As previously discussed, class blogs can be of great use in engaging students, and fueling their success in and out of the classroom. I personally first started using a class blog in 2014 with my Geography students. I had already tried several blogging platforms for personal use, such as Tumblr, Blogger, and LiveJournal, but while … Continue reading Class Blogs: How do I get started?
For those who use a reading log in class, a Google Sheet is a great way to keep track of this. Each student can share their own reading log with the teacher, to be filed in a folder specific to the class and section, or if your class size is small, you could create one … Continue reading Keep Record with Google Sheets
Working with textual analysis with your students? Here is a great way to do that, with the help of Google Docs. Upload a Word document with poetic text divided into sections. Create a table with the left column having one section per row; you can add or create an image if you like. Then, … Continue reading Google Docs in the Language Arts Classroom
Playing games is never NOT fun. Engage your students on Twitter by interacting with them, and by pushing them to extend the learning beyond the classroom. These can be required, or simply for extra credit: Twitter Book Club - Participants engage in a book club by sharing answers to specific questions, or critiquing main characters, … Continue reading Engage students with Twitter activities
Before you go laughing at the idea that social media can improve students’ writing abilities, hear me out. As mentioned before, small bite sized learning can be valuable--teaching students vocabulary or sharing pithy quotes with them can get them talking. Twitter can also be used when it comes to… Daily word games - Students provide … Continue reading Twitter–improve students’ writing skills?!
As mentioned in the previous post, Twitter is a great tool for moderating class discussion, as well as keeping class “takeaways” organized. It provides a feed for anyone (teacher or student) to refer back to after the learning has taken place, which can serve as feedback for the teacher, and a study guide for students. … Continue reading Get organized–with Twitter!
Using Twitter in class can be a great communication and discussion tool. By giving students a specific hashtag, it is easy to track discussion and responses, and for having a record to look back on later. But Twitter can also be useful outside of the classroom. Twitter as an announcement platform - Twitter can … Continue reading How can Twitter improve communication?
Technology has always appealed to me, though as the online world has grown, so has my love of and use for it. As teachers, these tech tools offer a world of opportunity, not only as they support student learning, but in how they shape our everyday. Here's one example: Automation means more time for quality teaching It's … Continue reading Tech Advantage #5
Technology has always appealed to me, though as the online world has grown, so has my love of and use for it. As teachers, there are even MORE ways to use tech tools to be more effective, and to drive student success. One great advantage I have personally experienced is: Student engagement Using technology can … Continue reading Tech Advantage #2
Amanda M. Orozco 