I have been thinking about this tool box all week. I am worried I will forget something if I post to quick, but then if I begin reading others, then mine will sound like everyone else’s. So I decided to read a few and get some ideas and to post something different.
1. Like having the internet with a projector to project it onto a Smart Broad or Active Board. I love using the internet with these two types of boards because then the students can come up to the board and participate in the web page while the others are still learning or just write on the board. This helps to get the students out of their seat and usually creates a little friendly competition. (Just a side note, there is a great game where the students have to hit a mole on the head by guessing the right coordinate that the mole came out of the ground at. Students love it and they learn ordered pairs this way.)
2. I looked on that website, the 100 top tools, this website has the mind managers. I really think this would be a good tool for the teacher to have access to in order to show the students how to use it, but then the students would need to be the ones creating it. I looked at this tool as if it was a visual organizer from what I read on it. (If I am wrong, please let me know) This would be a handy way for the students to take notes then transfer them into the mind manager for use later in the week, semester, or year. (thanks to those that blogged about this site)
3. I would like to have a mac book attached to the overhead projector instead of a desktop because that way I could create things at home and project them when I get to school with just the connection of a cord instead of transferring everything to my desktop. This would also allow me to take pictures and upload them for use, make pod and vodcasts to use, type agendas, mind managers, notes, quizzes, and using my del.icio.us account that is on my mac book. (by the way, I love the del.icio.us account. It is just like your my favorite account except you get to create tags and notes on what it is for. It just keeps all my favorite spots to visit (or school related spots) all in one place.
4. Since I am a math teacher a little box of goodies would be great to have. These would be hands on manipulative and tools for math. For instance, protractors, rulers, geoboards, maps, scissors, markers, pens, 3D figures, 2d figures, and triangles (lots of precut triangles).
of course there are lots of other things that would be great, but I don’t have time to mention them and I don’t have to have all of them just something would be nice. (can you tell I don’t have anything right now? )
5. I would like to have an ELMO or a projector to use that would allow me to show student work , the book pages, or just a piece of paper I didn’t have time to have copied. This would be great in math to show student work since a lot of times the students will get the same answers but the will do them differently. This is great to show how to do a problem different ways, while a student is doing all the work for you.
6. I hope this is a really big toolbox since I have already filled a room. The most important thing I would like to have in my toolbox is the ability to be able to reach all of my students. By that I mean a way to teach to all the different learning styles in my room plus engage them in meaningful lessons in a way that the students will want to learn. But, if you can put that in a box, I would be rich.
