Mobile apps have become a valuable tool for education in recent years. Apps provide an efficient way to put an educational device in the hands of every student. Most students today carry around their own device while the media center at my school has enough to cover the gap if I plan to incorporate this technology into my classroom. In reading Web 2.0 How-To for Educators one caution that really stood out to me is that we should never put using these gadgets before our goals for the students. We need to think about why we are using apps in the classroom more than how to use apps in the classroom (Solomon, 2014, Chapter 9, Replacing Outdated Textbooks, para. 10). Google Classroom is one app that I spent some time investigating through this module. The first description you see for the app is that it is instant, paperless, and easy. This seems to be a great tool for teachers to post and collect work from their students electronically. It is instant because teachers immediately receive assignments when they are submitted by the student. Teachers also have the opportunity to provide immediate feedback or share a grade from the app. This app supports diverse learning needs of students by making it easy for the teacher to provide frequent formative assessment and share additional resources. This app also tears down the walls of the classroom and provides an additional avenue for students to communicate with their teachers. I would use this tool as a resource for students to access information from class. This app could be used to share notes from class and assignments for students who are absent or need more support. Google Classroom is a great tool for organizing content covered in class and teaching students skills needed to organize electronic resources that will be needed later in life. When allowing students to use devices in class it is incredibly important to have a plan. Teachers need to communicate clearly their expectations for when and how the devices should be used. Students need to be monitored on how they are using the devices.
In my school, Google Chromebooks have really taken away some of the momentum of tablets. Chromebooks are much more affordable and provide many of the tools that are available on a tablet. There are many tools that make a difference that have popped up in recent years. Lino is one tool that I explored during this module. Using Lino you can create a canvas and add photos, links, and videos. You can also post sticky notes around the other objects in the canvas. This tool could be used to present information by posting content on the canvas and using sticky notes to clarify certain aspects of the content. Teachers could also use this tool for a formative assessment either at the beginning or end of class to gauge their students understanding of a concept. Students could also collaborate on a project by sharing ideas using sticky notes. This supports students with diverse learning needs because everything is published and can be revisited as many times as needed. I would use this tool as a ticket out the door where students summarize what they learned on that day in their own words. Another tool that I have explored is Manga High. This is a tool that I have heard of in the past but have overlooked it because it has always looked a little elementary. There actually is some value for this tool in a high school classroom. This tool covers many high school standards and uses games and competition to increase student engagement. I feel that students are much more likely to complete problems in order to complete a mission in one of these games than working through problems on a worksheet. I think this would be a good tool to incorporate occasionally. I feel that overuse of this would not help students master the standards as they are more focused on completing a task in a game than they are learning the math content. It is important to provide students with multiple representations though. I feel that students are much more likely to be able to transfer their knowledge on a concept if they have to use that skill in several different places. All of these are great tools for increasing student engagement and mastery of the standards. However, the biggest challenge of using these tools would be the digital divide that is present. Students who do not have internet access from home would be at a disadvantage. I would make myself available before and after school to provide additional support for students who are unable to access content from home.
I used Screencast-o-matic to create my screencast. I am amazed at how simple it is to use. You simply launch the application hit the record button and you are on your way. Initially, creating a screencast could seem a little intimidating, but with a script of what you plan to discuss this process is much easier. Screencasting could be a great way to summarize what content was learned in class on a particular day. In math class, I could work sample problems or show students where additional resources may be found. This would be a great tool for students who are absent. I could have students use this program to create a presentation on a given topic. This could also be used to share valuable resources with fellow teachers at my school. I used screencast-o-matic to create a screencast on the assessment tool Khan Academy.
References
Solomon, A., Schrum, L. (2014). Web 2.0 How-To for Educators (2nd Edition). Retrieved from Amazon.com