- Name of the tool
- Platform(s) on which it works best (web-based, ios, Android, etc.)
- What it does
- One way in which it can be used in your current situation (classroom, PD, etc). Be specific with your ideas.
- Optional: screen shots of the tool in action
- Optional: "testimonials" from other users (students, staff, etc.)
The name of the digital tool I use quite often is DROPBOX. It can be loaded onto any computer that you use ( and any computer in your school/ home ) so that you are able to share information with other individuals that you share the DROPBOX with.
ReplyDeleteIt shares information with others ( who share the same dropbox folder ) which you can access from any computer that you have or utilize. You can access information that you work with from your school computer , on any computer that you use .... anywhere!
I use DROPBOX currently for all my tests, forms, notes, etc... that I write and keep in my school folder. I can then share those papers with other teachers in my department so that they can access them from any computer that they have access to .. anytime or anywhere. This also helps when an unexpected absence occurs in teaching. I can access the information from my home computer and DROPBOX it to another teacher which can then be used on any school computer so the students have access to the information that I want them to use for that day.
** we even used DROPBOX with our builder ( when building our home ) to send pictures of things that we found when visting open houses that we would want to incorporate into the home that we were building ). You can send invoices, change orders, emails, etc... through dropbox.
I believe DROPBOX would be in the Modification level of the SAMR scale moving toward the Augmentation part of the scale.
DeleteThat sounds like something I could use right away. I like that you can share lessons and things with other teachers. It really would be helpful in a substitute situation.
ReplyDeleteClass Dojo is a tool that I plan to implement this week within my classroom. It operates easily on my computer and IPAD. It can be easily displayed on my SMART board through my computer or through Apple TV. I think I am going to primarily use it through my Apple TV/IPAD. This way my instructional assistants can easily use it when I am in the middle of teaching to help with reinforcement of positive behaviors.
ReplyDeleteI will be using it as a primary focus on reinforcement of positive behaviors. It will also be used as a communication piece to parents. In two weeks, we are having an end of the year party for students with positive behaviors. They have to earn the privilege to attend based on their behavior within the classroom this last month of school. Students in my room will need to earn 20 points and have no office referrals to attend. By utilizing Class Dojo, I can easily track their behavior points, reinforce positive behaviors, and respond to negative behaviors immediately. Students will also be able to track their own behavior.
I am going to use symbaloo in my classroom with my students. It's a web-based tool which will make it easier to use. I can put the website on the board and the class can go to the site and click on the link that I want them to visit. It gives me a little more control then having them search the internet.
ReplyDeleteI use the tool Edmodo for the problem of the day and quizzes. It is very easy to use. You set up your group and get a code. This is sent to the students and they sign themselves up for the group. I have a group for each of my classes. I can put my problem of the day into Edmodo ahead of time and they will be delivered on the right day and time that I set it up for. The students get an email saying they have something from Edmodo. Since I teach math, the students know that every day they will have a problem of the day and come into class and get busy on it. I use this time to take attendance or just finish getting set up for class.
ReplyDeleteEdmodo also has many other features like sending notes, alerts, assignments, quizzes or to take a poll. It has a new feature that I have not tried out yet called snapshot. Edmodo is a tool that I will continue to use and learn more about.
You can sign up for different communities that you would like to belong to. You then will get the latest posts from the communities that you belong to. There is all kinds of great information sent in the posts.
Check to see if you have anyone in your school corporation that is a member of Edmodo. They should be able to help you get started and it’s free.
The level of SAMR is between substitution and augmentation. It is also web-based.
ReplyDeleteI use ALEKS for 5th grade math. It is the middle school curriculum at our corporation. My kids are accelerated. ALEKS has 282 "topics" for 6th gr. math. Students select from the "pie" and complete topics at their own pace, minimum of 8 per week. I assign quizzes and instruct them based on quiz results, then they retake the quiz. Periodic assessments, based on their recent work, serve as tests. If it hasn't automatically assigned it, I can request one to keep everyone on the same pace. It is on the augmentation level because it replaces textbooks and paper, but modification because they self-pace and it provides instant feedback.
ReplyDeleteThe tool I picked was Scribble Press. i wanted an interactive tool for writing that would get the kids excited about writing their own stories. It was soooo cool for them to use. My third grade group loved it. We thought about ideas that would go with the sticker pictures and backgrounds. That was a new form of collaboration they had not done before. I was very pleased with their efforts. The spell check was great for them as well and I heard some talking to themselves about why their word was misspelled. They said things like, "Oh, I see. It is "i then e not ei". I thought they learned lots of independent skills that they have been lacking by just trial and error as they played with the different aspects of book making. We printed them out, band they were super excited. I used it in the computer lab, but it would also be fun to use on iPads. I think it supersedes just substitution on SAMR. It would fall between that and augmentation. The parents can also go online and check it out with their child.
