Engaging Tools

Engaging Tools

edmodo allows teachers to set up student accounts and classroom pages to collaborate. Set up to reflect the popular Facebook, Edmodo provides an environment where teachers can utilize social media in a safe and education-centered way. Some teachers at my school have created a glog to introduce teachers to using edmodo: http://kbond.edu.glogster.com/edmodo

  

TodaysMeet creates a space for you to hear the backchannel that undoubtedly present in all our lectures and lessons. Using Todaysmeet you can create a room and invite students to ask questions, leave comments, give opinions, post resources, and collaborate in real time. Try it out!  

San Diego Zoo  has live cameras for Panda Bears, Polar Bears, Elephants, Apes, and Condors. 

Jog the Web creates a safe environment for you to build a guide for students to use different websites. You choose which sites you want your students to visit, and save them in your jog- students can then follow your guide and find all of the sites they need without getting lost on the web. You can also add messages and assignment details to each page. Lets try it out, click on the following link to see an example of how you could use Jogtheweb for a student project: A Day in the Life

SCAN Online tool to help build problem solving skills, using 4 steps: Stop and think things through, Clarify the key issues, Ask yourself what's most important, Now, what's your next steps? Users can vote on issues, compare ideas, and explain their understandings. 

Tricider is a brainstorming and voting tool. Sooo easy to set up, and very user friendly for younger students. Great way for students to share their ideas, and vote for their choices.




Penzu is an online journal. No more messy spiral notebooks cramming up student desks, and taking up too much space in our classrooms. Here students can take notes, brainstorm writing ideas, and reflect on their learning, all in one place! Below is an example of penzu in action.

Kid Blog allows teachers to create a kid-friendly, safe, and simple blog for their students. I use this blog in my math class for students to answer the "question of the day" during center rotations, and comment on other classmates posts. The uses for this blog are endless.