A great technology to bring into your classroom is PhET simulations. These simulations allow students to be able to see things in science that they wouldn't normally be able to see like molecules and atoms. These modules allow you to perform experiments and tests that you wouldn't normally be able to do in a classroom because of restrictions in resources or time. By using the simulations that PhET has to offer it allows students to develop their own understandings of the content through practical application and trial and error.
You can start using PhET simulations by going to your web browser and typing in PhET Simulations and it'll be the first website that pops up. Once you get to their website you can click on the simulations tab on the top of the page to figure out what type of simulations you might be interested in. They have separated the simulations into the different subjects they cover like physics, biology, chemistry, earth science, and math. They also give the option of clicking on what grade levels you might be teaching which is extremely helpful for picking simulations that may be appropriate for your students. Once you find a simulation that looks interesting you just have to click on it and then you can either hit play on it or download it in order to use the simulation. Each simulation is a little different from what is required to use it. It is recommended you have the latest version of Google Chrome and Java on your computer to have the best experience using the simulations. Below is a video to help you understand how easy it is to use PhET simulations and how you can use them in your classroom.
Using PhET simulations can be extremely effective to use with students because it can allow them to see things that they wouldn't be able to normally see like molecules interacting with each other or the currents that travel through wires to make a bulb light up. Not only does PhET provide simulations to help your students grasp difficult content but they also have activities that go along with the simulations to help guide student's thinking. This makes sure that your students have guidance on what they should be doing on the simulation and what variables they should be changing. This helps prevent students from getting off task and increases engagement. Students can also work together collaboratively on these simulations in order to bounce ideas off of one another so that they can construct their own knowledge of what is happening.
Students are able to test their thoughts using the PhET simulations in order to get quick results. It really helps provide real-life examples for students to work with which can be challenging in a classroom. You are able to do free experiments in your classroom through these simulations that you wouldn't otherwise be able to do. On top of this, the simulations make learning about the content fun for students because they get to control the simulation and really take ownership of their learning. This is really exciting because it can be tough to make lessons engaging and exciting if you are always just teaching out of a textbook. Students need innovative and news ways to learn information so there's no reason not to give PhET simulations a try.
References
PhET Simulations Logo [Online Image] Retrieved from https://www.phett.colorado.edu/en/
Using Virtual Reality in the classroom is no longer something in the far off future. It can be used with your students to help stimulate their interests in lessons and encourage them that learning can be fun and exciting. Virtual Reality Headsets can be bought for less than $10 and all you need with it is a compatible smartphone. Once you have these two items you can start to expose students to the incredible world of virtual reality.
You can first have students download a virtual reality app on their phone to get started. I recommend the app called Expedition which allows students to travel to different places throughout the world. Once you get in the app on your phone you want to click on the VR tab. Then you can scroll through a variety of virtual reality experiences like the one that says "Field Trip to Paris". Once you click on the one you want, you click on the download to view guide option. Then you can click on the View in VR option which will then tell you to put your phone in your virtual reality cardboard viewer. Once you put on your headset you will be able to immerse yourself in a virtual reality experience where you can look around to see the different parts of Paris as if you were really there. Students will be blown back by all the amazing things and places they can now visit.
Teachers can use virtual reality headsets combined with the Expedition app to allow students to have real-life experiences seeing people, places, and things right in front of them. This leads students to have a better understanding of the world around them and what it contains. They can then bring back these experiences into their creative writing in order to describe what they just saw as well as allowing them to have a deeper connection to the content they are learning. Students have an easier time remembering information when they actually experience it right in front of them like actually seeing Mount Rushmore instead of reading about it in a textbook.
Virtual reality allows students who may struggle in a typical classroom environment to thrive because of the sensory immersion it provides. Students with autism can really benefit through virtual reality headsets because it can provide them a controllable environment. If they don't like the program they can take off the headset and slowly start to become comfortable with it. Likewise, the headset can be useful with students who can lose focus very quickly because by wearing the headset they aren't constantly being distracted by what is happening around them. The biggest thing virtual reality headsets can bring to your classroom is a way to increase engagement in your lessons by making them fun and interactive for your students.
Scratch is an incredible online tool created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that allows users to practice early coding skills. The program is easy to get the hang of through its use of click and drag commands which makes it ideal to use with children ages 8-16 years old. Students can use these commands to create stories, games, and animations that they come up with themselves.
You first have to type Scratch into your web browser to get to it and then you can start creating. You can then create a free account by hitting Join Scratch in the top right-hand corner of the screen. By creating an account it will allow you to save your creations as well as interact with members of the Scratch community by looking at other people's creations from around the world. After you create an account you can click on Start Creating to make your own Scratch masterpiece.
