TELL US ABOUT A COOL TOOL! ADD YOUR ENTRY AS A COMMENT BELOW. PLEASE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IN YOUR RESPONSE.
- name of the tool
- platform(s) on which it works (web-based, iOS, Android, etc.)
- what it does
- one way it could be used in your situation (classroom, PD, etc.): Be specific with your ideas!
- optional: screen shots of the tool in action
- optional: "testimonials" from users (i.e. students or staff)
The digital tool that I learned about a few years ago but started using this year is “Socrative.” All of the students use it on their PCs…but if there is a student whose computer is not working, I hand over my IPhone which has an App for Socrative. (I think one exists for an Android as well.)
ReplyDeleteHow have I used it?
1. If I want to see a quick check as to whether or not students are keeping up with their reading assignment, then I use the multiple choice option so that the test will be automatically scored---then I can download an Excel file which has the results. Piece of cake!
2. If I want to explore more than whether or not my students have read, then I post an essay question for them to answer. All of the answers are sent to me via and Excel file, and it is simple to see whether or not they are getting the idea.
3. If I want the students to collaborate on a concept, I use the projector so every group can see one another’s post.
4. If I am want to find out whether or not what we discussed was absorbed by the students, I give them an exit ticket via Socrative.
Ultimately, it is a versatile tool that I use fairly often. It has become somewhat of a workhorse for me.
Since this week is ISTEP, it was difficult to work too much in. However, in my homeroom we are reading The Running Dream. I decided to do an activity with the students to see how engaged they were in the book.
ReplyDeleteWe used Padlet. (http://padlet.com/wall/hollhomeroom Students were able to use their IPADS or an laptop to complete the assignment. I was able to determine if students were following along and understood the book to this point. I believe this could be a quick assessment in any situation with instant feedback. While we were doing it as a class today I overheard a couple students say, "Wow, this is really cool" and "Oh my Gosh, I can see you type and you are on your ipad." It was fun to listen to them as they posted their answers to three questions. I plan to use it next week for more specific question.
One of the coolest tools that I have been using this year is iBooks Author. iBooks Author is a free Mac app that allows for the creation of digital books, such as textbooks. Upon completion, the digital ebooks can be viewed on a Mac or on an IOS device in iBooks.
ReplyDeleteiBooks Author is very easy to use. It is typical Mac, in that most steps to making the ebooks are simply drag and drop. The text of the book can either be typed in or copied and pasted from another source. After the text is in place, it can be supplemented with photo galleries, embedded video, 3D images, interactive maps, hyperlinks, keynote presentations, and built-in assessment questions. When a book is finished, it can be uploaded to My Big Campus or other site, and then shared out to students to use on their iPads. It could also be published and put into the iBooks bookstore if you choose to do so.
I have been using this mostly in my history class. I have made 2 digital books for Indiana history so far. They were on the Underground Railroad and the Civil War. We read from the book and discuss it, just like we would a regular textbook. Then I give some time for them to "explore". My students have loved seeing a variety of pictures and watching short videos that go along with these topics, without ever having to leave our history book. Students can also highlight important facts in the books and take digital notes on them. The notes automatically become study cards, which is another feature of an iBook. I can't say enough good things about iBooks Author and the books it can create. Now all I need is the time to make more!
A tool I have used in my AP World History course is Timetoast.com. I have also found an online time line maker called dipity. Each of these online generators allows students to build their own time line. It allows for visuals, embedded links to additional information, and the ability to share and collaborate with each other.
ReplyDeleteMy students have found the old outdated time line built on butcher paper an activity for the older generations but online time line with the ability to show their digital creativity is fun to watch (and grade).
We use PCs at my school so I am not sure if these are available for Mac/Ipad etc?
www.timetoast.com
www.dipity.com
Doceri is the greatest tool that I have found. (I wish I had more time to use it)
ReplyDeleteDoceri is an iso app, but it also has a desktop version that works along side the app. I have only used the app, but I shared my fine with a High School Math teacher and now she creates all her lessons on it. She says it has been great for creating the figures needed when teaching geometry.
Doceri allows you to create videos, slides and insert pictures as needed.
I used it to create videos of worked out math examples for my students to access when they needed extra help. I created them in Doceri, exported them to dropbox, then uploaded them to my Weebly website. This way the students can get to them any time they want.
(I tried to attach one of the videos here, but it is just working for me tonight.) The video is posted in my actual blog.
Camtasia is a screen recording and video editing software, where you can create interactive training and support videos that viewers can watch on nearly any device. You can add quizzes to your videos to make sure students/viewers understand the content. Camtasia allows you to record what is on your screen. Then you can annotate it, zoom in on parts of the screen, add titles, and voice over. Camtasia works on both Mac and PC.
ReplyDeleteI use Camtasia to create training videos to go alone with documentation. Some people want just the documentation and others need to “see” what they need to be doing. This gives people a choice of how they want to learn the material. I recently created an instructional video for teachers to migrate their files and folders to Google Drive.
http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html
My experience doesn't range much past tools like Class Dojo and Mee Genius, so I decided to check out a new tool and make a goal to use it with new lessons in the classroom. I love the Puppet Pals app available through iTunes. You can change any traditional whiteboard lesson into an exciting and engaging video. You may choose to use your own photo backgrounds and characters, or the animated characters provided. Students could use this to tell their own narratives, fairy tales, or biographies in writer's workshop. What a cool way to present your information to the other students in class! Teachers could also use it to liven up any tired lesson for those young students with a short attention span!
ReplyDeleteThere are two tools that I have been using in my classroom recently, but after looking at all the other comments; I am going to have to try a lot more. I currently use My Big Campus. This is web based but also has an app for my iphone/ipad. I currently use this to help the students get access to reading assignments, presentations and they often times will ask me questions about assignments/projects through this venue. I also use this to give tests and quizzes. The scores for the students are immediate. Students can also submit essays and presentations through the school work portion of this tool. I also will have extra credit activities posted on MBC just to see if the students are using it. I really like using MBC.
