Featured: 2/28/2013 Kno Advance [eBooks]

Kno Advance is an interactive learning platform for publishers. Advance makes it possible to transform a print title into an eBook instantly, literally at no cost to the publisher or author.



The goal of Kno is to make learning more engaging for students. The Advance platform was created to provide publishers with easy-to-use, powerful tools to make their content and assessments interactive.



The components of Kno Advance:

• Kno Ingest - Bring titles to market within days, content will be available on the Web, iPad, Android, Windows 7 and Windows 8 devices.
• Book Enhancer - Easily add interactive elements like, video, audio, websites, calculators or simulations to the book.
• Kno Assessment - Author questions and assessments or import questions from their current systems. Kno supports multiple types of questions.

Watch the video: Advance; an interactive learning platform for publishers

Kno is a reader for digital textbooks first mentioned here last August. With numerous features to facilitate reading, studying, notetaking, and organization, Kno can do everything a physical textbook can do and more.

More than 80 publishers have contributed to Kno's digital library of over 200,000 titles. It is the largest collection of digital titles on the market.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Featured: 2/27/2013 Common Curriculum [Planning]

Common Curriculum is meant to streamline the lesson planning process so you can stop wasting time and go teach. Common Curriculum makes it easy to build, organize, and share your lesson plans.



View your lessons for the entire week at a glance, and plan with Common Curriculum in the context of the unit and week. Teachers are able to customize templates to suit their lesson plans. Changes to templates affect your entire course

Rearrange the sections of your lesson using a clean drag-and-drop interface. Add activities with the click of a button. Upload student materials to any section of your lesson.



Common Curriculum will automatically generate class websites from your lessons, keeping students and parents informed about homework, tests, and projects. Any sections of your lessons you mark public are published to your own class website.

Watch the video: Common Curriculum -- Plan the way you teach

Be better organized with all your courses in one place. Any lesson created and stored on Common Curriculum can be printed with the click of a button.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION:http://cmp.ly/0

Featured: 2/26/2013 YourTeacher [Math]

YourTeacher is a leading digital publisher specializing in middle school, high school, and college-level math. YourTeacher's subscription website and their extensive line of math videos, have provided hundreds of thousands of students with math tutoring, standardized test prep, and homeschooling.



YourTeacher provides individualized grade reporting and progress tracking. Each lesson includes a multiple-choice self-test to indicate how well the lesson has been learned. Self-tests can be taken multiple times with new problems each time. The results of the self-tests are recorded in the grade management system.

Keep track of student progress by monitoring YourTeacher usage. Teachers, parents, and students are able to see the number of completed lessons and self-tests, total logins, and the most recent login.



YourTeacher is also working to revolutionize the textbook industry with a patent-pending math ebook featuring "a textbook with a teacher inside." The ebooks and free samples are available from the iBooks store.

Visit the YourTeacherYouTube channel

YourTeacher is available online 24/7 on any computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet device. including PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. There is no need to download an app.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Featured: 2/25/2013 JumpRope [Assessment]

JumpRope is a tool designed to help teachers, schools, and districts move from traditional grades towards standards-based assessment.



Educators using JumpRope's web-based platform can implement standards-based grading through innovative assessment and feedback. JumpRope strives to enable teachers and schools to “engage students with active pedagogy, purposeful planning, and authentic learning experiences.”



JumpRope provides easy, fast, and powerful access to current, accurate information about attendance, character, and standards-based performance. Standards-based grading for every classroom is practical with JumpRope. Teachers can write their own standards, use state standards, or align to the Common Core.

Main features of JumpRope:

• Take attendance for each period of the day, and the data is visible in real time to other teachers.
• Stay up to date on student behavior and character development. Any teacher can write anecdotes on student behavior, assign a category and value, and request follow up from another staff member.
• Design curriculum based on the principles of backwards planning, and your curriculum plan automatically populates your standards-based gradebook.

Jumprope is free for teachers. JumpRope also offers a full suite of tools to help school staff and administrators with school-wide reporting needs, schedule creation, and management.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Update: 2/25/2013 Futaba

First mentioned on EDge21 in May of last year, INKids creates and delivers free and inexpensive iPad apps from Australia that help young kids learn literacy, math, and more.

One of their most popular apps has been Futaba, a classroom app designed for multi-player fun on the iPad. Futaba now includes a single player mode, meaning students can practice at home (or in the classroom) with sets tailored to their specific learning needs.

