Future Uses of Technology

In the near future, I plan to use Yodio, Google Earth, and Photoshop.  Yodio will be used to create something similar to an online alphabet book.  Google Earth will be used to show students the 7 different land continents.  Photoshop will be used by the older kids to create slideshows about how to play different sports, which will be done on rainy days for PE.

I don't plan to use mobile applications very often with the whole class.  I only have one phone, so only one person can be using the app at a time.  For many activities, it will be too time consuming to use mobile apps.

Websites

Websites are a very useful tool for any grade or content area.  Important papers for families can be posted online in addition to being sent home on paper.  Then if little Johnny forgets his permission slip, his parents can print, sign and fax it to the school while the kids are loading onto the bus!

Websites can also be a great place to celebrate student work.  Students can put their speeches into a podcast and post them onto a class website to share with friends and family who may not otherwise hear them.

Homework assignments can be posted to give students reminders about directions and due dates.  You can view my website at www.gregsykora.com.

Voki

Voki is a web 2.0 tool that can be used to create online cartoon characters that speak the words you type.  It is a fun way to get your students' attention for a short piece of content or important sets of directions.  Voki can be embedded into a website.

Mobile Apps

Mobile applications (mobile apps) can be very useful for students of all ages.  Even kindergarten can use mobile apps.  There are easy apps to use, such as Kids Math Ace, in which students add pieces of fruit and pic their answer out of a group of different numbers. 

Mobile apps can also be a great above and beyond activity for students how have finished the current assignment or for indoor recess.  Students who have finished their science lab can learn about wind speed and direction with the Papertoss application (an app that allows you to throw a digital piece of paper into a garbage can from varying distances with varying wind speeds and directions in the room).

Podcasting

Podcasting can be a great tool as long as it is used to teach to your objectives.  Children can really master a concept if they create a podcast about it.  For example, when younger grades are learning shapes, they can get into small groups and create podcasts about individual shapes.  As a culminating lesson, the kids can have a popcorn party and watch each other's podcasts to review all of the shapes.

Teacher-created podcasts can also be helpful.  I plan to create podcasts for my students to listen to at home.  They will be fun and a good way for children to review what they have learned.  They can also be used to front load new vocabulary, especially to ELLs.

Teach kids to recognize hoax sites

Show your kids some unreliable sources.  Talk to them about wikipedia.  Make sure they know that it is created by people just like you and me.  As a class, we will check information on wikipedia with known sources in books from our school library.  I will make sure my kids see examples of online sites with incorrect information.

Information can be taken as reliable if it can be confirmed from multiple sources.

Maps in the Classroom

How can you use maps in your future classroom? Would you ever use an electronic mapping resource like Google Maps in your class? Why or why not?


There are so many ways to use maps in the classroom.  Electronic mapping resources, like Google Maps and Google Earth, are often overlooked.  For example, Google Maps can be used to teach time concepts to upper elementary.  Students can plan a trip and estimate how long it will take to travel there and back.  You can also add times together by having multiple destinations.


Google Earth could be used to take your children along the journeys of famous explorers, such as Christopher Columbus or Lewis and Clark.


I will definitely use electronic mapping in my classroom.  It is a great way to engage your students, since they probably see their parents using electronic maps.  They may even use electronic maps themselves.  

Creative Commons

As teachers, it is very important that we set a good example for our students to follow.  If students see us using copyrighted images freely, then we unknowingly teach them that it is OK to copy the works of others.  We be careful to only use pictures that we are allowed to use.  If we want our students to grow up following the rules and guidelines society has given us, then we must follow them ourselves.

There is an old saying, "Kids will do nothing you tell them; they will do everything they see you do!"

Potential Issues with video in the Classroom

• PARENT PERMISSION:  Not all of the parents in your classroom will want their child in a video, especially if it is shared online.  Alternate assignments will need to be provided for children who are not allowed to participate in the video project.
• RESOURCES: Obviously, you will need a digital video camera and a compatible computer if you are going to create videos.  If you don't have these, you will have trouble creating a video.  If you don't have these resources, you can do the same project, except you won't be able to record it as a video.  It would be a short skit.
• TECHNOLOGY DOES NOT WORK: Have a back-up plan.  Your technology may not work when you are up in front of your class.  Have a back-up plan in case this happens.

Web 2.0 Tools for the elementary classroom

There is a great variety of web 2.0 tools available for teachers to use.  Many can be found at go2web20.net

One tool that I especially like is TwistyNoodle. This one is very useful for primary classrooms learning about seasons, letters, and numbers.  There are an assortment of drawings and diagrams for children to color.  This would be a good assignment for students to complete when they finish their first assignment.

Another useful site is Wiffiti.  It posts text messages to a website.  You can ask your students a question and they can answer it by posting a text message (or an online post through Wiffiti's site).  This gives teachers the opportunity to hear every child's response in a quick period of time.  This would be most useful in a classroom where the students are old enough to have their own cell phones.

A useful web 2.0 tool for any grade/class that involves writing is Lulu.  It is a self-publishing website that allows students to publish their own books.  Older students are very capable of publishing their own book, while primary students may need help navigating the website.  Another option for primary grades is for the teacher to create a class book written by the students.

Using the Cell Phone in Class

If you are teaching a classroom in which the majority of students have cell phones, why not incorporate them into your instruction? They are especially useful in reading and writing instruction.

Sending text messages is another form of writing that students are engaged in. You can ask them to tell you what text messages a character in one of their books would send. When teaching about different audiences, the children can "text to an audience". For example, have the students give you a text message to the president, to the principal, to their best friend, to you, and to their parents. You can teach persuasive and expository texts.

Yodio can also be utilized by your students. They can create online responses to questions and assignments that you give them. This can be a very effective assessment tool.

Yodio is a Web 2.0 tool that records what a student says when they call a Yodio on their cell phones. It can be found at www.yodio.com. If you need help with how it works, ask your students. They will love that they can be a technology expert! Then have the students who have experience with Yodio help others in the class to become comfortable with the tool.

Possible Concerns:

• Students will text each other instead of listening: Go over your expectations before they take out their cell phones.  The first time a child abuses the privilege, he must put his phone away. 
• Not every child will have a cell phone in class.  If you feel comfortable with this, let students use your cell phone.  If there are too many students who need to use your cell phone, there can be optional cell phone assignments.  For example, students can either turn in a written sentence or send it as a text message.

If you have any comment, questions, or suggestions, please let me know.