Taking A Peep At Instructional Technologies

    First of all, I have to say that the collaboration with the Spanish students has been a wonderous experience for me. Let alone being able to create something new with people I didn't know prior to the project, it also helped me get to know new ethnicities and expand my knowledge about them.     The project started off with participants getting to know each other. In our case there was Audrey from France, Maria from Spain and us 3 friends from Turkey; Soner, Yakub and finally me, Görkem. The first meeting went very well where we first introduced ourselves to each other and asked questions to each other to really understand each other.      In the second meeting we were tasked with writing a text that described our language learning journey and the hardships that we went through as well as preparing questions about our friends's texts after reading them. Im guessing that this task's purpose was to let us learn more about each other as well as getting to know different edu

    With the advancement of online learning and teaching, its easier than ever to acquire new knowledge and get a certificate. There are many tools that can be used to get a certificate such as Udemy, Edx, Coursera etc.       I've recently taken a course on online teaching and its tools and managed to get a certificate of my own upon the subject. As for where I've gotten it from, its bilgeis.net . If you want to learn new things just like I, then wait no longer and get going! 

    QR codes are everywhere, from a menu code at most restaurants to an advertisement on a bus - sometimes even on a travel box and transportation lables. Minimal yet versatile, QR codes combine our physical and digital spaces, giving us the best of both worlds.      Some of the advantages of using QR codes are as follows; * QR code allows to fit unlimited information in limited spaces.  * Contains more data compared to the conventional barcode system. * They are quickly and easily accessible.  * They stimulate the sense of curiosity in people. * They support creativity. * They are durable. Unlike barcodes 2D QR codes can still be read and used even if 3 of their points are punctured or damaged.      In short QR codes which suddenly became a part of our lives, allow for the accelerated flow of information in a reliable way.       Here is the QR code that leads to my blog. If you want to create a QR code of your own, go to  https://www.qr-code-generator.com/  and get started!

    The Duolingo language learning app is one of the world's most popular ways of learning new languages. It's mission is to develop the best language education system in the world and make it universally accessible. Duolingo makes it fun to learn a new language with its all sorts of activities, be it fill-iin-the-blank type, translation or voice recognition type. With lessons that take a neglectible time of your day, you can earn points and unlock new levels as you gain real-world communication skills.     In addition to its core language learning platform which is free of charge, the company has created the Duoling English Test which offers an affordable and convenient language certification option that has been validated by thousands of organizations around the world.      Do not wait any longer and go to  https://tr.duolingo.com/  (If you are living in Turkey that is, but it still is not a problem even if you are not, you can simply change your region from the app interface

      Hello there everyone, today I qill be talking about Second Life and what I've seen of it. Second Life is a social platform where we can create our own three-dimensional characters, navigate freely in a virtual world and participate in activities. Although it is called a game at it's core, due to its open source nature, it is considered by some to be a unique platform beyond the game and by some to be visual, social world.      As the name suggests, Second Life can be defined as a game that allows its users to experience a virtual second world. It welcomes its users with lots of game content that will allow them to live a virtual life without limits. Thanks to it being an open-source world, it is possible to develop your software, create your own designs such as clothes, houses, vehicles goods etc. All of this added on top of each other, it creates an environent of unlimited fun!       No need to wait any longer. Go to  https://secondlife.com/  and create your own account,

     Pear Deck is a web platform where you can conduct productive lessons with your students during the distance education period bu preparing online lessons. With this application, you can create interactive presentations, prepare entrance tickets at the beginning of the lesson and exit ticket activities at the end of the lesson, give homework and get instant feedback from your students on varous topics.      To list the things you can do with Pear Deck; * Create/prepare presentations * Drawing type questions on the student screen * Draggable type questions on the student screen * Multiple choice type questions on the student screen * Dashboard visuals on the teacher screen and much more! Wait no more and go to  https://www.peardeck.com/  to start fimding out more about Pear Deck!

    Quizlet is an online "flashcard" application. The most beautiful aspect of the application is that, apart from the fact that many of its features are free, it can be used not only for teaching but also for individual learning. You can use ready-made study sets or create a set yourself. You can make learning more permanent with the cards and games in the study sets. The many different language options makes the app even easier to navigate in and use.      You can reach many different flashcard sets by just going to their site. For creating new sets though, you will first need to create an account and only after then can you start creating your own work. On top of that its all free! This tool also has a mobile device application that makes it easy to reach from wherever you are. Don't wait anymore! Go to  https://quizlet.com/tr  and start exploring!

