FluencyTutor for Google - Students Listen and Practice Reading Aloud

FluencyTutor for Google is a new offering from Texthelp. FluencyTutor for Google is a Chrome web app (works on Chromebook, PC, Mac) that allows teachers to share selected reading passages with their students. Students can hear the passages read aloud. The text being read aloud is highlighted to help students follow along with the reading.

After hearing passages read aloud through FluencyTutor, students can create recordings of themselves reading the passages. Those recordings can be downloaded.

FluencyTutor offers a 47 page list of passages that teachers can share with their students. The passages are labeled with lexile scores and suggested grade levels. Teachers share the passages through Google Drive.


The video above includes demonstration of premium (paid) features. The text of this post deals only with the free aspects of FluencyTutor.

Cyberkidz Educational Games for Pre-K

Cyberkidz offers simple and fun games for pre-k students. In addition to the games offered on the website Cyberkidz offers a Chrome Web App. The Cyberkidz Chrome Web App makes five of their games available online and offline. The five games are designed to help toddlers recognize shapes, colors, find hidden objects, associations between animals and their foods, and simple cause and effect relationships.

Applications for Education
If you're looking for some simple games that the toddlers in your life can use to practice identifying colors and shapes, Cyberkidz could be a good option for you. I have two recommendations if you do use these games. Turn off the sound, it's screeching. Sit down with the child to show him or her how the game is played because there is not an instruction screen on Cyberkidz.

H/T to Scoutness.

Read & Write - An Accessibility App for Google Docs

Read & Write is a free Google Chrome Web App that increases the accessibility of the text of documents in your Google Drive account. After installing the app you will see a Read & Write tab appear at the top of your browser window whenever you have a document open in Google Drive. Clicking that Read & Write tab will open a menu of accessibility options.

Some of the accessibility options include a picture dictionary and a talking dictionary. To use either dictionary just highlight a word then click on the dictionary that you want to use. The dictionary that you select will pop-up in your document. Read & Write will also read the text of your documents aloud. In the settings menu you can select from nine voices and three playback speeds. Learn more about Read & Write in the video below.


Thanks to Jen Deyenberg for sharing this handy Chrome app.

Eight Alternatives to Buying Scientific Calculators

One of the problems that many mathematics and science departments confront is accounting for all of the scientific calculators they lend to students. Like textbooks no matter how diligent a school is in tracking how many are lent out, one or two always seem to disappear by the end of the year. Also like textbooks there are some good and free alternatives to buying scientific calculators. Here are some that you can try.

Desmos offers a fully functional, browser-based  graphing calculator. The calculator performs all of the functions you would expect to see in a graphing calculator with a couple of extras that you don't find in typical graphing calculators. Desmos allows you to share your equations and graphs through a Bit.ly link. Desmos graphs your equations as you type them and redraws them as you alter your equations. And because it is written in HTML5 Desmos works on your iPad.

Microsoft has released a new scientific calculator that you can download for free (Windows only). Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 is a graphing calculator that plots in 2D and 3D. Of course, the calculator does many other functions such as solving inequalities, converting units of measure, and performing matrix and vector operations.

There are a lot of calculators online for performing all kinds of functions from simple addition to solving complex equations. Calkoo is a website that offers forty-three free online calculators for a variety of functions. The list of calculators that Calkoo is divided into ten categories. Those categories are mathematics, measurement & conversion, saving & investing, capital budgeting, cost of capital, wages & taxes, financial analysis, health, loan & leasing, and stock analysis.

Encalc is a free online scientific calculator. Encalc describes itself on its homepage as follows, "Encalc is an online scientific calculator. Its strength lies in its ability handle units and dimensional analysis, to define variables and its large database of constants. Parenthesis and scientific formulas are also supported." One of the features that I really like about Encalc are the explanations of how different variables and constants function within an equation or formula. Encalc can be embedded into your blog or website too.

Web2.0calc is a free online scientific calculator. While it won't replace the TI-85, it can do what your average high school student needs it to do. The best part is, you don't have to use it on the Web2.0calc site because they offer three widgets that you can use to embed the calculator into your own blog or website.

Speed Crunch is a free scientific calculator application for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. Speed Crunchperforms all of the functions necessary for high school Algebra and Geometry courses except graphing. In addition to performing all of these functions, Speed Crunch has a "math book" containing commonly used equations and formulas. One Speed Crunch feature that appealed to me from a design standpoint is the color coding of equations to differentiate between constants and variables.

Graph.tk is a free online graphing utility that I found in the Google Chrome Web Store. Graph.tk allows you to plot multiple functions through its dynamically resizing grid. To graph an equation on Graph.tk just click the "+" symbol to enter a new equation. Click here to watch a short video of Graph.tk in use. One thing that the video doesn't show and isn't clear the first time you use Graph.tk is that you need to delete the existing default equations before you start.

