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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 Jessica Smith on February 3, 2011 at 12:35pm

Hello All,

Prior to this last week I had never heard of Getting Things Done by David Allen. The basic principle of GTD is to get everything going on in your head out and into logical order so instead of thinking about everything you have to do, you can see what needs to be done, and get it done.

Reading through the GTD lecture in CEP 810, Kelly Forrister’s Blog, and David Allen’s 5 Phases of Mastering Workflow I felt a bit overwhelmed at first. I was trying to come up with a way to get everything I needed to do in one easy to access place that I could connect to anywhere. Since I am not a Mac owner I was sadly disappointed when I came across the “Things” app for Mac. I continued my GTD research through a Google search of “things” where I discovered a wiki page that listed countless GTD resources. I decided to use the free site www.gtdify.com. This free site is set up based on Allen’s principles of collect, process, organize, review, and do. This is a wonderful resource to keep track of everything you need to accomplish at home, work, and school.

CEP 810 SS11

Permalink Reply by Tammie Mirolli on February 3, 2011 at 3:17pm

Hello,

After recently creating a digital story, I have learned a lot about using images and music with the appropriate usage permissions. I found a few sites that helped me to locate material that is listed under a creative commons license.

Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/
OER Commons http://www.oercommons.org/
Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

I also learned that Google Search Advanced options also allows a user to filter their searches based on the usage rights of the material. This method would show search results based on their usage permissions.

I think it is extremely important that as a teacher, I model to my students the appropriate way to utilize material on the web. It is my job to help them develop their digital citizenship. I need to set the example. Using these sites when creating digital stories, blogs, or websites, shows students that just because the material is on the web doesn't mean we have the right to use that material any way we choose. We need to be aware of the usage rights and permissions set by the owners of the material. Original ownership still applies on the Internet, and we need to respect it.

Tammie CEP810 SS11

Permalink Reply by Susan Wright on February 3, 2011 at 4:37pm

These resources will come in handy over the next couple of weeks. I plan on adding the OER one to my Delicious account.

Permalink Reply by Allyson bush on February 3, 2011 at 5:41pm

When I entered my new classroom I found that it was already equipped with a smart board and a document camera. I have learned a lot about both of these items and just how important they are for getting the students actually interacting with the material. However, what I want to talk about right now is the big time-saver that I discovered on the document camera.

For months I continually used the same three images on the document camera. It was always frustrating when I would misplace them until I discovered the capture feature. The capture feature allows you to capture an image and store it in the document camera. Then all you have to do is bring the image up when you need it. This saved me a lot of time and headaches as I always had those images on hand but I didn't have to be worrying about where I had set them down.

Another handy online tool that I learned about at an ISD session is glogster. Many of you may already know about glogster, but for those of you who don't it is an amazing tool that can make any presentation or lecture exciting. It is also great for school projects and the students really get into putting together the different presentations. It is similar to a blog in that it has individual posts, but it can incorporate videoclips, pictures, and many different graphics that can be set up in any way that the author chooses. Check it out at glogster.com!

SS CEP 810

Permalink Reply by Susan Wright on February 3, 2011 at 9:01pm

Your ideas for using Glogster, jumped started my imagination - I'm going to check to see if I have access to it at school, then use it as an assignment option for the poetry unit we will be starting next week.

Permalink Reply by Karey Klemm on February 3, 2011 at 6:43pm

Hey everyone!

I have a really great website to share about literacy instruction. I have used it in the past to view the blogs that are posted on it. For my wicked project I am researching podcasts. I found that this website has some great podcasts to use in the elementary classroom. It has a large selection of interviews with authors of popular books. This website is a great resource for information about literacy.

http://www.readingrockets.org/

Permalink Reply by Wheatley Davis on February 4, 2011 at 9:58am

For those of us with limited access to higher-end technology:

I have started using my OVERHEAD PROJECTOR coupled with my whiteboard (or a regular chalkboard would work) as a semi-Interactive Whiteboard in class. Here's how:

1) Write some exercises (problems, prompts, etc.) on your overhead.

2) Have students answer those on their own (on paper) as a warm-up or class activity

3) Aim your Overhead Projector at your regular whiteboard or chalkboard

4) Have student volunteers come up and write their answers beneath or next to each question/problem.

This may seem silly, but my students LOVE that the words are "floating" above the board and it gets some kids more interested in writing their answers. Also, it saves time if you have the same class more than once. You can have the students erase the BOARD, but your questions are still safe on your Overhead for re-use. Also, jotting questions on a transparency can be a lot faster than writing them LARGE SCALE on your board.

This also allows your board and overhead to give one another a little more dimension.

The same applies with having students view and label images, etc. By making a transparency of the image and projecting it onto your normal board, students can write on the BOARD itself and they don't have to stare into the overhead lightbulb, plus they are able to essentially teach their peers as they explain their answers, etc.

Hope this proves useful to those of us who still have to embrace our good old overheads!!! :)

Permalink Reply by Dionna Harvell on February 4, 2011 at 10:39pm

Thank you this is a very useful trick, for if you are in a class with limited technology. What a very resourceful way to use your projector.

Permalink Reply by Dionna Harvell on February 4, 2011 at 10:37pm

Hello, I have not used the VoiceThread, but have seen examples of it in my earlier classes. I think it is a really useful tool to use in a classroom. You can easily record information to get across to your audience. I look forward to trying this technique more in my CEP 812 class.

A helpful tip that I just learned about is Podcast and SlideCast, both very help for presentations and getting easy voice recordings to relay data or instructions to students!

Permalink Reply by Gina Catania on February 5, 2011 at 1:13am

Hi Everyone!

I am new to this site but I wanted to share a few of my favorite sites with you.

The first is for the Art and History teachers out there - http://www.smarthistory.org/ - this a brand new project that combines everything from graphics of famous art pieces to cataloging information, it has lesson plan ideas and videos. It's extremely informative.

Next is a site called:http://www.meetmeatthecorner.org/ it is made up of educational videos and virtual field trips to many places covering a variety of subjects.

Lastly, I teach American Sign Language in my classroom and I use this site every day http://www.signingsavvy.com/

It is a valuable resource for anyone interested in ASL. It is an online dictionary with videos and tricks to teach and remember any word or concept in sign language. It is fantastic!

Permalink Reply by Lisa Mele on February 5, 2011 at 1:07pm

Hi All- I don't know if this has been posted yet but I just learned about a neat site called dipity - it allows you to make interactive timelines that lead to websites, pictures, maps, and information. It is great for teachers or students to create presentations and allows a few different ways to view the timelines. My students will be using this next week to create timelines about a poet they have studied.

Another great trick that I recently found out about is a new way to search on Google. You can now search by reading level. If you click on the link that says 'Advanced Search' next to Google you can type in what you are looking for and choose either basic, intermediate, or advanced reading level. It will then show you any sites (or images) that match that particular level as well as the percentage of sites available at each level. This would be great for students who are researching a topic to use to make sure they are only finding sites that they would be able to understand.

Hope these will be useful to someone!

CEP 810 SS11

Permalink Reply by Anna Cajiga on February 5, 2011 at 2:27pm

Thanks for sharing! Being a Reading and Social Studies teacher, I have my students create timelines all the time to help them better understand the organization of a text and to learn to focus on the most important details. I can already tell you they will be WAY more excited to make timelines using dipity than with just a regular, old pencil and paper :)