Top Ten Tech Tools

There are so many great technology tools available that it's hard to pick just ten. The following is my list of:

Top 10 Tech Tools I Can’t Live Without

1.)  ActivBoard/ActivInspire – I use this interactive tool daily.  The students love it and so do I!

2.)  Edmodo – This is sort of like Facebook but set up for my students.  I can issue homework and assignments, send reminder notices, and even send messages to individual students.  The students can speak to each other in the class about assignments, send messages to me, and submit their work online.  It’s a great tool.

3.)  YouTube – There are so many great videos to grasp students’ attention and teach skills in a fun and creative way.  I use this tool often to spice up my lessons.

4.) Prezi – This is a great way to present information.  The students love it too!  They are currently working on creating their own presentations.

5.) Bubbl.us – I really like the ease of creating concept maps with this program.  The visual representation is great for all students.

6.)  Animoto – I loved this tool so much that I paid for an upgrade so that I could create longer videos. 

7.)  IXL Math – This math program is great for practicing skills through games.  The skills are grade based and aligned to state and common core standards.

8.)  Blogger – I didn’t know this was going to be so easy to use.  I enjoyed reading the blogs of other students and making comments as well.

9.)  Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) – Although these programs are not new, I can’t imagine life without them.  I use Microsoft Word on a daily basis and Excel and PowerPoint on a weekly or biweekly basis.  They’re oldies but goodies!

10.)  Google – It’s not just a search engine to me anymore.  I can find great images with the click of a button, create multiple calendars, check my Gmail, create interactive documents, get directions, and so much more.

Mobile Apps for Math

Sky Numbers HD by Bubanji.com is a mobile app designed to help students understand order of operations.  In this game, students combine numbers with operators by clicking on them as they’re floating across the sky to create equations that result in the given answer. 

Math Drills Lite by Instant Interactive is a mobile app that helps students practice basic math skills.  Number lines, wooden blocks, facts and hints are given as students learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts.  Although I teach sixth grade, many of my students have not memorized their multiplication facts and often make mistakes with simple addition and subtraction.  This application would help them practice these prerequisite skills in a fun and interactive way. 

Doodles Numbers Quiz by RedSpell is a puzzle game that’s fun to play and a bit addictive.  Students solve puzzles using basic math skills.  Not only are they practicing their math skills, but solving the puzzles helps the students with reasoning and higher order thinking skills as well.

Interactive Integers – Addition and Subtraction by TicTapTech, LLC is a mobile application that teaches addition and subtraction of positive and negative numbers.  The application uses color tiles and number lines, which helps the students to visually understand the concepts.  I also like the fact that the number of problems and level of difficulty can be changed to help individualize the application for each student.

I learned about these mobile apps from the following website:

Kharbach, M. (2012). A list of great math apps for your ipad. Retrieved from  

      http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/10/math-apps-for-ipad.html

Digital Citizenship

It’s important to be a good digital citizen for many reasons.  Being a good digital citizen encompasses many things.  It means that you give credit where credit is due by not plagiarizing.  You should also cite where you find information that you use in research papers, presentations, or other documentations.  It also means that you practice good netiquette on social media sites.  The younger generation, in particular, does not seem to realize that there is someone on the other side of the computer.  It’s important to think about who could get hurt by what’s being said.  As a rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t say it to the person’s face, don’t say it at all.  It’s imperative that you have a good digital reputation because it’s not just friends and family looking at what you post - future employers will often look at your profile on Facebook and/or Google you on the Internet.  An embarrassing picture or thoughtless comment could cost you for many years to come.

Material Generators

One type of material generator that I often used was whiteboard activity software, at least until our school became a one-to-one digital school and I became blocked from the site - ironic, huh?  I downloaded flipcharts on a weekly basis on a variety of subjects from www.prometheanworld.com. (I’m sure that I could get this site unblocked, but since I’ve become a collaborative special ed. teacher, there hasn’t really been a need, or time.  Did I mention time?)  I wish I could be more specific as to what flipcharts I downloaded, but I am unable to access these files too.  I should have backed them up!  If you’re a core teacher with a Prometheus Board, I’d strongly suggest that you check out the prometheanworld site. 

Another materials generator that I’ve used in the past is Print Shop Deluxe.  I used this to create awards and invitations to my end of the year party for students who achieved their reading goal.  I also used Print Shop Deluxe to create birthday cards and bookmarks. 

I was surprised to learn about the IEP generator as I’ve never even heard of such a thing and I’ve been a special education teacher for thirteen years.  I doubt that I will be able to use it as the guidelines are so stringent about what we are allowed to write on the individualized educational plan.  However, I do plan on checking out the three sites listed on page 145 before I write my next IEP.

Instructional Software for the Classroom

As stated in chapter three of Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching, there are five types of instructional software.  The instructional software may be used for drill and practice, tutorial, simulations, instructional games, and problem solving.  All of these types of instructional software are appropriate, at times, depending on the needs of the students.

Drill and practice software is used to help students develop automaticity for lower order prerequisite skills.  This is great for helping students remember their math facts and for helping them to improve their vocabulary.  A great site for this is http://freerice.com/.  Every time a student answers a problem correctly, ten grains of rice are donated through the World Food Programme .  The students see a visual of a bowl that is gradually filling up with rice every time they answer a problem correctly.  It’s very motivating and the students feel a sense of pride because they are helping to end hunger.

Tutorial instruction software is software that is used to actually teach the skill.  This type of software works best with advanced students and adults.  However, it can be used to reinforce a skill after it has been taught or to introduce a new skill.  The majority of students aren’t going to master the skill by using tutorial instruction alone, but combined with good teaching, it could be a valuable resource.  An example of a tutorial site is https://www.khanacademy.org/.

Simulation software is used to teach how something works.  Students use simulations to choose tasks to complete and the order in which to complete them.  For example, one simulation may consist of a group of chemicals of which the students “mix” to see how they react.  Simulation software is used more in the field of science than any other field.  Check out http://www.learn4good.com/games/simulation.htm for some interesting activities.

A very popular type of instructional software involves the use of instructional games.  Many teachers use instructional software for the same reasons as drill and practice software.  The difference is that instructional games are much more motivating.  For this reason, teachers often use instructional games as a reward.  It’s important that instructional games not be overused and that they not become a babysitter.  The purpose of most instructional games is to help students attain automatic recall of essential skills.  Like other instructional software, the purpose must fit the individual needs of each student and used appropriately.  An instructional games site that I use with my students is http://www.funbrain.com/.

The last type of instructional software discussed in chapter three is problem-solving software.  Just as the name sounds, it is used to help students learn to solve problems.  It is used a lot in math and science.  Although it wasn’t mentioned in the book, having students use problem-solving software for a homework assignment is a great tool to use.  Like any homework assignment, it’s important to review the lesson the next day to make sure that the homework was done correctly and that the skill was understood.  A problem-solving site that could be used for solving math problems is   http://www.mathplayground.com/wordproblems.html.

There is a time and place for all of these software sites and activities.  Be sure the software correlates to the skill you’re teaching in the Alabama Course of Study and try them out. Some of them are pretty amazing!