Scientific Calculator is a Chrome web app that works offline and online. The calculator performs all of the functions that you would expect and it offers a couple of handy additional features. When it is connected to the web the calculator records your calculation history. Any scripts that you write in Scientific Calculator can be saved online and shared for use by others.

MeeGenius for Google Chrome

MeeGenius is a great website, Android app, and iPad app offering ebooks for kids. MeeGenius allows users to turn narration on and off for each book. When narration is turned on each word in the story is highlighted as it's read.

As mentioned above, MeeGenius is available for Android and iPad. This afternoon I discovered that MeeGenius is also available as a Chrome Web App. The MeeGenius Chrome Web App makes it easy to browse, read, and listen to the MeeGenius books in your browser.


Applications for Education
MeeGenius could be a great website and app for young students to use to experience some nice short stories and practice reading at the same time. MeeGenius is offering a free school and library subscription program but it's not clear how many ebooks are included in that free subscription.

Chem Reference - An Online Periodic Table

Chem Reference is an online periodic table of elements that offers a couple of handy features for students. Students can select an element on the table to open a list of key facts about that element. Additionally, Chem Reference provides a simple visualization of the structure of each element. Students can also click through Chem Reference to the Wikipedia entry for each element.

Applications for Education
Chem Referene could be a handy reference site for high school chemistry students. Chem Reference is available as a Chrome Web App so if you're students are Chrome users they can easily access the periodic table whenever they have their laptops open.

A To-Do List Without Opening a New Window

There is no shortage of free and simple to-do list services available on the web. One problem with many of them is that you have to open a new window or a new application to use them. To Do List from the Chrome Web Store is an exception to that pattern. To Do List operates within whatever Chrome browser window you have open. Once you have To Do List installed (it takes just seconds to install) just click on its icon in your browser toolbar to open it and start adding or deleting items from your to-do list.

To Do List for Chrome makes it easy to add, delete, and rearrange items in your list. To add a new item just type it in. To delete and item just click on the trash bin next to the item's name. To rearranges items just drag and drop them into order. In your browser toolbar To Do List for Chrome keeps a small running display of the number of items currently in your list.

Applications for Education
One of the biggest obstacles to to-do list adoption by students is getting in the habit of using one. Often to-do list services require a separate log-in, new window, or new application to be useful and students feel like they "can't be bothered." To Do List for Chrome doesn't have any of those obstacles. To Do List for Chrome is so easy to use that there is really no excuse not to use it.

GeoGebra Releases Two Chrome Web Apps

In March GeoGebra launched a web-based version of their popular math modeling program. This week GeoGebra released two new Chrome Web Apps.

The GeoGebraTube Chrome app gives you access to all of the materials that you would typically find on GeoGebraTube. Those materials include worksheets, tutorials, and lessons. You can also use the app to upload your own materials to GeoGebraTube.

The GeoGebra Chrome app allows you to do all of the things that you can do with the web version of GeoGebra. The benefit of the Chrome app is that you can save your work directly to Google Drive.

H/T to Guillermo Bautista.

Seven Chrome Apps for Students to Use Offline

Earlier this week Google added a new section off featured offline apps in the Chrome Web Store. The section of offline apps is quite large. I went through and picked out seven free offline Chrome Web Apps that could be useful for teachers and students.

The Daum Equation Editor is a free, online tool for quickly writing equations that you can save as text or images to use in documents. You can use the equation editor by typing on your keyboard and or selecting symbols from the Daum Equation Editor's menu.

Magic Scroll is a Chrome web app that you can use to read ePub files on your desktop or laptop even if you do not have an internet connection.

Quick Note is a sticky note application that runs in your Chrome web browser. You can take notes offline in your browser and sync when you reconnect to the web. If you utilize the Chrome syncing option, you can access your notes from any computer. Quick Note can sync with Diigo too.

Useful Periodic Table is a reference app for chemistry students. Useful Periodic Table contains the information high school chemistry students need. The app also includes some practice quiz activities.

If you or your students struggle to come up with strong passwords, Password Chameleon is an app to try. This app will generate a random, secure password for any site that you visit.

Geo Notepad is a Chrome application that offers a different take on reminders and notes. While most note-taking and reminder services are based on time stamps, Geo Notepad is based on location. When you write notes, you can assign them to locations. Then when you return to that location Geo Notepad will show you a list of your notes from that place. For example, I could create a list of notes that are tied to my house and a list tied to school. Then when I get to school in the morning Geo Notepad will open the list of school-based notes for me.

If you're a frequent user of Google Docs like I am, you will want to install the Chrome App for Google Docs. The Chrome App for Google Docs allows you to edit your documents when you're not online. When you reconnect to the web your documents will be synced to your Google Docs online account.

Any.DO - Collaborative Task Management for Everyone

Any.DO is a slick collaborative task management tool that launched on Android last fall. It's probably the slickest task management tool that I've tried on Android. This weekend Any.DO launched iOS and Chrome apps.

