The inclusion of Chromebooks and iPads in classrooms creates many new opportunities to improve the quality of education provided. The number of apps is increasing greatly every day and many of these have utility in the educational field. The following blog post ties some of these apps to instructional strategies that I can use in my future classroom.
The apps available allow the greatest amount of communication and group productivity. Apps such as Exam Time and ClassDojo allow direct communication between teachers and students, as well as teachers and parents. The sharing of information, learning materials and thoughts and opinions back and forth can create the best possible situation for all parties involved. An example could be posting online flash cards and allowing parents to directly see what the students are working on.
Google Docs and GroupMe instant communication between students which is helpful when working on assignments. This allows the students to be involved in group work and being able to hold each other accountable by seeing what the other members have done as they complete work. An example of its practical use is making students do a project on diseases or drugs, the groups can work on their project in class or out while being able to see all the work that the other members are putting in.
Socrative Teacher app allows teachers to take attendance, give quizzes and have them instantly graded on their Chromebook. This would fit in to PE and Health courses by making the quiz and activity aspects of the class much more organized and time efficient way, as well as the quick attendance taking.
CourseNotes allows students to take notes and record audio on their Apple devices. It also allows the students to stay organized by keeping the information separated by subject. This is good for Health classes because it allows students who learn better through listening than looking and reading the ability to match the audio recording to the notes to give a more full learning experience.
