Finding My Passion

Since late October I have not really enjoyed going to work.  It was a chore and I did my duty, looking forward to my exit time at the end of the day.  I realized yesterday why this has happened.  It has been about the "stuff" lately and not about the learning or the people.   This was a necessary evil as it was my campuses time to get new computers.  New computers are a blessing and a curse, but for me it took my attention away from what I love about my job.  So now with winter break approaching I am desperate to find something to hold onto to take me through the long spring semester.    I stumbled upon a pin on pinterest about a "Genius Hour" that a 5th grade teacher was implementing.  I was fascinated.   I want my kids in this classroom.  But more importantly I want to be this kind of teacher!

I started searching for more information about Genius Hour to see what I could find.  I found http://www.geniushour.com/ run by Chris Kessler (@iamkesler) and started reading.  I am hooked.  I am not sure how to implement this strategy as an Instructional Technology Specialist, since I don't teach in a classroom.  I also think those I work with are overwhelmed, but maybe they are not. Maybe they need a fresh take as I do.  It doesn't hurt to ask, and I plan on asking after the Christmas break.

I began asking myself, what would be my passion project?  What would I investigate?  That is when I think about the last few months on the job and the focus on the "stuff."   I want to investigate how to get away from the stuff and focus on the learning and the people.  To start on this journey I purchased one of the books suggested on the Genius Hour website - "Teach Like A Pirate" by Dave Burgess.  Okay - so I first looked at the book because I liked the title and my college mascot is a pirate, so it spoke to me.  Turns out Pirate stands for traits in a good teacher.  P is for Passion.  Passion can come from the 1)Content, 2)Profession and 3)Personal.

I got stuck trying to answer the question "What is it about being an educator that drive you?"  This should be an easy question, but it wasn't.  I could not pinpoint what it was that I enjoyed about my profession, especially the technology side of things.  I was having fun in the classroom when I took this position 13 years ago.  Why did I take it?  Why did I leave?

• I took it because I wanted to help teachers reach students in new ways.
• I liked helping teachers make sense of how technology could fit into their classrooms.
• I wanted to impact more students that I could in my own classroom.

I did not take it because I love laptops, tablets, desktops, chromebooks, android, google, apple, windows, office, web 2.0, or any of the other "stuff" out there.    This answer has been freeing to me.  I am looking forward to learning more about how this is going to look in the coming semester and the impact it will make.

I also am contemplating the future of this blog.  So far it has been about how to work the tools, but I really want to focus on the learning that happens with the tools.  I have tried to jumpstart the blog for the past year or so without success. Does it need a new name?  Has it served it's purpose and it's time to move on?  We shall see.   For now I am going to use it to journal my thoughts  and ah-ha moments as I move through the book and through my own search to find my passion in my chosen profession.

Technology Inspired Lesson Ideas

I usually look at technology as being the engagement piece of the classroom.   These lessons do not take technology to implement into the classroom, but they use technology themes to engage the students:

Table Texting:
An interactive strategy to use with any topic or text. Pose a question to the class, or have them construct a question about the topic/text. Then pass the paper around and have other respond to the question as if in a text message. Directions and the handout are available here.

Exit Ticket: Tweets
Twitter is very popular these days and can be a good way to check for understanding of the day's lesson. Have students fill in their tweet slip and turn it in on the way out the door. These can be hung up on walls/bulletin boards to show the learning taking place in your classroom.
Tweets about Today's Lesson

Cell Phones from the Past
What if a historical character, a character from a novel, or a concept/element had a cell phone? what would be on it? What apps would they use, who would they text, who would be calling them? Have students fill out this handout with that information as they think through the cell phone owner in a different way.
Cell Phones from the Past

My First Flipped Professional Development ~ Reflections

Last week I was able to deliver the face to face portion of the Flipped PD session I had been planning. I asked the teachers to log into the district moodle site and join my PD class. Once enrolled they were to watch a 5 minute video on what an Infographic is and tips on designing one. At the end of the video there were 3 pieces of information to fill out in an embedded Google Form. These three questions were based on what I had learned at TCEA from the Three Tech Ninjas - WSQ.

