Notes on Teaching and Learning

There are many great ways to incorporate technology into the classroom to enhance students’ learning experiences. We’ve listed a few options below. What is your favorite way to incorporate technology in the classroom?

1. In Class Polling – There are many great resources that allow in class polling. You create a poll online and students use their cells phones or computers to answer the poll in class. Real time data is available to show the class. Check out Poll Everywhere or Top Hat Monocle to get started.
2. Blogs – Check out this post on using blogs in the classroom. Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students and can create free blogs here.
3. YouTube – Showing relevant Youtube videos in class can be a great way to keep students engaged in the classroom while demonstrating an application or example of a topic that was covered in class.
4. Creative Presentations – Tired of using the same old powerpoint presentations? Use Prezi to create a zoomable campus to add some variety to in class presentations.
5. Comics – “Developing an idea within the confines of a comic is more challenging than it might seem. Explaining or illustrating a concept concisely in three or six panels is one way to have students demonstrate their understanding.” Use Pixton to make online comics and check out this post for more information.
6. Classroom Chat Rooms– Today’s Meet is a resource that allows online discussions. Here are some ideas on how incorporate Today’s Meet in the classroom.
7. Customized Videos – Check out this post on how to use Animoto to create videos for your class.
8. Digital Bulletin Boards – Use lino to create a digital bulletin board for your class.
9. Word Clouds – A word cloud is a visualization of text. Words that are used more frequently in the text are larger in the word cloud. Check out this post on word cloud sites and ideas for using word clouds in the classroom.
10. Google Docs – Use Google Docs to create a document that all students have access to, so that they can work together to write a document. This is a great way to have the student work together to make a class study guide.
11. Google Forms – Google forms creates an online form and collects responses. Check out 12 Ways to Use Google Forms in the Classroom.
12. Computational Software – Mathematica software is available for download on the OIT website. This computational software can be used to visualize mathematical functions and scientific data.

Are you interested in learning more about using technology in the classroom? Check out NspireD2 and the Kaneb Center’s Teaching Well Using Technology Certificate program.