Resources

Assisted Technology

Seeing AI - Microsoft - The most common use for Seeing AI in the classroom will likely be reading text -- short, long, typed, or handwritten -- for students who are blind or have a visual impairment. However, the multiple channels open up many possibilities for use in and out of the classroom. According to Commonsense.org: Seeing AI uses a combination of technologies to narrate text, people, objects, and scenes for blind or visually impaired kids. Main channels include a short text reader, document reader, scanner, and person identifier. Experimental channels include the scene, color, and handwriting readers. There are tutorials for every channel, but the tool’s not hard to figure out. Just choose a channel, point your device at what you’d like to hear narrated, and tap the screen or wait for the capture.

Rewordify - Teachers can use the website to scaffold reading tasks. Using a tiered model, teachers can enhance students' comprehension by offering a variety of levels of the same text. According to Commonsense.org: Rewordify is a free reading and vocabulary tool for building reading fluency and vocabulary. Rewordify's main feature is its automatic simplification of texts. Users import text by pasting it into the website or using a browser bookmarklet. Once the text is imported, it can be customized to make reading more accessible to a variety of learners. The website uses a computer-based natural language processing system to simplify the text while maintaining the meaning. The reading level can be changed at any time and aligns well with Lexile reading measures.

SuperNova - This device is a perfect combination of magnifying glass, screen and speech reader. According to their website, SuperNova you can: boost magnification, announce punctuation, replace difficult colors, increase verbosity, hear webpages, and turn on braille. This program can read characters as you type and uses a natural voice to describe webpages and emails. This resource is effective for students with visual sensory difficulties such as low-vision and blindness. This one program will help both low-vision and blind students to be successful because it will read and turn on braille for blind students and will adjust colors, and magnify text for low-vision users.

NASA Space Place- This program is perfect for learners of all learning levels, but with it's hands-on puzzles and interactive learning, it is great for the gifted learner. According to the Davidson Institute, "This site targets elementary school students with information about science, technology and learning about space. " The website has challenges, games, videos, crafts and activities to engage students and challenge them to engage their curiosity in science. For greater knowledge seekers, nasa.gov website has real-time event listing and updates on current research.

"Basic Suite"

Google Suite - The Suite includes email, Docs, Sheets, Drive, Sites, Forms, Slides, Classroom, Chat, Calendar, Keeps, and more. According to the website, "Collaborate on files in real time, quickly find space on everybody’s calendar, and take meetings from anywhere. G Suite has the tools to boost your productivity. "

Microsoft Suite - The Suite includes Outlook, Notes, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Teams, OneDrive, and more. According to their website, "Empower educators to unlock creativity, promote teamwork, and provide a simple and safe experience in a single, affordable solution built for education. "

Google Resources - This Google website is great for educators who want to learn more about incorporating Google programs into their lessons. Included are training courses for New Learners and for Advanced Learners. The lessons are broken into several smaller lessons, so you do not need to complete everything at one time. In addition, by completing Fundamentals, you’ll be ready to take the Educator Level 1 Certification exam. And by completing Fundamentals and Advanced, you’ll be ready to take the Educator Level 2 Certification exam.

Microsoft Resources- This Microsoft website is great for educators who want to learn more about incorporating Microsoft programs into their lessons. Included are training courses for New Learners and for Advanced Learners. The lessons are broken into several smaller lessons, so you do not need to complete everything at one time. Lessons include everything from working with Office 365 to Building Digital Citizens.

E-Book Software

Storyjumper - According to Commonsense.org - StoryJumper is a website that lets students create and publish their own illustrated stories. Whether students are beginning writers or brushing up on their skills, StoryJumper provides an outlet for them to use their imaginations as well as learn some real writing strategy if they're ready for it. The simple interface auto-saves students' progress as they drag and drop images to illustrate their stories and add text. The Classroom Edition for teachers includes a separate dashboard and a handful of helpful features.

