This article highlighted specific teachers and how they used various free technology tools. The first example was a high school physics teacher “flipped” her classroom. The students complete the necessary “lower-level thinking” activities as homework. This would include things like watching videos/podcasts provided by the teacher, participating in online discussions, blogging, and storing assignments in Google Docs. Then there is more time to take part in “higher-level” thinking activities in the classroom. One tool this teacher relies on is Google Forms. She uses it to give quizzes and then Google Forms will immediately compile and organize the data from the quiz. She points out that this tool “makes the busy work of being a teacher so much easier.”
Another example was a middle school technology teacher who uses Edmodo in the classroom. Edmodo is a social networking site similar to Facebook but it designed for educational use. It is free to use and offers many options to use in the classroom. These include: issuing/receiving assignments, quizzes and polls. The teacher points out the ease of grading by using Edmodo. He was able to grade 600 assignments in a matter of two days. Also, he found students shared their work with parents more often when it’s online than when they had to search for their papers.
The article then explained how cell phones could be used at school using a group messaging service called Celly. The benefit of this service is that teachers can communicate with their students immediately but don’t have to give out their personal phone numbers. To use this service teachers start a group, or “cell,” that can be used by all the invited members. Students can use the cell to arrange study groups, teachers can text homework assignments or reminders, and after school activities can be canceled and/or rescheduled quickly. Field trips are another time when Celly would be useful. Students can check in with teachers and chaperones can join in. Teachers can also utilize the bus time by texting out trivia questions based on the field trip experience.
The article then lists and explains ten different social media sites. They include: Wordle, Prezi, Teacher Tube, Quora, Poll Daddy, Thing Link, Skitch, Dipity, Wordpress, and Pinterest.
Review:
I thought the idea behind a “flipped” classroom was very interesting. When I attended the ICE conference last year I saw many breakout sessions were on this topic, but I was not able to get to one. I would like to learn more about this and how it could possibly be used in an elementary classroom. I can see how it could be extremely beneficial for the upper levels but am struggling to figure out a way it would work with my third graders. Which maybe it really isn’t fit for the elementary level. I do really like the idea of having time set for students to the “lower level thinking” activities on their own while I can work with students to do the “higher level thinking” and more hands on activities.
I also love the idea of using something like Edmodo in my classroom. I do think Edmodo is more geared toward the upper grades, but I’m eager to trying something more fitting to third grade (like Haiku LMS, Kahoot!, or Junior Jogger). I am currently looking into more of these and trying to make them a part of our day on the Chromebooks.
I found the idea of using cell phones and Celly to be very interesting! While I probably would not use it with my students, I think it is something that could be done with parents. If not Celly, I know there are other similar services out there. I currently communicate with parents via email, but I’d really like to try the texting. I think it’s quick and gives parents information immediately. I loved the idea of using Celly during field trips! If I ever teach at the middle school level, I definitely will keep that in mind. It sounds like a great tool to keep tabs on the kids and also an activity for the bus, which can often turn into a headache.
Of the ten websites the article highlighted I liked the idea of Teacher Tube best. Our district blocks You Tube and sometimes I just really wish the kids could watch something on their Chromebooks. If I can find something similar on Teacher Tube, it could really open up possibilities for our room!
Chadband, E. (2013, January 1). Social Media Made Simple. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.nea.org/tools/53459.htm
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