Top 10 Tech Tools I Can't Live Without

I have learned so many wonderful tools that I can use in my classroom through this Technology class.

1. Smarboard Notebook- I love my smartboard and I use it all day, every day. The Smartboard Notebook software can be used to make fun and educational games for students.

2. Microsoft Office

3. Blogspot

4. Glogster

5. Powerpoint

6.Voki

7. YouTube and TeacherTube

8. Animoto

9. Computers

10. Digital projectors

11. Bubbl.us

Mobile Apps

I have found several apps that would be beneficial to use in my Kindergarten classroom.

1.  ABC Writing Zoo Animals. This will help their reading, writing and listening skills by using zoo animals to teach them their ABC’s. They will be able to write their upper-case and lower-case letters along with learning sound and letter recognition. If they can already write their letters, the writing words mode would be better. They hear the animal name, write the animal name and learn the spelling in the process.

2.  Turn Taker- This app uses visual and/or audio cues to assist turn taking and/or sharing in children with special needs. It also helps with young children, children that find it difficult to share, and children diagnosed with ADHD. This would be very useful in my classroom. The first couple months of school, my students have to learn how to take turns or share with other children. Some children know how to do both of these things; however, some children have never been to preschool and are not use to sharing with anyone. I have a lot of students who complain if one student gets more time than the other at a center. This app would make sure each student had the same amount of time, so it would be “fair.”

3.  SUPER WHY ABC Adventures- Students will go on an adventure while playing five interactive literacy games. They will be introduced to upper-case and lower-case letters, the order of the alphabet, letter sounds, and writing their letters in fun and exciting ways.

4.   My Spelling Test- This is a great app to get students interested in spelling! It is rated the #1 spelling test in the app store. You can create your own words to make a test on this app. You can add words that will be on spelling tests for that week or just words that the students are struggling with. It will say a word and the student has to spell the word out in the box. After you spell the word, it will show you if you got the answer correct or not. After the test, students will find out their score and see all of the answers they got incorrect.

5.   iWriteWords- This is a handwriting game that will help teach your students how to write their letters while playing a fun and entertaining game. Students help Mr. Crab collect the numbered balls by dragging him with their fingers and drawing the letter at the same time. After all the letters are drawn properly, a cute drawing pops up.

These apps would help the students learn while having fun. These are all apps that are available for an iPad.

Good digital citizen

According to http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/, Digital Citizenship is a concept which helps teachers, technology leaders and parents to understand what students/children/technology users should know to use technology appropriately.

Why is it important to be a good digital citizen? I think it is very important to be a good digital citizen. You should conduct yourself online just like you would offline. I also believe that you should think about the effects before you post anything that could be hurtful to others. One of my professors once told me that if we didn't want our mother's or grandmother's reading it, than we shouldn't post it online. That has really stuck with me. All children should know that things you post online could be traceable. Just like in real life, everyone should think before they speak (or in this case, type.)

It's also important to have a good digital reputation. In everyday life it's important to have a good reputation and it's the same thing for online. Just like I wrote earlier, if you wouldn't want your mother or grandmother reading it, you shouldn't post it online for the entire world to see it.

Material Generators

Here are three kinds of material generators that I have used or would like to use in my classroom.

1. Worksheet & puzzle generators- I use this to make crossword puzzles or word searches for different things that we are studying in unit. During my internship, I created worksheets to go along with both Math and Reading.

2. Certificate maker- I could use this to make different certificates for students. We have a fry word hall of fame which consists of the first 100 sight words. I could make certificates for those students that know all 100 sight words. I could also make certificates for my student of the week, good behavior and their birthday.

3. Whiteboard activity software- My class uses Notebook (for Smart Board) daily. We use it for both Reading and Math. All of my lessons are interactive so the students can come and move the picture cards to go along with the beginning sound. For example: If I have a picture of a man, they have to move that picture to the letter m. They also use the Smart Board for reading and math centers.

Web 2.0 Resources

I had to use several different resources for my technology class. I have never used any of these websites before so, it was an adventure! I chose "Holidays around the world" for my unit.

Glogster- I really enjoyed using Glogster. I loved that you could add so many different things to each glog including videos, pictures and facts. My glog is about Chinese New Year. http://www.glogster.com/mtillis/chinese-new-year/g-6la7p8ku2brkchfvfasqua0

Animoto- I also enjoyed using Animoto. I really did not even know where to start when I signed up for Animoto. I had to go look up a youtube video to show me. After I saw the video, it was very easy. I did my Animoto video on Christmas in Germany. I am very lucky that I have a student in my class who just moved from Germany. I called her mom and luckily, she had several Christmas CD's that were in German.
http://animoto.com/play/bJmw4mxiXext9viMbdtHXw

Voki- I chose Voki as my free choice. I thought that Voki would be great to use in the classroom. Introducing my children to a new topic by using Voki would keep them interested.
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=6588453&height=267&width=200
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=6588546&height=267&width=200

Software

This week my post will talk about instructional software. The five types of instructional software are: Drill and practice, Tutorial, Simulation, Instructional games, and Problem solving.

The first one is drill and practice. Drill and practice provides exercises for students to work, usually one at a time, and it provides feedback to let the students know if they had the correct answer or not. Some examples of drill and practice are: drills in SAT testing, flash card activities and chart fill-in activities. http://www.brainpopesl.com/level1/unit4/lesson1/warmup
http://www.saab.org/saab_org.cgi

The second type is tutorial. This is an entire instructional sequence on a topic. It is similiar to a teacher's classroom instruction. Students should be able to learn the topic without any help or materials. Some examples of tutorial software are: linear tutorial, branching tutorial, trigonometry challenge and laws of motion.
http://www.etcai.com/page10.html
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws

The third type is simulation. Simulation is a computerized model of a real or imagined system that is designed to teach how the system works. Learners using simulations must choose tasks to do and the order in which to do them. Some examples of simulations are: City creator (building type simulation), the digitial frog, and BioLab Fly.
http://www.digitalfrog.com
http://www.biolabsoftware.com/bls/fly.html

The fourth type of software is instructional games. Instructional games add game-like rules and/or competition to learning activities. Some examples of instructional games are: jeopardy review generator, spore, and lure of the labyrinth.
http://www.superteachertools.com/jeopardy
http://www.spore.com

The fifth type of software is problem solving. Problem solving software focuses on fostering component skills in or approaces to general problem-solving ability. It provides opportunities to practice solving various kinds of content-area problems. Some examples of problem solving software are: the Geometric Supposer, Memory Challenge, Sequences and Crazy machines.
http://www.criticalthinking.com
http://www.toolfactory.com


**Information acquired from: Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching, Sixth Edition, By: M.D. Roblyer and Aaron H. Doering**

Should students play games (software) in school?

I believe that students should be allowed to play software games in school. I teach Kindergarten and it takes a lot to keep my students' attention. My class plays computer games daily during center time to reinforce the skills that have been taught in both Reading and Math. Compass Learning goes along with what I am teaching and also has fun and appealing games that the students can play. Letting the students play games teaches them that they can have fun while learning.

About Me!

My name is Megan Tillis.

I am from Enterprise, Alabama, home of the Boll Weevil Monument.

I am a huge Alabama football fan. Roll Tide!

• My favorite seasons are fall and winter. I love bonfires and making smores!

• This is my fourth year teaching Kindergarten and I absolutely love it! It is amazing how much a child can learn and grow in one year!
• Here are a few pictures of my classroom.