Extra: 1-1-2014 Cram

Flashcards can help you organize information in a way that helps you learn more efficiently. Cram  an online flashcard tool, utilizes the Leitner System of studying. This system has helped thousands of students around the world memorize large amounts of information.

 

About 40 years ago, Sebastian Leitner devised a learning system that made selective learning possible with less effort. The system consists of a box separated into a number of compartments. The compartments are filled with flashcards that are moved from one compartment to another, according to the current level of knowledge. When a flashcard is answered correctly, it is promoted to the next compartment. When a flashcard is answered incorrectly, it is demoted to the first compartment. 

Cram can automatically hide cards you already know so that you can focus on the ones you don't. Flashcard sets can also become memorization games. Cram can easily make your flashcards into multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank and matching questions so you can test yourself.

 

 View the video Make flashcards and quizzes with the Cram app

 

Cram also offers mobile apps for iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry, to take your flashcards with you and study anywhere.

 

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Featured: 1-30-2014 Versal

Versal is a simple publishing platform with everything you need to create interactive courses.

Currently in beta, Versal lets you add text, videos, images, quizzes, and interactive learning gadgets. You may create on your own, or invite others to contribute to your course.

 

Versal brings interactivity to online learning through the implementation of customizable exercises called “gadgets” – simulations, charts and more. Drag and drop gadgets right into your course, no coding required.

 

Once you’ve signed up for a Versal account, follow the easy steps and your course will be up and running in no time. The course creator is a blank canvas, add gadgets, lessons, and more. Your work will be automatically saved as you go.

 

 

Once published, it’s easy to share your course with anyone. Right now, there are three main options: social media, email, or direct link. 

 

 View Welcome to Versal

 

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Featured: 1-29-2014 NOVA Education

NOVA Education is a collection of resources from the PBS science series NOVA. The purpose of the site is to bring science, technology, and engineering to life in educational settings.

 

NOVA Education’s free digital library is linked to teaching standards and includes video, audio segments, interactives, and much more. You can browse content by education topics such as Earth and space science, technology and engineering, and more. The library is also searchable by keywords.

 

You can sign up for Spark, the NOVA Education newsletter, to receive updates on new media resources for educators, upcoming NOVA programs, and on opportunities for you and your students. 

 

 

NOVA is the highest rated science series on television and the most watched documentary series on public television. Since 1996, NOVA has been working with journalists and scientists to put great original web-content online. Thousands of resources cover everything from string theory to the evolution of flight to how the Pyramids were built.

 

Note: NOVA Education is required to begin every video with a funder pre-roll, essential to supporting streaming video. For technical reasons, this has caused NOVA Education videos to be blacklisted at certain schools. 

 

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Featured: 1-28-2014 MathDisk

Create your own worksheets to visualize, interact with, and explore mathematics with MathDisk online.

 

MathDisk lets teachers and students explore mathematics in an engaging and interactive way with Natural Math notation, so students can simply type the expressions as they see them in their textbooks. 

 

MathDisk features:

• Type textbook expressions without any need for specialized syntax.
• Use drag-and-drop expressions to easily build 2-D and 3-D graphs.
• Enrich your math worksheet with rich multimedia, such as image effects and videos.
• Explore and correlate math and physics.
• Use step-by-step animation with narration to explain complex concepts.
• Easily share or embed worksheets online.

 

 

MiBook - Math Interactive Book runs on your desktop and is intended for offline use. It incorporates all the features of the online version of MathDisk along with built-in ebook features to customize your products. Create and organize your worksheets into pages, chapters, and books. Import worksheets from web into your local MiBook application. Browse your worksheets offline, edit them, and create new ones anytime.

 

Experience interactive math on tablets incorporating rich user interface elements and high definition mathematical graphs that capitalize on cutting edge 3-D capabilities. The MiBook Explorer apps are available for both Android and iOS.

 

 See an introduction to MathDisk 3.0 

 

MathDisk is a small, self-funded, start-up company which began with a passion for mathematics and an "idea that high-end mathematical software tools should be simple for novice users-like educators and students-to create content, collaborate, and learn effectively."

