Year in Review

Top 07 of 07

The top 7 tools that have changed my teaching and learning in 2007:

7. Student-centered blogs: These have extended student discussions and allowed them to really "show what they know."

6. My document camera: I love this because students can place their work on the camera and teach/share their work with the class. It also changed my oral reading strategies by placing the book on the camera and having students read along. The students are engaged and can participate often. Plus, it has eliminated all of the "I can't see-eee" comments I used to hear so frequently! : )

5. Audacity: Besides student-created book reviews in our district database (look under Foster) the students have developed their own radio show. It's given those students who choose to participate the opportunity to write a script and speak for an audience. I love that it is 100% their creation and their work! I am truly a facilitator and look forward to allowing others to to use their creativity to produce their own work too!

4. Adobe Premiere Elements: Although this program took me awhile to get comfortable with, the students were able to quickly come up with ways to use the green screen to superimpose images behind them. This program brought digital storytelling to a new level. Of course I have to mention the "@ Your Library" video the 2nd graders made in the spring...It might be my favorite work of the year!!

3. Voice Thread: I love Voice Thread. It's easy and gives students the opportunity to extend their work beyond the classroom. With a simple scanning process, student work can be voiced-over for a quick archive of knowledge.

2. Wikispaces: Wikispaces has given my students the opportunity to collaborate on book tagging projects, author studies and a place to store web sites. It also gives the students I tutor a way to communicate with me while practicing writing skills and a creative outlet for writing.

And the number one tool that has changed my teaching and learning is.....
1. Twitter! Duh!! Twitter contributes to my professional development EVERY day. I learn something from Twitter every time I log in. I hope this tool will be around for a very long time!