The day have finally arrived. The RIDE 2013 Educational Technology Conference is upon us and I am pleased to say I will be continuing my reviews of tech companies. I originally teamed up with Ed Surge to narrow down a list of 37 national educational technology applicants for the conference to a final lineup of 20 vendors. Here’s a list of the great companies that will be at the Providence Convention Center today along with log-in information for teachers to take free trials (taken from https://www.edsurge.com/rhode-island-tech-for-schools-summit)
- 30hands — Free! Just go to http://30hands.com to register.
- Countdown for Teachers — Free! Just go to https://app.countdownforteachers.com/ CreateAccount to register an account.
- EdMod App — Free! Go to https://www.edmodapp.com. Log on with e-mail edmodapp1@gmail.com and password “Edmod2013.” All teacher testers will have access to this account for the next two weeks Oct. 14th.
- ExitTicket — The student app is available via free download from the iTunes store here. The “pro” teacher account is available here for free provided teachers register.
- FineTune — Try a demo! Visit http://edsurge.academicmerit.com, and put in access code “RIDE2013.”
- Globaloria — Free for 30 days! Register at http://www.globaloria.org/testdrive for a free tour and test drive of the Globaloria learning platform and game-design courses.
- Gobstopper — Free! Just go to https://www.gobstopper.com/teachers/sign_up to register.
- Government in Action — To log-in, you can use one of two made-up instructor account login. You are welcome to look around the mhpractice site to see how assignments are created (but if you demo-ing the game, refrain from creating any new courses, sections, or assignments). Go to www.mhpractice.com and use either username 1 (edsurge1@muzzylane.com, password: edsurge1) or username 2 (edsurge2@muzzylane.com, password: edsurge2).
- JumpRope — Free! Just go to www.jumpro.pe to register.
- LearnBop — Free! Just go to https://www.learnbop.net/Register/ to register.
- Motion Math: Play Pack — Email info@motionmathgames.com and mention “Rhode Island” for a free iPad promo code.
- Newsela — Free! Just go to www.newsela.com to register.
- OpenSchool ePortfolio — Free to log onto the trial account. Just go to http://www.openschooleportfolio.com to and log-in with the following information: administrator(username is “techsummitadmin,” password is “techsummit”), teachers (usernames are “techsummit1,” “techsummit2,” or “techsummit3,” password is “techsummit”), and students (usernames are listed in the teacher accounts, their password is “123abc”).
- Playful Learning — Free! Just go to http://beta.playfullearning.com register to register.
- Ponder — Class registration is currently open and free for K-12 from the site at https://ponderi.ng. Use the “set up a class” form at the top of the page – there are a series of short videos embedded in the setup process that explain what to do. If you would prefer access to a sandbox account, contact us through the “Ask Us” tab on the site.
- PREPWORKS — Free trial! Try by visiting http://prepworks2400.com/satact-free.html.
- Quill — Free! Just go to www.quill.org to register.
- Sesame IO — Free! Just go to https://sesameio.com/accounts/signup/ to register.
- Taught It — Free! Just go to https://taught.it/signup to register.
- The Answer Pad (TAP) — Free! Teachers can register for a free account at www.TheAnswerPad.com. Teachers attending the Summit should register, and they will receive an automatic 30 days upgrade to Answer Pad + premium features. Once activated, videos are available by clicking “Learn”.
- Three Ring — Free! Just go to http://threering.com/sign_up/ to register.
- TuvaLabs — Free for 30 days! Just go to www.tuvalabs.com to register.
They call the list of judges “Teacher Rockstars.” How can you argue with a title that cool?
