Three cool web tools for teachers

1- 365 Things to make you go Hmmmmm

365 Things to make you go hmm has nothing to do with the C&C Music Factory song. It is a resource from a site called Sparky Teaching that challenges students to think and respond to a question. 365 Things is a good warm up activity or or writing prompt. Students can leave their response on the website or teachers can display the question and have students respond at their desks on paper. Either way, 365 Things to make you go hmm is an good resource for any teacher to spark think, writing, or conversations within the classroom.

_____________________________

2- eQuiz Show

When I first discovered eQuiz Show, I knew I had to write about it on this blog. eQuiz Show allows you to create online Jeopardy style games which you can use in the classroom or students can play them from home to review. Creating the games is very easy and you can always edit them at any time. A password is required to edit any quiz so no other user can edit your quiz unless they have your password. Teachers, if you are looking for an engaging way to review with your students, then really should give eQuiz Show a try.

 ________________________________________________

3- Embed Plus

Embed Plus is a tool that enhances viewing You Tube videos by giving you full control like you have with DVD players. Embed Plus allows you to fast forward, rewind, pause, instant replay/loop, play in slow motion, zoom, crop, and mark chapters. It is available as a Chrome extension or Word Press plug in and can also be embedded into a blog or website.  Check out Embed Plus and you will likely be changing the way you watch You Tube.

The website sharing dilemma

Each week I come across so many interesting websites and I have to decide on which ones to share? I try to hit upon a wide variety of interests and yet I don't want to overwhelm my readers by sharing too many websites at one time. The obvious solution is to post more often which is what I will be doing but in the near future so without further interruption here are the best web finds for this week.

Things that make you go hmmmmmm
These sites are not about the 90's song by the C&C Music Factory but are intended to make you think. Here is a page titled "365 things to make you go Hmmm." It is found on an education site called Sparky Teaching and it poses thoughtful questions for students to answer. It could be used as a warm up activity or a writing prompt. Examples can be found here.

A second site, RSA Animate, contains a series of  thought provoking videos such as this one about human behavior and what motivates us. After watching this video you will want to share it with your bosses, managers, CEO's, politicians and other people in power. This You Tube channel has many other excellent videos like this one that describes the changing paradigm shift in education. I highly recommend you check out their collection of videos found here.

Not just for RPI students
There is no question that people who attend RPI are smart but can they cook? While I am sure there are many RPI grads who are excellent cooks, you don't have to have an engineering degree to appreciate Cooking for Engineers which touts itself as the "cooking site for people who have an analytical mind." Once you browse this site you will discover that it is a useful site for anyone, even those of us who suffer from "scatter brains."

Engineers are know for having to perform long and complicated calculations. This site, called Calculator Edge, provides a huge collection of calculators that are useful for engineers, math students, science students, and everyone else as well.

Last but not least
The internet is full of websites that are intended to make you laugh and smile. Wanna Smile is another one one those sites. If you like funny pictures and videos then have look. It's very entertaining.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a place for you to keep all your favorite website in one location? There are many places that will provide that service to you and one of the best is All My Favs. You can join and create a page where all your favorite sites can be accessed on one page. You can also share your page with others. This could also be a  useful tool for teachers who want to share resources with students and parents.