Technology Use in the Classroom

I would like some ideas people are using to incorporate technology into the curriculum used in the classroom. Please post the types of ways you are using technology. Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Candace Townsley on June 26, 2009 at 7:47am

Besides just regular use of the computer and webquests - I have had the students use their cell phones. There was one day that they couldn't talk in class - we could only text one another. For the students that didn't have a cell phone or didn't have unlimited text, they wrote down their text. They had to follow the same guidelines of a text message in that they could only use 160 characters. I provided them with grid paper with sections of 160 squares (so they didn't have to count).

In the same context - while reading The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan) students had an assignment similar to that of the main character, Percy. They sent me ONE text telling me of the main events that happened within one chapter.

Now that I have started Twittering and joined this beginner group - I'm going to start using wikis and blogs. I hope you are using Twitter - because there are many very talented teachers sharing wonderful ideas!

Permalink Reply by Jennifer on September 24, 2010 at 2:56pm

I like the twitter idea. Do you montor their texting? Do you have to ask parent permission?

Permalink Reply by Simon on June 26, 2009 at 7:44pm

AirSet is a collaborative online group tool that allows you to do various things for your class. You get a shared cloud computer on the Internet for your whole class. You can have a shared online calendar so that students can see when exams are coming up, assignment due dates, etc. You can also set reminders for these dates so that students receive email or even text message reminders automatically.

You can also use a discussion forum where students can share ideas, ask and answer questions, and you can also answer your students' questions. There's also a file storage system where you can upload files and documents such as class syllabi, assignments, study guides, etc., and your students can access these files online whenever they need to. You can also have students turn in work electronically with the files system.

AirSet also has a Web Publish application that allows you and your students to create and publish all sorts of content to the Web. It's a great way for students to start publishing their work and sharing it with the world. It could give them a real sense of creation and accomplishment. You can even create a website for your class, and AirSet does all the hosting for.

There's also a Messaging application that allows you to quickly send a message to all your students, tasklists, and more. One of the best things is that you can customize your class cloud computer to fit your specific class needs. For example you can set different roles and permission schemes. You can make it so that you have permission to do anything (add content, edit, delete, etc.), but your students are limited in what they can do (for example maybe they can add their own content, but they can't delete others').

AirSet allows your class to stay connected and maintain communication even outside the classroom. It allows everyone to be on the same page and keeps everything organized.

I've been working at AirSet since I graduated last year so I would be happy to help or answer any questions you have. We hope AirSet can benefit the education community. Part of the reason I signed up for Classroom 2.0 is to learn more about what teachers and administrators are looking for in new classroom technologies, so we can try to incorporate some of these and better tailor our product to the people using it.

Permalink Reply by Khou Vang on June 26, 2009 at 10:28pm

Is this a free program? If it is can you help me set one up? This looks pretty interesting and relevant to my needs as a teacher...
Lindie Vang

Permalink Reply by Simon on August 4, 2009 at 1:11pm

Hi Lindie,

I apologize for the delayed response. Yes, you can use the program for free, the free version has a google ad bar on the side. I would love to help you set one up. You can create a free account here: https://www.airset.com/AirSet.jsp#app.Home_p.school%2Foverview.

This is the education landing page of the website. From here you can create a group cloud computer for your class. By default you will also receive a cloud computer for yourself (for your personal calendaring, etc.). Please let me know if anything is confusing or if you need any assistance. Something else we are interested in, is learning which parts of the service are confusing or pose hurdles for people.

Permalink Reply by Jennifer on October 12, 2010 at 4:29pm

Thats interesting. What excitly is Air set, how effective was it for the classroom?

Permalink Reply by Darlene on January 20, 2011 at 9:13pm

Simon,

I just signed up for the free trial version of Airset and it looks pretty nice. I have done a few things like adding my profile and a few other things. However, I am not sure exactly how to use it. I am looking for an online learning platform to use with my tutoring students so they can access resources that I post for learning English. It needs to be easy to access and use. I have tried to use a wiki, but found it complicated to add forums, chats and other tools. If you can give me some help on this platform to make it simpler for both me and my students to use, that would be much appreciated. Thanks and have a great day!

Permalink Reply by Deb Rottinger on June 28, 2009 at 11:48am

Hi Mel:

Just some of the things that I do. I use my classroom blog to have the students answer pretest questions or reflect on essential questions in the classroom. I then encourage students to respond to each other for "homework" and extra points. I use a classroom website that contains links to all assignments, worksheets etc. as well as resouces for remedial and advanced students. It also has a day by day lesson plan with goals and objectives posted so that students know what to expect on any given class day. I use a wiki sometimes as an alternative to post testing, by asking students to post a "lesson plan" with resources for the current unit.

Permalink Reply by Debora Ondracek on June 29, 2009 at 11:39am

I'm a fan of Moodle. I have 4 courses, one for each of the main subjects I teach in my 5th grade class. I use it to organize my instruction for easy access while teaching. Websites for particular topics, activities, videos are all there in one spot for student and teacher use. I also added tools for students (calculators, webbrowsers, thesaurus, dictionaries, encyclopedias, writing labs, graphic organizers) as well as fun sites meant to reinforce given skills. Especially without a smart board, it was invaluable. I could send sets of students to view a given video or online site where ever we could find an available computer in the building and they could find it easily, along with the activity that went with it.

Permalink Reply by Mel J. Janousek on July 3, 2009 at 11:12am

How do you download Moodle? I went to the website and tried to download it, but it didn't work. Is there anything you need or need to do to use Moodle? I would like to try to use it, but I really don't understand how to do that. Do you need it connected to a website? Any information you can give me will be very helpful. Thanks for your time.

Mel J. Janousek

Permalink Reply by Tammy Moore on July 3, 2009 at 12:27pm

Moodle is designed to run on a server instead of a standard PC. If your school district has a tech department, they will most likely be the ones to install Moodle on the school server for you. If you are in a small school and you are basically the IT department, go to the forums section of Moodle.org. The topic of installing Moodle is a common one and you will find a wealth of information there. If your school doesn't have a server set up, there are many free Moodle hosts out there that will host it for you or you can purchase a subscription to a server and do it yourself. The advantages of a Moodle host is that you will get your Moodle site with everything already installed and ready for you to set your courses up on.

I am a part of a non-profit organization that uses Moodle as one of its key tools. We have purchased server space and administrate our own Moodle so that we have greater flexibility with customizations.

Permalink Reply by Mel J. Janousek on July 3, 2009 at 1:43pm

Tammy

Thanks for your information. Can you guide me on some free Moodle hosts that I could use to have the Moodle site set-up so I could try it? Please send me the specific Moodle host sites. Thanks.

Mel J. Janousek