Featured 5-21-2014: ChalkUp

 

ChalkUp is a student engagement platform designed to foster real-time school-work collaboration, learning, and studying, ChalkUp enables students to ask questions, discuss and share interesting educational content, and work with each other.

 

Dashboard is a real-time feed where you can comment on discussions, submit assignments, and even view files. Chalkup keeps all assignments, quizzes, and tests in one place.

 

Assignments can be delivered to students quickly and in real-time. Drag-and-drop a document from your computer or use one that you have stored on Google Drive or Google Apps for Education. Create folders, rename files to be organized.

 

Students can turn in assignments as easily as dragging-and-dropping, uploading as many files as necessary. Annotate and grade uploaded file submissions right inside ChalkUp. Personalize feedback with a quick note.

 

 

Messaging lets the people in your class chat in real-time and share files with each other. Teachers can send messages to students to clarify, remind, and keep them engaged. Chalkup uses 256-bit AES encryption to make sure your messages are safe.

 

The free version of ChalkUp provides 1 GB of storage per class with a file size limit of 25 MB, and all the core features including integrated flashcards.

 

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Featured 5-14-2014: ReMarkable

 

ReMarkable is a free iPad app that offers students an easy way to submit digital documents in many formats to teachers and professors for marking. 

 

The concept of ReMarkble is functional and practical for both students and teachers. Upon signing up, teachers get a unique email address that will be used by students to submit all work directly to the app. All assignments go directly into ReMarkable where educators mark all the work within the app.

 

ReMarkable accepts many document types including .docx, .pptx, .xls, .jpg, .gif, .pdf, and more.

 

The annotation tools are very intuitive and were designed with the needs of teachers marking student documents in mind.  The features of ReMarkable were reviewed by a panel of educators.

A customizable folder system gives teachers the ability to control and organize submitted files. Move, copy, and upload all files to various folders or to Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.

 

 Watch ReMarkable’s Kickstarter video

 

ReMarkable gives teachers the convenience of accepting and marking papers anytime from anywhere.  Teachers will no longer have to carry home loads of papers to mark, all that's needed is an iPad running iOS 6.0+.

 

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Featured 4-28-2014: Scrawlar

 

Scrawlar offers schools free cloud-based collaborative word processing that works on any smartphone, tablet, or computer.

 

Use Scrawlar to create, edit, share, and save documents on any web-connected device. No app, installation, or plugin is needed.

 

 

After creating and saving a document, students have the option to share with any classmates. They can also choose whether other people can edit or just view the original document.

 

As a teacher, create an account for any class. Add your students to your network, each student is assigned a password. Students login using the class code you provide and their unique passwords. No student signup or email is required.

 

Teachers can leave feedback right on documents, and parents can follow along in real-time from anywhere.

 

 

Scrawlar also offers an easy-to-use whiteboard interface that includes basic drawing tools and text.

 

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MS OneNote for Mac OS X

I have been an Evernote user since long before Evernote was trendy. I was among the first 10K users. Evernote has a prominent position in my digital life and many of my workflows.

Yesterday, I downloaded and tried Microsoft OneNote for Mac OS X. Hey, it’s free, so why not. Here are my impressions.

 

OneNote has a very nice interface. If you are an Office user (I’m not), you’ll find the interface very familiar with the ribbon metaphor. There is a lot of flexibility in the creation and content of new notes. You can place a text box anywhere in the note and include various kinds of media.

 

I would think that OneNote could be very useful to anyone who would use it principally for note-taking.

 

 

However, my main use for Evernote is capturing and organizing web content. The browser extension Web Clipper gives a number of options as to what exactly you want to capture and what you can do with it.

 

Unfortunately, OneNote falls woefully short in this regard. You capture a web page using a simple bookmarklet which creates a new page in OneNote consisting of a static ‘screenshot' of the web page which is not editable and contains no live content. Any links are the page are not functional. You cannot select and copy or delete text. Maybe Microsoft will add more capturing features in future versions, but right now it comes up short.

 

OneNote syncs through a MS OneDrive account. My experience was that it was slow updating. Web page captures did not appear in the app for a few minutes. This could be just an early-days glitch.

 

Also, some pages didn’t render very faithfully. The proper positioning of page elements was lost. Be aware as well, that there appears to be no simple way to import your existing Evernote data.

 

At this point, OneNote doesn’t have the extensive integration with other apps to match Evernote, but that will likely improve over time.

 

After these experiences, I didn’t try out much else, because I realized OneNote was not going to work for me. But, that’s me.

 

It’s FREE, so if the issues I noted are not deal-breakers for you download it from the App Store and give it a try.

 

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Extra 2-28-2014: Kingsoft Office for iOS

In October of last year, I shared Kingsoft Office Free 2013,  a no-cost, powerful  Windows alternative to MS Office. Earlier this month, Kingsoft Office released an iOS compatible with for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Kingsoft Office is compatible with and allows you to read and edit Word and PowerPoint documents and has the capability to view Excel files.

