Smartphone Apps for Teachers

50 Smartphone Apps Every Teacher Should Know

Welcome Fall 2012 UST Students!

Blogging. I know it's not new. In fact, some of you may be thinking, "Not another page to maintain!" or "Holy buckets, she wants me to publish my writing for all to see?!"

This is a course about literacy, after all.

At a minimum, your blog will be a personalized, professional space to document your learning experiences this semester. In addition, you now have an authentic audience--not only your instructor, but your classmates, as well. Eventually, you may decide to share your blog with family, friends, and classmates from other classes. Your blog might even evolve into more than reflections on your learning--links to educational resources, websites, videos, your own digital creations...the possibilities are literally endless. Could it become a site to share with your advisor, supervising teacher, potential employer? Maybe.

Or, it can simply be the space in which you reflect on your learning this semester. That's okay, too.

What Teachers Make - Text Version

Prezify your PPT Presentation

Interested in trying Prezi, but haven't checked it out yet? It can be overwhelming to create content in Prezi from scratch, but now, Prezi has the option to import existing PowerPoint presentations. 

What I like about this tutorial is that it shows you how Prezi can be a visual learning support for your students in addition to being an engaging presentation format. Similar to the function of graphic organizers, you can use Prezi to show the 'big picture' of how your content is organized and connected. Then, you can 'zoom' in for more detailed information.

Differentiating Instruction Using Learning Menus

Teaching Channel Video: Differentiating Instruction

Retakes, Redos, Do-overs: Enabling or Empowering?

I love the series of videos from teacher and author, Rick Wormeli. Here's one related to differentiation about the controversial topic of retakes, redos, and do-overs.
Link to Rick Wormeli's Video

Check out this link to learn more about Digital Citizenship
Several questions came up tonight about giving students the freedom to create and publish online. Here's a great article on teaching digital citizenship!