Hot Tech Tools for the Classroom and Beyond

Hot Tech Tools for Classroom and Beyond

                                      Some for testing, some for studying, some just for fun!

                                                               List by Pamela Thompson, LMS

                                                              http://booksbypamelathompson.blogspot.com/

http://www.flubaroo.com/    Use with Google docs; self-grading tests, send reports, and best of all, email students their grades. Save time grading. Flubaroo does it for you!

https://edshelf.com/  Get a free account; extensive collection of apps, web links, lessons that teachers can use and add content of their own. A great place for ideas!

https://infogr.am/  Create charts and infograms for free.

http://www.cdc.gov/bam/gameroom.html   games for kids from the CDC; interactive learning

https://www.geoguessr.com/  Students can play in single or challenge mode; guess their location using blank world map and photo. Great fun!

http://bighugelabs.com/  Free site to make your photos into amazing things! Movie posters, puzzles, mosaics, special filters.

http://www.fotobabble.com/  create talking photos and slideshows. Add a message to photos.

http://www.flashcardmachine.com/  create flashcards to study for your next exam; share them with students, friends or study groups.

http://www.funbrain.com/  games to hone math and reading skills; fun!

http://www.imagechef.com/  Choose a photo/image and add your own words; share to Twitter or Facebook.

                            

Thriller Pick: Cold Calls

Cold Calls
by Charles Benoit
Clarion Books
2014
288 pages
ISBN: 9780544239500



A late night phone call, a disguised voice, a threat. The caller knows him and has been in his room. Eric is afraid to trust the caller, but he's more afraid of what the caller will do if he doesn't do what is expected of him. The caller has ammunition and is willing to use it if Eric doesn't do his bidding. Eric follows through with the prank and finds himself in a detention class at the community center  for bullies.

Fatima and Shelly are in the class with Eric. They discover that each of them has had a threat from an unknown caller who directed them to pull similar pranks at their schools. Suddenly, it becomes clear that the caller is the same person for each of them. How does the caller know them and how are they tied together? They were all threatened and blackmailed by the same caller but now the kids join forces to try and discover  who is threatening them. The more they discover, the tighter they each hold their own secret.

The book is marketed as "Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club," but fans of the Liars series may be left wanting more as far as fashion and love interests. The main characters are likeable enough but a bit one-sided. Maybe not enough time passes in the book for the characters to fully develop and experience change. Although the kids  learn to work together, their  "friendship" appears fleeting. The cell phone/cyber bully is an interesting addition to YA lit but not a welcome one. The fact that Cold Calls seems like familiar territory  makes this book real for readers.

Recommended grade 9-up. Mature subject matter and cyber bullying and talk of explicit cell phone photos.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Book Giveaway: Spies and Prejudice

Spies and Prejudice
by Talia Vance
Egmont
2013
296 pages

I have FIVE copies  up for grabs!

Thoroughly charming,  Spies and Prejudice is a must read for fans of romance and fun banter. Berry (Strawberry, I know...right?) Fields is a super-sleuth who works undercover for her father. When she's not tailing a cheating husband or trying to get photos of insurance cheats, she really has no life. She's not into hair, make-up, fashion or dating. In fact, she literally has no interest in flirting at all. That is, until new guy Tanner shows up. The harder Tanner tries to endear himself, the more of a fight Berry puts up. You're going to LOVE this book!

For your chance to win, simply post a comment to the blog. Include your first name, city, state and email contact. Deadline for posts is noon MST on December 2, 2013. Winners will be chosen randomly by Randomizer and notified just after 12:00 MST on Dec. 2. Please check your email at that time. Winners have 24 hours to respond to my email. Books will ship from New York courtesy of Egmont and Michelle.

Don't miss this one! Start posting and good luck! Pamela

Authors Lisa McMann and S.A. Bodeen

                                                       Author Lisa Mcmann (Crash, Bang) at
                                                      the Austin Teen Book Festival, Sept. 28

Author S.A. Bodeen (Compound, Fallout, The Raft)
at the Austin Teen Book Festival, Sept. 28

High School Pick: Famous

Famous
by Todd Strasser
Simon & Schuster
2011
259 pages

Timely, poignant, brutally honest and rife with in-your-face social commentary about America's need for celebrity gossip, Famous will resonate with teen readers.

Jamie Gordon always wanted to take pictures; she is really good with her camera and her boyfriend Nasim thinks she is truly talented. In a chance encounter, Jamie just happens to be at the right place at the right time with her camera ready. She gets candid shots of a famous super-model slapping her son in a coffee shop and sells them to a tabloid for more money than most teens will ever see--"just for taking some pictures."

When the chance of a lifetime occurs, Jamie finds herself in L.A. shadowing America's hottest Hollywood sweetheart Willow Twine--who has been in a bit of trouble lately. Willow is dating a rock star of questionable background and morals, she's been in trouble with the law, and now movie studios are seeing her as more of a financial risk than box office gold (sound familiar?) When Jamie discovers some shots in her camera that she didn't take--photos that will ruin Willow's career but make Jamie famous--she is torn. Does she ruin a teen dream or take the money and run?

Avy is Jamie's friend in New York. He has dreams of becoming a super-hot mega star model/actor in Hollywood. He sells everything he owns and gets a cheap apartment in L.A. Avy soon finds out that shedding a few pounds is not the answer to fame in a town known for devouring thousands of young hopefuls each year. Avy makes crucial mistakes and falls in with the wrong crowd scene. Readers will like Avy--his naivete, his vulnerability, and his ulitmate defeat will have readers' empathy.

Strasser has captured the illusory celebrity lifestyle and pampered existence of young Hollywood. The novel's ominous tone is apparent from the opening pages and savvy readers will guess what will happen to Jamie, Willow, and Avy, but they may just be surprised!

Highly, highly recommended grades 9-up. Typical Hollywood behavior that you might read about in tabloids: drug use, partying, underage drinking, sex.

FTC Required disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.