Working Towards a Tech-Savvy Classroom

         Technology is everywhere, integrated in almost every part of our lives. It affects how we shop, socialize, connect, play, and most importantly, learn. With its great and increasing presence in our lives, it only makes sense to have technology in the classroom. According to Wainwright (2015), “Technology helps the teachers prepare students for the real world environment. As our nation becomes increasingly more technology-dependent, it becomes even more necessary that to be successful citizens, students must learn to be tech-savvy.” As a future educator, it is important that I am aware of technology tools and resources that are appropriate in a learning environment. Therefore, I will be assessing eight technology tools based on my own experiences utilizing them. In order to properly assess these tools, I will be using the following rating scale I came up with.

1. MOODLE

MOODLE, which is an acronym for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment, is a course management system designed to support both learning and teaching. It provides educators, administrators, and learners with a single secure and integrated system to create personalized learning environments. Throughout my semesters at the University of Guam, access to MOODLE was available to use for both online and regular classes. As a student, I must say that I enjoy using MOODLE and that it is an excellent technological resource for both students and educators. Although the layout of the website may not be so appealing, the features are still useful and make up for the lack of creativity in its design. Some features you may find in MOODLE include the ability to view your grades and the class agenda for the day, upload and download course materials, and maintain communication between classmates and the instructor through forums and a chat room. This website is also really easy to navigate through and allows for multimedia integration such as videos and images. The possibilities are endless with this educational tool, so I will give it an EXCELLENT rating!

2. Google Chrome

Google Chrome is one of many Web browsers that are available to download on any platform such as Macs, Windows, and mobile devices. There are tons of ways to customize Chrome and make it yours. It's easy to tweak your settings and add apps, extensions, and themes from the Chrome Web Store. Furthermore, signing in to Chrome brings your bookmarks, apps, history, and other settings to all your devices, so anything you update on one device instantly updates everywhere else. Another plus is that Chrome is designed to keep you safer and more secure on the Web with built-in malware and phishing protection, so all your Chrome stuff are safe in case anything happens to your computer. In addition, navigating around Google Chrome is simple. Chrome just has one box – the Omnibox – where you can both search the web and navigate to sites. It auto-completes as you type and offers suggestions. You can also pin your favorite tabs to the tabstrip so that they appear in the same place every time you launch Chrome. Google Chrome has proven to be one of the most widely used search engines nationwide by students. According to McGee (2012), “94 percent of U.S. teachers say their students conduct research using Google Chrome — more so than Wikipedia and other online encyclopedias.” Because of its student-friendly features, I will rate Google Chrome as EXCELLENT!

3. Google Apps

Google Apps are accessed through your G-mail account. It contains various features that you will find very useful when it comes to tasks in your daily life. G-mail is completely free to use and is downloadable to any device. Besides G-mail, the other apps you may find include Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Spreadsheets, Google Slides, Blogger, Calendar, and so much more. Prior to our ED271 course, I was not aware of the various apps available on Google; all I used Google for was the Web browsing experience. However, now that I have been exposed to all the different apps on Google, I can say that I enjoy exploring and using each one. For many of my classes, I have used GoogleDocs, Slides, and Sheets. Some of the great features of these particular apps are that they automatically save while you are doing your work online and they give you the option of sharing your work with others as well for editing or viewing. The greatest highlight is that you are able to edit a file with others, on different computers or devices, at the same time. Google Apps also has a user-friendly design so regardless of the various apps that are available, there is no trouble navigating through them. Google Apps definitely deserves an EXCELLENT rating!

4. LiveBinders

LiveBinders is basically a virtual binder that was created so that you could do with digital information what you do with the piles of papers on your desk – organize them into nice presentable containers - like 3-ring binders on your shelf. LiveBinders allows users to create main tabs and sub tabs as a way to stay organized. It also allows users to customize the colors of the tabs, sub tabs, and background, and change the layout of your binder to make it more appealing. With LiveBinders, you can combine all of your cloud documents, website links, and upload your desktop documents to then easily access, share, and update your binders from anywhere. However, one downside to LiveBinders, which is common with many other tools as well, is that if you are using the free version, the account is limited in terms of storage space and privacy. Also, using the different text layouts is quite difficult from my experience. It requires a lot of practice, but once you’ve gotten the hang of it, designing your LiveBinders would be a simple task. Another aspect of LiveBinders that needs improvement is that some websites would not be visible in the binder itself. You’re better off just opening up another tab in your web browser and opening up the website from there. I also had a difficult time trying to copy one whole tab from one binder and pasting it into a different binder. I think LiveBinders needs to create an easier way to do this. Other than these, I believe LiveBinders is a great resource that is ideal for home, work, or school. Without a doubt, I would use LiveBinders when I become a teacher. It is convenient for saving resources that I may need for a lesson plan or activity and is convenient when I need a lot more resources that I can obtain from other available binders. Due to personal experiences, I will give this tool a Needs Improvement rating.

