Make Your Own Motivational Posters!

Automotivator has to be one of the coolest little tools/sites I have come across in awhile. I have to admit, I love motivational posters (and the demotivational ones too!). And now I have a site where I can quickly make and share my own. I could even print them. Or if I made a really nice, school-specific poster, I could get it printed on a large poster format. I might try some of those this summer as well. In the meantime, I quickly made some fun ones and some serious ones for my counseling office while I tested out the site today. I also have some ideas of quick posters I could make and email to students as ways to energize them or simply remind them about assignments that are due. Either way, the website is very easy to use to design your own poster. Have some fun!

Automotivator website click here!

Engineering/STEM Games

If you teach science, technology, physics, or any sort of STEM type learning, these games might be some fun or interesting ones to try. I have not tested them out, but there are many to choose from and they all will get kids using their STEM knowledge and hopefully get them more interested in these subjects. Everything from building a bridge to making solar cars race virtually, this game site has lots of options. Test some out or better yet, have some students test them out. Good luck.

Engineering Games click here (from the game site, you can go to the home site for more engineering information)

Spelling Games/Sites for Students

For teachers looking for some good spelling games and sites, Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers has a great list of 5 sites for you. I use Spelling City with my own children and would highly recommend it to anyone. I have not used the other sites he lists, but I am sure they are good. I plan to have my own children test some of them this summer. My daughter really likes to spell things and play spelling games, so we will see which one she likes best. Currently, she loves Spelling City. Give some of the sites listed a look and test them out and see which one might work for your own students.

Richard Byrne's blog post on Spelling sites for students click here!

Slow Motion Youtube Videos

Thank you to Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers for alerting me to the idea of slow motion videos on Youtube. As a former science teacher, how awesome is it to be able to film some of your science experiments on the weekend or even in class and then upload them to Youtube AND put them in slow motion so you can explain what is going on and students can see what is going on!! Lots of applications for coaches, but I think teachers could really use this slow motion option too, especially science teachers. Very cool!

Here is Richard Byrne's blog post about this slow motion option.

Nice Basic To-Do List that Can Be Shared with Others

There are a lot of To-Do or Task list sites out there, but I came across this one, Flask, today that I think is nice and easy....and can be emailed or shared with others. Would be great for teams of teachers or teams of students. Or maybe a way to share assignment/project requirements with students. Flask is definitely worth a try to see how you can put it to use.

Flask task list site....click here!

Room Recess: Good for Quick Skill Review and Interactive Whiteboards

Room Recess is a great game site to bookmark for teachers who want some basic math and word games for kids to play at the end of class or at the end of some computer lab time. I  tested out the snowball game and thought kids would love it. The math problems are basic math facts, but middle school students can still benefit from that type of skill practice. There was also a competitive flashcard game that can pit two teams against each other using an interactive whiteboard. I am not sure if you would need two Mimio pens or not, but still pretty fun for students. Give it a try!

Room Recess click here!

Carlisle HyperStream Students Create Carlisle Website!

Kim Flagor, Ben Barry, and Julie Thompson applied for and wrote a grant to bring Hyperstream to our middles school as a STEM initiative. We received that grant and now have our Hyperstream club up and running. While some students are building a LEGO robot, others are filming videos. And still others are making a powerpoint presentation. One group has created a website for Carlisle students and community to go to. Take a look around their site and post any feedback you have. They are in the beginning stages, but it looks pretty cool so far!

 Click on the link below:

 Carlisle 2 the World 

 Or here is the actuall web address:

 sites.google.com/site/carlisle2theworld