Blog Assignment 14

Jose Picardo - Box of Tricks

Jose Picardo's educational blog, Box of Tricks, had many posts all about using technology in the classroom. There was one talking about iPads, another on Tripico, even one on a Voki Classroom. The only technology listed on there that I was familiar with was the iPad. So I looked up the others after finishing the posts on them and found that Triptico is an interactive resource application that teachers can use on their SMARTBoard, or as they're called in the post, Interactive white boards. Then I found that Voki is a free avatar service. It lets you create them, put your own voice with it and then post it to any profile you wish including social networks websites, and blogs. The classroom version of it lets teachers manage their classes and students as well as automatically make lesson plans. Both of these tools are something that I will be keeping in mind when I am in a classroom.
The long list of resources we had to look at included things like photo editing sites, sites to make powerpoints, sites to build your own flash games along with many other things. I made sure to bookmart that page to my browser as well as put it on my Symbaloo webmix. I am certain that I will use many of the resources listed on it in the future.
Finally we had to watch his video Top Ten Tips For Using Technology In The Classroom. In it he made sure to mention things such as podcasts, wikis, blogs, music and interactive exercises as well as a few other things. He made sure to give a brief reason why they are useful in his classroom. His final reason was the gadgets that your students have and are familiar with. If they already know a lot about it then they will find it easier to use. I think that they are a very good idea to use while teaching.