Promethean Board

There are so many different types of technologies that are used in classrooms. One in particular that I find to be quite fascinating is the Promethean board. Since junior high when these bad boys were first installed in my school, I was amazed. It provides teachers with a wide range of tools to support their daily instructions. It’s all the convenience of a white or black board with intelligence of a desktop. This board is fascinating because of its ability to do so much more than just write. You can surf the web while instructing in the front of the classroom and change the color of your writing for the student to understand better without switching your pen. Also students and teachers can use the promethean board to draw, write or manipulate images. It is simple and easy to learn and could be used by more than one operator at a time. Teachers love it because it is low maintenance; there is no need to buy markers or chalk anymore which means there is no mess at all. It’s all the greatness of a computer with the latest technology of a board. This is the type of advancement teachers need to create a simple and fun learning environment.  

iClicker

White remote is used for students, blue is for the teacher.

An iClicker is a device that instructors can use during class to allow their students to anonymously respond to questions that are asked. It is most useful with a large classroom, for example a lecture class with over 100 students where it may be hard to interact with everyone. The iClicker looks like a remote with 6 simple buttons on it, listed A-E and the power button. A professor will put up a slide with a multiple choice question on it and then you may click the answer you want to choose from your remote. Answers are then immediately tallied up and displayed for the teacher to see the results. Some professors may even use the iClicker to take attendance. It connects with your student account, so if you answer a question it lets your professor know you were present in class. This will keep students involved in the lecture and give them the chance to participate.

Plickers: Formatively assess your class, mannequin-challenge style.

All teachers should check out the Plickers app at https://plickers.com



Plickers is an amazingly easy tool to formatively assess your students in real time. You just print out a class set of Plicker cards (I think of them as "answer papers") that can be used over and over again. The teacher poses a question and the students hold up their card to choose answer A, B, C, or D. (They do this by orienting their card so that their chosen answer is at the top, see photo below.)

The teacher then scans his or her phone across the room and the app records all the students answers.

Results are instantly tabulated and ready to inform your instruction!

 

Plickers is a HUGE timesaver: grading formative assessments is a snap, and there's no need for students to have their own devices. Many students even enjoy Plickers as if it were some kind of game!


Photo credits: plickers.com

Edmodo

Edmodo is a free website that is also available as an app that connects teachers with their students but also allows parents to view what is going on in the classroom. As a teacher you can create groups for your students to work in, post assignments, and also plan tests and quizzes. Students have easy access to Edmodo since it is all connected with Google Apps. Parents can also view exactly what is going on in the classroom with the Edmodo Parent App. This app allows parents to see when assignments are due and can also see when test and quizzes are taking place. Edmodo helps parents get involved with their child's learning instead of just relying on what their child says about what is going on in school. Lastly, Edmodo allows you to reach out to other teachers and other students to get helpful ideas for you in the classroom. It creates a safe space for you and your students. https://www.edmodo.com/

Sensory Rover Distraction Unit

The Sensory Rover Distraction Unit diverts your child's attention from medical worries to a hands-on light show that makes hospital rooms feel more like amusement parks. This is meant to calm both you and your child's fears. The Sensory Rover Distraction Unit takes kids from the hospital bed to a virtual fun house, unlike anything they’ve seen before. It has a projector that projects a circular lava lamp type image onto the wall or ceiling and a stereo to play music. The Distraction Unit helps take your child's mind off of any medical issues and turn awestruck by playing with all of the lights. The hospital can be unfamiliar or scary for some kids and their routine is interrupted, so they may feel they don’t have many choices. This technology is made to help children cope with the fact of being hospitalized. Visit this website for more information

Plickers.
While teaching it is essential that we check for a students understanding as much as possible. However it is important that we do this in a timely and efficient manner. Constantly quizzing or students or bogging them down with paperwork useses up valuable class time. Enter Plickers.com. Plickers uses your mobile device and captia technology to only help you monitor your classes understanding but it will automatically track the data for you. It basically takes asking student for a show of hands and takes it to the next level. Each student is provided with a numbered captia card that provides four possible answers labeled A,B,C and D on each side of the captia square. The answer the student provides is determined by the orientation of the card. How does. It work? The teacher will enter the desired multiple questions and answers into Plickers. The students are then presented the questions and asked to answer by holding up thier card with thier desired answer at the top. The teacher then will use the Plickers app on thier mobile device to scan the room in order to collect the students answers. These answers are then immediately calculated, displayed and stored to the teachers Plickers account.

https://www.plickers.com/

Keeping in Touch at Daycare

The greatest dilemma with parents now a day is whether they can handle being a part from their child and going back to work. Well, Hi Mama has created a perfect solution for parents. Hi Mama is an app that daycare and Montessori teachers utilize within the classroom to communicate fluently throughout the day with the parent. Hi Mama is easier on the teacher as it is all electronic and can be accessed anywhere with a simple username and pass-code, and it is very simple to understand. It is great for parents that want continuous updates of how little Johnny slept at nap time, or how much Emma ate at snack. Parents love the spontaneous picture messages of their baby to brighten up their day. And as a preschool teacher, you have more time to pay attention to the child as you are not filling out so much paperwork, simply pressing a few buttons. Hi Mama connects parents at work to their child at daycare.