Video Apps for Instruction

Using online videos for instruction can be a good way to disseminate information, but students are often not actively engaged while watching the videos.

Both Zaption and Educanon offer a way to keep students engaged while they watch short videos.  You can add questions and slides and even crop the videos.  Once students have completed the activities, you can view the results.

Zaption seems to be easier to use, but Educanon can be used from within Edmodo.

Here are videos I created on each site.

Easy Formative Assessment

For English and math teachers, Edmodo has introduced a sweet app that makes formative assessment a snap.  Perhaps that's why it's name is "Snapshot."

Snapshot will quickly create an assessment based on the standards chosen by the teacher.  It is already loaded with the Virginia Standards of Learning.  The best part is that the teacher does not have to create the questions!!  How cool is that?

You could create a Shapshot for the beginning of the lesson, quickly create another for the middle to see where you should go with the rest of the lesson, and then create yet another at the end.  It's that easy.  Because Snapshot has a very large database of questions, the students do not receive the same questions in repeated assessments.

Once students complete the assessment, teachers have access to reports that indicate which standards students have mastered.

Even if you use Edmodo only for Snapshot, you will find it very worth your time.

Follow the link for instructions and videos:  Snapshot Support.

Free Stuff!!

Are you looking for free stuff to help you with technology integration?  Check out Russell Stannard's TTV site.  He has created many videos that explain how to use tools such as Edmodo, Prezi, Audacity . . . too many to list.

Go see for yourself here! --> TTV