Favorite+Tech+Tool+or+Idea

**What is the one tech tool or idea you see yourself implementing this fall?**

 * I really want to do a podcast based on a reading project. - Diana**
 * I really like Google Docs and Delicious.**


 * Oh so many! But I'm loving ebooks, apps and technology that lets me utilize iPads with my kiddies. Since I won't be in a librarian position, but rather moving to a new area of the school but doing the same thing I've been doing (Grade 3 ESOL to Kindergarten/Grade 1 Survival ESOL), I have been reading about and learning about many new ways to help my kids, who will be completely non-English speakers, gain confidence and proficiency in English more quickly. I'll also be working with all KG students in some capacity with reading and writing acquisition (the two roles are very closely tied) so the technology I'm using with my Survival kids will transfer easily into the general classroom and I'll be able to offer some really cool support for teachers in their reading programs! Exciting!**

I love the idea of using the interactive whiteboard to engage students in reading comprehension skills. Nancy Dodson shared with us the template for having students practice retelling a picture book using images and a template. I have heard of this before and I have always wanted to try it, but just never got around to actually implementing it. We have Active Inspire software in Issaquah which I am already pretty comfortable with, so I plan to give interactive lessons in combination with read alouds to increase comprehension (our school’s CIP goal). -Annie


 * I really like the concept of the pathfinder. I'm planning on posting the pathfinders I've made to our grade-level Moodle site, making new pathfinders for each of our Units of Inquiry, and adding to them over time. -Lara**


 * I love my Activboard at school and the ELMO (document camera) I use everyday. Both tech tools have made my instruction more engaging and have energized my instruction delivery. The interactive piece of the Activboard works well with 6th graders. They literally jump out of their seats to get to write on the board, highlight information, reveal a clue, etc. - Suzanne**

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My favorite tech tool is Turnitin.com I have used it every year for the past seven school years. It is primarily a plagiarism detector/ “authenticity verification” tool. It basically works very well, although there are some ways to game it. I find that it is a good tool to use in parallel with teaching digital citizenship and having broader conversations with students about plagiarism. In addition to the authenticity checker, I also like using Turnitin.com as a digital dropbox for final drafts of student writing. I can still access student writing samples from three years ago, for example. A new tool I am interested in using next year is VoiceThread. I don’t know anything about it and heard about it for the first time in class today. However, teacher/class subscriptions start at about $60 for 50 students. I teach about 75 students per year, so it would be under $100 to try it out. I could probably use part of my discretionary classroom budget to try this out next year. - Adam======

I agree with Suzanne that the Activboard and ELMO motivate kids. My favorite tech tool from last year was writing online Moodle quizzes, because students get results immediately. Turnitin can also be a way to **comment on drafts**. I have begun using delicious and shelfari (again; I tried both years ago) and plan to use pathfinders for some research projects. I will teach myself jing and photostory, and use jing to teach or reteach grammar and photostory to have students review stories with tech. -Jodie

I am really excited about the pathfinder I created in delicious for my American Lit students. My biggest problem now will be coming up with a good prompt that will fit all of the content I've put there--broad enough to not get 65 of the same essay, specific enough to have focused choice of topics. I also like the concept of using something like googledocs--it's fun to see if shifting and changing "live" on my screen while Jodie and Adam are working on it. I could see this as a neat way to have kids do group work. Finally, I definitely want to explore podcasts more. My 9th graders do lit circles where small groups read a book together. . .this could be a great way to liven up the end-of-novel finale. Instead of a test or essay, they could have to put all the requirements into a podcast. The class could watch them and do peer grading. I confess, I usually grade also, just to keep them honest! Funny, though, the kids often grade more stringently than I do. . .and they say I am a tough grader! (Beth)

My favorite new tools are Zoomerang and the cell phone polling. I would like to create surveys for my students to find out what their reading interests are and what technology they have access to at home. I also think it would be fun to have a cell phone survey at staff meetings to see where teachers need the most support from me. --Gretchen Oates