The Perfect Blend: Mixing Traditional Teaching with Technology
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Here are a few of my tips and favorite tools for mixing traditional teaching and technology.
Tip #1 - Find a great online learning environment (preferably a free one) - May I suggest Edmodo
Tip #2 - Use dry erase boards for student work and capture the work digitally with a camera. The photos can be used to create digital student portfolios and shared through the online learning environment.
Tip #3 - Encourage students to collaborate in their learning. Use a tool like Padlet to brainstorm together online. Even the introverts will participate in this.
Tip #4 - Capitalize on the creativity of web 2.0 tools. Try Wordle for spelling practice and practice with synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, etc.
Tip #5 - Use mobile devices and digital cameras to allow students to capture every day objects that meet certain criteria to demonstrate learning/understanding of a topic. (For example: take pictures of items that attract to a magnet; have right angles; are red; have four sides; are liquids). Pictures can be imported as a class project into a slideshow/movie maker program and students can narrate these.
Tip #6 - Use mobile devices capable of video capture to re-enact a scene from a book/story that the class is reading.
Tip #7 - Offer students a choice of tools and product to create. Check out Voki and Glogster as alternatives to the traditional comic strip and poster type projects. (sample Glog)
Tip #8 - Use Google forms to create online quizzes, surveys, and polls. You could also transform a worksheet using Google forms, giving students a choice between paper/pencil homework and submitting homework online. With Google forms, students do not need to have a Google account.
Tip #9 - Connect with other classrooms by joining global online projects. Some great starters include Mystery Skype and Projects by Jen
Tip #10 - Help students with attention and focus issues by providing access to pre-recorded lessons online. These same lessons can be reviewed later or used as pre-teaching for students who need multiple sessions to acquire new learning. There are many ways to do this.
I use an app that records audio from my phone to pre-record three different spelling tests each week.
Document cameras often have built-in screen capture that allows recording of a lesson as you teach it. This is great for students that were absent.
A slideshow can be narrated in Powerpoint and automatically playback for students.
Check back for more tips and tricks, along with student samples.
Here are a few of my tips and favorite tools for mixing traditional teaching and technology.
Tip #1 - Find a great online learning environment (preferably a free one) - May I suggest Edmodo
Tip #2 - Use dry erase boards for student work and capture the work digitally with a camera. The photos can be used to create digital student portfolios and shared through the online learning environment.
Tip #3 - Encourage students to collaborate in their learning. Use a tool like Padlet to brainstorm together online. Even the introverts will participate in this.
Tip #4 - Capitalize on the creativity of web 2.0 tools. Try Wordle for spelling practice and practice with synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, etc.
Tip #5 - Use mobile devices and digital cameras to allow students to capture every day objects that meet certain criteria to demonstrate learning/understanding of a topic. (For example: take pictures of items that attract to a magnet; have right angles; are red; have four sides; are liquids). Pictures can be imported as a class project into a slideshow/movie maker program and students can narrate these.
Tip #6 - Use mobile devices capable of video capture to re-enact a scene from a book/story that the class is reading.
Tip #7 - Offer students a choice of tools and product to create. Check out Voki and Glogster as alternatives to the traditional comic strip and poster type projects. (sample Glog)
Tip #8 - Use Google forms to create online quizzes, surveys, and polls. You could also transform a worksheet using Google forms, giving students a choice between paper/pencil homework and submitting homework online. With Google forms, students do not need to have a Google account.
Tip #9 - Connect with other classrooms by joining global online projects. Some great starters include Mystery Skype and Projects by Jen
Tip #10 - Help students with attention and focus issues by providing access to pre-recorded lessons online. These same lessons can be reviewed later or used as pre-teaching for students who need multiple sessions to acquire new learning. There are many ways to do this.
I use an app that records audio from my phone to pre-record three different spelling tests each week.
Document cameras often have built-in screen capture that allows recording of a lesson as you teach it. This is great for students that were absent.
A slideshow can be narrated in Powerpoint and automatically playback for students.
Check back for more tips and tricks, along with student samples.
