This week I decided to check out some of the many tools available for use in the classroom. I'm going to focus on two online programs that can be a great asset in the classroom.
The first tool I tested out was Prezi (http://prezi.com). Prezi is a nice tool for creating multimedia rich presentations. I was really amazed at how easy it was to set up a presentation. I have never used the program before the other day and it was very easy to set up a presentation. It has many different tutorials for every level of user. The tutorials also were very easy to understand and very informative, which is nice.
Prezi also allows for easy collaboration with others and the ability to share your presentations over the internet.
Another great thing was they offer a teacher and student account that gives you extra data storage over the normal free account. You could pay for an account for either $59 or $159 a year, but the free teacher account is equal to the $59 account. All you need is a school email account and you can register for the teacher/student account.
The next tool I'm going to discuss is Google Docs. Google Docs is another free program that allows you to share all types of files with collaborators around the world. You can create and share powerpoint type slideshows, word documents, spreadsheets, drawings and many other file types. I currently use Google Docs with my fellow teachers. The nice thing is how easy it is to share and collaborate on projects. I currently use it to share and edit lesson plans with my In-Class-Support teacher. It has a chat feature that allows you to discuss while you are working on your project, or in my case, lesson plans. It has come in very handy. I would say I still haven't used all the features it offers, but have been very satisfied with what I have been able to do with it so far. I would definitely recommend this site for any time you need to collaborate with others and can not do it in person. The ease of it is what sets it apart from other programs I've used in the past. Instead of email items to people, you can just open it up in your browser and see what your colleague is doing and go from there.
There are plenty of other wonderful tools out there but these were the two I like the best. For some more suggestions, check out these sites:
1) http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/Presentation+Tools
2) http://edudemic.com/2010/07/the-35-best-web-2-0-classroom-tools-chosen-by-you/
3) http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/Presentation+Tools
I really like prezi and google docs too! There are many ways that I have used Google Docs both with colleagues and with my students. The great thing about having a Google account is that you have your email, blogger, collaborative online tools such as Google Docs, and YouTube all in one place. Google Sites is an added plus to having a Google Account. Students can go to one place for their assignments and papers. I have made three of them just recently and look forward to using them for my students. My son keeps track of his assignments much better with his English and Humanities teachers through Google Sites. All students in our school have a Google school account and the collaboration is excellent, especially on assignments and presentations.
ReplyDeleteJanice, that collaboration aspect that google docs offers is what really sets it apart for me. It's great that the students can do projects together from their own homes. Now I can create collaborative projects and not worry about whether or not my students will be able to meet to complete their assignments. Google takes all the guess work out of it for you. The best part is that google offers all these for free. (although I guess the price is the information you give to them when using their products)
DeleteGoogle docs are great! I actually saw the students at the middle school my students feed into using it. The teacher had students in one period write on a document and another in a different period work with them. Also, two students were able to share the doc in a class period and work on it together. It was great! I will need to work to bring it to the elementary school.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I work in a 3-5 school and we have google accounts for all students in each grade level. I think it's great and it's really not a difficult system to work with. Our 3rd graders learn how to log on, type up emails, and do basics with the presentation and documents maker. By the time the reach 5th grade, they are pretty savvy with the google docs applications that we can do some pretty cool things using the programs.
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