Book Creator- According to Commonsense.org - Book Creator is an amazingly easy-to-use digital book-making tool with limitless options. It's available for both iPad and the web (including Chrome). With guidance, even students in early elementary school grades can use this app to produce and publish their own simple books or comics with images, videos, and audio. But given the options for adding images and multimedia, even more sophisticated students won't feel limited.

Educational Technology & Theories

Spiral - I think this tool would be very useful in the collaboration of students on projects and the data that is collected from informal, summative, and diagnostic assessments. I like the way teachers have the ability for instant feedback or the option of sending feedback to students independently at a later time. I also liked the ability for all students to answer a question; rather than just one student raising their hand. It gives all students a voice in the class and the teacher is able to see at a glance who is in need of additional information/guidance. The program also has a lot to offer in that it is not just a meeting board, or an online quiz, but also allows students to upload and view videos and create/present PowerPoint presentations. It is very interactive in that students can take over and make presentations.

Formative - I think this tool would be great for a flipped classroom approach. It tracks students in real-time and allows teachers to give instant feedback. Progress can also be tracked over time for both individual students and the full classroom. Formative easily integrates into Google Classroom. Teachers can upload their own documents, presentations, and videos; or select from a vast library of pre-made lessons. The Dashboards appear to be easy to navigate and retrieve data.

Freefall Money -Freefall Money teaches students ages 1-3 critical thinking skills in regards to counting money. Freefall Money engages students with a bright user interface, progressive difficulty, and fun rewards for coin mastery. This game helps build the concept that coins can be combined in different ways to create a different amount. The program uses both written and verbal communication and provides and provides 3 different modes of play. This game focuses on learning, not spending.

Math Games - In this drill and practice program, students can choose from a variety of money options - counting, sorting, adding, and making change; so it is great for a variety of learning levels. Students are able to work at their own pace and receive instant feedback on whether the answer is correct or not. Students advance through the levels, or can go back and redo the practice again. Instructions are written, but very simple and the pictures usually explain what the problem is asking.

ESL Services

Brain Pop ELL- According to Commonsense.org - BrainPOP ELL is a subscription-based English language learner (ELL) website featuring games, activities, and animated movies designed for English language learners (ELL) students, from beginner to advanced. It provides a grammar progression and focuses on reading, writing, vocabulary building, listening, and speaking. Content is broken down into three levels. Each level is made up of six units and each unit contains five lessons. Although a few movies and activities at each level are free to try, you'll need a subscription in order to gain full access to all content. Students can get started by taking the placement test. During the test, students listen to statements and short stories, and then select pictures that match. Teachers can track progress, assign lessons, and even provide feedback through a teacher dashboard via My BrainPOP and its individual account system, but only with a schoolwide subscription.

Cram.com- According to their website: Online flashcards are a great way to study! Cram is your number one online educational resource. We have a wide selection of flashcards for you to study, memorize, test yourself on, and more. Learn a foreign language, practice your multiplication table or prepare for your MCAT by memorizing every bone in the body. Whatever it is you want to learn, Cram has you covered. Flashcards are effective because they are founded on the principles of rote and memorization. With Cram.com, you can use our web-based flashcard maker to create your own set. Once you create your online flashcards, you will be able to study, export or even share it with your fellow classmates. You can collaborate perfectly with anyone, anytime. Get cramming today!

Integrating the Internet

Nearpod - The go-to tool for interactive presentations and assessments. Teachers use the site to create original multimedia presentations or draw from an extensive, growing library of pre-made offerings (many CCSS-aligned and some at a cost). Teachers can upload videos, images, audio clips, and PDF files as well as embed multiple-choice quizzes and polls. Draw Its (students write directly on a slide), collaboration boards, and open-ended questions provide plenty of variety to liven up presentations. Teachers launch the presentation and monitor progress either from the website or through the app.

