A SUMMARY
Hello everyone! Welcome to this week’s blog post. We were prompted to try an educational technology platform and to write a how-to video and how to use the platform in the classroom. I chose Anchor as my ed tech for the purpose of this blog.
I decided on Anchor because it seemed the most user-friendly and device-friendly as it is available on both Apple and Android devices and on the computer. Here are some pros and cons to Anchor:
| PROS | CONS |
| Very user-friendly | Need a Spotify account but may or may not need to pay for it |
| Can be downloaded on Android, Apple, and the computer | Student accessibility depends on what school division allows |
| Very easily implemented into any lesson plan or assignment | Student maturity and responsibility may affect the classroom use |
| Can be used to adapt learning for those who need extra support |
Some other things to note:
- Do you have enough Chromebooks? Students may have to use their own devices in order to participate. This is easier said than done. I speak in terms of secondary education. This would create some issues when it came to elementary and/or middle years
- Will your principal approve the use of such a platform? It is always good to touch base with your administration.
- Can you use this as a platform for homework? Yes, as long as your students have access to some sort of device with a microphone. Again, easier in secondary. It wouldn’t hurt to have a chat with parents about this too.
- Are your students going to fully participate with good intentions? A conversation about how to use computers, devices, properly and appropriately is probably a good starting point for this. Make sure to avoid using a punishment such as removal of rights to use the tech because this tends to promote more bad behaviour and decrease of relationship. Make it about their ability to learn and show that in an easier way than in an exam or paper.
3 Comments
Trista Kennett
Allysia,
I really enjoyed watching your video and reading your blog. I found your explanation of Anchor very clear and informative. Most of all, I appreciated the time you took to put in information about how you might use this in your classroom as well as obstacles that may come from using it. I appreciate your experienced teacher perspective and I look forward to continuing to learn from you! 🙂
Mitchell
Hi Allysia,
Very good blog I enjoyed every second of it. I especially enjoyed your tutorial video. I found it easy to follow along with your video and was able to grasp what you were teaching. Outstanding research to go along with how you would use this in a classroom. Keep up the great work!
Ciera Romanow
Hello Allysia!
I loved this blog post. I really enjoyed your tutorial as you made it look so easy but my favourite is how you used your past teacher experience to relate it in how it would be used in a classroom. I liked that as I like to refer things to how it would benefit me and how I would be able to use that as a teacher. The list of pros and cons was a great idea.
Thank you for the information!
Ciera