Single player mode in the latest version of Futaba is perfect for study at home, or during 1:1 iPad time in the classroom - students who might struggle with the pace of the multiplayer game can now practice sets at their own pace.

Watch the video demonstration

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

The Rearview Mirror 2/23/2013

For those of you who may have missed an EDge21 featured post or who didn't have the opportunity to look at some of them during this past week, here's a second chance.

Monday

inklewriter is a free online tool designed to allow anyone to write and publish interactive stories. Teachers and students can combine computer skills and creative writing.

Tuesday

LibreOffice is a free comprehensive, professional-quality productivity suite that you can download and install. It is a powerful alternative to Microsoft Office.

Wednesday

ClassBadges is a free, online tool that enables teachers to award badges for student accomplishments.

Thursday

Based on a combination of educational methodology and state-of-the-art technology,Babbel tries to provide an easy language learning experience.

Featured: 2/21/2013 Babbel [Language]

Based on a combination of educational methodology and state-of-the-art technology, Babbel tries to provide an easy language learning experience.



Using lively multimedia courses and exercises, Babbel strives to make learning a language not only fun, but enduring. The Babbel system determines your skill level and offers you courses appropriate to your abilities and interests.



Babbel leverages the Internet, modern software, and mobile devices in conjunction with some of the most effective methodologies in language education. All the content at Babbel has been developed by a team of more than fifty foreign language teachers and experts, designers, and software developers. Babbel takes full advantage of the multimedia possibilities the Internet offers.

Watch Enjoy Learning Languages with Babbel 2.0

Learn how, what, and when you want. Babbel accommodates many different levels and circumstances. Put your language skills into practice with people from all over the world.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Featured: 2/20/2013 ClassBadges [Tools]

ClassBadges is a free, online tool that enables teachers to award badges for student accomplishments.



With a ClassBadges teacher account, you can award badges customized to your classroom or school. Teachers have complete control on ClassBadges. With hundreds of badges to choose from, every teacher can create a unique experience for their classroom.



Badges can help keep students on track and motivated when working on large projects. Students can be recognized for their accomplishments, saving all their awards and sharing them with their family and friends.

Watch a videoIntroducing ClassBadges

ClassBadges could be a great way to keep track of student mastery and learning goals. Students and their families can check their progress from anywhere, anytime.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Borrowing Ebooks with Overdrive

Increasingly, local libraries are adding online digital catalogs of books available for borrowing. Many libraries are choosing OverDrive Digital Downloads to deliver and manage the lending process. Currently, OverDrive is tied into 18,000 libraries with millions of readers.



The first thing you need to do is become a member of a library participating in the Overdrive digital lending program. Then you will need a library card number and a 4-digit pin code to identify you as a borrower and regulate the number of ebooks you can have checked out.

OverDrive supplies ebooks to libraries in two popular formats, PDF ebooks and industry standard EPUB ebooks. Depending on your library, most of the titles available on OverDrive can be read with all major desktop and mobile platforms, including Windows and Mac computers, iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry smartphones using an OverDrive e-reader client, and ebook readers including Sony Reader and Kindle.



You will select a book to borrow by browsing the online library with your browser. You can place holds on books that are not available, have a wish list, and look for books they currently have available. To look for books that are available, click on ‘Advanced’ next to the search bar. This will pull up a new menu that will give you a number of options such as ISBN, Author, Title and others. Check the box on the bottom that says ‘Only Show Titles Available.’ If you place a hold on a book, you will be notified by email when it is available. Each library is limited to a predetermined number of copies that they can lend out.

If you are using an OverDrive e-reader client, you will download the file directly to your e-reader. If you are using an Amazon Kindle e-reader or app, you will have to log on and register your library account with Amazon, and check the book out directly to your Amazon account. As soon as you check out the ebook it will be available on any of your devices. Reading an ebook that you borrowed from the library is the same Kindle experience as with any other book, including syncing across all of your devices.

---

I would also like to mention Overdrive for K-12 Schools.

Your school library can give your students access to digital books and more 24/7 with School Download Library. Students can check out titles online, and read or listen offline on PC or Mac, smartphones, MP3 players, and ebook readers including Sony Reader and Kindle (US only). You can build this digital collection based on grade level or school curriculum with digital titles available in virtually every subject.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Featured: 2/19/2013 LibreOffice [Tools]

LibreOffice is a free comprehensive, professional-quality productivity suite that you can download and install. It is a powerful alternative to Microsoft Office.