There are 3 tabs to click on which are Code, Costumes, and Sounds. The Codes tab is where you will spend most of your time creating your very own Scratch. Once you click on the Coding tab you want to go to the yellow events option and drag one of those commands onto the white creation space. These are codes that allow you to get your Scratch to start performing functions. Once you have a code from the events tab which may include a code like "when green flag pressed" you can add other codes to get your sprite character to start performing actions. An easy code is to add a blue motion code like the "move 10 steps" code so you can start to see how your sprite character can perform codes you give him. You should experiment with different codes by inserting them into your Scratch creation to see what functions they have in the program. The costume tab allows you to customize what your sprite character looks like while the Sounds tab allows you to add and create your own sounds to put in your Scratch creation. Scratch is a lot about creativity and experimenting with the different codes to see what you can create. Below is a video to get you off to the right start when it comes to learning the basics of Scratch.
Scratch is an amazing tool to use as a teacher in order to educate students on the 21st-century skills that they will need in order to be successful in the technology immersive world they live in. You can have students create a game, animation or story which allows them to use their creativity while at the same time being exposed to mathematical concepts like variables and coordinates. Students can work on their collaboration skills through Scratch by working with their peers on their very own creation. They will need to be able to express their ideas to one another and work together in order to achieve a common goal.
Using Scratch is also fun and engaging for students and allows students to make connections to what they are learning. They get to see what happens right in front of them if they decide to change a variable or numbers in their program which is something that isn't applicable in an everyday math class where students are just writing equations on paper. Ultimately, students learn the important skill of perseverance and never giving up. Students will need to problem solve and work through many issues in their coding adventures in order to achieve the results they want. This requires critical thinking in order to fully understand the inner workings of what is wrong in their program so that adjustments can be made. Scratch can be an incredible tool to stray away from our memorization focused academia so that students can become creative problem solvers.
It can be hectic as a teacher to meet with everyone you have to talk too but that all ends with the website called Doodle. This website allows you to quickly create an event and add times to it so that people can meet with you. As an educator this saves you time and energy so you can focus on content and making sure students have engaging activities to participate in. Doodle also allows you to poll students on what days may work best for them so you can try to manage time effectively in your classroom.
You first have to search in your web browser Doodle in order to start creating meeting times. When you get there you should create a free account in order to create a Doodle. When you have an account you can click create Doodle in the top right corner. You then can type in a title for what you want your meeting to be about. You should add a location so the person meeting with you knows where to go as well as any comments you would like to add under the "note" option. When you hit continue, you will be taken to a calendar screen where you can add in what times you are available to meet with people. Once you pick the times that work for you, you can hit continue to be brought to the next screen. You will be brought to the "Poll Settings" page where you can adjust how your
Doodle runs. Some useful options here are limiting the number of votes to 1 so people can't vote for more than one thing. Also, limiting people to one single vote is good especially if you are trying to set up a meeting with a lot of people. This makes it so that once someone picks a time that works for them, they won't try to pick other ones as well, thus, monopolizing the poll. Lastly, keeping the poll hidden can be very important so that people's information is confidential. When you hit continue you will be brought to the final page where you get to type in your name and email so people know who you are. This will also allow people to contact you with any questions they may have. Now you have created your Doodle and you can select to invite people to it through sending them the link or emailing them the information to sign up for it.
Doodle can have many effective uses in the classroom if used correctly. The article Doodles for Teachers and Students gives tons of examples in which I'm going to touch on, in the rest of this paragraph. An obvious way to use Doodle is to simply use it to setup meetings with students. You can create a poll with times that you are available to meet with students and send them the link so that they can decide which time works for them. This is great so you can give students feedback on assignments they may be working on.
This works the same with parents. You can email parents with a link to set up parent conferences. This will allow parents to quickly pick times that work for them and as they do it you can see the times they pick instead of sending a sheet home with times. By sending a sheet home with times it takes longer to hear back because the student may forget to show them the sheet or the student may forget to bring the signed sheet back with them to school. By having it on Doodle it takes out the middle person. You can create a poll with times for a field trip that students can go and vote on. This allows students to feel like they are in charge of what happens in their own classroom. This helps build a community where the teacher isn't seen as an authority figure but instead just a facilitator. Lastly, you can create a Doodle that helps pick groups in your classroom. You can create a free text poll with options like Group 1, 2, etc. so that students can pick the group they want to be in. Just make sure you set limits so the groups aren't too big.
As you can see Doodle has many options that make it very effective to use in your classroom. You can create meeting times with people, provide a way for class voting, and select groups with it all at the same time. It's free to use so there is no excuse not to give it a try. Believe me you won't regret it!
