Technology Tips Tuesday

I'm linking up over at Blog Hoppin for Teacher Week 2012. Today is Technology Tip Tuesday.  This is right up my alley!!!  I love technology and could go on forever about it.  Don't worry........I narrowed it down to 4 favorites.  Well these are my favorites today, but that could change tomorrow.

Tip #1

Tagxedo.......oh, how I love thee!!! This was one of my very favorite sites last year!! With this tool you can create wonderful word clouds in a variety of shapes. You can even upload your own images and have the word cloud form the shape of the image. It is extremely easy to insert words and create in Tagxedo.

Below is an example of two that I did last year. I had all my students write down an adjective about each person in the class. I entered all of them into tagxedo, picked a shape, and voila!!! I framed these and gave them as end of the year gifts.

Tip #2

QR Codes!! I really began utilizing QR Codes in my classroom last year. They are so beneficial and helpful!! I use a QR generator called Kaywa. Here is the link http://qrcode.kaywa.com/. This tool is extremely user friendly. I place QR codes on my newsletter each week for my website, practice sites, research sites, etc. I also have them in my classroom divided into the following categories: Lang. Arts, Math, and Random. They allow students to get to a site quickly and also ensures that they are on a safe and secure site. Here is how I organize them in my classroom.

Tip #3

How many of you have ever wanted to share a link but it was just toooooo long. Well there is a way to make the url shorter and more manageable by using a simple web tool called Tiny URL.  It is very user freindly and so so easy to use.  Try it out!!

http://tinyurl.com

Tip #4

I came across this wonderful interactive hundreds board last year.  I absolutely love it.  It is very interactive and the kids can get involved by painting in the numbers on the board.  My students love it and it really keeps their focus.  I decided to make the link into a tiny url to share with you.  See I am already using tip #3!!

http://tinyrul.com/hundredgrid

Well........I'm off to read all your wonderful Technology Tips!!