The first tool that I investigated wasPadlet. In the past, I have heard of Padlet, but I had never used it. Once I created an account, Padlet was very simple to use. I created a Padlet so that the teachers on my grade level can add resources so that we can all share what we are using in our classes. I created a section for each subject that we teach (Reading, Math, Social Studies, Science, Writing, Other) and started to add some of the resources that we have used in the past. I was even able to make it password protected which would be useful if you were having students use this tool in class and you wanted to protect their privacy. I think this is such an excellent tool for professional development for a technology coach because you could have teachers go on a Padlet during meetings and look at various posted pictures, links, and videos. You could also use this in a classroom for group work and for students to display their resources so that others in the class can find them. High School would be the best place to use Padlet because they can save and share their information with others. With Padlet, you could use it to support students with diverse learning needs very easily. One great way would be to use it with students that are English language learners. You could create a bank of pictures and videos that have commonly used words. Students could access it to help them practice their English as well as communicate with others. Because it has categories, you could categorize the words into topics to make them easier to find. When using Padlet with students, I would manage it by frequently checking the page. I would want to be sure that all of the resources that are posted are still active links and that students are not going to sites other than the ones that are on the Padlet. I think the biggest challenge with this tool would be that younger grade students could not post their information on the Padlet because they are not allowed to use google to just search. If I used Padlet in my classroom, I would use it as a tool for students to click on different sites that would be the best use in their research.
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I used Screencast-o-Matic to create a screencast about a tool used for assessment called Kahoot. Kahoot is a fun way to formativly assess students on a topic you are talking about (see screencast to learn more). Initially, I thought that screencasting seemed intimidating and I was unsure of how difficult it would be to use. After now making one, I found it very simple. When using the program Screencast-o-Matic, it was simple to download the tools that you needed and then the directions were apparent. The hardest part about screencasting is that you have to be prepared before you start or you have to redo your screencast multiple times. I made sure to write out what I was going to say before I started and it went smoothly. I enjoyed learning about screencasting, and I think that it is a great tool to use in the classroom and for professional development.
One way that I could use screencasting with my students would be to use a flipped classroom model. I would love to make screencasts of math techniques and have students look at them at home. The flipped classroom would give me more time in class to practice with the students instead of teaching new math techniques. The second way I would use screencasting in my classroom is to help parents understand topics. A lot of times parents ask about common core and how it is different than what they learned in school. They often tell me that they only know how to teach their students how they were taught in school not how we show it now. Screencasting would be a great way to educate parents. I could make videos about what we are learning and post them on my eClass page for parents to view. One last way I would use screencasting is for professional development. We have meetings that require a teacher to have a substitute teacher for a day to show the other grade levels tools that they use in their class. Screencasting would be an excellent way for teachers to stay in their room and still be able to show their tools. They could make a screencast about a resource, and then during the meetings, the other teachers could watch the screencast instead of that teacher being there to go over each step. I think many teachers would prefer using a screencast rather than leaving their classroom. Screencasting is a great tool, and I am excited to practice more with it and get better and better at using screencasts with my students.
Liu, M., Scordino, R., Geurtz, R., Navarrete, C., Ko, Y. & Lim, M. (2014). A look at research on mobile learning in K-12 education from 2007 to the present. Journal of Research on Technology in Education 46(4), 325-372.