Adventures in Educational Technology

App of the Week – Skitch

This Weeks App of the Week is Skitch.  Skitch is a free app for Windows PCs, Macs, iOS devices, and Android Devices. Skitch is a visual annotation app that allows you to snap pictures or screenshots and annotate on top of the image.

What is Skitch?

Skitch is an awesome free tool that allows users to snap pictures or screenshots and easily annotate them.  It integrates with your evernote account to save annotated images to the cloud. Below is the description from the skitch website:

Get your point across with fewer words using annotation, shapes and sketches, so that your ideas become reality faster.

Key Features

  • Draw attention to something
  • Make your point with arrows, shapes, and sketches
  • Makes it easy to demonstrate an idea
  • Automatically saves your annotated images to your Evernote account
  • Very clean and easy to use
  • Available for almost every device (Sorry Windows Phone users, not available yet)
  • Free!

How can I use it in my classroom?

Skitch has endless uses in the classroom and since it is free, its much more accessible to students.  Below is few ideas of how you could use it in your classroom:

  • Label science lab equipment and send to students
  • Demonstrate use of a website or application
  • Annotate a map for a history lesson or quiz
  • Demonstrate skill with pictures
  • Photo Scavenger Hunts
  • Project timelines
  • Much much more!

Where do I get it?

42 Free iPad Apps for the Classroom

Below is a list of some awesome free apps that teachers can use on their iPads. This session was presented at the Area 8 TCEA @LITE conference.  Most of the apps below are also available for the iPhone/touch.  Most are even available for Android.

  1. Genius Scan
  2. Chirp
  3. Educreations
  4. Show Me
  5. Reading Rainbow
  6. Action Movie
  7. Skitch (also available on Mac, Windows, and Android)
  8. Evernote
  9. Molecules
  10. 3D Brain
  11. Google Earth
  12. Chrome
  13. Google Drive
  14. Toontastic
  15. Puppet Pals
  16. Easy Bib
  17. Class Dojo
  18. Spelling City
  19. Motion Math: Hungry Fish
  20. Sight Words List – Learn to Read Flash Cards & Games
  21. NASA
  22. Socrative
  23. Nearpod
  24. StudyBlue
  25. Three Ring
  26. Remind101
  27. Prey Project
  28. 50 Languages
  29. Wikitude
  30. HistoryPin
  31. WhatWasThere
  32. TinkerBox HD
  33. VidRythm
  34. Stuck on Earth
  35. Space Images
  36. ScribblePress
  37. MyCongress
  38. The Presidency
  39. Lab Timer
  40. Teacher Pick
  41. Teacher Pick
  42. Teacher Pic

The iPad as the Ultimate Teaching Tool

This session was presented at the Area 8 TCEA conference in Mount Pleasant, TX.  Below is a list of websites, apps, and services that can enable teachers to use their iPad as a smartboard replacement and teaching tool.

Reflection - Use your Mac or PC as an Airplay mirror target(requires iPad 2 or newer)

iOS Apps

iPad/Computer Apps

Come Google with Us!

Google Apps for Education is a comprehensive package that schools can harness to save money, enhance the way they collaborate, and forever change collaboration.  Google Apps is provided free of charge for PK-16 and is a great way to move your district to the cloud!

Below is a list of the apps we discussed at the Technology Integration Camp at Texas A&M Commerce on July 9.

Click here to sign up for Google Apps

Download Google Chrome here.

Apps

Feel free to contact me at stuartburt(at)gmail.com or twitter.com/stuartburt

“The Adventure Continues”

When I was a kid, we moved quite often.  Every time we moved, we would load the U-Haul truck and just before we would drive into the sunset, my dad would say: “The Adventure Continues”.  After several moves, this was something we looked forward too.  It gave us hope that wherever we were going, there would be something exciting waiting for us.

Well, the time has come for my family’s adventure to continue.  I have greatly enjoyed the last four years at Chapel Hill.  As of July 1, I will continue my role in educational technology at Community ISD as their new Director of Technology.

Community ISD is district made of several smaller towns (Copeville, Josephine, Lavon, and Nevada) that former a larger district. They have four campuses and have around ~1700 students.  Karli and I are excited about moving our family to the Lavon area.  It was a hard choice to leave Chapel Hill, as they have become my family and have supported us when we needed it, but we felt led by the Lord and believe it is the right thing to do.

A huge “Thank you” goes to the teachers, staff, students, and parents of Chapel Hill.  Thank you for supporting us and I look forward to our paths crossing again soon.  Stayed tuned to this blog, stuartburt.com, and our family blog, burtherd.com.