Free Technology for Teachers is exactly as it sounds; it is a blog about free technology teachers can incorporate into their classroom. There is, of course, some prerequisite technology that is not so free, but this blog gives great advice about apps and websites that teachers can use to liven up their lessons. The website I found the most helpful for my purposes was Class Tools. Class tools has a variety of features that could be useful across content areas. The two that caught my eye were a countdown timer and a way to make reviews into video games.
The timer would be especially useful for me as a debate and forensics coach because during practice one need to be able to time multiple things at once. For example, I may need to time one student’s extemporaneous speaking prep time (30 minutes) while I listen to an oration (10 minutes) shorty after listen to a student’s extemporaneous speaking speech (7 minutes). I can also see how this would be incredibly useful for FACs teachers, who may need to time twenty or more dishes at a time. The site lets you set as many timers as you want for however long you want.
The review video games could be a useful tool for any teacher. I would be ashamed to admit the number of times I have skipped studying to play video games. This site allows students to do both. It also allows students to study competitively, which can be useful. Usually, however, studying competitively requires students to play a game on teams in front of the whole class. This can lead to embarrassment or even hostility from teammates if a student answers a question incorrectly. These games allow a student to be competitive with themselves in a private environment. It may be useful to continue in-class review games, but it is not always necessary to have more introverted students partake in these very public affairs.
