ITech Ingenuity
Ideas for Creative Use of Technology in the Classroom
As "testing season" approaches, maintaining the focus of students can sometimes prove challenging. Integrating technology with traditional lesson materials in exciting new ways can help engage and capture their attention!
Classroom Response Ideas
INSIGHT 360 (Elementary)
Contact your ITech Coach today for a quick demonstration, tutorial, or assistance with creating lesson materials to use with your Insight 360 program!
(This is a district-supported program available in all core-area elementary classrooms.)
- Tag existing resources to instantly send questions to student devices
- Use the Test Player for quick assessments and get instant results on your iPad
- The Constructed Response feature is a great tool for formative assessment and engagement of students during lesson presentations
Einstruction - Insight 360 Classroom Reimagined Contest video
PLICKERS
NO STUDENT DEVICES REQUIRED!
Plickers is a tool that allows teachers to collect real-time formative assessment data without the need for student devices! Teachers can simply sign up for the program online and create classes and assessments. The assessment is then presented by the teacher from a free downloadable app that is compatible with both Apple and Android mobile devices. Students respond by holding up printable answer cards that allow the teacher to quickly scan the responses from the front of the classroom. Instant results are displayed on the teacher's mobile device as well as computer for instant analysis.
How to Use Plickers in the Classroom
Nearpod is a free program for teachers to sign up and utilize. Although it has some premium features, most of the powerful built-in tools are free. This program allows teachers to reinvent their existing lesson materials to improve student engagement.
- Nearpod presentations can quickly be built online.
- Students enter a "live session" by downloading the free app (available for most mobile devices as well as pc/mac) and entering a code given to them by the teacher.
- Nearpod presentations can include video, PDF, images, slideshow presentations, quizzes, polls, drawing activities, and open-ended questions.
- The teacher sees student responses instantly as they submit, and items can even be shared to student devices for discussion. Students also get instant feedback.
- Teacher controls the pacing of the lesson from computer or mobile device, but students can work through materials independently from their devices.
- When sessions are ended, saved reports show very powerful results for later grading/analysis.
"Nearpod: a discussion setting where kids are interacting"
KAHOOT!
NO APP DOWNLOAD REQUIRED!
Kahoot is a free game-based classroom response system that allows teachers to send quizzes, polls, or surveys. Content can be created online, and students can connect with a code provided by the teacher via the web (no app download required) from practically any device.
Kahoot Tutorial
Augmented Reality Apps
What is augmented reality? This is a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view.
Part toy. Part chemistry experiment. Explore 4D in your classroom by using free chemistry lesson plans (elementary, middle, and high school) created by teachers and printable element blocks. Students download a free app to a mobile device (Apple or Android, but not currently available for LearnPads) to experience the augmented reality experiment.
Thanks to Aurasma, every image, object and even place can have its own "Aura", or augmented reality experience! Teachers can create Auras to add engaging digital information to printed materials in their classrooms.
Teaching with Aurasma
NASA's Spacecraft 3D is an augmented reality (AR) app that lets you learn about and interact with a variety of spacecraft that are used to explore our solar system, study Earth, and observe the universe. This free downloadable app (Apple and Android devices, but not Learnpads at this time) uses a printed AR Target and the camera on the mobile device to experience this augmented reality activity.
SpaceCraft 3D NASA app hands-on with augmented reality
Contact your ITech Coach for assistance with creating exciting lessons using technology in your classroom!
TECHNOLOGY TUTORIALS AND RESOURCES
(Check back often, as resources are continually updated throughout the year!)