Archives: Tech Tools
Newsela and Blendspace
Welcome to Storia
Teachers at Oak Grove will be learning about our new Storia subscription and setting up their students during our upcoming inservice. Take a look at some of Storia’s features before the inservice:
Admin Retreat Presentations
Read, Give, and Share Books Online!

I just found an amazing free resource and I wanted to pass it on to all of you. We Give Books is a free online library of children’s books that enables your kids to help other children around the world while they’re reading. The best part is, your reading will directly impact the great work of non-profit organizations around the world! Their tagline says it all, “combining the joy of reading with the power of giving.” It’s the perfect tool for parents, teachers, caregivers, and anyone who loves children’s books!
When you go to www.wegivebooks.org, you’ll be able to read a special selection of books without a We Give Books account, but you have to sign up to access their full library. It’s definitely worth it, though. It’s just a quick form, and once you’re signed up, you’ll have access to over 150 quality children’s books! There are a lot of familiar classic titles, and even more new ones for us to discover. You can sort the books by age level, genre, author, and seasonal selections in the “Featured” section, so everyone can find something they like.
On the Causes page you can learn more about where your donated books are going. This fall, We Give Books is focusing on early childhood literacy across the United States and supporting great causes like Jumpstart for young children. In the winter, you’ll be able to read to support global literacy and give books to non-profits like Room to Read. They also give you the option to donate to help your book donations reach even more children.
We Give Books is a program of the Pearson Foundation and Penguin Group. Penguin works with its authors to provide an outstanding selection of online books while the Pearson Foundation donates print books to charity partners. We Give Books is a great way to get your children excited about reading and to teach them about the importance of helping others.
Movie Making Made Easy with iPads

Here’s the handout from the VSTE day at Regional Professional Development Institute for Technology (RPDIT):
Basic CTRL Key Shortcuts
We have these basic shortcuts hanging in our computer lab, and we teach students to use them when needed. There are many more, but these are basic ones students find fun using. If you want a list of them in Word Format, here it is: Basic CTRL Key Shortcuts
CTRL+C (Copy)
CTRL+X (Cut)
CTRL+V (Paste)
CTRL+A (Select All)
CTRL+Z (Undo)
CTRL+Y (Redo)
CTRL+O (Open)
CTRL+N (New)
CTRL+H (Hide)
CTRL+F (Find)
CTRL+P (Print)
CTRL+Q (Quit)
CTRL+U (Underline)
CTRL+B (Bold)
CTRL+I (Italic)
CTRL+Shift+> (BIG Text)
CTRL+Shirt+< (Little Text)
Pinterest Folks to Follow!
By now, many of us have heard of Pinterest. For me, it took me awhile to “get it,” but now that I have, it’s been a place I go often for teaching tips, recipes, decorating suggestions, and so on. There are some great resources out there for teachers! Here are some of the ones I follow for good ideas:
- Tina’s Edu Pinners Board
- Megan (luv2teach)
- Rachel Friedrich
- Charity Preston
- Rockabye Butterfly
- Amanda Plum
- Vicki Dabrowka
- Patricia Brown
- Regina Hartley (Library Media Specialist)
- Cristin Dillard
- Kathy Schrock
- Kristin Brynteson
- Charity Preston
- Shelly Terrell
Here are some suggestions for using Pinterest as a teacher:
- Creative Ways Teachers Can Use Pinterest
- 16 Ways Educators Can Use Pinterest
- Great Ways to Use Pinterest
- Ways Eductors Can Use Pinterest
If there’s anyone I’ve missed that you enjoy, please leave a post and let me know!