Havin Fun with Elmo

The Elmo Document camera has been a great help in the classroom. Not only is it space efficient, but it has more features than the other visualizer that I was using previously. The ability to pause frames and manipulate them without the students seeing is a big help when students need time to work independently before reviewing an assignment. I also have grown accustomed to the zoom function. The students are more involved when you get a close up image of an object and then view it from a different perspective.

In addition to me enjoying the Elmo, the students in my class really enjoy using the Elmo. Students feel really empowered and in control when they can show what they have learned to the whole class while demonstrating proficient use of the Elmo.

New Training???

It has been over a month since our last training. I am getting a little anxious. And we have MSA in a couple of weeks, which means that we may not be trained on the next piece of equipment until the end of March. Yeah I know, I will have to use what I have until then.

Tech Tip 2/23/09

www.mathway.com

Solve math problems using this site. Great for parents, teachers and students.

Tech Tip 2/16/09

www.pizap.com

Pizap is a free photp editor that lets people easily create wacky images with their digital pictures.

Technology with Small Group Instructoin

Today I used Orchard Software with my small mathematics group of eight students. The software allows you to customize lessons to specific skills and concepts. Since the students were working on multiplication, there was an interactive tutorial on two digit x two digit. Following the tutorial, students had the opportunity to solve problems independently. If students were experiencing difficulties, the software made automatic suggestions/hint, and adjusted the level of the problems.

Tech Tip 2/2/09

www.bibme.org

A free website that allows you to search from a database to find a specific source of reference.