• Where did you watch the video?


• Summarize what you learned?


• Ask a Question that you have or that someone else might have?

Of the fourteen teachers that were to attend all but three logged in to moodle and answered the questions.  Those 3 teachers were male teachers, not sure if that is relevant, but I found it interesting.  :)    The summaries and questions were good to see ahead of time and let me know what concerns the teachers were walking in the door with and I was able to prepare to address those concerns at the beginning of our session.

When it was time to meet face to face I had prepared example assignments of how a teacher might assign an inforgraphic creation to students.  I included the data they would need to create the final product  so that we could get to the heart of making an infographic with PowerPoint   I tried to make the assignments and data relevant to their current or upcoming units of study and based on a PBL approach more than a straight forward assignment.   I wanted to try to model best practices all around as much as possible.  I also had prepared a handout that covered the basics of how we were going to use PowerPoint and the tools that would be most useful in this assignment.   I made sure to focus on things that were new or different than the normal use of PowerPoint so that I did honor there time with me.

I began by thanking them  for watching the video ahead of time and answering some of their questions they had asked.  I also told them we would now get started with creating their own infographic and I would not be talking about what an infographic was since they had already learned that.   I wanted to re-emphasize that the time they had already invested was worth it and I would be honoring that.

Overall they had positive things to say and were excited to walk away with something practical they could use.  They also appreciated all the hands on time and got a good feel of what would be involved in making an assignment like this for their students.  The biggest confirmation that this was time well spent is that the 8th grade teachers are assigning an infographic to their students for after Spring Break.  Looking forward to seeing this strategy played out in the classroom!  I also look forward to trying out the Flipped PD model again in the future.

 

Infographics

I was inspired at TCEA to start exploring a model of Flipped Professional Development.   After a week of toying with the idea I decided it was time to actually work design and complete a flipped training to get my feet wet.  I've learned a lot so far and I am only in the beginning stages.

Here are my take-aways so far:

1. It is a lot of upfront work!   


2. Have a good outline of what you want to cover and then create your presentation.  I started with the presentation and had to scrap it as I needed to get a better focus on the outcomes of the session.


3. Determine the best format to present the information.   What needs to be video, what needs to be written and what should be done face to face.


4. Choose a presentation tool to fit your audience.   I chose Prezi for this training because it allowed me to zoom in on the images so I could point out the details.   I thought using powerpoint would be too flat for a video and would lose their interest for this.  Also - I haven't played with it in a long time and wanted some practice.


5. Make sure you are having a good hair day if you are going to include a webcam shot of you during the presentation.  Vain I know, but this video will be around for a long time.


6. It takes a lot of work!   I know I am repeating myself, but I have spent hours on a simple presentation becuase my hope is to create something that I can use again and again with different groups.  That makes the time investment worth it.

I am going to set up the video in our district's moodle and will incorporate an embedded google form to ask questions after the video.  I am choosing google forms to demonstrate how the teachers can use them on their own websites when they are intimidated by moodle.

Here is my Prezi that I will be narrating and recording with Camtasia Studio.   The topic of the training will focus on creating Infographics in the social studies classroom using tools they are familiar with, more specifically Powerpoint.

Gmail - Undo Send

Have you ever sent and email and then thought “I forgot something!” or “Who did I send that to?”Well - now you can have up to 30 seconds to pull the email back and make those last minutes corrections.

 

In your inbox, click on the cog/wheel and choose "Settings" from the drop-down.

Click on the "Labs" tab from the top menu.

From the list of labs, scroll to the "Undo Send" lab.

Click the radio button to "Enable" this lab.

Be sure to click "Save Changes" at the bottom of the page.

Now under the General Settings tab you can set the amount of time available to undo the sending of the email. Choices range from 5 to 30 seconds.

When you send an email a pop-up will show on the top of the gmail page that will allow you to “undo” the sending of the email.

 

Clicking “Undo” will stop the email from being sent and allow for any changes that need to be made.

Make Your Images Interactive with Thinglink

Edmodo

Tech Camps - SumoBots

So two years ago I came up with the idea of offering Technology "Camps" during the school year.  These run for one week at a time from before school through advisory.  Each one focuses on a different technology topic. Students complete applications and the first 24 to return their complete application are in the camp.    I have offered camps on Scratch, Kodu, Blender, PhotoShop, Stop Action Animation, and Robotics.  My most popular camp is SumoBots.  Students work in teams of 2-3 to build NXT Robots that compete against each other to dominate the Sumo Ring.   I made the rings out of MDF board and painted them black and white.   The next camp starts the first week of December and I started advertising today for it.   Here is the Animoto video that I created from video of the previous two years of SumoBots.    I am looking forward to working with these students and seeing what they come up with this year!

Back to School: Student Motivation

As we head back to school it is a good time to consider what can I do as a teacher to motivate my students?   I have done a little research and compiled a list for consideration.

Student Motivation Ideas:

•  Make your subject personal.   Show your own enthusiasm and relate the material to the lives and interests of the students.


• Ask students to think about the materials and then use their statements as you study the readings.


• Be able to answer – Why do I need to know this?


• Get to know your students on a personal level.


• Measure student’s progress and show interest in helping them be successful.


• Promote good will!  State what is going well and connections that are being made in class with the materials.


• Make the classroom a safe place to learn, to participate, and take risks.


• Role model what a learner looks like and what mastery looks like in what you do.


• Understand that your class is not the most important thing in your student’s life.

When giving assignments:

• Give students a purpose and focus for reading, like take a side that you have to defend in the next class period.  Research shows that students do not see a correlation between reading and academic success so only 20% of them will do the reading.  Make them see the connection in your classroom.


• Assign reading that is essential to the understanding of the course.  The less is more approach.


• Focus in on what is worth knowing from your content.


• Make the assignments challenging but attainable for your students and expect success


• Differentiate whenever possible in what is to be learned, how it is to be learned or how the students can show mastery.

_________________________________________________

 References

Hobson, E. (2004). The IDEA Paper #40: Getting Students to Read. The IDE.A Center. Retrieved August 18, 2012, from http://www.theideacenter.org/sites/default/files/Idea_Paper_40.pdf

 Svinicki, M. (2005). IDEA Paper #41: Student Goal Orientation, Motivation, and Learning. IDEA Paper #41. Retrieved August 18, 2012, from http://www.theideacenter.org/sites/default/files/Idea_Paper_41.pdf.

Teaching Resources - Motivating Students. (2011, October 11).Teaching Effectiveness Program. Retrieved August 18, 2012, from http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/faqs/

Technology Tuesday - Web Curation

The internet is crowded with tons of resources and ideas.   How do you manage all the content you find online?  Do you add it to your favorites?  Do you add a link on your website?  Or have you taken advantage of one of the web 2.0 tools out there that help you curate your links in a way that make them accessible, ready to share, and ready to use.   Here are 5 of my favorite Web Curation Tools that are available for free.

1.   Pinterest –have you heard of it?  I know most of you have since I see your pins all the time.   Pinterest is a web curator site, or another way to organize your links that is social and visual.   You set up “boards” to which you “pin” websites. Each board can have a theme and you can look through other people’s boards (if they make them public) for more ideas.  Other users can follow your boards, like your pins or re-pin your pins onto their own boards.  There is a section labeled Education that displays people’s pins(website finds) that have to do with education.

I have created an account on Pinterest dedicated to educational resources.  If you would like to check it out (or follow them) go here:  http://pinterest.com/techrobin/

If you need an invite to Pinterest, please let me know!

2.  Livebinders  - http://www.livebinders.com/ - collect all your resources, images, videos, pdfs, websites, and group them into a “binder” where students have easy access to the websites that you have.  Inside the binder you can divide the content into tabs and each tab can have sub-tabs.  Students can create accounts and add the binder to their own collections or create binders on topic assigned to them.

 Examples:

• Algebra 


• Social Studies


• ELA – Hunger Games


• Science 


• Technology & Web 2.0 for Educators


• Art 

3.  Linoit - http://en.linoit.com/ - An online collaboration tool in the form of Sticky Notes.  Create a bulletin board of ideas and files on any topic.  Organize ideas and resources be rearranging the sticky notes on the board.  This is an easy, visual ways for students to find the resources or information they need.  This can also be a great collaboration tool as students add in notes (if you allow that) and collect ideas.

4.  Diigo - http://www.diigo.com/user/robiny - Diigo is a bookmarking website that allows users to create groups, share links and have discussions.      Researching biomes?  Give the websites you find a specific tag and gie that link the to students so anytime you add more resources their list is updated without having to add a link to your website.

This is a resource that I have been using for a long time and still love it.  I can add bookmarks from school and still retrieve them from home.   They also have apps that are useful for mobile devices.

 

5.  Wall Wisher - http://www.wallwisher.com/ - another online bulletin board that has been around for a while.  You can add stickies that contain text, images or links to websites.   This tools is great for collecting images of a certain topic and them having students use those images for their projects and since the kids can help add in the resources, this can be a great collaboration tool.

Technology Tuesday - Supporting Differentiation in the Classroom

Differentiating Content:

Here are a few tools to help in finding content suited to the different levels in your classroom.

Twurdy - http://twurdy.com - Need to find content to help in differentiation in the classroom?   Twurdy searched the internet and labels results with a readability score.  The darker orange the background of the result is the higher readability level it has.  This would be great when searching  for materials for struggling readers and for the gifted students who need more of a challenge.   The have their own scale system so be sure to check out the feature to turn the age level to understand their system.

Google Reading Level - Google also has a search filter that will sort results based on Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Reading Levels.   Type in your search term(s) and then click on the reading level you want to focus on to see the websites that fall in that category.

Text Compactor  - http://textcompactor.com/ - Create a summary of your text by pasting in the passage, drag the slider to show how much of the text you want to keep in the summary and then view the results.   You can also cut and paste the results into a text to speech program or into a language translator to help process the information even more.  This could be used for those ELL students or for struggling readers to comprehend the text.  Or use it in the writing process as students pasting in their own writing and determining if the created summary really reflects what was intended by the student.

Sweet Search - http://www.sweetsearch.com/ - A search engine designed to give results based on analyzing the credibility of the website so students will have access to information that is more accurate than random sites.   This website also contains widgets that you can place on your website so that students can use it as a launching point for searches in class and at home.

 

Differentiating Product

This is easy with Web 2.0 technology tools.  Students do not need to all create the same product, but choices can be given to allow them to choose a method that is more in alignment with their intelligences.  All these tools help students create.  According to the Digital Bloom's taxonomy - creating is on the high end of the spectrum of critical thinking tools.  You don't have to be an expert in all of these tools.  Tutorials already exist in youtube or by talking to other teachers who have the how-to papers ready to go.  Students are ready to learn the program to accomplish the product so let them try!

Create:

• Videos : Animoto, MovieMaker, PhotoStory,


• Webpages: Google Sites, Wix, Weebly, Wikispaces


• Interactive Timelines: Dipity


• Interactive Posters: Glogster


• Interactive Presentations: Voicethread, Prezi, Thinglink


• Audio presentations: Podcasts with Audacity

This list is not comprehensive, but this should get you started.

Management of Differentiated Products:

Worried about grading all these different products?   With the design of a good rubric grading can be easy as the content should always be what you are looking for no matter what the packaging is.   Rubistar is a great place to start in designing a rubric.

Tammy Worcester had a great idea of how to gather all the links/products into one place with a digital dropbox.  Using a google form, create a place for students to turn in their links for easy access to all products posted online.

Example:

Resources:

http://cooltoolsfor21stcenturylearners.wikispaces.com/Flexible+Learning+Paths

Tech Thursday - March 29th

I know it has been a little bit between posts, but with Google Apps testing and a wicked allergy season blogging moved to the end of my to do list.

Anyway - today I am looking at easy ways to create screencasts for your students.  Screencasts make excellent reviews or tutorials for students to access at home or on their on in class.  This is also an essential tool if you ever think about flipping your classroom.



Screenr - http://www.screenr.com/ - Is a free service that is a web-based recorder.  You can record your voice as the screen is recorded to create up to a 5 minute video.  The size of the screen to be recorded can also be customized.  The screencasts can be shared via link or by embedding them on a webpage with the provided embed code.

ScreenCast-O-Matic - http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/ - Allows for up to 15 minute videos and also allows the recorder to pause the screen and  highlight the mouse.  The video can be downloaded in a variety of formats and then can be loaded into Youtube so it can be embedded on your webpage.

ScreenCastle - http://screencastle.com - Click the record button and set the size of your screen before you begin recording.  After recording the video is uploaded to their website and you are provided links to use or an embed code.  Free and easy to use, although a little basic for me.



Jing - http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html?gclid=CKrqiuyhjK8CFUpjTAodRAHbFg - this is a great resource to create 5 minute videos based on what is happening on your screen and your voiceover.  The user can determine what part of the screen they want to capture in either screen shots or video.  Once done the video is in flash format and will need to be converted before loaded into Youtube.   This does require a download, but the software is free.

 

I must say I am partial to Jing as I have the most experience with it, but it does require a download and frequent updates which can be a pain if you don't have that type of access to your computer.   What is your favorite?

Technology Tuesday - February 28th

Twiddla ( http://www.twiddla.com) is an online virtual whiteboard where folks can get together to mark up a document, website, image, or white board for group collaboration.  Chats can also occur to allow folks to contribute and collaborate without being in the same room.  Try it out:  http://www.twiddla.com/767721  I uploaded the BYOT infographic and you can color on the page or circle images, draw, etc.   In your classroom this would be a great way to have student collaborate on word problems, projects, analyzing literature, etc.  As professionals you can use it to plan events or lessons with teachers from across campus, or from other campuses.    Did I mention it is free and no sign in is required to use the site.

 

Linoit - (http://en.linoit.com/) I LOVE this site!  This creates a virtual bulletin board with various backgrounds.  Place sticky notes with due dates, images, videos, etc.  This could be a great launching pad for your classroom if you display this on your screen at the beginning of the period or a place to organize resources for a project.  Items can also be added from a iPhone/iPad (no android apps at this point).  Items can also be added by email.

Main

 

PBS Learning Media (http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/)  is a collection of all things educational on the PBS website.  The categories include Arts, ELA, Health/PE, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Professional Development.   Resources can also be searched for by grade level, media type and resource type,  A login is required, but access is free.   resources include interactives as well as videos, documents, audio and pictures.  A wealth of resources worth checking into.

 

Science Links:

Periodic Table of Elements (http://www.periodicvideos.com/index.htm) - videos for each element, some more entertaining than others but does a good job of explaining the properties of each element and getting a good glimpse of what they look like.

Web Adventures ( http://webadventures.rice.edu/) - created by Rice University this teachers science through role play and web games.  Topics include infectious diseases, impact of alcohol on the body, the neuroscience approach to substance abuse, become a  member of CSI and learn to solve crimes with forensic techniques, and explore science as an apprentice.  Well-done and thought out this site deserves a look!

 

Technology Tuesday: Free Classroom Tools

In the training I attended yesterday the presenter used some pretty slick digital tools to time activities and choose people to call on.  Although that software was for sale, I also know there are some free alternatives that will do some of the same things.  Here are a few to explore before spending your money:

Triptico:  This is an installation, but once installed you have access to classroom timers, random number/name pickers and spinners.  All of these tools can be created ahead of time and saved on your computer for access use later on. Files can also be shared, so if teacher A creates a great spinner, then that file can be shared to Teacher B, C, D, etc without a problem.  This program also has several other templates including quizzes, scoring, and games.

ClassTools.net - offers free tools that do not require a download.  It has a classroom timer complete with your choice of soundtrack to run during the countdown.  It also has a random name/number picker for using to pick what student in each group you would like to call on.  These would have to be created as you need them and cannot be saved for future use.  You may want to save any lists you create in a word doc to be able to copy and paste over for quick access.

Online_Stopwatch:  Is also a free online tool that does not require a download.  This timer will count up or down and will go full screen to gain attention of the students.  This is one of my favorites to use!

Smart Notebook:  If you already have a smart slate or smart board in your room, check out the Notebook Gallery section and do a search for a spinner.  The default is for 4 sections, but that can be changed as can the labels and colors.   They also have a random number generator that can be used to randomly pick numbers in the number range that you set.  These can also be shared amongst the other smart slate users on a campus.

I also know several of my staff has iPads or other devices they bring to campus on a regular basis.  Check out the app store to find free apps for timers to use.

If you know of any other good tools to share (or apps), please leave them in the comments below.

 

QR Codes - Revisited

I have posted about QR codes before, but after seeing them everywhere at TCEA I thought they were worth revisiting!

I recently sent this QR code out to my staff after being inspired by this post by a friend of mine.  I got about a dozen folks to respond, several who said their phones weren't smart enough and some who tried to find the hidden image inside the square.  If nothing else it got people talking about QR codes on campus a little more.

To continue the conversation I thought I would compile  a few ways that QR codes could be used in the classroom based on what I heard at TCEA 2012 Convention and have read online.

Why QR Codes?

QR codes are an easy way to get a information to a device that is able to read the code.  You can use a smartphone or a tablet device that has an QR reader app (i-nigma is a good one). or a computer with a webcam as we have set up in the library on campus.  (See http://www.dansl.net/blog/?p=256 for details on how to set this up.)  QR codes can contain:

• Short pieces of text


• website address (including online videos or mp3s)


• email address


• phone numbers

 

How to Create QR Codes:

Several QR creator websites exist and are free to use.  Some of my favorite are:

• QR Code Generator:  http://qrcode.kaywa.com/


• QR Hacker - http://www.qrhacker.com/ - allows you to "bling" up your code with icons and color choices.

If you are going to get serious abut creating QR codes for websites, check out my tech idol Tammy Worcester's site for how to generate QR codes using a google spreadsheet.

Note:  Large pieces of text or large addresses create detailed codes that can be hard to read.  Use URL shorteners to create simpler codes that can be read by more devices like goo.gl, bit.ly or delivr.

Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom:

1. Famous People Posters:  Place a QR code on a poster of a famous person in your room that links to a video about them.


2. Famous People Part 2:  Link the QR code to a video of a mouth that when you place the phone over the mouth it looks like the poster has come to life and is talking to the student.


3. Fine Arts:  Link the QR code to an mp3 of the musical piece they are learning so students can listen to the the music from their modible devices.


4. Math Problems:  QR code can link to a video tutorial on how to solve that type of math problem.  Websites like the Khan Academy can help with the video content to link to.


5. Art Work - Create a mp3 file that explains the art and the concept behind it and link the QR code on the displayed art piece to the file.


6. Share Apps - have an app you want your class to use?  Make a QR code that links to the app store and place it in the classroom for students to scan and download the app.  Be sure to include two codes - one for android and one for apple.


7. Link to your homework site:  QR code in the classroom can link directly to your teacher web page so kids can easily get to it in the classroom on their own devices.


8. Link to resources for assignments:  Place a QR code on a powerpoint and project for students to be able to find the document or website they need to complete the assignment in class.


9. Library:  Place QR codes on books that link to reviews, book trailers, interviews with authors, etc so kids can learn more about the book before they read it.


10. Promote a School Event: Create a website that promotes the a school event and place QR codes in places on campus where students can use their devices.


11. On Assignments:  Place QR Codes on the assignment with the text answers so students can check their answers as they go along or to give hints to how to answer the question.


12. In the window of your Classroom:  Link to the class website so passerbys can view what is happening in your class with possible links to student work.


13. Scavenger Hunt:  Place QR codes around the room (or school) that go to information or contain clues for a class scavenger hunt on your subject matter.


14. Link Analogue to Digital:  Place a QR code on a draft of student work that links to the final product to show the learning process.


15. Make Displays Interactive:  Add QR codes to a display to make more information available to those viewing.


16. Link to Maps:  Place a QR code to link to a particular place on the map based on the current unit of study.  Kids can explore the area as they learning.


17. Attach Codes to a Physical Model:  Place codes on different parts of the model (like a skeleton) to identify parts and important pieces of information.


18. Choose your own adventure reading:  Create a story online and have participants scan their choice on what to do next to have them move to a different part of the story.

 

References:

Barrett, Tom. "35 Interesting Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom." 35 Interesting Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. <https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AU9h6PB8vipdZGM3dHB3c2tfMjA0ZDk1Zj

Technology Tuesday: Infographics

Infographics are all the rage. I have seen them on blog postings, shared on facebook, pinned on pinterest, printed in papers and in magazines. Basically they are a graphic representation of information. Think about USA Today, they have been doing this for years, taking data and displaying it with bright colors and images to make a point and display the data in a way that is easy to understand. Several subject areas TEKS require students to be able to read data from a chart, graph or image and draw conclusions. Infographics are a way to do that.

For those of you that are visual learners here is a great video on Inforgraphics as a Creative Assessment:



Infographics as a Creative Assessment from Kathy Schrock on Vimeo.

Examples of Infographics:

• Huge Collection of Infographics and an analysis of each one: http://www.coolinfographics.com/


• Getting More out of Google Infographic: http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2011/11/23/infographic-get-more-out-of-google.html 


• Examples of Infographics concering Education: http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/tag/education


• Constant Celocity Infographic: http://www.slideshare.net/gabud/constant-velocity-infographic (student created and uses QR codes to extend the learning beyond the page)


• Kathy Schrock's Infographic Topic List: https://sites.google.com/a/kathyschrock.net/infographics/infographictopics to get you started researching

Use infographics in the classroom:
Search google using "infographics" and your keywords to see what is available on the internet. Use the projector to display and discuss the information available on the infographic.

Taking it a step further:
Students could make their own infographic as a creative assessment using Excel for the charts and graphs and Publisher for the layout of the information. What a great way to report on a country or a historical event, or any topic that is organized around data of some kind.

Students have to

• choose the appropraite data


• graphics to help visualize the data


• organize the information to tell a story or get their point across.

Other Resurces:

• Kathy Shrock is an expert on technology, resources and education and she has compiled a list of resources in creating an inforgraphic: https://sites.google.com/a/kathyschrock.net/infographics/links


• Blog article on using and creating infographics in the classroom: http://www.slideshare.net/gabud/constant-velocity-infographic

Technology Tuesday: January 17th

Cool Resources:

I Fake Text - http://ifaketext.com/  - create screen shots of fake text message conversations to simulate conversations that could have happened.  Ideas include:  2 characters from a story, 2 historical figures, practice dialogue for a foreign language, practice using new vocabulary in sentences, and include these in your powerpoints to get student's attention.  Step by step guide and ideas can be found at: http://www.tammyworcester.com/TipOfWeek/TammyWTechTipOfWeek/Entries/2012/1/3_Tip_109_-_iFake_Text.html

Triptico:  http://www.triptico.co.uk/  - This does require a download to use (which the district now approves).  This resource allows you to create interactive resources such as Word Magnets, class timers, class lists with random name pickers, score boards for class games, matching squares for vocabulary or quotes, order sequence activities, spinners, question quizzes, and more.  This is a great resource if you have a smart slate or just want to use your projector in ways that are more interactive for the classroom.   If you want this installed on your teacher machine, fill in the tech help form to get on my list.  https://sites.google.com/site/rrmstechcenter/Home/tech-help-request

Apps in Education:  http://appsineducation.blogspot.com/2012/01/apps-for-teachers.html  - Check out this blog entry for a list of great apps (apple) for teachers to have.  The list breaks down the app, what it costs and what it does.  The website also has iPad lists for certain subject areas as well.  Great place to start if you are wanting to check out apps for your device.

Android Apps - http://kathyschrock.net/androidblooms/  - Not to leave Android users out - here is a list of android apps and how they rank in Bloom's Taxonomy.  This list is put together by Kathy Schrock and is a great list to work from.

 

Technology Tuesday - December 13th

Resources and Articles that caught my attention this week.

Mathtrain.tv  - http://mathtrain.tv/
Math videos created by students.

YouTube for Education -  http://www.youtube.com/education_channels?level=primary_secondary_education 

Lists the different Youtube Channels focused mostly on the K12 classrooms. Channels including Biography Channel (lots of celebrities but also historical characters), Encyclopedia Britannica, Smithsonian Channel, etc. Worth checking out!

BYOT: 10 Schools Encouraging Smartphones in the Classroom: http://edudemic.com/2011/12/smartphones-in-classrooms/
This article covers 10 schools and what they are doing with smartphones and what the results have been. Great data to use when considering using BYOT in the classroom.

QuadBlogging - http://quadblogging.net/
Join 4 other schools to share blogs. This guarantees your blog site will get heavy traffic for at least a week from students in another part of the world. Signup on the website. This is a great way to improve student's writing abilities and create those personal learning networks that are required in the Technology TEKS. You can still sign up for the next round happening in January 2012.

Digiteen Project: Gloabl Citizenship Collaboration and Education  - http://www.digiteen.org/timeline.html
Part of the flatclassroom series. Apply now to join in with other 6-9 graders in exploring digital citizenship. This project includes research and a on-campus project to implement what they have learned from the research. Project runs February through May. Applications are due Feburary 1.

Skype in the Classroom  - http://education.skype.com/
Join other classrooms in projects that include collaborating together online. Join a project already proposed or submit your own proposal for others to join in. Proposals are divided into age groups, language and categories. Worth taking a look!

Technology Tuesday - November 29th

This year I was trying to share resources that I found on twitter each Tuesday.  I found this to be a little exclusive and was wanting to allow resources i found from some of my favorite blogs as well.  So I am expanding from Twitter Tuesday to Technology Tuesday.   Flexibility is always nice to have.

 

Technology Websites to Check out:

Flipsnack - http://www.flipsnack.com - Think about the online ad papers that you can flip through. This sites creates those kinds of interactive files. Save your files as a pdf file or scan papers into one pdf file and then load it online to create a virtual flipbook. Various styles to choose from. The free account does has limits, but a nice option to make a virtual book of directions or from the kids work. Books are embeddable and can be shared by URL. Check out my sample at: http://snack.to/5PpNF6

7 Web 2.0 Animation Tools: http://www.markbrumley.com/2011/06/20/7-web-2-0-animation-tools/ - This blog posts reviews 7 different ways to create animations. Great site to check out the options!

Human Anatomy - http://www.biodigitalhuman.com/ - offers 3d Models of the human body. Different body systems can be turned on to show up at a time and the body can be freely rotated to see the different angles.

Documentary Tube: http://www.documentarytube.com - a collection of documentaries available online. Search by subject such as science, history, biography, disasters, or travel for instance. I saw a cool one created by BBC on how the memory works and another one about Hitler's children. The quality of the video is low when expanded full screen, and the site links you to amazon to purchase the documentary on DVD. Reminder: As always preview the video, check to see who produced the documentary and what agenda it had before showing anything to students.

Cool Apps:

Sock Puppets: http://itunes.apple.com/ve/app/sock-puppets/id394504903?mt=8  (Apple only) Create 30 second sock puppet shows for free and the recordings can then be uploaded into Youtube. You can purchase more recording time, backgrounds and puppets inside the app. Read a review of the app here: http://www.tammyworcester.com/TipOfWeek/TammyWTechTipOfWeek/Entries/2011/11/15_Tip_107_-_Sock_Puppets_App.html

Twitter Tuesday - October 25th

These are from one of my favorite tech podcasts : Tech Chicks

• Pre-Made Powerpoints for Any occasion:  http://www.pppst.com/


• Great List of Web 2.0 tools - http://www.hccweb2.org/web2/

QR Codes in the library
RT @nathan_stevens: QR Poster for Genre books: http://instagr.am/p/RcIbD/ #edtech #library
Students can find a book in the library by scanning the QR code and getting a recommendation by genre

10 Ideas for Using Cell Phones in the Classroom
SNewco: 10 Unique Lesson Ideas for BYOD and BYOT #mlearning #edchat #edtech
http://gettingsmart.com/news/2011/10/10-unique-lesson-ideas-for-byod-and-byot/