Evening Professional Development: Additional Technology Resources

Monday, June 25th, 2012
6:30pm-9:30pm

Our final professional development meeting of the day consisted of a reflection on the day's events, as well as a list of additional useful technological resources for the classroom.  Here, I will list these resources with a hyperlink (if applicable), and give a short description of each one and how it can be used.


Exit Cards and Mastery Checks:
Exit cards are index cards that the students answer a question on, give feedback, ask questions, or predict future ideas.  The students fill these cards out in the last five minutes of class, and hand them to the teacher on the way out.  This activity can be used to simply check for understanding and ask for feedback, or it can contain the answer to a specific, lesson based question.
Mastery checks are very similar to exit cards, but they are only a lesson-based question to check the students' perception of the main idea in the learning.

Wall Wisher:
Wall wisher is a website that gives you a blank page that you can use to post anything.  Much like a blank slate, this resource can be used in numerous aspects of the classroom.  Here is a list of many ways to use Wall Wisher in the classroom, including to ask for feedback, give book recommendations or summaries,  and showcase student work.

Wiffiti:
If you are teaching older students who have access to their cell phones during class, this is a great way to have them answer questions or give their feedback or opinions anonymously.  The students simply text their thought to a number given, and their message pops up on the screen.  This is also a good way to receive immediate concerns, comments, or feedback during a teacher conference or meeting, as well as professional development seminars.

Test Anxiety:
This is a very helpful article for students, parents, and teachers on how to handle, prevent, and overcome test anxiety in the classroom.