Effective Classroom Tools?

* With so many tools to choose from, a teacher must explore them to determine what works best for his or her teaching style.

Enabling and motivating students to collaborate outside of the classroom and engage in active learning techniques must be considered an effective tool for education. To insure this instruction is content-relative and effective it is imperative that teachers learn to use the technology for themselves, learn what applications are available, learn various ways it has been used to increase rigor in other classrooms, and learn how to teach the students to use the technology itself.

Use Diigo or some other bookmarking system to explore the technology that is available for teachers. The best part of Web 2.0 is that much of the technology is FREE! Save some of your favorites and play with them. As a teacher, You can decide what works best for your students. It is easy to become overwhelmed in workshops, so just spend a few minutes each week to play around with various tools.

All programs are not created equal. Just because the technology is available does not mean it would work for your students or your classroom. Join or follow some master teachers, see if you can determine if the use of a specific technology will increase the rigor in your class. Will it increase class participation and interest?

Work with the technology before introducing it to your students. Show them that you are excited about it. Ask for them to help you too!

A study of third grade students in a language arts classroom showed significant increases in motivation when using blogs and wikis as reading tools in the classroom (Swanson, Legutko). Improved comprehension skills Improved DIBELS scores 1:1 schools may not secure an increase in test scores Increased use of technology does increase student achievement in the classroom (Weaver). Increased use in Web 2.0 tools for high school students helps prepare them for college and for the business world.

When teachers learn to involve students in technology and devise ways to teach the subject through technology, the Web is at its most powerful. If educators treat the implementation of technology as a new way of extending the curriculum with their students rather than the only option for them at the present time, perhaps they will be more willing to absorb it into their classrooms. Providing students with tools that are available outside the classroom keeps them engaged in the learning process.