Technologically Literate
A compilation of tools from NCTiES 2017
If you've never been to an educational conference, you're missing out. So many people who share your dream of educating youth. Last week I attended NCTiES (NC Technology in Education Society). I learned so much from the sessions I attended, and the notes that were shared from sessions I couldn't attend (there's just so many of them!). Here are some of the highlights of tools that I learned about, that you can use in your class tomorrow. If you'd like help doing that, I'm here for you!
Technologically Illiterate
One of my favorite parts of any conference is the opening and closing keynotes. These are usually big-name speakers that usually give me all the feels. They want what we all want - to help our students learn. They make you laugh, they inspire you, and they make you take a close look at yourself as an educator. The closing keynote for NCTiES was George Couros. He wrote a book that every teacher and administrator need to read: The Innovator's Mindset. If you'd like a copy, let me know - I happen to have an extra, and it already has some highlights. These are just a few of the things he shared in that keynote that made me really think. I hope it will do the same for you.
George and Me
Are you preparing your students for today's (much less tomorrow's) world?
If you don't know how to navigate social media and today's technology, you are technologically illiterate.
Kate Simonds, senior at Timberline High School, is 17. Take a deep breath and a quick inventory of what feelings come to mind when you consider a 17 year old. Now watch this talk and prepare to have your thoughts flipped inside out.
Are you on Twitter? You should be! Even if the only thing you're doing is communicating the good things happening in your classroom. There are other benefits, too, though - like connecting with other educators all over the world.
Tools You Can Use Tomorrow
Writing Across the Curriculum
Students can create and play interactive stories (think "Choose Your Adventure").
Students need to sign up to be able to save, but they have a workaround that doesn't require student emails!
Possible Uses:
- ELA: What might have happened if characters had made different choices?
- Science: What are the effects of different mediums on light waves?
- Art: How would different uses of color and shading affect a painting?
Create stories including text, image, voice recordings, and quizzes. See what it looks like with the information in this newsletter here.
Possible Uses:
- Any subject: Teacher presents a lesson in Sutori, complete with quizzes, that students can read at their own pace.
- Social Studies: Students create a comparison of governments around the world.
- Spanish: Students create a vocabulary review of spelling and pronunciation of Spanish words.
Create a story frame by frame, using pictures and text.
Free accounts are limited and will download with a watermark, but no sign-up is required. Teacher accounts have lots more options and allow you to monitor student work.
Students could:
- Explain a concept
- Create a Public Service Announcement
- Build a timeline
Assessment
Assign classwork, homework, or assessments and be able to see results immediately. You can use pre-made checks for understanding, or create your own. Answers can include drawings and file uploads. You can see your whole class and give immediate feedback.
It's free! No student sign-up required (uses student codes).
Possible Uses:
- Create a formative assessment to use during a lesson to see who's getting it, and who isn't.
- Give a practice problem in which students must show their work.
- Assign a ticket out the door.
Used as a web-based app, teachers can assign work to students and see exactly what they're doing, as they're doing it, give help to students as they request it, and give immediate feedback.
Students can also anonymously help other students in the class, when the teacher allows. This means that the teacher can provide more intensive help where needed.
There is a free version and paid version, but the free version may be all you need!
Possible Uses:
- Practice work
- Assessments
- Peer Review
Create interactive presentations by adding "audience" voting. You create the presentation including one or more questions, students can answer it by going to menti.com and inputting a code you give them. You get to see the results in real time. This is anonymous voting, so it's best used for:
- Surveys
- Activating or assessing prior knowledge
- Reviewing
Want to try it out? Go to www.menti.com and put in the code: 45 23 43
Students use cards with an image to show their answer choice. Teachers use their phone to scan the cards and see who has answered what. It's a quick whole-class or small group formative assessment. Teachers will need to put their question in the app before using.
Possible Uses:
- Survey students
- Ticket out the door
- Formative assessment during the lesson
Quizzes Embedded in Vidoes
here are a number of websites that will allow you to upload a video and insert questions throughout the video to ensure that students are getting the information. These are great for flipping your classroom (even an in-class flip)! Be sure to test them out first.
Vizia - this one is new to me!
Collaboration Tools
Stoodle is a great online collaborative whiteboard. You can add images, videos, text, and draw on the white board.
Possible Uses:
- Student groups working together to solve a problem
- Brainstorm ideas for a project
- Share a lesson with students
Dotstorming calls itself a "A real-time group brainstorming and decision making app." Here's how it works:
The teacher creates an account and adds a topic. S/he shares the link for the topic to students. Students share their ideas with text or images. They vote on their favorites. Alternatively, the teacher could create the ideas and just have students vote on them.
Possible Uses:
- Have groups brainstorm ideas for a project.
- Generate ideas on the theme of a story
- Hypothesize the effects or outcome of an action
Type in your question, give students the link, and then see what they come up with. Everyone can see all of the anonymous answers, and even get an idea of how often the same answers are given. Try it out here.
Miscellaneous Tools
TedEd has tons of lessons built around TedTalks. If you've never watched a TedTalk you are missing out. These are short videos about a wide range of topics. They're often funny and insightful, and always make you think about things in different ways. TedEd takes these videos and creates whole lessons for you to use. Seriously, check it out!
The uses will vary depending on what you need to teach, but just as an example, see the video below for a cool way to teach the Pythagorean Theorem using a TedTalk, and go here to see the lessons associated with this video.
Does your class get too loud during collaborative work? Use Bouncy Balls to give a visual sound monitor to your students.
Engage!
Engaging lessons are key to learning. Worksheets are not engaging. Students need to be able to apply and create. And you need to be able to create engaging lessons. These tools are just a start. If you're not sure how to incorporate these tools into your lessons (and remember, you want the right tool for the job, not the right job for the tool), I can help you do that.
I don't hold all the technological knowledge. There's a lot more out there that even I don't know about. But there is a world full of educators who do. All you have to do is look (and not very hard, really!).
Take a risk. If it doesn't work out right, reflect, make changes, and try again. I promise it's worth it. And I'll be here cheering you on!
If you try one of these tools and let me know how it goes, I'll let you take your pick from my Grab Bag of Conference Swag.
About Me
Email: martint6@gcsnc.com
Twitter: @craftyPLEF