Resources

Here are a few websites that I have discovered that are either good tools for teachers or  good for student learning.

Storyline Online: https://www.storylineonline.net 

• Storyline Online is an excellent website where celebrities like Oprah read children’s books. The books are all for elementary-aged children. It is a resource I used a great deal during my third field experience and the students loved it! Students were engaged in the story being read to them.

Google Classroom and Google Read and Write

• Google Classroom is a great tool to have parents stay connected with what is happening in their child’s classroom and education. Teachers can post reminders, assignments, and grades for both parents and students to access. I have seen many teachers use this tool in such an effective way. I had the privilege of using Google Classroom during my third field experience.
• Google Read and Write is an AMAZING resource and tool that can be used for all children. Google Read and Write is a strategy that I have witnessed to be extremely useful for students to help them with their reading and writing. In addition, it is important to teach students how to use different technological tools as an aid in their learning. Google Read and Write helps students gain confidence when it comes to reading and writing skills. Google Read and Write offers a variety of tools, such as word prediction, dictionary, picture dictionary, screenshot reader, and text to speech.

Quebec Reading Connection: https://www.quebecreadingconnection.ca

• The Quebec Reading Connection website is a resource to help educators connect the Quebec Education Program (QEP) with literature. It is great for providing educators to explore and find books for their students and classrooms based on grade level, genre, theme, and level of reading. This website also provides tools and information for an English as a Second Language classroom as well as an English Language Arts class that are connected to the QEP. In addition, educators can find book webs and activities that can be used in their classroom that are based on the themes found in the QEP. There are also teaching videos to help educators, as well as a section for parents regarding information about reading for their children. I have chosen to incorporate this tool in my resources because it has already been a huge help for me when I am looking for books for kids of all ages, and I know that it will be extremely beneficially when working with children either during my field placement, as a teacher, as a tutor or babysitter. An asset of this website is that it is so easy to navigate and find age-appropriate books by themes and topics.

News-O-Matic (App OR website): https://www.newsomatic.org

• News-O-Matic is a really fun tool that children can subscribe to and get informed about the latest news articles, which are written in a way that caters to children and easy for them to read and understand. News-O-Matic does a great job at filtering information and news that is age-appropriate for children. This website has received awards for its production of providing children with highly engaged nonfiction reading in a safe and appropriate way in multiple languages and reading levels. In addition, I particularly like that the app allows children to react to what they are reading by writing comments, expressing their opinions, and drawing pictures.

National Geographic for Kids: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com

• The National Geographic for Kids is a website I discovered that can be a great addition for children’s learning in all topics of geography. This website is filled with an abundance of children’s tools and activities, such as quizzes, games, interactive world maps with descriptions and details of different countries, as well as lists of animals with information of their habitat and characteristics. Educators can use this in multiple ways, whether it be as a teaching tool for children or as a way to gain new information. The list of topics found on the National Geographic for Kids is endless: animals, plants, countries, planets, space, deserts, musical instruments, etc. There is also a section entitled, “homework help,” where students are redirected to an encyclopedia, glossaries or even tips on how to write an essay or persuasive piece of writing. This website can be used for students and teachers in a variety of ways. One way that I have thought of using this website as an educational tool is to give students this website as a tool for them to independently navigate the website to fill in a worksheet provided to them. For example, students must use the website to research information about five to six different animals and fill out the worksheet. I came across this website when working on my Pecha Kucha assignment, and I felt that it can be a really valuable tool for my future classroom.

SeeSaw (App/Website): https://web.seesaw.me/seesaw-for-schools

• SeeSaw is an education application or website that can be downloaded for students, teachers, and parents as a way to bridge communication between school and home life. It is similar to a social media platform where students can post their work for their teachers and parents to see. Teachers can also post important information that parents should be made aware of or simply just homework and assignment reminders. I have seen this used within a tutoring company where students post their work for their tutors and parents to see as a way to keep them accountable and show pride in their accomplishments.

ClassDojo (App/Website): https://www.classdojo.com

• ClassDojo is a technological tool that can be used with students and in the classroom. It is really similar to SeeSaw in the sense that students work and progress can be posted for parents to see and have that open communication between parents and teachers. What I particularly like about ClassDojo is that each student is given an icon that represents them, and they can earn points that can be exchanged for a reward. The rules and guidelines can be decided and discussed by the teacher and students. I have seen ClassDojo used as an effective tool in many elementary school classrooms.

MediaSmart: http://mediasmarts.ca

• MediaSmart is a resourceful website that can be used by teachers and parents to encourage and expose children to media literacy, as well as make them aware of the behaviours and content found on media. This website exposes children to the issues that are connected and revolve around media and technology such a cyberbullying, body image, gender representation, etc. There are also sections designated for teachers and for parents on the MediaSmart website.

Scratch: https://scratch.mit.edu

• Scratch is a fun block-based programming tool. This versatile tool can be used by teachers and students in a variety of ways as well as in different subject areas. The reason to include Scratch as one of my educational resources is because I really enjoyed working with it to create my Mart 2 assignment. I already have some ideas about how Scratch can be incorporated into math and science classes. In a Grade 6 science class, I would be able to go a little further by incorporating an Arduino board with Scratch for lessons about tectonic plates and earthquakes, for example. The Arduino board transfers the incoming information of a sensor and converts the values so that a computer and Scratch can understand it. With a sensor that can measure vibrations and an Arduino board, students can make an animation using Scratch that simulates an earthquake when they hit the sensor. I have seen this done with Grade 6 students who really enjoyed it, and it makes learning about volcanoes less abstract. Another way to use Scratch with students can be during Language Arts. Teachers can have students create a story and have them make an animation for one scene of their story. Students can explore different functions to exercise creativity, create sounds, movements, voice recordings, etc.

Storyboard that: https://www.storyboardthat.com

• Storyboard is an amazing resource that can be used for teachers and/or students to create online storyboards and graphic novels/strips. I learned about this website during a class exercise, and I believe that it is a wonderful tool that could be used by teachers for teaching purposes and by students as well. This tool is useful for teachers to make their lessons more engaging for students to follow and learn. For example, a teacher could provide students with notes about history in a small graphic novel with illustrations. Students can also use this website in Language Arts to create a story. This would be a great way for students to practice language and writing development or to assess students’ knowledge about a part of history being discussed in class. By using this in the classroom, teachers are also allowing students to be creative and to use technology in a meaningful way. I really enjoyed using it and learning about graphic novels in this course. This tool is definitely something I will integrate in my classroom and teaching practice. (To see the small graphic novel I made, please look under in-class content.)