ReplyDeleteI have two tools to talk about and I'll explain why. The first tool is called NearPod and can be found at nearpod.com. NearPod is an online presentation tool- but with a twist. With Nearpod, I can give my students access to classroom presentations (lectures, powerpoints, directions, etc.) along with various other tools, but I control what they are seeing. For example, as a 7th grade Social Studies teacher, I always introduce new topics with a powerpoint presentation, lecture-style and students complete guided notes or a graphic organizer. I show the powerpoint to the entire class but I also provide them with the powerpoint via our classroom webpage (we are a 1:1 school). I provide them with their own copy in case they need extra time to get caught up or are absent one day, or just need it for review. However, some students move quickly through the powerpoint while completing notes without paying attention in class or participating in class discussion. I find myself torn between providing the powerpoint for those that need it, and withholding it so that students will stay on track. NearPod solves all of that. Students follow along with the presentation on their own laptops, but I control what they are seeing. They sign in with a code and I control when the slides are changes, videos are displayed, etc. NearPod allows for uploading already created powerpoints so the extra work is very minimal. Additionally, I can add in videos, share webpages, assign classroom polls, quizzes, and exit tickets. Also, a "draw" option can be activated which allows students to interact with the material on the screen. I love this tool because it keeps me in charge of my lessons, while giving students the feel that they have control, based on their interactions.
ReplyDeleteThis tool can be used on the web (which is how my class uses it) but can also be downloaded as an app.
It can be used in various instructional formats (lectures, presentations, directions for a project, how-to's) or can be used for professional development, peer coaching, or sharing material with colleagues.
In my classroom, this tools falls under the Modification category of SAMR. It surpasses substitution and augmentation because the tool encompasses much more than just replacing paper copies and changing . It also touches on augmentation because of functional improvement, but it's much more than that. NearPod changes the task and allows for interaction. It's not quite redefinition for my class because NEW tasks aren't necessarily mastered (as far as involvement goes). We are sampling new tasks with online polls and interactions, but these aren't involved in every presentation.
DISCLAIMER: NearPod isn't perfect. The "free trial" which is all I can afford, is limited in presentations and then requires a membership. The membership/upgrade fee is expensive so unless your school is willing to pay, it's probably not feasible for many of us. You can however, request colleagues to sign-up and with enough new accounts activated, you can earn a 6 month trial free.
For this reason, I also want to talk about heromachine.com. Hero Machine is a fun site that allows students to create their own superhero. In my class, we were discussing the different types of climate. Students chose a specific climate and created a superhero based on that climate (ex: Arid Destroyer, Temperate Marine Man, Ice Girl, etc.). Hero Machine is free and fun. It's available on the web (possibly an app too). I'd also place this tool in the Modification category of SAMR because they are able to take the concept of climate to an entirely new level in demonstrating its features in the characteristics of a superhero. This assignment was accompanied by a written essay about their superhero (background and understanding of climate).
Check out the sites to see more on how both tools work. NearPod offers a demo video and with Hero Machine, you can jump right in and start creating a super hero!
Nearpod.com
Heromachine.com
HeroMachine sounds super fun! Can't wait to use it- may not be until next year at this point- but super pumped! Thanks for sharing!
DeleteBIG HUGE LABS (located here: http://bighugelabs.com/) is a website that allows
ReplyDeletestudents to have multiple creative outlets through which to display their learning. It is web-based but I am not certain if there are apps for it for iPads, etc. because I do not have a smartphone or an iPad. I’ve only dealt with this particular site in school in the compuer lab.
• There are over 24 cools things a student can do such as uploading photos to make ID cards, personalized CD/DVD covers, customized jigsaw puzzles, magazine covers and movie posters, and trading cards.
• A few ideas for classroom use in a language arts setting:
Have students design a movie poster that captures the essence of a novel they’ve read in class instead of a book report.
o Have students design trading cards to represent characters in the novel.
o Design a magazine cover whose headlines represent key scenes from the novel.
ANIMOTO (http://animoto.com/education/classroom) allows you to create high-quality presentations using your own photos, videos, and audio. Teachers can sign up for a free account for up to 25 students, I believe. You can also create your own content in a creative way. It works on tablets, mobile phones, and on the web. I use it as an assessment tool in my health class. Students will pick a topic, research, search and save images, find appropriate music and then create the presentation. They can upload it to a blog, website or turn in into Edmodo. They turn out to be very professional looking. The students also enjoy being creative.
