Technology that Supports Teaching and Learning

So (full disclosure), I'm currently going through the NETS*T process, and one of our requirements is that we share at least three examples of technology we use to support teaching and learning to share with our colleagues.  Here, then, is my post (thanks for reading!):

One of my favorite technology tools is my messageboard, set up through proboards (sorry, you can't access it: it's password protected).  It has proven to be useful for a variety of purposes.  It began as a way to communicate with parents: I had a non-password protected section on which I could post assignments and documents, so parents could access everything and keep up with what we do in class.  I've now moved that info elsewhere--to my website--and have found the messageboard to be better for student use.  I have fabulous student discussions online.  The messageboard mimics blackboard (which isn't available in our school system), so it's great for preparing college-bound students for that experience.  Online journals/discussions are a little less intimidating for my kids.  For some reason (maybe just comfort with the internet), shy students are more willing to throw out new ideas than they are in class; that bit of distances works wonders for encouraging them to post their opinions.  Double-entry journals are great, but the back-and-forth of an online discussion can lead to real depth in students' consideration of literature.

Technology tool two?  My blog.  Through 21classes.com, I set up a classroom blog for my Dual Enrollment English students (I'm considering expanding to my other students).  I have had great success with this one, too.  I require that students post at least five blogs that total seven pages over the course of a grading period on any topic they wish.  I also require that they comment at least five times on other students' blogs.  Because it's a completely private blog, the students feel great freedom to reveal some personal stuff--it never gets overwrought, but that comfort level they build in class really pays off here.  This activity results in wonderful development of voice . . . the kids feel they can be themselves, sound like themselves, without feeling the wrath of my purple pen.  They do their best writing, though, so I don't even feel the need to mark things up!

Finally, I'm going to laud the virtues of Google Docs.  I'm just using it now for the first time (as a replacement for the deceased Etherpad).  Google Docs allows my students to edit a document simultaneously.  I'm using it in the midst of a project that requires students to select a problem, identify its causes, and work collaboratively to develop a proposal for a solution.  Google Docs has been great.  There's a bit of an adjustment period--my kids got a little freaked out by the simultaneous editing thing--but once they figured it out, they flew.  Typing simultaneously leads (for some groups) to deeper thought.  I think seeing it in writing lends it a seriousness that chatting aloud doesn't always have.  Anyway, it's still new, but I'm a fan.