Top 10 Teacher Tools List

Here’s my top ten tools list and how I use them.  They’re in no particular order.

1. Google Documents – The ultimate collaboration tool for your PLN and your learners
2. Twitter – Widen and enhance your PLN circle with this micro-blogging tool.  Superb tool for connecting with fellow educators.
3. Diigo – Social bookmarking, highlighting, annotating, and research tool.  Use with learners or use with your PLN
4. Bit.ly – Powerful URL shortener
5. VoiceThread – Use it to enhanced/develop oral language skills, practice foreign languages, and useful for students with limited written output or LA students
6. Skype – Connect your learners with professionals from around the globe, collaborate with classrooms across the nation, and interact with authors
7. Wallwisher – Virtual sticky-note tool.  Use it as a formative assessment tool during a break
8. Podomatic – Powerful and free podcast hosting tool
9. WordPress – Powerful blogging tool which can be used as a reflection tool. Excellent for math journals
10. Google Reader – Fantastic RSS feed-reader.  Let Google Reader do the work for you.  No longer need to spend time visiting all your favourite websites and blogs.  Google Reader brings them to you to read

Think a tool should have made the top 10?  Let me know your thoughts.

100% Engagement Using Wallwisher

After watching the Olympics on CTV I was thoroughly impressed with their segments on athlete’s ‘Difference Makers.’ These segments delved into the lives of Canadian athletes to discover the people behind the scenes who drive them to success and help athletes reach their lofty goals.

I mirrored CTV’s  ‘Difference Makers’ but tailored it to my learners.  I lead them to think about significant people in their lives who have help them become the wonderful people they are today.

This post talks about just one of the stages in this lesson.  Most of my learners hadn’t seen any of the ‘Difference Makers’ clips so I decided to write the statement ‘Difference Makers’ on the board and asked student to discuss its meaning in partners.  Normally I ask my learners to write their thoughts, ideas, or comments to the topic on sheets of large paper.  Often with mixed results.  However on this occasion I thought I’d try www.wallwisher.com.  I created a wallwisher page free of charge, named it difference makers, and created the conditions for students to post virtual sticky notes on a virtual classroom-board.  During the time my learners were posting I observed 100% engagement in the activity.  Had this been with pen and paper I doubt I would have experience the same kind of results.  You could argue that perhaps they were all engaged because it was new to them.  I guess only time will tell.

What I like most about wallwisher is that it is customizable and allows the creator of the page to approve stickies before they appear on the wall.  This