Confession #1 - I Miss Being a Classroom Teacher

I'm in year six as an Instructional Technology Specialist and not a year goes by that I don't miss being a classroom teacher. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job, love training teachers, love working with teachers to integrate technology in their classroom, and on and on. I think the reason I miss being in the classroom is two fold: 1) I miss students and 2) As an Instructional Technology Specialist, I've learned about many new technologies that I would love the opportunity to implement in a classroom.

So what would my future classroom look like? Here are the top two technologies that I would use in my classroom on an everyday basis. Take a look and see if maybe you could incorporate these.

Remind for Parent Contact
Need a one-way communication tool that doesn't share personal contact information and works both from a laptop or a mobile device via an app? "Here's Your Sign!" Things to know about Remind:

• It's FREE. Can I get an AMEN? Teachers love technology tools that are free.
• Sign-up takes about 20 seconds.
• Teachers do NOT have to enroll parents or students. Parents enroll themselves with a code generated by the system. Enrollment prompts them to enter their first and last name.  
• No personal phone numbers are shared. 
• It's a ONE-way communication system. 
• Once your class or classes have been created, Remind generates an instruction sheet for you to print or email those you would like to invite. 
• Remind generates a message history. 
• Schedule when messages will be sent.
• Attach files (photos, PDF, documents, URLs) to messages.
• Attach voice clips when you send a message using the app. Click here to download app. 
• Resources for teachers. Click here. 

It doesn't get much easier than that. I understand there is a time and place for emails and phone calls, but as a parent of teenagers I love that their teachers have Remind accounts. I get a text message when they have a test, forms are due, fees need paying, games/practices have been cancelled, and my new favorite...scholarships are available that my high school senior can apply for. 

Student Response Systems 
I love student response systems for several reasons: polling students for classroom discussion, formative assessments, and review games for summatives. Below are my "go-to" response systems:

• Poll Everywhere - used for creating classroom discussion
• Using this student response system means you do want to project the poll from your laptop to a projector.
• Students can answer the question on their iPad, phone or on a laptop.
• Clickable Image question is my favorite. You can create your own image to upload. 
• Try word cloud responses with open ended questions.
• Click here for a tutorial guide.

• Kahoot - used for review sessions for summatives
• Kahoot is a game based response system. Players get points for answering questions the fastest and correctly.
• The teacher clicks "next" so students receive the question.
• The website should be displayed on a projector from a laptop while students respond via a web-enabled device via https://kahoot.it/. 
• After each question is ask Kahoot shows the leader board. Top 5 appear on the screen

• Socrative - used for formative assessments and exit tickets
• Types of Quizes:
• Quick question – means you ask a verbal question on the fly and choose what type of response you want…T/F, MC, Short Answer
• Exit Ticket asks the same three questions every time…
• How well did you understand today's material?
• What did you learn in today's class?
• Please answer the teacher's question. (you ask a verbal question to class)
• Space Race – means you push a quiz that has been created already to “groups” you choose and the groups compete against each other to see who can make their spaceship get to the finish line first.
• What I love about Socative:
• Quiz responses can be exported into an Microsoft Excel file.
• The Exit Ticket can be used without having to prep beforehand.
• The order of questions and answer responses can be randomized. 
• Student Response Tutorial Guide - click here

Using Student Response Systems for Semester Final Reviews

Semester finals are just around the corner so why not use a student response system to review material? Three of my favorite response systems are listed below. All three require an internet connection. No app needed. No texting. Just a computer connection via laptop, computer or mobile device.

Poll Everywhere
Poll Everywhere allows the users to respond via text message, web browser or Twitter. I prefer the web browser usage over the other choices for education. The short of it...the browser is an easier way to vote.

Short web addresses are easier to type on mobile devices. On your phone's web browser, just go to PollEv.com and type your voting keywords as always. Texting in your answer requires a text code and then a code to accommodate your answer. Also, if you use the web browser many smart phones allow the user to bookmark that browser or add that link to their home screen.


Features:

• Hide Results. This is great when you don't want students to respond based on how others are responding to the question. You can hide results until everyone in the class has responded to the question. 
• Various Question Types: open-ended, multiple choice, clickable image
• When choosing a question type know that you can chose the way the answer gather on the screen. See options in the graphic below.
• When using "word cloud" response be sure to remind students to use no spaces between words. This is best for one word responses.
• Clickable Image is a new feature that allows the user to upload an image and the student to drop a pin on the area that they touch. Great for geographical locations, linkert scale type responses, etc. 

