This time of the year brings some definite challenges. Students start getting restless, traffic gets a lot heavier, and people start asking me "What do you want for Christmas?" This year, to help out the teacher looking to add to their toolbet, this list of tech tools and resources will certainly cover all the bases. While we know that students who are loved and cared for, along with good pedagogy, is our biggest wish, we hope you enjoy our favorites for 2014.
Chromebook - HP 14 ($329)
The HP 14 is a reliable and sturdy option for the teacher who is looking for the ultimate in battery life and portability without compromising any of the screen size. While our students have them in white, we would recommend getting the black version to ease the cleaning of fingerprints and any errant smudges that may occur. Either way you go on the color, the boot time, processing speed, and overall enjoyability of the HP 14 will leave you dashing through the snow... errrr classroom.
Microphone - Yeti Blue Mic ($99.94)
While the price may fluctuate on Amazon's site, this is a must-have for any techie teacher looking to get into media production. There are a multitude of recording options depending on the type of sound that needs to be captured. Are you doing a 1 on 1 interview? Perfect, there's a setting for that. Are you doing a screencast that is you flying solo? Perfect, there's a setting for that. Are you recording your classroom instruction to review and post it online? You get the point. The user's manual is a great teammate on this one for those who are not as fluent in the audio recording world (like us), getting you up to speend and sounding right in a flash.
The look of the Yeti makes it seem like you're the real deal, and you will feel like it soon after using USB input hooked right into your compter to record the sounds of the season, whatever they may be.
The look of the Yeti makes it seem like you're the real deal, and you will feel like it soon after using USB input hooked right into your compter to record the sounds of the season, whatever they may be.
Video Editing Software - Camtasia ($79)
Have you ever wondered how all of those incredible videos get created? No, not Transformers 2 and Hunger Games! I'm talking about the videos that teachers and schools everywhere are creating on a daily basis to support students. Camtasia is one of those products that truly helps you understand video editing while letting you take control of what gets done. Add layers of content, include multiple videos on one screen, highlight your cursor, and so much more. Without a doubt, Camtasia is worth every penny of your hard earned money. On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner, on Blitzen, all the way over to Techsmith to get your very own copy of the best video editing and content creation program available!
Portable Device Charger - Powerstick+ ($65)
There is no need to ask you the question "Have you ever run out of battery halfway through the day with no outlet?" because we all know the answer. A lot of companies have phone boosts, giving you an extra charge using a small power pack and utilizing your device's current power cord. The PowerStick+ is a great option because it shows you the level of charge that it can offer at any given time. If you would like to step up your game, you can add 8GB or 16GB of memory to the stick and it doubles as a flash drive. Just wait until you're hanging out by the egg nog cooler, having a conversation about 4th period, and charging your phone or tablet all at once. How many reindeer can say they do that? That's right - just you.
Daily Instruction App - Doceri ($30)
Many school districts are having an issue with Apple's Bonjour program not allowing the iPad to communicate directly with an Apple TV, Reflector, or Airserver (whch are all great ways to toss your iPad onto the screen, figuratively). Doceri is a program that allows your iPad to serve as a controller for your desktop computer. Navigate your slideshows and presentations, open documents, and type into your documents from anywhere in the classroom. The fun features come in when you get into annotation mode, which allows the user to mark up documents, use custom backgrounds, screencast, and scrub the timeline to build lessons that can automatically play back in various speeds. This is truly a great tool for the techie teacher in your gingerbread house.
iPad Stylus - Adonit Jot Pro ($29.99)
One of the toughest transitions to an iPad is learning how to write on it. Use your finger? NO WAY! Use that cheap squishy stylus you got at a conference for free? PUHLEEEEASE! The Adonit Jot Pro is an outstanding choice if you are willing to spend a little bit more for a high quality writing experience. The initial concern was about the plastic disc separating the metal tip from a very expensive sheet of iPad glass, but it has yet to be an issue from anyone that we have heard using it. Any stylus will take some getting used to, and the Adonit Jot Pro will have the best learning curve. He's making a list, checking it twice, making sure he uses an Adonit Jot Pro while doing so.
iPad Case - Maxcases Educator ($29.95)
You need to protect your investment, but it's not as simple as that. Using your iPad as a classroom instruction tool has been a revolutionary wave that has completely revamped how we look at teaching, but we don't want to carry around something that weighs 6 pounds and is awkward to hold for 5 (or more!) periods a day. Introduce the Educator by Maxcases and you have your solution. With a sleeve for your hand, it is comfortable and simple to carry. It is light, BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! There is a feature allows you to spin the iPad with your hand in the sleeve, creating the best angle for you to hold your iPad up to you. Imagine caroling with your friends all FA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LAAAAA with your new case. Plus, you can't beat their customer service.
PDF Annotation App - iAnnotatePDF ($9.99)
When is the last time you were sent a PDF and asked to sign and return it? Here's the old way: open it, print it, sign it, then figure out a way to send it (don't even get us started on finding a way to fax over documents). How about a newer, more efficient way of writing on documents, whether they're PDF or not? This is what we love about iAnnotate. It makes for a smooth and efficient method of writing on any document and, to add to it, exporting the annotated version is a breeze. The pricetag will scare many teachers away, but think about the time and resources it takes to print and send files. iAnnotatePDF is an app that you will not regret spending all that new coal from your stocking on.
Whiteboarding App - Explain Everything ($2.99)
So you have an iPad or an Android tablet and now you want to do screencasting or use it as an instructional whiteboarding tool. This is a basic and essential feature of any mobile device that you have in your classroom. There are quite a few free whiteboarding apps out there, yet none of them can do everything that Explain Everything does. One of the newer features is the ability to go back in your recording and make edits. This means that you have a simplified video editor built into the app itself. Not just that, but you can also import video, files from Dropbox and Google Drive, export directly to YouTube, and a sleigh full of other incredible options.
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