Tool #9

It is very important to tie the technology to the objective to ensure that students are truly understanding the content.  The technology must facilitate the learning process - not to become the goal of the lesson.

I really liked the ideas presented on how to hold students accountable for the technology they use.  As with proving behaviors, there must be some product that allows us to assess and evaluate our students' level of comprehension.  In addition, accountability keeps students engaged and on-task with the assignment.  I will definitely implement some of the methods provided to ensure accountability.

One app that I liked was the Ecology app.  Students can explore different ecosystems and how they impact our Earth.  The app allows students to explore eight different ecosystems.  I could have a station for each ecosystem.  To hold students accountable, I can have them create a concept map or diagram about each of the ecosystems using the Idea Sketch app.  Students can then drop their Idea Sketches into DropBox.

There are so many neat things that the iPad can do which I am still learning about.  Another feature of the iPad that I like is the camera.  Students can create short videos or face time with their classmates.  I can see them using this tool to create tutorials or to peer teach. I also heard about an app called Show Me that I would like to explore and possibly use in my class.