Appy Tuesday: Voxer

I have to admit when I first downloaded voxer and started to use it with just my family, I wasn't impressed. I thought why do I need this if I want to send them a short message I will just text them. I left the app sitting on my iPhone for a year unused and unloved. Over the summer I joined a professional learning experience "PTcamp" and was reintroduced to "The Vox" man oh man did I quickly start to realize all the potential this once misunderstood app held for me in the classroom and beyond.

What is it...

Voxer is a walkie - talkie like app on steroids. You can hear audio messages right as people speak or wait and get caught up on your messages later.  As well as voice messages you can send text, images, or even share your current location. Groups can be formed to organize those amazing PLN discussions you have going on.

How to use it...

I have started incorporating it right into my classrooms. Parents love it, they can quickly ask a question if they aren't sure what their child is supposed to be working on, or if they just want to check in on their son or daughter. Students have really started to get the hang of being able to ask any question they have pretty much anytime of day. I can listen to their questions and respond in the car hands free, no need to try to email them or text a message. Those quick questions that students think of when they are in homeroom. Honestly I was a little nervous as I initially rolled out "the vox" to my students and parents I was afraid they might abuse it and I would be getting voice messages at all hours of the day and night asking silly random things. While I do get messages throughout the entire day, they have never once abused it, and thanks to the voxer I can listen and respond to their questions when it's convenient for me (my 30 minute ride to work and home everyday).

Outside of the classroom I have found Voxer to be an irreplaceable tool for connecting with other educators. Through my voxer groups I have connected with educators as far across the globe as Australia. We can discuss everything from our differences in our classrooms to our differences in our culture. I have connected more with other educators outside my district in my 6 months of really using voxer than in my six years of prior teaching.

How to get started...

Download Voxer, have your students and parents download it as well (I created a short tutorial for my parents that is included on my class homepage) share your voxer handle with them and get started "voxing"!

Interested in connecting with me on voxer? You can contact me at cnidli834

Appy Monday: Multiplication!! and Division!!

Just wanted to take a quick minute to share two apps that I used in my classroom this week. One of the things that I notice each and every year with my seventh graders is that they seem to have forgotten how to do long division and two step multiplication. I always struggle with the fact that these are two time consuming activities that is usually practiced through worksheets Ugh! I hate worksheets!!

I am always on the look out for new and innovate apps, but sometimes it is just a good old basic app that is exactly what I need! That was the case with these two apps.

 

We used Multiplication!! and Divison!! this past Friday when, after a long first week, the students needed a little down time.   I really wanted to continue to work on basic operations in a fun environment. I loved that I could customize each students settings to enhance their difficulty or take it back down to the very basics of multiplication and division.

The apps were engaging enough to keep the students attention while still working through some of the mundane aspects of basic math. It was such a great way to practice, We turned the lights off, played some soothing sounds and just relaxed while we practiced multiplication and division.  I really don't think my students even realized they were doing math, to them it just seemed like play.

"Appy" Monday: TouchCast

"Appy" Monday everyone. I am looking forward to a short week here on the farm. We will be heading to the lake this weekend to celebrate the Fourth of July with family but in the mean time I wanted to share one of my all time favorite apps to use in the flipped classroom.

I stumbled upon Touchcast last year and immediately fell in love. I was getting ready to go on maternity leave and needed a way to show my students how to set things up when I was gone (I was planning on being out the first nine weeks of the year) I wanted my classroom to run smoothly upon my return and touch cast gave me the ability to teach as if I was right in the room with them. Moving from writing on the chalkboard, to polling the audience, including a youtube video, and even surfing the web all from within my touchcast video. It is fantastic!!

Our students are used to receiving information quickly and multiple ways. They are multi-tasking experts, and they want their information fast. Touchcast allows for that. It also gives you the ability to include social media feeds, and quick check questions.

Currently I have been using this app to create videos for my students in my flipped classroom. Not all of my videos are Touchcast videos but I feel it is a great tool for when I need to incorporate multiply tools.

I plan on encouraging my students to use Touchast as they create their own projects and assignments. I also want to start using it to help provide information to parents and other members of our community. I foresee it being a wonderful tool to really help bridge the gap between the parent/ school partnership.

I truly feel that Touchast is allowing me to create more meaningful and engaging content for my students. It is giving that instant feedback that they need to know if they are on the right track with something of maybe need to revisit it. I also am really looking forward to extending my use to communicate outside my classroom environment. There is a fantastic PDF that can be used to find out more about Touchcast in Education or to share with your colleagues. Feel free to leave any comments below if you have used Touchcast or would like more information about how I use it in my class.