Early Childhood Education
useful Classroom websites
Google Classroom
Google Classroom is a classroom management system. Through this website, you can talk to your students, send them assignments, give them test, and enter grades. This website is great because it allows the students, teachers, and parents to all stay connected. Students will each have their own account where they can manage all of their classes, and turn in assignments. Students can get quick feedback from teachers, and parents can receive summary emails of their child's activity. I plan to use this website in my classroom to easily communicate with my class by sending out messages and notifications. I will also use it to give and grade assignments.
Kahoot
Kahoot is a fun website because it turns assessments into a fun game for students. You can test students knowledge on what you are teaching them by displaying quiz on the board. When you create the quiz, you will get a code for all of the students to enter on their smart device. Once they have entered the code, the will have access to the quiz/game. I plan to use this website in my classroom as a formative and summative assessment method. During a lesson, I will display the quiz to see if my students are understanding the material. As a summative assessment, I will use Kahoot as an exit ticket. Before I wrap up the lesson I will display the quiz to see if they understood that days lesson. Since Kahoot shows who performs the best on the quiz/game, I will also use this as a way to encourage friendly competition in my classroom, and whoever performs the best will get a reward.
Quizlet
Quizlet is a website that allows students and teachers to create digital flashcards. These flashcards can be used to study things like vocabulary terms, math, and important facts. There is even a feature where you can create diagrams to study. Once the flashcards have been created there are various activities that allow students to change up the way they study. You can go the regular route and just study the flashcards, or you can play a matching game. You can even test your knowledge by using their feature that creates a multiple choice, matching and fill in the blank test for you. I plan on using this resource in my class by creating study sets for them. I will also use it as a way for them to create their own study sets because and share it with their classmates.
GoNoodle
GoNoodle is a great website to get the students up and moving. There are tons of videos and songs that get students out of the chair and having fun all while they are learning. There are videos that relate to different lessons and subjects, so I will incorporate the videos into my lessons. For example, when I teach about something like the water cycle, I will show the Blazer Fresh Water Cycle music video to my students. I will also use this website as a behavioral management tool. Students love going on GoNoodle, so if they have a good day with very few behavioral disruptions, I will let them watch a GoNoodle video at the end of the day.
Nearpod
Nearpod allows students to view and interact with the presentation that the teacher is giving. The teacher has full control of what slides the students are looking at. This is a great feature because it ensures that everyone is on the same page. I plan on using the feature that lets me quiz the students throughout the lesson. This is a great way to formatively assess the students, and make sure they are paying attention to my presentation. I will also use the Nearpod VR feature to take my students on virtual field trips.
Code.org
Code.org is a website that provides activities, games, lesson plans, and much more to teachers and students. The goal of this website is to start teaching coding concepts at an early age. I plan on utilizing the various lesson plans that they provide to teachers. These lesson plans will give me a guide on how I can incorporate coding and computer science lessons in my classroom. I will also let my students play with their hour of code games.
Seesaw
Seesaw is an app that increases connectivity between parents, teachers, and students. Teachers can use it as an assessment tool, students can use it as a way to document and reflect on what they have learned, and parents can use it to get a detailed glimpse into their child's school day. The teacher, parent, and student each create their own account that they can manage and view each other's pages. I would use this app as a summative assessment tool by having my students upload a short video explaining what they have learned from the day's lesson. In order to make parents more involved and included in their child's academics, by having the students uploads something for their parent to see. Depending on the day I will have them record a video message to their parent explaining what they learned that day, or I will have them write their parents a short message. I will also have the students upload some of their assignments so that the parents can see how well their child is performing.
FunBrain
FunBrain is a fun website for students to play games that relate to the concepts that they have been taught in class. There are tons of games and videos related to subjects such as math and reading. The website is categorized by grade level. This is great because if you have some students who are either above or below grade level, then they can use this website to practice on the appropriate level. I would use this website as a reinforcement tool. After I have taught a lesson, or if a certain topic needs to be reviewed, I will have the students play or watch the corresponding games and videos. I will also use this a behavior management tool. Since the website is fun, the students will often look forward to using it. If they don't behave or do their work, then I will take away their FunBrian privileges.