You all know by now: technology in the classroom is taking over your classrooms. The kids in your class likely love technology in the classroom: they can’t get enough of it at home and at school.
But how do you know which technology in the classroom tools to choose from? There are literally hundreds of apps, pieces of software, and other tools you can pick out, all of which are designed to you make your classroom hum at the speed of a T1 line.
Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Jacqui Murray, herself a technology teacher in Northern California, takes a look at the 22 classroom tools you need to use in class this year.
Jacqui’s recommendations include:
- E-mail
- Flipped classroom
- Google Apps
- Journaling
- Maps
- Online quizzes
- Screenshots and screencasts
- Video channel
- Virtual meetings
Jacqui expounds on each tech recommendation, and rates it as well. She sums up her findings: “This is my list, culled from dozens of conversation with my ed-tech colleagues.”
What do you use that I didn't mention? Why is it important to your class's workflow?
Classroom Management: Handling Sensitive Topics
Classroom discussions (and the curriculum that incites them) often revolve around issues like race, gender, sexuality, politics, and class.
However, many teachers have been trained to leave those sorts of topics out of the classroom, to let the students make up their own minds about such sensitive issues.
Today, frequent TeachHUB.com contributor Jordan Catapano, also an English teacher in a Chicago suburb, intones that there is an inevitable intersection between those hot-button issues and the way they pervade subjects like literature and history.
Jordan also offers up some useful advice for teachers to approach such issues, including:
• Offering no teacher opinions
• Creating class guidelines
• Keep parents informed
• And more!
Remember, the value in approaching such subjects lies in creating an informed student perspective.
