Web Based Tools

I really enjoyed learning about the web based tools this week and found many of them helpful for teachers. The five I decided to look at more carefully I could definitely see myself using in the classroom!

Voki:

When first exploring Voki I really liked how the students could create their own Avatar to show their creativity. It would be a great tool to use in the classroom for students who are shy and don’t like to speak in front of the class. I thought it would be a great tool to use in ELA when students are learning about summarizing a story. Not only is Voki good for use in the classroom, but it also offers rated lesson plans for teachers. In order to have others view your Avatar they only need the URL, but if a student wanted to access past Avatars they do need to create an account.

Edmodo:

This tool has a similar setup as Facebook, which is good because it would relate to the students life outside of school and make it easy to learn and use. It could be used as a great communication tool in the classroom between teachers, students, and parents. With this site students could develop independence and accountability to check the site for updates and events, like an upcoming test. The only con for me would be that I am elementary certified and I would feel more comfortable using this site with older students.

Cel.ly:

Another web based tool that I found helpful for communication is Cel.ly. It is very convenient because this tool can be accessed through multiple devices. It is a great tool for teachers to use in the classroom for feedback and checking for understanding. Each student in the class can send comments and ask questions, and then the teacher can privately respond back to individuals or send out the response to everyone. One concern I have with this tool is making sure all students have access.

Adobe Education Exchange:

I liked this tool because it is such a great resource for educators. Teacher can go to this website with questions and receive answers and contribute to discussions. The self-based workshops are helpful because you can complete them when it is convenient online, or if a teacher likes a hands-on approach this site provides information when training sessions will be held. To become a member it is free and once you have set up your profile, it is possible to follow other educators and create favorites. All the tutorials and resources are rated to help users decide what to view.

Testmoz:

Testmoz seems like a great tool to use for online testing. It was very user friendly and I was able to create a test very easily. I liked how you could pick between 4 questions types, multiple choice, fill in the blank, true/false, and multiple response; using these four types of questions is great for students because they get used to the different types. After creating the test the website made it clear to not forget the URL….this seems like a pro and con. On the positive side if the internet connection goes down the student can get back to the sight, but on the negative side will the test restart and what if the URL does get misplaces or forgotten.

Microsoft Excel

Out of all the programs in Microsoft Office, Excel is the program I am least familiar with and honestly it is because I have never had to use it. Whenever I think of Excel I think of creating data sheets or keeping finances in order. Going through the basic tutorial was fine and I was able to go through it rather quickly, but the advanced tutorial was much more time consuming. I was able to complete most of the steps, but honestly I would have to use the tutorial again to complete some.

I chose to make a crossword using Excel because I believe it would be more useful in an Elementary classroom; this was actually and easy thing to do and I had fun making it! I planned everything out on paper first and the only thing I did search in Google was what size to make my cells. I can definitely see myself using Excel again to make a crossword for early finishers during a lesson or an extra credit activity.  I would like to learn how to create a timeline and other things using Excel as well, but that might require some extra research.

After exploring Mail Merge more with Word and Excel, I can definitely see the usefulness of it, but I can’t think of when I would personally use it. Maybe sending a letter home to parents?

Microsoft Word

Whenever I would think of Microsoft Word writing papers or assignments would come to my mind. After exploring Word using the advanced tutorial it is much more than that. If only I would have known about some of Words advanced features while going through college. It would have been much easier to edit my work and create a reference page, and with some of the features I could have made my papers look more professional.

The features that I would find most helpful would be the editing tools and Citations & Bibliography feature. To this day when I was writing a research paper I would use a website with APA format to create the references and in text citations myself; now I am very happy to learn that Word will do that all for you! I have known about the editing features like Comment and Track Changes because many of my professors in Undergraduate courses have used those features to provide feedback on my drafts. I find them to be extremely helpful rather than just changing the document. A feature that was entirely new to me was Mail Merge. Before this week I never knew of its existence. Although I can see how useful it can be I can’t see myself using it anytime soon.

I believe that some of the features I have explored today would be very useful in the classroom. For example, I have already seen the Language feature put to good use. A student in the classroom I currently work in came from Puerto Rico last January and his mother can’t speak, read or write in English at all. The translation tool worked perfect for communication between home and the classroom! Some other ways I would use Word in the classroom are to have students edit each other’s writings, create other documents, and for myself to create worksheets. The students could use Word to create posters or fliers.

This tutorial has opened my eyes to the possibilities of Word and my thinking has changed; Word can be used for many more things that just writing papers. 

Google Apps

I have had experience using Google Apps before exploring them this week, but some were new to me. I find all of them to be really useful and some I will definitely start using in the future.  I am very familiar with Blogger, Gmail, and of course using Google as a search engine, but some that were new to me were Docs and Drive.

As a student I could use Google Drive all the time. I would compare it to a flash drive, but you can open your files anywhere without having to carry anything around with the fear of losing it. That is prefect for an on the go lifestyle and if you find free time here or there you could log in and work. When learning about Docs I thought of some great ways it could be used in the classroom. Students could take a quiz or answer a survey and all the data would be right there for the teacher; it would make a great out-the-door ticket. I thought it was really useful that it was possible to select different question types.

Two other Google Apps that would be useful are Calendar and Sites. I liked these and might use the Calendar to keep organized, but I think it would be more useful in a business setting, like the tutorial example. With Sites it could be used as a teacher’s website; students could go there to find out homework info or keep up on classroom events. The comment part would be useful because students can post questions about homework or make a comment when needed.

All these Apps are great ways to stay connected and organized!