ClassDojo

ClassDojo is a widely popular free Web 2.0 site/app that is being used by educators throughout the world.  This is a fantastic tool for managing student behavior as well as engaging students in an innovative way.  The way this works is quite simple as a teacher w/ a click of a button can add negative or positive reinforcement to a student's profile.  This is a great way to manage/track student behavior as well as the ability to generate reports and email parents.  Also, there is an excellent free iOS app that works great for teachers w/ mobile devices.

Finally, there are some great resources for teachers to use and share for professional development or w/ the rest of their staff or parents to learn about ClassDojo such as:

• printables - explanatory handouts w/ images
• posters
• presentations
• letters for parents
• pictures
• introductory video for students

I highly recommend checking out ClassDojo by clicking here!!!

*ClassDojo is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Tangram Chess

Tangram Chess is the latest educational iOS Math app by Math File Folder Games.  This is a fantastic app for teaching different aspects of Math such as: translations, rotations, and reflections.  The way this works is simple a student can play one player or two (on same device or via bluetooth on separate devices) and try to move move their shapes from one side of the chess board to the other.  They do this by using translations, rotations, and reflections to move their shapes and reconstruct their image on the other side of board.

As w/ all Math File Folder Games they are bluetooth enabled for multi-player across separate devices as well as the option to email scores to parents/teachers so they can monitor progress.  Also, all games are aligned to common core standards and are printable to be used w/ the whole class.

I highly recommend checking out Tangram Chess by clicking here.

For my Top 50 Math Sites & Apps click here.

*Math File Folder Games is a advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

StoryLines for Schools

StoryLines for Schools is an innovative iOS app that helps students generate their creativity as well as build up their Vocabulary and sentence building skills.  The way this works is a similar to a game of "telephone" where a person types a sentence of a story and then is followed by another drawing a picture to that sentence.  The next person then titles that image and the process continues till the storyline is complete.

I highly recommend checking out StoryLines for Schools by clicking here!!!

For my Educational iOS Apps board on Pinterest click here.
For my Edshelf collection of Educational iOS Apps click here.

Super Teacher Worksheets

Super Teacher Worksheets is one of my favorite website for educators for educational resources especially worksheets.  This site has 1000's of printable worksheets in a wide variety of subjects, such as: Math, Science, grammar, etc.  Also, this site has puzzle/worksheet generators, activities, and more.  A year subscription is $19.95 which unlocks all features, and only $300 per school.

I highly recommend checking out Super Teacher Worksheets by clicking here!!!

*STW is a advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Numbler

Numbler is a fun iOS app that I just found out about from Edshelf.  This app is very similar to a crossword puzzle but instead of filling in the box w/ a letter a person fills it in w/ a Math variable/number.  This is a great game for strengthen Math skills and can be played by people of all ages.  People compete as they fill in boxes w/ numbers or Math symbols it create a equation.

I highly recommend checking out Numbler by clicking here!!!

For my 50 Math Sites & Apps click here.

Top 50 Math Sites and Apps

Throughout the last few years I've compiled quite a few lists of my favorite sites for a variety of subjects.  Over the last year and a half one might have noticed that my lists have started to change and instead of focusing on sites I've been focusing more on apps as "mobile learning" has really taken off.  It seems now a days a person can find an app for almost anything.  Specializing in Ed Tech I review sites/apps all the time and decided to start posting my favorites for different subjects.  Below are my favorites for Math.

*This list is in alphabetical order.