References
Doodle. (2018, January 31). Doodle for Teachers and Students. Retrieved November 23rd, 2018, from https://en.blog.doodle.com/2018/01/31/doodle-for-teachers-and-students/
Doodle logo [Online Image] Retrieved from https://doodle.com/
Doodle Poll Options [Online Image] Retrieved from https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/tlc/office-hour-options/doodle/
Parent Conference [Online Image] Retrieved from https://www.care.com/c/stories/3264/20-questions-to-ask-during-a-parent-teacher-c/
It can be extremely difficult to keep your class on task as a teacher. This is why there has been countless behavioral management plans created to help combat this issue but there is one that stands out in particular and it's called ClassDojo. This tool provides an amazing and effective discipline plan that is actually fun for the students in the classroom. It's a positive reward management plan that uses a points system. To help you familiarize yourself with ClassDojo here is a video that gives you a brief overview of it before I go in more depth about it.
You can find ClassDojo by searching it into your web browser. Once there, it is very easy to sign up for an account. Sign up as an educator and you will receive a free account to use. You can then add your school, class and all of your students. Now that you have all of your students added you can click on each student to look at their personal profile. When you do this you can give them points if they do something well like helping others, participating, teamwork, etc. You can also add negative behaviors if you want, like not listening, misbehaving, yelling, etc. in order to promote students not participating in these acts. If they do they will lose points that they have earned.
You can also create rewards that students can earn by receiving enough points. These rewards should be mostly intangible rewards instead of tangible ones in order to increase intrinsic motivation. Some student rewards may include eating lunch with the teacher, taking off their shoes, changing seats for the day, extra reading time, etc. You can also have class rewards that are earned by students earning enough points collectively as a group. Some of these rewards may include pajama day, movie day, game day, etc.
ClassDojo also has many effective tools to help the classroom work more cohesively. While on ClassDojo there is a toolkit option that opens up many features that you can use in your classroom. There is a "Timer" option that can help with classroom transitions and keeping track of time in general. There is a "Group Maker" option which takes out the stress of making quick groups for an activity. There is a "Noise Meter" that you can turn on to make sure that the voice level is kept low and doesn't get too high. You can also click on the "Directions"or "Think, Pair, Share" option in order to have a message displayed on the board. This helps students remember what is expected of them. Lastly, there is a "Music" option that is great to help keep students engaged because many students love listening to something while they work. Of course this will depend on the class you have and how they work best.
One of the best things about ClassDojo is how collaborative it is. There is a tab on ClassDojo called "Stories" where the teacher can add photos, videos, or messages throughout the day. This allows anyone that is connected to the class on ClassDojo to be able to see it. This can include students, parents, and other teachers. By going to settings on ClassDojo you have the option to add students, parents, and co-teachers so as many people as possible can be connected to your class. This allows everyone to work as a team and to ensure that parents know what is happening in the classroom. There is also a ClassDojo app that parents can download in order to keep up with their child's progress in the classroom. There is also a messaging feature that teachers and parents can use to send messages back and forth between each other.
ClassDojo also allows students themselves to take ownership of how they are doing in class. They can take pictures of what they are working on with their own device or the classroom device and post it on their individual personal story on ClassDojo. This gives parents instant feedback on what their child is doing at all times which is very helpful especially for parents that worry about their child constantly.
You should definitely give ClassDojo a chance in your classroom because of how effective it is. It provides you a great behavioral management plan that helps keep students on the right track while at the same time making sure students enjoy themselves. The point system keeps students engaged because they know by staying on ask and doing the right thing they will be recognized for their hard work. The features that this program has will help you as the teacher keep the class focused while at the same time making sure there is a collaborative environment between yourself and the parents of the students that you teach. Definitely give this program a try because you won't be disappointed!
References
ClassDojo Logo [Online Image] Retrieved from https://www.classdojo.com/
ClassDojo Rewards [Online Image] Retrieved from http://englishclasswithmsziba.weebly.com/grade-4b-and-4c-archive/class-dojo
ClassDojo Story Feature [Online Image] Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/ed-tech-startup-classdojo-is-going-viral-2016-7
ClassDojo Video [Online Video] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzzb5cmNoc0
QR Codes are a great tool to use in your classroom. QR stands for Quick Response and it is like a bar code. The QR Code looks like a bunch of square dots that provide unique information to the user. The QR Code can contain text and links that students can access through a QR Code reader that they can download on an iPad or iPhone. The codes are also safe for students because they can only access what you allow them too through the QR Code so you don't have to worry about leading students astray.
