The questions we are supposed to be answering are posed to us as though we are all teachers with classrooms full of students with similar assignments and needs (maybe not really needs, but for my purposes, just go with it). However, I am not yet a teacher with a classroom of my own, and therefore do not have classes in which students could be collaborating with one another on assignments I give, or anything of the like really. Instead I am a tutor to six individual students in different schools and grades, with many different needs. One of my students has some diagnosed developmental disorders, one has ADHD and some are just struggling in various subjects. With some of my students I focus primarily on study skills, organization and time management, with some I just focus on content, and with all I pay special attention to confidence and self-esteem, because afterall, having to work with a tutor isn't the biggest boost to a kid's self image.
So what kind of Web 2.0 apps am I looking for? For the ones who struggle with time management and organization I am looking at some sites that help with these areas (i.e., online schedule, etc.). It would be great to have a site that my students, their parents, their teachers and I could all have access to help the child plan out their day, week, project, evening, whatever. Especially on days that I don't actually get to meet with them. We kind of do this now through e-mail, but it does not work out very well.
I have also been looking at online translators, as I work with two students who spend half of their day at school learning in another langauage (Hebrew). Their parents have little knowledge of this language and I know that on days that I am not with them their Hebrew assignments often get skipped. It would be great to give them access to some sort of translation applications. (Plus sometimes I get stumped when working with them and could definitely use the help of a real time translator!)
Aside from this, I really would like to be able to throw things up for each student to check out, because I always hate to leave right after they "got it". I often feel like we spend our time working through whatever they are having issues with and then I have to go. I often don't see the same children on consecutive days, and even though I might leave them with practice items it would be great to have something more interactive going on with them. It's like stopping a train dead in its tracks. I want to keep the momentum going. I am very fortunate to work with some really motivated students who truly enjoy their improvement and I want to encourage their ongoing success as much as possible.
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