Besides Google Apps, what other technology tools might you be using to engage and interact with your students? After reading several articles, I repeatedly came across blogging and Voicethread.
For blogging, I suggest Kidblog.org. This site provides a safe and secure way to digitally connect with your students. Do students get excited about blogging...YES! Will they try to use it like a social media...YES! One cool advantage of using Kidblog is that the teacher can approve all comments before they appear on the blog whether the student responds from school or home. When the teacher models how to use the blog, the appropriate use of the tool can be discussed at this time. If a student submits an inappropriate response, the teacher can unapprove or delete the comment so that other students never see it. Pretty awesome, right? So, why go to all the trouble? I have never seen students get so excited about plate tectonic movements, as I did today when they were asked to blog about it. Using this digital format, the teacher was able to get 100% participation. The students were excited, and engaged. Moreover, they were begging to know if their answers were correct! Wow, every teacher's dream!
Voicethread is a technology tool that students can use to provide information about a specified topic. This digital tool uses images to guide the conversation. The neat aspect of Voicethread is that students can record or type their responses with each image. As they add responses, icons gather around the image. When a student clicks on play, all the responses associated with the image can be heard. In my opinion, this is one of the easiest tech tools to integrate in your classroom. Again, the student response to this tech tool is phenomenal! Using Voicethread, I am seeing students get excited about literature circles!
If you are already using these tech tools, way to go! If not, which one might you consider implementing in your daily teaching and learning? Notice where these two tools are found in the pyramid.
