Brush Up on EdTech Before School Starts

Education technology is constantly changing, and it can be overwhelming when considering what tech to use to benefit your classroom instruction. Use Education World's list of resources to get in the loop.

Mobile Apps

One of the cheapest and easiest ways to take advantage of edtech is by using mobile apps. Mobile apps are typically free and if not, only cost a few dollars. They can easily be shared with your classroom across devices and are designed to both make your life as a teacher easier and enhance your students learning.

Here are six mobile apps you should download before heading into the first week of class. 

The Digital Portfolio

As education goes digital, so does the student portfolio. SeeSaw, as described by EdTech blogger Richard Byrne, is one of the best and free edtech tools to look into for the coming school year if you haven't already. 

SeeSaw, which created its second version most recently, allows students to take pictures of physical work and important digital work to create a comprehensive portfolio that is easily sharable with not only you as the teacher, but also with the class. Portfolios can easily become a method collaboration as students can view and comment on the work of others.

Check out SeeSaw 2.0 here. 

Ebooks

Digital books are a great thing to come with the digital age. They're cheaper and require less organizing, that's for sure.

Even the Library of Congress has gotten onboard with electronic learning, providing historical documents for download free of charge through iBooks. With the click of a button, educators can connect students to primary sources on subjects like the history of Political Cartoons and Women's Suffrage. 

There are plenty of additional online resources that provide educators with digital books for online learning. An example of such is the highly rated service, Raz-Kids. Through this service, K-6 educators can engage students with over 400 books that promote boosting student achievement and come with electronic quizzes to measure learning. Check it out here.

Google Virtual Field Trips

Google Expeditions was revealed earlier this year and is a cheap but brilliant way to take students on national and international field trips without ever leaving the classroom.

Using cardboard viewing devices and smart phone devices, Google Expeditions lets teachers connect their students to the lessons by enhancing them with virtual trips.

Find out more about the product and how to get it for your classroom here. 

Raspberry Pi

Another cheap but super useful piece of edtech is Raspberry Pi. For less than $100, educators can use the small computer board that is Raspberry Pi to easily help their students learn computer programming. As more schools integrate computer programming into their subject lists, Raspberry Pi is a great piece of edtech to consider implementing. 

Windows 10

Educators seem to agree that Microsoft's latest operating system upgrade is great for the classroom thanks to a bunch of new, innovative features such as Cortana and Web Note.

All the buzz indicates it's something educators should look into considering getting onto their computers before the new school year. Find out more here. 

Makerspaces

Not necessarily technology in themselves, makerspaces are great thing to consider when thinking about edtech because they represent a great way to host and showcase tech for students to use and create.

If your school or community does not yet have a makerspace, spend the time before school starts up looking at what different educators have done to get students using tech to create. Also, you can always refer to Education World's guide to designing makerspaces. 

Compiled by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

08/10/2015