Tools
SketchUp - A great CAD style product from the people at Google. I like to call it "CAD that's fun!" Explore a world of educational resources that will engage students in the classroom allowing them to innovate and create
Tinkercad 3D Modeling Tinkercad is free platform from Autodesk that makes creating 3D models easy! You and your students can click on the "Learn" button at the top of the page to access great interactive tutorials. These tutorials are a step by step walk you through on how to create various designs. Once finished, Tinkercad allows you to download your creation for Minecraft, order a 3D Print, or upload it to Thingiverse. You also have the option to download your creation to 3D print in - See more at: http://www.twoguysandsomeipads.com/2014/11/5-design-tools-to-spark-imagination-and.html#sthash.r7LtcAIP.dpuf
Blender is the free open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License.
Scratch - A program that allows student to design a computer program with integration into any subject area. Learn more by watching my archived webinar at Discovery!
Pixel Press Floors iPad app that allows students to draw their own video game without programming! Lesson Plans
Inkscape – Your free Adobe Illustrator alternative. Just as powerful. Just as awesome.
Gimp – Your free Adobe Photoshop alternative. Just as powerful. Just as awesome.
Fusion 360 – Autodesk has made all their software free for educators. Fusion 360 is the future of 3D design. Free.
Google Earth - Another free and amazing program that will excite your students in any STEM class. Make sure you visit this educator page filled with resources on how to use Google Earth in the classroom
Nearpod is a free iOS app and/or websitethat teachers can use to create quizzes, polls, and multimedia presentations. Those materials can be shared directly to students who have the Nearpod student app installed. Teachers can view students' responses individually or as a whole class. video
Nearpod Homework. Like the original Nearpod, Nearpod Homework allows you to distribute presentations and quizzes to your students' iPads. The neat feature of Nearpod Homework is that it allows students to work through presentations and quizzes at their own pace in your classroom or at home
GoClass is a free iPad application for creating short lessons and delivering them to your students. The lessons can include annotated images, free hand sketches, text, and video. GoClass gives teachers tools for creating class rosters that they can use to keep track of which students are using the lessons when. Teachers also have the option to ask questions and poll their students. After the students' response have been gathered teachers can project those responses without showing individual student's names.
Frolyc a tool for teachers looking to design their own lesson-based activities. Teachers can create activities for students like: completing a graphic organizer, identify cause and effect in a passage, draw a response to a question or take a quiz. Students can access activities that are assigned to them by a teacher using Frolyc’s iPad app Activity Spot. As students complete the activity, teachers will receive feedback on student progress in real time! You can access a library filled with Common Core aligned activities created and shared by other teachers. You can create a unique learning experience for your students. a learning and assessment tool, Froylc is a powerful platform for increasing student engagement and monitoring student progress. Since Froylc lets users assign activities to students individually, it’s easy to differentiate student tasks.
123D Make – 123D Make lets you turn 3D models into 2D build plans with animated assembly instructions. Make really shines if you have a laser cutter in your space. Free.
Modern Chalkboard is a free site for finding educational resources such as Smart Board files. These interactive lessons cover a wide range of topics from Math, to Science, and Social Studies. Right now this is a fairly new site and the majority of their resources are for
K-5th grade but more Smart Board resources are being added all the time.
Video Tools for Interactivity
Create Interactive videos with questions, discussions, images and links
Ted-Ed Lessons Use lessons already created by others or make your own with questions, links, images and discussions. How-to video tutorialsWatch2gether is a site through which you can watch YouTube videos and host text chats about them at the same time. It is really quite easy to use Watch2gether. To get started enter a nickname for yourself (it could be your real first name) then search for a video or enter the url of a video that you have previously bookmarked. When you have found the video you want a chat column will be present on the right side of your browser. You can invite others to chat with you by sending them the url assigned to your chat. Together you can watch a video and discuss it.
Viewbix A service to add some interactive enhancements to videos. Viewbix works with videos that are hosted on YouTube and it works with videos that are hosted on Facebook. To use Viewbix you first specify the url of the video that you want to work with. Then you can add a custom "button" to your video. Buttons can be linked to webpages or to another video. You can also link to maps and images. The function of Viewbix is similar to that of the spotlight annotation tool in YouTube's video editor. this post on spotlighteduCanon - A site similar to EDpuzzle that allows educators to edit a video and add quizzes.Teachem is a service that uses the TED Ed model of creating lessons based on video. On Teachem teachers can build courses that are composed of a series of videos hosted on YouTube. Teachers can write questions and comments in "flashcards" that are tied to specific parts of each video and display next to each video. Students can take notes while watching the videos using the Teachem SmartNote system. Creating a Teachem course a straight-forward process of choosing a video URL then writing corresponding questions.