 

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Featured: 1-27-2014 The BioDigital Human

The BioDigital Human is a virtual 3-D body that brings thousands of accurate anatomy objects and health conditions to life in an interactive online platform.

 

Students now have a powerful new tool to learn anatomy and health conditions using the latest in 3-D technology.

 

 

Quickly understand the most complex anatomy concepts through the BioDigital Human interactive visuals that make learning fun and intuitive:

• Students engage with materials that are information-rich and highly compelling.
• Difficult concepts are made easier by exceeding the limitations of illustration and video to interact with the human body.
• Customize state-of-the-art 3-D lessons, share them with a few clicks of the mouse, and collaborate with peers.

 

There is no need to download or install anything. An automatic  compatibility test will run when you first visit the site to let you know if the BioDigital Human is supported by your computer. 

 

The virtual body is completely free to explore, over 5,000 anatomical objects and animations are openly available. There is a paid version, which provides access to a suite of interactive tools, including saving and sharing functions.

 Watch a video overview of the BioDigital Human

 

The free BioDigital Human iPad app is available through the iTunes App Store. It does not include all of the features found on the web app, but it does include bookmarking, the snapshot tool, and other unique features.

 

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The Rearview Mirror 1-25-2014

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

Haiku Deck is a free iPad app that offers a simple new way to create inspired presentations for teaching a lesson or telling a story.

Tuesday

The free DIY Nano app for iPad allows anyone to experience and learn about nanoscale science, engineering, and technology anywhere.

Wednesday

StrataLogica brings maps, globes, atlases, and charts to life in an environment where teachers and students can "actively engage with our multi-layered world and easily share content and collaborate in ways never before imagined."

Thursday

News-O-Matic from Press4Kids offers children aged 7 to 11 their first daily newspaper. News-O-Matic produces five news stories each day, covering world news, science, sports, and more.

Featured: 1-23-2014 News-O-Matic

News-O-Matic from Press4Kids* offers children aged 7 to 11 their first daily newspaper. News-O-Matic produces five news stories each day, covering world news, science, sports, and more.

 

News-O-Matic readers also have access to history timelines, news games, interactive maps, and many other features. Readers also have the opportunity to rate the articles, ask questions, and submit drawings that relate to the news.

 

Each News-O-Matic article is aligned to the 3rd- and 4th-grade levels of the CCSS for English Language Arts and Mathematics. The articles provide students with necessary and exciting nonfiction content. The free daily Teacher Guide will indicate the precise correlations. Recall, comprehension, and discussion questions included within the guide will provide further practice. 

 

 

For schools without tablet technology, News-O-Matic will be accessible via a free daily School Version emailed in PDF format.  

 

Watch a video about News-O-Matic

News-O-Matic helps develop a daily reading routine while encouraging readers to become knowledgeable, global citizens.

 

*Incorporated in 2012, Press4Kids is a publisher of daily news applications for young readers built by journalists, educators, and entrepreneurs. Their goal is to inform children about current news and world events as well as to encourage them to read on a daily basis. All Press4Kids publications are 100% ad-free. 

 

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Featured: 1-22-2014 StrataLogica

StrataLogica brings maps, globes, atlases, and charts to life in an environment where teachers and students can "actively engage with our multi-layered world and easily share content and collaborate in ways never before imagined."

 

Recently redesigned with one-of-a-kind content creation and collaborative features, web-based, and powered by Google Earth, StrataLogica is designed for use on computers, projectors, and interactive whiteboards. It has been used by thousands and has been well-reviewed by both educators and students. 

 

StrataLogica for the iPad is a free app where students can learning about our world with a tap or pinch of their fingers. Version 2.0 brings powerful features for creating content, collaborating, and sharing from the desktop to the iPad.

 

StrataLogica for the iPad features: 

• Tools (marker, symbols, text labels and pushpins) to add your own content onto geography, history, and earth science layers.
• Save and share custom views or presentations with school or district students or colleagues.
• Share content with anyone in the world via Twitter, Facebook, or e-mail.
• Teachers can initiate dynamic collaborative projects with students.
• Access e-book atlases and related student activities.

StrataLogica delivers a unique educational experience. Even without a school account, you can experience a sampling of StrataLogica's interactive layers for free.

