Technology is capable of more than improving productivity at work and enhancing global commerce – it’s a powerful tool to help teachers engage their students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, over 90% of classrooms are equipped with computers and/or internet access. As technology becomes more accessible and mobile, teachers are using it to breathe life into the learning process by making it fun and interactive.
Using Technology in the Classroom: 10 Innovative Ideas
From apps to handheld devices, teachers are using technology to create a memorable learning environment that encourages collaboration and conversation. Here are 10 unique ways you can use technology to transform learning:
Digital challenges.Nothing is more exhilarating for a student than the feeling of being the first to find the correct answer. Some teachers are using technology to create digital scavenger hunts, which get students excited about learning new information while perfecting online search skills. Begin a lesson with a digital challenge to set the pace for an inspired learning experience and watch student engagement soar.
Class blogs and forums. Technology took classroom communication to a new level. Now, teachers can create class blogs or forums using free tools, like WordPress.com and Blogger, to publish student work. By encouraging comments and posting class news, teachers use familiar social media tactics to create education-focused communities and engage their students in academic discussions.
Take learning outside. Technology-based innovation of the learning process doesn’t only apply to in-class projects. In fact, schools equipped with a wireless internet connection allow teachers to take the classroom outside. Even without a wireless connection, mobile devices pre-loaded with educational apps can enhance the learning process outside the classroom, especially for science classes.
Experience art and music interactively. Whether you’re discussing Beethoven or Michelangelo, sometimes words don’t effectively convey the message. Between YouTube and mobile apps offering on-demand media, giving students the opportunity to experience the sounds of classical greats and admire the detail in a masterpiece is easier than ever before.
Inspire healthy competition. With a variety of classroom management apps available, teachers can create virtual leaderboards, merits, and award systems accessible on any device. Because students are able to access and view their progress with peers, healthy competition is inspired while providing motivation to learn.
Partner with other classrooms. When attempting to partner with other classrooms or invite guest speakers, teachers no longer have to spend additional time working out the logistics. Whether using a low cost communication tool, like Skype, or implementing a classroom-specific collaboration tool, educators are using technology to reach across physical walls and keep the classroom interesting.
Get parents involved. While parents are working and children are in school, many moments throughout the day are not communicated to parents. From awards received to behavioral feedback, technology is simplifying communication between parents and teachers. As a bonus, digital classroom management tools reduce time spent completing paperwork and writing notes to parents.
Track progress and goals.Viewing progress towards a goal is a good way to motivate students, identify concerns, and reward excellence. Online classroom management apps with syncing technology make goal tracking simple, transparent, and fast. Students and parents are able to view progress on classroom and student-specific goals.
Encourage feedback from students. Survey and poll tools, such as Poll Everywhere, provide teachers with a quick, easy, and real-time method of obtaining student feedback. Students may respond to a poll question from class, their mobile phone, or any computer and teachers are able to review responses in real time.
Keep students organized. As students graduate to higher levels of education, staying organized is paramount. Technology is making it easier for teachers to impart responsible study habits and organizational skills through the use of digital notebooks and student organizers. Accessible on any device, online notebooks help students keep track of subject-specific notes, record lectures, keep images, and archive online research.
Low Cost and Free Ways to Incorporate Technology
Between budgetary concerns and logistics, incorporating technology into the classroom can seem like an impossible task. Fortunately, there are numerous free and low cost options for teachers that help bring lessons to life:
Google Classroom. Accessible on any device, Google Classroom is free, robust, and offers multiple classroom-specific features. Many time consuming tasks, such as providing custom feedback and responding to student questions, are simplified by using Google Classroom. From assigning projects and reviewing submissions to grading homework and discouraging academic dishonesty, Google Classroom efficiently digitizes classroom essentials.
Science360 for iPad. Developed by the National Science Foundation, Science360 is a free app providing students and teachers with a vast library of images, audio files, and video covering numerous scientific topics. Content found in Science360 is published by scientists and researchers to enhance classroom learning. Using this app encourages students to remain informed about current science events.
Likened to a social network for classrooms, Schoology is a learning management system that streamlines communication, organization, and collaboration. For students, Schoology provides a one-stop shop for assignments, course materials, and supplemental information while simplifying communication with the instructor. Teachers benefit from administrative functions, like the ability to create custom web pages and review class statistics, which save time and resources.
Aiming to replace paper-filled 3-ring binders, LiveBinders is an online note taking and storage tool. While itsuse for students in the classroom is obvious, LiveBinders is also helpful for presenting parents with course materials and student reports, organizing educational tools and research, and keeping class-specific information in one easily accessible location.
Featuring the ability to instantly sync and store information, Evernote offers robust capabilities and a generous storage allotment. Save, share, and sort information related to specific subjects. Users can take and save pictures, create audio recordings, and store media files in Evernote, which keeps important information in one place.
