Technology Accounts to Set Up for Your Students at the Beginning of the School Year

You’ve picked out the perfect technology project for your students.  You’ve given them a planning sheet with all the steps, and you’ve even given them an advance copy of the rubric so that they know what you are looking for.  Everyone lines up and you set off for the computer lab OR you start your center rotation and they are working at computers in your room.  The kids get on the computer and ask you – What’s my username and password?  That’s when it hits you – you forgot to set up their accounts!!!!  Oh the horror of wasted technology time due to missing usernames and passwords!  The solution?  Take time NOW to create accounts (or have students create accounts) for programs you think you will use during the school year.
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 Setting up student accounts ahead of time gives you and your students some distinct advantages:
1.)  You’re ready for all kinds of projects – planned and unplanned (you know those great teachable moments!)
2.)  The kids can play with the programs outside of school, or when they have finished their work, allowing them to figure out the programs BEFORE they have a big project due with this program.
3.)  Students can show their parents the types of programs they will be using – helping parents to see that the technology they will use will not just be playing games, but will be using technology for educational purposes.
4.)  When assigning a project, you can give students a choice of ways to present their work, empowering students to take control of their own learning.  I started this with my Virtual Field Trip Project last year and the results were amazing!

Consider letting students create their own accounts, as long as they report their passwords to you.
1.)  Demonstrate HOW to create an account before you ask students to create their own account.
2.)  Have students use a password pattern so that they don’t forget their password.  Find more details on this at my blog post about 10 Tips to Make Technology Integration Easier.
3.)  Keep a record of each students’ usernames and passwords, in case students forget them or you need to get into their account for any reason. 


So, what accounts should you have set up in the beginning of the year?
1.) Edmodo
2.) Storybird
3.) Edublogs
4.) Prezi
5.) Powtoon
​6.) LiveBinders