The Mad Video is a service for creating interactive videos. The service is kind of likeThingLink for videos. Using The Mad Video you can take a video that is hosted on YouTube and insert interactive tags. The tags can link to websites, images, or other video clips. People can see your tags when they place their cursors over your video. You can add multiple tags to each video in your The Mad Video account.
Embed Plus is a tool for editing and annotating videos that you find on YouTube. Embed Plus allows you to start a video at any point you specify. You can also use Embed Plus to skip scenes in a video, play it in slow motion, zoom into an area of a video, and annotate a video.The annotation feature of Embed Plus is a nice complement to the real-time reactions feature offered by Embed Plus. Real-time reactions pulls in Twitter and YouTube comments about your chosen video. The annotation feature lets you comment on specific parts of a video. Your annotations can include links that you insert.
Blubbr is a quiz creation service that you can use to create video-based quizzes. Using Blubbr you can create interactive quizzes that are based on YouTube clips. Your quizzes can be about anything of your choosing. The structure of the quizzes has a viewer watch a short clip then answer a multiple choice question about the clip. Viewers know right away if they chose the correct answer or not. To create a quiz on Blubbr start by entering a topic for your quiz. After entering your topic enter a search for a video about that topic. Blubbr will generate a list of videos that you can select from to use in your quiz. When you find a video that works for you, trim the clip to a length that you like then write out your question and answer choices. Repeat the process for as many video clips as you like
Synchtube - Create a public or private room where users can view the same video and chat in real time.
VideoNotes is a tool for taking notes while watching videos. VideoNotes allows you to load any YouTube video on the left side of your screen and on the right side of the screen VideoNotes gives you a notepad to type on. VideoNotes integrates with your Google Drive account. By integrating with Google Drive VideoNotes allows you to share your notes and collaborate on your notes just as you can do with a Google Document. A good tool for students to use to take notes, ask questions, and answer questions while watching "flipped" instruction videos.
Grockit Answers - A great teaching tool to create a Q/A session for any YouTube video.
EDpuzzle - How about turning a video into an interactive lesson? With this free website, add audio notes and quizzes at any point to a video.
Vialogues is a website that is designed to enable users to host conversations around a video. Users can upload videos to Vialogues or use YouTube videos as the centerpieces of their conversations. After you have selected a video from YouTube or uploaded a video of your own, you can post poll questions and add comments that are tied to points in the video. Your Vialogue can be made public or private. Public Vialogue's can be embedded into your blog or website
Audio Cutter This site site allows users to edit/cut audio from YouTube and Sound Cloud clips by pasting in a URL.
SketchUp - A great CAD style product from the people at Google. I like to call it "CAD that's fun!" Explore a world of educational resources that will engage students in the classroom allowing them to innovate and create
Tinkercad 3D Modeling Tinkercad is free platform from Autodesk that makes creating 3D models easy! You and your students can click on the "Learn" button at the top of the page to access great interactive tutorials. These tutorials are a step by step walk you through on how to create various designs. Once finished, Tinkercad allows you to download your creation for Minecraft, order a 3D Print, or upload it to Thingiverse. You also have the option to download your creation to 3D print in - See more at: http://www.twoguysandsomeipads.com/2014/11/5-design-tools-to-spark-imagination-and.html#sthash.r7LtcAIP.dpuf
Blender is the free open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License.
Scratch - A program that allows student to design a computer program with integration into any subject area. Learn more by watching my archived webinar at Discovery!
Pixel Press Floors iPad app that allows students to draw their own video game without programming! Lesson Plans
Inkscape – Your free Adobe Illustrator alternative. Just as powerful. Just as awesome.
Gimp – Your free Adobe Photoshop alternative. Just as powerful. Just as awesome.
Fusion 360 – Autodesk has made all their software free for educators. Fusion 360 is the future of 3D design. Free.
Google Earth - Another free and amazing program that will excite your students in any STEM class. Make sure you visit this educator page filled with resources on how to use Google Earth in the classroom
Nearpod is a free iOS app and/or websitethat teachers can use to create quizzes, polls, and multimedia presentations. Those materials can be shared directly to students who have the Nearpod student app installed. Teachers can view students' responses individually or as a whole class. video
Nearpod Homework. Like the original Nearpod, Nearpod Homework allows you to distribute presentations and quizzes to your students' iPads. The neat feature of Nearpod Homework is that it allows students to work through presentations and quizzes at their own pace in your classroom or at home
GoClass is a free iPad application for creating short lessons and delivering them to your students. The lessons can include annotated images, free hand sketches, text, and video. GoClass gives teachers tools for creating class rosters that they can use to keep track of which students are using the lessons when. Teachers also have the option to ask questions and poll their students. After the students' response have been gathered teachers can project those responses without showing individual student's names.
