Whoa buddy, technology is a battleground buzzword in the teacher world. Personally, I love the concept of EdTech and finding a way to work smarter, not just harder. I've been sorting through my hundreds of bookmarks and pins to glean out the little gems I might be able to use this, my first year as an ESOL teacher.
Queue the chorus of well-seasoned teachers giggling in unison.
The following is the beginning of what promises to be a GIGANTIC list of free EdTech tools I am exploring for use in the classroom, in project-based learning groups, by gen ed teachers, or by students:
WordNet® is a large lexical database of English. Nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are grouped into sets of cognitive synonyms (synsets), each expressing a distinct concept. Synsets are interlinked by means of conceptual-semantic and lexical relations. It's nice to have a reference source like this readily at hand.
The Google has so many resources that have yet to become household names. Let's make them classroom names, instead! The Cultural Institute is a hub for viewing high quality photos of different aspects of the humanities. More to come when I develop the PBL ideas marinating in my head right now with this great tool, but there is so much potential for getting our students engaged in these virtual field trips and insights in the world's many facets.
Google's Open Gallery - Virtual field trips to galleries and museums around the world.
Google Map Maker – a map editor wherein you impart your local knowledge to help improve Google's map features. This is a good PBL idea waiting to happen.
Google Knowledge - Help support your students' (and your) media literacy by learning tips and tricks of researching online from the experts.
Goo.gl – URL shortener for both Google and non-Google websites. Rather than needing to make sure the link is bookmarked on every computer (for those with somewhat antiquated networks), quickly plug in the link here and you will easily write the shorter link on the board.
Panoramio – Photos of the world.
Google Classroom - Are you brave enough to be a beta tester? Google Classroom is a content management system for schools that aids in distribution and grading of assignments and providing in-class communication. "Simple assignments, communication with Classroom, teachers can create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently, and communicate with their classes with ease. Classroom lets students organize their work in Google Drive, complete and turn it in, and communicate directly with their teachers and classmates."
GeoGuessr - I spent way too much time walking around unknown parts of the world, trying to guess where Google had virtually dropped me while using this tool. This would be a fun Geography hook or 5-minute time stretcher. Students use and collaborate their knowledge of landmarks and landscape to figure out where in the world they are, all the while realizing how similar some parts of the world are to others!
I will add to this list... I promise Google doesn't pay me to push their products. I just got started on one Google product and daisy-chained my way around the suite! This list will grow!
Using Google Voice to communicate with my ELL parents is a total lifesaver. They text in to the number that Google Voice provides you, then Google translate comes into play for translating their message, then translating your response. I let them know up front that there might be minor errors in the translation, but it worked wonderfully. BONUS, you have a complete record of the communication you have with parents because it is stored by Google Voice!!
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