1. TWITTER - now as an individual I hardly use twitter (gasp!) I've tried and tried and had no success with sticking with it BUT for Global Read Aloud, it was a fantastic tool! You can read more about Global Read Aloud - here - and see the books that were chosen. We have a class twitter account that I manage and it stays the same year after year.
We can tweet other classes,
answers twitter chat questions about posted chapters,
ask/watch the author!!!
Last year we watched videos that Lynda Mullaly Hunt posted and she even answered a question in the video that we tweeted her!! My kids were just so connected to the book on such a deeper level after knowing so much of what was going on behind the scenes. Connecting with other classes and learning how to use hashtags made us such a better reading community. It really opened their eyes to a broader international audience.
Twitter can also be used to connect with parents, other schools, other classes in your district, etc... If facilitated correctly it really can become a positive educational tool. Bonus: it can teach students how and when to use social media correctly. I think the benefits far outweigh the negatives in this situation and it really is great for any classroom.
***TAKEAWAY*** Social Media can be positive - show students how to connect!
2. PADLET
I love Padlet because it is so easy to use! It is like an online bulletin board! We used this for our poetry portfolios this year. Students posted their various types of poetry and we used the QR codes to go and comment on each others.We also used this for responding to reading. Sometimes for Global Read Aloud a class or teacher would have a link to a question for the reading and we could all respond. It is great as an educator because I can see all the responses in one place without having a Google Classroom like environment.
You don't have to have an account to respond -just the link so for students it definitely eases that computer time.
Here is the link : http://padlet.com/amber21/har0cd7yiql7 to one we did for reading response letters. They are default to a hidden link - where it is public but not on search engines. You can password protect and change the address as well for extra protection.
From the yellow side bar you can see it is extremely easy to share in a variety of formats - QR codes, social media, embed, etc...
This is really second nature for kids as they just have to click on the "wall" then start typing. No extra details and for a teacher having all responses in one place is priceless.
**TAKEAWAY*** Use as a center/exit slip for next year focusing on our weekly reading skill
3. SEESAW
This app is EVERYTHING!! I presented to our faculty on this because I love it so much! You basically set up a class and add pictures, videos, text, audio, anything to a student's portfolio! It is incredibly EASY! My kids know if we put something on Seesaw and it takes no time!
Parents see only their child's work and get updates whenever we upload. It is great for accountability. Teachers and parents can comment and of course there are TONS of privacy settings already to make sure you can make it work for you class.
I'll have a more detailed post later. But check here if you want specific tutorials = http://innovateinstructinspire.blogspot.com/2015/10/seesaw-more-options.html. She has awesome tutorials for everything you could possibly need!
*I can grade at home
* I can listen to work at home
*I can push work to students
* aspects of Google Classroom that I can use my limited (2) iPads to sustain my class!!
*I can message parents/students
*IT IS FREE!!
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