Friday, February 19, 2016

The Best Pencil Sharpener EVER!!!

This year I started using the BEST PENCIL SHARPENER EVER!!!  Ok, this may seem dramatic, but as a teacher you know that pencil sharpeners can be a big pain in the classroom.  You may also be asking what this has to do with technology.  Technology is not just the electronic technology we think of.  Technology is defined as the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. (source)  I would definitely classify this pencil sharpener as technology.


In my classroom there were two choices - the old fashion pencil sharpener that has been bolted the wall for the past fifty years or the electric sharpener that always gets jammed or makes so much noise.  I had hear about the pencil sharpener from Classroom Friendly Supplies last year and, though it looked good, wasn't sure if it was really worth it.  I finally took the plunge and bought a sharpener.  I am so glad that I did because it really is the best sharpener.  It's super easy to use, quiet and works great.  I recorded a short video so you can see how it works.



I know I mentioned this is the video, but while it comes with a clamp I would suggest that you don't use it.  I have used it with and without the clamp and I think it's better without the clamp.  It falls off and then the kids think they broke it and it just takes up time.  There is a permanent mounting bracket you can get if you want to permanently mount it somewhere.

So since writing is not my strong suit and I'm not good at conclusions, I'm just going to leave you with this:  You need at least one of these sharpeners in your classroom asap.  I regret not getting one sooner.

Classroom Friendly Supplies has provided me with this sharpener for purposes of providing a review. I received it at no charge to me and I am under no obligation to return the product but can keep it for me own personal use. In addition, the above link is a referral link.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

A playlist of video tech tips

If you aren't reading Richard Byrne's Free Tech for Teachers Blog, be sure to add it to your feed.  He recently put together a collection of soem of the videos he has made into a YouTube playlist.  There are a lot of great videos for a variety of tech tools.  Take a look at it and see what new thing you can try.  Click on the three lines on the top left of the video to see a list of all of the videos in the playlist.




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