Hybrid Tools for Learning

It’s not often that one tool can be used for most academic subjects and also work in both the virtual and face to face classroom. But these two tools can do just that.

Online collaboration tools

Online collaboration tools are often used in the business industry to help teams share information on projects.  Educators can use these same tools to review and/or have students collaborate on projects in real time. Using Google Docs, Slides, or Sheets, teachers and therapists can do remote assessments by seeing what the student is typing, making it great for live editing, spelling and/or writing tests.  Students can collaborate with each other on projects from their home just as if they were in the classroom.

Have you heard of smart notebooks? 

Smart notebooks or digital notepads allow the user to instantly save their notes or sketches to the cloud.  Using free apps on your smart phone, information can be saved to a cloud storage service such as DropBox, Google Drive, Evernote, OneNote, Box, Slack or even emailed to recipients (such as students or parents).  Saving notes to the cloud allows collaboration or review from any location.

Smart notebooks are considered great for the environment because their pages can be wiped clean. Yes, with water and a soft cloth the page can be wiped clean and used again.   One style can even be microwaved to clean its pages. This saves paper. 

Note: there are some requirements for using smart notebooks.  Be sure to follow the instructions that come with the book.

• Only use Frixion or other erasable pens.
• Don’t leave the notebook in heat (like a sunny car window).

Suggestion: Rocketbook has free pages in a variety of layouts for you to try.  Print a few pages, use the free app, and see for yourself how these smart notebook pages can work for you and your students. 

Want to try a variety of smart notebooks? Borrow the Smart Notebook Bundle from the TTAC Library to try the following smart notebooks:

• Rocketbook
• Elfin Book
• Boogie Board Jot LCD eWriters

Photo Credit: Nick Youngson