The Tech Savvy Science Teacher: May 2013

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Online Quizzes meet EdCanvas

I have mentioned EdCanvas before and it's getting even better. You can view my previous post on EdCanvas here, but in short it's a site that allows you to create one cohesive, visually appealing page with various resources imbedded in it. You can embed videos, links, audio files, video files and documunts.

They have now come up with a new feature that allows you to create online quizzes right in the program. This is great as you can get some feedback from the students as to how well they understand the material you are presenting.

Here is a short video that explains this new function!

Friday, May 10, 2013

Know any new science teachers (teaching for less than 5 years)

If you know any science teachers who have been teaching for less than 5 years I really encourage you to let them know about the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy.

If you are selected you will get:

An opportunity to participate in a variety of web-based professional development activities, including web seminars

Unlimited use of resources including vetted web links for lesson plans, links to state and national standards, professional organizations, safety tips and more;

An opportunity to participate in New Teacher Center e-Mentoring for Student Success (eMSS) developed by NSTA, the New Teacher Center, and Montana State University that includes:

e-Mentoring with an experienced teacher in the same science discipline and grade level;
Facilitated online curriculum that focuses on science content and applicable classroom pedagogy;
Access to a nationwide, online network of science educators and scientists that facilitate the exchange of information, ideas, and resources;

Accommodations, coverage of airfare, food, and registration fees to attend the NSTA national conference;

An opportunity to participate in specialized conference pathways and to participate in a Research Dissemination Conference or a Professional Development Institute

The trip the NSTA conference is enough of a reason to apply, but all of the extra are fantastic for any new teacher. Please help spread the word about this great program!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Build your own Ed Tech application

If you are interested in building your own educational technology application, your wait it over. Teech.io is looking for people to be beta testers with their new software. It's not for everyone, but it can't hurt to sign up (it's free) and see what it's like.

Do you have idea for applications you would like to use with your students? If you could have any application to use with your class, what would it be?

We'll do our best to give you access to the beta as soon as possible, but in the meantime, you can help us sharing your referral link http://teech.io/515c80f1a839e/share with your friends via email and/or on social networks.

Barrons Regents site - one subscription gets you access to all subject exams

I have been using Barronsregents.com for a few years now as I have found that they are the cheapest of the paid sites and they give you access to all of the regents exams (this means I don't need to pay twice for my Biology and Chemistry classes).

Right they are running a special and are giving 10% to people who register with a referral code from an existing member. I wanted to share my code with you in case anyone is interested in signing up. I like that I can go in and look at questions from any subject. (Colleagues have occasionally asked me to pull up a bank of questions for History or Math).

My referral code is 10116 and it will get you a subscription for one year for $33.29. As many school are looking into their budgets for the next school year, this might be something that you can put a Purchase Order in for.

They also have a function for students to get their own subscriptions so they can practice on their own. I don't know if the price is different than the teacher one, but I'm sure the referral code will give them a discount too.