Any.DO is designed for creating to-do lists and sharing them with your friends and colleagues. On Any.DO you can type out a list of tasks or enter tasks by speaking into your phone. Once you've entered your task you can assign it to a day and time for completion. After assigning a completion deadline you can share that task with anyone in your contacts list even that person doesn't have the Any.DO app installed on his or her phone.

Any.DO also gives you the option to attach notes to your tasks, set reminders for your tasks, and put notes into folders that you've created. For example, if I have notes of a personal nature like my grocery shopping list I can put that list into my "personal" folder instead of my "work" folder.

Applications for Education
Any.DO could be a great app for students to use to keep track of assignments and due dates. I like the option for adding notes through voice messages instead of typing them out. One of the impediments to some students' successful use of task management tools is taking the time to write down the tasks they need to do. By using the voice recorder that impediment is removed.

Provide Tech Help Remotely via Chrome Remote Desktop

Yesterday, I received an email with a question about how to remotely help students and teachers with the Chrome browser and with Chromebooks. Almost as if he was reading my mind, later in the day Fred Delvental shared a bookmark for the Chrome Remote Desktop App. Using the Chrome Remote Desktop App (still in beta) you can grant access to your computer to another person who also has the Chrome Remote Desktop App installed.

If you want to share your desktop just click "share now" and Chrome Remote Desktop will generate an access code to give to the person who will access your computer.

To access and control another person's computer you just need to enter the access code that they provide to you.

Applications for Education
The Chrome Remote Desktop app could be very helpful in aiding teachers and students when they get stuck trying to accomplish a task on their computers.

Context Menu Search - Right-Click to Search in Chrome

Context Menu Search is a Google Chrome extension that allows you to highlight words on a webpage then right-click to search for those words on more than three dozen popular search engines and reference sites. When you have Context Menu Search installed, just highlight, right-click, then select the search engine that you want to use. To see Context Menu Search in action, watch the short Tekzilla video below.



Applications for Education
Context Menu Search could be a handy tool for students to use when they're reading online. When they come to a word or phrase with which they are not familiar, they can quickly search for the meaning by using Context Menu Search. Ambiently is a similar tool that I've reviewed before that works on multiple browsers.

Two Tools for Reading ePub Files in Your Browser

ePub documents are everywhere now. But if you don't have an ereader, you might feel like you're missing out on something. Fortunately, there are some tools that you can use to read ePub documents on your laptop or desktop. Here are two tools that I have used to read ePub documents on my laptop.

EPUBReader is a Firefox add-on that will allow you to read ePub documents within your browser. EPUBReader downloads ePub files and displays them directly in your browser. The video below offers a short demonstration.



Magic Scroll is a Chrome web app that you can use to read ePub files on your desktop or laptop even if you do not have an internet connection.

If you want to convert webpages into ePub documents, dotEPUB is a good Chrome web app for that. I previously wrote about dotEPUB in October. Here is a video overview of dotEPUB.



Applications for Education
Both of these browser add-ons could be good to have installed on your school's library computers or computer lab computers. If students are conducting research and encounter an ePub document, they will be able to access it without the need to send it to an ereader.

Select and Speak a Text to Speech Chrome Extension

Earlier this week I shared Announcify with you. Announcify is a free text to speech service. Today, I discovered another good, free text to speech tool for the Chrome web browser. Select and Speak is a simple text to speech browser extension. Select and Speak installs with just one click and does not require a browser re-start. Once Select and Speak is installed just highlight any text on a webpage, click the Select and Speak icon in your browser, and listen to the reading of the text.

Applications for Education
Just as with other text to speech apps Select and Speak could be helpful to students who have difficulty reading the content of webpages.

Announcify - A Great Text to Speech App

Announcify is a free text to speech application that is available as a Chrome browser extension and as an Android app. With Announcify installed in your browser any time you're viewing a webpage you can simply click on the Announcify icon in your browser and have that page read to you. A bonus aspect of using Announcify is that in order to make a webpage easier to read it enlarges the text of the webpage and removes all sidebar content. In the video below I provide a short demonstration of Announcify.



Applications for Education
As I mentioned in the video above, Announcify could be a great little tool for students that need audio support when they are reading online content. The enlargement of text and removal of sidebar content could also help students focus on what they are trying to read on a webpage.

Work With Up To 31 Days of Gmail Messages While Offline

Yesterday, on the Official Gmail Blog, Google announced a couple of nice enhancements to the Offline Google Mail Chrome Web App. Now you can choose to synchronize seven, fourteen, or thirty-one days of Gmail messages to work with offline. When you use the Offline Google Mail Chrome Web App you can read and respond to messages without an Internet connection. Then when you reconnect to the Internet your mail will be synced and your messages sent.

Another nice enhancement add to the Offline Google Mail Chrome Web App is support for attachments. Now not only will your messages be downloaded and synced, the attachments to your messages will be too.

Applications for Education
Offline Google Mail Chrome Web App is a great resource for anyone who wants to be able to work with their email even when their disconnected from the web.