Microsoft OneNote is amazing!! With my job, where I teach online, documentation is key. I have to take notes on every conversation and every email between myself and my families. I don't like using paper and pencil; it just doubles my workload. With Microsoft OneNote, you can take notes and then email them or cut and paste them into different formats. We have to keep track of all of our notes online, so this allows me to simply cut and paste. I created a different section for each of my families and keep everything in there. You can also send emails and webpages to your OneNote folders too. It is really easy to use and very useful.
Technology #2: Smartboards in the classroom http://www.electronicwhiteboardswarehouse.com/front_projection.htm
I am from a family full of teachers and all of them have recently received a Smartboard in their classroom. This is really like an overhead projector gone wild!! You can write on it like a regular overhead projector and display items on it. What makes it amazing is that you can load your presentations on it and access them at any time---no more keeping track of thousands of overheads!! You can also display websites and webpages to explore with the students. There are millions of things you can do with these. And, the kids love them!!
Technology #3: Remote Voting Option for the Classroom
This particular model enables the student to "enter multiple digits, respond to open-ended questions, select more than one choice per question, rank and prioritize, compare pre and post results, trackdemographics, generate instant pop-up questions, and much, much more...". I just think this would be an incredible way to get instant feedback from your students. We have polling/voting options in my online classroom, but this would be a great way to have it in the traditional classroom setting.
Technology #5: USB Flash Drive
These are ingenious to use in the classroom, particularly if your students work on projects at school and home. These USB flash drives offer advantages over other portable storage devices, such as the floppy disk. They are more compact, faster, hold more data, are more reliable due to their lack of moving parts, and have a more durable design. My nephew even has one on a lanyard that he wears to and from school. Technology #6: Elluminate Live!!
This is a tool that I use every day and that I think is so awesome! It allows a teacher to set up an online classroom and teach online. As a teacher, I am able to upload Power Point presentations and use them to teach my class. The students and I are able to talk through microphones and headsets. I also have a "chalkboard" that I can use to write with a pen, type, etc. The kids can also direct message me and each other. You can create quizzes and print off the whiteboard if you need to save it. You can also record your sessions so that students who are unable to attend can listen to the lesson later. It's a great tool and the kids love it!
Technology #7: Camtasia Studio 5
http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp?CMP=KgoogleCStmhome
them communicate more clearly, create presentations for diverse audiences, and analyze
student experience. From the website: "Imagine being able to show exactly what's on your screen to anyone, anywhere. Imagine that it's easy. Now you've imagined Camtasia Studio.
With the smartest screen recording tools on the planet, Camtasia Studio makes everything from training videos to PowerPoint presentations to lectures look better, reach more people, and pack more punch. Which makes you look even smarter, too." To me, as an online teacher, this would be an amazing tool to use to create my presentations for my students to then use on Elluminate.
You can record whatever you want, right now, at any size. You can also edit and enhance your material to clarify and amplify your message. The studio then allows you to share your creation anywhere, in multiple formats. It sounds pretty great to me!
I think it would be great if every teacher could have a Palm Pilot like this one. It allows you to use all of your Microsoft Office elements in the Palm. You would be able to walk around and record grades in a spreadsheet to be used later to analyze learning. You could also make observations in a word document. I think it would streamline the "bookeeping" for teachers. I'm sure there's a million other things you could do as well if given time to explore!!
WiFi is great and allows people to communicate quickly. I think it would be great, if students had laptops, to have WiFi and allow students to communicate quickly with the teacher and with each other. You could send files, direct message and connect to websites together. Of course, with students, you would have to be careful of extraneous activity on the internet.
