Description: Looking for new ways to integrate technology and engage students? In this hands-on presentation, we will examine 10 resources that can be used in a variety of subjects with secondary students. Participants will have time to explore the resources and discuss ways they can be used in the secondary classroom.
* This session meets the "technology integration" licensure renewal requirement.
Workshop links and resources:
1. Remind 101: A safe way for teachers/coaches to text message students and stay in touch with parents. It is very easy to set up and even has the ability to delay messages. Why is this important? Maybe you want to remind students to study for the tomorrow's test at 7pm... just sent the delay message time before you leave school; Remind 101 will take care of the rest.
2. Dropbox: Sync your files between school, home, and your laptop or iPad. It's like having access to your X: drive where ever you go. Simply create an account, download and install the software, and your done. Anything you place in the "magical" little dropbox folder will automatically sync on your other devices. Note: Dropbox provides 2GB of free storage space... that's a lot, but may not be enough to hold your entire X: drive. If you are not sure how to check the amount space on your X: drive, feel free to ask me for help.
3. Online-Convert: Need to download a YouTube video? Convert a video to a different format? Convert a Word Perfect file into a PDF or Word document? This is the place for you. It's easy and it works well.
4. Picnik: This is an online photo editing tool. You can crop, resize, and add special effects. Yes, you can do that with several software programs, but this is easier, it's free, and it can be accessed anywhere.
Note: (1/26/12) Picnik was recently purchased by Google and just announced plans to shut down the small start-up business. All the free online tools are great, but this is another example of why we have to be flexible. I've listed two similar alternatives to Picnik below.
5. EasyBib + NP Google Docs: A student can type his/her research papers on their NP Google Docs account, go into the integrated EasyBib, format their sources, and export the Works Cited page directly into Google Docs!
6. Prezi: Visualize your ideas. Pan left, move right, zoom-in on a detail, or zoom-out to show the big picture. Prezi let's you engage your audience in a way PowerPoint can't. This can be a great option to give students for any type of presentation. Note: Teachers can sign up for an educator account to receive more features and storage space than the regular "free public" accounts.
7. Animoto: Upload pictures, video clips, and music. Animoto will combine all of the resources and do all of the editing for you. If you have never created an Animoto video, you will be hooked on your first try. Note: Teachers can sign up for an educator account to receive the "Plus" version of Animoto. This will allow you and your students to create full-length videos, instead of the normal limit of 30 seconds.
8. SoapBox: This service combines a lot of great features into one package. Students can post questions online and then "vote" on each others questions to see which questions the teacher should answer first. A teacher can also post a question for discussion, post a poll/survey, or add a "confusion barometer." What's that... it's a spot that allows students to "respond" if they are understanding the concept that is being presented.
Note: (2/14/12) SoapBox just announced they are moving out of "beta" and going public. Normally this is good news for a teacher, but in this case, it's bad. Their business model does not include a free option. This means there is an annual subscription fee to use their services. Too bad, this was a very useful product with a lot of classroom potential. Hopefully they will include a "free" option in the near future.
9. Screencast-o-Matic: There are a bunch of different tools out there that allow you to record a demonstration of something you are doing on your computer. Many are free, but most are limited to 5-minute recordings. That is probably the best length of time, but what if you need just 15 more seconds? With Screencast-o-Matic, you not only get 15 minutes, but you also have the ability to record with a webcam, edit the video, and add text titles.
10. Online-Stopwatch: Do you want students to stay on task when you give them an activity... limit the amount of time they have and display this timer on your projector. It's free, it's online, and they have several fun timers for the classroom.
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