Educational Technology Applications

    In Educational Applications in Technology, we have been tasked with investigating a variety of applications and technology resources available to teachers and students. In the process of investigation, I discovered a variety of applications to try in my high school health science classroom. 

Classroom Management Applications


    I have implemented a couple of new class management applications. The first is Classroom Screen. This website allows teachers to create a free background for their smartboard that has a variety of class management tools. I have used the timer, noise tracker, and stoplight feature. My students appreciate the visual tools to have feedback on their behavior. It has been helpful in keeping students on task. 



    I have also used an iOS app called Popsicle Sticks. This application can be used just like teachers might use a cup of popsicle sticks with student names on them. I’ve used it to randomly call on students, and my favorite feature has been the group creator. I’ve been able to create groups and the application can save the groups and their assignments. There are more features to the app I have not implemented yet, but am excited to try including a class tournament bracket and attendance questions. 





Formative Assessment Applications


    I created a Mentimeter presentation for the first time this week. This application was not as user friendly as I hoped, and did not integrate with my lecture presentation. I hoped to be able to seamlessly integrate slide to elicit feedback from my students in real time, but was not able to integrate with Google Slides without paying for the subscription service. I still used the presentation after my lecture to allow students to “show me what they know” and assess their understanding of the content. My 10-11 grade students had no difficulties following the application, and stated that they enjoyed using it. 






    I had big hopes for Slido as a tool for formative assessment as it integrates with Google Slides, but it was blocked by my school gmail account so I was not able to use it. 


Review Applications


    I have been a big fan of Quizlet for awhile and my students are very accustomed to using this application in my class. I test my students on medical terminology on a weekly basis, and we regularly use Quizlet to review terms before quizzes. 





    Overall, I have gained experience in exploring a variety of applications that can help a classroom operate more efficiently. I still have more applications on my list to try out, but have found through this experience, that a huge component of the success of an application is the support of your school district and the familiarity of your students. I think employing a variety of technology is important, but it does come at the cost of both the teacher and students having to learn how to best use the applications. I am trying to use this class as an opportunity to sample a variety of technologies to see what is best for my classroom while not spending too much of my time or student’s time learning new technology instead of essential content for the classes. 

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