Deb Norton Tech

If you are finding yourself teaching the same lesson year after year with the same materials and teaching style; then it's time to add some new technology and spice up that boring lesson.  It's refreshing and motivating for students to see a teacher using new instructional strategies and materials in a lesson. Here are a bunch of ideas: 1)  Involve the students - Use an online poll or backchannel to interact with your students during your lesson. This gives every student a voice and builds character and understanding amongst peers.  a.   Poll Everywhere b.   Tally.tl - Click here for my blog post. c.   Today's Meet d.   Padlet e.   Geddit - Click here for my blog post. 2)  Student Choice - Allow your students to show their learning with these choices. Giving students a say in how they show their knowledge is empowering. a.  Mindmapping with Slatebox or Bubbl.us - Click here for my blog post b.  Creat...

Recently I was training some awesome teachers, and one of the biggest requests was for tools similar to Google Drawings.  So, here are some tools for students to create posters, flyers, and visuals: #1 - Canva - free publish as an image or PDF share the link simple drag and drop #2 - Buncee - free Buncee edu for teachers Click and select Print Share on social media #3 - Smore - free (can upgrade) add the elements you like embed share via email or link So there you have it; three great tools similar to Google Drawing.  Today's students are creators of content and these three tools can provide a place for students to show their critical thinking, creativity and knowledge.

I tried a new Web 2.0 tool today called Smore .  This tool allows a person to easily make a flyer and then get the word out via social media or embed the flyer into a website. I decided to create a flyer sharing different things that came across my online desk (aka RSS feed) for the week.  So without further ado, here is my first Smore! I find the Smore Flyer to be quite impressive and I only used a few of the available tools for adding content.   I see myself using Smore in the future, both with students and for my personal and professional use.