      We can easily say that working independently of the place has become one of the rituals of today. In this article, we will examine how we use Miro, which is frequently heard by teams that need to work collaboratively in business or school, planning and optimizing their processes.     To describe Miro briefly, we can see it as a giant, endless canvas. It's such a canvas that you can paint a new area each time you want, all within the same document. Miro also offers real time video chat facility to those who need to work collaboratively. The tool which set out with the slogan "Bring teams, together, anytime, anywhere" does not only offer a special solution to software developers or design teams. It makes the time of all teams that need to work together very productive. On top of that, Miro also offers a free version in addition to 4 different packages that meet different needs!     Wait no longer to start creating your own content by going to  https://miro.com/signup/

    Canva is another free online graphics tool that is extremely simple to use and offers a number of templates that can help you. Canva can also be described as a quick and easy way to create visual design and help unskilled in the mapic of graphic design.      Canva is a free graphic design tool with a simple drag and drop interfa ce. The ability to quickly and efficiently produce proffessional images is the bread and butter of this application. Even those with minimal graphic design experience will find it easy to create beautiful designs.     Since its launch in 2012, Canva has amassed over 10 million users and it's easy to see why that is. Users can create almost any type of visual content, including; * Blog post images * Socia posts, ads, cover photos, banners and icons * Pinterest graphs * Infographics *Posters and much more!

      With Thinglink, you can make creative and very useful applications by making the images and videos you use in your lessons interactive. Thinglink is a web 2.0 tool that allows you to make your images interactive by adding images, videos, website links and texts on them.      As teachers, what can we achieve by using Thinglink in our classes? Lets answer this question; * It is possible to access videos, links of related websites and pictures about the people, places or objects in the image.  * Interactive concept maps can be made. The content (image, bideo, link, text) related to the sub-headings of the subject can be collected on a visual and the whole subject can be given.  * Images prepared with Thinglink can be collected on the Padlet and digital boards containing the whole unit and the whole subject can be created.  * In Thinglink, interactive videos can be prepared by using videos instead of images in the background and these videos can be used in the Flipped Training approa

     Pixton is a web 2.0 tool that we can prepare works such as reports, homework, school projects in the style of comics. It includes expressive characters morphing into shapes, a feature-searchable library of more than 2000 objects and backgrounds that are preset and grouped by themes. Customizable text, captions and speech bubbles are available in flexible layouts with variable panel width and height. With Pixton, you can explain a concept or idea in a short and concise way. You can describe subtle emotions with customizable characters. You can draw a movie script even!      But how do we use Pixton? Well for starters, you need to log in to the site and create an account. After creating an account, you need to create your own avatar. To add comics, you must first choose a theme and background. In addition to your avatar, you can add other characters. You can change the shapes of the speech bubbles and your fonts. You can change your character's mood according to the situation an

    Seesaw is a digital portfolio creation tool. This tool, which can run on Windows, IOS and Android platforms has an interface that is very easy for students to use. Thus, students can enrich their electronic portfolios by adding photos, videos. drawings, texts and links. Electronicportfolios that support students' learning can be accessed by both students, teachers and parents thanks to the seesaw tool. This is one of the greatest strengths of the seesaw tool because teachers give instant feedback on student work, while parents get the chance to follow students' work done at school. Now let's take a look at these 3 different platforms;  * Student Platform: Students log in to the classroom by using the QR code given to them or by their e-mail account opened by their teacher or school. For this, first "I am a studen" is selected and then the class is entered. Students entering the class can take photos and videos for their portfolios, save their drawings as well

    Trello is a general project management tool that allows you to organize and trach your life and work. It allows you to organize your work by seeing your work, what you do and your goals on the same screen. At the same time, you can assign tasks to team members in projects carried out with the team, you can assign a date for the tasks. You can access these features from the web interface or you cna start using the application on the mobide device you are using.      Trello is a system that operates on three main paramters, these being boards, lists and cards; * Boards: Boards actually mean projects in terms of Trello. Each board is a different project managed in itself. You can start getting organized bu creating as many boards as you want.  * Lists: Lists are one of the means that can be deployed  in your boards to manage your plans or assignments and much more. You can create as many lists as you want and place accordingly.  * Cards: Thanks to the cards you will add to the lists o

    Flipgrid app is an app that makes giving homework, measuring readiness level and getting feedback more efficient and enjoyable. With this application, you can ask your students to shoot a video explaining what they know about the subject before they study a subject, or as an evaluation after they have studied a subject. You cna help the whole class learn from each other through the videos they shoot. Flipgrid highlights passive learners and helps learners of all ages find their voices, share their voices and respect tge diverse voices of others. What's more is that its free for all educators, students and families!       Let's take a look at the main features of Fligrid and see what is possible to do with it; * Grids: Grids are your learning community. With them you can name them, make creative covers and share them through your codes! * Topics: Subjects are the tools used to create discussing areas and spark the students' interest. Students are able to comment or give

