Storyboard That (https://www.storyboardthat.com/) is a storyboard program that offers a variety of templates which students can use to write their own stories. I was particularly attracted to this website because I have for some years been working with my students to improve their historical writing skills. This program would provide an interesting outlet for students to do just that - what I liked was the historical backgrounds the program offers. I am thinking of using this program this year because in World History II there are many historical figures that students must know for the SOL and this program will allow them to create their own stories and thus increasing their ability to remember key elements of their contributions to history if they must write about them using their own words.
Hstry (https://www.hstry.co/) is a timeline creation tool for students and teachers to use. I totally loved this program because it lends itself so well to history. As a history teacher I am constantly trying to help students chronologically place events in history on a timeline. Hoping that they keep events straight in their heads, is a taunting task. By using this program hopefully it will be more entertaining and interactive. I will definitely use this program this year given the amount of content I must teach and the information students must retain and know for the SOL. I am thinking about assigning groups of students to create interactive timelines for each unit covered in the course. This way all students will have a useful set of timelines for each unit as they prepare for unit tests and SOL preparation. I also want to establish peer review of the timelines so that students can receive constructive input not only from me but their classmates.
Google Classroom (https://www.google.com/edu/products/productivity-tools/classroom/) is a paperless learning environment. It allows teachers to post assignments, students are able to post their work, peer review is made easier and by using this program we are making a contribution to saving the environment. My school district has given each student a google email account. With that having been said teachers are gradually being encouraged to make use of google classroom. I played around with it a little at the end of the last school year. I actually required my seniors to post their senior projects to google classroom. It went ok but I definitely need more practice with the program. I did like the ease at which I could post assignments and retrieve from anywhere I had an internet connection. I have not tried the tracking system for use with assignments. This program also encourages peer review among students. This is a nice feature because students can receive feedback from classmates as well as the teacher. Revisions are easy because the program automatically saves students' work and is accessible via most smart phones. I will work with google classroom more this year.
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