Very Good Grasshopper

Recently, my school rolled out a plan to have tablets in the hands of every 6th and 7th grader to be used consistently in the classroom. My first thought was, wow, that'll be pretty cool, we don't have to worry about sharing computers anymore. And then I thought, uh oh...internet at the fingertips of every student in my room- the number of possible distractions to middle school minds will exponentially increase! So, I went to work scouring the internet for the best ways to incorporate the technology my students would be toting to class, while not relying entirely on technology in case it happens to fail. Yikes!

First, I typed in every Google search phrase I could think of: 'Using technology in the classroom', 'Best Apps for Teachers', 'Best Websites for Students', 'Top 10 uses for Google in the classroom', 'HowInTheWorldDoITeachThisWayAndKeepMySanity'?

And then over winter break I found my answer: Google Webinars for Teachers. This is a site with real teachers who have become Google Docs Masters (I think they're really called "Google Certified Teachers", but they are "Mr. Miyagi" to me). What's great is they are now helping the rest of us learn how to really utilize the resources we have at our fingertips.
And. It's. Amazing.

And after watching this whole video (and about 6 more like it)- I'm proud to present:

My Five Go-To Tech Resources for the Classroom
1) Google Docs- I've had each student create Google Docs named "Bellwork"  and "Homework" and have dropped them into a Collection specific to their class(Instructions here and here). Now, everyday when they walk into class, I have a Bellwork assignment posted, they open the same document, scroll to the very bottom, write the date and begin their Bellwork. The same goes for homework. This has revolutionized the way I grade! When I am ready to grade these assignments, I open the student's Doc, read the newest assignments,  then add a comment with a grade or feedback to the last post (instructions here). I have been able to give my students more feedback using this method than ever before and it takes so much less time- very important for us English teacher-types!

2) Class Website- I live on my class website...and so do my students. I have my site set up like a blog, with a page for each grade/class I teach. I create a daily post that basically looks like my lesson plans, with a list of the Bellwork, Grammar, Daily Lesson, and Homework that we will discuss in class. I include links to every video, PowerPoint, and document I will use during the class. Then, when my students enter the room, I open their web page for the day and project it. I start at the top with their Bellwork, and we work our way through the steps for the day, clicking on links and reading instructions. It keeps me on track and saves time in my planning. What's great, too, is that absent students (whether physically absent from school, or those who just may not be paying attention) can refer to the website at home and know exactly what occurred in class. I no longer have to answer the question, "What did I miss?", my website does for me!

3) Skitch/Whiteboard Apps: I inherited a set of 12 personal-sized whiteboards in my classroom and 3 working dry erase markers. Unfortunately that means I'm about 5 boards and 14 markers short of using them during class. Now, I could probably request more and the school would hook me up. However, I've discovered the genius of technology when helping students review. Take, for example, my 6th graders who were learning about prepositions and conjunctions. As a review one day, I had each student open Skitch or another Whiteboard app on their tablets and use them just as we would the whiteboards. I said a sentence, they wrote down the preposition to review. It was great...AND they were able to save their answers to go back and review them again before the test. Genius!

4) Evernote: I went on an App Hunt for the best note-taking app that would work with the Thrive tablets my students have now and Evernote gets my vote. In the past, my students were required to have a notebook divided into four sections: Bellwork, Grammar, Literary Terms, and Notes. In Evernote, they can do that exact same thing in folders and create notes pages just as they would in a real notebook. I have seen Evernote transform some of my most organizationally challenged students into neat freaks. They're addicted to technology at that age, I'm just using it to my (and really, their) advantage.

* * *

Side note: My students are living in an age where they don't have to memorize every bit of information they will need to know in life, like many students have had to do in the past. The key to education now is finding a balance between teaching them the information, and teaching them how to find the information. Now that being said, there are just some things they have to learn, memorize, use, and store in their long-term memory (grammar and usage come to mind), but for so many aspects of education, it is vital that they become highly-qualified researchers.

So, in that spirit, I have learned not to answer many of the questions my students ask of me. This is so counter-intuitive for me because I'm a teacher. I was taught that I need to be prepared for class, a.k.a. know all the answers-- anticipate what they might ask and be ready with a well-developed answer to every question that arises.

Exhibit A:8th Grade Student: Why does Romeo say it's like cutting off his head with a Golden Axe? What does a Golden Axe have to do with anything in this play?
Me: (internally: oh crap, how could I ever anticipate that question? Hmm...Mythology maybe?) Of course, Student, the Golden Axe is an allusion to Greek mythology, which contributes to the belief that Shakespeare must have been familiar with writers like Homer. (internally: Hey, that sounds good, it's totally bogus, but it sounds intelligent, phew...crises averted!).

Even if I didn't give that bogus answer and said I'd find out, I would just go to Google anyway and start my research into the Golden Axe. I may consult an old Shakespeare textbook to double check my findings, but I'd do the research. Now check out what really happened...

Exhibit B:8th Grade Student: Why does Romeo say it's like cutting off his head with a Golden Axe? What does a Golden Axe have to do with anything in this play?
Me: I don't know, I never noticed that before. Why don't you look it up and see if you can find  info about why Shakespeare included the Golden Axe.
Student: Ok...(and tap, tap, tap begins on his keyboard)

You know what we all learned that day? Shakespeare used silver and gold as contrasting images for life and death. Betcha didn't know that one. It's ok, I didn't either, but my student does now because he's become a master researcher.

Which leads me to my fifth, and final Go-To Tech Resource:

5) Google: Enough said.


If five just isn't enough for you, check out these other cool sites:
Study Blue
Google Scholar
EasyBib
Story Bird
Flubaroo

Do you have any favorite teacher sites?