MISD Classroom and Technology News
Volume I - Issue 4
Malakoff ISD Classroom Technology Update
Summer Technology Training
Google Apps/Chromebooks
Intro to Google Apps/Chromebooks - June 20th - 21
Advanced Google Apps/Chromebooks - June 22nd
Intro to Google Apps/Chromebooks - Aug. 1-2nd
Advanced Google Apps/Chromebooks - Aug. 3rd
TASA on iTunes
TASA on iTunes U is a library of digital resource collections, organized by course, that make it easier for teachers to incorporate digital learning opportunities into their lessons. Teachers may access the collections — which number 62 as of fall 2015 — for free. Teaches will learn how to access these documents from an iPad, iPhone or computer and use the materials in class.
June 9th
July 29th
Tech Tool of the Month
New Polling Feature in Google Classroom
1. Post Exit Tickets - Use exit tickets to make sure students understand the main points of your lesson that day. You can see how the class as a whole understands a concept, and break it down to what each individual student understands based on their answer.
2. Help students self-monitor their work - Ask students if they are on track with their deadlines in your class. One teacher asked students if they are "on track", "a little off track" or "way off track" with your deadlines. When students answer "way off track", teachers can meet individually with those students and help them better organize their time
3. Guide Student Discussions - Kick off a class discussion with a poll to get things going. Sometimes students are not willing to share publicly at first, but asking them to complete a poll might get things going for a discussion.
4. Get immediate feedback from your lessons from students. Ask them what they enjoyed most, how much or how little they understood.
Update to Kahoot
Tech Tools for Math Instruction
Great Chrome Apps for Math
Math Arcade Games - Arcade type games that integrate math in them. Have fun and learn math at the same time.
Prodigy Math Game - Engaging math game that aligns with TEKS. Uses formative, diagnostic and summative assessments.
Splash Math - K-5 math skills. Uses animations, graphics and games to help students learn math skills in a fun interactive way.
Good Secondary Technology Math Tools
Kahn Academy - Kahn Academy has been mentioned before, but this is a great way for students to get extra practice and help learning math at all levels.
Mathground - This website has lots of information on secondary math and also has some games. Would be useful as a supplement to your instruction.
Good Technology Science Tools
Crash Course Kids - Provides scientific video content to introduce students to various concepts through animated lessons. This is a YouTube Channel.
It's Okay to Be Smart - Another YouTube channel that tackles a challenging question or concept related to biology, science, physics, space and earth.
Mystery Science - a great science resource for Elementary Teachers. Engages students with hands-on lessons in ready made teacher lesson plans. Great resource for grades 2-5.
Tech Tools for the English Language Arts Classroom
Reading Rockets - A national multimedia project that offers a wealth of research-based reading strategies, lessons and activities to help younger students read better.
ReadWriteThink - Many of you are probably already familiar with this website that has tools for all grade levels. Excellent resource for the ELA classroom.
Literature Map - A tool that makes finding authors for kids based on their likes and dislikes easier. When I played around with it, it seemed to have more YA and adult authors than children.
Quill - provides personalized, interactive writing and grammar activities. Students using Quill learn writing and grammar skills by writing sentences and proofreading passages. You can create a class in Quill and invite your student to join it using the generated code. Once they join it they will be able to access the worksheets you assign to them. Quill has recently released a new feature called activity packs.These are activities created in collaboration with teachers. Activity Packs are a simple way to assign a group of activities to students quickly. More time teaching, less time clicking.
Tech Tools for Social Studies
Historical Maps
University of Texas Historical Map Collection - UT Austin has curated a large collection of historical map websites.