Recently, I spent some time thinking about the types of technology tools I would like my students to be using in my classroom. I have knowledge of several tools that I have found useful for classroom instruction. Some of the tools I might consider to help me carry out my game plan are voicethreads, bubbl.us, prezi.com, blogger, animoto, podcasts, Google Docs, Google Earth, Virtual Tours, and teacher tools found at the Discovery Education web site. I have found it very convenient to collect tools as I come across them in my delicious account to be reviewed for later use. Has anyone found any sweet tools that middle school age kids might be interested in using for projects? This week's resources discuss giving kids options to complete assignments. I would like to try to be open minded about the ways my students will achieve their learning goals on my GAME plan activities.
I will need some additional information before moving forward with my GAME plan. I need to begin gaining a better understanding of the insides and outs of each learning tool to be used in my upcoming lessons. I also need to begin looking at my future content and start planning the first trimester lessons. Another task to focus on will be teacher paperwork like directions, hardcopy activity instructions, web postings, and discussion notes.
Other than thinking about possible lesson plan options or technology tools, I have not moved rapidly forward on my GAME plan. In the course of the next few weeks, I will begin to get back into school teacher mode. I hope to start pre-planning same activities that will fall right into place with the goals I would like to improve upon.
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Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteI used to teach middle school and I think my students would have had a blast with Toondoo.com and blabberize.com. By themselves they have the ability to get the students off track, but they also have the ability to be a lot of fun while still providing the students a way to show understanding with personal expression. Toondoo takes a little time to go through, but we might be able to screen share at some point and I could walk you through the steps. Blabberize could be pretty funny.
Courtney has put together a group for us to share links on Diigo. The link is http://groups.diigo.com/group/waldenu-gradstudents. She also pointed out this link http://groups.diigo.com/group/diigoineducation which is a list of links to tools, articles, and nifty sites.
I will look back through my links and see if I can pull out a few more tools you could have your kids use. I have lots, but I need some time to look back through them.
Cheers!
Sean
Thanks Sean! I look forward to checking these sites out.
ReplyDeleteChris
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteI saw the you are considering using voicethread.I really like voicethread and think it provides a creative outlet for students and encourages the sharing of ideas. Students can use VoiceThread as interactive tool that allows them to collaborating, share, and comment. I really like how Voice Thread allows students to establish and maintain a learning experience with their classmates during the learning activity. The best part I like about voice thread is it allows students to upload pictures, narrate them, and then allows others to comment in 5 different ways-including audio and text. This is a great tool that really utilizes various ways of communication. I am also thinking about using VoiceThread as a cooperative learning tool to start with and then move to other instructional strategies. I think that having your students use VoiceThread would be a great way to use technology to engage students with issues and questions that are relevant to their lives.