My Toolbox Runneth Over

With a wealth of tools available to teachers, it's sometimes hard to decide which ones are useful and how to best use them in education. Here's a look at a few amazing tools and how they might be used in the classroom, school, or at home.

URL Shorteners
Nothing is more frustrating and overwhelming then trying to get to a website that is 652 characters long.

This is where URL shorteners come into play. My students have always had trouble getting to websites if they don't have a simple link to click on, so I started using URL shorteners to make this process easier when I don't have a link embedded for them to click on. Here is the link to my blog, which I will share with staff in my building next year in my new role of Instruction Coach. http://goo.gl/oYL2gn This will fit easier on a business card than the actual link to my website and will be easy to share. I have used this many times with my students when I need them to get to a Google Form to take a quiz. As you know, the links to those look similar to the one in the meme above. Using goo.gl as a URL shortener, I have been able to make it easier for my students to access what I need them to more efficiently.

QR Codes
QR codes are being more and more evident in every day life. Sitting at my table right now, I see one on my McDonald's cup, one on a phone case package, and one inside the cover of a book I recently finished. All I have to do is pull out my phone, scan the code with my QR Reader, and I am taken to more information about the product I have in my hands. However, more and more educators are using them in their classroom every day. Next year, I plan to use Delivr to post a QR code outside my office door that will boast the Website of the Week. Since I can't currently move into my office due to construction on my building, I'm posting the QR Code image here. This will be the first site of the year that I will have posted.

Bookmarklets
The term "bookmarklets" is new to me, as I have always called them extensions. However, I've used them for years to access sites quickly, "pin" something from the web to Pinterest, or cut out excess junk from an article I'm trying to read with Readability. This unit has introduced me to a new bookmarklet called Quietube. Simply drag the bookmarklet to your bookmarks bar, and you are ready to go. When showing a Youtube video to a class of students, you never know when something inappropriate that would violate CIPA laws will pop up. Here's how it works. Find the video you want to show on YouTube and click the Quietube bookmarklet. Everything else on the screen will disappear, and you will be left with your video that will play on a blank screen to show to your students. Genius! I will definitely be sharing this one next year with my staff. :)


References:
I want you to type this website into your browser. www.history.com/HG345fsdxf43214322545646/index/gfdhfcvgbncvbcvbdasdgf12134/#13/GHT67ITS/derp.html. (n.d.). quickmeme. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3oi5rs