3 Powerful Back to School Apps

September, 2014
Our back-to-school section here in EdTech and Mlearning is growing bigger and bigger with more resources being added to it every single week. Today, I am featuring 3 awesome web tools and mobile apps that you definitely have to try out with your students. I have also attached a video of Dottotech where he explains how you can use each of these tools. As a side note, Dottotech is a wonderful YouTube channel that provides ed tech tutorials on a variety of topics. I have recently discovered this channel through a tweet shared by a colleague and I find it really amazing.

Watch Dottotech's review of these three tools

1- Studious

' Studious is the perfect replacement for your homework planner which takes control of your assignments and when they're due.Organisation is a key tool in the arsenal of any student, but juggling multiple tasks can be a pain. Studious compiles all your work into one simple list.'

2- EasyBib

' Create accurate MLA, APA, and Chicago style citations in seconds by scanning a book bar code or by typing the name of a book. Build and manage your works cited. Once done, email your citations and then export your citations to EasyBib.com's popular bibliography management service.'

3- Remind

' Remind (formerly Remind101) offers teachers a free, safe and simple way to instantly text students and parents. Teachers can send or schedule reminders, assignments, homework, assessments, or motivational messages directly to students' and parents' phones. Interactions are safe because phone numbers are always kept private, and messages are sent with no open replies. Teachers, students and parents can see messages from all their classes in one place.'
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Back to School Activities to Try in Your Class

August 25, 2014
In the series of posts I am sharing here on the back-to-school event, today I uncovered from my archive two awesome posters created by Busy Teacher outlining some interesting ideas for teachers to try in the first week of the new school year. These ideas span a wide variety of classroom activities  to get your students into the 'learning mode' required for debuting a new academic year full of success and productive work.

Here are some examples of these activities as featured in the graphic below:

My dream job
Have students write a paper on their dream job and then share it with their peers. The purpose of this activity is for students to practice their writing and speaking skills.

Give a speech
Students give a short speech on a simple topic like" my summer vacation' to practice speaking in front of groups.

Give a report
Have students give a short written report on something 'newsworthy' in their communities, like the opening of a new shopping mall.

Our class policies
Have students work in groups to draft abut ten class rules or policies. They can then share with other groups and decide on a final ten.

Weekly journal
Introduce the weekly journal, for fluency practice, not correctness, and based on a topic that comes up in class reading, like sibling relationships.

Survey your classmates
Students survey peers on a topic like how many students drink coffee in the morning and then come up with a percentage.

Information gap
Divide up the information on a reading topic among different groups, one paragraph each. Have them then share information to complete the reading.


1-  Check the original poster from this link




2- Check the original poster from this link

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Excellent Back to School Resources for Teachers

August 24, 2014
I have been receiving several emails from teachers from all around the world asking for back-to-school resources. So instead of responding to each one individually I make a post and share it with everybody here. I am also having a hectic life, extremely busy with my PhD studies and all the readings and research that it entails. I am saying this because I do find it hard to catch up with my mail and respond to your inquiries. That being said, my apologies for those whom I did not get to answer back.

As for the back-to-school resources, I have recently started sharing posts featuring different lists of resources and materials specifically compiled for teachers to use during the first week of the new school year. Among the posts that I have shared here  are :

Resources for Integrating Technology in Class Google Drive Resources for Teachers Back-to-School Ed Tech Rubrics Resources for Teaching Digital Citizenship to Students Icebreakers to Use with Students in The first Week of School iPad Resources for Back to School

Today I am adding another wonderful resource from my favourite educational platform Edutopia. If you are a teacher and you are not reading Edutopia's materials then you are missing out on many good stuff that can help you with your teaching and pedagogy.

A few weeks ago, Edutopia posted a resourceful post featuring a wide variety of back-to-school resources.This collection is so rich in diverse materials to help you make a difference in your teaching. Here are some of the materials I have read from Edutopia's list:

• Five Leadership Strategies for the New Year, by Eric Sheniger (Edutopia, 2011) Empathy: The Most Important Back-to-School Supply, by Homa Tavangar (Edutopia, 2014)What Makes a Great School Leader? by Elena Aguilar (Edutopia, 2014) My Back to School Speech, by Dean Shareski (Ideas and Thoughts, 2013) 15 Tips for the New Principal, by Bill Carlozza (Connected Principals, 2012) Parents: 19 Meaningful Questions You Should Ask, by Terry Heick (Edutopia, 2013) Cool Tools for Back to School, by Carrie Jackson (NASSP’s Digital Leader, 2013) Administrators, Please Inspire at Back to School, by Pernille Ripp (Blogging Through the Fourth Dimension, 2013) How Principals Can Grow Teacher Excellence, by Mariko Nobori (Edutopia, 2011) Building a Positive School Culture, by Thomas Murray (SmartBlog on Education, 2013) Tech Integration and School Culture, by Andrew Marcinek (Edutopia, 2014) 21st-Century PLNs for School Leaders, by George Couros (Edutopia, 2012)