In order to create a QR code you need to go to a website that can generate one. Type in QR Code generator in your web browser to find one that works for you. I would start by creating a free account so you can save the QR Codes you create once you get to the website. After you have created an account there are many options when it comes to what information you put into your QR Code. Some of the most popular options that are listed on top of the QR generator website are URL, Text, PDF, and MP3. For example, if you want to have the QR Code lead to a website you can copy and paste a link to a website into the generator. After that you have to select whether you want it to be a Static or Dynamic code. You'll want to make sure it's a static code so that the information that the QR code has doesn't change. Then you have options when it comes to the frame, color, and logo you want. This allows you to customize your QR Code to make it fun and interesting for your students. You can then download and print your QR Code.
After you have a QR Code you need someway to read the code itself. You should go on iTunes or the google app store and type in QR Code reader to find an app that you can use to read the codes. Once you download the app you can open it up and allow it to access your camera in the device you're using. Once you do this you can use the camera on the app to read the QR Code by having it capture the QR Code that you have created. This will have it go to the information that is on the QR Code, thus, making it a fun and easy to use way to allow students to find information you want them to know.
QR Codes can be a very effective tool to use in your classroom to keep students engaged. You can print out QR codes that lead students to online books. This allows them a link to the book that they can get to through their device and then listen too. This is great for students to become independent and take ownership of their learning. You can also create QR Codes with links to websites and information that you want students to learn about. You can create packets about a famous person like Abe Lincoln and have QR Codes on the packet so students can use their QR Code reader to go to the websites and learn about the impact that person had on history. You can also have QR Codes that lead students to fun and informational videos. In the heavy technological world we live in today students love sitting back and watching videos to learn new information rather than just reading or writing down text.
The sky is the limit with QR Codes because there are so many types of information you can incorporate into them. Use them to help students take ownership of their learning and to encourage them to become independent learners. Through the use of these QR Codes students will become more confident in their ability to do work themselves without help because this tool helps guide them through the process. I would definitely encourage trying this tool out in your own classroom and let me know what you think?
References
QR Code [Online Image] Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code
QR Code online books [Online Image] Retrieved from https://www.whatihavelearnedteaching.com/using-qr-codes-in-the-classroom/
WebEx is a tool you can use to connect with your peers in an interactive classroom online. This is great because there are times when you need to talk to other people but you aren't always able to meet face to face. This is the closest way to being in the same room as someone without actually being there. It works the best when you connect through your computer because all of the features are available to you like you can assume control as the presenter and you can share your desktop which aren't available if you use another device like an iPad.
To use WebEx you need to first go to the website itself by typing it into your internet browser. When there you can create a free 30 day account so that you can try out the program and see if it's right for you. You create the account and then activate it through an email they send you. When you get on your account you can start a meeting by clicking the button that says start meeting. You will now have a WebEx application that pops up and you can wait for other people to join.
When it comes to actually being in the meeting there are 7 key controls on the bottom which are as followed:
Connect audio and video
Share content
Recorder
Participants
Chat
More options
End meeting
Although these aren't the only controls and options for WebEx, they tend to be the most useful especially when you are first getting used to the program. The connect audio and video button helps with getting your voice to work so you can ask questions during the meeting as well as being able to hear others. The video part helps with getting your webcam to work so that people can see you in the meeting if that is something you want to do. The share content control allows you to share your screen with other people in the meeting so that everyone is on the same page. This is especially useful for a student so they can literally show their teacher what is on their screen. The recorder option allows the meeting to be recorded so people can look back at it and remember what was said. The participants button lets you see who is in the call. The chat button allows you to write messages to anyone that is in the meeting. You can write a question privately to the teacher or you can write something that everyone can see. More options allows you to lock the meeting, invite people, take polls, and write down notes for your personal keeping. Lastly, the red X lets you leave the meeting.
These are the essential controls for using WebEx but they are constantly adding new features so it's important to play around with it and get a feel for it so that in no time you'll be a pro as well. I have listed a video below to give you a more in depth look at how how WebEx works as well.
As an educator we don't have time to mess around with complicated programs because our time is limited as it is but this application is great for quickly meeting with other teachers to bounce ideas off of. For example, if you don't have time to do it while in school you can have a meeting from somewhere else. If you are sick as a teacher this even allows the possibility to still teach from the comfort of your house so you don't get students sick but are still able to keep everyone on track so they don't fall behind. If a student has a question on their homework they can actually call you on WebEx and you can quickly help them by having them share their screen with you.
WebEx has a bright future ahead of it, especially, with the fast moving world we live in today. It is getting harder and harder to meet in person so being able to meet with people with a few clicks of a button is a great thing to be able to do. Online classes are becoming more prominent and as teachers we need to be able to adapt. Being informed teachers on the latest technology will only help us in becoming the most effective teachers we can be. References
WebExlogo [Online image] Retrieved from https://www.hipaajournal.com/cisco-webex-hipaa-compliant/
WebEx video [Online video] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oosepdu-yjA
