So as I look down the list, I am trying to utilize a tool that will work with my age groups and time frames. I have 7 classes a day from grade 1 through 5. I must also find something that has the best bang for the buck and can be used with the technology at hand. I have used Skype extensively over the years. We have had several exchange students and my daughter was a teacher in Mexico and Texas. We used to share a lot with our classes. I want to look further into Google Hangouts and some other options there. I like the ability to use smartphones too. For this assignment, I think that a BackChannel chat will fit where I am with students right now. For this I choose to use TodayMeet. It's simple, quick, and easy for students to access from existing technology.
TodaysMeet
I do a lot of higher level thinking with my 5th grades. I always push to get responses from everyone about how they liked the project, things they learned, things they thought I was weak in, etc. The thing is, students don't always like to speak out in class, or they aren't sure what to say about a topic. Seeing what the conversation is doing is a great help. It will take a few discussions and practices for them to learn how to give constructive comments, but if you look down the list, I had some good quality comments mixed in with the simple ones. I will definitely do this again. It is a great assessment tool and the kids were excited to chime in with their opinions. I think I will pick a controversial topic next time and let them discuss it, then comment on line in the background. It could be interesting. ISTE 1a,b,c; 2a,b. This program could be used to share concepts and ideas too 3b,c.
The following was embedded into my site directly from TodaysMeet. I really like that feature too.
I do a lot of higher level thinking with my 5th grades. I always push to get responses from everyone about how they liked the project, things they learned, things they thought I was weak in, etc. The thing is, students don't always like to speak out in class, or they aren't sure what to say about a topic. Seeing what the conversation is doing is a great help. It will take a few discussions and practices for them to learn how to give constructive comments, but if you look down the list, I had some good quality comments mixed in with the simple ones. I will definitely do this again. It is a great assessment tool and the kids were excited to chime in with their opinions. I think I will pick a controversial topic next time and let them discuss it, then comment on line in the background. It could be interesting. ISTE 1a,b,c; 2a,b. This program could be used to share concepts and ideas too 3b,c.
The following was embedded into my site directly from TodaysMeet. I really like that feature too.