 

 See a video overview of StrataLogica for iPad

 

The web version of StrataLogica is supported on all major browsers and operating systems. To view maps in 3D you need the Google Earth Plugin. The StrataLogica app is free and is compatible with iPads using iOS 6.0 or later.

 

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Featured: 1-21-2014 DIY Nano

The free DIY Nano app for iPad allows anyone to experience and learn about nanoscale science, engineering, and technology anywhere.

 

DIY Nano provides free, easy-to-use, hands-on activities, each of which includes material lists, step-by-step instructions, and detailed explanations. The activity materials are generally inexpensive and easily obtainable. Many of them are probably already in your own home.

 

Included are links to family friendly videos and help to browse the whatisnano.org website for more information, activities, and videos.

 

 

The DIY Nano app is a collaboration of Lawrence Hall of Science,  Sciencenter,  Emily Maletz Graphic Design, and NISE Net, a national collaboration of science museums, with funding by the National Science Foundation.

 

The DIY Nano app is compatible with iPads running iOS 5.1 or later.

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Featured: 1-20-2014 Haiku Deck

Haiku Deck is a free iPad app that offers a simple new way to create inspired presentations for teaching a lesson or telling a story.

Intuitive touch controls let Haiku Deck users create, edit, and share presentations right on their iPads. Bold, clear visuals have been optimized for mobile displays. Haiku Decks can also be edited online in a browser and synched to your iPad.

 

Haiku Deck features: 

• Choose from a range of stylish, professionally designed themes.
• Multiline text layouts and font color choices for flexibility and variety.
• Powerful image search puts millions of images at your fingertips.
• Create beautiful pie charts, bar charts, and stat charts.
• Streamlined numbered and bulleted list templates.
• Import, crop, and reposition images from your iPad, Flickr, Instagram, Facebook, Dropbox, Google Drive, or Picasa.

In-app Public Notes lets you add context, supporting detail, and links to easily create a PDF handout or round out your slide content online. Capture talking points or a script with Private Notes.

 

 

View or present Haiku Decks with an iPad, a projector, a smartphone, or any web browser. Export to PowerPoint, Keynote, or PDF. Share decks via email, Twitter, Facebook, or embed in your blog or website.

  

 Watch an introduction to Haiku Deck
 

Haiku Deck is also available in German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese. iOS 6.0 or later is required.
  

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The Rearview Mirror 1-18-2014

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**

Build and share interactive video lessons using [*eduCanon*](http://cffmv.blogspot.com/2014/01/featured-1-13-2014-educanon.html). Students can now become actively involved in what has traditionally been a passive experience.

**Tuesday**

[*Nutmeg Education*](http://cffmv.blogspot.com/2014/01/featured-1-14-2014-nutmeg-education.html) is designed to give teachers an easy way to assess, track and improve student performance and build better Common Core assessments.

**Wednesday**

[*Mission US*](http://cffmv.blogspot.com/2014/01/featured-1-15-2014-mission-us.html) is a multimedia project that immerses players in US history content through free interactive games.

**Thursday**

[*Gibbon*](http://cffmv.blogspot.com/2014/01/featured-1-16-2014-gibbon.html) is a tool that enables its users to collect and share knowledge from the web. Easily curate articles, links, videos, and books to create a playlist to learn anything.

Extra: 1-17-2014 Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary.com claims to be "the quickest, most intelligent way to improve your vocabulary” regardless of your education level or age.

 

Vocabulary.com can help you learn the words you need for academic and business success.

You begin by answering a few questions, more than 100,000 questions have been created to help you learn words. A model of your knowledge is built and the more you play, the more Vocabulary.com learns about your vocabulary knowledge.

They can predict which vocabulary words you don’t know and teach them to you. If you get a question wrong, Review and Progress questions are scheduled to help you learn the word, and remember it in the future.

Vocabulary.com can track your progress as you quickly learn useful words and improve your vocabulary.

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Clever Student

You needn’t be a math teacher to see the kid’s reasoning...

 

From Can You Spot The Lack Of Student Understanding? by Jeff Dunn

Featured: 1-16-2014 Gibbon

Gibbon is a tool that enables its users to collect and share knowledge from the web. Easily curate articles, links, videos, and books to create a playlist to learn anything.

