Five tools to promote Educator and Student Collaboration

In today’s digital learning environment, technology is a valuable tool to complement good instructional strategies. However, students still need to be taught how to use technology effectively and how to be good digital citizens. To better meet these goals, we made the switch two years ago from a 1:1 iPad program to a 1:1 Macbook Air program, a transition that required extensive training and support for our faculty and staff.

In addition to supporting teachers with their new devices, I help identify their technology needs, suggest resources, and facilitate implementation. When we select technology resources, we’re looking for tools that solve particular challenges we are facing. Specifically, we choose ones that support classroom learning, help manage time-consuming tasks, and promote collaboration and transparency. With these goals in mind, here are some of our favorites:?

Chalk

We started using?Chalk ?four years ago to facilitate lesson planning. Previously, the school was not using any online lesson planning tool; most everything was still on paper and not readily accessible. Chalk allows us to create digital lesson plans that are aligned with standards. Teachers can easily view lessons created by other members of their professional learning communities (PLCs) and collaborate in real-time. Meanwhile, department chairs and other administrators can pop in to review a lesson plan before any teacher observations to ensure it matches what’s happening in the classroom. Chalk also offers live support, which we used periodically throughout the first couple of years until we felt we could train teachers on our own, and we continue to take advantage of the tech support chat feature when needed.?

Canvas

We leverage?Canvas , our learning management system (LMS), to streamline communication for both our classes and our extracurriculars. Each grade level also has its own Canvas page for grade-level business, calendars, and communications. Canvas allows teachers, club moderators, and even club officers to post announcements, files, and assignments as well as to conduct surveys and quizzes. Work can be submitted and graded in the system, and online discussion boards play a major role in many classes. Teachers can use the system to email large groups, and the Canvas Calendar keeps everyone informed of what’s coming up and even maintains a to-do list. It’s not surprising that a common refrain we hear around campus is, “It’s on Canvas.”

Quizizz

Our teachers often use?Quizizz ?to help students reinforce their learning and prepare for upcoming assessments. This tool allows for a self-paced multiple-choice review and helps students focus on the areas where they need the most support. They can review their commonly missed questions and take multiple practice quizzes leading up to the official in-class quiz or test. Students enjoy the memes that accompany feedback on their answers – Quizizz includes a bank of appropriate memes, and teachers can also add their own.

Gimkit

A favorite among students is?Gimkit . Developed by a high school student, this app allows students to earn in-game cash by answering questions correctly. They can use this “money” to purchase power-ups, insurance, and other fun items that they can use in the game. Students can collaborate by contributing their own questions to the “kit.” Periodically, there are special modes available that make Gimkit even more enjoyable. Students in my class played Humans vs. Zombies during Halloween, and later, we tried out Thanos Mode, inspired by Marvel Comics. By fostering friendly competition, this tool facilitates a targeted review of the material, heightens engagement and creates a game show-type environment that motivates students.

Textivate

In our world language classes, we’re using?Textivate , a tool that creates numerous games for students based on designated excerpts of text. We use it to create a whole sequence of activities, including gamified vocabulary review, to enhance the close study of the text. Challenges are open for a designated amount of time and students earn points by playing whichever games they choose. The student with the most points at the end of the Challenge is the champion.??