Screencasts
In Social Studies, students can create screencasts about vocabulary for a particular unit. Each student could be in charge of one particular topic within the unit. They would be responsible for finding pictures, YouTube videos, diagrams, and websites that illustrate their vocabulary words instead of simply writing the word and its definition. They could explain what the words mean and give real life examples to help with their explanation. This would be a much more engaging and fun way to learn the vocabulary. Each student could then upload their screencast to a class blog or website where other students could then watch and learn.
Check out my screencast in which I discuss the assessment tool Quizizz.
Tools That Make a Difference
Evernote is a great organizational tool. This tool would absolutely benefit most of my students, since organization is a big obstacle to overcome for most middle schoolers. With Evernote you can create different notebooks for each subject. Notes can be added to each notebook. Students could have a notebook or note for each subject and immediately put their assignments in the correct notebook that way they would not lose anything. each note you can add documents, text, pictures, links etc., and then share all of this with others. One way I could see using this tool in the classroom would be to create unit reviews for your students. Each page in the notebook could be a different topic within the unit, and you could include documents, images, and links about that topic. Students could also use this tool to organize their information and notes. Evernote could greatly help students with organizational issues.
Pinterest is one of my favorite websites. Most people use it to plan their dream wedding, find recipes, or search for new outfit ideas, but Pinterest can also be used in the classroom. I have several Pinterest boards devoted to educational topics, particularly Social Studies and Instructional Technology. Within the classroom, students could use Pinterest to organize websites and resources for a project. On my Social Studies board, I pin links to videos and activities for my students that they might find helpful or entertaining. Here is a link to my Instructional Technology board - feel free to follow me on Pinterest!
iMovie is always a hit with my middle school students. In a Social Studies class, students could use the iMovie movie presets to create video reports. Students could construct story boards to help guide them during the filming process. Language Arts teachers in my school use iMovie to allow students to create movie trailers for books they have read throughout the year. These iMovies are broadcast over morning announcements for the entire school to enjoy, and the students love to see their work published school-wide! I have used iMovie to make short videos for my students. For example, if I am going to be absent I can create a short movie explaining the day's activities and assignments and post it to Schoology.