What surprised me most was all of the different applications they have for students in today's world. There were hundreds of different websites to help students in the classroom with a wide variety of categories in which they may help a student. I had known of maybe 10 out of the websites out of the hundreds The Teachers Guide to Tech had. The most surprising program to me was the Wonder Workshop Dash robot. This is a robot that teaches students how to code. I did not know they had anything like this, and it really shows how far technology has come. I would love to see one of these in a classroom and see how it works.

I will definitely be bringing the website Raz Kids to my classroom. This website allows the teacher to hear the student reading at home, but it also allows the teacher to assess the student's reading and comprehension. Raz Kids allows me to choose the reading level in which a student chooses books from, it has to student record themselves readings, and then has the student take a test. These are things that I can use for assessments for students reading. This is a tool I will for sure be using, and I am excited to use.

The program FluentU is a program that would not apply to my subject area. FluentU is a website where you can watch videos or movies in another language as well as the person's native language. It shows subtitles below so the student can also see it written out. The student can also click on the subtitles words, and it will show what the word is. There are also videos in real-world contexts so the student can see conversations in real-world contexts. I am an elementary education major, so I won't be teaching students other languages. This is a program I don’t see needing to ever use as it doesn’t apply to my area of teaching.

I think would be great for K-12. Flashcards can be used for all grades for many purposes.

All the different art online tools that are free! I was under the assumption that online digital art tools require a purchase. But, many are free! For example, Procreate has some free digital art tools that I can use with my students. - Sarah

A website I think everyone should know about is ASSISTments. This is a program where teachers can choose math problems from a text, worksheet, or their own problems to create a variety of problems for a student to solve. While the student is doing the problems on this program at home, they are given immediate feedback which allows the student to instantly see and understand what they are doing wrong. Then, after the student does all of the problems, the program creates an assessment of where the student's strengths and weaknesses are. I think that this is a super cool program and I think it could really be beneficial for all students, even students in higher education. It is something I will be exploring more, and I am happy I learned about it. I think that every teacher should know about this program and explore it to see if it would be beneficial for their students.

Everyone should know about ClassDojo! I think it is a great tool for parents to keep track of their child’s behavior. It also provides an easy way for teachers and students to communicate with each other. You can also share photos and videos of student’s work with their parents. This website is a great way to stay in communication with parents.

I definitely plan to add GoNoodle to my toolbox. I think it is a website that provides activities for students. I think this is a great website for students who are kinesthetic learners. It also provides great resources for brain breaks that relate to their students' interests.

- Sarah

One thing that surprised me was the amount of technology that is available to help teachers with assessment. There are tools to design, give, and evaluate assessments. The best part is that many of these apps were designed with low-tech and low-budget in mind and can be used on a cell phone. One example is Gradient a smartphone camera scantron reader.

One area that is a bit outside the realm of general education is drama and theatre arts. That is not to say that short skits should not be used in every classroom. Similarly, art could be used in any classroom but studying art history is not a main subject area.

I think that financial literacy tools like Banzai and others are important to students of all ages. All teachers can incorporate financial literacy into their classrooms because it is an important survival skill that is often left out of the mainstream curriculum. If children do not learn these skills in education, then where will they learn it from who?

The first aspect that surprised me was how many tech terms there are. Some of them I’ve never heard before! But, I was also surprised by the variety of multi media resources. 

2) I will definitely add this to my toolbox

I will definitely add digital mind mapping, slideshows, podcasting, and blogging to my toolbox. I say this because they are adjustable based on the age. Because I want to be in elementary school, I believe it will be easy to adjust these to a way the kids can understand and utilize them. 

3) Doesn't apply to my subject area

Screencasting, and QR codes do not apply to my subject area. I say this because I feel like they are a little too complicated for elementary school students. 

4) Everyone should know about this!

Everybody should know about all the resources available. A line I read in the guide said something along the lines of “use the tool that works best for your students, not the coolest“. This is important because we all want something that will impress and get our students excited. But, it’s important to assess what will work the best with our students. 

I will definitely add digital mind mapping, slideshows, podcasting, and blogging to my toolbox. I say this because they are adjustable based on the age. Because I want to be in elementary school, I believe it will be easy to adjust these to a way the kids can understand and utilize them. 

When I first scrolled through the app, I was surprised to see apps such as Plickers which are designed for schools that are low on technology. I thought the guide would contain an endless amount of apps such as Kahoot which require all students to use their own device to join a class game. Plickers is played through just one device, typically the teachers computer or a handheld device. The device first asks a question, students respond on paper and the device is held up to scan all responses at once. I was surprised at how quick and efficient this tool is at collecting responses and would definitely use it in the future.

2.I will definitely add this to my toolbox

When I eventually took the time to scroll through the guide, I discovered the website Kiddom, which is a site that allows you to track student assignments along with the standards they assess for. The website then provides a range of data reports that tell you which students have mastered the standards and which need more help. This tool is incredibly useful for teachers who have large class sizes and may need extra help monitoring all students progress. Teachers can also link their accounts and co-plan which I would definitely use in the future.

3.Doesn't apply to my subject area

Wooclap is a tool that is specifically designed for higher education or business use. As an early elementary major, I would not have any use for this tool as it is more so meant for presenters in a business setting. The website does however claim that it's tools can also be used for middle school and high school classrooms.

4.Everyone should know about this!

Storybird is the perfect tool for elementary English/writing courses, and every teacher of that grade level should be familiarized with the website. Storybird is essentially a website that provides a gallery of artwork and creative images. Students select their favorite image and then write a story or poem to go with their image. As a child, these type of creative writing exercises were my favorite things to do and I was always excited for my teacher and peers to read my stories. I would absolutely use this website in a writing activity.