The components of LibreOffice:

• Writer is the word processor inside LibreOffice. Use it for everything, from dashing off a quick letter to producing an entire book.
• Calc is the spreadsheet that manages your numbers and helps with difficult decisions.
• Impress is a fast and easy way to create effective multimedia presentations. Create presentations that look professional.
• Draw lets you build diagrams and sketches from scratch.
• Base is the database front-end of the LibreOffice suite. With Base, you can seamlessly integrate your existing database structures into the other components of LibreOffice.
• Math is a simple equation editor that lets you lay-out and display your mathematical, chemical, electrical or scientific equations quickly in standard written notation.

LibreOffice also includes a PDF file creator, meaning you can distribute documents that can be opened and read by users of almost any computing device or operating system.

There is a large base of satisfied LibreOffice users worldwide. It is available in more than 30 languages and for all major operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and GNU/Linux.

The roots of LibreOffice go back 20 years. Thousands of users regularly take part in beta testing of new LibreOffice versions. The development process is completely open, and LibreOffice has been extensively tested by security experts to verify your safety.



The simple-to-use yet powerful interface is easily customized. Microsoft Office users should find the switch to LibreOffice fairly easy, with a familiar look and feel. Compatibility with nearly all common file formats means you can easily import files from Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and can easily save to Microsoft Office and other formats when needed.

LibreOffice is totally free. You don't have to pay anything to download it, install it, or use it. You can copy LibreOffice as many times as you like, and you can give away and distribute copies to anyone.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Featured: 2/18/2013 inklewriter [Writing]

inklewriter is a free online tool designed to allow anyone to write and publish interactive stories. Teachers and students can combine computer skills and creative writing.

inklewriter lets writers branch the story with interactive choices, and then links those stories back together again. It will track which paths are finished, and which are incomplete. Start writing and see where it takes you. It’s free to use, no set-up, no programming, no diagramming.Once written, stories can be shared with whomever you like. Every story is given its own unique web-page that you can share any way you choose.

An inklewriter story can be converted to a Kindle ebook. For a fee of £5(UK) or $10(US), your inklewriter story can be made into an ebook that can be read on a Kindle, or sold through Amazon. The ebook reads like a normal Kindle ebook, except that choices are included using hyperlinks.

Watch a video introduction to inklewriter

inkle is a Cambridge-based start-up focused is on making interactive stories that are easy to play and beautiful to read on modern tablet devices.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Extra: Great Lessons

A teacher since 1987, Tom Sherrington is currently headteacher at King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford in Essex, UK. He writes a blog called headguruteacher.

He believes teachers need to focus on extraordinary, one-off lessons, but on things that we do every day and supports this with two related ideas:

• It is the spirit of an idea that is important, not the letter.  It isn’t about sticking to the rules. When good practice is embedded it is organic and doesn’t feel like a stuck-on activity plucked from a toolkit.
• In improving as teachers, we are not collecting tools, we [are] seeking to change our habits… the things we do automatically every day.

Sherrington is currently producing a series of short posts called Great Lessons that focus on aspects of routine practice "– because lessons can be routinely outstanding."

They can be read here:

1. Great Lessons 1: Probing (JAN 22, 2013)
2. Great Lessons 2: Rigour (JAN 27, 2013)
3. Great Lessons 3: Challenge ( JAN 31, 2013)
4. Great Lessons 4: Differentiation (FEB 3, 2013)
5. Great Lessons 5: Journeys (FEB 8, 2013)
6. Great Lessons 6: Explaining (FEB 13, 2013)

The Rearview Mirror 2/16/2013

For those of you who may have missed an EDge21 featured post or who didn't have the opportunity to look at some of them during this past week, here's a second chance.

Monday

Annenberg Learner created theTeachers' Lab with a goal of providing educators with a deeper understanding of commonly taught math and science concepts.

Tuesday

ProfessorWord is a tool that can help you improve your vocabulary while you surf the web, with one-click definitions and highlights of SAT/ACT vocabulary words on any site.

Wednesday

Cerego bills itself as the world’s first memory management tool. Cerego gives learners the ability to learn faster, remember longer, and manage their memory for a lifetime.

