Classroom Tech Blog

                                          
Too often our students go through the school day without speaking in class. Communication and Speaking are elements of the classroom addressed in CCSS. Often as teachers we find it difficult to keep track of student participation and randomizing our student selection for participation. Class Cards is an android and iPhone app that makes tracking student participation easier. Utilize Class Cards to randomly generate a list to call on students, select a student of your choosing to respond, rate the quality of the student response instantly in your hand, view student response scores individually or as an entire class, email yourself student scores, and archive scores to view, print grade sheets, or download the data into an Excel spreadsheet. I love the idea of being able to quickly note the quality of student responses', especially for Socratic Seminars. Also, many students sit passively in a class because it has no "worth" to speak. Class Cards makes it easier for teachers to give purpose to

                                  

Google keeps turning out tools for students to practice the Creativity in the CCSS 4Cs. Their newest tool is Google Story Builder. It is as simple as typing in the characters, type in the script, and select music....REALLY! Making a "movie" couldn't be easier. You can add up to 10 characters. Next you type in the script for each character and select music, and then play the film. It is a great tool to also work on literacy because the students will need to read it. You, the teacher, can make brief films to intro a topic or pose a dilemma in history for students to consider. Another possible use would be for students to create a brief historical dialogue.

                    

If you have a projector hooked up to you computer or laptop, you can easily use it to mirror your iPad! Have you ever found an app that you want to use in your classroom? Use Reflector to wirelessly mirror your iPad through your MAC or PC. Relector is a cheap $12.99 download that opens your classroom to the app world. If you are like me, you find great apps for content and classroom management that are only on an iOS device. Problem is now solved. If your school is like mine, you may need to have a school administrator or computer tech download the program onto your work computer. Another work around is to download Reflector onto your laptop and connect that to your classroom projector and enjoy!

 

Setting the hook is an important part of a unit and lesson. One of the ways teachers may think of doing this is through comics. Comics are a great way to peak students curiosity. Pixton allows teachers to create comics to introduce topics and convey information in an engaging manner. Teachers can sign up for a free trial and pay to extend beyond that. Students can also create their own comics to demonstrate their understanding of concepts, meeting the multimedia component of the Common Core. Pixton is easy to use. Users can select settings, characters, move and position characters, select from a variety of text boxes, and create their own dialogue. Multiple comics can be created together to form a book as well- great for the sections of a unit or chapter. In a few hours one can create multiple comics to use in the classroom!

 

With teachers having multiple devices and students using tech tools in class and a different device at home, note taking platforms are in demand. Two options, which many teachers are using themselves and with students for portfolios, are Evernote and Notability.

Evernote works on a variety of platforms and syncs on multiple devices (android and ios). You can take notes on Evernote, insert images, and record audio with text notes. It is great for students who begin research in class at school and continue it later on. They can resume where they left off and retain links they saved earlier with Evernote's webclipper tool. Teachers and students can even save tweets too. Evernote provides a variety of tutorial videos to support its product.

Another product for note-taking is Notability. This is an ios app compatible with the ipod, iphone, and ipad. It is a $2.99 download from the Apple Store. While taking notes in Notability you can type, use touch screen with your finger or stylus, add images, capture a webpage, and record audio. Users may export their files in PDF or email and may back them up to Google Drive or Drop Box. Cnet has provided a guide for getting started with Notability.

       Examining primary sources and evaluating data is an important skill in history. This skill is also explicitly addressed in the Common Core State Standards across the grade levels. Teachers are called upon to engage students in historical inquiry. Often times students are weary of speaking in class. Additionally, more schools are gaining access to technology and looking for ways to leverage their devices in meaningful ways. Voice Thread is a collaborative conversation tool to foster inquiry with text and visuals.

       Voice Thread is easy to use and provides versatility. They have included a vast number of images one may select from their media options. Teachers can also upload images, insert a video, or convert a PPT for students to engage with. A teacher may insert part of a primary source text, image, or chart into a PPT and type a question(s) for student analysis/reflection. If using a PPT, the teacher/user must first convert the file into a JPEG. Students have found the tool engaging. There are a variety of response options available. A student may type a response, circle part of the image of text with the writing tool, use the writing tool to focus on part of the image and type a response, text a response, or record a video response. Students must create an account for free using an email address before they can post. Once a teacher has created a Voice Thread, they may share with with the students via email, sharing a link in class, or they may embed the voice thread on a website. It is also available as an app.

       The following instructions walk you through creating a Voice Thread, including how to convert a PPT to use it in the program.

 

Many students are reluctant writers. As educators, we sometimes need to hook or "gamify" tasks to engage our students. Blogging has done just that for many educators. Students start to become more engaged when they know their writing is public, even more so when collaborating with students outside of their own school site. Blogging provides a powerful medium for students to reflect on their learning, re-purpose gained knowledge to demonstrate mastery, and engage in historical conversation with their peers. All of this is supported in the CCSS Writing standards which call upon students to produce and distribute, utilize technology, write routinely, and write to inform and argue.

Last weekend I met with some educators for a Coffee Cue in Pasadena. Among the topics we discussed was blogging. Alice Chen, a middle school teacher, shared her experiences in having her students blog. She noted the power in her students writing and the connections they were making by being compelled to reflect. Also, she noted that it was a great medium for the shy students to use their voice and that her students were excited to converse with other classes including international ones. She mentioned a young writer in particular and the introspective examination she wrote about. She also shared a management tool for the blogs. Students are required to blog a number of times in the semester. To help manage this, students complete a Google form where they list the dates they blogged and copy their blog entry and this is done for extra blog posts for additional points as well.

There are a number of blog hosting websites for teachers to utilize. Many offer teachers the opportunity to keep the blogs private, select classes to collaborate with, moderate comment before publishing, and eliminate ads. Edublogs, Kidblog, and Class Press may be particularly more suited for the needs and concerns of the lower grades. When it comes to high school students, the ability of students to modify and personalize the template, integrate media, and share on their social media networks becomes of more importance. In these cases, Blogger andWeebly offer students more customization. These are just a few options for educators to utilize in their classroom