The Chrome Store

The Google Chrome Store is an awesome resource for teachers. The store can be accessed easily through the Google Chrome web browser, which is a free download online. The store has a huge library of educational apps and tools that would be great for teachers. You can find an app for almost anything you need to support your discipline. One example of the many would be the Planetarium app for astronomy or science classes. Check out the app at the following link: Planetarium App. Enjoy!

Use Splashtop!

Splashtop is a great application that you can use on your tablets in order to control your computer. The program is basically a remote desktop tool that you can access on your tablet. This is important because you can use it as a teaching tool. Being able to control your computer from your tablet means that you can walk around the room, face the students, and initiate interactive activities with the students. You can even use the tablet as a virtual slate by opening annotative software on your computer from the tablet. This would allow you to draw on or highlight important information on the computer, which could be projected on to a wall or screen. If the students are given access to the tablet during class then they could solve problems, show media, and access files on the computer as it is projected to the front of the room. Get Splashtop at the following link: Splashtop. Don't forget to get the compatible app from the iTunes App Store or Android Market!

What can a tablet do for you?

As we begin to see more and more tablets arrive in the market, it is important to try and see the potential of the devices in education. Apple has already done a great job getting into the field as they have developed a ton of great apps and devices to help out with teaching and learning in the classroom.  A quick trip to the app store and you can find a great educational app for almost any subject or person. Android tablets are slightly further behind but are definitely beginning to dip their toes in the water a bit in regards to education. The Android market is now starting to provide its users with more and more educational tools. The apps themselves are self explanatory when considering their use in the classroom, but how else can these devices be used to help engage the students and help with student learning and differentiated instruction? One of the main uses for the tablets that is now starting to creep into the classrooms is its replacement of interactive whiteboards. Most tablets can now run a desktop sharing tool, where the teacher can control his or her computer from their tablet. This allows the teacher to remotely access files, pictures, videos, presentations, and other visual aids straight from the tablet. This is  important because the teacher can then project the material onto a wall or screen to help aid in instruction, as long as the host computer is plugged into a projector or large television. This also allows the teacher to always be facing the classroom and providing more one on one attention to his or her students. Another great use for the tablets is to put the technology in the students' hands. It is amazing what students are capable of accomplishing when given the right resources. They can use these tablets to look up information, create projects, and even research. All of this right from their desks in the classroom. Of course this also opens up collaboration opportunities between the students if they all have access to a tablet or computer. Students can share documents with Google docs, they can create videos through a variety of different sources, they can create maps and diagrams, they can participate in backchanneling and the list goes on. Because of all of these opportunities that tablets can give to students and teachers alike, it is definitely worth taking a look at them for your classroom.

Backchanneling

For those of you out there with computer access for all students, this might be a technology for you. Backchanneling is an awesome tool that, if utilized correctly, can provide great discussion with students. Backchanneling is a tool that teachers can use to start conversation and urge discussion with students. This works particularly well because it allows for the less vocal and shy students to participate as well. This is because backchanneling is a program that documents and shares student response through text sent by a computer. Essentially it is a giant chat room that you can create for your class that you can project onto the wall. Simply guide the students through a discussion, movie, presentation, or activity and watch as responses, questions, and opinions appear on the wall from the students. This works particularly well with schools who have the 1:1 initiative. A backchannelling program that I find to work very well is called TodaysMeet. You simply have to go to the website, input the name of your chat room, provide the name and address to the students, and start the conversation. Following is the link to the website: TodaysMeet. Have fun!

Bring animation to the classroom!

A lot of people have probably heard about Xtranormal, a fun program used to create animations and stories. A lot of you probably have not heard as much about Go Animate or Voki. I believe these programs are more user friendly and more suited for education. These tools can be used to teach material, act out important concepts and information, or to grab students' attention. Go Animate is a story creator that has a lot to offer. You can pick characters, scenes, voices, and motions to portray content. The following link is an example of one of my Go Animate creations I used to get students excited about the Caspian Sea region: Mr. D Go Animate example. Voki works much like Go Animate except that there are not as many options. Voki is basically a stationary scene that allows the character in it to talk and provide information. You can change the background and character type, but you can not create stories. The following link is an example of one of my Voki creations: Mr. D Voki example.

Vuvox

Here is something new that a lot of people do not know about. Try Vuvox, an interactive and motion based tool that you can use for explaining, presenting, or talking about material in class. It moves in a belt type fashion, perfect for presenting material in chronological order or in a story based format. In the following example, I created one that went along with the class reading on Russian culture: Mr. D Vuvox example.

Mr. Tom the Cat

Yeah sure, Tom the Cat is a fun app that a lot of people enjoy, but can you use it for teaching? Yes you can! Tom the Cat is an app found on both Apple and Android formats that provide people with constant entertainment. The basis for this app is for Tom the Cat to repeat whatever you say in a fun voice with entertaining animation. You can say whatever you want to Tom and he will repeat exactly what you say in his voice with fun enthusiasm. You can choose to record this process and post the videos on You Tube or convert them to a file. As a teacher, I have found a lot of entertainment using this for class. I can use it for a lot of things, one example would be how I read some of the classroom text or notes to Tom and record him saying them. I then embed the recording into a webpage or presentation tool and have Tom repeat these readings to the students. This works great for summarizing readings or important information. The video above is an example I created about transportation.

Tired of Powerpoint?

For those of you out there who have about had it with Powerpoint or who really want to try something else, there are alternatives out there. Powerpoint has its place in education, this is true, but why not try something new and fun. There are several Web. 2.0 replacements for Powerpoint out there. These programs give you a fresh new way of presenting and teaching material to students. Rather than just going through slides you can instead inspire the students with interactive pictures, maps, and videos with Glogster Edu. This web tool allows the teacher to use an interactive poster platform to move through the information and create interactive discussions and activities with the students. The following link is an example of one of my Glogster creations: Mr. D Glogster Example.  Another fun presentation tool is Prezi. This is a zooming tool that allows you to jump around an open canvas of information. In the canvas you can put links, pictures, videos, and text. The following link is an example of one of my Prezi creations: Mr. D Prezi Example.