5 Easy (and Free!) Apps for Tech-wary Teachers

It's not that you don't want to put the devices in the kids hand and use the latest technology in your class, but you can barely shop online! How in the world are you going to handle a room full of kids using computers or mobile devices in your class? Help!

In these changing times where many schools are now going 1:1, changing standards to the Common Core, and new evaluations that require you have students using technology and producing digital media, many less tech-savvy teachers feel overwhelmed and left behind. Here are five simple (and FREE) applications that any teacher (even YOU!) can understand and use with minimal prep that will have your students interacting and excited in no time!

1.Google Drive - If you can use a basic word processing, spreadsheet, or PowerPoint program, you can use Google Drive. Anyone with a G-mail account already has access to this application, and if not, getting on is as simple as applying for one. Once you are in locate the documents feature and you're off and running! One of the really nice features of Google Drive, as opposed to traditional forms of the software, is that Google Drive will allow users to share and collaborate on documents while on different machines. Explore the Share feature options when you click on the blue "Share" button. Another cool feature is that it will allow students to store their work in an online file space. No more excuses for not having that assignment with you! Anywhere there is internet there is Google Drive. Students and teachers can also download the free app to their tablets, smart phones, iPods etc. in order to work on the go.

Need ideas for how to use Google Drive? Start by having students answer questions collaboratively, letting others see and comment on a paper, complete a group spreadsheet or PowerPoint project. I guarantee in no time your students will be teaching you all the neat features they find as they explore this powerful, yet easy, collaboration tool.

2.Collaborize Classroom - This website takes the college discussion board and makes it fun and accessible for everyone. It will allow students to respond to questions or comments in a variety of ways. They can vote for or against, answer yes or no, select from multiple choices, or draft a short open response. The best part is that they are REQUIRED to explain their answers regardless of the question format you choose, an  awesome way to amp up that formative assessment! All you need to do is set up your teacher account, set up a question for students to respond to, and either post or publish your personal portal address that students will need to access the site. (NOTE: Once students apply for an account you will have to approve them before they can access your classroom site.)

A great way to start with this is to have students complete the online discussion orientation modules already set up for you. I typically allow a week for students to respond to a topic that I post. This is a great way to discuss readings, topics that the class generates, and vote on things (we actually had a board devoted to naming my blog where they could suggest and vote). The possibilities are endless! This is also a great tool for getting your students ready for doing this in college! And its FREE!!! There is also a nice mobile app for reading and posting on the go. My students LOVE it!

Hear from other teachers who are using this powerful platform in their classes.

And YES...there are a series of YouTube webinar videos to help you. Get started here.

3. Socrative - Here's another FREE goodie for awesome formative assessment. The neat thing about Socrative is that with the free app neither teachers nor students need access to a computer to use it. Students without smart phones or mobile devices can just use a neighbor's device to respond when their fellow student has finished. Again all you need is the free account you set up at Socrative.com,  and you can literally catch the pulse of your class on the fly. Here's a short video that shows you how simple and effective using Socrative can be. I got the BEST evaluation ever from our New Schools Project Administrative coach when she walked into a class where I was using this.

4. PaperRater - Your English teacher will love you for using this with your students! With the increased focus on writing in content areas, one concern that keeps coming up is that content area teachers don't feel comfortable with assessing formal writing from students. PaperRater was designed to help students assess their own writing and give students feed back for how to fix it. The bonus here for teachers is the built in originality detector that will help you spot plagiarism. This tool requires no sign up, and is as easy to use as copy and paste. Of course, you still have to grade for content, but it takes a lot of the guesswork out of the grammar stuff. I have students run their work thru the site and print the results in class to be handed in when they submit their papers. I also encourage them to do this as a part of their own editing process.

5. OSLIS - Speaking of plagiarism, students must learn how to properly cite their sources in order to be ready for college work. I see way too many papers and even student produced media projects online where teachers have accepted a list of websites instead of properly cited documentation. Teach your students to use proper documentation by using OSLIS. Created by the Oregon School Library Information System, it is accurate and always up-to-date. Many of my staff are sold on this site as I recommended it to help them with writing for their own graduate work. No sign up is required and citations, once generated, can be saved directly to Google Drive (Docs). Check out the MLA printable worksheet to help your students record and organize the information they will need for proper citations as they go. There are versions available for both elementary and secondary students. NOTE: Some parts of the site are restricted to Oregon student users, but the Citation Maker is free and open to anyone. 

