The 2015-2016 school year is upon us and as we all know we are seeking out new projects to do this year with our class. Maybe there was something you saw a teacher do last year that you just didn't have time for? Or maybe there was an app you wished you at time to research and figure out how to implement into your classroom. I am going to introduce you to a few tech tools that you may have heard of or used before, but I will show you how I implemented them into my classroom with Mrs. Van my teaching side-kick!
Padlet is a free tool that you can be used to collaborate with each other as a class or students can create their own padlets and share a link with whomever they want to collaborate with. Mrs. Van and I used padlet to post class projects that students completed so they could all view each others work, much like a Wiki page. Many of the projects that will be listed in this blog will be in the form of a padlet, but implemented with another tech tool for you to learn about!
Teacher Tip: The students do not create padlet accounts, just the teacher. The teacher then shares the link with their students to post onto the wall.
- Using Pearson's Reading Street you can create a vocabulary wall where you students can post pictures of their vocabulary words and create sentences or definitions that go along with each. You can also pose discussion questions on a padlet for students to discuss the question of the week or questions of the story they are reading that week. Click here for an example of a vocabulary wall.
- Using Padlet walls for the skills your are learning in the classroom is also a great way to see if your students are getting the skill. Here is an example of a Cause & Effect Padlet wall where students found a picture and had to create a cause & effect sentence using the key words we discussed.
Thinglink is an interactive platform where students can add "rich" media to their projects. Students can add photos, videos, and text information to make their project come alive.
Teacher Tip: The teacher creates a classroom account and gives the log in to all of their students. The students will upload their photo or project to the same account as the entire class and add their interactive tags to their photo.
- The writing of the week was Biographies for our students. We taught our students how to research their famous person and how to take notes. They then turned their notes into a Biography. After students were completed with their biographies and their final drafts, we printed them with photos and hung them in the hallway. To make this project more interactive and to share what they learned with their parents, students created a thing link with 5 important facts that they learn about their famous person. They tagged photos, text, or videos to their picture of their famous person they researched. We then shared them on a padlet wall. Click here to see their Thing Links. Make sure to click on the image and hover over their tags to see their facts and information.
- Students created photo grid videos practice what they learned about idioms. Working in partners they needed to have a title page, slides that explained the literal meaning and the figurative meaning with pictures to back them up and show that they understood the meanings of their idiom. Students ended their slide by referencing the sources and apps they used to create their video. Students then posted them on our shared classroom padlet wall so they could view each other's work. Click here to view Idiom Photo Grid Videos.
Animoto is a video creating tool. It is available in both web-based and application form for easy use with all students. Students can log in to a class account and create videos with text and images, while choosing their theme and music to accompany their video.
Teacher Tip: Create a free account with Animoto. Then scroll to the bottom where it lists Education. You can apply for a free educator teacher account which will allow you to create videos longer than 2 minutes. If you do not do this, you are only limited to 2 minutes per video. You can do an educator license each year and update it with their code they send you through e-mail for free.
- We used Animoto in our classrooms for students to create an animal project in science. Students had an outline of all of the information they needed to research and then they had to put their research into slides. They were very proud of there work and in order to share it easily, we created yet again, another Padlet, (imagine that) to share their work with their parents and their peers. Click here to view Animal projects.
Mindomo is a mind mapping tool that we use in our classrooms for students to use in math and reading. I chose this application to model how we use this app for Math. This is an application our students use on their tablets and it is an easy way to map out their thoughts for writing, story webs, information, taking notes, etc.
- Students were learning about multiplication facts and factor trees in Math. We had our students work together to create Factor Trees using Mindomo and then of course can you guess?? We had them share their work on a Padlet Wall! Click here to see our Factor Trees.
These are just a few ideas that we used Padlet and other apps for last year to integrate technology into our classrooms. I hope that these examples and short snap shots will help you create ideas for your upcoming year in the classroom! Thanks for reading!
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