Day 13: Name the top edtech tools that you use on a consistent basis in the classroom, and rank them in terms of their perceived (by you) effectiveness.
With EdTech tools, I am a "love the one you're with" kind of teacher. I will gladly abandon a tool if I find one that works better for me, my students, my pocketbook and my classroom set up.
This year I am pulling in some new tech to use in my classroom and you can read about those tools here.
With that being said, I do have some tools that I regularly use and love. I couldn't really rank them, but I did list my top three that I use often in my teaching.
1. ELMO document camera
As a teacher of writing, I use the ELMO document camera daily. I guess as far as tech this might be a little old school, but this is the most cost-effective way for me to model and share writing with my students. Students can display and share their work quickly with the class. Also, I don't have to photocopy 35 copies of a student's work. I simply display it on my whiteboard and have students come up and "mark up" the piece on the white board.
2. GradeCam
I hate grading multiple choice items. I think it is because I consider myself a writing teacher and I think multiple choice doesn't often give me a complete picture of my students' learning. However, I also recognize that sometimes a multiple choice option is the quickest way to assess my students. GradeCam allows me to grade multiple-choice assessments as soon as a student finishes it. It also allows me to transfer those grades immediately into my online grade book. Within minutes, my grading is complete and I can run a report to see how my students performed on specific standards. GradeCam also allows me to share an assessment with my colleagues.
3. Social Media
I am going to lump several tools here. I regularly use Remind, Twitter, Facebook, Weebly, and Blogger to interact with my students, their families and my colleagues. I use Remind, Twitter, and Facebook mainly for announcements for my Y-Club students. I also use Twitter as a professional learning tool for myself. Thanks to Twitter, I have incorporated some big shifts into my teaching--Genius Hour and Whole Novels. It's the first place I go when I am looking for an answer for an issue in teaching.
With EdTech tools, I am a "love the one you're with" kind of teacher. I will gladly abandon a tool if I find one that works better for me, my students, my pocketbook and my classroom set up.
This year I am pulling in some new tech to use in my classroom and you can read about those tools here.
With that being said, I do have some tools that I regularly use and love. I couldn't really rank them, but I did list my top three that I use often in my teaching.
1. ELMO document camera
As a teacher of writing, I use the ELMO document camera daily. I guess as far as tech this might be a little old school, but this is the most cost-effective way for me to model and share writing with my students. Students can display and share their work quickly with the class. Also, I don't have to photocopy 35 copies of a student's work. I simply display it on my whiteboard and have students come up and "mark up" the piece on the white board.
2. GradeCam
I hate grading multiple choice items. I think it is because I consider myself a writing teacher and I think multiple choice doesn't often give me a complete picture of my students' learning. However, I also recognize that sometimes a multiple choice option is the quickest way to assess my students. GradeCam allows me to grade multiple-choice assessments as soon as a student finishes it. It also allows me to transfer those grades immediately into my online grade book. Within minutes, my grading is complete and I can run a report to see how my students performed on specific standards. GradeCam also allows me to share an assessment with my colleagues.
3. Social Media
I am going to lump several tools here. I regularly use Remind, Twitter, Facebook, Weebly, and Blogger to interact with my students, their families and my colleagues. I use Remind, Twitter, and Facebook mainly for announcements for my Y-Club students. I also use Twitter as a professional learning tool for myself. Thanks to Twitter, I have incorporated some big shifts into my teaching--Genius Hour and Whole Novels. It's the first place I go when I am looking for an answer for an issue in teaching.
Thanks for including Twitter. Yes, it is the learning machine and answer portal.
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