Why is the sky blue?
Magnet Conundrum Answer:
It is really a simple concept - OPPOSITES ATTRACT and like charges REPEL. Magnets have poles in them, meaning each side has a north or south pole. North repels north and south repels south, so if the same poles are near, they will "push away" from one another. On the contrary, if the north end is near the south end, they will "stick" together.
I found something called Soshiku, which is a free website for students to keep track of their assignments. The best part is the fact that the students can set up their account to send them text notifications about upcoming due dates. This is an excellent resource and I am definitely going to promote it to my summer school students as well as when school starts back in the fall.
I think it will help me combat the most common problem with getting students to turn in work and/or study for exams. My students often say, "I forgot that I had homework!" The fact that Soshiku will send them text notifications is great, because they seem to be "married" to their phones, so they won't "forget" anymore. I keep a calendar of the next five weeks up on the schedule bulletin board, but it doesn't seem to alleviate the problem. I created two accounts and tested some things out. I learned that I can actually have my own account and have students add me as their partner, then I can select all my students when I create an assignment and it will automatically post the assignment in their account. This way, I know they have the assignment "written" down somewhere and it also helps save trees by nit having to use paper and I won't have to worry about making copies of Study Guides anymore, I can just post them in Soshiku.
Some people may be thinking that I am making it too easy on students, but I don't look at it that way. Students of today are technology savvy, and Soshiku lets me harness the power of the cell phone and computer driven lifestyles that today's youth have. Below, you will find screenshots (with descriptions) of the account creation process as well as what students will see when they are in their account.
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| Sign-up is simple - all you need is a valid e-mail address, create a username and password and it's done! |
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| It is easy to share assignments and once an assignment is shared, it shows up in the Partner's Home Screen as an assignment. Shared assignments are indicated by an arrow, with the person's name who shared it behind the course name. |
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| I can put the Study Guides in Soshiku to cut down on paper usage and so students can have access on their cell phones! |
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| The details for an assignment can be added under notes and when shared, others can add information. |
Cassie,
ReplyDeleteI agree that Soshiku looks like an amazing tool, and its funny, but I was looking at using it for part of my CBR project. I hadn't looked so deeply into it, so your tour saved me a ton of time, thanks!
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ReplyDeleteCassie,
ReplyDeleteI think this a great tool to help absent minded teenagers who are extremely technologically advanced. I appreciate that you provided such a good summery review on this tool. I will have to look deeper in to it to see if it will work with my learners.
Great Job
Fabulous tool. I will have to look into even more because my students, like many of yours, have selective memories. Having a tool that they can electronically keep track of assignments and get text notifications of assignments may actually make them do it. It's the wave of the future! We are preparing students for the global marketplace where business professionals, education professionals, etc. utilize their phones, iPads, iPods and other devices to keep track of important to do type items. Thanks for sharing. As the school year is coming a close, I can see about incorporating this tool into next year's classes.
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