The Purple Parade

Wow!  I can't believe how fast this summer has flown by.  I'd like to share my best learning from the summer workshops I attended this summer: Digital Citizenship - A great book about Digital Citizenship is:   Digital Citizenship in Schools  by Mike Ribble.  He even has a website:   http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/ .  He discusses the 9 elements of digital citizenship (Digital Access, Digital Commerce, Digital Communication, Digital Literacy, Digital Etiquette, Digital Law, Digital Rights and Responsibilities, Digital Health and Wellness, and Digital Security). Web 2.0 for the Common Core - Amazing presenter - Julie Smith!  I had heard of most of the web 2.0 tools discussed, but it was great networking with other teachers as to how they use them in their classroom.  My favorite tools are listed below: Prezi Meograph Livebinders Symbaloo Lucid Chart Screencast-o-matic Animoto Go Animate Glogster Padlet Storybird Little Bir...

What is digital storytelling?  Well, digital storytelling is a project based activity that combines writing, audio, and pictures into a digital story.  When students use their own pictures and record their own audio to tell their story, it becomes very personal and students are completely engaged in the learning process.  It can be done with personal narratives, persuasive/opinion writing, fiction, etc., as well as writing in other subject areas. A great way to tell a digital story is through the use of Google Presentations   This can be done as an individual or group project.  For group projects, the teacher can set up a Google presentation with several slides and then "share" it with the group members (for individual projects, either the teacher or the student can start the presentation and "share" it with each other).  Make sure that you give the students "editing" privileges when sharing.  Then, each group member can contr...

Here's a new way of "Googling" a topic.  Google has a site called "What do You Love?"   http://www.wdyl.com/# .  When you type something into the "search bar", it organizes your searches into different categories like pictures, videos, books, blogs, news, and more about that subject. Check out this "love of algebra" - http://www.wdyl.com/#algebra . It is very cool and takes Google searching to a new level.  Go ahead and search what you love! Oh, and to view my favorite "What do you love", click here .

With the shift in education and the rise of online learning, many teachers and school districts have begun using online learning management systems.  Some well-known LMSs are Blackboard and Moodle.  But, there is a free LMS out there and it is called Edmodo .  This is a definite cost-effective way of integrating online learning without the expensive of Blackboard or Moodle system.  It looks very similar to Facebook, so the learning curve for teachers and students is very low.  As a district, you can sign up for a district domain.  The administrator of the domain has access to see all teachers and students enrolled in the system.  Student sign themselves up (with a teacher code) so the teachers don't have to type every student into the system.  Once a student is signed up with one teacher, they can join other teacher's classes by entering more teacher codes.  Students can upload their assignments to Edmodo for the teacher to view and grad...

Recently, I've been searching for an app that teachers can use to remotely activate their computers and interactive whiteboard.  I am happy to announce that I absolutely love the Doceri app for the iPad.  You have to download Doceri to the the iPad (free download) and also to your computer (free 30 day trial and a $30 one time fee after that). Your computer needs to be connected to a wifi network (go to www.doceri.com for more information). With Doceri for the iPad, you not only can remotely activate the programs on your computer through your iPad, but Doceri also has their own interactive whiteboard interface for you to draw on.  So, you can use it even if you don't have an interactive whiteboard.  Just connect your computer to a projector and project it onto a screen or blank wall. Also, you can record everything you do.  Your voice is also recorded into your presentation.  After you're done recording, you can upload it to YouTube so students can ac...

I just learned about a video site for math teachers (6th grade and up).  It's called Virtual Nerd ( http://www.virtualnerd.com/ ).  It has thousands of videos that show students how to solve math problems.  It even lists the steps on the side as it goes.  You can even download the instructions for those students who like to have a hard copy. Creating a teacher account is free.  There is a cost for student use, but as a teacher, you have free access to use the videos in your classroom.  You can link the videos to your own website for students to view without an account, but the step by step tutorial doesn't show up.  It is still an awesome site that can be a great tool for teaching math!!

This year our district switched to Google Apps for Education.  All students in the district were given a Google account.  Then, our district bought a few of the Nexus 7 tablets powered by Google.  (As I wrote about previously in this blog, one of our buildings is trying out the bring your own device and the tablets work well for those students who don't have an internet enabled device to bring).  The tablet works seamlessly with Google Email and the Google Drive.  According to USA Today , the Nexus 7 is more flexible than the Amazon Kindle Fire.  What I have found is that you can download many free educational apps from the Google Play store to the Nexus 7 and use the Google Drive and Email, too. Today, I was working with a teacher to set up the Nexus 7 for a special education student.  That student has a hard time writing. So, the teacher wanted a voice activated app that would type what was said and then print it out so it could be edited by h...