IHMS Tech Tips

Synth is a free website where you or your students can record 256 second soundbytes (micropodcasting).  The concept is much like the audio-only version of Flipgrid .  Signing up is easy and syncs with your Google account.  Students have to acknowledge whether or not they are over 16, so some of the features you will see will differ from their view due to age restrictions.  Explore and Feed which are open source are unavailable for our students to view. To create a recording, click the red plus button and then start.  You have a maximum of 256 seconds to record and also have the option of adding some sound effects to your recording.  If you toggle transcription to the on position, Synth will attempt to transcribe your audio.  It isn't perfect, so the transcriptions are editable. In order for students to access your recording, they first need to create their account with Google (see above).  You can post the link to your podcast rec...

The Learning Network is a derivative of the NY Times.  "Every school day since 1998, we have offered fresh classroom resources — from lesson plans and writing prompts to news quizzes, student contests and more — all based on the articles, essays, photos, videos and graphics published on NYTimes.com. All of our features for students are free, and we hear from thousands of teenagers around the world each week. So whether the students you know are interested in politics or pop culture, science or sports, fashion, food or foreign affairs, invite them here to join the conversation." Some of the site's features: articles and questions Use the "Article of the Day" for bell work, as an exit ticket, or for enrichment writing prompts Use the daily student opinion question to spark discussion current events crosswords weekly film club contests lesson plans ( Teachers can access and use up to five lesson plans each month.) There really is way too...

Twitter is" an online news and social networking site where people communicate in short messages called tweets."   Many people use Twitter to follow sports, news, celebrities, etc., but is an amazing educational and professional resource as well.  I get a lot of my blog ideas by following #edtech on Twitter.   To create a Twitter account, watch this video.  It's a little long (29 minutes), so check out the time stamps in the video description via YouTube. Follow your colleagues that are already on Twitter: David Case: @Mr_DCase Terry Byfield: @TyBy3 Jeremy Wayne: @knightscitech Rachel Basden: @IHMSJournalism Elyse Biggs: @IHMS_MrsBiggs Hayden Ferguson: @hhbooklady Pam Thomas: @ihthomas78 Andrew Gagnon:   @coachgagnon00 Nick Dailey: @misterdailey Indian Hills: @IHKnights IH Athletics: @ihlaudem PTA: @IndianHillsPTA Here is a possibly outdated post about using social media in the classroom.  Read this ar...

Kapwing (pronounced ka-pwing) is " an online video creation and editing platform for modern creators.   Our online video editing suite includes the web’s m ost popular  meme maker ,   subtitler ,  trimmer ,   looper ,   filters , and more. You can make   stop motions , share highlights, or  resize  a post for your Instagram Story. It's  free  and always will be." Kapwing can be used to create: memes subtitles highlight reels stop motion videos edited videos Students can use Kapwing to demonstrate their knowledge without using ye olde slideshow.  Teachers can use Kapwing to enhance videos they already use or create new teaching content.  Visit the Resources pages for helpful tutorials or project ideas.