List of Articles

• 7 Tips to Use Technology to Save Time and Be More Productive

  Make the most of technology. Get organized. Work smarter, not harder. Read 7 helpful tips for how to make technology work for you. Read Article

• Adapting Lessons with Kagan Structures and Laptops - Creating a Cooperative Story

  Make your lessons more high-tech. Make them more high-touch. John shows us how to adapt our existing lessons using Kagan Structures and laptops to elevate learning and excitement to new heights. While creating cooperative stories, your students will pick up teamwork skills and technology skills - two essential life skills for success. Read Article

• Amazon Smile

  Donate to the charity of your choice for free. Giving has never been so easy. Read Article

• Convert Web Surfing into Powerful Learning Experiences

  Is that recent email you received true or false? Kagan's very own Dave Sanders sets the record straight. Learn where to go to verify or debunk the dubious messages you get before you share them with your students or forward them on to others. Read Article

• Curriculum + Wiki = Curriki

  Check out Curriki, the online curriculum wiki. The site allows you to find lesson plans, contribute your favorite curriculum resources, and collaborate with teachers in your school or around the world. Read Article

• Debunking E-Myths

  Is that recent email you received true or false? Kagan's very own Dave Sanders sets the record straight. Learn where to go to verify or debunk the dubious messages you get before you share them with your students or forward them on to others. Read Article

• E-mail Giant Files for Free!

  Send a video to a colleague. Send a recorded audio lesson home to a sick student. Send a full album of field trip picture to your students' parents. Send gi-normous files without the file-size headaches associated with sending those cyber-giants via regular e-mail. Read Article

• EasyType Typing Tutor on the Internet

  Brian Maas shares with us EasyType, a FREE Internet Typing tutor. Whether you want to improve your own typing skills or help your students develop this useful life skill, EasyType makes it easy. Read Article

• Evernote

  Imagine having a file cabinet with all of your important lesson plans, notes, passwords, files stored away nice and neat. Now picture that file cabinet as a virtual cabinet available at all times. That's what Evernote is. Your information available wherever you are. Access your info on your computer, your phone, your tablet, the Internet. And it's all synched up. Read Article

• Fast Switching Between TimerTools, SelectorTools, and PowerPoint on the PC

  Quickly switch between your PowerPoint presentation and TimerTools and/or SelectorTools. Practice this quick tutorial a few times and you'll see switching programs is a snap. This method allows you to switch back and forth between programs without the delays you may experience by using the traditional Alt + Tab method of program switching. Read Article

• Free Computer Backups

  If you're not backing up your computer, you're rolling the dice. If you are backing up, are you doing it the best, cheapest way possible? Kagan clues you into a free new web-based backup system. Read Article

• Free E-Mail Accounts For Your Students

  E-mail has taken the world by storm. And like it or not, it's not going away! Get your students up to speed while you open the electronic lines of communication with your students and/or their parents. This tech tip will show you how to sign up for free e-mail and will spark a few ideas for e-mailing you class. Read Article

• Free Fonts and Clip Art from the Web

  Looking for a particular font or image for an upcoming worksheet, overhead, or project? Greg will point your browser to the best free font and clip art sources on the web. Read Article

• Free Online Business Cards

  Well, they're almost free. You receive 250 handsome business cards for the just the shipping fee. We'll link you up to the site and walk you through the simple steps of creating your own business cards online. Read Article

• FREE Service: ThinkWave Educator

  Brian Maas clues us into a great service free to educators, it's an electronic grade book and much, much more. This classroom management software will help you: Create and manage assignments and activities; create and maintain schedules and calendars; store student information in one place; easily create and maintain custom grading systems; keep grades up to date; evaluate individual student trends at the click of a mouse; provide parents with student progress. Best of all, it's FREE! Read Article

• Get Connected! Join Kagan's Online Community

  Kagan has a new discussion board! Connect with Kagan trainers, staff, and Kagan users worldwide. This is the forum to discuss everything Kagan. See you online! Read Article

• Integrating Technology with Kagan Structures

  When technology is integrated with good instruction, it becomes an even more powerful tool. Michael describes a training he conducted for administrators, marrying technology as an information delivery tool with a Kagan Structure as an interactive teaching tool to process and share that information. Glimpse the future. Read Article

• iTunes U

  Want a million dollar education for free? Kagan will show you how to access lectures and videos from top universities. Read Article

• Kagan Software Support

  Kagan's software makes it easier to crank up engagement. We've put together this little support page to address your most frequently asked technical questions about Kagan's software. Get all the engagement without any technology hassles. Read Article

• Let's Blog!

