Class Dojo

Class Dojo is a free classroom tool that helps teachers improve behavior in their classroom quickly and easily.  This tool can be used on a smartphone, iPad, and computer.  I was very apprehensive in recommending this site because I wanted to make sure it was more than a fancy behavior management tool.  After having a few teachers try it I have gotten a great response.

Some of the great features:

• You can customize the behaviors you are tracking
• You can print off reports for students and parents
• The site provides a code so parents/students can view real time data on their student
• Its Free!

Instructional Impacts:
I have tried many different ways to keep track of students behavior data.  None of them have been seamless and are always hard to refer back to when I am filling in report cards or during conferences.  Class Dojo fixes that problem by allowing you to keep track of both positive and off task behaviors throughout the day.  It also builds an individual graph for each student and the class.  The other nice part is this can be kept just for you as the teacher or you can easily share this data with parents and students.  I also like how you can customize the behavior to match the 7 Habits or parts of our report card.  This is also a great way to build gamification into your classroom through this online tool.

Student Devices

Infinitec Information

Infinitec is a resource our district has access to and it has many great resources available.  The tech tip of the week focuses on how to register an account and sign in.  I also show you how to access the Minnesota licensure videos that are available on Infinitec. Below you will find the video and a handout explaining the process.  Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Account Setup

Finding Common Presentations

  Answering Common Questions About Infinitec

 

Google Forms in the Classroom

Google forms allow you to quickly collect data and even will summarize the results for you. These forms can be set up quickly and will then transfer the collected data into a searchable spreadsheet. I have used Google forms for anecdotal note collection and surveys. Please check out the links below to see how Google forms can be used in your classroom.

Google Forms in the Classroom:

• Use Google Forms in the Classroom

• 5 Ways to use Google forms in the classroom

• Simple Guide for Using Google Forms in the Classroom

Twitter in Education

I have had a few discussions about Twitter in Education as of lately and I thought I would put together some information for teachers in our district.  I would love to follow up with you if you have any questions.

Twitter

Twitter is one of my favorite resources for professional development and ideas. Below I have listed a few links to help you get started using Twitter. Getting Started with Twitter Twitter Cheat Sheet and Cheat sheet #2 Teachers Guide to Twitter in the Classroom 14 Educational Technology Tweeters to Follow Teacher's Roadmap to Twitter in Education

Free and Legal Media to Use in Your Lessons

So often we just go to Google to find images for our lessons or powerpoints.  Often we are using these images which are copyright protected.  I also know it is nice to be able to send students to sites to search for images that they can use legally.  During the TIES conference I was in a presentation by Caitlin Cahill who is the Tech Integrationist at the Orono Public Schools.  She shared these links with me that give you access to creative commons:  images, clipart, and music which she allowed me to share with you.

Licensing Information

The following websites contain collections of media files that are licensed under creative commons or public domain, meaning they can be used by teachers and students; many also allow the files to be changed/remixed. Read the terms of use on each website for more information, and remember to cite the creator of any files you use.

Images

• Microsoft Office Clip Art
• Pics4Learning is a copyright-friendly image library for teachers and students.
• Open Clip Art Library is an archive of clip art that can be used for free for any use
• IconFinder and IconBug
• ImageBase is a collection of free images.
• Discovery Education Clip Art
• The Noun Project - vast collection of simple icons. License varies by image.

Music

• Royalty Free Music by Incompetech - lots of instrumental music. Cite the composer.
• ccMixter - Find Music



3 iPad Apps to Assess Reading Fluency and Track Comprehension

A teacher asked me for a fluency app that would track students fluency so they could listen to it when they are finished.  Below are three apps that I found during my search.

 

Record of Reading:

The record of reading app allows you to record a student reading a passage and fill out a running record form simultaneously.  It has some shortcuts to save you time while you fill out the running record and the student's audio will be attached to the running record.  You can then email this record or save it.  This app is very easy to use and is a great way to keep running records of students reading.

 

Running Record Calculator:

This app is also very easy to use and quickly allows you to record students reading and then mark their errors and WPM.  Once you click record you can flag parts of the audio to go back to later.  When the student finishes the reading you enter the WPM, Errors, and SC.  The app will automatically calculate the accuracy for you.  In the Lite and  Pro Version you can email yourself the record, but with the pro version it will attach the audio to the email so you can listen to it again.  This app would be a great way to keep track of student's reading accuracy throughout the year.

Readers Workshop:

This app is my favorite.  It is very similar to a pensive you would use with the Daily 5/Cafe.  It allows you to keep track of your conferring with students.  You can track how they are doing on different comprehension strategies by clicking on a rating scale.  You can also save notes about that student and the book they are reading.  My favorite feature is that you can record audio of yourself or the student that is part of your conference notes.  The app will then create a graph of their progress and allow you to easily go back and check in on each student.  This would be a great app to collect data on your students during conferring sessions.