More Resources by topic 

Strategies That Make a Difference Engaging Families and Community Planning Purposeful Teacher Development Building School Culture and Climate Connected Digital Leadership Additional Resources on the Web

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26 Questions to Ask Students in The First Week of School

August 12, 2014
Today as I was browsing through my Twitter feeds I stumbled upon this list of questions every student should be able to answer. The list is created by Terry Heick and spans a wide variety of topics relevant to students learning. I view this list as a great material to use with your student in the first week of this school year. Get students to work together and answer the questions featured in this selection. Of course, there are some questions students won't have answers to, it's ok they are not expected to answer all of them anyway.




The importance of integrating questioning in your teaching pedagogy is two fold: first it provides students with an outlet to vociferate their voice and actively participate in the  formulation of their learning needs. It also enables them to engage in self-reflection and meta-thinking which are two processes pivotal for students cognitive growth. Second, answers students provide are a gold mine of raw feedback teachers can work on to understand students learning needs, their learning expectations, and most importantly their inner worlds.Such a knowledge could be employed in designing teaching materials and content that respond to students needs.

Here is a round-up of the 26 questions students should be able to answer.

1. What do I need to know about you?

2. What do you need from me more than anything else?

3. What does success in the classroom mean to you?

4. What do you know about how people learn?

5. What’s the most creative thing you’ve ever done?

6. How can technology be used for learning?

7. What does it mean to understand something?

8. When was the last time you’ve solved a problem?

9. How do you respond to expectations?

10. What is your proudest moment?

11. What do you want to learn about?

12. Are you a picky reader? What are your strengths as a reader?

13. What is your personal philosophy?

14. When do you write best?

15. What’s worth understanding deeply?

16. What are your best habits as a thinker?

17. What’s most important to you in life?

18. What is the relationship between learning and #17?

19. Where does your inner drive come from?

20. Who are your heroes or role models?

21. Why study (insert your content area here)?

22. What are you good at that nobody knows?

23. What do teachers sometimes misunderstand about you as a learner?

24. What does it mean to study?

25. How do you respond to complex texts or digital media?

26. If I get out of your way this year, what will you be able to do?

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6 Must Have Back to School iPad Apps

August 11, 2014
Today as I was thinking about the iPad apps to feature in this list  I decided not to include what I call ' the traditional apps' I have been repeatedly featuring during the last couple of years. Instead, I am sharing 6 powerful apps that are usually overlooked by teachers. These apps are definitely a must try and I am pretty sure you will love them. From using iPads to manage content on students' iPads to apps that support teachers in Common Core instruction, these set of apps can do wonders to your teaching.

Image source: http://goo.gl/eV6Onq

1- Nearpod

The Nearpod platform enables teachers to use their iPads to manage content on students' iPads, iPhones, iPods or Macs. It combines presentation, collaboration, and real-time assessment tools into one integrated solution. Nearpod is a synchronous solution for the use of iPads, iPods, iPhones and Macs in the classroom. To try Nearpod, you will need one iPad and at least one other device (Mac, iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch), both running Nearpod. All devices should be connected to the Internet.

2- eBackpack

eBackpack is an assignment, storage, and collaboration service. eBackpack provides teachers, students, and administrators personal and group storage for assignments, handouts, and homework and the ability to do the entire homework workflow process without the need to print any paper.

3- Schoology

Manage your classroom, create and submit assignments, participate in interactive discussions, perform assessments, collaborate with your peers, and much more! With Schoology’s iOS mobile app, you can have rich and engaging academic experiences anytime, anywhere.

4- Subtext

Subtext(™) supports teachers in their Common Core instruction and helps students move closer to college and career readiness by encouraging them to analyze what they read, articulate what they think, and make connections between texts and the outside world. Teachers can embed instruction right in the pages of nearly any digital text. Because notes are linked to a specific passage, there’s a natural emphasis on close reading, citing text evidence, and supporting claims.

5- Socrative

Educators can initiate formative assessments through quizzes, quick question polls, exit tickets and space races all with their Socrative app. Socrative will instantly grade, aggregate and provide graphs of results to help you identify opportunities for further instruction.

6- ClassDojo

ClassDojo helps teachers improve behavior in their classrooms quickly and easily. It captures and generates data on behavior that teachers can share with parents and administrators.

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