LeapPad

I reviewed LeapPad, which are interactive books that help kids learn different concepts. It teaches children things like math, geography, science, reading, and vocabulary. I am planning on teaching kindergarten or first grade and LeapPad is a great tool to have in my future classroom because it helps students to develop basic learning skills like sounding out words and learning what words mean. It is fun and very interactive for students. LeapPad gives students the chance to learn new materials and the chance to get help if need. For example, when a child is learning to read they can use the LeapPad by running the pin over a word and being able to learn how to say that word and what it means. This tool will save students time asking or looking words up in a dictionary. It also enhances students understanding of material that they are learning. LeapPad is a great tutorial because it presents new or old material and allows students to practice and review information.

Cheney Elementary School in Orlando, Florida is a great example of a school that has adapted LeapFrog products like the LeapPad in their classrooms. Here is an article called "Taking the Leap into Meeting State Standards" where you can learn more about how Cheney Elementary School is using LeapPad in their classrooms.

Read and Write LeapPad is a LeapFrog product that very unique. It is designed to bring books to life. It has talking characters, appealing narrations, fun music and sound effects. This LeapPad also it gives students the chance to practice writing letters, saying words, and solving math problems. It has fun games for students to play to review what they have learned.

To learn more about LeapFrog products like the LeapPad check out their website.

Tessellation Creator

Tessellation Creator is an awesome tool that teachers and students can use to enhance their skills with shapes and tessellations. It has different shapes that you can put together with other shapes to create tessellations. You can erase, rotate, attach shapes, break shapes, and delete the tessellation all with the tools on the tool bar. This tool is a great tool for elementary students and teachers to use. It gives teachers and students the opportunity to learn and explore different shapes. Tessellation Creator also helps students to better comprehend what they are learning in a visual way. To explore how to create your own tessellation, check out Tessellation Creator.

Movies

Windows Movie Maker is a program that teachers can use to make videos for their classroom. Teachers can create movies and have their students create a movie based on a certain topic or subject. The process is very simple and easy. By creating a video teachers will enhance their students understand and save lots of time. Students will be given the opportunity to learn in a new and create way. An example of how a teacher incorporated their own movie into their classroom is Mr. Duey. This is a great example of how a teacher can create a movie to help enhance their students understanding of a concept.

Inspiration

Inspiration is software that you can use to help you organize your thoughts and ideas. The program helps you to map out your ideas in visual ways as a web or outline. Inspiration lets you create a web to organize your thoughts and ideas. In the web you can add notes and tips for yourself. It also transfers your information from the web into an outline with a click of a button. This software will help students to create more effective papers that are presented in a more organized way. Students will be able to organize their thoughts and ideas and then create a more informative paper than before. To learn more about this software check out webspiration at http://www.mywebspiration.com/about.

Easy Test Maker

Easy Test Maker is a tool that is very efficient for teacher to use. Teachers can use this tool to help them format and create test which will save them lots of time. Easy Test Maker can create different styles of test from multiple choices; fill in the blank, matching, short answer, and true and false questions. It can also combine all of these styles into one test. The tool lets you divide your test in to different sections and insert your own instructions and notes where need. It also can create different versions of the test and a teacher’s key with a click of a button. To check out this tool go to http://www.easytestmaker.com/default.aspx

Curriki

Curriki is a website that I find to be very helpful for teachers. The goal of this site is for teachers to have a place to find, contribute, and connect with resources and other teacher. They can find lesson plans, activities, and worksheets based around a topic that they are teaching. Teachers also can contribute their own tools that they use in their own classrooms. This site also gives teachers the chance to connect with other teachers around the world. The site gives teachers the opportunity to create a curriki blog were they can blog about their teaching methods and their thoughts about what is happening in the teaching world. If I were you I would seriously check this site out. It has many resources for you to use as a teacher to better benefit your students and enhance your teaching methods. Here is the link to check out curriki http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/.