Teaching With Technology
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"Internet Enrichment"
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"In our study of Asia, I had a brainstorm that has worked beautifully to
improve communication between my students and I. I simply wrote my home
e-mail address on the board and told students if they had any questions
about our classes, needed information, or just wanted to chat, they could
e-mail me and I would reply quickly. The 1st night I had 2 students, the
2nd night 2 students, and the 3rd night 5 students. I reply with the information
they requested but also with a positive compliment about something they
are doing in class. Then if I have time I also send an e-card. The students
and I love it, and we are forging good relationships with each other. Furthermore,
most of the students ask for web sites where they can research further on
their assignments."
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"Using TalaPhoto for Web-based Electronic Portfolios"
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"I used TalaPhoto free cross-platform software from Talasoft to create electronic portfolios from a series of digital photos. It is extremely
easy to use to generate the web-based electronic portfolio and is a great
tool. Recommended. Two big thumbs up!"
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Portfolio Assessment
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"Use technology to create portfolios of students' work. Teach your
students how to create a web page where they can display there works, be
it writing products, drawings, projects that they completed, etc. Teach
them to use various technology equipment like scanners, digital photo capture,
etc. so that they can include all medium in their portfolios. If they create
a web page, they can work on their portfolios from home and you can visit
their site and monitor work as it progresses. Student have fun doing it
and you have a way to assess their work in progress."
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Presentation Software
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"Get rid of the overhead projector and start using presentation software
that will enahance your lectures. You can prepare your lectures on either
"Microsoft Power Point" or "Corel Presentations." It
is so easy to learn how to create slide presentations that you'll wonder
why you might have waited so long! Once you get the hang of it, you can
add graphics, sound, video, and so much more. Your lectures will never be
the same. The students prefer this method so much more than straight lecture.
It is great for visual learners and it also presents information in a much
more appealing way. It is also a great way to file information that is so
much easier to retreive than going through those paper files of the past!
It's so much eGetting A Job Ice Breakers asier to manage your lecture material."
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"Assessment"
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I always give the students a super short quiz the second they come into class. Students may test in pairs at home or school. They just need to be reminded that they are responsible for all the work we are doing.
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Word Processing
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"Word processing is a great tool to encourage children to write. There
are applications that also allow children to illustrate, or add graphics
to stories. Programs make it easy to spell check and grammar check (although
it is necessary to still teach these skills). Word processing also develops
key boarding skills, a standard skill now needed by everyone.Kids can work
together on writing projects and produce work that they can always easily
revise or add to throughout the school year. I use desktop publishing with
my students to publish their own stories, books, reports, newsletters, and
newpapers. As a result, my students love to engage in writing activities."
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Electronic Grade Books
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"Electronic grade books are definitely the way to go into the future of
teaching. These types of grade books can be used to store many types of
student data, including project grades, test grades, quarter averages, and
final grades. You can also include daily attendance, discipline reports,
daily up dates, or assignments. I use "Thinkwave" which allows
me to post grades and information on the Internet and allows me to access
information on my students from home, or wherever I am that has Internet
access. This application also allows the parents of my students to access
progress up-to-date that is posted for them to have. It has improved my
grade management tremendously; I can't imagine doing it any other way!"
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Power Point!
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"Instead of giving my students a huge test over the planets as we
finish the unit, I put them in groups and they had to pick a planet and
do a power point presentation on the planet. I used a rubric I found here
at TeAch-nology and grade while they present it. Works great! My grading
time is virtually cut down 75%. They kids love it and feel they learned
more than they would have with a test. Projects work- especially in May!"
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Brain puzzles to inspire class!
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"I have been using a puzzle site called "Wognum Brainwaves" as a great way to get my students going! It works equally well as a starter
or to round up a lesson! It seems to work with all ages - not to mention
my fellow teachers! ;) "
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Testing Programs
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"There are a lot of "test development" programs out there that can make your life as a teacher easier. I use "Educatabase" that was originally developed by a teacher for teachers...it creates tests and adminsters them if you want. You have the ability to print tests as well as answer sheets, administer tests on the computer,a nd randomize test items with different versions. Other software applications that are available include MicroTest III (I think there is a newer version), or Linx Test Factory. The money invested, if you have it available, is worth it. You'll create and adminster better tests."
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Computer Reading
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"In response to the question of how to find a computer program that
would help students reach their goals in reading, we use the Accelerated
Reader (AR) program. It's easy to use, the kids love it, they read books
like crazy, and are compensated for their efforts. We give them "AR dollars"
equivalent to the points they earned on tests that can be used at our weekly
"AR Store". We have pencils, pens, books, folders, paper, backpacks, games,
all sorts of things. They love it, and they love to read.......try it!!
"
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"AR: Accelerated Reader"
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"I also use Accelerated Reader. This is my 4th year and it gets better
all the time. I schedule 60 minutes of reading per day, 50 of it independent.
The students must earn 80-100% on the comprehension test of the book they
read, to earn a ticket. On Friday, I roll a dice and draw that number of
tickets from the TOPS jar. I teach second grade and before Christmas break
I had four SUPER readers and four INDEPENDENT readers. When we reach those
certification goals, students call their parents from the classroom. If
they can't be reached at home, we call them at work! Parents don't mind.
Matter of fact, we haven't had to make any behavior calls because we are
too busy reading and making positive phone calls!"
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E-flashcards And Quizzes
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"Many teachers still use archaic paper flashcards that are small and
deteriorate over time. Instead, use PowerPoint or Presentation software
to create electronic flashcards. I write the definitions of vocabulary words
as individual slides. I then do daily reviews with all of my students by
changing the slide. Teachers can quickly change the order of slides using
the thumbnail view. Reviewing takes mere minutes of class time daily. And
teachers can check to see if students are studying for the test or quiz.
As an added idea, teachers can give the quiz electronically. I copy the
definitions, add numbers to the definitions, and then give students a blank
piece of paper for a quiz. Set the flashcards to automatically change after
25 seconds (this seems to be a very fair amount of time from my experience).
Teachers should place a little sound effect to notify students that the
slide has changed. This method eliminates the need for quiz copies and giving
students too much or too little time for a quiz."