Storybird is an online tool that allows users to write and publish stories as well as read other author's work. Storybird creates a digital community for users of all ages. Teachers can use Storybird as a tool to assign work and even give a grade online. When creating a story, Storybird uses the phrase “your words, our art.” Users can choose from various themes and pictures when creating a story. You can even shop online and buy a Storybird story.

B. Platform use:

Storybird is available on any device that has internet access including computers, laptops, phones, tablets, etc.

C. Target audience: 

Storybird allows you to choose from various age ranges. The ages range from preschool to adult. 

D. Access details and cost:

Users do need to create an account for Storybird using a valid email address. The account does not cost anything. There is not an age requirement when creating a Storybird account. There is a premium account that can be purchased for $11.99 per month. This premium account allows members to have more options when customizing stories. It also allows members to post onto a library page to get feedback quicker from readers. 

E. Rationale for Technology Selection:

I selected Storybird for this project because I have seen my own students be more creative when writing stories. Because students have a staring point with the illustrations, the stories are written much quicker. I have also enjoyed using this tool when reading to younger family members when books are not available. 

Kahoot is an online game-based response system. Kahoot has several different formats that can be used. Quizzes, Surveys, Jumble and Discussions are the different format that can be used. The purpose is to create quizzes and activities that can be done in real time. 

Quizzes- Multiple Choice with visuals as needed 

Jumble- 4 selections that need to be placed in the correct order. Can be used with visuals as well. 

Surveys- Can be used for open-ended questions to guide class discussions

Discussions- One question open ended. Focused responses. 

B. Platform use:

Any connected device. There are Android and iOS apps available. It can be played with laptops, desktops, phones, tablets and more. They do recommend a shared screen option with projection so the student can interact with the game. 

C. Target audience: 

Kahoot is for all ages. It is targeted for learning so educators and students are their target audience. However, there are groups that use it for training purposes, social events and more. 

D. Access details and cost:

Free for students and educators. The educators must create an account to save Kahoots and create games for the students. Students may sign up as well- with less access to searching for Kahoot games. 

E. Rationale for Technology Selection:

I chose Kahoot as it is an excellent way to gauge what the students know in a fun game-based manner. If you take the time to make the quizzes, you have a tool that you can use year after year. I have used Kahoot in the past as a pretest, a check during learning and a review for tests. The students who do not do well with standard game reviews really are engaged with the gameplay. The option of 1:1 gameplay and team gameplay are great options for students. I especially like the think/discuss time that it gives you in team gameplay. The searchable and copying option is a great way to find other questions or whole games that have to do with your content or topic. I also enjoy the kahoots that are not content based but pop-culture topics as well. The results and performance can be downloaded to a document or loaded straight into Google Drive for ease of data analysis. 

URL
http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cbfjIV6SA9

Quizizz is a fun multiplayer classroom activity that can be used to gamify quizzes by creating an environment that has optional music, immediate feedback, timers, and fun memes.  Teachers can create quizzes or borrow and modify the existing quizzes in the site bank.  These quizzes can be used for formative assessments, checking for understanding, and exit tickets.  Students can take the quizzes all at the same time or on their own.  It allows students to work at their own pace, but they do get more points the faster they respond.  Another capability of Quizizz is that teachers can view and download results into excel, which means it can be used to track student’s progress.

Quizizz works on all platforms with a browser.

It can be used with all ages.  The difficulty of the questions is customizable by the creator.

Quizizz is free to use and does not offer any kind of professional account.  To use Quizizz students are not required to create an account because they will use a game code to get to the activity.  Teachers will need to create an account so that they can create and save the activities.

When I was looking for a selection to use for this assignment I was struggling to find one that I wanted to do.  I selected Quizizz because it was chosen as one of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Best Websites for Teaching and Learning 2016 in the category of social networking and communications.  I have really seen how excited students can get when they are getting to play a game, even if it is educational, but this is a way to make it feel like a game and see what they are learning.  It has the ability to duplicate quizzes and customize them for the needs of all students.  Also, it is something that can be done as a whole class or assign individually.  The ability to export and save results means that I can track progress and see areas that might need to be revisited again.  I see it as a great way to get information about students knowledge and get them excited about sharing it with the teacher.   