Goose Chase - A web-based platform that creates scavenger hunts for an app of the same name on mobile (iOS and Android) devices. First, teachers go to the website to create a new game with a basic description. Teachers then add missions to their game. Each mission is a scavenger hunt clue, which comes in three types: photo/video, text, or location. Photo and video questions are the most popular, where students submit a picture or video (limited in length to 15 seconds). Text missions are completed by typing information.

Social Studies Online Services

Google Earth - Many areas of the world are available to view in 3D, allowing students to see cities, the countryside, and famous landmarks in three dimensions. Street View allows students to get a view as if they're standing on the street, and turning on the Photos option allows access to user-contributed photos of those locations. Knowledge Cards give plenty of background information for locations as well as additional photos.

Library of Congress - The Library of Congress is a perfect tool for education. Here you can find primary sources for 1,000s of documents and images. According to their website, the Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections. You can find lesson plans, blogs, and resources and professional development opportunities.

Social Networking

VoiceThread - VoiceThread provides students of all ages a website (and Chrome app) platform to create and share media projects that can incorporate video, image, voice, and even drawings. One of its most valuable assets: allowing for collaboration opportunities as well as audio or video feedback from readers and viewers.

Flip Grid - Flipgrid is a website that allows teachers to create "grids" to facilitate video discussions. Each grid is like a message board where teachers can pose questions, called "topics," and their students can post video responses that appear in a tiled grid display. Grids can be shared with classes, small groups, or any collection of users interested in a common strand of questions. Each grid can hold an unlimited number of topics and each topic can hold an unlimited number of responses. Topics can be text-based or include a resource such as an image, video, Giphy, emoji, or attachment. Customizable security settings help protect student privacy.

Software Support

Storyboard That - StoryboardThat is an online program where students and teachers can create custom worksheets for a variety of math problems. For use in a second grade math classroom, the teacher can create unique worksheets that would cover a variety information that students may be having difficulty with - a mix-and-match situation for each individual student. Items to include can be addition, subtraction, telling time, word problems, and even multiplication worksheets.

Seesaw - In Seesaw, teachers can enable students comments, communicate with parents, and filter video to review the work of a certain student. For use in a second grade classroom, students can submit videos of themselves working through a math problem in real-time where they can show their work and explain their answers. In addition, students can work together in small groups for collaboration and offer real-time feedback on math answers and worksheets.

Padlet - In this program, information can be shared among all students in the class. Students can observe the columns in a Padlet and correctly identify the item that go into each column. Students can upload a picture onto the Padlet and correctly label the image and work collaboratively with other students to complete the assignment.

Buncee - Buncee is an online program where students can create individual slides on a shared board to make a collaborative presentation. For use in the second grade math classroom, students can add emojis to the slides to respond to an exit ticket and express how they understood the lesson. Students can also use the drawing feature to illustrate how to regroup with sets of ones and tens. Students can also used the animated characters to create word problems where a character in a real-life setting asks a math question. In this scenario, students can work with peers to have the other student answer the question after viewing the video.

Video Integration

TED2011 | March 2011 https://www.ted.com/talks/sal_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education#t-1207785

Salman Khan talks about how and why he created the remarkable Khan Academy, a carefully structured series of educational videos offering complete curricula in math and, now, other subjects. He shows the power of interactive exercises, and calls for teachers to consider flipping the traditional classroom script -- give students video lectures to watch at home, and do "homework" in the classroom with the teacher available to help.

Minecraft Tutorial - This video is a review of the Minecraft: Education Edition that many teachers use in their classrooms. It is very good at explaining how to use the chalkboards and characters (tour guides) within the game that can hold signs with directions for the students. The chalkboards are great for including full lesson plan instructions for students to follow in order to complete the created lesson. This video is not recommended for the students in the class.

Area & Perimeter Tutorial - I like this video because it is engaging for students, offers closed captions and adjustable speed controls. The relative advantage of this video is that the teacher offers several different examples to help explain the lesson he is teaching and slowly walks through all steps of the problem. It is also very colorful and displays the measurements and sides he is referring to throughout the video.