Top 50 Math Sites and Apps

1. 4 Dice: Fraction Games - A great iOS app for learning how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions.  This game meets Common Core Standards and has blue tooth capabilities to allow for two players across multiple devices.
2. 5 Dice: Order of Operations Game - A neat iOS app for practicing "order of operations" where the answer is giving and students need to figure out the equation.  Some nice features include the email feature for teachers to track students ability as well as a nice interactive whiteboard to help figure out the problem.
3. ABCYA - A wonderful site/apps for educational games.
4. AplusMath - A nice site for Math games, worksheets and flashcards.
5. Axiom - A fun iOS app where students tilt the mobile device to guide their ship to collection different numbers and operations to solve Math problems.
6. BrainNook - A great site for Math games/apps w/ "differentiated instruction".
7. Bubbabrain - A excellent site w/ 1000s of educational games where teachers can create their own games.
8. BuzzMath Middle School - A fantastic iPad app for Middle School students wanting to learn and practice their Math skills.  Some nice features is when a student gets an answer wrong BuzzMath shows them the correct answer and how to solve it.  Also, supports "differentiated instruction" as well as a website w/ a teacher portal for managing and tracking students.
9. Clever Island - A nice site w/ lots of educational Math games that cover areas such as: counting, classification, ordering, etc.
10. Cookie - A great site w/ lots of educational games for Elementary schools.
11. DimensionU - One of my favorite sites/program for K-12 for developing Math skills in all areas.  This site uses cutting edge technology to reinforce Math skills in 3D games in safe competitive environments.
12. Dinosaur Train Classic in the Jurassic, Jr - A fun iPad game based on the popular PBS tv show that has kids playing 3 Math based games on counting, sorting, and a balance, to help the dinosaurs complete their adventure.
13. DragonBox - A excellent multi-platform site for teaching students Algebra in a fun and unique way by starting out using pictures instead of numbers.
14. Funbrain - One of the most popular educational gaming sites on the web.
15. GazziliMath - A wonderful addicting iOS app that my 6 yr old son loves!!!  This is a great app for the younger kids learning to add, count, subtract, and more.  Also, has a high replay value as kids need to complete levels to unlock more and more features.
16. Game Classroom - A nice site w/ lots of Math games, worksheets, and homework help for students.
17. Grid Lines: Ordered Pair Game - Grid Lines is a very unique and challenging game which has students plot order pairs/points on a four quadrant grid.  This is great for upper El Ed and MS students and has blue tooth capability for multiplayer.
18. IXL - One of the most popular sites for Math for Grades K-8th as well as for learning Algebra and Geometry.  Not only does this site have an educational portal for student tracking and reporting but tons of lessons to choose from as well.
19. Kidz Page - A nice site w/ lots of fun educational Math games.
20. Learning Games for Kids - A great sites w/ lots of games for education.
21. Lure of the Labyrinth - A site designed for Pre-Algebra students to go on an amazing adventure to rescue their lost pet and avoid monsters.  Not only does this app have a wide variety of lessons for MS students it also is aligned to state standards.
22. Fuel the Brain - A nice site w/ lot of different educational Math games to choose from.
23. Funschool - A cool site w/ lots of Math games.
24. Gamequarium - One of the most robust sites around for Math games and resources.
25. Mangahigh - A wonderful site for anime styled Math games where students earn rewards/badges.
26. Marble Math - Is a great iOS app that has students playing the old fashioned marble tilt puzzle game solving basic math problems (addition, subtraction, etc.) plus decimals and fractions.  A user can either tilt their iOS device to move the marble or use their finger to guide their marble to the desired spot.  Not only is this game highly addictive it gets rather challenging in the upper levels.
27. Math A Tube - A great resource for Math students/teachers for all areas of Math.  A person can not only find videos and worksheets, but explanations of all sorts of Math concepts (ie, Geometry, decimals, fractions, etc.).
28. Math Champ - A very innovative iOS app that turns a student's iPad into a "buzzer" to answer questions before their classmate.  This does require a teacher to "host" the game as well as setup a class list.  Math Chimp supplies all the Common Core Standard questions from a wide variety of Math problems.
29. Math Chimp - A wonderful site for finding games, videos, and worksheets on a wide variety of Math concepts.
30. Math Dojo - A fun iOS app for addition in the style of a fighting game.  The paid version unlocks all the different operations/levels.
31. Math Game Time - A terrific site for grades K-7th w/ lots of educational games, worksheets, and videos.
32. Math Minute Madness - A wonderful iOS app that focuses on basic Math skills and has students trying to solve as many questions in a minute to earn stars so they can add animals to their virtual zoo.
33. Math Playground - A great site for finding Math resources such as: word problems, games, worksheets, flashcards, and more.
34. Mystery Math Town - This is one of my favorite and unique iOS apps for building Math skills.  Ideally this adventure is for kids 6-12 and focuses on addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  Students enter a town and try unlock levels and characters by not only solving equations but finding the variables to solve the given equation as well.  This game is highly addictive and has very high replay value.
35. Numbers League - A fantastic iPad app for students 5 on up that uses basic Math skills to defeat a legion of evil super heroes.  This interactive comic style game focuses on Common Core Standards and can be used by students of all ages as it gets harder and harder.
36. Operation Math - This is a very fun iPad app that focuses on the basic skills of Math while trying to stop an evil villain from stealing numbers by solving equations and locking his escape route.  OM is a great game for kids 5-12 w/ high replay value that takes them to lots of geographical locations.
37. Ordered Fractions - A fun iOS game that uses dice to roll random numbers and then have students put them in boxes to create fractions.  Students then have to compare these fractions to put into ascending order.
38. Pipo Games - A nice site/program w/ lots of educational games for any curriculum, Math included.  A paid account unlocks all features and games.
39. Play Kid Games - A very nice site w/ lots of fun and engaging Math games.
40. RoomRecess - A nice site for elementary students to learn basic Math concept through educational games.
41. Sakura Quick Math - Is an ideal iOS app for grades 1st - 5th that focuses on all basic Math skills. Not only does Sakura track students progress it allows for users to write the answer directly on the iOS screen.
42. Sheppard Software - A nice site w/ lots of fun Math games in a wide variety of areas.
43. Skip Math: Skip Counting Games - A fun iOS app similar to Doodle Jump where students jump from platform to platform to count by numbers (i.e., 2, 4, 6, 8, etc.).  Another neat feature is the ability to take a picture of yourself and put it on the game character.
44. Sumdog - A great site w/ educational portal for student tracking, to reinforce Math skills while students play against others worldwide.
45. Sushi Monster - A nice iOS app for practicing addition and multiplication facts.
46. TenMarks - One of the most popular sites/programs for Math for Grades 1st thru HS.  This program helps students develop their Math skills in all areas while tracking student data and using "differentiated learning".
47. Tutpup - A great site educational Math games that focuses on areas such as: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and more.
48. What2Learn - A excellent site w/ lots of Math resources as well as the ability to create your own game.
49. YodelOh Math Mountain - A super-fun iOS app that focuses on the basic skills of Math such as: addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division.  This game is a hoot and reminds me a lot of the Price is Right game where the mountain climber tries to reach the top of the mountain before time runs out.
50. Zondle - A innovatie site w/ educational portal that allows teachers to track, monitor, and create games for students.

