Blog Post #8

For this post, we were asked to find 21st Century Learning and Communicating Tools. When I read this I thought, "But we've already learned about so much, so what more could be out there?" Well after doing some research, I found numerous great tools and sites to help me in my future endeavors as an educator. I found so many sites that it was a bit overwhelming. Education and technology basically go hand-in-hand these days so I think it's important for teachers to have a variety of tools to work with.

The first learning tool that I wanted to mention is known as Prezi. Prezi is a website that allows you to design and create presentation software in a very neat, modern way. This reminds me a lot of a regular PowerPoint presentation, but it's much cooler (I'm sure your students will think so too). With Prezi, teachers can make presentation slideshows that are much more memorable and engaging. As for the students, this would be a great tool when working on projects. Prezi is fun, easy, and captivating.

I love the idea of having students blog. I think it's great for students because it teaches them so much and gives them the opportunity to go back and look at their work. With that being said, another great learning tool I found is called Edublogs. Edublog is a lot like Blogger, except it's much more safe and secure because it is strictly used for educational purposes. The teachers have complete control over privacy, users, and content. Edublogs is so versatile and easy to use. There is so much that you can do through Edublogs such as, blogging, facilitating discussions, posting videos, etc. It seems like a great tool that would be very beneficial to teachers and students.

In addition, I found an excellent online educational tool known as Knewton. This site personalizes online learning content for each student according to his or her needs. Knewton focuses on the subjects of reading, math, and science, which typically prove to be more of a challenge for students. Right now, Knewton works with only institutions, learning companies, and publishers, but they are working on a service that will allow parents, teachers, and students to build their own adaptive learning experiences. I know that this tool may not be as helpful right now since they are still working on a way for Knewton to work directly with teachers and students, but the idea is brilliant. As a future educator, I think it's important to recognize the needs and learning levels of each student and respond to them accordingly. Knewton allows you to do just that. I will keep my eye on the look out for their new service coming soon because I love this idea.

Lastly, I tool I found that could be useful for just teachers is called Planboard. One good characteristic of every teacher should be that they are organized. Everything will run a lot more smoothly in the classroom if there is some organization, and that is why I like the idea of Planboard. It is an online tool designed just for teachers that allows you to organize your lesson plans. Teachers can plan their classes, track standards, and collaborate worldwide with other teachers. Having a binder and files full of lessons is great, but the paperless way is much more neat in my opinion. Also, you would always have your lesson plans right there at your fingertips on your laptop or smartphone.

As you can see, all of these tools would be great to use in the classroom. I found many more ideas but sadly, I can't share them all with you. If you want to check out an extensive list, click on this link: Edudemic.