5. Mozello

I had never thought that I would need to create a website in my life, ever. Just thinking about creating a website and all the time and work you must invest in it makes me very unwilling to put myself through that situation. However, when I encountered Mozello, one of the many website builders the Web has to offer, I fell in love with it and with creating websites. Signing up for Mozello only requires a few details: email, password, desired URL, and website type. Once you’ve logged in, you’ll have to choose a template (you can change it later without losing any of your content). This will take you to the website builder itself. Now, all you need to build your site is your content. Personalization settings are simple and well-organized. Mozello has a decent library of beautiful themes. You can switch them anytime. Mozello offers a great choice of ready color schemes to help users avoid mismatching colors, which is a big plus for me because I lack that type of creativity. However, there are a few downsides to Mozello, such as how design customization options appear to be limiting. You can rearrange your content through changing content layout styles and designs, but you can’t change the position of individual elements. In addition, Mozello templates are barely customizable – at best, you can change color settings and layouts. Regardless of these disadvantages, Mozello is a great classroom tool that makes information more appealing and presentable for students, is easy to navigate through and is accessible by everyone, and is free. For these reasons, Mozello deserves an EXCELLENT rating!

6. Voki

Voki is an online tool that students can use for homeworks, classworks, and projects. Because I am studying to become an elementary teacher, I chose to include this presentation tool in my technology assessment. On Voki, you are able to create and customize your own avatar. In my own classroom, I could use Voki in a variety of ways, such as to introduce a topic or lesson. I believe a Voki introduction would intrigue the students more and they would be more interested in the lesson. It is a tool that I would even allow my students to use to enhance their presentations as Voki allows you to incorporate a voice recording into your avatar. From my personal experiences, however, I would usually have to re-do my voice recordings a few times because the voice recording feature is not so great at catching all the words I’ve said. Also, if the website freezes or crashes, you have to start all over again, which can be extremely frustrating considering all the details you may have included in your customizations. In addition, there are only a number of choices provided for free. The website also gives a URL or a code that you can embed into a website. I think Voki is an enjoyable tool, particularly for a younger audience; however, there are still improvements that can be made. Overall, I give Voki a Satisfactory rating.

7. Powtoon

Powtoon is definitely one of my favorite tools. It is an online tool where you can create animated videos and presentations for free for the most part. However, like many other tools, it does give the option to upgrade your membership through purchase. In spite of that, the free account still allows users to produce creative videos through templates or from scratch. There are a plethora of animations, sounds, and images to choose from depending on the style you choose. Because of this, it can be quite time-consuming trying to find the perfect animation or image for your video. Also, from my own experiences, Powtoon tends to crash or freeze a lot. It is unfortunate to have to refresh the page and your work could not be saved. I think Powtoon is a tool that definitely requires some practice to get used to all its features. Otherwise, I think it is a great way to capture the attention of an audience, regardless of age. I enjoy using Powtoon for my presentations and would encourage my own future students to use it as well. Due to its much-needed improvements, I will give Powtoon a Satisfactory rating. I hope to see further improvements and changes with this tool in the future!

8. Canva

 

Because I do not have Microsoft Publisher installed into my computer, which is a program I usually use to create flyers with, I resulted to having to search for another program that would allow me to create AND download my flyer into my computer. It was not long till I encountered Canva, a website that allows you to design presentations, social media graphics, and so much more. Just use Canva’s drag-and-drop feature and professional layouts to design consistently stunning graphics. You can create a variety of things on Canva, which includes flyers, cards, book covers, and logos, just to name a few. In addition, you can download your creation into your computer or device, and even if you have published your work and downloaded it, you can always go back and edit your work. When I become a teacher, I would introduce this website to my students and have them create projects and creative assignments through it. The easy-to-navigate website, pre-designed templates, and available tutorials and tips have made this website a user-friendly tool overall. I think Canva is a great tool for both students and educators, so it deserves an EXCELLENT rating!

          As an overall assessment, these are eight awesome technology tools I would continue to use as a technology proficient professional and as a future educator. These are just eight tools in my toolkit, though. This toolkit is a work in progress towards having a tech-savvy classroom in the future. There are much more tools that I can utilize as well to help enhance an educational environment.

References

McGee, M. (2012, November 02). 94 Percent Of Teachers Say Students Equate Research 

            With Using Google. Retrieved December 02, 2016, from 

            http://searchengineland.com/teachers-say-students-equate-research-with-using-

            google-138542.

Wainwright, A. (2015, March 18). 10 Reasons Today's Students NEED Technology in the 

            Classroom. Retrieved December 02, 2016, from 

            http://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/10-Reasons-Today-s-Students-NEED-

            Technology-in-the-Classroom.