HP Pavilion Laptop

Recently, I had the fortunate opportunity from Staples to review one of their laptops for educational purposes, the HP Pavilion 17-E020US.  This was an exciting experience for me using equipment mainly from the Mac world and all their devices.

The HP Pavilion is a very solid piece of equipment and has some nice features that are beneficial to education.  I reviewed the 17" laptop which I feel is way to big for the education market.  Space is always an issue w/ schools and students need something that is light and easy to carry around. I feel that a smaller version would be more ideal.  However, the Pavilion has two unique features such as HP CoolSense and HP ProtectSmart which helps protect the computer bumps/shaking and keeping it cool.

Also, the Pavilion has a excellent built in camera which is fantastic for taking pictures or video and a great way for integrating technology into the curriculum.  There are some nice media that comes w/ the laptop such as HP Connected Photo & Music.

In working w/ the Pavilion I tried to compare it to other similar devices for education.  The Pavilion is a nice alternative for districts that can't afford the more expensive Macbook.  Also, Windows 8 while has a greater learning curve then Apple's iOS, is a solid operating system for touch screen devices.  Although, I will say this about Windows 8 it does make multi-tasking a whole lot easier.  It seems there are more customization features for Windows 8 then those for iOS.  However, that can be a good or bad thing depending on what you're looking to do.

Here are some more specs on the HP Pavilion...

• Intel® Core® i3-3110M 2.40GHz 3MB L2 Cache Processor
• 6GB DDR3 SDRAM
• 750GB Hard Drive
• 17.3" diagonal display
• Windows 8

For more detailed information on the HP Pavilion click here.

Full disclosure: Staples.com provided me with these products for review. The thoughts and opinions expressed are strictly my own. Feel free to shop their entire line of laptops online.