Week 10: Testing out fun Tools

This week in class we familiarized ourselves with many technology tools that can be used in our future classrooms. As a class we worked to solve a BreakoutEDU mystery together. This tool is a great tool to get students working together and thinking logically. Little Bits is a tool that gets students interested in building with electronics. Osmos are games that can be used for counting, creating images with shapes, and spelling or word games. Spheros are small balls that can be directed using an iPad and roll around on the floor. The tool that really got me thinking, though, was the Smart KAPP. This tool is a whiteboard that can connect wirelessly to an iPad. You can connect with people who are not in the same area as you and work together on a project. You can see the notes they are writing down and save the as a PDF. I have a cousin who was just diagnosed with cancer and is a freshman in high school. He has been in and out of the hospital for treatments since the beginning of the year and has missed a lot of school. His grandfather has been sitting in classes and taking notes for him so he can keep up with work. Because the Smart KAPP is portable, this whiteboard could be moved from room to room. Each class could be broadcast or recorded via webcam or Skype and my cousin could get the notes directly from class if the teacher or student volunteer wrote on the Smart KAPP. This would be like my cousin being present in class and able to study better using the notes. Students struggling with illness like he is could really benefit from this tool. These tools are super fun, but can be used to further student learning too. That’s why technology is so great.