Top Ten Tech Tools I Can't live Without

The Top 10 Tech Tools I Can’t Live Without.

The 10 technology tools I can’t live without include

1.     Blogger- It allows educators and students to collaborate and share instructional information through mainstream media.

2.     Skype- It allows you to bring people all over the world to your classroom with leaving your classroom. The video chat is an awesome 2.0 web resource.

3.     Animoto- It is a great tool used to turn pictures into videos. I loved using this web 2.0 resource

4.     Voicethread- It’s a great technology tool that allows users to tell their stories and share them with the world.

5.     Wikispaces- I really enjoyed learning about this tool because I can bring this idea to my classroom for my students to use and collaborate on projects.

6.     Delicious- I really enjoyed using delicious because I have created many educational sites that I can easily access for use in my classroom.

7.     YouTube- I think YouTube is a great technology tool for educators and students to use to share their talents.

8.     Pandora- I really enjoy using Pandora because I can access plenty of music and use it as a tool in my classroom.   Many students love to hear soft music playing in the background while they are working.

9.     Glogster Edu- I enjoyed using this web 2.0 tool because I was able to successfully complete many of my projects in the technology course I am currently enrolled in.

10.                        PowerPoint- I utilize this technology tool often throughout the school year because I can present many lessons to my class by creating a power-point presentation.

Week 6 Mobile apps

My subject area is special education and there are hundreds of apps on the ipad for students with disabilities.  I use many of these apps in my classroom and many of my students have made great progress in their areas of weakness.  Some apps include; Speak It! is a great text-to-speech solution that can allow students with reading disabilities to get a little help with reading when they need it.  Talk to Me is another text to speech application. It can be used to read words out loud as they are typed, which can help students better correlate the letters and words with how they’re pronounced.  Dragon Dictation works in reverse of the two apps that were just listed. Instead of reading text out loud, the application writes down spoken text.  For students who struggle with writing, it can be a great way for them to jot down ideas or get help learning.  Dyslexic Like Me is a great app as well for students with a learning disability. Explaining dyslexia to a child can be hard, but this application can make it a little easier. It’s an interactive children’s book that helps students to understand dyslexia and become empowered to overcome their learning disability.

Week 5 blog assignment A Good Digital Citizen

Digital Citizenship is a concept which helps teachers, technology leaders and parents to understand what students/children/technology users should know to use technology appropriately. Digital Citizenship is more than just a teaching tool; it is a way to prepare students/technology users for a society full of technology.  It is important to be a good digital citizen to manage good online behavior and to maintain a good reputation for the future.  A good digital reputation is important because anything you post online has your signature behind it and if it is inappropriate it will lead to a bad reputation.  A good reputation holds its value for future information you create on the internet and share with the world. It is very important for you to think before you post anything to the internet because it is not written in pencil it is written in ink cannot be erased.

Material Generators for the Classroom

I have used the hall pass generator in my classroom.  Students are allowed to use the hall pass generator 3 times per day.   I use this mainly for students who need to leave the classroom during instruction time.  I have used the weekly progress report generator.  This material generator allows me to send home weekly progress reports to parents for them to keep track of their child’s progress in school.  This generator is wonderful to use because parents do not have to wonder what their child’s report card grades will be, the weekly progress generator allows them to monitor their progress to avoid surprises in the future.   I have also used the award certificate generator in my classroom.  This generator is great to use because it allows you to make an award certificate to recognize your student’s accomplishments.  I find this generator very useful because it is a positive reinforcer which reinforces good behavior.  When students earn an award it motivates them to keep up the good work. 

Week 3 Instructional Software

Instructional software is a general term for computer programs designed specifically to deliver instruction or assist with the delivery of instruction on a topic.  They serve many purposes other than teaching; instructional software packages are developed for the sole purpose of supporting instruction and/or learning.  There are five instructional software functions used for teaching.  1. Drill and practice software allows learners to work problems or answer questions and get feedback on correctness.  BrainPop is an example of this software.  Click here to learn more about BrainPop.  2. Tutorial software acts like a human tutor by providing all the information and instructional activities a learner needs to master a topic: information summaries, explanation, practice routines, feedback, and assessment.  ETCAI is an example of this software.  Click here to learn more about ETCAI.  3. Simulation software models real or imaginary systems to show how those systems or similar ones work or to demonstrate underlying concepts.  Digital Frog is an example of this software.  Click here to learn more about Digital Frog.  4. Instructional game software increases motivation by adding game rules to drills or simulations.  iCivics is an example of this software.  Click here to learn more about iCivics.  5. Problem solving software teaches directly (through explanation and/or practice) the steps involved in solving problems.  It also helps learners acquire problem solving skills by giving them opportunities to solve problems.  Memory Challenge is an example of this software.  Click here to learn more about Memory Challenge.

My thoughts about Glogster, Animoto, and Classtools.net

Glogster is a social network that allows users to create free interactive, posters, or glogs.  I created a glog about the mechanisms of a complete sentence.  I really enjoyed creating this blog because it has opened some ideas for me to use in my classroom.  Click here to view my glog. 

Animoto is a web application that produces videos from your choice of selected photos, video clips and music.  I really enjoyed creating my video on the topic of what is a complete sentence because it is an interesting way to make learning exciting in the classroom. Click here to view my animoto.

Classtools.net is a web-based educational tool used to create games, timelines, and quizzes.  I enjoyed creating two games that were related to my topic because they can be used as resources for teaching the topic on the mechanisms of a sentence in my classroom. Click here for to view my first game. Click here to view my second game.

Week 2 Should students Play Games (software) in school?

I believe students should be allowed to play educational games in school as long as the games are tied into the curriculum.  As and educator, I have observed increase class participation among students using educational gaming software.  Students find these computer games exciting and stimulating.  Students can sometimes get confused about which part of the activity is the game and which part is the skill.  Teachers have to make sure they reiterate the importance of the game as to help the student focus on the rules outside of the game to successfully use the skills in classroom activities.