8 Awesome Technology Tools That Work!

While enrolled in Dr. Cyrus’ ED 271 class, my classmates and I were introduced to more than 15 technology tools that will be useful for future educators. Many of the tools introduced to my classmates and I were fairly new, but some of the tools were very familiar. As a future educator, I plan to incorporate many of these online tools into my classroom as the younger generations are becoming more adaptive to using technology. Below are my assessments of eight technology tools.

Rating: 3.5/5

During my freshman year at the University of Guam, I was introduced to the online tool called “Moodle”. Many of my college classes incorporated Moodle as a technology tool for homework, grading, and discussion posts with my classmates. What is also great about Moodle is that teachers are able to upload pdf’s for textbooks and link other useful websites that students may use in the future. Lastly, Moodle is free and only requires a valid email. Although Moodle has its great perks, there are also some cons to it. For example, Moodle is sometimes not compatible with Google Chrome, which makes it hard to take online tests and quizzes sometimes. As a future educator, I would use Moodle as a tool for students to use in order to further discussions on a certain topic and for online homework submissions.

Rating: 5/5

When I was first introduced to Google Chrome, I absolutely fell in love with the browser because of its simplicity and responsiveness. Before Google Chrome, I used Internet Explorer, which is a horrible web browser that I do not recommend. With Google Chrome I was able to type in a web address and get to the website in a matter of seconds, but Internet Explorer would take five minutes in order for the website to be fully responsive. When I purchased my Macbook Air in 2015, the first app I downloaded was the Google Chrome app due to its simplicity and responsiveness. As a future educator, I would introduce Google Chrome to my students and make it the main search engine and web browser for my students to use because of all the good features that I have previously mentioned.

Rating: 4.5/5

Google apps has some great tools for students and future educators to use. Some tools within google apps that may be useful to anyone who uses it are Gmail, Blogger, Google Hangouts, and Google Calendar. Gmail is a great tool to use if one would want to email someone something, share something on Google Drive, or instant message someone! Blogger is an app that I have used in high school and it is a great tool for beginners who would want to start a blog or create a website. Gmail and Blogger are very simple tools to use and I feel like anyone could use these tools if they put their mind to it. While introducing Google Chrome to my students, I will also introduce them to Gmail and all the cool apps that Gmail has to offer. Introducing Google Apps to my students will allow them to collaborate on projects using Google Slides, Docs, or Sheets, without having to buy and download Microsoft Office.

Rating: 4/5

LiveBinders is an online tool in which the user can save online resources within an online binder. What is great about LiveBinders is the organization features that it offers. On LiveBinders, the user can label a tab a specific title for the resources that will be inserted into the tab which would make viewing the online binder much easier. Also, users are able to add an introduction to their LiveBinders, which would make viewers understand what the LiveBinders is all about before browsing the resources within the binder. As a future educator, I would use LiveBinder as a tool for my students to use if they needed to access certain powerpoints or view websites that pertain to the lesson. Probably one of the problems I faced with LiveBinders is when I was inserting an image into one of the tabs. Adjusting the size of the picture was a pain because when I made the picture larger, it would not fit the page, but when I made it smaller, the picture would be too hard to view.

 Rating: 5/5

Kahoot is an online tool used to create an online multiple choice game with the subject of one’s choosing. Kahoot can be accessed with a smartphone, laptop, desktop, or a tablet that has internet connection. I was introduced to Kahoot during my Spring 2017 semester at UOG by my Intro to Statistics teacher. She would use Kahoot to review the class before an exam and it would be really fun because the questions she put in the Kahoot really helped me understand the topics for the exam. With Kahoot, the user can also decide whether the participants of the online game play solo or with a team. Kahoot brings a lot of fun to learning while offering a little bit of friendly competition. As a future educator, I highly recommend Kahoot. As a future educator, I would use Kahoot to review my students before an exam, or use it after I teach a lesson in order to assess if they learned something during my lesson.

Rating: 3.5/5

A technology tool I would recommend to current or future teachers is the website called “edmodo”. Edmodo is very similar to Moodle as students are able to post homework, create discussion forums with other students and private messaging is available for students, teachers, and parents. Also, edmodo is free to use! Future and current teachers should use this app because it gives students who do not really participate or speak up in class the chance to share their thoughts on a particular subject matter. Not to mention, students can post their homework online without having to print or write anything down, which helps saves the environment! This website can be useful for teachers could not make it to school on a certain day probably because they were sick or had to miss work for an important reason. Edmodo is a great tool for a teacher to communicate with their students while away from school to keep students up to date on the current lesson, homework, and future tests. There are so many great features edmodo offers, so you should give it a try if you haven’t yet! Since I cannot link edmodo for some reason, here is the URL! https://www.edmodo.com/

Rating: 4/5

Prezi is an online presentation tool similar to Powerpoint and Google Slides. Probably the noticeable differences between Prezi and the previously mentioned presentation tools is that Prezi has better themes and customizable features. Prezi has an online collaboration feature that allows multiple users to work on a presentation at the same time without everyone in the group having to sign into one main account in order to access the presentation. What is also great about Prezi is that one can make their presentation open to the public, which can be a great source of information to anyone who is researching something related to the presentation that was made public. One downfall to Prezi is that it is not as simple to use compared to Powerpoint and Google Slides. While using Prezi for the first time this semester, I had trouble locating the fonts I wanted to use and how to insert a bullet point. I solved these problems I had by researching “How to” videos on Youtube. As a future educator, I would introduce Prezi to my students in order for them to stray away from the good old PowerPoint, as their are many other great presentations tools on the internet besides PowerPoint.

Rating: 4.5/5

Twitch is an online live streaming platform in which the user can broadcast themselves doing anything! Twitch is primarily used by the gamers who want to broadcast their games in order for anyone around the world to see. Twitch is not only used for gaming though, as many other users use Twitch to broadcast themselves doing things in their everyday lives such as eating, playing a sport, or even doing chores. Twitch is like another form of YouTube, but Twitch’s main form of entertainment is through live videos while YouTube uses pre-recorded videos. Future or current teachers can use Twitch’s broadcasting feature in order to teach a class while he/she is away from school. Students would just have to make an account, which is free, and find their teacher’s stream. Once all students are present, the teacher can begin teaching the class! There are so many other great features that Twitch has to offer, so it would be best for you to just try it!