As I am taking my current college class I have come to realize there are many technological tools available that encourage students to read and write. Not only do these tools encourage students but they also increase their understanding of how to effectively communicate, read, and write when used in the correct way. I already use a couple of tools such as wikispaces and Kahoot! in my classroom so I was eager to find some new tools to change things up a little. There are a couple of tools that stick out to me as I do my research. The first is Inspiration. This application can be downloaded and used on phones, ipads, and computers. It allows students to create web maps using fonts and images. I can see myself using this later in the school year when we begin our first paper. This would give students a good visual on the research they do before they write their rough draft. I could also see my students using this to create a visual aid. While presenting they would be showing their knowledge of the required materials read to create this visual aid. I am sure there are many other ways to use this in the reading and writing world but these were the two ideas that came to mind first. The second tool I found to be of interest is Curriculet. After watching the introducation video I was intrigued by the abilities of this tool. Last year I had the opportunity to test out discovery education (which I LOVED however since it cost a pretty penny my district would not allow us to purchase for our students this year) and I was pleased to see that Curriculet is similar to it. I can assign students to a reading prompt and within that reading prompt I can embed videos, audio, questions and quizzes. I am definitley giving this a shot in my classroom this year as I found several free books that I can use to help reinforce some of the ancient civlizations we will be covering. This application will allow students to not only read a selection but also listen to it and test what they understood. I love that it gives instant feedback. I use Socrative for quizzes and the students love being able to see what they missed right away. It is certianly a moral booster for many students. I will continue to do more research as I love being able to find new things to add to the classroom. For now Curriculet and Inspiration are on my top list of new tools to integrate into my classroom. Here it goes!
Christina,
ReplyDeleteI have had the same experience with realizing how many tools are available for teaching and learning. It can be exciting and overwhelming at the same time, but I am thankful that my students and I have so many options. You mentioned that you use Kahoot with your students. I use this for various assessments and my students absolutely love it. They are all engaged and the instant feedback is wonderful.
Inspiration is not a tool I have used personally, but I know that some of our elementary teachers have, and it has enhanced the writing process with their students. It seems like a great tool to differentiate and encourage participation. I will have to take a more in-depth look at this tool to see how I can incorporate it into my math classroom.
I haven’t heard or seen Curriculet before. You made it sound like something I need to take a look at and share with my coworkers.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Sara V
Christina,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you found a tool that will work well with your students. I will be adding many more tools throughout the course. I always remind teachers that technology integration really isn't about the tool (device, app, etc). It is about how you use the tool to promote learning. You seem to have a clear understanding of that.
Dr. Dell
Christina,
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with your statement that there are many technological tools to help students read and write. I was not familiar with Kahoot and Curriculet until I read your blog. I am definitely sharing Curriculet with my staff. Our MAP scores were not good from last spring. Curriculet could be a good resource tool for our struggling readers. I like the fact that the student can read and/or listen to the reading prompt before taking the quiz. Thank you for sharing.
Tami
Tami,
DeleteI love Kahoot! I use it all the time to review for assessments. Students get so competitive when they are playing and they are all actively engaged. It also allows me time to be able to stop and actually go over the question after all students have answered. Another good way to use Kahoot is to let students create their own accounts. They can create their own short quizzes to review a topic and then play each other’s quizzes. They think of so many questions that I never would have thought of. It’s such a plus when student can take more of a role in facilitating their own learning. Definitely give it a try!