Technology+Resources

Collaborative Resources
 * = **__TECHNOLOGY RESOURCE__** ||= __**REPLACEMENT IDEAS**__ ||= __**RESEARCH**__ ||
 * What is it and how is it used? || How might this resource replace outdated elements and/or provide a more engaging and motivating learning experience? || What are the documented uses and benefits of this resource? ||
 * Video Podcast || In my classroom, this took the place of book reports and summaries. Students love this idea and they are experimenting with new things and are able to be creative.

I have an idea to use it in my high school classes as an end of the week review. I can group students into small groups and in the beginning of a semester and assign them a week of class to be responsible for. At the end of the week or throughout the week they should work together to record learning summaries. They could include major concepts and even show at least one video clip either from class or use one I show in class. This way students can refer to it when studying for their unit or semester exams. They can also look at it to see what they missed if they were absent. (Jen) || This benefits students by allowing them to take ownership in what they have learned and gives them several options on how to show what they learned. Students love it!!

[] explains the value of podcasts in the classroom. There is even a podcast explaining the value of podcasts. A college professor was interviewed, because he uses podcasts in his classes. The professor believes that educators need to teach their students that they can create their own media. For example, in one project he has students create a series of podcasts to analyze art work in a specific museum. As someone goes through the museum they can listen to the podcast to gain another perspective on the artwork. Th professor said that the students were so engaged they often worked late at night after the school hours to complete their recordings.

[] This site gives great ideas for how to integrate a podcast in your classroom. Ideas such as book talks, literature circles, science logs, art critiques, and oral histories are just some of the examples given on this page.

[] also has good information on how to create a podcast. ||
 * = Nook/Reading tablet

This is a hand held device that holds electronic files of books. They are user ready. Out of the box, it just needs to be charged, connected to the internet and books can be instantly downloaded. ||= Having electronic reading sources can be motivating for children. I do not suggest that this REPLACE paper books, as there is a certain feeling/reward to turning pages and seeing the progress as you read a book. ||= Electronic texts take up less shelf space, freeing it up for other things. The option to have thousands of books in a notebook sized device is great! There are also lots of free classics to download. [] This article summarizes research on the affect e-books have had on the reading habits of Americans. One of the findings is that e-book readers read more, on average, than non-e-book readers. Something to note is that the study found that people preferred typical print books when reading to children. Some other issues addressed are buying vs. borrowing, the reasons that people read, and the demographics of e-book readers and those that own electronic reading devices. ||
 * = Booktype

Bookype is an electronic format/downloadable platform for multiple authors to collaborate on the same book that can then be formatted for electronic publishing or print. ||= This is something I can across on [|www.freetech4techers.com]. In my sons' school, classes publish books of collections of the class' writing every year. This could be an alternative to the classic print process. ||= [] This is a link to the creater site. This resource could be used to create multiple books throughout the year that can be edited and parents can read at anytime, check in on the progress, and enjoy the final version. ||
 * = Online Task Management tools

These tools can be downloaded to any smart device or computer and can be kept private or made public for others to access. ||= Students in our district are issued "agendas" at the beginning of every year. These are notebook calendars that have space to write assignments and homework everyday. This is where students are supposed to keep updated list of tasks. They are quite ineffecient and many students lose track of due dates and parents can't help because if students don't write the assignments, test dates, project due dates, and homework down, there is no other reference. Students may be more motivated to use these task management tools since they are interactive, can be used on their phone, itouch, computer, or iPad. Also, if teachers keep one current online, parents can access it from home if students forget. I have seen //sooo// many middle school students whose biggest struggle is organization. ||= These can help individual and group projects stay organized. http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/Calendars%2C+Task+Management+%26+ToDo+List+Tools This site lists tons of uses and benefits as well as links and reviews of various tools. ||
 * = Online professional development and classroom strategies ||= This would be a great replacement for standard worksheets or booklets that are shared at teacher meetings. By using online resources, teachers have a vast region of info to turn to and share with one another. ||= using online resources saves on paper and printing as you can save the links and/or documents and then share them on the school website or via a wiki. Please see [] for a variety of teacher tools, resources, and ideas for various tools to be used throughout the school year. The cool thing is,all the resources are labeled on this site and tells what they go along with. For example, the beginning or ending of the school year. ||
 * = Online journaling/blogging

These can be very simple to set up and there are many templates. They can also be customized for those more experienced. ||= This can be used to let students keep track of learning throughout the year. It can be a supplement to in-class note taking. It might replace writing journals from elementary up to high school. ||= Other classmates may be given the opportunity to read blogs of classmates and give feedback. Entries and feedback can be graded the way Ms. Adams grades our discussion posts. Teacher blogs can be a great resource for test preparation and review. [] This site includes many benefits and uses of blogs for education. It gives some good things to consider before starting a blog as well as steps to get started. ||
 * = Presentation technology:

