EDUC 584...Final Reflections

This course has forever changed how I will view technology in the field of teaching. I had no idea that technology could be used in so many wonderful ways to enhance collaboration, student engagement, and overall learning.

I have learned to use so many new tools such as Google products, Blogger, Voicethread, Voki, Animoto, Padlet, Storyboard, just to name a few! I definitely plan on incorporating more of these digital tools into my teaching.

For next year, the two biggest changes that I plan on making is using Blogger to create a classroom blog for communication with parents, and participating in the Global Read Aloud. I know that both of these changes will enhance student learning in so many ways.

Technology can be daunting and overwhelming, even for those who are pretty tech-savvy. I promise you, though, that by taking baby steps and trying out some of the digital tools I have mentioned in this blog, you will slowly but surely grow to love and appreciate the benefits of using technology in your classroom.

As a final reflection for this course, I have created this word cloud using Tagxedo based on all of the words that I have used in this blog so far. You will notice "classroom", "technology", "share", "students", "creating", and "teacher" are some of the most frequently used (and most important) words so far...

Playing with Google Forms

Tonight I learned how to use the Google Forms app. I created this quick survey to test out using this program. Please complete my survey!



 If you would like to learn how to make your own survey using Google Forms, watch this quick tutorial made by my professor!




Enjoy!

Coolest App Ever!

So I have been introduced to a lot of sites and apps recently that allow students and teacher to do some pretty awesome things, but this is BY FAR the coolest!
This week I explored the colar mix site and app and had TONS of fun playing around with it with  my students. Here is how it works:

 

Print out the pages that you would like to color from colar mix. There are tons of free ones to download.

http://colarapp.com/

 

Color in the pictures to your heart's content. My students used colored pencils and crayons. The site suggests not using dark markers. 

http://colarapp.com/

http://colarapp.com/

Open up the app on your ipad and hover your ipad over the picture until the picture turns blue. Before you know it, your creation will come to life with movement and sounds. SO COOL!







On the last day of school, my students and I had a ball coloring in the different pictures. The only drawback is that only a few of the pictures can be animated for free. You have to purchase additional packages if you want certain pictures to be animated. My students and I had so much fun though, that I think it is worth the small investment!

Here are some of my students' creations:
(all pictures downloaded from http://colarapp.com/)

Part of Dover Sampler Page Pack (which costs $2.99 to animate)

Part of Dover Sampler Page Pack (which costs $2.99 to animate)

Part of Free Mix Pack (this picture is a screenshot taken during animation)

Here is a video from the site showing how to use the app:


Have you tried out this app? How would you use this in your classroom?

There's a New Teacher in the Classroom!

Do you ever get the feeling that your students have gotten so sick of your voice that they zone out when you are talking to them? It happens to the best of us, especially in June when everyone's mind is on warm weather fun. A fun new digital tool that I've discovered that may help to resolve this is Voki!

Voki is a free online tool that allows you to create your own speaking avatars. You can customize how they look and sound, and you decide what they are going to say! At first when I came across Voki, I wasn't sure how to use it in my kindergarten classroom. After some digging around, I found this great blog that suggests some ideas for using Voki in the primary classroom. My favorites are creating a class mascot and creating a treasure hunt!

Because my school mascot is a bear, I made my first Voki as a bear saying our school cheer!

What are some ways you would use Voki in your classroom?