In the school district that I work in, we have many students who have attendance issues. As a school district we are always trying to find ways to get our non-attenders an education. Researching the the many different web 2.0 applications there was an application that seemed to fit what I would recommend to our district. The application is called WIZIQ. This application allows students to be part of the classroom as if they were there in person. Students can participate in classroom assignments, discussions, and group projects. WIZIQ also allows students to download their quizzes and tests.
WizIQ would be a great application for our urban school district to utilize. Our district currently has an online school, but it only is geared towards students with higher learning levels and students at the online school are limited on who they can collaborate with. WIZIQ application provides tutorial services for the "struggling" student. The other benefit for this type of application is that it is a "teacher driven" program. This programs allows the student the opportunity to build a relationships with the teacher and other students, that they might not have the opportunity to receive at an online school. For further information visit http://wiziq.com
The youth of today have become more technological than the students of the past. Teachers today are having trouble motivating their students in the classroom. Day in and day out I hear teachers complaining about the lack of motivation from their students. Students in today's generation have grown with allot of digital accessories. We as teachers have not adapted or utilized the new methods of reaching our students in the classroom. An application that teachers can utilize is YacaPaca. YacaPaca is an application that will allow teachers to build lesson plans based on the level of their learners. This application can be modified to reach lower level learners, challenge the higher level students. YacaPaca promotes creativity and critical thinking.
This application would be a great program for our teachers to utilize in the classroom. Teaching in an urban district we work with many different learning styles. YacaPaca would allow teachers to reach students at all learning levels. YacaPaca would allow students to collaborate with one another on a particular class project. YacaPaca would also assist the teacher in providing a weekly, monthly, quarterly analysis on the student progress in the areas of math, reading, writing and critical thinking. http://YacaPaca.com
Both WIZIQ and YacaPaca would benefit our school district in the fact that we would have an application to reach our students who do not attend school, and we also would have a program that would assist teachers in meeting the learning needs of all students.
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David,
ReplyDeleteOne thing I have learned while reading the blogs and articles for this class, outside of all of the technology that is available, is that teachers want to make the learning experience better. Since I do not and have never really worked in a school I had a perception that teachers just want to get through the year and if the student doesn't learn then it is his/her fault. I'm sure there are some teachers like that but it may be more the exception than the norm.
I went to the 2 links you posted and agree with what you wrote about how these sites would help teachers provide opportunities to more students to succeed and increase motivation. I was impressed with the YacaPaca site. This site gets at the need for students who need help to find it with students who may have mastered the content. It also helps students who may have mastered the content to learn it more deeply by requiring them to "teach" to another student through collaboration with the lower student. I also liked the ability to show progress and thus keep a student motivated because they see themselves getting better.
Good luck using these in your school.
Matt
David, you have found some excellent sites for helping a diversity of learners. It was good to see that you found something that will apply to your district so appropriately! I am also glad to hear that you helped Matt see that many and hopefully most teachers really do work hard to make learning happen. That is why we are teachers!
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