides a chart showcasing the differences between Using Technology and Integrating Technology.

3.) What is the Role of the Librarian is a great post for helping all of us Educators remember the importance of the Library in the school system.  Google has definitely changed how research is done, but utilizing the library and the librarian is still very important.  From Educational Origami.

4.) 17 Awesome Google Chrome Extensions interested me as I have finally made the switch over to Google Chrome for my everyday browsing.  There are several extensions that could be very important for educators inside and outside the classroom.  From A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet.

5.) StudyBlue Announces Annual Teacher Appreciation Program "Thank a Teacher a Latte" is a post from Educational Technology Guy that helps to explain the program and how students, parents, and other stakeholders can get involved in thanking a teacher our our ever important job.  

EntourageBox - Allow Others to Upload to Your Cloud Storage

EntourageBox is a service that allows users of DropBox, Google Drive, and Amazon S3 to share their account with friends (or in educators cases fellow teachers or students) so that they can upload files to your cloud storage.  By using EntourageBox you are giving access to others to a public folder within your cloud storage where they can upload files.

Using the service is very simple.  You just choose your cloud storage service, allow EntourageBox to connect with your cloud storage service, and then choose or create a folder that you want others to be able to upload too.  After that, the service will generate an upload URL that you then share.  For security, you can provide a password as well if so desired.  You also can deactivate the URL at any time, so if you wanted to use it for a single upload you could.  The service is completely free.

I could see teachers utilize this service that use Google Drive as a way for students to submit assignments or projects.  Principal's could use it as a method of collecting lesson plans or meeting minutes from committees and departments.  EntourageBox could be very helpful in removing the clutter from emails with attachments.

RollyPolly - Interactive Video

RollyPolly is a new option in making watching videos interactive.  One problem with videos is being able to comment and discuss the video WHILE the video is playing.  RollyPolly lets users comment and interact with videos in real time which helps to improve engagement.  Users can sign in to comment using Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or by creating a free account.  RollyPolly supports Vimeo, YouTube, and Brightcove.  As users comment on the video, the comment is organized by the time stamp that the video was playing at that time which makes it easier for users to see discussion points based on the video.  There is also a polling option for letting others know whether you like the video or not.

You can use RollyPolly without an account by just providing the URL of the video and then choosing the layout for the commenting section.  The service will provide you a URL or HTML code that can be pasted onto a blog or webpage.  If you create an account can track videos, get analytic's, and have some other options for the video as well.  You can see a sample image and video below without creating an account.

I could see RollyPolly being used in the classroom for students to discuss the video they are watching while also asking questions about a certain point in the video as well.  Students could use this for video projects to gauge student's thoughts about their video as well.

Five Found From My Feedly

Weekends bring about a lot of great information from educators across the world.  Here are five from the past few days that I think are worth sharing.

1.) Happy Earth Day!!  Free Technology For Teachers has provided 10 Educational Resources for Earth Day.

2.) Looking for some summer reading?  8 Education Technology Books Ever Leader Should Read and 7 Must-Read Resources on Social Media for School Leaders would make a great starting point for a list to select some books from.

3.) The new Classroom 2.0 Book which contains several education and technology related articles is a great starting point for new teachers looking for some teaching and learning strategies.  You can find more information at Never Ending Search.

4.) May is just around the corner and so is Cinco de Mayo.  If looking for some resources for your classroom, Larry Ferlazzo has a great page with his Best Sites for Teaching and Learning About Cinco de Mayo

5.) 55 Content Curation Tools to Discover and Share Digital Content is a great list for people who are looking for the best way to learn what all is out there and then save and share it when they find it.

AppoLearning

AppoLearning is a resource for teachers looking to learn about the best educational iPad apps available.  Experts on the site evaluate and score apps across grade levels and through multiple categories to make finding an app even easier.  Apps are scored based upon Educational Content, Kid Appeal, Assessment, Features and Design, Value, and Safety and Privacy.  Users can look for apps from early childhood through high school.  If a category is unavailable, users can also request one.

There is an app of the week and a blog that can be followed to learn about other educational technology interests.  Each app provides scores, content information, and a direct link to the app on iTunes.  If you find yourself using an iPad in the classroom a lot and think you could become an expert, the opportunity is also available to do that.

If looking for an iPad app for your classroom, give AppoLearning a try.