Technology

Edmodo

A very useful Tech Tool that I use is Edmodo. Edmodo is a platform that looks and feels a lot like Facebook,and it's free. However, it is teacher controlled. I can moderate posts, if I choose to, change student status' to "read-only", and delete students from the group.

In Edmodo a teacher can create quizzes, polls or assignments. Students can either do their work in the classroom or computer lab, at home on their computer, or use the Edmodo App.
When students sign up for Edmodo and have become a member of your group, they determine what kinds of notifications they wish to receive, email or text (or both). This feature is great when you want to send a notice or alert to the class or to individual students. You can remind them of tests, quizzes, homework assignments, etc.

Parents can also join Edmodo with a parent code that is generated after the student is signed up. Parents can also receive notifications and alerts.

I use Edmodo in different ways. Most recently I have used it to correspond with my partner school in France. It is an easy way for our two schools to share documents, pictures, and links. Students can chat on our group's "wall" in real time.

I also attach documents, links and conduct polls to help students be engaged in way they are familiar with - social media! I have used the Edmodo App in class in 2 ways. One, I have it on the I-Pad and students can get on during classroom activities and respond to my posts or our partner school's posts, and second, I have had students use their cell phones to respond to posts, polls, quizzes, etc.

There are also many groups that teachers can join depending on interests or subjects taught. This is a great way to collaborate with colleagues around the world and to share in best practices and ideas.

Check it out!
www.edmodo.com

Socrative

Student engagement is very important. I stumbled upon Socrative while looking for something else online that could help me gauge student interest and participation in my lesson. I also want student's ideas on how to improve a lesson or give me feedback on what they liked best/worst. It is like using paper exit tickets, but online. 

Socrative allows you to create exit tickets, quizzes, activities, and polls. You can create or upload to Socrative. I like it because it doesn't have to be done in class, but can be assigned as homework. The responses can then be emailed to you from the Socrative website so you can read and/or grade student responses. This saves on a lot of paper grading that I was doing, and when I print it off I have a record of student responses that I can keep or cut out for students.

The website is www.socrative.com

ScreenChomp

I found the ScreenChomp app after speaking to a colleague about centers. In doing centers I like students to do a speaking practice. The ScreenChomp app will record for more than 5 minutes, which is basically the amount of time a student might need to do a speaking assessment. There is also a white board feature so as you are recording, you can write on the white board. This is really helpful if you wanted to explain vocabulary, grammar, etc and post it on your webpage for students to use to study with.

I used this app recently in class during our centers time. Students had to review ordering in a café. They were asked to practice the roles of waiter/waitress and client(s). When they were ready to record they used the ScreenChomp app. After they recorded they sent the file from ScreenChomp to my school email as an MP4. I was able to save these to my computer and allow the students to listen later on.

I have also used ScreenChomp to record my own listening comprehension tests and activities, along with lesson that I have been able to share with students who have missed class. My district uses it for our French and Spanish curriculum tests given every 9 weeks. I can see a future in recording cultural readings with my own voice or using the app to record a live performance or pre-recorded file from the internet. I have encouraged students to download the app to their phone so when they complete their Tâche Hebdomadaire they can use it to capture a recording between themselves and a native speaker. This could also be used for extra credit or an assignment.

www.screenchomp.com
Available only in the iTunes Store

The only downside to this app is that there is no video; however, it has proven very useful. Student get to use the I-Pad in class and work the app themselves giving them a sense of autonomy. You can also log in to the ScreenChomp website and find your files there.