Sesame HQ and the Snap App

A great portfolio tool that allows teachers and students to organize and upload anecdotal notes, rubrics, checklists and rating scales, as well as capture observations and evidence of work. This information can easily be shared with teachers, parents and students. From a video of a student building a marshmallow tower to a student solving their first simple addition problem share every moment with parents and guardians. You can upload a video or a google doc that has a report. I really like that this tool is tied to the Common Core Curriculum so parents understand each concept that is being taught in the classroom and how to best support the standard at home. I also love that everything is stored in the cloud and accessible from a phone, tablet, computer or anything in between.

Aurasma as an Assessment, yes please!

Augmented reality in the classroom, cool… augmented reality as an assessment tool, really cool! Aurasma is a great application or website that is free for anyone to use! It allows users to create Auras that have videos, 3D diagrams, pictures, or animations overlay on top of images or places. The app itself is a bit finicky to use, but once you get used to it you are in for a real treat (your students too!)

Some ideas for assessment:
Have a student solve a math problem
Post vocabulary words
Have a student recreate a famous person in history, dress up and retell their story
Label or diagram the content that you are studying

UnCommon Assessments: Stick Around w/me!

A new and fun way to explore student understanding with the iPad, a truly unCommon way to assess student work. Students and teachers can play, explore or create this app that turns labeling and classifying into loads of fun! While the app is not free- 2.99 isn’t over the top in my humble opinion. When your kiddos are finished with their puzzle have them take a screenshot and save it to the camera roll- they can airdrop, message, or use the same iPad so you can browse through the camera roll later. Watch this video on how to make a Stick Around too...

Touchcast is Touch-Riffic!

I don’t know about you all, but sometimes I get tired of seeing those old school poster boards and power point presentations to show what students know. Touch cast is a free application and website that is seriously powerful. It comes equipped with a teleprompter, vApps (video apps that are actually live within your touchcast), green screen feature that is easy peasy, and a whiteboard. Put all of this together and what do you get? The possibilities are endless… Check out the video created by my teammate Aubrey.

-Tammy the fourth grader dressed as Virginia Dare in the Lost Colony?
-Timmy talking us through a math problem he solved, which can be posted your website for parent guidance
-A newscast with breaking historical news
-A newscast with current events

Paper+Clickers=Plickers

I am beyond excited to share Plickers with you, I am absolutely in love with it. A high tech idea, with low tech costs… What could be better? Developed by teachers, this app really has been created with the teacher in mind. You need one device and Plicker cards for your students, one device (a cell phone or a tablet). Download the Plickers app (which is only made for cell phones) and get started. Plickers is a great way for us to check understanding quickly and immediately know what key skills they have mastered or you may need to reteach. Use Plickers for quick checks for understanding to know whether your students are understanding big concepts and mastering key skills. My favorite thing about Plickers? It’s a great data-collection tool and a way for students to be involved in the class without being self-conscious. Watch this video that my co-worker and friend Heather Ramsey put together on Plickers, thanks Heather I think my viewers agree- you’re the best!

Ka-Ka-Ka…Kahoot!!!

Kahoot is cool! I mean really really cool, not just cool for the teachers, but cool for students too.  Have you been dreaming of turning your classroom in to a B-Dubs during trivia night? This is your new assessment tool. Kahoot is an engaging game-based assessment tool, that breaks data down seamlessly. I have honestly never seen students so engaged while taking an assessment. Kahoot times student responses and correct responses to score your students against other classmates. How do you make it? Drag and drop images, questions, or reading passages for your question type. For answer choices… multiple choice, true or false, or have them type a short response. Not only do your kiddos get excited about it, it is also extremely exciting to get instant data on your students comprehension. Students enjoying an assessments? That is a win, win if I have ever seen one! Watch the video I created and see how easy it is!

I’ll ‘Stick Around’ with this cool App!

A new and fun way to explore student understanding with the iPad, a truly unCommon way to assess student work. Students and teachers can play, explore or create this app that turns labeling and classifying into loads of fun! While the app is not free- 2.99 isn’t over the top in my humble opinion. When your kiddos are finished with their puzzle have them take a screenshot and save it to the camera roll- they can airdrop, message, or use the same iPad so you can browse through the camera roll later. Watch this video on how to make a Stick Around too...

IFTTT, A great way to show students how to code, and you can have a little fun with it too!

My new favorite app obsession is an app called IFTTT, which stands for If this, than that. You can program IFTTT to text you the weather every morning, your calendar, if the UV gets too high, if there is a 47 percent chance of rain. Basically you can code your own ‘recipe’ to have the app automate almost anything your heart can desire. Think of IFTTT as a middleman that sits between all of them, letting them interact with each other. I have my IFTTT recipe set to save my pictures automatically from my camera roll to Google Drive, I get a text when it is going to rain and the weather each day, this blog post will automate to my Twitter Feed as well because of IFTTT. Are you a science teacher planning a unit on weather have IFTTT send an iMessage to your iPads at a certain time of day so your students can record the weather. Or better yet, have IFTTT take that weather and place it into your calendar so you can have a running record of weather.

Low Tech Exit Ticket

Sometimes you just need a paper and pencil assessment. I get it, I’m not over here judging anyone! I have created three uniquely familiar assessment tools that can be used as exit tickets, check for comprehension, labeling activities or more! Blogging peeps meet, Instassessment, Twitassess and Snapassess, sound familiar? Use them, keep them, share them!

I am here to serve you…

Good day! My name is Lindsey Sipe, and I am one of five Instructional Technology Specialists for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. I pride myself on being an advocate for all students, personalized learning, and technology integrated into curriculum. I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Language Arts from Michigan State University in 2008. I also completed my Masters in Educational Technology in 2010. I taught technology for three years, and held the position of a technology facilitator for four years.  I was recruited to work for education division of a world renowned technology company. I worked for them for five months, before realizing that my heart was in Urban Education and I needed to get back to my roots. Which brings me right back to you and I’m thrilled to be supporting your school! Please reach out to me  if I can help support your school in any way. I am looking forward to working with each and every one of you.