Liven Up Your Classroom with Technology
With so many tools to bring technology into the classroom, your options for customizing the learning process in your classroom are endless. Whether you need to help students get motivated about a “boring” subject or want to inspire collaboration in your class, use technology to add a twist to traditional education.
Working for Teachers
While you’re working hard to educate future generations, California Casualty is working hard for you. Offering auto insurance specifically for teachers, our company is dedicated to making your morning commute worry-free. Contact us today to learn more.
Here are some great pictures of our newest winner of the School Lounge Makeover, Colleen Leslie from Apshawa Elementary School in West Milford, New Jersey.
Like the commitment of Elizabeth Thompson, who may have said it best, “The really good teachers are the ones you remember; they stick with you all your life.” The Oakdale, California teacher is the most recent winner of a California Casualty $2,500 Academic Award. She added, “I teach because I want to make a difference in each child’s life. [Thanks to California Casualty] I can now do things that I couldn’t do before.”
Elizabeth, a second generation educator, is passionate about finding new ways to enrich and stimulate her students who have learning challenges.
We realize that all too often educators are the unsung heroes working hard to make sure our children excel. They give their time, encouragement, and frequently their own funds to make sure their students learn and achieve. Their reward is the satisfaction that they made a difference in a child’s life.
While we might remember a favorite teacher that motivated us, few of them get the public accolades they deserve. That’s why California Casualty has teamed up with the California Department of Education (CDE) as the Presenting Sponsor of the 2015 School Recognition Program that honors educators who inspire students to succeed, recognizes schools that continually show high achievement and celebrates the support staff that provides the backbone for quality education. California Casualty’s support makes possible the following California School Recognition Programs:
California Gold Ribbon Schools – honoring exemplary public schools which demonstrate significant gains in narrowing the achievement gap
Teacher of the Year – recognizing exemplary teachers and their contribution to quality education
Classified School Employee of the Year – highlighting those who symbolize the profession’s commitment to education
California Green Ribbon School Awards – recognizing schools that accomplish great things in the areas of sustainability and health
California Blue Ribbon Schools – celebrating schools that promote and support the improvement of education
With a relationship that spans more than 63 years, we understand that great teachers often need help to accomplish great things. They get support from fellow educators, encouraging leaders and schools that go outside the box with new ideas, new technology and thinking that allows instructors to do what they do best; stimulate young minds to reach to new heights.
California Casualty has a commitment to educators like Elizabeth. We do more than provide the CTA Auto and Home Insurance Program, we give back to the communities we serve in meaningful ways that have real impact on their lives. These include the $2,500 California Casualty Academic Award, that helps offset the money that educators spend of their own funds for classroom supplies and equipment; the California Casualty Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grants, given to public high schools in California that demonstrate the greatest need for their sporting programs; and the Impact Teen Drivers “Create Real Impact” contest, that awards students and schools that design the best interactive messages to prevent distracted and reckless driving – the number one killer of teens today.
Teachers and support staff do make a difference. They are committed to our children and that’s why the CDE’s School Recognition Program is so important, and why California Casualty is proud to be a sponsor.
$2,500 can go a long way, especially for educators. It’s no secret that teachers spend out-of-pocket money for their students; what might surprise many is how much. A recent study from the National School Supply and Equipment Association found 99 percent of instructors used an average of $500 of their own money to equip their classrooms. However, many educators report putting out much more than that for school necessities, with the amounts closer to $1,000 to $2,000 each year.
There are many great resources to help classroom instructors stretch their budget for classroom supplies. Edutopia compiled grassroots tips and links from educators around the nation on getting free supplies and organizations that help teachers get the goods they need. They include:
Ohio kindergarten teacher Holly Thomas is the most recent recipient. Holly says she routinely spends between $1,000 and $1,500 per year on her classroom and students. The grant has enabled her to buy bins and containers for the 500 children’s books and other materials she has accumulated in her 6 years as a teacher. She is also using her California Casualty Academic Award to augment the science center she has created in her classroom and will use some of the funds to build six garden boxes for her students to plant and enjoy. Holly is teaming up with the nonprofit ToledoGrows for the project.
Holly, who is paying off student loans and covering tuition for her Master’s degree in Instruction and Curriculum, says having extra resources to purchase classroom needs as they arise has taken a lot of pressure off her finances and added to her well-being.
“We are repeatedly told we have to do more with less. With what we are expected to accomplish, with the resources available and the demands being put on us; my job is becoming more and more stressful. I try very hard to remind myself daily that I am molding the lives of five and six year olds”
Holly, urges instructors to take advantage of grant programs like the California Casualty Academic Award. She can now fund new ideas to help inspire her students. “It feels good to be supported by such amazing organizations as the NEA and California Casualty,” she said.
Elaine Tam was the recipient of the California Casualty Academic Award in August 2013. Elaine is a California high school teacher who applied the grant towards a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Forty eight students were able to tour the aquarium and enjoy the beautiful coastline in the area; many of them had never been to the ocean before. Elaine said, “As always, recognizing educators isn’t done nearly enough in society so this award is undoubtedly welcome.” She too urges educators to take a moment and apply.
