Tech in the Classroom

As far as tech goes, I would consider myself an intermediate user. If you want to measure my use in the form of tangible technology (iPhone, computers, etc) then I would consider myself an advanced user. I have an iPad, two computers, a Chromebook, an iPhone, and an iPod (as seldom used as it is). In the form of web technology, I would say I’m a beginner. I’m planning on starting a YouTube channel when we buy our RV and a blog for our travels. That’s as far as my website tech goes.

I attempted to visit the Screencast-O-Matic website but nothing would load for me. I really like the idea; I just wish I could’ve seen it in action! I made my own Kahoot and tried it out with my husband (he wasn’t as excited as I was to learn about Beowulf) and I’m planning on fine-tuning it to use in my internship! My teacher asked me to play around with it and create one for the students for a grade. It was nice that it was assigned for this class too! I plan to use Kahoot in my classroom with my students as a fun way to break up the learning/review into a game. In my experience, if students know there’s a game awaiting them, they’ll be more engaged in the learning.

I feel that writing virtually is important for students. I also believe that collaboration is equally as important. GoodReads is one of my favorite websites because classes can meet and discuss books and share their favorites. It opens up a whole new world to discuss reading. Websites like Prezi and Google Docs create the opportunity for students to work together digitally to publish work. Students can edit and share documents to be posted on a blog or website.

After looking at Jane Hart’s website, I really like the use of WeVideo and signed up for a free account. Since I have no footage on my Chromebook, I can’t edit anything or create a video, but can see how this would be an easy tool for students to create and edit videos in the classroom. I like that everything is done digitally. I also really like Remind which I definitely will be using in my classroom to keep my students updated on assignments.

I plan to try out the Kahoot game and Google Docs and Hangout in my internship class. I would like to have the students collaborate digitally and introduce my teacher to digital coursework. She isn’t aware of Remind either so I would like to try to sign the students up for that to use in the course as well.