Tool #9 Incorporating Classroom-Based Devices

1. The time we have in the elementary classroom to prepare students is getting shorter and shorter. There is so much we need to teach that teachers really need to start working smarter not harder. In the classroom, curriculum integration is the way to go instead of breaking the day into specific teaching periods. The technology devices are good resources to encompass many aspects of learning. Also, students are very familiar with the technology and very willing to work with it. It seems that if we want them to learn, using the devices is the way to go. The devices are not going away, if anything, they are always being enhanced and are more readily available.

2. We still need to make sure that students are accomplishing the skills that are being taught; therefore, holding them accountable in turns helps them become responsible for their learning. It becomes a partnership and not just a one-way street with teacher doing all the delivery. Helping the students become responsible kids, helps them become responsible teenagers, and adults.

3. I really liked the following three sites because they offer grade-level appropriate material. Students can practice skills learned/discussed in class. If the activity does not have a printed assessment, the way to hold students accountable is to have them journal in their notebook and transfer that to a classroom blog -- similar to the way we have been posting on our Blog.

http://tutpup.com/

http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/ (offer printable sheets)

http://www.studyladder.com/ (offer printable sheets)

4. The station will be available for students to use to provide practice on Math skills. The devices will also be used for writing blog responses as well as for creating documents and research.

Edmodo, VoiceThread, Stupeflix, Picasa, and Google Apps is another way I see the students using iTouches, notebooks, and iPads to respond and design and create projects.