Top 10 Tech Tools I Can't Live Without

Now that my class about educational technology is coming to an end, I have several technological tools in my teaching toolbox. I've been exposed to many different tools, and here's my top 10 favorite tools that I truly can't live without.

1.  Mobile Apps- My iPhone is so much more than a phone. It's my alarm clock, my iPod, my calendar... AND it has apps that I use with my tutoring students. My tutoring students LOVE to "play" the games on my phone, and I LOVE that they are practicing skills in an engaging way. 
2. SMARTBoard- How did people teach Reading and Math without a SMARTBoard? Students can see the large text, which is great for choral reading activities. Students can use virtual manipulatives to help solve math problems, and everyone can see what they are doing. 
3. Blabberize.com- I LOVE Blabbers. Blabbers are engaging and can reinforce concepts in a more interesting way than just a simple review of material from another day in class. I can create Blabbers. Students can create Blabbers. The possibilities are endless! 
4. Diigo- This online bookmarking tools is fabulous because I can bookmark something at home and access it at school the next day. Also, bookmarks can be shared, which allows everybody in a grade level or subject area to share what they have found. 
5. Blogs- I don't blog usually (this class has been the exception), but I enjoy reading what other teachers have posted on their blogs. It's always good to get new ideas from other areas of the country. Sometimes, all it takes is one new idea to spark a great lesson. 
6. TeacherTube/SchoolTube/YouTube- These online video sites provide wonderful resources for educational videos. Just be sure that when you find the perfect video to reinforce your lesson that it is allowed by your school's server. 
7. Mrnussbaum.com- Mr.Nussbaum's website is chock full of educational games for many subjects and grade levels. Mr. Nussbaum also has mobile apps available!
8. Classtools.net- The timer from this website is something that I use daily in the classroom. Some students need to know that they have a certain amount of time to complete an assignment, and this timer helps them pace themselves. This timer plays music and has a box that gets filled in as time progresses so that students can see that time is halfway up. 
9. Google- From the search engine to Gmail to Blogger, I use tools developed by Google everyday. "Google it" has become a common term in our vocabularies. If we don't know something, we "Google it".  I use Gmail as my email service, and of course, I access my email from my computer and my iPhone. 
10. Animoto- Animoto videos are so simple to create. Animoto allows users to create engaging videos. Teachers can create videos to use in conjunction with lessons, or students can create videos as another form of assessment.

Mobile Apps for Education

     This is an actual screen shot of my iPhone that I took before creating this post. I didn't download any apps especially for this blog post. These apps were already on my iPhone. I worked with a summer enrichment program this past summer and had multiple grade levels and ages at one time. I downloaded some apps so that I could have some students working with me and others "playing" on my phone. I also do some private tutoring, and I downloaded some apps this summer to help motivate the students that I tutor. My five-year-old niece also likes to "play" with these apps. The children use the word "play" when talking about using these apps, and I also use the word "play" because "play" is a more motivating word to a young child than "practice". Most of these apps were free. If I did have to buy an app, the app cost around $1.

     The first app on the top row is one of my favorite apps for my tutoring students and for my summer enrichment students. eFlash Sight Words Flash Cards allows students to review sight words. This app is very similar to traditional flash cards, but each sight word card is read aloud. Students have a few seconds after first seeing a card to say the word before the app says the word. Students can make their best attempts at the word, and then they can hear the correct way to say the word.

     The second app on the top row is iWriteWords. This app allows children to trace letters and numbers with their fingers. The app also says the name of the letters or numbers that children are tracing. This is another app that I downloaded to use with my tutoring students and enrichment students. This app is very helpful for students who get lowercase "b", lowercase "d", lowercase "p", and lowercase "q" mixed up with one another. Students can practice writing skills while letter naming skills are also reinforced.

     The first app on the bottom row is Lakeshore's Tic Tac Toe Phonics. It is a bit more difficult because it does not have spoken instructions. This app is not an app that a younger student could use by himself, but it is a great app that parents can "play" with students. This app asks different phonics related questions, and if the user answers a question correctly, he or she can mark his or her spot on the tic tac toe board.

     The second app on the bottom row is Lakeshore's Sound Sorting Beginning Sounds.  This app does include some spoken features, but some parts of the game would need to be explained to students. This app is easy for students to use, and once they have been shown how to use the app, they can use it independently. Beginning sounds can be a hard concept for some students to grasp, and this app provides more practice for that skill.
 