ReplyDeleteI've used Animoto before to create a Christmas Card Video. After I created our holiday video, I used the tools that allowed me to embed it onto my school's Artsonia homepage. This is a tool that I should use more often. But, I need extra time to experiment with options for creating a nice video...(20% Time)
DeleteThe name of my tool is Artsonia. I use this tool to build digital art portfolios for each student for grades 6-8, but it's offered for K-12. Go to: www.artsonia.com on any platform: (web-based, iOS, Android, etc.) It is the world's largest online childrens art museum. I use it to provide evidence of student artwork for Lee L. Driver Middle School's art department. Seventy-five percent of my teacher's evaluation is based on artwork completed. This site allows my administration to view student work as evidence connected to RISE. http://www.riseindiana.org/what-is-rise
ReplyDeleteI started using Artsonia in 2010. In the beginning, I took all the photographs or scanned the images of artworks for publishing. Now, the students photograph their finished artwork using the camera on an iPad and I upload it into their personal digital art gallery. They can enter an artwork title and statements for each artwork published. (I use this feature to encourage students to practice and improve their language arts skills and to assist our school's academic goals.)
When a new artwork is published, an email alert is sent to notify the parent or guardian. It allows access to view and add comments onto their child's gallery. In addition, teachers can add comments to individual accounts or to those linked to a particular gallery. Furthermore, the school can use this website for fund raising. Each artwork can be reproduced on gift items offered on the site. Artsonia gives back 20% from each online gift order to the school's art department in order to use for purchasing art supplies, ordering more gifts as rewards from Artsonia, or the funds can be requested and sent by mail to your school for your art department to use in some other creative ways.
Another fun way to use this site is create a Fan Club for your gallery. By asking other family members to follow you on Artsonia, they can leave positive comments on the student's work.
The account is safe for students to use. Each student's account uses only the artist's first name and unique number assigned to them for access. There is no personally identifiable information available to the public. The site also requires the parents/guardians to approve any new comments before they can appear online.
I love using this website. It allows the students a safe place for their artwork to be stored and shared with the world. It provides the opportunity for publishing at a very young age. The continued ability to create an artistic digital footprint. This is a resource that supports the visual arts for the 21st century artist.
The SAMR model would place Artsonia at the Redefinition Level. http://digitalteachingandlearning.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/samr-model-graphic.png
Thanks, Natalie! I'm passing this one along to our art teachers!
DeleteI published this comment onto Five Star and found an error in my last full paragraph. I meant to type: Artsonia provides the opportunity for publishing online at a very young age and the continued ability to create an artistic digital footprint.
ReplyDeleteI have a few that I'd like to share just because I think they are THAT AWESOME- I hope I didn't take one that someone was thinking about!
ReplyDeleteFirst: http://phet.colorado.edu/
This is a website of interactive simulations from the University of Colorado-Boulder, and it is just a really cool place to go and play around. There are attached lessons plans for most of the simulations (work smarter- not harder!) that you can tweak and adjust to your own group of kids. I use the greenhouse gas simulation to help kids understand that we NEED greenhouse gases. A lot of time they think it's bad bad bad, but that's a misconception. We would be freezing cold without it! They get to control the concentration of greenhouse gases and record temperature, etc. I also do the natural selection simulation when we are talking about evolution. It allows kids to control different mutations, different scenarios- it really puts the kids in control. I would say this resource is at least augmentation, and there are some simulations that just wouldn't be possible without the computer and pushes it to reach redefinition at times. Very cool!
Second: https://edu.glogster.com/
Glogster allows students to use OR create interactive on-line posters. I used it one day and had a glog that the kids had to play with to answer questions. There are movies you can link to, different places to put text, and here are even some sample glogs that you can tweak for your own purposes. I also had the students create a glog about an element. I had made a template and put smiley faces where I wanted pictures and text boxes with something silly to show them a sample of how to structure it. Some students decided to be creative spirits and venture off on their own, while others felt much safer adjusting the template I had given them. Not something to be done everyday, but definitely a fun diversion from the norm. I would say this resource would fall under the modification stage. I would normally ask for a poster, and instead I get an interactive online resource.
I wasn't done! But apparently my post was too long. Here are 2 more "teacher tools" that I haven't used with kids but have helped me tremendously.
DeleteThird: Palu- I know this works for apple products, not sure about IOS
This is a calendar that you can actually write on. I have a hard time sometimes carrying a planbook. It's ONE MORE THING to take home every night because let's be honest- even if I'm not going to touch it, I still have to bring it home. I'm not sure why I'm wired that way, but I am. Having a calendar to write in with an iTunes back-up allows me to bring my very expensive school-owned I don't want to have to replace that sucker IPad home and not worry about an extra book. You can use different colors for different things- lecture, assignments, tests, etc, and I like color coding things. It has worked for me this year. Just sharing!