 

Kingsoft Office can sync with popular cloud services such as GoogleDrive, Dropbox, and others; transfer documents to other Kingsoft users over Wi-Fi; sync documents opened to your account from either your device or desktop without using any cable connection. File management allows creating folders, copy, move, delete, rename, and save as.

 

 

Kingsoft Office is free from the iTunes App Store. It requires iOS 6.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

 

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Extra 2-21-2014: Corkulous

Corkulous idea board is an iOS app that can be used to collect, organize, and share your ideas.

 

Corkulous features:

• Notes, Labels, Photos, Contacts, Tasks, Index Cards, and Arrow Flags
• Full board view with pinch zooming
• Search cork board items
• Email board snapshots as PDFs or images
• Export board PDFs via iTunes File Sharing
• Save images to Saved Photos album
• Unique back side of the cork board
• Excellent and proven customer support

The free version of Corkulous gives you a single board on your iOS device's collection to work with and lets you connect with Dropbox folders and view Corkulous boards shared by others. 

 

Corkulous Pro adds iCloud support, multiple and nested cork boards, and passcode locking.

 

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Featured: 2-4-2014 Vocabulary Notebook

Vocabulary Notebook provides a a set of tools for schools and teachers to help students learn vocabulary faster using technology, making it more contemporary and engaging.

 

With the full Vocabulary Notebook for schools, students will have Cloud Accounts and teachers will have a dashboard to manage and get feedback about their students.

 

Key Teacher Dashboard features:

• Check your students' most important and unknown words.
• See interactive charts with stats about your students.
• See your student's tests scores and number of words.
• Suggest words to your students.

Vocabulary Notebook is easy for students to use. Just install the app and start to type those words you always forget. Change the importance of a word and mark it as "known" or "not known" whenever you want.

 

Students are able to filter words by importance or categories, for example, showing only words related to “work”. Sort words alphabetically or display only those words, phrasal verbs, or idioms that you don't know.

 

The test tool will randomly select words according to your filters and it will ask you to select whether you know them or not. Those words you don't know will automatically be marked as "not known", making it easier to take another look at them later.

 

Cloud Accounts and the web app synchronize with students’ mobile apps for iOS and Android. 

 Watch a video overview of Vocabulary Notebook

 

Teachers can discover which words students don't know as well as the categories they use most. With Vocabulary Notebook, teachers are able to send lists of vocabulary to their students.

 

With the Teacher Dashboard, you will see key information about your students. See stats like the number of words each student has, their average score in self-assessment tests, how often they use the app, and more. 

 

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Featured: 12-19-2013 Class Charts

With Class Charts you get data-rich seating charts and streamlined behavior management tools. It is even possible to collaborate with other teachers and work together to address behavior issues.

 

Class Charts lets you optionally include and display key data about each student which can be used to intelligently position students in the classroom to maximize learning. Use icons or photos to identify students.

 

The seating plans you create in Class Charts can also be a behavior management tool which you can use collaboratively with colleagues to track and analyse student behavior. Quickly give behavior points and get detailed reports of behavior for classes or individual pupils. 

 

You can add students individually with the Quick Add feature or you can upload a spreadsheet containing all student data. 

 

 

Class Charts uses industry-standard SSL encryption for data transfer and key database fields, safeguarding student information. They are registered with the Data Commissioner* and all staff have enhanced Criminal Records Bureau checks. 

 

 Watch a video overview of Class Charts

 

Class Charts works on any Internet-enabled device, so there is no software to download or install, and Class Charts is totally free to use.

 

*The UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.

 

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Featured: 12-16-2013 Office 365 Education

Office 365 Education provides a school staff, faculty, and students free email, websites, online document editing and storage, IM, and web conferencing.

Office 365 Education lets schools and districts modernize their communications and productivity infrastructure on their terms.They can get needed enterprise-grade communication and productivity services with flexibility.

All Office 365 Education plans include email and calendars, web conferencing, instant messaging, file storage and sharing, team sites, Office Web Apps, privacy, security, and more.

 Watch the Office 365 Educationoverview

Two of the Office 365 Education plans include the latest desktop version of Office. The plans that do not include the desktop version of Office support Office 2010, Office 2007, and Office 2011 for Mac with the latest browsers across your devices using Office Web Apps. You can take advantage of the Office 365 cloud services such as business-class email, HD video conferencing, and file sharing.

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

Featured: 10-28-2013 SodaDB

Sodadb is a free online alternative to Microsoft Access, File Maker Pro, and other conventional database software.

Sodadb is a downsized, simplified, but still very powerful online database. Intuitively create an online database quickly, no manual needed.

Add, edit, delete up to 10,000 records in a grid-like interface with inline editing. Sodadb allows an unlimited number of users and unlimited number of databases, only a maximum number of records.

