Free Technology for Teachers

This is an incredible blog for K-12 teachers that highlights several interesting technology tools and ways to use technology in the classroom. Check it out when you have a few spare minutes!

Backchanneling in the classroom

At NETA this spring, backchanneling was all the rave. So, when I got back to my classroom---I tried it. The verdict: love. it. I've been using TodaysMeet to set up my temporary chat rooms for my students ever since. I create a new chat room for each section of my English 9 classes, leave it open for a week for absent students to participate when they return, and then open it up to students for one class period. I pull the chat up on my projector and jump in with the kids. It's a great way to start a class period and jog students' memories about a reading assignment. Students generally love this activity because it has that familiarity of an instant message but allows for multiple people to be chatting at once.

Application: Could be used in almost any high school/junior high classroom with internet access---also works on iPods! It's also a great tool to use when presenting at conferences. When I presented at NETA this spring, I opened up a TodaysMeet chat specifically for my presentation so attendees could chat about my session with one another in real time. It was a really effective way to share ideas right in the moment.

Benefits: TodaysMeet only allows posts to be 140 characters long (similar to Twitter), so students must be concise. Great virtual discussion tool to ease students into a larger class discussion; very excellent for shy students who don't participate much in a class discussion. Great way to start or end class and check for comprehension.

Welcome

Yes, it's true...another school year has commenced. This fact may find some of you still wallowing, longing for your summer freedom while others are running full-force ahead into the great unknown of a new group of students. No matter where you're at on the spectrum, we can't deny it...school has started. And that means it's time to gather resources. And that's where I can (with your help!) step in.

Throughout the year we are bombarded with emails, brochures, etc. advertising the latest and greatest in the world of education. As a new-ish teacher who doesn't quite have her feet planted firmly yet, I eat up any resource I can get, but the problem is: keeping track of all these! I have brochures falling out of my car, a clogged email inbox full of resources from other teachers, and millions of sticky notes and memos shoved in the most random of places. So, in order to make it easy to share resources, I've created this blog---the OPSD Professional Learning Network. I want it to be a space where we can share ideas for how to provide the best K-12 education possible.

From time to time I will be posting entries that deal with professional development opportunities, available grant funds, technology resources, professional reading material, educational policy updates, etc. I'll keep these organized through a series of tags and labels so it's easy for you to navigate. If you want to receive notifications of blog updates, then type in your email in the top right. And, most importantly, if you have something you want featured on the blog---shoot me an email through the school's webmail and I'll do my best to post it in a timely fashion.