     The two apps on the top row that I have not talked about yet are from Starfall Education, and they provide practice with shapes, colors, and numbers. These apps are very entertaining. I am constantly searching for more apps from Starfall Education.

     I've already talked about the Addition and Subtraction for Kids app in another blog post. The other two apps that I do use quite often are the Color Mix, which has touch-to-fill coloring pages, and dtdnumletlite, which is a dot-to-dot app. Dot-to-dot provides practice with letters, numbers, and sequencing. The other apps that are pictured are apps that I do not use very much or at all. However, I do use the ones that I mentioned a good bit with private tutoring students.

     I do not have my own classroom yet, or I would be trying to get iPod touches for students to use. I have been in schools where students have access to iPod touches for researching topics, and I have seen the increase in motivation that occurs due to using that technology. I have also seen younger students enjoy using my own iPhone to practice skills without even realizing that they were practicing skills.

Digital Citizenship

     We live in a digital world just as much as we live in a conventional world. Therefore, good digital citizenship is just as important as good citizenship in the conventional world. Being a good digital citizen has much value since many people may only interact with each other through digital media. People may form an opinion of someone based only on what the person has posted online. If the person usually posts factual, positive information, thoughts, or ideas, then the person may very well have a good reputation online. Also, if the person's account is hacked and unseemly messages are posted, others may well know to disregard those messages as spam or other "junk". 
     When interacting in the digital world, use the same thought and courtesy that you would use in the conventional world. Your online reputation is just as important as the reputation that you build offline. My grandmother always says that "your reputation will get there before you do." Keep that in mind, and be a good digital citizen.

Material Generators

     Material generators are some more tools that teachers can use to enhance instruction. Material generators can include desktop publishing software, interactive whiteboard software, and worksheet generators.
     Desktop publishing software enables students to create printed materials that mix text and graphics. Desktop publishing software is similar to word processing software, but desktop publishing software displays each page as a separate entity rather than text that continues from page to page. In the classroom, I have used word processing software but not desktop publishing software. I am interested in using desktop publishing software so that students can create their own brochures, flyers, and newsletters. I think that it would be great if students could help compile the weekly newsletters. If students have ownership of the newsletter, they are more likely to show the newsletter to their parents.
     Interactive whiteboard software lets teachers create lessons similar to slideshows which have objects that students can manipulate to demonstrate concepts or explain topics. I have used interactive whiteboard lessons often. Many of the lessons that I teach have interactive whiteboard slideshows which support the lessons. These interactive whiteboard lessons range from copies of the textbook or workbook pages that students can complete during whole group instruction to classroom games to videos to virtual math manipulatives that every student can see. The interactive whiteboard is one tool that I use daily.
     With worksheet generators, teachers can type in the information that they would like students to practice, and the software creates the worksheet without the teacher having to format the questions or really do any work besides input the information. I use worksheet generators in the lower grades to create specific handwriting worksheets like , "I am (student's name). " There are many worksheet generators online, but I really like HandwritingWorksheets.com
   

Educational Software

     There are five types of educational software: drill-and-practice, tutorial, simulation, instructional game, and problem solving. These five types of games provide students with varied instructional activities which engage students and broaden students' understanding of concepts.

     Drill-and-practice software provides students the opportunity to respond to questions or answer problems and receive confirmation of their correct answers. A virtual flashcard-type game is an example of drill-and-practice software. I really like this drill-and-practice game for iOS that lets students practice addition and subtraction. This game is available on the Apple App Store at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/addition-subtraction-for-kids/id426907035?mt=8.
     Tutorial software teaches students new skills or concepts by providing instruction and independent practice. Tutorials assess students' skills and give students feedback. Keyboarding instruction may often be delivered through the use of tutorial programs, such as this Mavis Beacon keyboarding game from Broderbund available at http://www.broderbund.com/p-121-mavis-beacon-keyboarding-kidz.aspx.

      Simulation software allows students to participate in mock situations which are very similar to what the real situation would be in a classroom. Simulations can provide hands-on experience without getting your hands dirty. I don't know that I would use this game in my classroom, but Microsoft's "Flight Simulator X" is a fairly realistic game that lets players act as the pilot of an airplane. You can find more information about "Flight Simulator X" at http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulatorx/. 

     Instructional games apply "game rules" to simulation software or drill-and-practice software. These games engage students by tapping into the competitive nature that many children possess. Many math instructional games exist. Check out this game at http://mrnussbaum.com/monster/. This game practices addition, subtraction,multiplication and division skills.
     Problem solving games teach students problem solving skills and allows students to practice their problem solving skills. Many problem solving games for younger learners exist at http://pbskids.org/games/problemsolving.html.
     
