3rd Grade Tech Tools
Tech is everywhere. It’s at our fingertips, literally. We can be driven by technology, and we can even wear it. There are so many platforms out there, and as teachers, it’s our job to prepare students for this world and the next. Using technology in the classroom is no longer an option, it's required to effectively prepare our students for the future.
I finished college seven years ago and have been teaching at Saint Monica Catholic School in South Philadelphia for six years. I thought I knew it all before I attended the Connelly Summer Tech Academy. I had every social media account, and I had plenty of apps on my computer and iPad. That’s all you need right? It turns out there was a certain skill set I was lacking, and that was incorporating technology into as many lessons as I could. After attending four of the tech summer academy sessions, I have incorporated many new programs into my lessons. Here are some of the apps and programs that I use on a regular basis in my 3rd grade classroom.
I finished college seven years ago and have been teaching at Saint Monica Catholic School in South Philadelphia for six years. I thought I knew it all before I attended the Connelly Summer Tech Academy. I had every social media account, and I had plenty of apps on my computer and iPad. That’s all you need right? It turns out there was a certain skill set I was lacking, and that was incorporating technology into as many lessons as I could. After attending four of the tech summer academy sessions, I have incorporated many new programs into my lessons. Here are some of the apps and programs that I use on a regular basis in my 3rd grade classroom.
For class management I use ClassDojo. This app assists teachers in building a meaningful classroom community through positive encouragement for students to achieve set goals. My 3rd grade students receive points on a daily basis for things like having their homework done, being kind to others, completing their classroom job, trying their best, being a team player, showing respect, and many more. They can lose points for things such as, incomplete desk work or homework, forgetting a book or an assignment, not being prepared for class, late work turned in, talking out, and some others. My students really accept the accountability aspect it brings to the classroom dynamic.
As a teacher I love the ability to easily track my students' behavior. There is also a story page where I share announcements or fun pictures of any new activities that we did as a class. The parents get instant notifications on their mobile device or email, and they can comment and ‘like’ posts as well. This app also has a private message option that lets parents get in touch with the teacher instantly.
I use Adobe Spark Video to make boring presentations come to life. The students love how easy it is and enjoy how quickly they can take their creative writing pieces and turn them into great page turning, audio playing, virtual stories.
As a teacher I love the ability to easily track my students' behavior. There is also a story page where I share announcements or fun pictures of any new activities that we did as a class. The parents get instant notifications on their mobile device or email, and they can comment and ‘like’ posts as well. This app also has a private message option that lets parents get in touch with the teacher instantly.
I use Adobe Spark Video to make boring presentations come to life. The students love how easy it is and enjoy how quickly they can take their creative writing pieces and turn them into great page turning, audio playing, virtual stories.
We no longer do poster board projects, as we now utilize Lino, a virtual cork board that can hold an abundance of videos, pictures, and documents. No more cut and glue for this 3rd grade class, we are creating dynamic posters with Lino.
New to my classroom this year is Virtual Reality. This technology presented some initial challenges as not every 3rd grader had a smartphone capable of VR, and the school also needed to buy a class set of VR goggles. Once those were in place, I quickly realized that most of our 8th grade buddies had phones and we could work together to collaborate on a Virtual class trip. 8th graders can use apps like Google Expeditions or Discovery VR, and have their 3rd grade buddy go on a trip to Rome and explore St. Peter’s Basilica, for example. The destinations are endless, and the students never want to stop exploring.
Those are just a few tools I use in my classroom, and I know there will be more to come this year. I know tech can be intimidating sometime but the best advice I can give is just immerse yourself in it. Challenge yourself with an hour of code a week, or a few posts on your Dojo account. Becoming an avid digital citizen should be fun, and passing that onto your student will be very rewarding.
Alex Valentini
Saint Monica School
New to my classroom this year is Virtual Reality. This technology presented some initial challenges as not every 3rd grader had a smartphone capable of VR, and the school also needed to buy a class set of VR goggles. Once those were in place, I quickly realized that most of our 8th grade buddies had phones and we could work together to collaborate on a Virtual class trip. 8th graders can use apps like Google Expeditions or Discovery VR, and have their 3rd grade buddy go on a trip to Rome and explore St. Peter’s Basilica, for example. The destinations are endless, and the students never want to stop exploring.
Those are just a few tools I use in my classroom, and I know there will be more to come this year. I know tech can be intimidating sometime but the best advice I can give is just immerse yourself in it. Challenge yourself with an hour of code a week, or a few posts on your Dojo account. Becoming an avid digital citizen should be fun, and passing that onto your student will be very rewarding.
Alex Valentini
Saint Monica School
Alex is a native of Toronto, Ontario and loves to travel. She is looking forward to getting married this summer.
Congratulations Alex and Julian!
Congratulations Alex and Julian!
AOPTech would like to thank Ms. Valentini for sharing her classroom expertise with us.
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If you know of a teacher that should be featured next month let us know here - Nominate a Teacher