Overview of class

IST has been a huge part in helping me grow as a teacher this semester. One thing I lacked in while teaching was using technology. IST has given me the confidence to start using technology in my classroom. I have started exploring with many apps I would have never thought of if it weren't for this class.

Confidence with technology

The biggest thing going into my last year with technology is having confidence with it. The more I play around with certain apps the better I feel about it. As long as I feel confident with what I am using I should be just fine with using technology.

An app I would like to try

EduCade has a ton of free, standards-based, lesson plans to try out.  You can  search by grade-level, content, or subject-area to find any lesson you might need.  All the lessons come with the resources you need, a step-by-step lesson plan, ideas for manipulative and even reviews from other teachers who have tried it out.

Using Brickflow

Brickflow is a web-based tool that instantly builds slideshows based on hashtags (#).  This is a great way to use twitter and youtube in your classroom to share ideas and videos. It's a great, free tool that I think students will enjoy using!

Educlip a must try

Educlip is an awesome tool for collecting, sharing, and organizing digital information.  It's great for students and teachers and it can be used to create a digital bulletin board of useful links, articles, pages, and you can even upload your own documents to share.  It's incredibly easy to use and to top it all off, it's free! I am excited to use this in my future classroom!

Pinterest in the classroom

Pinterest is a great resource to use in the classroom. You can find anything from lesson plans, to bulletin boards, flash cards, videos, and much more. Pinterest is a great way to share ideas with other teachers and is also a great way to learn some ideas to use for your classroom.

How far technology has came in my life time

Technology has came along ways in just my life time. I remember watching tv when I was younger and being happy with just color. Heck now we have HD tvs that look like we are at a game if we are watching a sporting event. I remember when I was very young my grandparents had a bag cell phone. Wow we have went along way it just nearly 20 years!

Popplet App in the Classroom

I recently explore using the Popplet App in the classroom and it turned out to be a great success. The App allows you to have a book talk with your students. It allows you to use a web to organize ideas. This is a great way to let kids explore and to get interested in reading books.

How much is too much?

As we all know technology is beginning to take over classrooms. For the most part this is a good thing. However we must not let technology control our whole classroom. Sometimes when we use too much technology it takes away our ways to reason with certain situations and sometimes even communicate with others. Just remember a steady balance is critical in all classrooms.

Teachers being aware of cyber bulling

Now that that technology is becoming more and more popular in the classroom it is important as educators to be aware of cyber bulling. Cyber bulling doesn't just happen on facebook it happens all over the web. As teacher it is important to watch for this.

Using Adobe Voice in the classroom

Adobe Voice is a great program I would encourage all teachers to use in their classroom. I would suggest it for grades 3-6. It is very simple to use almost like a powerpoint presentation. If you are going over basic concepts or introducing something new it is a great tool to use.

Safety Using Social Media as a teacher

Social Media is great for teachers to use but there are always something you need to consider. First off as a teacher you should consider what you post on twitter and or facebook. As a teacher you need to remember everybody is watching and what is posted online can be found. So as a teacher is important to make sure to not post anything bad. 

What do you do when you struggle with technology ?

When I struggle with technology I usually ask someone from help or collaborate with others. Collaborating with others can be very help to help you learn new tips and tricks. If all else fails try something else and improvise with what you have.