Cool Tech Tools for Lower Tech Teachers: 20 Tactics for Every Classroom

Make the painless transition from low tech to tech friendly!

Are you struggling to embrace technology that advances at lightning speed? Or are you just plain perplexed? With new developments announced almost on a daily basis, many teachers don′t know where to start. If you′re one of those teachers making the transition to tech―willingly or not―Cool Tech Tools for Lower Tech Teachers is the resource for you. In understandable language, it describes how exactly you can use tools like webquests, wikis, social networking apps, and podcasts to enhance your lessons and keep kids engaged.

William Bender and Laura Waller put technology within your reach by:

• Framing each tool in the context of what you need to know 
• Defining the tool in easy-to-understand language; there′s no tech-speak
• Guiding you through implementation step by step
• Providing sample lesson plans to get you started
• Explaining how some tools can also be used for professional development

With Cool Tech Tools for Lower Tech Teachers, Bender and Waller prove that technology can be painless and productive. What′s more, you′ll even come to love it!

"This book provides a wealth of ideas for teachers who would like to use technology but do not know where to begin. Each chapter provides a lens into specific categories of use and associated websites."
―Bena Kallick, Educational Consultant

"This book is an excellent resource for both new and experienced educators looking to make the most of Web 2.0 resources for teaching and learning. It can be used individually, but I think it would be most beneficial (and fun!) to use in small groups of educators as they support and surprise one another with their explorations and discoveries."
―Chris Toy, Educational Consultant, Learning Capacity Unlimited
Graduate School Instructor, University of Southern Maine

William N. Bender, PhD, has had a long and distinguished career in education, teaching in public school for several years and in higher education for some 26 years at Blue?eld State College in West Virginia, Rutgers University in New Jersey, and the University of Georgia. He has written 36 books in special and general education. With his retirement, he has stepped back from his rigorous workshop schedule, which as recently as 2016 included some 40 workshop days per year. While the COVID-19 pandemic impacted his work, he has written four historical ?ction novels and several educational books in recent years. He has delivered several professional development projects, including most recently a keynote for a virtual conference on project-based learning in Brazil in conjunction with his Corwin book Project-Based Learning (2012).

Laura Waller, MS/MA, is a former elementary school teacher, an author, a National Certified Counselor, and a Licensed Professional Counselor. She holds a master’s degree in elementary education from Johns Hopkins University and a second master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Capella University. Waller is also an ADHD-Certified Clinical Services Provider. She entered the counseling field after a number of years as a teacher in elementary classrooms in North Carolina and Washington, DC. This classroom background yields a unique developmental perspective when Waller is working therapeutically with children, teens, and their families. She currently provides individual and family therapy for clients in the Northern Virginia (NOVA) area ranging in age from 8 to 601. She also hosts monthly seminars and groups aimed at supporting parents with a particular focus on raising neurodivergent children. Waller has led numerous workshops for churches and schools in the NOVA area with a specific focus on communication between teens and parents as well as using emotional support animals in a therapeutic setting.

Waller is active in several professional associations, including the American Counseling Association (ACA) and Northern Virginia Licensed Professional Counselors (NVLPC). She has coauthored three books in education, most recently RTI and Differentiated Reading in the K–8 Classroom by Solution Tree Press (2011).