Over the past few years, the use of technology in your lessons has become expected in the classroom. Here are a few ways I bring technology into the classroom. These are all very easy to incorporate and can be very powerful.
Plickers.com
Plickers is a website app that I have used numerous times in the classroom. You can use the software either with an ipad, or with any smart phone. It truly is a powerful tool. First you print a group of cards that are marked on different sides of a weird shape as either A, B, C, or D. Then you train the students on how to hold the cards. This is all explained on the Plickers website. You go on to create questions and post them in the app. You then select the correct answer and fill in the multiple choices. I usually create the questions with the computer since typing with the laptop is much easier than on a tablet or the phone. You can also skip the questions if you have a paper or digital copy of the questions already. You just go to the Plickers app, type the question number, and put in the correct choice; A, B, C, or D. Then show the students the question on the overhead or on the computer, have them hold up their card, then scan them. The app scans the students instantly and gives you a digital percentage (Bar Graph) of how well your students did on that particular question. It also tells you exactly who got the question wrong, which shows who you need to pull and reteach on the question concept.
Plickers is a website app that I have used numerous times in the classroom. You can use the software either with an ipad, or with any smart phone. It truly is a powerful tool. First you print a group of cards that are marked on different sides of a weird shape as either A, B, C, or D. Then you train the students on how to hold the cards. This is all explained on the Plickers website. You go on to create questions and post them in the app. You then select the correct answer and fill in the multiple choices. I usually create the questions with the computer since typing with the laptop is much easier than on a tablet or the phone. You can also skip the questions if you have a paper or digital copy of the questions already. You just go to the Plickers app, type the question number, and put in the correct choice; A, B, C, or D. Then show the students the question on the overhead or on the computer, have them hold up their card, then scan them. The app scans the students instantly and gives you a digital percentage (Bar Graph) of how well your students did on that particular question. It also tells you exactly who got the question wrong, which shows who you need to pull and reteach on the question concept.
QR Codes
I have used QR codes in the classroom for little over a year. This is an extremely powerful tool to make the classroom come alive, even at home. You find a site, or anything on the web that is important, would support your lessons, or would be high interest to the students. You then go to a QR code generator website, such as https://www.the-qrcode-generator.com/. Enter the website you want the students to go to and it generates a QR code. When the students scan the code with either a tablet or smart phone, they are instantly taken to the site. I use this technology for my classroom anchor charts, on homework, and lessons I have the students teach using the "ShowMe" app. (I'll explain this app next.) The homework is nice because you can do a quick lesson on "ShowMe" and make a QR code on the actual worksheet. Students can access your lesson at home for homework help. With the posters in the classroom, students can approach them during centers or other times, scan the posters, and watch the videos, lessons, or quizzes you have already made.
ShowMe is an app that is much like Educreations. It allows students to create their own lessons and instantly posts them online. You can access the lessons using the app once you setup an account. I started using ShowMe when I found Educreations did not allow you to just download the app and post it where you wanted it. They have recently fixed the problem and now allow you to download the lessons created. Using ShowMe is very easy. You download the app, students create a lesson, it posts instantly once they save it. You can then go to the ShowMe app and view the lesson. The lessons are automatically assigned an URL, which makes it easy to make a QR code for your lesson. The only problem is, you can only do about 10 ShowMe's with the free app before you have to delete one to create another. This truly brings not only the posters in the classroom alive, but opens up a world of possibilities with students creating lessons, and posting help for homework. All of which students just scan and never type a wrong URL taking them places they shouldn't be going.
I truly hope this helps in ideas to incorporate technology in the classroom for almost any lesson. If you have other ideas on apps or other technology to bring into the classroom, please let us know.
I truly hope this helps in ideas to incorporate technology in the classroom for almost any lesson. If you have other ideas on apps or other technology to bring into the classroom, please let us know.