Week 7

Top 10 Tech Tools I Can’t Live Without

Throughout this course I have found many tech tools that I am very excited to use in my classroom. By combining these tools and a few I already use, I have my Top 10 Tech Tools I Can’t Live Without!

iPad- I got AN iPad for my classroom last year. This year, we will have a classroom set! Of course it’s for the entire school, but I have found some great apps that I know my students will love.
Wiki Classroom- I plan to create a Wiki Classroom for my students this year. With our new “Bring Your Own Device” initiative, this should be a great way to communicate information to students in a new and different way. Allowing them to use their own device to access videos, assignments and due dates will be great. I may start with my upper level classes and see how it goes.

Twitter- Another great way to communicate with my students! I plan to create a class twitter account and invite all my students to follow on the first day of school. I have also enjoyed the communication between other ED505 students.

Animoto- The first thing I thought when I saw the Animoto website was, “ My students will be pumped about this!” I am planning to use Animoto to jazz up lectures and notes as well as letting the students create their own.

Diigo- I needed this tech tool! It is a great way to organize websites that I may only use once a year or sites that I use on a weekly basis.

Prezi- I learned about Prezi last year but never used it. I enjoyed using it for ED505 and it is a nice change from PowerPoint. The animation will keep student’s attention and it would be good to offer as a choice for projects along with PowerPoint.

Bubbl.us- I loved using bubble.us as a thought organizer. It will be great for me or my students to use while brainstorming and organizing ideas for a big project.

Pinterest- I have been using Pinterest for a few years now. I do use it for personal reasons but I have also  found an endless amount of information for my students and my classroom. My students use it to find recipes and sewing projects as well.

Glogster- Glogster and I got off to a rocky start but I grew to like it and I think my students will enjoy making a Glog. The animation, bright colors, and general “funkiness” of  Glogster will definitely appeal to my students.

Rubistar- I have never used a rubric maker and I, honestly, haven’t used rubrics much. I hope to change that this school year. We do a lot of big projects and I think offering a rubric will help keep my students on track throughout the assignment. A rubric will also make it easier to grade those big projects.