Zoom with Prezi

Prezi is a non-linear presentation composition program. ||= I want to use this as a presentation opportunity for students in my class. This is a newer, more creative way to present information. Video clips are easy embedded, voice and other sound can be added. Students can either present it in front of the class, or post it to a shared site, where students can view several or all of them. ||= [] This website explains how the presentation program works. There are videos and samples to show people how to use the program. The site also offers weekly training webinars to help users get started with the first prezi. The program is free for basic use, but all prezis will be public. There is a fee for those that wish to make their prezi presentations private with more functions. The site claims that, "with Prezi you can tell your story in a non-linear, dynamic way." The presentations will keep students better engaged while viewing presentations and more excited about creating them, as well. || can help you create a survey or poll and will compile the results. Quiz Egg [] is one of many sites in which one can make online quizzes and tests, and it immediately grades the students and calculates grades for the teacher. [] can help teachers and students create crossword puzzles, games, and quizzes. These items can be placed into forums where students can interact with each other. Results of quizzes can be viewed and analyzed.
 * = Online quizzes and surveys ||= I want to use a site like surveymonkey.com or Quiz Egg to create classroom polls and quizzes. I can use them in a lab, or have students log in and complete it for homework for a quick assessment or reflection assignment. Students can also use these sites to create their own quizzes, crosswords, and surveys. ||= []

[|http://www.tech.plym.ac.uk/research/mathematics_education/field%20of%20work/IJTME/index.htm] This link is for an article entitled, "The effects of feedback on online quizzes" by Butler, Pyzdrowski, Goodykoontz, and Walker in the International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education (2008). The authors explain that online quizzes allow for instant feedback, which gives them an advantage over pencil-paper quizzes. Students in the study who completed the online quizzes, instead of the pencil-paper quizzes, were more successful on follow-up assessments and generally earned better scores. They suggest using this method for online homework, because of the instant feedback. || This link is for a press release that announces how Pixton has won the GoldenLamp Award as well as Distinguished Achievement Awards. It explains the benefits of using this tool to let students create their own comics. [] This is the link to the site. Comics are a medium that young students are alreadyvery familiar with. It offers project based learning aligned with standards and learning goals. It is another method to conduct rigorous assessment that offers students an outlet for creativity, fun, social interaction, and immediate feedback. This site makes assessment and evaluation easy for teachers with rubrics and methods for social interaction and feedback so important to student success. ||
 * = Online comic creation ||= I want to use this as another presentation option for my students. Students can create their own comics without having to draw. They may also use their own digital pictures. They have the opportunity to share and remix their creations with others. When they are finished, the completed comic can be embedded onto a webpage allowing others in the school or parents to view and also give feedback. I would like to use this with our character education curriculum. Students could collaborate and give examples of real life applications of the different positive character traits that we review with our students. I also would like to use this to help students with writing creative stories. It would be a very engaging way to teach students the elements of story writing. I am particularly interested in it because it can be used on interactive white boards that I already have in my classroom. ||= [|http://www.pixton.com/schools/press#video]
 * = Delicious

This is a website where you can create your own site with online links and resources for students to discover information on the Internet that you want them to discover. For more about Delicious, click on the following link[|, about]. It is easy to create a new page. Just go the following link and follow the directions. [|Link to create your own Delicious page...] ||= This resource can be used by teachers to create effective webquest. The great part about having the directions, links, and resources to your webquest online, is the accessibility to your students. They can access the learning resource from their home computers. This resource can be used for makeup work when students are absent and work must be given to them by Ed Code. This will relieve the burden of the teacher of having to reteach the entire lesson with the student during time the teacher should be collaborating with others, looking at data, updating curriculum, or writing lesson plans. You can also use this resource to create a list of educational activities students can do during free time in a computer lab setting. ||= Here is a link of someone who created a classroom list of web resources to enhance their students reading and math skills.

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You can also create tags that link to other pages and resources with the same tag within the Delicious site. Scroll down and click on the spelling tag and you can get more resources and site to enhance your curriculum and classroom learning experiences. ||
 * = Smartboard Interactive Whiteboard software

If you already have a Smartboard installed. This software can be used to enhance your lesson to meet the 21st century student’s mode of learning in an interactive and engaging way. ||= Journals, quizzes, and tests can be engaging using this software. If you having the remote egg devices installed with your Smartboard, you can create journal topics, quizzes, and tests using the software and send them to the egg devices. Students can login with the devices, meaning you can also take roll, and answer the questions. The great part is that the software grades and stores the scores by student name in a grade book database. You can also use the software to create surveys to use with direct instruction to access your students comprehension and adjust your instruction to meet their needs. If you are a math teacher, you can use the graph paper template to graph linear equations. All other teachers can use the graphic organizer templates to have students interact with the software to connect ideas, etc. ||= You can download and find out more information about the Interactive Whiteboard software here: [|Interactive Software]

There is also a website titled Smart Exchange. You can download lessons via topic, grade level, and standard by State. You can also upload your own lessons and share them with the Smart Exchange community. Here is the website [|Smart Exchange]

Here is an example of a cool Geography lesson using a Jeopardy format. If you don’t have the money or access to the Interactive Whiteboard software, you can download their free Smart Exchange Express software when you register for a free account. [|Geography Lesson] ||