 

Teachers can engage all students by creating interactive slides where the teacher can show answers to multiple choice questions, draggable pins, text responses, numbers, drawings, and more anonymously on the screen.  Student responses help lead the discussion.  Student responses are saved on their own Google document for review later or even sharing with parents.

 

Teachers could use this tool for classroom activities as well as an interactive staff development.  Lincoln Public Schools has the premium plan, which includes drawing and dragging slide types, unlimited imports, help desk, Google Classroom integration, and session review, but anyone can get the basic plan at no cost which includes five free imports, unlimited decks, forum support.  On the site, Pear Deck lists its premium plan at $99.99 per year, but I am sure if a district purchases a license, they receive a group discount.  One of the major advantages of the premium edition is integration with Google Classroom and being able to assign a Pear Deck to your roster.  Another advantage would be a teacher dashboard where the instructor can see individual student responses and other information on his or her screen while projecting the activity at the same time.  

 

I chose this tool because it is a fantastic way to make presentations you’ve already put a lot of thought and work into interactive for students so that it’s not just another boring slide show and lecture where students have to listen and possibly take notes.  They won’t tune out because they are actively involved, and it is fun to see their own answers on the screen in an anonymous format.  They are also able to learn from each other by discussing answer results.  The teacher gets immediate feedback on where students are struggling and exceeding as well, and can adjust his or her teaching immediately.  I could use this tool in the library for lessons on digital citizenship, inquiry learning process, and instruction on using the library.  I would also use it co-teaching in all curricular areas.  

Screencast:

b.   Platform use 

c.     Target audience  

d.    Access details and cost

e.    Rationale for technology selection

     1. The students in my class read at a pre K-1st grade level, so I chose this app 

            because it is a way for them to independently read to themselves     
            through audio books or the “read to me” feature.

      2. I am able to tailor the app to meet each of my students’ needs because                     they each have their own profile.

      3. Epic! has comprehension questions at the end of some of the books and I               can monitor student progress.

f.       

 

Newsela is an online tool that offers multiple tiers of news articles. It allows students to read the same articles for different levels of reading. Newsela also offers ways to assess the students learning. There are quizzes, annotations and writing prompts. The quizzes are available at the end of each reading assignment. The annotations allow the teacher to write notes throughout the article for students to respond to. Newsela also provides teachers with progress notifications and reminders. There are also webinars to help people use Newsela. The annotations and progress monitoring are only available with the Pro account. 

 

Newsela is available on any device that has access to the internet. It is available on computers, tablets and phones. 

 

The target audience for Newsela is 2^nd grade through high school. I also think this could be a great resource for college students. 

 

I created a free account with Newsela. You need to have a school email account. Then you need to verify which school you are at. If you want to sign up as a student without a teacher account, you have to be 18 years of age or older. There is also the option to have Newsela Pro. If a school wants to sign up for Newsela Pro it is $6,000 for the school, $2,000 per grade level, or $18 per student per year. The advantages of having a the Pro version is the ability to progress students, talk back and forth with annotations, tracking students’ progress against Common Core Standards and administrators can create school-wide and district-wide data. 

e: Rationale for Technology Selection:
I selected this tool because I think it is important to allow students with all types of reading levels the same information.  I think that this is a wonderful tool that will allow the librarian to teach students the same ideas but continuing to make the students feel successful in their reading.  I would use this tool in research or current event classes with my students. It would be a great tool for students to use for reports or presentations on certain topics.

 

 

http://www.screencast.com/t/aPrY0CHiyw9 

 

2.              Platform use: 

 

3.              Target Audience: 

 

4.              Access details and cost: 

 

5.              Rationale for Technology selection:  

 

6.              Screencast URL: Saved mp4 file attached as separate file.

 
Citations:

Home. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.myvrspot.com/

Kessler, M. (2017, March 31). [Personal interview by the author].

Michael Kessler is founder and COO of MyVRSpot.  Interview was conducted via email.

b.      Platform Use:  Quizalize can be used on any internet connected device.  Although when creating questions, it’s easiest to use either a computer or a larger device, such as an iPad.  

c.       Target Audience:  This tool is intended for use by classroom teachers with their students for formative assessment.  

d.      Access Details and Cost:  Quizalize and be used with either Apple or PC computers or handheld devices.  The only requirement is internet access.  In order to create and distribute activities, you do need an account, which you can create for free by using an email address.  Students do not need an account and can sign-in by using a code generated by the teacher.  There are no age requirements.  