A plethora of educational games exist in many functions and formats. We are no longer limited to games that only exist on a disc, but we are able to access many online games to use with our students. We must select the game function that best suits what we want our students to accomplish, and we must always be looking for new games to add to our lists of resources.

Web 2.0 Resources

This week's assignment included creating another concept map using Bubbl.us, creating a glog using Glogster.com, creating a video using Animoto.com, and a free choice activity.    
 Overall, I liked using Glogster and Animoto. My free choice activity was Blabberize. I enjoyed using each tool, but I did find them a bit frustrating at first. I chose "The Five Senses" as my theme for creating these projects. The five senses is part of the kindergarten science course of study.
      I had created a glog a few years ago as part of my undergraduate coursework, but I had forgotten some of the tricks to using Glogster. I can see how Glogster could be an important classroom tool, but a glog does require a good bit of time to create. My "Five Senses" glog is a general overview of the five senses, and it is meant to be used during whole group instruction.
     The second tool that I used was Animoto to create a  video about the sense of touch. I took my own pictures of items with different textures or characteristics (rough, smooth, soft, hard, wet, dry, hot, and cold). Animoto was fairly easy to use. The only problem that I had with Animoto was that many of my pictures were too large for Animoto (my files were too large). I shot my pictures using a Canon T3i. I think that if I create another Animoto video, I may use a camera that takes smaller pictures (smaller files).
     For my free choice, I chose to use Blabberize.com to create "blabbers". During some of my undergraduate fieldwork, I observed another teacher using blabbers in her first grade classroom. I chose to create blabbers using a picture of my dog. My blabbers ask short questions about the sense of touch. My blabbers use short questions and sentences since they were designed for use with kindergarten students.
     I liked the Web 2.0 resources, even though they were a bit time consuming. However, as teachers we must always work to integrate new technology to engage and motivate our students. Creating the glogs, videos, blabbers, etc. correctly one year can lead to many years of effective instruction. 

Here are links to my creations and my concept map of the five senses:

Glogster-Mrs. Davis's 5 Senses Glog



Animoto- Mrs. Davis's Sense of Touch Video



Blabberize- Palmer and the Sense of Touch Blabber




     Another Blabber with Palmer about the Sense of Touch


      One More Blabber with Palmer about the Sense of Touch

 

                  

Computer Games in the Classroom

This week's blog answers this question:  Should students play (software) games in school? My answer is emphatically "Yes!" if the game reinforces the instruction.
     When I think about computer games in the classroom, I immediately think of "The Oregon Trail" by The Learning Company. If you were a child in the 1990s, odds are that you played "The Oregon Trail" or a "Carmen Sandiego" computer game. "Carmen Sandiego" is also by The Learning Company. Both of these games reinforced the instruction in the classroom, and my friends and I discussed what happened when we played the games. "The Oregon Trail" taught us about pioneers, and "Carmen Sandiego" taught us geography and history. We used typing games to build keyboarding skills. My friend and I looked forward to getting to "play" in the computer lab. We didn't really realize just how much we were learning.
     Computer games can provide skill practice, reinforce instruction, engage students, motivate students, and can also assess students' achievements, if implemented correctly. Computer games should not be just a way to pass the time until students get on the buses to go home.Computer games can be a powerful tool.
      The availability of computer games has increased with the wide usage of the Internet. Students are no longer limited to playing games that the teacher has on a CD (or in my day, a 3.5 inch disk). Teachers can find games online for students to "play". I use the term "play" a bit loosely because students think that they are just playing while teachers know that they are practicing skills or reinforcing concepts. Currently, there are many game websites that are not educational that students can access. Students can easily remember which game sites are not blocked by the school's servers and sneak to those websites very quickly. Students should be taught to avoid these game websites while at school and to enjoy getting to "play" on the educational websites that they are allowed to visit.
     We live in a world that is always upgrading to better technology. We must also upgrade our instruction to appeal to these students who are growing up in this technologically-geared world. Integrating technology in the form of computer games is just another way to reinforce instruction so that students with varying learning styles are reached and engaged to the maximum potential. Go play!

P.S. If you played "The Oregon Trail" as a child and are feeling a bit nostalgic, you can play it on your iPhone. It is available in the App Store for $0.99. I haven't gotten it on my iPhone yet, but I may just have to do so!