Tech Teaching Tool Log

ZipGrade: In short, ZipGrade is ScanTron on steriods.  Like ScanTron, you have templated answer sheets (either 20, 50, or 100 questions or customize your own) that you can "scan" to grade.  However, you don't need a special scanner to do the grading.  Simply download the ZipGrade app on your mobile devise and setup your account on www.ZipGrade.com.  There are so many options for a very cheap annual fee (less than $10.00).  You can customize the answer sheets, provide feedback for your students, and much more.  In fall 2017 I began using ZipGrade for the multiple choice portion of my exams and quizzes and it has assisted me in providing quick feedback to my students.  I rank it a 10 out of 10.
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PollEverywhere: I have used PollEverywhere (www.PollEverywhere.com) in my classes for several years. I use this tool much like someone may use clickers in the classroom.  This medium provides quick feedback to content and student opinions, can be used with cell phones or laptops, and is completely anonymous.  You can embed your polls in PowerPoint as well.  One of my favorite options is the word cloud option.  The plug in to PowerPoint needs a little work and my students sometimes have difficulty submitting the first time.  So a little bit of a learning curve.  I rank this product 8 out of 10.
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REMIND: Since Summer of 2017 I have used REMIND (www.remind.com) to send announcements and reminders of class activities via text to student cell phones.  Nearly all of the students have used this program in high school and find it valuable to get quick “reminds” from me via text message rather than an email that they don’t check often.  One beef I have is when I want to send a group messages and am limited to 140 characters.  I rank it 8 out of 10.
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Snagit: I've been looking for a cheap, but reliable, screen capturing software for a while.  I haven't tried Snagit yet, but the reviews looks good.  Apparently, you can capture screenshots using the built-in tools on a Mac or PC.  Reviews suggest that you can add annotations, text, and even auto-numbered icons to your screenshots. SnagIt is also a good option for recording short video demos.  I will be back soon to give my review once I have tried this software.
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Jing and Clarify: I've also been looking for a screen capturing/instructional capturing software for tutorials that I want to share with my students on "how to's".  Jing and Clarify have good reviews.  I will be back soon to give my reviews once I have tried these products.