Fourth: GoodNotes- Once again, apple app- not sure about IOS
I LOVE THIS APP!!! I think there might be other apps out there like this, and maybe I am just late to the game, but this app has changed my life this year. That's not a joke. I may be the slightest bit organizationally challenged at times. I was utterly overwhelmed when I first started teaching with all the paperwork you have to keep straight as well as HOW MANY MEETINGS we go to. No one understands how many meetings teachers have to go to- unless that's just me. Regardless, GoodNotes allows you to write (yet again- there's something about being actively involved in writing instead of typing that I appreciate) during meetings and store them in what looks like composition notebooks on a shelf. I believe you get 2 notebooks free with the app, and then you can upgrade later if you like it. I usually don't pay more than a dollar or two for an app, but this one was $6.99 and a steal if you ask me. I now have a separate notebook for: Team Meetings, Staff Meetings, Dept Meetings, Parent-Teacher Meetings, Committee Meetings, etc. I have a notebook for my vball lesson plans, a compilation of all my vball drills to continue to add to, a notebook for line-ups, etc. This app is even better than Palu. I could get by without Palu, but I don't think I could go back to not having my GoodNotes. Everything is organized in notebooks- but all the notebooks are in one place. Inside my expensive IPad that (knock on wood) I'm not going to just shove in a drawer and forget where it is. My school is not 1:1, and this may or may not work with kids, however it is a great "teacher tool" to help keep you sane and organized if you are like me and constantly trying to figure out an organizational system that is EASY to use, find, and keep going. My little life-save to you- hope you can use something! :)
I'm also a dummy- IOS is apple. I meant I don't know about android- doh!
DeleteOne of my favorite tools to use is Wordle.
ReplyDeleteYou can find the website here: www.wordle.net
On this site you create word clouds, and I have had students create them for various different reasons. The easy one, and the one I like to start the year off with, is a word cloud describing who you are. The more times you type a word in the box, the bigger it will show up in your word cloud. The word only shows up once, but the size depends on how many times you type it in. It can be interesting, and comical at times, to see what is really important in students lives at various ages.
Through conversations with another teacher, a different use for Wordle came up. A student writes a paper on any topic they currently have going in any of their classes. When they are done, they go to the lab, copy and paste the text into Wordle. The word cloud will show you what words you are using the most, and a good twist would be to make the kids change the top 3 most commonly used words in their papers.
If you want to go a little further than Wordle, there is a website called Tagxedo. Tagxedo is very similar, except you can choose the shape of your word clouds. It also gives you the option to put your design on shirts or mugs.
These tools can be used on desktops as well as tablets or iPads, but I prefer to use desktops. It is easier to type everything in from a keyboard, the screens are generally bigger for easier viewing, and printing can be a whole lot easier at times.
I use My Big Campus with my students. It is web-based. You can find it at www.mybigcampus.com. There is a MyBigCampus app for the iPhone and iPad, although not all features are available through the app.
ReplyDeleteOne way I use this tool with my students is to administer our weekly spelling pre-test. I set up the pre-test as an assignment in Schoolwork on MBC. We take the test on Monday. Once we are finished taking the pre-test, the students get immediate feedback telling them how they did on the test. I can see the students' results right away. These results determine which spelling list each student will be using for that week. This is an efficient way to administer and score the spelling pre-test.
Angie,
DeleteWe are also an MBC school. Many of our teachers really use it well. Teacher post weekly assignments by creating a page and making it their homepage. The next week they make a new page and make IT their home page. The nice thing about doing it this way is that all of the pages are saved so students can go back and see assignments from the week(s) before. We also have many teachers who use the bundling feature to give students resources in an organized fashion. MBC has SO many different components that are very useful in a 1:1 situation!
I have two favorite tools that I like to use...
ReplyDeleteThe first tool is Educreations. It is a recordable interactive whiteboard that captures your voice and handwriting to produce amazing video lessons that you can share online. Students and colleagues can replay your lessons in any web browser, or from an app on the iPads (not available on android). There is also creations in existence from other teachers to use or you can share yours. Students can also create their own projects verbally or with illustrations. This tool allows students to receive a lesson multiple times. To sum it up, Educreations can be use to create, evaluate, analyze, apply understanding and help students to remember.
The second tool that I like to use is Socrative. Remember the "Clicker Craze"? I do, and I am still storing a bag of them...just in case. My 3rd graders love to use this program. They like to see the results immediately. Socrative is a smart student response system that empowers us by engaging our classrooms with a series of educational exercises and games. The apps are super simple - that is what we like to hear. Socrative runs on IOS, Web, and Android. I like to use this program as exit tickets, it gives you a quick assessment of what this kids know.
Here's a post from Dan Eggleston:
ReplyDeleteThe tool I used was Citation Machine found at citationmachine.net, Every year I spend countless amount of instruction time trying to get my students to create a correctly formatted MLA bibliography with poor results. This website allowed me to accomplish that goal with positive results and gave my students a tool they can use for the rest of their academic careers. I only wish I had it when I was stressing to put that bibliography together at the last minute for the numerous papers I have wrote. This is a web based tool that falls under augmentation on the SAMR scale.