Mrs. Tech

As we prep for Halloween, I wanted to share with you some super easy costume ideas that I have found that I think our students would enjoy. I have linked them all to their original source (if I could find it) so you can read any helpful hints they might have posted. Emojis Smarty Pants If You Give A Mouse a Cookie (& friends) Monsters University Winnie the Pooh Crew Cookie Monster Thing 1 & 2 M&Ms What are you dressing up as for Halloween? - Hilary 

I was looking for some fun online activities to do with my students, and I wanted to share a few that I came up with so that you can use some in your classroom too!  Halloween Night (Children's Halloween Song) Going Batty Dot's Story Factory Virtual Pumpkin Carving Pacman Math Halloween House Halloween Hangman Zombie Typing Here are a few other Halloween ideas that I thought were cute & easy: Fingerprint Bat Silhouette Pretzel Skeletons Caramel Apples Trash Bag Spider Webs

Have you used Kahoot before? I wrote a whole blog post about how to use Kahoot and why I love using it so much . I love all the updates they have made in the past year, too! Now you can assign Kahoots for homework so students can work independently, and you can also play in groups or teams. Definitely check out the updates if you haven't! I use this Kahoot each year with my upper elementary students. I also almost always use this one of the first days with my Middle and High school students, too. This is a Kahoot that covers Windows programs, identifying keys, software, hardware, and keyboard shortcuts.  It is all Windows based, as I said before, but it could be adapted to the command key instead of the shift key if you wanted to use other parts of it. One thing I love about Kahoot is that you can edit it to suit your needs. I'm sharing the link to mine so that you can check it out and use what you want, and change what you don't like! If you aren't interested i

Webquests are so fun! Do you know what a webquest is? Basically, your students are given a website to go to (via QR code or website link) and go there to find answers to questions that they are asked. Webquests are a fabulous way to incorporate technology and for your students to search for information on a topic instead of you just telling them what they need to know! As a technology teacher, webquests are one of my absolute favorite ways to share information with my students. You know how they say that students remember the information better if they find it for themselves? Well I am a firm believer in that! This week, I asked each of the teachers for a topic that they are covering in their course. I then went and created a digital resource to go with those topics for their class. Some of them included articles to read, while others just linked to webpages or kid-friendly videos. Here are the ones that we used - State Research Webquest Living & Non Living Things

Next week, October 8-14, 2017 is FIRE SAFETY/PREVENTION week! I think that there is always a way to tie in these kinds of ideas into something that you are learning. Even if you aren't teaching it the entire week, teach a mini lesson or show a video before/after a special or first thing one more and have a conversation about fires and how they are preventable.  Do you have fire drills in your school? Discuss why you do those and why they are so important. Do you have a back up location to go if your first one if compromised? One time, when the alarm goes off, tell your kids that your first location is compromised and head for the second location.  Here are a few resources that I have found that I think are helpful for teaching about Fire Safety: Fire Safety Rap Video   Video About Fire Safety (Interview with Firemen) Fire Safety "What Ifs?" Easy Fireman Hat Fire Safety Activities And OF COURSE - Fire Safety Snacks!! Fire Truck Crackers

As I start this school year with iPads instead of desktops, I wanted to share some of the apps and websites I plan to use with my elementary aged students throughout the year. While I don't think that typing is something to focus tons of attention on while on iPads, I do definitely think that it's worth covering throughout the year so that our kids don't get to the point where they're typing college essays with one finger, right? So without further ado - Apps: Word Burst:  This app has words pop up in bubbles, and you have to type them before they burst. Words get more difficult as time goes on, and more words appear on the screen at a time the more you get right. There are multiple levels and you score points for each letter you type correctly as your finish the word. You get 5 "lives" and you lose a life each time the bubble pops before you spell a word correctly.  Flappy Type:  Not quite the same concept as flappy bird, but they do have the same backgr