This course has been an amazingly intense experience with different internet tools tried out and practiced every week. I created a wikispace for use in my AP Psychology classes, utilized Diigo to tag websites, followed people on Twitter, created my first podcast utilizing PodOMatic, embedded videos and slideshows, and done practice screencasts. In addition, I was exposed to various other internet tools for use in the classroom by my classmates. I have to admit that although I enjoy following my favorite NFL team (@Atlanta_Falcons) and AP for Students (@APforStudents) on Twitter, I have not used it to the full extent that I know other teachers are using it. I am hoping to improve that over our winter break and get a better handle on how this tool can be used for educational purposes.
I did learn about one online tool that has changed my teaching during professional development training at the Federal Reserve in October, and this tool was reinforced in this course. Socrative is an online quizzing tool that is currently free of charge to teachers. Teachers set up an account and are able to enter and save quizzes for use with their classes. Students login to their teacher’s classroom and take quizzes, with the results being automatically fed to the teacher in an excel spreadsheet. My Economics colleagues and I have been using Socrative quite consistently since October, and students are excited about the immediate feedback and the ability to log in using their cell phones or in the computer labs.
One additional item that I am really excited about from this course is the wikispace I created for my AP Psychology classes. As we prepare for the AP exam in May, I am hopeful that we will be able to incorporate this into the curriculum and utilize it in the computer lab. I am definitely planning on utilizing it in my project in the abnormal psychology and treatment unit in April. I am still in the process of constructing that online project, but I believe that students are going to be excited about the ability to collaborate online with other students. This goes hand in hand with the change in my thinking about wikis as a result of this course. In the past, I have been quite condescending about wikis because they did not seem to be “valid” knowledge. I still believe that wikis have to be evaluated for use in the classroom, but I am much more open to my students utilizing them.
Overall, this has been an intense semester, but I am excited about what I have learned and what I am currently applying in my classroom!
I did learn about one online tool that has changed my teaching during professional development training at the Federal Reserve in October, and this tool was reinforced in this course. Socrative is an online quizzing tool that is currently free of charge to teachers. Teachers set up an account and are able to enter and save quizzes for use with their classes. Students login to their teacher’s classroom and take quizzes, with the results being automatically fed to the teacher in an excel spreadsheet. My Economics colleagues and I have been using Socrative quite consistently since October, and students are excited about the immediate feedback and the ability to log in using their cell phones or in the computer labs.
One additional item that I am really excited about from this course is the wikispace I created for my AP Psychology classes. As we prepare for the AP exam in May, I am hopeful that we will be able to incorporate this into the curriculum and utilize it in the computer lab. I am definitely planning on utilizing it in my project in the abnormal psychology and treatment unit in April. I am still in the process of constructing that online project, but I believe that students are going to be excited about the ability to collaborate online with other students. This goes hand in hand with the change in my thinking about wikis as a result of this course. In the past, I have been quite condescending about wikis because they did not seem to be “valid” knowledge. I still believe that wikis have to be evaluated for use in the classroom, but I am much more open to my students utilizing them.
Overall, this has been an intense semester, but I am excited about what I have learned and what I am currently applying in my classroom!