Thursday

Disaster Hero is a free online game designed to teach children aged 6-13, parents, and teachers how to prepare for disasters. The overall goals are to ensure that players know what to do before, during, and after a disaster.

Featured: 2/14/2013 Disaster Hero [Safety]

Disaster Hero is a free online game designed to teach children aged 6-13, parents, and teachers how to prepare for disasters. The overall goals are to ensure that players know what to do before, during, and after a disaster.



Parents and teachers are included in Disaster Hero so that the family and school are familiar with the main concepts of disaster preparedness: make a plan, get a kit, and be informed.

Disaster Hero covers four main topic areas:

1. Basic preparedness steps (get a kit, make a plan, and be informed) to protect the participant and family before, during, and immediately following an emergency.
2. Common disasters (earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes), their associated danger signals, typical effects, common injuries, and appropriate responses.
3. Basic quick-care tips and techniques for common injuries.
4. Basic information about geographic-specific disasters.

There are three levels of difficulty in Disaster Hero: Bronze level is recommended for early readers (grades 1 through 3), Silver is recommended for average readers (grades 4 through 6), and Gold is recommended for advanced readers (grades 7 and 8).



Disaster Hero will work with all major web browsers, but you must have the latest version of Adobe Flash installed. This program is  administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FEMA.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Featured: 2/13/2013 Cerego [Learning]

Cerego bills itself as the world’s first memory management tool. Cerego gives learners the ability to learn faster, remember longer, and manage their memory for a lifetime.



Cerego’s learning algorithms are based on proven cognitive science and learning science theory, and combined with cloud technology, it is bringing learning solutions to an expanding global market for learning and knowledge.

As learners use Cerego, the tool measures the rate of information absorption and memory decay, while calculating the exact moment to review in order to achieve maximum memory strength.



The Memory Bank is a personalized visualization of learning progress, maps activation, and memory strength across all courses and individual items studied, making learning and re-learning more efficient and effective.

Watch a video about Cerego

The Cerego platform has currently logged 3.7 million study hours and presented over 1.6 billion items to learners worldwide. Cerego is currently in private invite-only beta.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Featured: 2/12/2013 ProfessorWord [English]

ProfessorWord is a tool that can help you improve your vocabulary while you surf the web, with one-click definitions and highlights of SAT/ACT vocabulary words on any site.



Drag the free [Run ProfessorWord] bookmarklet button to your browser's bookmarks bar. Run ProfessorWord on any web page you're reading by clicking on the bookmarklet.

Now you can click any word to view its definition. You can also click words within the definition pop-ups. ProfessorWord automatically highlights all the SAT/ACT vocabulary words on the page.



Features for teachers:

• Find readings for your classroom by analyzing any website for text complexity and vocabulary words used.
• Search the database to find articles where words were used.
• Assign readings and track your students' progress, articles read, words looked up.

With a free ProfessorWord account, you can save 1000 words for up to 30 days to create printable personalized study lists. With a free teacher account, you'll be able to manage a group of student accounts.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Update: GeoGebraWeb – Spreadsheet view and more…

GeoGebra is free and multi-platform dynamic mathematics software for all levels of education that joins geometry, algebra, tables, graphing, statistics and calculus in one easy-to-use package. GeoGebra was first mentioned on EDge21 in October 2009.



GeoGebra recently announced the new Spreadsheet view in GeoGebraWeb. You now have the Algebra, Graphics and Spreadsheet view available in your web browser, all based on HTML5 without the need for any plugins.

What is new in Geogebra:

• Graphics, algebra, and spreadsheet view
• Tools and style bar of the graphics view
• Input bar
• Open and save ggb files, also with Google Drive

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Featured: 2/11/2013 Teachers' Lab [Resources]

Annenberg Learner created the Teachers' Lab with a goal of providing educators with a deeper understanding of commonly taught math and science concepts.



Many of the Teachers' Labs are based upon professional development workshops. Each lab mixes online activities with background information, interactive polls, or worksheets participants can use in their classroom, plus links to related material. The emphasis of each lab is on different teaching methods and content that can be used in the classroom.



The Teachers' Lab is funded by the Annenberg Media Math and Science Project and provided free on its website, Learner.org. Since its origin in 1991, the goal of the Annenberg Media Math and Science Project has been to provide high-quality professional development materials and resources for math and science teachers.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0