I highly recommend these free applications as a launchpad to any teacher who wants to ease into embedding more technology in their classroom instruction. Would love to hear how it goes! Also, if you have others you'd recommend, please share!

5 Reasons to Have Student Led Professional Development

I know most of you look forward to sitting thru yet another afternoon of the latest, greatest thing in educational technology to increase your effectiveness as a teacher as you attempt to fulfill that district CEU* requirement. Of course all of you principals have tons of money in your PD budgets to pay those highly sought after and pricey consultants. Plus, you techy teachers out there have plenty of time to prepare an edtech session for your colleagues when the principal asks you (at the last minute) to share one of the neat tricks you're using in your class to engage your learners, right?

No?

Then you absolutely need to consider harnessing the FREE and super-charged power already at your disposal...YOUR STUDENTS!!!

My school, Robeson Early College High, has recently embarked on an interesting quest on what might happen if we allowed students to lead this year's required technology staff development. It actually began when my principal and our tech wary staff put me on the spot in a staff meeting and asked me to plan some PD on tech I'd been using over the past couple of years in class. Not having time to do that on top of all the other things that have to be done at the beginning of the year, I quickly contacted one of my students who had been brilliant with the tech they had requested to learn first. After a little convincing and the promise of help from another student assistant and myself, she agreed.The session was so successful that the staff at my school have asked for a series of other student led sessions.

A month after our first session, here are some reflections I have already made about why this has been such an awesome experience for the teachers and students at my school:

1. Engagment - Teachers were much more engaged in the PD because of the student presenter. There was an air of excitment and pride in the fact that this was one of OUR kids leading that session. Teachers were more focused and open to asking questions and less likely to be texting or working on other things. That instinct to support the student kicked in and the negativity that so often accompanies staff development just evaporated.

2. Student Expertise - Let's face it. Even the most tech savvy of us usually learn only enough about the technologies we use in class to get the kids going and trouble shoot problems that may arise. We focus on the elements that we need for a particular assignment and often don't dig deeper into all that the application will do. The students on the other hand will take it and play around with it in ways that we just don't have time for. They figure out some of the nifty little tricks and technical ins and outs. They become exprets. I found myself, the teacher tech whiz, learning new things about an app I'd used in class for years.

3. Authentic Presentation Experiences - The new CCSS** say that students need more authentic experiences in communicating with audiences. I won't even go into all the standards this covers but I'm sure your mind is racing already. Not to mention for students it is a wonderful accomplishment to put on their college, scholarship, and career resumes. Plus the experience of presenting to a group of adults. I could go on and on.....

4. Alievate Implementation Anxiety - One of the best things I've observed is a higher than usual number of teachers who are actually implementing the technology that was taught at the student led session. For example, I have a math teacher who is a tech-phobe who began using the application in her class the second week of school. When I praised her for it she commented that she felt more comfortable using the technology in class because she knew her students were familar with how to make it work if there were problems. She was relieved that the technology end of her lesson would be handled by students so that she could focus on the content. So far about 2/3 of our staff have implemented what we did in the very first session.

5. Student Learning Perspective - This was another plus that I hadn't anticipated until after the session. Student presenters get the chance to see their teachers as learners. It also gave my student presenters a chance to give the staff ideas on ways they would enjoy using the technology in their education. One of the really neat things is that since I have put out the word that I need student presenters, I have had tons of volunteers. It seems they all want some input in making their classes more engaging and exciting. Some of them are even experimenting with new technologies that haven't been used in any classes....yet! As usual the kids are on the cutting edge of things and we adults are trying to play catch up.

I could go on and on about how this first session has already transformed the atmosphere of our school. As I prepare for this week's session with our next set of student presenters, I can hardly wait to see what comes next! I'll update as we continue with this exciting adventure. I also hope to post some feedback from student presenters.

Have you implemented student-led staff development in your school? Have questions for those of us that have? Please share below! I'd love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and feedback!


*CEU - Continuing Education Credits (for certification renewal)
**CCSS - Common Core State Standards (National Standards for ELA & Math, implemented in NC & most states this year)