2014 Posts You May Have Missed

In case you were rushing through the year and missed some digital resources that can be used in your classroom, see 10 Faith 4ward posts from 2014:

1. Connected Educators - Take time to grow your personal learning network and connect with other educators with tools such as Twitter.
2. Chatterpix Kids - Chatterpix Kids is a fun iPhone/iPad app with many possibilities for many curricular areas.
3. Journaling Apps - This post spotlights the Things to Think About app and the Write About This app.
4. Poetry Month - This post from April spotlights nine poetry apps.
5. Infographics - This post covers infographic design, ideas for using them, and tools to create infographics.
6. Flipped Classroom Resources - This post highlights two resources that embed interactivity into video - EdPuzzle and Educanon.
7. Book Creator - The Book Creator app is a tool that allows students to publish work in an epub format.
8. Brain Breaks with GoNoodle - GoNoodle offers a variety of brain break activities for any grade level.  Do not miss this post as this free resource is way too much fun!
9. Differentiation with Stick Pick - The Stick Pick app is similar to the old fashioned can of popsicle sticks, but teachers can utilize the Bloom's question stems found in the app to focus on students' various cognitive levels.
10. Tackk - Create flyers, presentations, projects, blogs, and lessons with this digital resource.

Differentiation with Stick Pick

At first glance, the Stick Pick app (currently priced at $2.99) can simply be an electronic version of the popsicle sticks in the can idea.  In the past, teachers wrote each student's name on a stick and drew from the can.  This can easily be accomplished with the Stick Pick app, however, there are other features that can help with differentiation.  Teachers can utilize the Bloom's question stems to focus on students' various cognitive levels.

Create a Class

Simply tap the + at the top, right corner of the CLASSES window to create a class.  Enter in the class name and tap SAVE.

Select a Mode

While in a class, tap the + at the top, right corner to add students.  Right after entering a student's name, the teacher is prompted to select a mode.

Bloom's and Bloom's Revised are very useful in developing higher order thinking skills.  Both contain six levels of questions stems.  Bloom's includes the levels: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation.  Bloom's Revised contains the levels:  Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating.

Once a mode is selected, a level is selected for the individual student:

When all students are added to the class, the teacher can simply tap the can to select a student and utilize the provided question stems:

Tap the ASSESS button to document the student responses as correct, incorrect, or an opinion.