5 Great Tech Tools to Use with Students

Tired of the same old technology in your classroom? Need new ideas? There are a million of technology tools to use with students but let's look at five tools that you can start using today to engage your students. These tools are simplistic in nature and anyone can learn to use them, not just the tech savvy teacher.

1.  Kahoot!

• What is Kahoot?
• Kahoot is a game-based classroom response system. Engage the room by projecting the quiz onto the screen at the front. Without needing an account, everyone joins through their device and will see their name appear on the screen. Users answer questions in real time while playing against each other aiming to be at the top of the leaderboard.
• Educational Applications
• Teachers can create a quiz or a discussion/survey to gather opinions or facilitate debate.
• Use the public Kahoot menu to search for Kahoots made by others.
• Kahoot is an online platform so it supports any device with a Web browser.
• Click here for Kahoot Tutorials. 

2.  Padlet

• What is Padlet?
• Padlet is paper for the web, online cork board, or a virtual board. Padlet is an online platform that requires no software download and users only need a Web browser to access.
• Educational Applications
• Teachers create a wall and from there the options are:
• make wall private and only those with the link can access
• users double click the wall to add a "sticky note"
• instant collaboration...no refresh needed...all activity posts to the wall
• set permissions for users...view/write/moderate posts
• add multimedia...links to YouTube videos, MS Word Documents, PDF files, etc
• customize layout...freeform or organized stream
• customize backgrounds
• embed the wall on blogs or websites
• Great for class collaboration, brainstorming, group notetaking/questioning/research, exit ticket and much more...the possibilities are endless.
• Students can participate using any device that has internet (iPad, iPhone, Android phones or tablets, laptops, computers, eReaders that have internet access)

3.  Tackk

• What is Tackk?
• Tackk is a free website maker that allows anyone to create anything, quickly publish and share that one simple page anywhere. 
• Educational Applications
• Types of Tackks to create: blank canvas, class assignment, event, blog post, announcement and many more.
• Items that can be added to Tackks: headline, text, photo, video, audio, button (hyperlink to sites), map, and more.
• Customize Tackk background styles/colors, font type and color, security (make private or public), title, etc.
• Share your Tackk via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr, Email, Embed, or Print PDF.
• Great for class projects, group projects, blogs, online projects...try something other than PowerPoints or Word Documents for projects. 
• NOTE: Without creating an account any Tackk created will expire in 7 days.

4.  BitStrips

• What is BitStrips?
• Bitstrips is the online funny pages. Turn yourself into a cartoon character and create your own comic strips.
• Educational Applications
• Create comic strips as digital stories.
• Review news by recreating the story as a comic strip.
• Note: Best works when users create an account.

5.  ThingLink

• What is ThingLink?
• Upload an image. Tag images with web content. Make your images come alive with music, video, and text. Every image contains a story and ThingLink helps you tell your stories. Follow image channels from your favorite bloggers and friends. 
• Educational Applications:
• Teachers can use ThingLink to provide students with differentiated learning experiences that support unique learning styles through the use of multimedia.
• ThinkLink is a flexible digital toolkit for helping teachers design learning experiences that leverage the power of technology to transform learning.
• Create Interactive Albums with ThingLink Channels http://thinglinkblog.com/2014/02/21/create-interactive-albums-with-thinglink-channels/
• Student signup: Teachers can now register new students on their behalf.  The students do not need to have a working email address, yet they all will receive an individual user account.
• Automatic group creation on Teacher sign-up: Teachers will automatically get one group to which they can add students by listing their names.
• Safe browsing environment: If the logged-in user is assigned student status, they can only see images created by other people with student status, teacher status, or images specifically curated by Thinglink Staff.  This affects search, streams, hashtags, and channels.
• Students can participate using any device that has internet (iPad, iPhone, Android phones or tablets, laptops, computers, eReaders that have internet access)
• Reference guide on what content can be added to images. Click here.

Five Technology Things to Try in 2014

Image credit: acucucu / 123RF Stock

1.  Twitter in the Classroom

• Consider adding Twitter to your classroom this new year. Twitter is a powerful tool  for secondary students. It is a great way to conduct book talks, class discussions, review for exams, etc all through custom hashtags. Click here to read "60 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom" by Ian Jukes.

2.  Student Response Systems

• Response systems are a great way to get instant feedback from students. Try using response systems as an entrance ticket to class, exit ticket, whole class discussions, backchannel for when students need more information about a concept being taught, etc. Click here to learn about my three favorite student response systems.

3.  Google Drive

• Using Google Drive in the classroom allows students to take notes, add comments to documents, build/view presentations, create spreadsheets, and all in real time via the web. My favorite part of Google Drive is that it is a step in taking your classroom to a paper-free environment. Check out this infographic on 12 Ways to Use Google Drive in the Classroom by Jeff Dunn.

4.  Grading with Voice Comments

• Most students write or type their papers to turn in for teachers to hand grade. Why not try something new? Students can type their papers in Google and then share that document with their teacher. The teacher can then open the document using Kaizena, add voice comments to the document and then share that audio file back with students. The students original document is not altered in any way but now students can hear a teachers comments on areas that are excellent and areas that need work. Click here to read more about using Kaizena with Google Docs by Richard Byrne.

5.  Infographics

• Wikipedia defines infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly. Look above on #3 to see an example of an infographic. Click here to read ways to use infographics in the classroom.

Create Infographics with Easel.ly

Create and share inforgraphics with this new site currently in Beta. With Easel.ly you can:
☆ Choose from predesigned themes.
☆ Choose fonts of your choose with the site.
☆ Change position of shapes on predesigned themes.
☆ Add text, shapes, objects and/or backgrounds.
☆ Lock items on the design board.
☆ Edit the opacity of an object.
☆ Edit font color and size.
☆ Upload your own image.
☆ Set visuals created as private or public.
☆ Share via weblink or embed code.
☆ Download visual as a jpg

Watch this quick video on what Easel.ly has to offer: