What type of technology integrator are you?

So, when it comes to technology integration, how would you classify yourself—as a leader, a sharp one, the wood, a ferrule, an eraser or maybe you’re one of those hangers-on? What. The. What? Yeah, if you’re wondering what in the world I’m referring to, then you definitely want to check out the Pencil Metaphor graphic shown below—one that outlines six ways educators typically react to the utilization of technology for educational purposes.


I realize the graphic is rather small, so if you’re having difficulty reading the details, here’s the scoop (or you can click on the image to view a larger version):

» The Hangers-On: Hangers-on know all the right lingo, attend all the right seminars, but just don’t do anything.

» The Erasers: These people endeavour to undo much, if not all, of the work done by the leaders.

» The Ferrules: These people hang on tightly to what they know. They keep a strong grip on their traditional practices, and feel that there is not a place for technology in their classroom.

» The Wood: These people would use technology if someone would just get them the gear, set it up, train them, and keep it running. All they need is help from some sharp person, and they would be doing it too. (Love the play on words here! Ha!)

» The Sharp Ones: These are the people that see what the early adopters have done, willingly grab the best of it, learn from the mistakes of others, and do great stuff with their students.

» The Leaders: These people are the first to take on the technology, the early adopters would usually document and enthusiastically share what they have tried, warts and all.

A shout out to TeachThought for sharing this interesting graphic. Clickhere for additional commentary about teachers and edtech as well as the origin of the Pencil Metaphor.

Using TodaysMeet to Enhance Jigsaw Reading Activities

From Richard Byrne @ Free Technology for Teachers

A few nights ago my friend Jess sent me a Facebook message in which she asked for my help in organizing a group discussion that she has to lead as part of a graduate course she's taking. She's a nurse, not a teacher so leading a group discussion is a bit out of her comfort zone. I quickly put together a little outline for her to follow. In that outline I recommended using TodaysMeet to provide people with a place to share ideas and respond to prompts associated with articles that she's distributing to the group. The exact outline is copied below.

1. Provide the short readings to the group.
2. Ask people to read and discuss with the person next to him/her.
3. Have questions about the article for people to discuss.
4. Ask people to go online to todaysmeet.com/yourtodaysmeetroom (obviously, change the room name to something appropriate for your situation) to enter comments about the article/ answer questions/ ask questions. That forum gives shy people a place to express themselves without having to speak to the whole group. The forum also gives you a place to find content to bring into the conversation.

A video of TodaysMeet's features is embedded below.

WHAT IS THE ENVIRONMENT FOR LEARNING?

Standard

What kind of learning can happen in an “open space”?

I found the comparison of home and learning spaces to be quite compelling. While I would never advocate that we treat schools like home in their entirety, I do think there is a lot of value in seeing just how much comfort and care we can build into our learning spaces.

“Open spaces create more opportunities” is a wonderful way of looking at our classrooms and our learning commons. But, I think the converse is something we must grapple with too. “Closed spaces” are holding us back. The more walls we put up or stuff we pack into a space, the less room there is for learning and creation to happen. Let’s build these mini learning commons. Let’s make them as open as possible.

From Ben Wilkoff at Learning is Change. 

Creating Custom Google Slides Backgrounds

Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week – Creating Custom Google Slides Backgrounds

Richard Byrne:  Free Tech 4 Teachers:

When I design slideshows that are intended for sharing on the web I use Google Slides. (For in-person keynotes I use Keynote for the timing features that are built into it). One of my favorite aspects of Google Slides is the ease with which I can create custom backgrounds for my slides. In the video below I demonstrate how to add a custom background to Google Slides.

SAMR: Teaching Above the Line

SAMR Channel

An ongoing collection of resources curated with ThingLink

Learn It In 5

Learn It In 5

At the award-winning Learn it in 5, you'll learn what is Web 2.0, and strategies for using Web 2.0 technology in the digital classroom - all in 5 minutes or less.

Learn it in 5 is a powerful library of how-to videos, produced by technology teachers, for the purpose of helping teachers and students create classroom strategies for today's 21st century's digital classroom. These step-by-step how-to videos walk teachers through Web 2.0 technology, demonstrating how to use Web 2.0 applications like blogs, social networks, podcasts, interactive videos, wikis, slide sharing and much more.

Our Categories 5-Minute Teacher  about  Apple  assessment  Best Posts  blogging  classroom website  collaboration  content sharing  culture  curation  Diigo  Education Conference  Evernote  feedback  Google  graphics  history  iPad  Lesson Starters  math  mobile learning  multi-use tools  podcasting  polls  presentation tools  professional development  projects research  Role Reversal  science  screencasting  social bookmarking  social media  speech-to-text  Suggestion Box  Twitter  Video  wiki  workshops  writing  YouTube

Read more: http://www.learnitin5.com/#Categories#ixzz3Psx2F11j


Read more: http://www.learnitin5.com/#ixzz3PswwPhLa

Read, Write, Think Timeline Creator

How to Create Timelines With the RWT Timeline Creator

Read Write Think offers a bunch of great web, iOS, and Android applications for students. Their timeline creation tool is a good one for elementary school and middle school use. RWT Timeline is available as a web app (Flash required), as an Android app, and as an iPad app. All three versions make it easy for students to create a timeline for a series of events. In the video below I demonstrate how to use the web version of the RWT Timeline creation tool.



