Two New Tools

The assignment for Module 2 asked us to identify two tools that we might use in our classes. As one of the examples given in the reading was from an AP World History class I was very interested in what the teacher was using.  I will be teaching World History year.  Can read what I wrote for question # 3 from Module Task 1 here.

Tools

StudyBlue
video for educators 

Kaizena  this app allows you to give your students audio feedback.  It is a Google add-on that you get in the Chrome Store. For me, it is much easier to give a spoken comment than to write it out. At a first glance, it seems very user-friendly.  Check out how easy it is to use the audio.

Lahr_Module Task 1

Lahr_Module Task 1

1. What are your biggest concerns or challenges with technology?

My number one concern always is whether I have done enough preparation for using the app or program that I have chosen.  There have been many occasions when I have created the fake student account and taken the app out for a test drive and everything seems to be working fine. Then for some reason the app doesn’t work and I stand there helplessly watching my class go from organized to chaotic.  This can happen in a stunningly short period of time.

 Another concern is that all of your students are where they are suppose to be when they are using their devices for a lesson.  Are they really taking notes in Google Keep, OneNote, or Evernote? Or, are they electronically passing notes to one another?  

Finally, there is alway the issue of whether your students have a device that is working (charged) and is capable of handling whatever app or program that you are using.

2.  “Why Bother with Technology?”

I have often found myself asking this very question after spending hours setting up a new app or program.  Embracing new technology is very time consuming and takes an enormous amount of perseverance. After looking over the tech tools that are listed in the guide I counted over 50 that I have used in the last two years.  One of the reasons why I bother with technology is a very selfish one.  I became bored with me.  I was still excited my content but, I was not excited about the way I was teaching that content.  I joined edWeb.net and began my journey into the 21st century of education.  I have not looked back.  

All of the reasons that are included in the JumpStart guide are very important. However, I feel  developing the skills for work and life in the 21st century is the most important and most challenging of them all.  There has been much written about this subject and the number one take away is we have to prepare our students for jobs that do not even exist yet. Even though all of our content areas are important our focus as educators has to lean more towards 21st century skills.  So, this is why we must all bother with technology.  

3.  Tools that interest me.

I am familiar with Quizlet but not StudyBlue so I would be interested in trying it out with my classes.  I like to give my students choices whenever I can.  This could be a friendly competition begin the two apps.  I would also use Kahoot at the end of the week to assess learning.

Another tool that interest me is Kaizena.  I have used MoveNote in the past but they have now gone from a free app to a pay only app.  I think giving an oral form of feedback is so much more personal than some written words.

4.  “How to Implement Technology”

You can actually combine “is it taking too long?” with reflect and recalibrate. I have a hard time giving up on a new app.  I think I will make sign asking “Is This Taking Too Long?” and place over my computer at school. I really feel it is so important reflect on how well a new piece of technology in worked in class.  Students today are pretty hard to impress with tech stuff.  Occasionally I will have my students fill out a quick Google Form to get their feedback on the tech stuff that we have used in the classroom.  It always amazes me how helpful our students are willing to be if only we remember to ask for their help.

5.  Q & A

I looked through the article from Education World on how to manage technology and there were several ideas that I will definitely use.

• Make a small handbook with instructions on how to do things.
• Heading for all documents
• How to share a document
• How to communicate with me

   -   Ask for a volunteer to be a classroom tech manager

   -   For longer tech projects - print out step by step instructions

    - for example: Stop here, do not go any further unless your neighbor, partner, or team

                  until they are here.  Help them.

• Students can help one another but they cannot touch one another’s computers.

Accept the mantra that things can and will go wrong.  Always have a PLAN B

6.  Preview 30 Tool categories:

Flipping my classroom.  I have tried this a couple of times with mixed results.  I would like to learn more about the different options that are available.  

Two years ago I joined the Ditch Your Textbook movement.  Since then I am constantly searching for and finding supplemental information to use in my classes.  My problem is how do I organize all of this data so that I can find it and use it when I need it

New Friends

I have signed up for a mini-course called JumpStart2106 hosted by Jennifer Gonzalez.  Ms. Gonzalez is the founder of the Cult of Pedagogy. The purpose of this course is to a jump start and become familiar with some of the technology tools that are available to teachers.
Ms. Gonzalez has identified three major groups of teachers.  I would have to put myself in the third group - tech junkie.  After reading through her tech tool list I discovered that I had used over 50 of them in the last two years.
Even with being aware of at least 50 tech tools I have been introduced to a new way of communicating called Voxer.  It is a free app that allows you to text and talk with one another.

Tic, Tac, Tec

We probably all have played tic, tac, toe at some point in our lives.  I still remember when a friend of mine showed me the trick to winning at tick, tack, toe.  Once I knew the "trick" I challenged anyone I knew to play.  Winning at finding the right tech tool is a little harder for many reasons. Unfortunately, there is no "trick." First off just the sheer volume of tech tools available is daunting.  Secondly, the investment of time is enormous, and lastly, you will not know if your choice was the right one for that lesson and that group of students until your assessment is over. There is no quick end to this game. So why bother?  That is the question we have been asked to answer. If our job is to prepare our students for the future, then it is our responsibility to not only bother with technology but, to teach ourselves about the tech tools that are available for our use.  That is why over 140 of us have signed up for Jennifer Gonzalez's JumpStart2016 mini-course.  That is why we are all willing to give up some of our summer vacation to do this.  We have been given the task to prepare our students for jobs that have not even been created yet.  The so-called 21st-century skills.  Think about what that means.  A century is a hundred years. Can you even imagine what the next hundred years will bring to the world?  All I can say is "Beam me up, Scottie."