 

The free version of Quizalize is pretty powerful and allows the teacher to create activities or use pre-made versions.  One draw-back of the free version is that results and responses are not saved for future access.  If you would like to track individual student progress over time, you would need to sign up for the paid version, which is $5.75 per month.  If 5 teachers from the same district sign up for accounts, they do offer a discounted rate.  If an entire district signs up for accounts, there are additional discounts available, but you would need to contact the company for details.

e.       Rationale for Technology Selection:  I selected this tool because of the real-time response tracking abilities.  Formative assessment is a powerful way of tracking student progress on a topic before administering a test or moving on to the next topic.  I’m always looking for new ways to get feedback from students in my math classroom and I felt that this would be a good tool to put into place.  For the library, I would like to either find or create quizzes over books that the kids could use.  This might be for a review for an in class novel or AR test or it might be some kind-of tracking tool for a library book activity.  I’ve also been looking for a way to incorporate practice with the Dewey Decimal System with my elementary library classes and this would be a novel way of doing that. 
f.  Link:  http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cbfjV76Suc

 

InstaGrok

Screencast URL:

 

            http://www.screencast.com/t/wkLK8HrCRZ9

 

Tool Purpose and Capabilities:

 

            InstaGrok is an online and tablet application that is meant to help individuals create conceptual mind maps and visually organize information relevant to a specific topic. It is a search engine specifically developed to help with research, particularly in the areas of science, history, and English. However, this application could be used in any educational environment where researching is needed. The website uses the term "grok” to define what each map is. Each search on this application will create a “grok” with key ideas and concepts. The purpose of each “grok” is to help learners become intuitively better at searching and selecting information relevant to the topics they search.

            While its focus (as an application) is to help anyone who uses the application to research topics better, InstaGrok for the classroom is where this application really becomes the best version of itself. The “groks” that one creates on the site or mobile app not only searches and helps find sourcing for topics, it also will show videos and images relevant to the topic and when educators pay the fee, their students’ work becomes private and saved.

 

Platform use:

 

            InstaGrok is only accessible and usable on devices with Wi-Fi capabilities; the company encourages users primarily to stick with computers and tablets when using the application. There is an app to download for both iOS and Android tablets. You do not need to download any software onto your computer in order to use this application. 

 

Target audience:

 

            Individuals who would most likely benefit from this application would be in grades 5-12 and/or in college. Those who would use this site more easily would be the high school or college-aged individuals. While it can be used in upper elementary grades and middle school, the application is not as user-friendly for those ages.

 

Access details and cost:

 

            In order to use InstaGrok effectively, it is recommended to sign up with an email to create an account. This helps create a “History” log where your “groks” can be accessed in the future. InstaGrok is free to anyone, but there is a professional edition for teachers. For $45 a year, a teacher will have a dashboard, the ability to create assignments for students, a student will be able to create bibliographies that are credible, the content searched will be safe, and there will be no advertising. 

            Once a teacher creates an account, he or she will be able to have students join their “classes” and have the ability to access the safer content. InstaGrok, the free version, tries to eliminate inappropriate content from the searches, but the material will slip through the filters. Students’ work will also be saved with the yearly $45 fee. InstaGrok can also be used in Edmodo too and allows for an easier transference of “groks” between teacher and student.

 

Rational for Technology Selection:

     

            Selecting this application was primarily done because I was curious to see if I could use it as a research helper for my eleventh-grade students or the students who take Speech with me each semester. I was intrigued by the idea of a website that allowed students to see multiple concepts related to their initial search, to see the other options besides the preconceived ideas they may already have formed. Without knowing much about the application, I felt confident in the usability of the product and I was hopeful of immediately integrating it into my classroom. However, after I did a few test searches and poked around the application's website, I realized that I would need to do considerable "playing around" on it to figure out how I would best have my students use this application with the research-based assignments we already do in my classes. 