Socrative 2.0 (beta version)
Socrative 2.0 (beta version) is another great student response system. I like this version better than using the app for several reasons. New in 2.0 the students are able to navigate through the questions as the numbers are listed on the left side. The new sleek look of 2.0 is very appealing. Using the app (1.0) only allows the teacher to see when questions are answered. Now teachers can see the actual student answer to the quiz questions. Images can be added to questions, also. Result appear to be cleaner in this version. What I like best is using this version via a web browser. As a teacher I can just add the URL to a wall in the classroom and the room number and students can then bookmark that site on their smart phone, laptop, class computer, etc.

 Here's a quick glance of the new dashboard in Socrative 2.0. Click here to watch a video of 2.0.

Kahoot
Create and play quizzes, discussions or even surveys (called Kahoots) using any device with a web browser… including a laptop, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Android, Chromebook, Windows Phone or PC and more. By answering questions through the easy-to-use interface, users play against each other aiming to top the on-screen leaderboard. It's a fun and interactive way to to review for semester exams by adding the competitive nature. Keep the leaderboard showing on the screen for students to see the top leaders. Pause at anytime to discuss the content.

Start Up Screen

Answering Quiz Questions

Seven Simple Tech Tips for Teachers

Looking for some practical ways to get more out of your classroom tech? Check out these seven tips for ideas on how to use technology to enhance your students’ learning:

1. Take a virtual field trip – You may not be able to take your students to the Louvre in person, but you can use the web to find photos, videos, articles, and guides that let them go there virtually. Use this virtual field trip idea to connect your students to literature, art, history, science, current events, and more without ever leaving the classroom. 
• Classroom Application Tools
• Virtual Fieldtrip List - click here
• Simply K12 Virtual Fieldtrip List - click here
• The Teacher's Guide Virtual Fieldtrip List - click here 
2. Let everyone answer – Get a feel for how well students understand a concept by using electronic response devices. This handheld technology allows students to answer questions in real time. You can then display the class’s responses (individual student answers are not shown) and talk about topics that may need additional clarification. This is a great alternative to raised hands since it allows all students to participate and engage with the discussion directly. 
• Classroom Application Tools
• Poll Everywhere - use cell phone to collect responses - click here
• Socrative - use any device that has internet or the iOS/Android app to collect responses - click here
• ActivExpressions - voting responses for Promethean users   
3. Collaborate with the class – If you have set up a classroom LMS now’s the time to start. Learning Managing Systems allow students to get involved in the curriculum by sharing ideas and collaborating with each other. You can use these for a number of projects including group reports, stories, discussions, debates, questions, and more, or you can use them simply as a way to help the class interact and learn together by allowing students free expression. 
• Classroom Application Tools
• Edmodo - click here
• Schoology - click here
• Google Drive - click here
4. Brainstorm with the right tools – There are a number of excellent brainstorming and mind mapping tools out there—Bubbl.us is a free one—that can help you and your students draw out your ideas in a usable way. These tools can be used when planning art projects, mapping math concepts, and more. 
• Classroom Application Tools
• Padlet - click here
• WiseMapping - click here
5. Keep up to date on new apps – New and amazing educational apps are being released every day. Be sure to keep up to date on the latest and greatest apps that you can use in the classroom. When you see something that you think would work well, don’t be afraid to try it out. 
• Classroom Application Tools
• TCEA iPad Apps and Resources - click here
• Learning in Hand blog by Tony Vincent - iOS resources - click here
6. Educate yourself – One of the most useful ways you can use technology is to keep yourself up to date on the latest developments in the education field—what are other teachers doing? What resources are out there to help you help your students learn? What should you do when you run into problems? Read blogs (like Edudemic) and get active on social media (Twitter is a great place to connect to other educators) to find ideas, advice, encouragement, tools, and more. 
• Classroom Application Tools
• Learning in Hand blog - click here
• Free Technology for Teachers - click here
• Ozge Karaoglu's blog - click here
7. Get organized – Once you start finding all these great resources, it’s important that you keep yourself organized so that you don’t lose track of them. Use bookmarking sites to keep track of websites that you like. Create spreadsheets to help you remember what that awesome idea for next week’s class was.
• Classroom Application Tools
• Diigo - Educator accounts available to teachers - click here to learn more
• Delicious - click here to learn more
• Evernote - click here to learn more

About the Author:

This article was written by Brian Jensen, who works with Dell, along with additional application tools added by myself.

Introducing the Socrative Garden

Socrative now has a learning community filled with ideas, videos, user guide, and samples from classrooms. If you are not familiar with Socrative, let me introduce you to a simple student response system that empowers teachers to engage their classrooms through a series of educational exercises and games via smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Mobile apps are also available for iOS and Android devices. Visit the Socrative Garden by clicking here.

Socrative User Guide:

Users guide-how-to-v4 from Kristie Johnson

Socrative How-To Create an Activity/Quiz Video

How To - Create Quiz/Activity from Socrative Inc. on Vimeo.