Applications for Education
The Android and iPad versions of RWT Timeline support multiple user profiles making it a great choice for classrooms that have more students than tablets. The web version of RWT Timeline also supports multiple users.

The aspect of RWT Timeline that I appreciate the most is the flexibility of date formats. In fact, if you look at the following screenshot of my sample timeline you'll see that I didn't use specific dates at all. The use of RWT Timeline doesn't have to be limited to history courses. Students could use RWT Timeline to create timelines of the plot of a story they've read. Or they could use it to plan the plot line of a story they're planning to write.

Another great resource from Richard Byrnes Free Technology for Teachers site.

Creating Contact Groups to Make Sharing Google Doc Easier

From Richard Byrne @ Free4Teachers:

A couple of days ago I received a question about sharing Google Drive files. The person who emailed me wanted to know if there is an easier way to share with a group than typing each person's email address individually. The answer is yes. The method is to create a contact group in your Gmail settings (personal Gmail or GAFE). That group will then carry over to your Google Drive where you can use it to quickly share Google Drive files. Screenshots of process are included below (click the images to view them in full size.

Step 1: Open your mail, place your cursor over "Mail" and choose "contacts" from the drop-down menu.

Step 2: Click the "add contact" icon.

Step 3: Select at least one contact name to reveal and open the "contacts group" icon.

Step 4: Name your new contacts group.

Step 5: Your new group is now created. You can add more names by simply selecting them from your contacts list and assigning them to your new group. Contacts can be members of more than one group.

Step 6:  Now when you open the sharing menu on a Google Document you can type the name of a contact group rather than entering emails individually.

Applications for Education
By creating contact groups you can quickly share with a group of students or faculty members without having to enter individual email addresses. I've used contact groups frequently when teaching multiple sections of a course. This makes it easy for me to simply type, "period 1" into the sharing menu on a document to have all of my students in that class receive it at once.

Week 26: Google Translate App

Google Translate App: Not Just for Foreign Language Classes

The app can now listen for two languages at a time and translate written text using the camera. Although this is not a new feature, I have to mention that the app does speak the word/phrase as well as show the written text. 

I am going to highlight how to use the app in the context of real classroom examples. Before I do let me start by saying, I know that there is no such thing as a perfect translation tool. I am not suggesting that you go out and write a book in another language using this app. I do however think this is a great tool to be used in an informal setting.

Example: Students can practice writing in a foreign language.

The text feature is nothing new, but definitely worth mentioning. This is a great way for students to be able to practice writing in a foreign language and getting instant feedback.

Here are some additional examples of how to use this feature:

1. Teacher can communicate with a student who doesn't speak the language well.
2. Students can use it as a "texting" platform to practice having a non-verbal conversation.

What Does A Relevant, Connected Educator Look Like-Part 1

When Tom Whitby and I set out to write The Relevant Educator: How Connectedness Empowers Learning we wanted to provide a manual for any educator who had a desire to improve their practice, as many have already done, by utilizing social media and other tools. We both had experienced tremendous growth in our professional and personal lives and we wanted to share how we got there with others.

Being a Relevant, Connected Educator is something, we believe, should be embraced by all educators everywhere. Today, with so much access to information, the way that learning is done is drastically different than it was just a handful of years ago. Professional development in many schools and districts has trouble keeping up with the latest pedagogical trends and some leaders refuse to embrace these methods as viable.

But what does a Relevant, Connected Educator look like? What do they do in their practice that sets them apart from those that don't use social learning as the backbone for their professional and personal learning? We believe there are eight things these educators do differently from the rest. Let's examine the first four.

Practices and Models Lifelong Learning-Most educators would say that they want their students to always love learning and do it far beyond school. Yet many don't practice it or only practice the learning as mandated by their leadership. Relevant, Connected Educators believe in the power that lifelong learning can have and are models of what that looks like. Digital resources has made it much easier for anyone to engage in learning any time, any where they are. And Relevant, Connected Educators plug in, often, to learn new skills, reflect on their practice and share learning with others.

Believes in Sharing and Collaboration-Learning is a very social activity. And think of all the things we wouldn't know had someone not shared knowledge with us. The sharing of knowledge is as old as time. Relevant, Connected Educators know the importance of sharing learning what they know and what they've curated. They also believe in the power of working together with others to improve and empower all.

Willing to Explore, Question, Elaborate, and Advance Ideas Through Connections With Other Educators-Just like sharing has been a part of learning since the beginning of time, disagreement and discourse as been as well. Debates help push our thinking and see all sides of arguments and issues. Relevant, Connected Educators use all the tools at their disposal to not only debate but reflect on their own ideas and explore new ones. Twitter chats, blogs and social communities help bring many ideas together in one place for us to learn from and with.

Views Failure as Part of the Learning Process-Most educators will admit they had a lesson (or in my case, several) that just didn't go the way it should. For one reason or another the expected outcomes didn't match with the actual. Some, would get frustrated and move on or make excuses and place the blame else where. Relevant, Connected Educators embrace failure as part of their learning. And, taking it one step further, they reflect on that failure, sometimes sharing it publicly so others can reflect along with them and offer suggestions or insight.

These are just the first 4 tenets of being a Relevant, Connected Educator. What do you think? How as doing any or all of these benefited you and your learning?

In Part 2 we will look at the last 4 and some ideas on where to get started on the path to being a Relevant, Connected Educator!

Creating Gmail Labels and/or Folders to Sort Student Submissions

The Chromebooks are here!  Students are creating Google Docs and submitting assignments - and now my Gmail inbox is jam packed with these student submissions - what a mess!  How can I make this work?  Here are a couple of videos that start to answer that question.

NBC Learn K-12

 From the Indiana DOE's Office of eLearning

Welcome to NBC Learn!

Indiana Department of Education is now making NBC LEARN K-12 a part of its digital offerings! Now all middle and high schools will be able to access thousands of high-quality archival, original, and currents events videos from NBC LEARN K-12 for use in classroom instruction, student projects, and homework.

NBC Learn K-12

Socratic Smackdown!

 A Game for Learning and Practicing Discussion Strategies

Socratic Smackdown offers a fun approach to having students practice discussion strategies. Socratic Smackdown is a printable game designed to be played with up to forty students at a time. In the game students are awarded points for using each of six questioning and discussion methods. Students can lose points for interrupting or distracting others.

The play of Socratic Smackdown can be organized around a text-based question or organized around debate a question delivered verbally. During the game students can play the role of participant or "coach." A coach's role is focused on listening to the group and completing "coach cards" on which they write observations on what the participants did well and what they can do to improve.

Check out the video below for a short overview of Socratic Smackdown.


Applications for Education
Socratic Smackdown provides a great framework through which your students can develop discussion and debate skills. The game packet (a 23 page PDF available here) includes alignment to Common Core standards for middle school and high school classrooms.

From Richard Byrne at Free Technology 4 Teachers!

How to Create a Jeopardy-style Game in Google Spreadsheets

Free Technology for Teachers:  Richard Byrne

Around this time last year I shared a neat Google Spreadsheets script called Flippity. Flippity was originally designed to help you create flashcards through Google Spreadsheets. This morning Steve Fortna informed me that you can now use Flippity to create Jeopardy-style gameboards through Google Spreadsheets. In the video embedded I demonstrate how to use Flippity to create a Jeopardy-style gameboard.

1:1 Training for the Novice

1:1 Training for the Novice
Click the Link above for a Google Slides Presentation

Shared by Ms. Hendrickson from a workshop she attended! Thanks!

Week 25: Chromebook Creation from Free Technology for Teachers

Chromebook Creation: Slides, ThingLink, & Snagit

This is a guest post from Greg Kulowiec (@gregkulowiec) of EdTechTeacher - an advertiser on this site.

With Chromebooks being adopted as the 1:1 tool of choice in schools throughout the country, it is helpful to note that there a number of options that allow for student creation that go beyond the suite of Google tools. One example of this creative potential takes advantage of a staple in the Google Apps library, Slides, and works in combination with Thinglink as well as the Chromebook screencasting option from TechSmith, Snagit.

In the image below, the process is outlined where a student could create an image or poster in Google Slides, export the image as a PNG or JPEG file, and then upload that file to Thinglink.




Once in Thinglink, the hotspot tags can be added to include text, links, or even YouTube videos. While typically the final product of this sort of creation would be the URL or embed code to the final creation in Thinglink, by layering the capacity of Chromebook screencasting with Snagit, the final product can instead be a video where the creator can explain the hotspot tags in Thinglink. This sort of layering of tools facilitates a level of creation with Chromebooks that allows student thinking to be archived, shared and made visible.

Below is a final screencast that demonstrates the entire creation process and what a final Thinglink screencast created with Snagit could look like.

Looking to learn more about creating with Chromebooks? Greg Kulowiec and EdTechTeacher will be leading a number of Google and Chromebook workshops this Summer.

Favorite Web Tools: Matt Bergman

 Matt Bergman

Google DriveQuizlet flashcardsFlipQuiz | Gameshow-style Qu..DropboxAnswerGardenDicatation - Speech to TextInfuselearningStoryBirdPrezi - Presentation SoftwareNearpod

Remind101 text messagingBlabberizeClass DojoKahoot! - Quiz Show!Comics | Make a comiPicMonkeyEdmodoTour BuilderPixton | Strips | EeEducreations ScreencastingSlideshareSchoologyPlanboard Lesson PlanningPadlet Post It NotesKidblog

Related keywords: Google, Drive, EasyBib, Quizlet, flashcards, Free, Online, Grammar, Check, FlipQuiz, |, Gameshow-style