            Upon further investigation and "playing-around" on InstaGrok, I realized that I could use it for the research-based assignments my students do in all the courses I teach. However, to use this application, it will require me as an instructor to have very prescriptive activities and assignments to help the student learned the application itself. InstaGrok is not a user-friendly application initially. You have to understand the connections it cultivates for you and be able to determine if the concepts it is pulling into your map are relevant and/or necessary to the research you are looking for. Research is a difficult process and InstaGrok does provide some connections that may not have been originally considered if we were to do it in the traditional paper and pencil model.

 

Class Dojo is a communication and behavior management application for the classroom using a fun monster like avatar image. Class Dojo helps to connect teachers, students and parents. Class Dojo also aids teachers in keeping track of positive and negative behavior by using a points system. It also focuses on creating a positive classroom for teachers and students, while they work hard for points based on good behavior. Behaviors can be customized by the teachers and range from following directions, being a good listener or doing their work. Teachers also have the ability to reward the entire class for behavior, share photos of students working together and videos of various class activities. Teachers and parents are able to be on the same team and help their students while in and out of the classroom. Teachers can also collaborate with each other and classrooms can work together to encourage positive behaviors. Class Dojo also creates and provides reports that can be shared between teachers, administrators, parents and even students. These reports can help analyze the trend of a student’s behavior. Class Dojo has been successful in improving behavior outcomes for students in elementary and middle school by providing students and parents immediate feedback and praise for appropriate behavior. 

 

B.    Platform Use:

Class Dojo can be accessed on a desktop or laptop computer, iOS 8 and above system, Android 4.0 and above system, and Kindle Fire as a webpage or downloadable app. There is also optional access through an interactive smartboard and projector. Teachers and parents have the ability to download the app for immediate communication purposes. 

C.    Target Audience:

Class Dojo is most effective for teachers and students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Parents could also be considered a target audience because they have the option to set up an account for communication purposes. 

D.    Access Details and Cost:

There are multiple account types to choose from to sign up for Class Dojo. You can sign up as a teacher, parent, student or school leader. Teachers and school leaders need an email address and password to sign up. Parents can be invited to Class Dojo by printed invitation codes or an email invite. Once parents accept their invitation and enter their code, they can set up their account to view feedback reports and receive messages about their students. Students will first need to get an access code from their teacher, then they can choose a username, select their age, and choose a password. Students will then enter their student code and a parent’s email address. Parents will need to confirm their student’s account and allow permissions in order for their student to customize their avatar and view points awarded. Class Dojo is currently free and will always be free for the teacher community. Class Dojo will never sell any teacher, parent, or student information to anyone. In the future Class Dojo will be building new, premium features that parents and school districts would pay for, no dollar amount or features have been listed. 

 

E.    Rationale for Technology Selection:

I selected this tool after asking a friend about some newer and creative applications to use in the classroom. He suggested Class Dojo and as a computer teacher he liked the reward system, especially with seeing many different classes each day. After looking into it, I thought this would work well for a library setting too. There are many ways to use this tool and it is more than students trying to get the most points in a class or day. I would use Class Dojo to take attendance, being on time, raising your hand, listening to the story being read, and following the library rules. I like how rewards can be student based or class based. For younger students, a reward could be checking out your own book and for older students, more computer time. Class rewards could be voting on the next story to read. I do not like punishments in the school setting. Class Dojo’s use of positive reminders and any negative feedback or behavior is seen as needing a “helpful reminder”. If other teachers in my building are using Class Dojo my students would already have the knowledge of what is expected of them. I would like to make Class Dojo fun and enthusiastic for my students. Students will be excited to show off their hard work and see where they may need to work on a few things. Class Dojo will also help us see any continuous behavioral issues we may need to work on from a different angle. The parent communication feature is also a key factor to making Class Dojo successful. I am hopeful parent’s will praise good behavior at home, but not punish their children on a less than satisfactory day, but try to find out what happened. The bright colors and avatars make Class Dojo inviting and I look forward to finding new ways to reward my students, both individually and as an entire class. 

 

F.    Screencast Link:

 

APA Citation:

C. (n.d.). Learn all about ClassDojo ♥. Retrieved April 05, 2017, from https://www.classdojo.com/

 

Robacker, C. M., Rivera, C. J., & Warren, S. H. (2016). A Token Economy Made Easy Through ClassDojo. Intervention In School And Clinic, 52(1), 39-43. doi:10.1177/1053451216630279