  What in the world is a blog you ask? Let Kagan catch you up with the technical times in which we live. This tech tip gets you up to speed (broadband not dialup, baby) with the latest trend on the Internet - blogging. A blog is simply an open Internet-based diary for all to see and read. Trust me, it does have some implications for us educators. Get in the know. Get blogging or at least blog browsing. Read Article

• Listen Up! Spinner.com

  Brian Maas shares with us Spinner, an internet radio application that lets you listen to your favorite radio stations with the click of a button. Read Article

• New Kagan Apps for the iPhone and iPad

  Kagan recently released 4 new apps for Apple iOS devices. Get your Kagan apps today. Read Article

• Organize Your Life with Wunderlist

  Get organized! This free program is Kagan's top pick for personal productivity. See why. Read Article

• Podcasting In the Classroom

  Podcasting is Apple's latest breakthrough to make audio content convenient and portable. Use podcasting to open a world of teaching options. Students can access pre-recorded podcasts to research new topics, tune into missed instruction, or get learning center audio instructions. Includes a tutorial for creating podcasts. Read Article

• Same-Different is the Same But Different In the 1:1 Computer Classroom

  If you thought Kagan Structures were cutting-edge teaching tools, just wait 'til you see how they can be combined with technology to optimize learning. In this first in a series of articles demonstrating how to use Kagan Structures with computers in the classroom, John shows us how we can use laptops, the Internet, and Same-Different to enhance learning, communication, and computer skills. Read Article

• Send a Free Online eCard

  Send your favorite co-worker the Golden Apple Teaching Award. Get in good with your principal with a thoughtful thank you card. Send your students a little note. Free online multimedia greeting cards are the modern way to send cards to the people you know and love. Read Article

• Share Your Videos Online

  Get on the cutting edge of technology. Share your or your students' videos online. Read Article

• Sharing Files Between Home and School Computers

  Do you ever have files on your school computer you want to bring home to work on, or vice versa? Here are numerous options, featuring our new favorite method - Dropbox. Read Article

• Sharing Pictures Is A Snap!

  Whether you're taking digital pictures or using a film camera, sharing photos using the Internet has never been easier. Brian Maas shares his tech catch of the quarter SnapFish.com .They'll process your film, store your pictures online, and even make special cards for you using your photos. Read Article

• SmarterChild: A New Instant Messaging Service

  Kagan's technical guru, Brian (we call him Brain), is back with a FREE service that will instantly give you access to the latest news, weather, a dictionary, language translations, and more. It's called SmarterChild. And trust me, it's cool. Read Article

• Social Networks & Kagan

  Get connected to Kagan's Online Discussion Board. And if you're not already familiar with social networking, you can learn a little about the explosive phenomenon and start or join a Kagan group. Read Article

• Teachers' Technical Mindset?

  What is the technical experience of our newest teachers? They have always had CDs and Walkmans, not LPs and record players, and the only way they've ever cooked popcorn is the microwave oven. How does this contrast with the know-how of veteran teachers? Dr. Tracey visited the Beloit College website to bring you the 'technology mindset' of the latest generation of new teachers. Read Article

• Teaching with Videoclips

  Don't try to compete with technology. Make technology your ally. Video clips aren't just for entertainment. There's a world of great educational content if you know where to find it and how to use it. We'll clue you in. Read Article

• Technology Supports Cooperation, It Doesn't Replace It

  Don't throw away all those terrific interactive lessons you have and replace it with the old-fashioned isolated student model. Use technology as an extension to your lessons, not as a replacement. See how the same lesson gets a high-tech makeover. Read Article

• Three-Step Audio Interview

  Students pump up the volume on their technology knowledge and content knowledge as they record and share interviews about their reactions to any learning topic. Read Article

• Three-Step Video Interview

  Your students become documentary filmmakers, as they team up to create a video of a learning topic. To ensures that all students play an active role in creating the video interview, this project is based on the sound Kagan Structure, Three-Step Interview. It's just a digitally enhanced version. Read Article

• Tweet, Tweet, Get On Your Feet: #Kagan #Cooperativelearning

  Use Twitter to connect with your students and have them interact with each other. Follow Kagan on Twitter. Join in on the Twitter conversation about Kagan Cooperative Learning. Read Article

• Using SelectorTools with Multiple Classes

  SelectorTools is simple software that has a host of tools that allow you to pick a student in the classroom. One of the tools 'Name Selector' allows you to select students by name. In this step-by-step tip, learn to use the Name Selector when you have more than one class. Read Article

• Xdrive: The Free Internet Hard Drive

  Have you ever been frustrated because you have files saved on your computer at work or school, and you can't access them from home when you really need them? If so, Brian has the solution. It's the Xdrive internet hardrive. And it's free! Read Article

• You're Invited - Free E-Mail Invitations for Any Event

  Ever need to invite colleagues, friends, family, or even your students to a special occassion? A party? A meeting? A shower? Try Evite.com, a free online invitation-sending service. You create your invitation, and Evite.com will send out an e-mail with a web link to a handsome invitation for your event. Read Article