New Technology...Check These Out...They're Free!

It is truly amazing to see all of the new technologies that are constantly arriving! A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of hearing Alan November. He spoke in our district and then I had a small group session the following day. He spoke on the importance of global collaboration and how we need to be teaching our students to be global learners. He showed us examples of why and how we need to be web literate and teach our students to be web literate. We need to show our students how to judge whether or not a site is a "good" site. They need to know how to search and find accurate information. Sites like www.archive.org has a wayback machine that can take you through the entire history of a site (my boyfriend was intrigued by this and has used it on several law cases that he is working on). He also showed us how to narrow searches with site: " " you can limit your searches with country codes and other domains like .edu, .gov, .ac, etc.

Here are a few other things that I learned about that you may want to check out. They are great tools that you can use in your classroom and your students will LOVE them.

• Jing (free download) - www.jingprojects.com Jing allows you to create tutorials. It records your computer screen while you are narrating. This is perfect when teaching concepts such as addition with regrouping, 2 digit multiplication, or other "step required" concepts. I have also let me students dod alternative homework assignments and create their own jing homework showing me that they truly understand the concept.
• Voicethread (free registry) - www.voicethread.com Voicethread allows students to upload a picture and explain something through narration, text, and/or drawing. Other students can then comment and give feedback. I am going to do this with my students and have them explain the different moon phases. This is a great teaching/learning tool.
• Ning (free registry) - www.ning.com - Ning is a networking tool. Our district has Moodle, so I probably won't use it. However, it is a great way for teachers to network and collaborate. You can share videos, links, etc. If your school doesn't have a networking software, this would be a great one to use...and it's free!

I am excited as technology continues to grow and change. In my classroom we are using more and more technology to enhance our learning. One thing I have to remind myself is curriculum should drive the instruction with technology integration NOT technology drive the instruction.