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Sharing Tips and Tricks of Using Technology in the Classroom Part 2

In your courses you have been asked to share your tips and tricks of using technology in the classroom.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Eric Whitney on April 1, 2011 at 1:51pm

I found this place through CEP 810 and have been enjoying it a lot! So, I am posting a tip that I thought others might be interested in knowing. I love my iPad, am a fan of children's literature, and have young kids of my own. I found this Gadgetwise blog post from the New York Times interesting and thought that other teachers, especially those who work with young children, and parents might like it too.

The Best Children's Books onthe iPad

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/the-best-childrens-b...

Permalink Reply by Dessa Schurr on April 2, 2011 at 8:47am

I haven’t had a chance to implement this idea, but it would be very beneficial in most subject areas. My idea is to use screencasts for absent students. I believe that this would allow students, especially elementary students, the opportunity to get a true lesson on the missed information. Too often it seems elementary students are just given the missed homework pages and told to complete them. I believe that by providing the instructional screencasts, via parents’ email, class website, or class usb drive that can be checked out, the absent student will have the opportunity for comprehending the lessons better. The screencasts could also be used for students who may be struggling or confused. This would allow them to be able to review the information at a pace that is more comfortable to the student. Another usage would be if you’ve organized your class into different groups based on skills, and you want to work with one group, you can tell the other group to watch your screencast for lesson directions. Students will respond to instruction through screencasts since most spend huge amounts of time online anyhow.

Permalink Reply by Tom Gunnells on April 2, 2011 at 10:31am

Dessa,

I think a screencast for absent students would be a great idea. I have just started using a class website to list and upload assignments for students - but creating a screencast where I discuss all the things that I cover when lecturing could be very helpful when dealing with absent students. It also is a great means of re-teaching students who need remedial help.

Permalink Reply by Michelle Fairley on April 3, 2011 at 11:45pm

We have something called a Fusion Page that our students can access. This page allows for them to send their teacher messages, and get to assignments, if they are posted.

Permalink Reply by Ian Jones on April 2, 2011 at 2:45pm

One of my fellow tech teacher friends posted this on her Blog, she is a chemistry teacher, thought it could be good for kids to make pages about various chemicals.

I am a Biology teacher, but can see application in our genetic disorder project. Each student is given a topic, then they make a brochure about it, etc. Might be fun to have them act at that disorder, they could have friends that are similar to them , etc.

Fakebook

Permalink Reply by Neringa Tuyilingire on April 2, 2011 at 4:00pm

For my CEP 812 class, I am working on a Wicked Problem Project. I am developing training manual for department admisnitartors to learn to use "foreign employee tracking system." I developed a survey using a survey template from Google: https://docs.google.com/templates?hl=en In order to find out department administrators' learning styles and the ways they best learn materials, etc. The survey results will help me with development of training manual.

Permalink Reply by Colin Gallagher on April 3, 2011 at 6:57am

I recently held a Technology in our Primary School for our parents and it was an awesome experience. Sadly, this was the first time I had done it in 3 years working at my school.

Only now do I realize how little parent know or appreciate how we use the technology in our school AND the fact that they really appreciate the school taking the time to tell them about it!
I guess what I'm trying to share is that if you have the opportunity to share your innovative and/or technology integrated activities with parents...do so! It's a win-win situation

Permalink Reply by Dawn R. Harris on April 3, 2011 at 8:23am

In CEP 812, some or our assignments require creating podcasts. To enhance your podcasts with sound, here are links to two websites where you can legally download free music:

http://freeplaymusic.com/

http://www.incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/

Permalink Reply by Derek Osborne on April 3, 2011 at 11:15am

I have discovered the website Glogster through my CEP 810 class. Glogster allows you or your students to make posters about a topic. You can add videos, photos, animations, voice threads and text. It is a very creative way to present information about a topic being researched in class. I am planning on trying it for one of the unit in my health class.

I have played with it and I think the students will have fun with it and it can be a great learning tool.

Permalink Reply by Sharlene Kroneck on April 3, 2011 at 1:04pm

In CEP-812 we learned how to make a survey. The survey can be about any subject, a variety of questions and formats. I was able to create multiple choice questions, allow users to rate their experiences etc. It was easy to develop. I plan to use this in my classroom to review for tests, I will be able to see where the students are lacking and what material I will need to better cover so my student’s will master their skills.

Permalink Reply by Nikki Van Pelt on April 20, 2011 at 1:11pm

What did you use for your surveys?

Permalink Reply by Maria Fishell on April 3, 2011 at 5:54pm

If you have not heard of Khan Academy yet, I would like to share with you this website where you can watch over 2,100 educational videos and receive 100 self-paced exercises and assessments for free. It covers math (arithmetic, development math, simple and advanced algebra, geometry, trigonometry, probability, statistics, and calculus), science (biology, chemistry, physics, cosmology, and astronomy), history, banking and finance concepts, and test preps.

It is a non-profit organization for students, teachers, home-schoolers, principals, and adults. Its goal is to provide free world-class education to anyone anywhere. All of the site's resources are available to anyone free of charge! This effort has been supported and talked about on the Gates Notes, PBS NewsHour, CNN, and more. The site has neat features such as:

Coaches, parents, and teachers have unprecedented visibility into what their students are learning and doing on the Khan Academy.
Every time you work on a problem or watch a video, the Khan Academy remembers what you've learned and where you're spending your time.
It has a knowledge map that shows all of the exercise concepts.
Students earn badges and points for learning. The more you challenge yourself, the more bragging rights you'll get.

Now, it's time to explore this site!

Maria "Kit" Fishell
MSU - CEP 812