Tag Archives: Recommeded Ed Tech Tool

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

A Simple Search for Apps!

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Image by Quixey. Retrieved online 10/15/13.
Image by Quixey. Retrieved online 10/15/13.

All apps-all access!

This week, CMLE’s Recommended Ed Tech Tool is Quixey (beta site.) Quixey is a free, clean, easy-to-use, and uncluttered website that allows users to conduct quick, functional searches for apps.  It stills gives you (the end user) the option to search for an app by name, with the added flexibility to also identify a list of apps by specific tasks and functions.

How does it work?

This site uses a proprietary, algorithmic based system to gather data from the web found in blogs, tweets, articles, product descriptions, and even reviews. This information is used to generate a profile for each app.  At Quixey’s homepage, a large single search box appears in the middle of the screen. You can enter a task you would like an app to preform,  such as reading. Then, a list is created based on the app’s profile along with a brief product description, the cost (if any), and current reviews.

Additional functions:

  • Search by mobile device (Android, iPad, Windows Phone, etc.), desktop (Mac or Windows), or browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc.)
  • View currently trending apps, top picks, and games.
  • Browse by category (play, work, live, or learn.)
  • View samples of apps with screen shots.
  • Sorted apps in list form, by image, or price.
  • Connect using an existing Facebook account (not required). This will allow you to save and sync your bookmarks (favorite or interesting apps) to multiple devices.

Why does this matter?

It is easy to become overwhelmed. The market for app development has been growing exponentially since 2008.  According to About.com (October 2013), there were 775,000  apps available for download in the iTunes Store in January 2013. Approximately 300,000 of these apps were native to iPad devices.  AppBrain (October 2013) estimated app development each month, peeking in June of this year, with approximately 57,000 new apps.

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Recommended EdTech Tool: Ngram Viewer

Image retrieved from Google some rights reserved
Image retrieved from Google Images       some rights reserved

A CMLE member librarian, representing our special library types, suggested an educational technology tool called Ngram Viewer, a subsidiary of Google Research.  It illustrates (often in table or graph format) how a word or phase has been used over time including its root, compositions, use in parts of speech and so on.

In May, David Brooks, a political and cultural commentator, wrote an article in the New York Times Opinion Section on how this tool can be used to identify social and cultural paradigm shifts. Click here to read the full article, What Our Words Tell Us.

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Recommended EdTech Tool: Capture U.S. History

Image by BigTallGuy some rights reserved
Image by BigTallGuy some rights reserved

This week CMLE highlights a  free EdTech Tool to use in your library that encapsulates the United States (U.S.) in pictures (image gallery).  The Measuring America—People, Places and Our Economy site was created from the U.S. Census Bureau’s collection of historic photographs of enumerators, advertising, household scenes, buildings and technology. The images are searchable by decade from 1790 to 2010. Click Here to access the free historic images.

Note,  the tab titled Through the Decades: Fast Facts provides a “popular culture context” that paints a statistical and cultural portrait of the U.S..  This online timeline highlights the innovations, events and icons through the decades. Click here to access fast facts.

Tip: This EdTech Tool could be a wonderful resource for you to assist teacher(s) in your building or school that assign an annual decades or U.S. history project. 

Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Recommended Ed Tech Tool (PK-12): Edutopia

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Edutopia
Edutopia

As an ambassador of learning within the educational system, how can Librarians/Media Specialists assist in developing and integrating tools to enhance learning outcomes?

Edutopia is a free online resource for PK-12 educators interested in strategies to incorporate the following concepts into their classrooms; comprehensive assessment, integrated studies, project-based learning, social and emotional learning, teacher development, technology integration. Tip: For a quick look at what this site has to offer, focus on the A to Z Topics on the front page. Click here to try it out!

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Recommended EdTech Tool: Quizlet

QuizletThis week CMLE highlights the Quizlet learning site; A clearinghouse of content created by teachers. In its basic form, the subject matter is presented as a virtual flashcard that allows the content to be read and/or spoken.  To capture the attention of various types of learners (visual, verbal, etc.), the learner may select how the content is arranged-image only, answer only, or both. Then the learner is able to study, test, self assess and even select associated games. As a  teacher, you  may also incorporate tools to embed the content in a presentation to a class, print materials for handouts, etc.

How is this tool relevant to libraries?

Libraries themselves are clearinghouses of information. Media Specialists/Librarians are stewards of this information by assisting learners to both assess and properly incorporate their findings. In the search box on the Quizlet site, I entered the word “library”. Several links appeared. Here is an example of what I found: 16 Basic Library Terms students need to know when using the media center.

How to use this tool?

  • Search for a specific subject in the box located along the top of the site.
  • A list of multiple prerecorded flashcards will appear.
    • Hover over the title for additional information.
  • Click on the link to begin testing out the content provided.
    • Some information is offered in another language.

Remember teachers are free to become content creators as well as users!