Its budget time, and you've got to stretch a tiny budget into a wealth of school supplies. I'm right there with you, and I often wish that there was some place that I could check to see what other teachers thought about certain products. So, I created one. I'll be posting my likes and dislikes on a variety of educational materials and supplies. You can post to! Please do, and make sure the product your discussing is in the title of your post to make it easier for people to search for what they're looking for. Thanks and happy hunting!

Find what you're lookin' for quickly!

Sunday, June 8

The push for technology in education is hard right now, and science equipment is so expensive!  Here's a great alternative to thousands of dollars worth of digital microscopes.

Moticam X

From Motic, where the best science stuff is born, comes the best digital camera yet.  A small (approx. 4" square) box fits over any monocular scope and transmits the image to any wireless device with the free app.  The applications for this are endless and, for the price of one digital scope, now any scope can be not only digital, but wireless!

                       Moticam X

Monday, June 25

Keeping the Paint on the Walls

Does this sound familiar?  Instead of using oil-based paint to paint over existing oil-based paint, the contractors decided to use cheaper, latex paint to pad the budget.  Now, if you so much as put your hand on the wall for too long the paint peels like sunburned skin. 

I'm right there with you.  Duct tape doesn't come off clean (or at all in most cases).  There are only so many tack marks you can leave in a wall.  Masking tape and plasti-tac come off clean, but they can take the paint with them and, even if they leave the paint, they often leave behind a grease mark.

So, here are my two solutions......

Removable Poster Tape (Mavelous Tape)

Pros:  As advertised, it comes off clean on even the most horrible paint jobs.  It's cheap and disposable, so you only have to store the clean rolls (instead of dirt laden balls of old plasti-tac).

Cons:  While its great for hanging short term projects, it doesn't last forever and, like regular tape, it picks up debris, and looses its adhesion, very easily.

Command Hooks Replacement Adhesives

Pros:  These little bits of wonder will stick FOREVER and remove cleanly from any surface, as long as you follow the directions. 

Cons:  $3.00-$4.00 isn't a bad price, but if you're using them to hang student artwork, papers, etc. the cost can add up.  I'd save these little gems for the posters you're going to keep up all year.