Thinking PaintFont, Recite This, & Kahoot In my series at Connect Learning Today, I explore a few things that I have seen or heard. These are things that are pushing my thinking, getting me to see something in a different way, or just something I want to share. This week I’m sharing 3 sites I learned about recently that are just pretty neat. Anyone who knows me knows I am a font snob. There are some fonts out there (that shall remain nameless) that are overused and just plain silly, while there are others that will stand the test of time. But wouldn’t it be great if you could easily make your own fonts? Think about it. You and your students could design, create and share your own fonts. It could be a great project for an art or graphic design class. PaintFont allows you to download a template with pre-defined letters and symbols. You then fill the in using your own handwriting. Afterwards, Upload them back to the site and in a jiffy you have your own font. Once it’s created you simply upload it into your favorite word processing program. Pretty neat! I love quotes. I fill my walls and journals with them. Each morning, on Twitter, I start the day with a quote, by my trademarked “Be Awesome Today!” I also use quotes in presentations to drive home a point, or to make a particular statement. Recite is a simple site to use to create posters and slides of your favorite quotes. Type your text into the box and then scroll through the gallery to find the perfect background for your quote. Once you create them you can share to your favorite social network, or download an image to use them in your next presentation—or just decorate your space. I am a big fan of formative assessments. Their usefulness in the classroom is tremendous. More so, I am a big fan of formative assessments that are digitally fun. If I can quickly gage where my students are, and my students are highly engaged, then I am going to get good feedback on my teaching. Best of all, I will then be able to understand where my students are in their learning. When I recently saw Kahoot, I was hooked. With your free account, you can create a quiz, poll or survey. Students then visit a specific website and enter your classroom code. When ready, unleash your creation. Students have only 10 seconds to answer. The quicker they answer, the more points they get. I love the accompanying game show music. It really turns up the pressure! You get a good set of data afterwards, too. You’ll see who answered what, and how quickly they answered. So, if you are looking for a fun and engaging way to do formative assessments, Kahoot might be your answer. Steven Anderson is @Web20Classroom on Twitter. Steven is a teacher, an instructional technology integrator, speaker/presenter, and education leader. He will be a regular at Connect Learning Today.