TOP 10 TOOLS 2008
Kora Stoll

I am a fifth grade reading and language arts teacher in Miami, Florida and one of our school's technology representatives.  I have been teaching for 6 1/2 years and am constantly looking for new ways to captivate students using the latest technology and tools available.  I am 29 years old and am sort of in between the "digital native" generation and the "digital immigrants."  The following tools have proven to be invaluable in the classroom:

Kora's Top 10 Tools as at 27 January 2008

1. Commoncraft – Find useful "how-to"s in quick succinct videos.  Great for keeping up with new technology…and quite entertaining.

2. Google Earth – Endless possibilities!  Google Earth has added so many great applications for the classroom.  Keeps the students completely engaged.

3. Google Reader – My rss reader of choice.  Keeps me up to date on my favorite sites.

4. del.icio.us – Not only does it help me transfer my research and excellent web-treasures, but it has also created a network among other educators with the same interests and goals.  Great tool to make the world flatter.

5. Teachertube – Is actually NOT firewalled by my school's security!  Teachers post interesting video clips.  Easy to search. 

6. SMART Board – Paired with smarttech.com.  Interactive white board and website with an extremely large gallery of tools and teacher created lessons.  Easy to create, modify or delete lessons.  Nothing has ever captivated students more!

7. Audacity – Free and easy to create classroom podcasts and mp3s where the students get to hear, edit and publish themselves.  Promotes ownership – extremely motivating.

8. Skype – This tool is free and incredibly useful.  I can have parents (who are at work) watch their students present in class.  I am new to skype, so I'm still learning new ways to integrate it into the classroom.

9. Blogs – You choose your blog site.  Previously, I used schoolnotes.com to post homework assignments; however, the blogs allow students to post questions and I can reply to them for all to see.  It is much more effective than having an email link because the students frequently have the same questions.  I can also post video clips and web links to help.

10. Wikis – I just started using these in the classroom.  At first I was worried about what students might post, but it doesn't seem to present a problem.  The kids can edit other's stories, work as groups from different areas and there are so many more possibilities in the classroom.