Frolyc a tool for teachers looking to design their own lesson-based activities. Teachers can create activities for students like: completing a graphic organizer, identify cause and effect in a passage, draw a response to a question or take a quiz. Students can access activities that are assigned to them by a teacher using Frolyc’s iPad app Activity Spot. As students complete the activity, teachers will receive feedback on student progress in real time! You can access a library filled with Common Core aligned activities created and shared by other teachers. You can create a unique learning experience for your students. a learning and assessment tool, Froylc is a powerful platform for increasing student engagement and monitoring student progress. Since Froylc lets users assign activities to students individually, it’s easy to differentiate student tasks.
123D Make – 123D Make lets you turn 3D models into 2D build plans with animated assembly instructions. Make really shines if you have a laser cutter in your space. Free.
Modern Chalkboard is a free site for finding educational resources such as Smart Board files. These interactive lessons cover a wide range of topics from Math, to Science, and Social Studies. Right now this is a fairly new site and the majority of their resources are for
K-5th grade but more Smart Board resources are being added all the time.
Video Tools for Interactivity
Create Interactive videos with questions, discussions, images and links
Ted-Ed Lessons Use lessons already created by others or make your own with questions, links, images and discussions. How-to video tutorialsWatch2gether is a site through which you can watch YouTube videos and host text chats about them at the same time. It is really quite easy to use Watch2gether. To get started enter a nickname for yourself (it could be your real first name) then search for a video or enter the url of a video that you have previously bookmarked. When you have found the video you want a chat column will be present on the right side of your browser. You can invite others to chat with you by sending them the url assigned to your chat. Together you can watch a video and discuss it.
Viewbix A service to add some interactive enhancements to videos. Viewbix works with videos that are hosted on YouTube and it works with videos that are hosted on Facebook. To use Viewbix you first specify the url of the video that you want to work with. Then you can add a custom "button" to your video. Buttons can be linked to webpages or to another video. You can also link to maps and images. The function of Viewbix is similar to that of the spotlight annotation tool in YouTube's video editor. this post on spotlighteduCanon - A site similar to EDpuzzle that allows educators to edit a video and add quizzes.Teachem is a service that uses the TED Ed model of creating lessons based on video. On Teachem teachers can build courses that are composed of a series of videos hosted on YouTube. Teachers can write questions and comments in "flashcards" that are tied to specific parts of each video and display next to each video. Students can take notes while watching the videos using the Teachem SmartNote system. Creating a Teachem course a straight-forward process of choosing a video URL then writing corresponding questions.
The Mad Video is a service for creating interactive videos. The service is kind of likeThingLink for videos. Using The Mad Video you can take a video that is hosted on YouTube and insert interactive tags. The tags can link to websites, images, or other video clips. People can see your tags when they place their cursors over your video. You can add multiple tags to each video in your The Mad Video account.
Embed Plus is a tool for editing and annotating videos that you find on YouTube. Embed Plus allows you to start a video at any point you specify. You can also use Embed Plus to skip scenes in a video, play it in slow motion, zoom into an area of a video, and annotate a video.The annotation feature of Embed Plus is a nice complement to the real-time reactions feature offered by Embed Plus. Real-time reactions pulls in Twitter and YouTube comments about your chosen video. The annotation feature lets you comment on specific parts of a video. Your annotations can include links that you insert.
Blubbr is a quiz creation service that you can use to create video-based quizzes. Using Blubbr you can create interactive quizzes that are based on YouTube clips. Your quizzes can be about anything of your choosing. The structure of the quizzes has a viewer watch a short clip then answer a multiple choice question about the clip. Viewers know right away if they chose the correct answer or not. To create a quiz on Blubbr start by entering a topic for your quiz. After entering your topic enter a search for a video about that topic. Blubbr will generate a list of videos that you can select from to use in your quiz. When you find a video that works for you, trim the clip to a length that you like then write out your question and answer choices. Repeat the process for as many video clips as you like
Synchtube - Create a public or private room where users can view the same video and chat in real time.
VideoNotes is a tool for taking notes while watching videos. VideoNotes allows you to load any YouTube video on the left side of your screen and on the right side of the screen VideoNotes gives you a notepad to type on. VideoNotes integrates with your Google Drive account. By integrating with Google Drive VideoNotes allows you to share your notes and collaborate on your notes just as you can do with a Google Document. A good tool for students to use to take notes, ask questions, and answer questions while watching "flipped" instruction videos.
Grockit Answers - A great teaching tool to create a Q/A session for any YouTube video.
EDpuzzle - How about turning a video into an interactive lesson? With this free website, add audio notes and quizzes at any point to a video.
Vialogues is a website that is designed to enable users to host conversations around a video. Users can upload videos to Vialogues or use YouTube videos as the centerpieces of their conversations. After you have selected a video from YouTube or uploaded a video of your own, you can post poll questions and add comments that are tied to points in the video. Your Vialogue can be made public or private. Public Vialogue's can be embedded into your blog or website
Audio Cutter This site site allows users to edit/cut audio from YouTube and Sound Cloud clips by pasting in a URL.