Mrs. Tech

Storybird  is a different way of having students participate in creative writing. They offer three different types of stories that you can create -- picture books, regular books and visual poetry.  As a teacher, you can create an assignment that students have to turn into you, or you can allow students to pick any picture of their choosing and have them send you their project when they are done. I've used this as a creative writing prompt for bellwork in my classroom, and have also shared it with the art teacher who uses it often to incorporate writing in her classroom. Try it out & let me know what you think, Mrs. Tech *If you are more of a visual learner, check out my  "how to" video  on using Storybird, as well as some way to use it in the classroom. **If you want to have your students try out Storybird, download  this tool  that walks them through step by step directions on how to create their first story.

Music Mixer  is a website sponsored by National Geographic Kids that allows students to create music in a studio setting. Students become the "producer" and they are allowed to name their band, pick their band members, and then create their own mix of the instruments that they want while tuning the sounds and volumes of each instrument. Once the song is created the way they want, they can add it to a playlist and make another or play it back for their classmates. This is another way to bring out student creativity as a bonus project for early finishers, a reward for students with special needs who like music or as an activity for a music class! Try it out & let me know how you like it, Mrs. Tech *If you are more of a visual learner, check out my  "how to" video  on using Music Master, as well as some way to use it in the classroom. **Grab this handout  for students to use to learn about Music Mixer.

City Creator  is a great early finisher activity for the architects in your classroom. Think of this website as real life Lego building! Students can pick what kind of town they want to build, and then add buildings from the ground up. City Creator has a very simple user interface so students of all ages will be able to easily navigate the site and successfully create a city. Did y'all ever play roller coaster typhoon growing up? That game where you would design your own theme park and then people would come visit and you would make money to expand and such? That is what this makes me think of - embracing the creativity that it takes to design and create an entire city. Try it out & let me know what you think, Mrs. Tech *If you are more of a visual learner, check out my  "how to" video  on using City Creator, as well as some way to use it in the classroom. **If you want to have your students try out City Creator, download  this tool  that walks them through

Build Your Wild Self  was a site that I just stumbled upon, but was probably one of my students favorite activities that we did all year. Basically, students are able to create themselves by playing with their body, hair, eyes, mouth, clothes. They can then make themselves "wild" by adding headgear, ears, face, arms, bottoms, backsides, and tails that are all body parts of wild animals. This activity isn't all fun though - there is educational value too! Once the students are done creating their "wild self" they will click I'M DONE. This will take them to the next page where it will explain to the students what is "wild" about them. It will tell them where their wild parts came from and why those parts are important to the survival of that particular animal. So there you have it - educational and a ton of fun! Just wait to see what kind of creatures your students come up with! It will be entertaining, I guarantee you that much. Try it ou

Avatar creation is kind of a big deal right now. Voki is a great tool for students to  learn about animation through creating their own character on Voki. They will show how they can use technology to communicate with others. Next time your students need to present about a person or animal, have them use Voki to give their presentation. They'll love it - I guarantee it!  Directions: Go to voki.com and click on TRY IT – It’s Free! An avatar will automatically be chosen for you. Choose a new one under customize your character Customize It – choose an outfit/accessories. You can also customize at the bottom where it gives you the choice to change hair, eyes, skin and mouth color or tweak the size of the characters mouth, nose, and body (height and width) Add a Voice – using the “T” key, type in a box what you want your character to say. Then press the play (triangle) button when you have finished typing. You can also change the voice and accent under the text box. Choose a

Hey y'all! We are so close to the holiday break and I have joined with a group of sellers to offer you #8daysofchristmas - 8 days of $1 deals. Be sure to check on TPT every day from December 12-19, as every day there will be different amazing products on sale for only $1. Just search #8daysofchristmas each day to find these deals. I will be offering the following products for $1: Dec 12 -  I Have Who Has - Christmas Songs Dec 13 -  Christmas Writing Prompts Dec 14 -  I Have Who Has - Skip Counting (2's) Dec 15 -  Computer Study Webquest Dec 16 -  I Have Who Has - Presidents of the US Dec 17 -  Technology Writing Prompts  Dec 18 -  Animal Research Webquest Dec 19 -  Computerless Tech Activities Don't miss your opportunity to purchase these great items at a discounted price! Mrs. Tech

Ever have those days when you see something and feel the urge to use it immediately? Well I had that happen to me this morning. My internet pulls up Google whenever I want a new webpage, and today I saw something I hadn't noticed before. See that little link that says, " Skydive with Santa and boogie with elves "? Well click there! When you open it up, it looks just like Santa's Village . And check out that countdown until Christmas - that makes it automatically perfection. There are new activities added throughout the countdown to Christmas, but the activities that are there are already fabulous.  Here are some of the activities that are included on Santa Tracker {and they are adding new ones every day!}: Learn Holiday Traditions Translations  Code with Elves Reindeer Coding Snowflake Cards (Coding) Dress People as Elves Present Bounce (Strategy Game) Santa Selfie See a Story About Santa Educators: