{"id":1236,"date":"2014-10-13T06:29:51","date_gmt":"2014-10-13T13:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.rsed.org\/?p=1236"},"modified":"2017-12-17T04:51:59","modified_gmt":"2017-12-17T04:51:59","slug":"three-ways-to-leverage-tech-in-your-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipschools.org\/en\/latest-news\/blog\/three-ways-to-leverage-tech-in-your-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Ways to Leverage Tech in Your Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

When looking around, you see that nearly every part of our daily lives is becoming (or is already) digitized. The digital age has shifted how we communicate, find information and experience entertainment. But it doesn\u2019t stop there. Education, as a field that needs to stay on its toes, is being revolutionized with the use of technology as well.\u00a0A great teacher is always key to a great classroom. However, with the right tools and proper systems, the strategic use of technology in the classroom can both increase teacher effectiveness and enhance student learning and engagement.<\/p>\n

In this periodic column, I will share some tech practices I\u2019ve implemented in my own classroom, both related to tools for teachers as well as tools for the classroom. Today, I share three easy ways to start leveraging technology in your classroom tomorrow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

1) GOOGLE CLASSROOM:\u00a0<\/strong>The solution for document processing in the classroom<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"gclassroom\"Google Classroom<\/a> allows teachers to easily create assignments for students with Google Docs attached. And that\u2019s not all it does – Classroom will create a copy for each student from a template and automatically sharing access with teachers, taking a process that used to take hours and reducing it to about ten minutes. This tool thereby opens countless doors for class projects like essays, slideshows, creating polls and more.<\/p>\n

When students are ready to submit their assignment, they simply press \u201cTurn In,\u201d and the assignment is updated on your dashboard as submitted and ready for grading. Teachers can then add comments and suggested edits, and even return the document to students for revision. With this integration of Google Drive, the entire writing process can live completely online.<\/p>\n

Make it Happen<\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. Go to classroom.google.com<\/a> and sign up for a FREE teacher account.<\/li>\n
  2. Make sure each of your students has their own Google Account, and invite them to your class.<\/li>\n
  3. To make an assignment, create a template (Google Doc, Google Slides, etc.) and add it as an attachment on the teacher dashboard. Here, you can make it view only, editable to the entire class, or make a copy for each student with automatic naming.<\/li>\n
  4. Get students signed on, and the writing process begins!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=K26iyyQMp_g?rel=0]<\/p>\n

    2) REMIND:\u00a0Keeping parents in the loop with<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

    \"remind\"Remind<\/a> is the tool that you\u2019ve been looking for to share information with all of your students\u2019 parents in a quick, easy manner. Rather than sending individual text messages for homework updates or making calls home for every single reminder about school events, Remind allows you to send one quick message that goes to every registered phone number, whether it\u2019s attached to a smartphone or not. Not to be confused with the regular check ins with parents in-person or over the phone, Remind\u2019s messages are 1-way, meaning parents cannot send any messages back, and you don\u2019t end up having an overwhelming group chat over the next parent-teacher meeting. You can even schedule messages to be sent ahead of time, so you can make sure that your students\u2019 parents get the information they need to ensure their children can be successful at school.<\/p>\n

    Make it Happen<\/h4>\n
      \n
    1. Go to\u00a0remind.com<\/a> and sign up for a FREE teacher account. Pro Tip: Use Google to streamline your login processes!<\/li>\n
    2. Create a new class or multiple new classes, if you\u2019ll need to send out different reminders for different classes. Keep in mind that you\u2019ll also be able to easily select parents within each class to message separately from the entire groups.<\/li>\n
    3. Get parents signed up through one of two ways:\n