As mobile device use in education explodes, it’s no surprise that BYOD (Bring Your Own Device or sometimes Bring Your Own Technology) is a topic that many educators are talking about. However, it takes more than devices for a BYOD implementation to be successful. Interactive and collaborative tools are needed to keep students focused and on track. Here are a few tools that will help you as you begin to embrace mobile devices in the classroom.
- Remind Voice Clips – With Voice Clips, add voice into your lessons by sending students short voice messages straight to their mobile devices. Students can listen to your message instantly through Remind, regardless of their mobile device. You can also record questions on Voice Clips to improve oral comprehension or record students’ voices to practice speaking and reading skills.
- Dropbox – With Dropbox, files can easily be shared across devices. Dropbox provides syncing and storage for users with up to 2 gigabytes of free storage space. It’s enough to store hundreds of homework assignment and pictures. Files can be shared with a few clicks, which makes collaboration easy. Dropbox does require an email account to register.
- Google Keep – With Google Keep, students can take notes and gather resources for their projects. It is great for capturing what is on your students’ minds. Reminders about homework and quizzes can be sent, as well as voice notes. It’s free and can even be used offline.
- Poll Everywhere – With Poll Everywhere, you can easily poll your students in order to gather informal assessment data. It’s a great way to gauge if your students are mastering topics so that you can move forward with the next lesson. Students can respond via text from their smartphone or computer browser. The teacher must create a free account.
- MentorMob – With MentorMob, otherwise known as LessonPaths, you can easily share web links with your students. MentorMob is a free content curation tool that allows you to create learning playlists that can easily be shared with students.
- If you need more BYOD tools, be sure to take a look at this list of 51 resources.
TCEA members, don’t forget about the BYOT/BYOD group in the Social Community, where you can find and share information and experiences related to the implementation of BYOD in school districts. We encourage you to join the group today! And the August 2012 issue of the TechEdge magazine was devoted entirely to BYOD success.
Featured Image: Phone by Gábor Adonyi from Pixabay
