Tech Tools for Centers in the Secondary Classroom

           Teachers are tasked with accomplishing so much in so little time. Elementary teachers have mastered the art of using stations and centers to complete a number of tasks in a restricted amount of time. Station activities can range from review and reteaching to practicing a new skill. Technology further extends these options by proving a means for direct instruction to take place while the teacher is working with a struggling group. Try these resources out to assist with planning station activities:

Seesaw

Seesaw is a free app that is web based and has an app available on Chromebooks and iPads. Seesaw can be used for students to demonstrate, reflect, draw, or record themselves at an assigned station.

Recap

Recap is created by Swivl. Teachers can add specific questions for students to verbally respond to. Students record their responses and those responses are available for teacher review. It's free, easy to set up, and easy to use.

Youtube's Video Editor 

Often times teachers look for videos that are created by other teachers instead of making their own. Creating your own lecture snippet will not only force you hone in on the  most important parts of your lesson, but it allows students to have a reference outside of class. Take 5 minutes to highlight the most important points in a lesson, upload the video to YouTube, and use the editor to add titles or annotations. Take the link and share it in Google classroom or simply pull it up at a station for students to use.

EDPuzzle

Free resource that has a number of video platforms built in. Teachers can add questions, annotations, and their voice to any video that is available. This is a great ways to introduce or review a topic.

Adobe Spark

Infuse a spark of creativity into your stations and allow students to create a short video summarizing what they've learned. Teachers can extend this activity to allow students to view and reflect on each other's videos.

Each resource is free and is easily adaptable to different grade levels. When planning stations consider what task aligns to your desired outcome.