Some Must-Have Digital Tools for Teachers

In this century, teachers must have the digital skills to deliver instruction which resonates with students.  That means that the use of technology must be present in one form or another in every class.  Students are already quite proficient in it so to not tap that expertise should be unthinkable.

In this article,   33 must-have digital skills are addressed.  A teacher would not have to address all of them within his/her classroom, but s/he might wish over time (say the summer break) explore the choices to see what would work within the subject area taught and grade level.  Taking a less is more approach might be the best course of action if technology skills are limited.  On the other hand, if highly proficient in world of technology, teachers can see what tools are new here and weave them into their courses.

For me, having students develop student blogs will be a priority.  There is a fascination on the part of students at the thought of publishing their work for all the world to see.  The inspiration to dazzle all those who read their posts will remove some of the drudgery normally associated with writing.  Twitter will also come into my fall classes.  Since I teach ELLs, this would be a tool to encourage full class participation.  The limit of 140 characters should lower fears over writing:)  Another tool I plan on use is online quizzes for students to self-evaluate their progress in the courses.  I would let students retake the quizzes as many times as they like since the goal would be to prepare them for formal assessments. 

Again, this article from Educational Technology contains about 50 sites.  Take some time over the summer to poke around and try some of them out.  Your students will appreciate your efforts I guarantee.

Denise

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7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers Who Use Technology

In this century, the use of technology should play an integral part of any classroom, in any content area, and at any grade level. Teachers should be including its use throughout the day regardless of the subject taught because students are already quite familiar with it, and, in many cases,  they may be more proficient in its use than some teachers are.  This scenario should not intimidate a teacher.  In fact, teachers will be empowering students by validating student expertise in this area and involving them in the class activities as "assistants" :) 

So how does a teacher handle the use of technology in a classroom?  How does a teacher keep students focused without wasting time?  Well, such a setting still calls into play the usual classroom management routines just with a technology segment:) 

Teachers use technology to enhance learning.  It should never distract.  The lesson plans are clearly followed with allowances made for  those occasional times when tech glitches surface.  Teachers comfortable with tech think on their feet and tend to student needs with ease. In fact, such teachers are pros at adapting without disrupting class routines.  To be fully prepared, such teachers are always two steps ahead of students.  They have fully prepared for a wide range of possible tech/internet site problems and in so doing, have already planned out various ways to solve almost any tech issue that arises in the class.

The infographic offers more descriptions of what effective teachers do with technology.  Enjoy:)

Denise

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Bring POLLING Into Any Classroom and Watch Student Engagement SKYROCKET!

If students are to benefit from a teacher's hard work in preparing lessons, they require regular feedback in a variety of original formats.  "Thumbs up they understand/thumbs down they don't" might not be the most effective way to see how well students grasp key concepts.  So for teachers to keep a finger on the pulse of student progress a new approach is necessary.  How about instant polling on any subject in almost any format-multiple choice, short answer, etc.?  Such a tool would involve every student anonymously in sharing answers.  Teachers would be able to show almost immediate charts on polling results, and this is where the discussions would enter the picture as students analyze the poll results.  The role of teacher becomes one of moderator or facilitator and not lecturer.

Here is an excellent tool to offer such a dynamic change in instruction--socrative polling.  It is free tool for both teacher and student.  Once a teacher joins, s/he is given a "classroom" and that is shared with students.  How does it support instruction?  Watch the video here for a quick overview.  Students will be excited about sharing responses since there would be no risk of embarrassment:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

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Academic Language Tools for All Grade Levels

How can teachers address the many academic language needs of students in reading, writing, speaking, and listening within every day lessons?  How can language development along with the teaching of content be skillfully woven into every lesson without losing sight of non-ELLs? 

Though it may seem at first to be an impossible feat, it isn't.  Using academic language tools, every class lesson has the potential to reach not only the English language learners but also all the other students including those with special needs.

The goal of the kit is to move students from informal speech (the language they use with their friends) to formal language ( the language which can only be acquired in school with the teacher).  The expansion of vocabulary is addressed as students move from tier 1 words to tier 2 (more sophisticated vocabulary), and occasionally to tier 3 (the highest).  As the base vocabulary becomes more richer or more academic, so do the writing and reading skills develop as well.  If teachers want their students to succeed in common core, they will need to scaffold and nurture growth in those areas is their students are to be successful beyond high school.

This kit includes questioning techniques teachers should use in moving students away from conversational language.  For example, students need to know how to pose questions in an academic setting or within an academic discussion.  Question and sentence frames are included in this kit along with classroom activities to promote their use in any classroom.  Activities like Think-Pair-Share, quick writes, cooperative learning (number heads together, jigsaw, etc.), prominently positioned question charts for easy reference, etc. make the process an enjoyable one for both students and teachers.

Summarizing, comparing/contrasting, sequencing/ordering, classifying, analyzing, inferring/predicting/hypothesizing, justifying, persuading, problem solving, synthesizing, evaluation, and cause and effect are all addressed here in this pdf along with suggestions for boosting vocabulary in all areas.

Here are some more graphic organizers:  thinking maps  and a free graphic organizer gold mine.


Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

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