Click on a template to create a new database or design your own. Access your database using a private URL. Easily share your database by simply sending out your secret URL. You can also grant access to your database by adding sub-users and setting rights. Another way to share your database is to embed it in your website.

Upload images or documents to Sodadb and attach them to your records. Existing data can be imported into Sodadb from .csv files. You can export to .txt and .csv.

Sodadb is donationware. If you like it, you are asked to make a donation. You can become a supporter ($3.49 (US)/month), unlocking more functionalities.

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

Featured: 10-21-2013 ShareLaTeX

ShareLaTeX is an online editor that enables smooth collaboration among users. Everyone with an Internet connection can access and edit the latest versions of the same LaTeX documents.

ShareLaTeX documents are always available online. You and your collaborators can even work on the document at the same time with this real-time editor. Built-in chat lets all editors communicate while you're editing.

ShareLaTeX is designed to be easy to use, even if you’ve never used LaTeX before. ShareLaTeX highlights any errors in the LaTeX log to make debugging as simple as possible.

More features of ShareLaTeX:

• There's no installation needed.
• Example projects are ready to be compiled with one click. 
• Download your projects to work offline any time you like.
• Upload existing documents to get your work onto ShareLaTeX quickly.

Dropbox sync, available with paid plans, keeps all of your LaTeX projects synced to your Dropbox folder. You can make changes inside the Dropbox folder then see them sync back to ShareLaTeX.

 See an overview of ShareLaTeX

The ShareLaTeX free personal plan provides unlimited projects for you and one free user per project. You also get unlimited compiles, but with a low compiling priority.

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Featured: 8-12-2013 Sketchlot

Sketchlot is a web-based whiteboard for schools that allows teachers and students to connect, collaborate, and share.

 

 

Teachers create a sketch and share it with their students. The students mark it up and share it back. Any sketch created using Sketchlot can be shared with any member of your class, using the share feature.  Students can create pieces of work using their own devices and share it to you.

 

 

Teachers add students to their own Sketchlot account so no student sign up is needed. As a teacher you create an account with a unique class code. Next, add your students to your network. Your students will log in using the class code and their own password (which you can view and change).

 

 Watch a Sketchlotdemo

 

Sketchlot requires no plugin, installation, or app. It should work on any modern computer, smartphone, or tablet. 

 

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

Extra: Symbolab

Symbolab is a semantic search engine for math and science that allows users to look for equations, formulas, and expressions using mathematical symbols and scientific notations as well as full text search.

The goal of the site is to provide relevant search results that are the most theoretically and semantically similar to the search criteria. Symbolab does this by applying proprietary machine learning algorithms in order to understand the meaning and context of the search queries.

Symbolab indexes the full text and equations of online encyclopedias, dictionaries, academic publications, lectures, books, and more covering math, physics, and chemistry.

Watch a video introduction to Symbolab

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Featured: 6-6-2013 FormulaSheet

Store all your formulas in one place with FormulaSheet. All your formulas will be accessible from anywhere you can connect to the Internet. 

 

Using FormulaSheet, formulas can be organized into lists, or combined with text and diagrams to create sheets.

With FormulaSheet, you can:

• Search Wikipedia and/or FormulaSheet for the formulas you need. Instantly get an image or copy the formula to LaTeX or MS Word.
• Upload your own formula as a LaTeX file. FormulaSheet will find and extract all of your formulas.
• Create formulas from scratch using an intuitive equation editor. 
• Share formula lists and sheets with other users.
• Render your formula, list, or sheet as a pdf document, as a tex file, or as a png image.

The new Calculator feature lets you solve selected formulas right on FormulaSheet. Enter the variables that you know, and the calculator will solve for the one that you are trying to find. Any constants used by the formula are provided.

 Watch the Formulasheet intro video

FormulaSheet is a free web app, but voluntary donations are welcomed.

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

Extra: Excel Surveys on Skydrive [Data]

Microsoft  Office Web Apps, available to those with a SkyDrive account, enables you to create surveys to collect data online. This feature is similar to Google Forms.

To easily collect everyone’s info using Excel surveys in SkyDrive, log into your SkyDrive account and click “Create -> Excel survey”.

Name your survey and the survey designer opens in the Excel Web App. The survey designer lets you add questions, set the type of question (text, multiple choice, date, etc), and move them around. You can also show a default answer or set a question so that a response is required before submitting the survey.

When you're finished building your survey, click “Share Survey”. You will get a link that can be shared by email or otherwise.  Clicking on the link sends users directly to survey, they don’t have to sign in.

Creating a survey in the Excel Web App automatically generates a spreadsheet to store all of the results. Under the Insert tab, “Recommended Charts” will recommend useful visualizations of your data.

Watch a video: Using the Excel Survey Web App on SkyDrive

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