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| Image; http://sharingtechnology.blogspot.com/ |
In one blog post, Sharing Technology: Digital Backpacks, Deb showcases the digital tools she will be using this year. These tools work well for a variety of grade levels and subject areas. These are the tools she lists. Check her descriptions of each. Which of these tools have you used? Which would you like to use? What do you think of her list?
Google Apps for Education
SMART Notebook 11
Kidblog
Wallwisher
Glogster
Spelling City
Lead 21 Online Portal
Prezi
Bubbl.us
Today's Meet
Course Director
Educreations
Blogger
Class Dojo
Wikispaces
5 comments:
Judy,
Thanks for mentioning my blog post about a Digital Backpack. After connecting with you through Twitter I have been browsing through your blog and other websites. I'm so impressed with all of the resources and ideas that you share. I will definitely be sharing your blog with my PLN and school district.
With much appreciation,
Wow, it is amazing how things are changing! Some of these sites and ideas are great, I especially like the classroom dojo for behavior management. I will be looking into that! It would be great if classrooms had computers for each student, or even half, but I have not been in a single school where classrooms have more than 3 computers. Sure, some schools have the laptops on wheels, but that is one or two days a week and usually half of the laptops don't work. I would love to implement these ideas, but am pretty limited in terms of the student supply section. I think I will get more use from the teacher list that I can use on the main computer and share on the projector.- Brianna
Christina R.
I enjoyed this list of sites. It boggles my mind how much there is on the web that can be used in the classroom to engage students and keep the classroom up to 21st century standards. I have used Glogster and Prezi in my classroom and the students have really enjoyed both. I have not, however, had the students use these tools in my class. I teach art, and it is difficult to compete with the academics on computer lab time, so often I use Glogster and Prezi just as presentation tools. I did check out Class Dojo and I thought it was fantastic! What an engaging way to keep kids behavior on track. It is visual, easy to navigate through, and it is nice to have the ability to track their behavior. It benefits the class in so many ways. I think it brings a really nice aesthetic in promoting positive behaviors. I also like the feature where you can share it with parents. It's a quick and easy communication device to let parents know if their child is staying on track and doing well with behavior, participation, etc. I can't wait to share it with my colleagues.
Hi Christina,
I just wrote a blog post about using Class Dojo for the first time with my students. http://bit.ly/SDasfU It really is a fantastic tool for behavior management. And the iPad app just came out yesterday. It's really nice. I hope you have a chance to give Class Dojo a try. Let me know what you think of it if you do.
This is a great list of teacher tools! Some that I currently use that I also love are Google Drive (gmail, docs, sites, calendar), Smart Notebook 11 and Spelling City (tried it for the first time this year and kids/I love it!). I have heard of Prezi and seen an example presentation created with it and have also heard a but about wikispaces, but the others are unfamiliar to me. Since so many of the items on the list are new to me, I am feeling a bit "behind the times" and am glad this class is keeping me more up to date with technology and is motivating me to try new things already in my classroom this year!
I would love to get my teacher website up and running and incorporate KidBlogs and have a weekly blogging assignment. I would also like to further explore Wallwisher, since it seems like Pinterest but with more options and features. My school's library media specialist has been telling me a lot about Glogster, so I would also like to learn more about how to use it and create some as a way to introduce new units of study and spark excitement and curiosity. I love the idea of using bubbl.us with students who struggle with planning for and organizing ideas in writing, as well as kids who have trouble planning for and beginning projects. Another site that was very eye-opening to me was Educreations. I would love to share one of these already-created videos to coincide with my science or social studies lessons and eventually create some of my own. I saw videos on states of matter, the water cycle, and even the ocean floor which goes perfectly with our current unit of study! One question I have about this site is, does anyone do "quality control" of the material posted so we know it is accurate?
I am unsure about using Lead 21 Online Portal because my school already has a very comprehensive literacy program (Storytown) and it would be difficult to add more to this already jam-packed curriculum. However, I am unsure of how effectively Storytown incorporates 21st century skills so this might be something for the district to explore given the changeover to the new Common Core State Standards. I am also probably not likely to use Course Director, since our district is using Sharpschool as the online portal and teacher management system. Since I do not have heavy behavior issues in my classroom this year, I will keep Class Dojo in mind for the future.
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