The first web based tool that I explored was Voki. Voki is an exciting way to have each of your students create an avatar to speak for them. An avatar is not only fun for the students but it is a nice way to keep them from being distracted by what they are doing or look like and focus on the content of what they are saying, not to mention the privacy. Voki is a fun and creative way for students to express what they are learning. It helps the students want to participate and allows them to have evidence of their comprehension of the task at hand. The only downfall is that the avatar can only talk for 60 seconds. However, this is a good way to help teach students time management as well as summarizing rather than rambling their sentences.
Kidblog was another really exciting web based tool that I found. Recently becoming a blogger myself, I was intrigued to discover how a child would be able to benefit from writing and reflecting as I have been. Kidblog is for students from Kindergarten all the way up to high school seniors. It is nice to have a writing trail for your class to go back and see how much they have grown throughout the school year. It is also a great use of evidence for the teacher and parents! A pro would be that this tool can be accessed from anywhere at anytime. This is helpful for students to foster relationships with each other and rely on one another regarding questions or findings withing their learning experience. It is also a nice way for a class to read what other students there age are thinking and writing. The only concern I have would be to make sure that the kids are not using shorthand like they would in a text message but rather using a correct use of grammar and language.
Classdojo was the third web based tool I explored. Being able to have a behavior chart at the palm of your hand is very convenient. In my personal experience, I know how hard it is to create a behavior chart and then have to find the time to fill it in once the student with said behavior is having an "episode". The ease of the tool was what originally drew me to looking into it. It is also a great way to show parents what is happening and when in the classroom regarding their child. I liked that it could also be used for positives, such as helping to keep a child on the right track or show them how well they are doing. Classdojo is a nice tool to use to see if there is a trigger for a behavior or a specific time of day that it occurs by keeping track of the time for you.
Typing adventure brought me back to my childhood. When we first got a computer installed in my living room (yes, I remember a time without computers in my home...how bizarre!) the first game I remember playing was a typing game. Typing adventure is a wonderful tool to help students with multiple areas such as: fine motor skills, letter recognition, and of course typing. You start with your fingers on the 8 key letters on the keyboard and guide your avatar towards a treasure, how exciting! It is a fun and engaging tool to use with younger students who haven't had much access to keyboards, which lets face it with tablets and phones becoming so popular keyboard typing is a skill that may not be a child's strong suit immediately.
Last but certainly not least I discovered Trendsmap. Trendsmap is an incredible tool that keeps real time of what people all over the world are tweeting and hashtaging. This is a very useful tool in the classroom when talking about other cultures as well what is happening in the world around us and how it is affecting the people in the area. It is a way to feel connected to people on the other side of the globe and become interested and involved in world affairs.
Web based tools are definitely something that should be incorporated into every classroom for the benefit of both the students and the teachers. Their possibilities seem endless and they are definitely a way to help students become interested and engaged in hands on learning.
I thought it was interesting that in the Voki the Avatar only spoke for 60 seconds. I was surprised that it had a limit. I do like the idea of it though and thought it would work really well in language classes where they need to work on pronunciation.
ReplyDeleteI like that you pointed out that the Kidblog is a good tool for seeing how much someone has grown throughout the year. It would be a fun assignment for the students to look back and see how they were writing and then show their improvement. I remember when my teachers had me write letters to my future self and when I read it again months/years later it was neat to see how I transitioned. The Kidblog is an easy way to implement all of this! It would also be nice for the students to read each others work. Most of the time students get to see displayed work and it's only between the teacher and the student. I think if students know that their peers are going to be reading it too they are going to work even harder.
Lastly, I liked how you thought about incorporating the Trendsmap tool. To be able to see what others are saying around the world seems like a neat way to study current events.
Awesome job writing about all those tools! It was nice reading about how you would incorporate all these great tools.