 

The creators of Gibbon  believe that "almost all the knowledge is already available on the web, all you need is someone to guide you to it.” For that reason they created Gibbon, a tool that makes it easy for almost anyone to create and follow simple paths of resources, learning flows, to learn nearly anything. 

 

Gibbon users can teach to and learn from each other. Start teaching by creating your own learning flows and sharing them. Follow other users' learning flows and receive weekly lessons to acquire knowledge chapter by chapter.

 

   

For the last year, Gibbon  has been developed and produced in Leiden, the Netherlands.

 

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

Featured: 1-15-2014 Mission US

Mission US is a multimedia project that immerses players in US history content through free interactive games.

 

 

The Mission US games are designed to improve the learning of American history by students aged 10-13. A variety of materials to support use of the missions by educators are provided, including overview and background information, standards alignments, activities, and primary sources, plus videos of teachers using Mission US with their students. 

 

There are currently three missions:

• Mission 1: “For Crown or Colony?” puts players in the shoes of Nat Wheeler, a printer’s apprentice in 1770 Boston. They encounter both Patriots and Loyalists, and when rising tensions result in the Boston Massacre, they must choose where their loyalties lie.
• In Mission 2: “Flight to Freedom,” players take on the role of Lucy, a 14-year-old slave in Kentucky.  As they navigate her escape and journey  to Ohio, they discover that life in the “free” North is dangerous and difficult. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act brings disaster. Will Lucy ever truly be free?
• In Mission 3: “A Cheyenne Odyssey,” players become Little Fox, a Northern Cheyenne boy whose life is changed by the encroachment of white settlers, railroads, and U.S. military expeditions.  As buffalo diminish and the US expands westward, players experience the Cheyenne's persistence through conflict and national transformation.

Mission US has more missions planned for release in 2014 and 2015.

 

 View the Mission US promo 

 

Mission US is produced by WNET 13 New York Public Media. Funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

 

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

Featured: 1-14-2014 Nutmeg Education

Nutmeg Education is designed to give teachers an easy way to assess, track and improve student performance and build better Common Core assessments.

Create assessments with questions from Nutmeg Education's repository, or create your own questions. Pick from or create multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank or true/false questions. In the works are auto-generated questions and “interactive” questions, such as responding by clicking on a point in the coordinate plan.

The Live Resource Bank is a collection of Common Core aligned videos, games, and worksheets that can be attached to an assessment. The related Common Core standard appears to students below each question in their quiz results. All of the items in the bank come from free online websites and Open Education Resources  All are rated by teachers and sorted with the best, most-used resources at the top.

  

Students will be sent login details and “New Assessment” notifications via email. Students can take assessments with any web-connected device, or even with paper/pencil.

Students with access to an iOS device can use this free Nutmeg Education app to take your assessments. Students get immediate feedback and access to free tutorials and resources to improve.

 

 

Nutmeg Education supports learning by providing you with data and insights on students' Common Core understanding. 

 

Watch Nutmeg Education: Fostering a National Teacher Community

 

Early adopters will get Nutmeg Education completely free for one year. In a few months, new users will start to be charged for full access to the site.

 

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Featured: 1-13-2014 eduCanon

Build and share interactive video lessons using eduCanon. Students can now become actively involved in what has traditionally been a passive experience.

 

 

eduCanon makes it possible to take any YouTube, Vimeo, or TeacherTube video content and embed rich, dynamic questions with explanations inside the video. As students watch the video, the content is segmented into more palatable components to increase student engagement.

 

You can discover quality content by searching through the eduCanon database of teacher-created video, or you can paste the URL of a YouTube, Vimeo, or TeacherTube video, such as screencasts, Khan Academy, Minute Physics, TED, NOVA, etc.

Any aspect of the lesson can be easily edited, even after you’ve built it, from the title, to the video itself, to the questions, and when they appear. 

 

 Watch an overview of eduCanon's Builder Environment Walkthrough

 

eduCanon Monitoring analytics can inform you about whether students actually watch the video (key to flipping classrooms), what concepts they struggled with, and who really needs help. 

 

eduCanon is a free web-based app and works on all major browsers, Google Chrome and Safari are recommended, however. It supports iPad use as well.

 

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