To start my catalog of online resources, I thought I would start with the instructional tools that I used on a regular basis last year. The following links lists their uses and my reviews, but they are ones that I used mainly because they didn't take a lot of effort to get up and running. Between teaching a new subject at a new school in my 2nd year, adjusting to 7th grade vs. 11th grade, and coaching football and wrestling, I didn't have time to spend setting up or learning how to use a confusing platform. Therefore, if you are wanting some online resources to engage students, enrich your content area, help with classroom management, or just do something different, the following tools will get you started!
Prezi - Simple, Interactive Presentations
This is my favorite way to present material. It's different from .ppt, but just as easy to use (easier, in my opinion) and students can use it to collaborate on projects. It also has a search function, so you may not have to make that presentation on the fall of Rome from scratch! My students love it, too. On several of my collaborate projects, they chose to use this over .ppt since they could share it and work on it together from anywhere.
Dropbox - Cloud-based storage and sharing
My go to storage for docs, files, pictures, videos, etc. You get 4GB free with each login and all you need is an email address. Some of the positive features include having an app (print, share, get files from mobile devices) and it is fast and easy to upload, download, and share files. I currently house all of my files for 2 year's worth of instruction and my graduate classes and still have space left.
Poll Everywhere - Online Polling
Just like the name implies, poll everywhere lets you create questions in multiple formats (multiple choice, true/false, open ended) and students enter answers via text messages. I like this because I could get immediate feedback from students and students liked this because they could text answers and see changes happen. Excellent for Bell Ringers or Exit Tickets! What else can you come up with?
Doceri - Control Your Desktop from Your iPad
Doceri connects your iPad to your desktop and provides several styles of whiteboard (white, graphed, maps, etc.). I used this many times when I was giving presentations or needed to draw on the board. It allowed me to roam around the room while doing those things - a great way to manage behavior. Fun to use and my students thought it was really cool, as well!
Wordle - Word Collages
Free and easy way to generate word collages on any topic you choose. My students liked it because you can change colors, fonts, and designs. My favorite way to use this is to hold a brainstorming session and then write all the words into the generator. This really shows you what was most prevalent as the words increase in size the more they are mentioned.
Padlet - Online Bulletin Board
Padlet is exactly what it says above - an open bulletin board. You choose the background and share the url and then students can start posting comments, pictures, and links. My students really enjoyed using this posting board and I liked that it gave all students a voice. As a teacher, it is easy to moderate, since you can delete and move any comment posted and I used it for brainstorming, discussions, and comments during videos or presentations.
Symbaloo - Personal Organizer of Web Resources
Funny name, but serious tool! Symbaloo allows you to collect all of your online research on one page which looks a lot like the Apple interface. I was really impressed with this tool's ease of use, cool design, and versatility. I created pages for project resources, enrichment research, and even made a web quest using this platform. My students loved it and some even used it for research projects in other classes.
Today's Meet - Free Online Discussion Room
Like a private chat room, today's meet allows you to create an open forum discussion online. Students can use mobile devices or computers to contribute without log in - simply enter in a name and start adding comments/questions. With this and Padlet, an initial discussion of proper use and a healthy dose of moderating were needed, but once my students got the hang of it, this worked wonders. I especially liked that those students who typically didn't contribute to discussions had a new way of communicating with the class.
Edmodo - Online Learning Center - Facebook Style
The ever-popular online instruction platform! I started using this towards the end of the year last year and regretted not starting sooner. Think of Facebook for your classroom - post assignments, discussion topics, alerts, quizzes, and polls to your virtual classroom. This makes the Flipped Classroom strategy simple. Students get a unique login (parents can access, too) and if applicable, they can get notifications on their mobile devices from your class. I like that you can track assignments and go semi-paperless and that it is a running log of your class, so when one of your lovelies misses a day, just tell them to check edmodo! It does take using it for 2-3 weeks for you to see the benefits and students to get used to you using it, but well worth the effort.
Quizlet - Online Quiz Database/Generator
This is a quiz MECCA! Especially for Math, but other content areas are picking up steam. It is an online platform, but you can print quizzes off of the site, so no worries if your students can't access the web. The best thing about this tool, is the more you create, the easier it becomes - think whatever test generator your system currently uses (e.g. Exam View). If you can access online, the tool will track student completion, grades, and compile data on each student and question. I used this to help me target what learning objectives students were struggling with and occasional quizzes where I needed quick response and usable data.
Drive - Cloud-based Document Creator/Organizer
Google Drive, the greatest teacher's friend since the apple. I also came late to the party on this last year and I will never go back. Google Drive lets users generate word documents, spread sheets, and presentations online, but there is SO much more. Teams can share one document and work simultaneously, while chatting and it is accessible anywhere you can log onto to Google. The best feature (my favorite thing since discovering coffee) is Google's research tool. When you open the research bar on the right of whatever document you are working, you get a Google search bar and can simply click and drag pictures, links, quotes, etc. onto the document. Best of all, it will include a citation in the document for each item!! You will never have to teach students how to write a bibliography again!
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