Blog Post #8

Scholastics

By: Victoria Williams

After reading my assignment for post eight, I knew exactly where I could find learning and communicating tools. I referred back to my PLN, Symabloo. This site has tons of useful tools that I am in the process of locating and preparing. I will use these tools in my future classroom.

I found this tool on Symabloo and it is called Scholastic. The Scholastic site has tons of great learning resources that I will need for my second grade classroom. To use this site you  need to create an account as either a teacher, parent, first administrator, or librarian. Some of the resources listed on the homepage are as follows: Resource and Tools, Strategies & Idea , Student Activities, Book & Authors, and a shop for teachers to buy products. I chose to use this site because of all the resources that it has to offer me.

The Resource and Tools tab contains lots of useful tools that I will use in my future classroom. The most useful thing for me was the hands on lesson plans. The lesson plans are designed for certain grade levels and contain a project overview, objective, lesson plan for the unit, culminating activities, duraliation for the project, and the subjects being covered. I would use this site mostly to gather creative lesson plan ideas but there are also other useful resources offered through this site. There are Common Core instructional material and programs. The Everything you Need link is perfect for looking up activities for the whole month. The Tools tab has a variety of technology tools to make things for the classroom such as: graphic organizers, rubric makers, flash card maker and a spelling wizard.  This site also offers printables, planning calendar, and daily starters. I would recommend this site to any teacher.

Flocabulary

http://www.flocabulary.com/

by: Shanda Thornton

I looked over a few different learning sites, and found a few different ones, but Flocabulary just kept jumping out at me. Flocabulary is partnered with Learning.com and Pearson and currently working on new content for common core ELA. It is $63/year, but I believe would be well worth that price! I just signed up for the free trial, so that I could explore more of the products this site has to offer. Flocabulary has an online library of songs, videos, and activities for grades k-12. Teachers use Flocabulary to supplement their instruction andengage their students.The word up projects teaches interdisciplinary tier 2 words to boost reading skills across the curriculum. It engages, standard aligned content for students of all ages. It offers videos, exercises, games, and quizzes that provide a comprehensive resource for direct vocabulary instruction. it has hip hop songs, videos, and lessons for every subject! It offers products for Language Arts, Math, The Week in Rap, Social Studies, Science. It also has an award-winning vocabulary program and features a weekly current events video. Flocabulary presents academic content in a highly-engaging, contemporary format. It says that the site lets the topic speak for itself, providing students with both visual and aural exposure. And videos aren’t only for introducing new topics; use them to review and provide ongoing enrichment as well. You can play and pause the video while discussing the lyrics, which are visible below the video and also available as a printable PDF. Click on key lyrics to bring up an infobox, which takes the topic further and provides opportunity for a more in-depth discussion. As a class, in groups, or individually, students can hone in on specific details and review key points from the song in a flashcard format. The founders have diverse backgrounds but with a common goal of increasing student motivation and achievement. I would absolutely use this site in my classroom! I love music and I always could learn stuff better if I could turn it into a song! I think most kids are like that, and with this site they get songs and interactive games to help them learn and remember about lessons of any subject!

Check it out! It’s this generations version of schoolhouse rock!

i>Clicker

http://www1.iclicker.com/

By. Chastity Westry

A 21st Century learning and communicating tool I will use with my students is the iClicker. The iClicker is an audience response system that enables participants and presenters to interact dynamically through question and answer polling in various group settings. It reduces the burden of technical difficulties and maximizes the benefit of learning with the technology.The iClicker remote has basic features that can be easily operated by any grade level. The remote has a simple six button design, easy for students to power up and make their decisions. Next, they are small, lightweight, and portable with a durable design built to last.  This tool allows teachers and students to make real-time decisions about academic progress. I will use this tool along with powerpoint or other presentation programs with my students. Since I will be working with Kindergarteners,we will be using this to play matching games on a LCD screen for learning the alphabet and numbers. This learning and communicating tool can be accessed through an iPad, iClicker remote, computers, or any device with internet access. Two benefits that I expect from this tool is making learning more informative and enjoyable. I chose this particular tool because I think it will be very effective in the learning process in the classroom. The iClicker tool will develop better collaboration and communication skills upon my students. Also, when using this tool and pairing students into groups, it can create competition and encourage the students to want to do better in their work. I believe that the iClicker will keep the students engaged and encourage them to learn more. The iClicker is an essential presentation tool that increases engagement and understanding. This tool will keep your students learning experience front and center. Today, as a Junior at the University of South Alabama, I am currently using the iClicker in my lecture classes and I am sure it will be a great effective learning tool for my future classroom.