Technology Tips for Use in the Primary Classroom
Presented by Theresa Tabar, 1st Grade HE
[email protected]
“My students’ job is to do better than me.”
“Be a coach, coaches don’t play for the players.”
● Use your Scholastic bonus points (or Donor’s Choose) to purchase technology,
with approval of the district.
● Have PTA purchase one book per child, on your Scholastic account,so that you
get the bonus points.
● Audacity (audio editing software)
● How to use an older PC, use it as a listening center for read alouds, use
headphones, can also use for DVDs, audio files, and to send to websites.
● Don’t forget about the hub that goes with listening centers and cassette players.
● Use a temperature gage with a laser pointer, the one that is from Costco or
Harbor Freight, let students use, they will love it!
● Put a video on, mute the sound, ask the class to tell you what they think is
happening (predicting, context clues, etc)
● For technology centers, assign children a day of the week and then write each
name on a clothespin, students get to use their clothespin to choose which
station they go to first, but they will get to visit all of the stations. You can use a
piece of binder paper to hold the pins, or write the names on the binder paper.
● Photostory3 (same as iMovie), holds up to 310 images, easy to use. One tip: if a
parent asks for a copy, you must take out the music to avoid breaking copyright
and you also need to get a photo consent as well from the parents. You can
email the finished movie.
● Put a numbered class list next to where you pass out chromebooks, so you will
always know who gets which number, and so that you can consistently give the
same child the same chromebook.
● Learn how to make a QR code: The QR Code Generator, QR Maker
● Have the QR code with your contact info posted at Open House for parents to
scan.
● You can also use QR codes to have kids go to websites, even kindergarteners!
● Video students reading aloud, you can replay later to see if they are tracking,
reading left to right, and see which words they are struggling with.
● Video students response to the question “What do you like about school?”
beginning, middle, and end of year.
● You can send videos to Speech Pathologist and he/she can actually listen to the
child’s speech and let you know if you need to make a recommendation.
ELL
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Use of these strategies helps your ELL students have visual representations of concepts
and gets them motivated to learn.
The idea of “working in tandem” was emphasized in regards to informational text,
academic vocabulary, etc.
Be sure those students get access to grade level content, in the grade they are in, not a
lower grade.
http://ranchoeld.blogspot.com/ to see the Turtle Model, that represents how CCSS and
ELD standards are interdependent, and gives an in depth explanation. (This is also in
the front of the Wonders TE, page 2 in the first grade Unit 1 TE).
Helpful Apps
https://www.pinterest.com/rockourworld/ (Follow "Carol Anne McGuire", she has a "Tech ED", “Kinder Apps”, “Favorite Apps”, and also an "Augmented Reality" board)
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/30469734951657944/ (Takes you to a pin of 20 Elementary Websites, also from Carol Anne McGuire)
A lot of these apps on the above mentioned apps are for iPads, but there are still some great things on the list that are available through Google Play/Play Store, worth checking out.
Websites/Bloggers to Explore/Follow
Tip: Bookmark your netbooks so that when your class uses them, the sites they will need are already there for them (I borrowed some fifth graders to do this for me, they were my tech support last year).
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Prodigygame.com
Mobymax.com
Remind.com (to text parents, they don’t have your cell, can also read conversations from
the website)
Classdojo.com
GoNoodle.com (set up before class starts, so you can log in quickly, kids LOVE it!)
Scholastic News has an online component. Videos, games, etc. *Must have a paid
subscription
Screen Actors Guild (http://www.storylineonline.net/)
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Teacherspayteachers.com (for teachers, supplemental materials)
Jodi Southard: Fun in First on Facebook or http://www.funinfirst.com
Jessica Travis: Wild About Firsties on Facebook or http://wildaboutfirsties.blogspot.com/
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Colar Mix/Quiver
http://quivervision.com/
helpful website: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/colar‐mix/
● From the quiver website, scroll down to get pages you can print, color, then use the app in a phone, tablet, or iPad to make the colored image come to life.
● See the helpful website for tips about coloring and positioning of how you scan the image. A red screen shows up on the image when you are aligning the image in the box, then changes to blue, then green, then the image comes to life.