      Edpuzzle is a tool used to edit videos and turn them into interactive teaching materials. To give more in-depth information about Edpuzzle, It is a free and usefull virtual clasroom apllication where you can edit videos, narrate them with your own voice, add voice notes, ask questions to your students and evaluate their answers and see if the material has been viewed by the students.      You can add videos to Edpuzzle through the local files of your device or simply find them through sources that are presented to you in the system such as "YouTube", "Khan Academy", "Ted", "Learn Zillion" etc. Creation of new videos by teachers and students is also possible. They can create their own material and share it to be viewed by everyone! This supports the availability of desired materials for other teachers and learners and support to community.     To learn more about Edpuzzle and start explorting follow the link;  https://edpuzzle.com/

    Edmodo is a tool which you can use to create virtual classes for your students to study on. Through this tool, improving the connection between teacher, student and parent is easier than ever before. It also offers a much more efficient way of reaching materials compared to the traditional methods, making it much more accessible and easier all at the same time. It also supports learning, handing out materials and reaching students & teachers outside the classroom.      With all that aside, now lets talk about what is possible with Edmodo; * Creating classes and sub classes * Creating surveys * Sharing of files and folders * Creating quizzes * Assigning homework and setting deadlines * Making announcements * Making alternative applications through the activity area And much more!       Here is a link for you to join my class about Instructional Technologies and see an example; https://new.edmodo.com/joincg/a5xp2z

     Jamboard is a tool that is used to create a blackboard online that can be used collaboratively. It is a tool that makes the process of giving feedback and editing documents collaboratively easier. It supports creativity with its real time features. Having unhindered efficiency as one of its goals, Jamboard enables its participants to access it from all around the world. It is a recent Google product with many quality of life features such as being accessable not only by computers but with any technological device with internet connection and web interface. Being just like a real-life blackboard also add up to its familiar feel and ease of use.      But what can we do with Jamboard? You can add all kind of documents, visuals and materials to your board be it from internet, your local files or drives. With its simple layout and interface, its easy to find exactly what you are looking for and implement it to your board. You can write on it without the need of a keyboard as long as yo

     What is Networking? Simply put, networking is the creation of a space that houses experts, workers or potential customers related to a certain field with the purpose of mutual benefit. Advantages of Networking;     - Meeting New People & Getting References     - A Chance to Introduce/Present Yourself & Your Work     - Keeping Up T o Date With Topics Related To That Field     - Find Solutions To Your Problems     - Access To Shared Knowledge      As for the educational aspects of Networking, it is safe to say that its just as beneficial. Constant connection to colleagues and the availability of a problem solving environment is cruicial in learning. Be it failing to understand a concept or finding relevant information for a certain subject, it is all possible through learners of your field. It presents an area of expanding knowledge.       To give an example to this, I will add some of my colleagues's blogs about instructional technologies who make similar content. With

SAMR:      SAMR stands for Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition Method and it is an important model for teachers, enabling them to combinbe technology with their materials in-hand in their clasrooms. It is developed by DR. Ruben Puentedura and its main goal is to transform learning experiences with technology to enhance learning. The Main Aspects of SAMR; Enhancement Substitution:   A smiple way of using technology with no functional change to the method of teaching. To give an example, using PowerPoint or Microsoft Word to present teaching material rather than handing out hard-copy worksheets. Aumentation:   In this stage, technology is still used in a simple and traditional way but with some minor functional improvements to help support students' learning experience and productivity. It is continuously used rather than being single timed.  Transformation Modification:  At this stage, the deployment of technology is no longer considered as Enchancement but rather as

   Storybird is a tool that lets students to create and publish handmade stories of their own via their app which makes it a great option for schools and other academic purposes. It is a digital platform used to tel stories with the used of words and visuals. There is a huge library of visuals within the tool that allows for limitless imagination and diverse expressions. This huge library also brings up suggestions and relevant images to the concept that is being written. Apart from writing, there is also a lot of reading material readily available in Storybird that users can reach easily. With such a feature this tool can also be used for reading activities as well as writing. The diverse content available help expand the learners' imagination and feed productivity.    Storybird is an extremely easy app to use and navigate in. Everything is put in openly and is accessible easily. Much like Padlet, Storybird is also a tool that can be accessed through mobile devices such as tablets

    Padlet is a web 2.0 tool that is widely used all around the world. Simply put, its an app used to create online dashboards. You are able to add content to these dashboards such as texts, visuals, videos and edit them as you see fit. The best part about it is that you can do all this interactively with your students or co-workers.      But how to use such an app? Well, padlet is an extremely easy app to use and navigate in. The first step is to go to "padlet.com" and create an account which you will then need to activate. After creating and activating your account, you will need to create your own dashboard. And by sharing the link of your dashboard with your students, you will be able to work interactively from this point on.     There are also many advantages to using this interactive tool. Other than the saving of time and space which are the most obvious, there is also the fact that Padlet is an app that can be downloaded to your mobile devices. While many apps simila