Week 2 Reading

Identify a techno-tool, identify an educational setting (perhaps where you currently work), the educational need/goals it will address, the target population (be sure to consider the needs of diverse learners), and how you will assess the value/effectiveness of using the tool.

One tool that I began to experiment with last year is Edmodo.  This is a fantastic site that allows students to post and respond to discussions online.  I used this site last year with my highest reading group to get them motivated to do their small group reading assignments.  This year I would like to use it with all of my students.  It has a Facebook like feel that generates interest in using the program.  I like it because I can control who has access to the groups.  For my higher students, I will use it for discussions using higher order thinking skills.  For my lower students, we can use it to discuss story elements, or practice supporting our answers to questions.  Students with special needs could give their answers verbally and have someone type for them, or do their discussions with a partner.  I will be able to see if this tool has been effective by seeing growth in the students' discussions and answers to prompts and also through their scores on benchmark testing.