Tips and Reflections on Technology Integration in the Classroom

A Picture is worth a Thousand Words:    As 21st century educators we are constantly on the look out for tools which can help transform our classrooms into a powerful and engaging educational experiences for our students.  Everyday new apps, websites and programs are being developed to market to the education market which can be very helpful for our classes, but at the same time can be very overwhelming.  However every once and a while something stands out like a beacon of light radiating above all the rest, and to me that new beacon is called Thinglink .   What is Thinglink? What better way to learn about Thinglink to see it for yourself.  Below is a tutorial of how to use Thinglink.  Click on the icons that you see throughout the image to learn more about what it is and how it works.   The Power of Thinglink: Info-graphic created by: Lenora Haranaka The user friendly interface of Thinglink allows for countless op...

Video In the Classroom: 21st century learners have grown up in a digital age.  Most of our students have experienced visual stimulus since their eyes first opened up into the world.  Growing up, many of them have grown accustomed to the satisfaction of short video clips for their personal entertainment.  Weather it is cartoons on their Ipad, or funny clips or how to's on YouTube, or even the story boards on Instagram and snap-chat, our students are very familiar with how to use videos for their own personal use.  We as teachers can utilize a very powerful resource by tapping into an already existing interest, and provide amazing educational experiences with the use of videos in our classroom.   How to Get Started: The first step in introducing video into the classroom is to figure out what goal you are trying to accomplish.  Do you want to use a video to deliver content, to purpose an insightful question, do you want student to critique the vi...

Digital Escape Room: A Fun Formative Assessment Escape rooms have become an increasingly popular activity and for good reason too.  They are fun, exciting, challenging, and can test your mental strength.  This concept translates extremely well for our 21st Century Classroom.  Design a digital escape room activity for our students can hits on the four Cs of our modern learners.  In order for students to be successful in completing their mission, the activity should promote collaboration as students work together to solve the clues which unlock the digital mystery it promotes communication among each other.  The clues should also be challenging and promote critical thinking skills as they work to find the key to unlock the answer.  Lastly when done correctly the escape room should also promote creativity, to think outside the box and to promote an engaging and immersive learning experience.  The digital escape room can be a great way for students to d...

How Formative Assessments can allow Teachers to Address the needs of Each Student in the Classroom: This week I wanted to focus on just how critical formative assessment tools are for ensuring that we are providing the best learning experiences for our students.  Formative assessments provide teachers with a quick glimpse in the minds of our students.  When used correctly formative assessments can provide pivotal information on what concepts students are understanding and what they are not.  Not only can we analyze the data of an entire class to see if our instruction is matching up to the concepts we want our students to understand, but we can also dive a little deeper to have a better understanding of the individual needs of our students.   Google Forms: The Ultimate Formative Assessment for Google Classroom Teachers: The video I provided here discusses why and how Google Forms is a great way to check for student understanding.  This video fo...

Evolution of Education: We are currently living through an extremely exciting moment in the transformation of public education.  The origins of public education in America stems from a pivotal period of American growth.  Our society was evolving from one which was based off of agriculture, to one which massed produced products using an innovative technique called the assembly line.  Our school systems ran very similar to those items being assembled in the booming factories across our great nation.  A predetermined end product was established and students went through a series of steps, we call them grade levels, where one part was assembled at a time.  As the students advanced through their assembly line of education, they should all emerge just like the Model T did, gleaming bright and exactly the same.  It doesn't take educators long to discover flaws in this system when it comes to education.  Our students come to us with all different types ...