ReplyDeleteAnother tool I use is Prezi. I use this for presentations for the students. It is easy for them to access if they need to see it again, and I will often times download presentations to MBC for their viewing as well. I have also had my students use this to make their own presentations. This tool is web based.
Lastly, a tool I have been using for years is Turnitin.com. This is web based. This is a tool that helps monitor plagiarism and it also has an editing and grading tool along with it. I use this for my research unit every year and it is valuable for the students to see how they are doing with their paraphrasing and quoting.
I wrote about students using the cell phone to take pictures and use this in a presentation. Would the Prezi format work ?
DeleteThe digital tool I chose is Glogster, which is a web based program. This program allows people to create digital collages and visual descriptions. I think collages are a great way to get students to really express who they are. I like glogster because as the students change, they can go in a change the pictures. Traditionally, I have had my students begin the year by making a collage of himself/herself The issue that arises is that magazines don’t always have the picture they want to put on the collage. Using this tool, they can use any image they find on the internet (without a copyright) and really explain who they are.
ReplyDeleteThe one downfall of this tool is that it has a limited amount of glogs you can make before there is a cost. It would work well for a single project.
The new tool that I really enjoy using is my document camera. I connect my document camera to my computer. The computer has the smart board program. I can use the camera to show a problem or a quiz to my students. This was invaluable this week due to not being use the internet because of ISTEP. I was able to review ECA problems. My next geat tool is Moodle. This is a web based program that allowes the me to publish problems to the internet. Students were able to review as a class, small group or individual problems that they found difficult. A cool tool that I would like to use is the students cell phone. A coworker had student take pictures of sites on the bulletin boards. The students were then instructed to email the images to her email account. I was asked for advice on why the images did not show up. I suggested a different email account. Now after reading some of the replies, maybe some type of message board or padlet might work.
ReplyDeleteThe document camera has many uses. I like to use it to take pictures of difficult problems and blow them up on the smartboard. We then break the problems apart and problem solve through them step by step. I also use the tool to allow students to monitor themselves on the smartboard while they working independently. I use the "live camera" mode. They like being able to see themselves while they are working.
DeleteI teach in a success period class during the day. We were using a web-based program called delicious.com. Although our students would giggle when we gave them the website, it is a website used to organize or bookmark websites. We would use it so students only had to click on the link whether than type in a length website to get to the specific game or activity we wanted them to do. However, the teacher that set up the account, no longer teaches success and delicious.com has changed there format and it is much less friendly.
ReplyDeleteSo, I have decided I would like to transition the websites we used to a symbaloo account over the summer to use next year. Symbaloo.com is a web-based application that keeps the websites organized and there is no need to type in the website each time you want to use them. The website gives the option of color-coding the websites that are going to be used. I can see this tool being helpful so that the websites could be color coded by topic so that students can have practice in different units and know what they are looking for by color.
I, too, would like to use a site possibly symbaloo next year. Sometimes a great deal of learning time is spent typing in web addresses and then having difficulty getting to the site in which I would like them to find. Symbaloo seems like a beneficial tool that would save time for students to learn more.
DeleteI use My Big Campus quite a bit in my classroom. Several other people have commented about some of the features of MBC, so I will concentrate on some of the others. As stated previously, MBC is web-based, but it also operates in IOS and Android app form. Besides being just a place where teachers can post assignment and resources, MBC allows students to store documents and create projects, and collaborate.
ReplyDeleteMBC has cloud storage for both students and teachers. This allows teachers, of course, to save and post resources. It also allows students to keep information they create and come across while online. This ability enables students without mobile devices to easily save at school and open at home (or vice-versa).
Also, MBC has an online word processor that allows students to make and share documents, much like Google docs. While it doesn't allow for multiple users to edit at the same time, MBC does provide a safe environment for collaboration. As a teacher I can look at their online interactions to make sure everything was above board. On top of that, students can put together bundles of information to demonstrate authentic learning.
There are other features that make My Big Campus a great class tool, but I love the fact that students can save and create information. The implications for collaboration are amazing and the Lightspeed team keeps making positive changes.
When teaching geometry standards, I discovered an apple app titled Solids Elementary. I downloaded it on my ipad and began using it as a teaching tool. This app contains all of the 3-D solids students need to know and understand. Once you select on a shape, you can manipulate the shape in several ways. You can color the faces, edges, and vertices, as well as open the net to see the 3-d shape flat. After introducing this tool to my students, I used the app as a learning station to reteach students who were having difficulties understanding the differences between the faces, edges, and vertices. Students found this application engaging and worthy when they were able to manipulate the shapes themselves.
ReplyDeleteI've been using a web-based product called Animoto frequently this year. It can be found at Animoto.com. Users can sign up for a free account, or upgrade to other levels to access more features. Animoto is available as an app for iOS or Android devices as well. The product tagline "Making Awesome Easier!" is very much the truth. Even the least tech-savvy students I've used it with, have been able to produce a project they are proud of. Basically Animoto is a presentation tool that allows users to upload pictures, video-clips, music, and text to create mini-movies. The built in effects are impressive and look very sophisticated.
ReplyDeleteI've used this tool to help sixth grade reading students to create book trailers, high school Spanish students make vignettes with sub-titles, and sixth grade science students create presentations about invasive species. All three of the teachers that invited my into their classrooms to use this tool ended up upgraded to the premium version for their own uses. Frankly, it's just a really fun tool to use! I've pasted a link below to the example I created for the book trailer.
http://animoto.com/play/qJwywoXWR39GA5SyWOpanw