There are so many 21st-century tools one can use in an educational setting today. Text books are hard to write about these types of tools because they change and improve so rapidly. One of the tools I recently discovered is Storify. I think this tool could be very beneficial in the classroom. It’s a website that allows you to search for information on a subject across different media, such as Google, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc. Once you find information that you would like to keep, you can add it to the story and begin creating a webpage with a plethora of information about the topic in which you are searching. Storify is a great tool to support teachers to gather resources for a lesson, students to gather resources for learning to take place, and productivity in the classroom by having information gathered in one location and transferred to the product created. Because so many different resources are available through this tool, diverse learning needs of students could be met. Managing this tool would be easy; you could access Storify on any device with Internet connection.
Another tool I have recently become familiar with is LinkedIn. I’ve heard of LinkedIn for a while now; however, I didn’t realize everything the site has to offer. The articles people share on the site are definitely beneficial, and the possibilities of connections seem to be endless. I think this website would be a great tool for older students to use as approaching graduation for both college and the workforce. Even if you aren’t looking for a new or different job, it’s a great place to grow as an individual. To view my personal LinkedIn page, visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/sheri-bashlor-171113100. LinkedIn can support teachers professionally by looking at new avenues or additional professional development opportunities to increase their teaching abilities, students by teaching them how to become productive members of today’s society, and productivity for teachers and students to allow them opportunities to write articles, have them published, and post them on their LinkedIn page for others to view. I think one’s LinkedIn page could show others diversity one could bring to a job, group, or community; therefore, students using this tool could gain multicultural knowledge as well. Like Storify, this tool could be used with any device with Internet connection. LinkedIn can also be assessable on mobile devices, which have proven to be a great way for students to learn and make connections. Lui, Scordino, Geurtz, Yujung, & Mihyan (2007 to present) support the use of mobile devices when stating, “Mobile devices (e.g., cellular phones, smartphones, tablet computers) and the affordances they allow have already changed the way people conduct business, access and share information, and connect with one another” (p. 325).
The application explored was Garage Band. This app truly made me say, “Why haven’t I used this before?” As a gifted resource teacher, I know there are musically gifted children in my room; however, there isn’t much I can do to reach them without instruments or differentiated assignments such as song writing. Garage Band will now allow me to do so much more with my musically-talented students as well as expose other students to new curriculum. One can compose music with different instruments, while creating overlays that allow all instruments to be played at the same time. This tool is clearly indicative of a productive environment to not only support student learning, but also to enhance student talents and areas of interests. Having students create a song, write the music for it, perform it through Garage Band, and share it with the class can definitely contribute to a differentiated and learning environment. Diverse learning needs can definitely be met through this tool. iPads would be required to access Garage Band, and headphones or earbuds would more than likely be a good idea to minimize classroom disruptions for others.
Screencasting and Socrative Assessment Tool
I was introduced to screencasting a couple of years ago and fell in love with it. Screencasting can be used in any classroom for students of all ages, teachers for professional development, and basically for anything where an explanation of Internet use of any kind is involved. One could use this type of tool to flip his or her classroom, communicate with parents, for a presentation, for an explanation during professional development (from school or home), etc. The possibilities are truly endless with this type of tool; I encourage anyone to try screencasting if they haven’t already. Screencast-o-matic is free and easy to use. To view the Screencast-o-matic I created to teach others about an assessment tool named Socrative, please click on the screen below. Socrative is great to use in the classroom for teachers of all grade levels, so check it out!
I was introduced to screencasting a couple of years ago and fell in love with it. Screencasting can be used in any classroom for students of all ages, teachers for professional development, and basically for anything where an explanation of Internet use of any kind is involved. One could use this type of tool to flip his or her classroom, communicate with parents, for a presentation, for an explanation during professional development (from school or home), etc. The possibilities are truly endless with this type of tool; I encourage anyone to try screencasting if they haven’t already. Screencast-o-matic is free and easy to use. To view the Screencast-o-matic I created to teach others about an assessment tool named Socrative, please click on the screen below. Socrative is great to use in the classroom for teachers of all grade levels, so check it out!
socrative_assessment_tool.mp4 |