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My New Year's Resolution last school year was to introduce one new Web2.0 tool to my students each week. Crazy, I know...needless to say, that didn't happen. However, the tools that I did introduce rekindled my students' passion for learning, kept them engaged, and even got them to "own their learning" outside the classroom.
While surfing through one of the most extensive databases for teacher professional development I've ever seen (a.k.a Twitter), I stumbled upon a publication by Michael Zimmerman called "Tools for the 21st Century Teacher."
Zimmerman debunks several myths about the relationship between teachers and emerging technology (or lack thereof), and offers several web based technology tools that teachers can implement in their lessons today.
Myth #1: New teachers have experience with instructional technology.
Myth #2: Current teachers have no desire to learn technology or are scared to learn technology.
Myth #3: Teachers need to pay for technology in order to integrate it in their classrooms.
In my quest for reigniting the passion for learning in my students, I've realized that the key is not getting them to settle down or "unplug" when they enter the classroom. We must incorporate the various technology and social media tools they use daily into our lessons just to make our lessons relevant.
So here are a few practical ways in which I've attempted to debunk Myth #3.
The following are the most popular tools among my students and explanations of how I use them in our environment daily. Many of the tools have made my job as an educator easier, increased parental communication/involvement, increased student engagement/achievement, and renewed my fervor for teaching.
The most popular tools are:
- Google Voice - This Google Education App allowed me to create a free phone number (that rang to my personal cell phone) that I then gave to my students. Before you call me
crazy,deranged,ambitious, read on. Students were able to text or call me (mostly text for this generation) if they had questions on an assignment. However, further into the year, students began texting me about books/articles/documentaries they were watching that connected to something they were learning in class! I also used this as an assessment tool. For example, I'd post a question on the screen and have them text their answer to (202) 643 -TOTT (ha! My name is Mrs. Totten...get it?), or have them leave me a voicemail message explaining the difference between tone and mood. This is also a great tool for parent communication. Students got a little frazzled when I announced that I was sending their parent a text about their behavior (good & bad), skipping class...or a picture of them sleeping in my class. Oh yes! I was this close to hitting send. The key features I loved were: the "Do Not Disturb" feature ("No calls after 5pm!"), the "Announcement" feature where the caller must record their name so you know who's calling before you answer, and you can also send texts and make calls from your computer. To learn more click here.
- Blogging! - I started a class blog last year called "The Intellectual House of Pancakes (and prose). You can check it out at www.theihopp.blogspot.com. Here, I posted the cool things we were doing in class and even some ideas to make our class even more fun. I taught my students about posting meaningful comments and gave extra credit to those that commented on my posts. For class community building, I also posted a few pics of my family, things that interest me (hence, the pancakes - love 'em!) or experiences that I had that my students could relate to. To get my students involved in the sharing and reflection process, I had each create their own personal blog where they wrote poetry, journal entries, etc. Want to learn how to set up your own blog, check out this post.
- Edmodo - Social Networking for Education! Edmodo looks just like Facebook so it automatically peaked my students' interest. Where do I begin to explain how COOL this is? My students can collaborate with students from around the WORLD from our classroom. If we're reading a story about a teen's experience in Germany, we can collaborate or Skype with students and teachers in Germany to ask about their culture to build background knowledge! I can post homework assignments, polls, due dates, videos/articles they need to read for the next day's discussion, etc. and my students will get an email and/or an alert sent to their phones. If they get the new mobile app, they can do some assignments straight from their phones. What I like best about this is....EVERYTHING!! To learn more, watch the video below and follow @betsywhalen on twitter
- Voki - Create your own avatar! My students had a ball with this. I can show you better than I can explain it to you in writing. Make sure your speakers are on, and click the "play" button.
You can use your own voice, or choose one from the list provided (with the accent of your choice). This would be great for foreign language teachers! Have the student create a voki avatar, then record their voice speaking in the respective language, and post it to their blog. Great way to check for fluency! Here's how you do it. Try It Now!
Are you a 21st Century Teacher? Principals, how many 21st Century Teachers do you have?
Check out this list "21 Signs You're a 21st Century Teacher" from the ladies over at SimpleK12.com
It's amazing how you can transform your class with even ONE of these tools. Imagine how much growth you'd see among your colleagues and staff if everyone committed to taking the global "Teacher Challenge" . Try it today!