Whether your need is for new technology, electronic tablets or traditional supplies of books, snacks, pencils and paper, do what Elaine and Holly did and let California Casualty pick up the tab with the $2,500 Academic Award. There are restrictions and official rules and the application can be found at www.calcasacademicaward.com.
We understand that the day-to-day life of a teacher can be more difficult than many imagine. Hopefully, this humorous take on health and fitness for teachers will brighten your day!
It’s not easy to be a dedicated teacher and keep off those unwanted pounds. Here are 5 (satirical) tips on health and fitness for the busy educator!
1. Consume fewer calories than you burn:
Skip breakfast – this one should be pretty easy right? You have to get up at 5 a.m. and out the door at 5:30, so breakfast is usually just a longing glance at the fridge as you rush out. You can’t be late for the student’s arrival – plus, there are still papers to grade because you didn’t have them all finished at 11pm last night!
Since you have anywhere from 2-5 minutes for a leisurely lunch, you should try to stick with things that don’t need refrigeration and can be consumed through a straw.
Increased student/teacher ratios have undiscovered calorie-burning benefits! As you walk around to 30 or 40 desks to check progress and answer questions, think of the extra mileage you’re putting in!
2. Incorporate resistance training:
Resistance is part of the job! You regularly push back against those who aren’t focused on your students’ learning. You butt heads and lift up your students. You pretty much have resistance training down. Amplify the effect by trying to flex your abs during parent teacher conferences.
3. Try high intensity cardio:
You’re 50 yards from a bathroom, and you have 45 seconds before class starts. The full out sprint there and back should get your heart rate into the fat-burning zone! Try to repeat more than once a day.
4. Cut the carbs:
Refined carbohydrates and sugar cause your blood sugar to spike, leaving you groggy, unfocused, and grumpy. Why should you get to act like your students!?!? Instead, eat lots of veggies and be the only person in the room who isn’t napping.
5. Get plenty of rest.
Sleeping in isn’t an option, so the best you can do is get to bed early. As early as you can after staying late at school, caring for your family, grading papers, and fielding “emergency” parent emails……you know what? Forget it – just book a hotel room for the two weeks out of the summer you’re not working and try to sleep that entire time. Many hotel chains offer teacher discounts, and don’t forget to hang out the do-not-disturb sign!
**Bonus Tip!
Hydration is important. You get extra credit for this, as it really ramps up your high intensity sprints to the bathroom!
We hope these tips made you chuckle. At California Casualty, we appreciate how difficult it can be for teachers, which is why we created our Academic Award. You can win $2,500 for your classroom, just click here to enter.
The California Casualty Academic Award was created to help defray costs that educators pay for classrooms and other instructional materials. A recent survey found public school teachers spent $1.6 billion of their own money on classroom supplies and gear in the 2012-2013 school year, with each teacher averaging $500 of their personal money.
The latest California Casualty Academic Award winner is California teacher Michelle Ruxton, who received her Academic Award check Thursday, January 16, 2014. Her name was randomly selected from more than 15,000 entries from across the nation.
Ms. Ruxton is in her second year at John Gill Elementary School, in Redwood City, California, where she teaches 5th grade. She says she will use the money to invest in a Smart Board projection system to enhance the education experience of her students by integrating lessons with fun and engaging multi-sensory curriculum.
Ruxton says she has spent more money than she cares to admit on supplies for her students and classroom. “Thank you for the award! My class and I are ecstatic,” she said.
Previous Academic Award winner, Atwater, California, high school teacher Elaine Tam, is using her California Casualty Academic Award money to fund a bus trip to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium and for school room supplies. Heidi Fortney, kindergarten teacher in Sycamore, Ohio, bought iPads for her students to use.
“California Casualty, which has 63 years of ties to public education, wants to help educators in their tireless work to educate our children. This is just one small way we can say ‘thank you’ for the dedication and sacrifice made daily on the job”, said Vice President Mike McCormick.
Entries are now being taken for the next Academic Award contest, with the winner announced April, 2014. Eligibility requires membership in the AEA, CTA, NEA (National Education Association), or referred by a current member of the state NEA affiliate or one of our other participating educator associations including: ACSA, CASE, COSA, KASA, NASA, UAESP or UASSP. Complete rules and information can be found at www.calcasacademicaward.com.
Nothing is more exhilarating for a student than the feeling of being the first to find the correct answer. Some teachers are using technology to create digital scavenger hunts, which get students excited about learning new information while perfecting online search skills. Begin a lesson with a digital challenge to set the pace for an inspired learning experience and watch student engagement soar.
Technology took classroom communication to a new level. Now, teachers can create class blogs or forums using free tools, like WordPress.com and Blogger, to publish student work. By encouraging comments and posting class news, teachers use familiar social media tactics to create education-focused communities and engage their students in academic discussions.
