Personal opinion of course!
But one of my favorite places to go for my PLN is the communities section of Edmodo combined with my "soapbox" of teaching in schools today.....Digital Citizenship Community!
Win Win - the curriculum created in collaboration with Common Sense Media.
Perfect! Teachers only have so many hours in a day and when it's spent recreating the wheel. UGH - frustrating!
Thanks Edmodo and Common Sense Media! I <3 contract="contract" p="p" the="the">
Monday, September 24, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Edmodocon - Online Professional Development Opportunity
Check out the schedule of speakers and sessions being offered at
Edmodocon this next Wednesday Aug. 8th!
This is a free online global conference with great topics like integrating Edmodo with iPads, paperless classroom, flipping the classroom, collaboration ideas, etc.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Blogging
Eastern Oregon Google Summit - May 19th 2012 LaGrande, Oregon
Great Resources for blogging in the classroom:
- EduOnAir: Ben Curran "I Think Therefore I Blog"
- Blogger in the Classroom Cheat Sheet
- Teacher Guide To Setting up Student Blogging
- Why Blog with Students
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Title IID Grant Showcase, Chalkboard Master turned Photostory Guru, and Adora Svitak
After seeing the Grant Showcases from around the state, I walked away with a great feeling that Eastrn Oregon has it going on. No, we are not trailing behind the rest of the state, as a matter of fact, seeing some of the showcases I'm willing to say there are districts in Eastern Oregon that are leading the way. And this showcase demonstrated that!
My Chalkboard Master is my mentor teacher from years ago.....and he was the chalkboard die hard. We all have had one or two of these in buildings we have taught in. My shock in all this is that this grant showcase was for teachers who particpated and now were sharing out about their experience and learning with their grant and as I stood to leave the room, there he was. A blast from the past! The last place I would ever see such a educator. He was like a fish out of water, but with a smile that was very big. After greeting and hugs I went to the school showcase to see what he had done. Walking away from the session feeling like with every teacher I work with....there is hope!
The keynote at the end of the day was 14 year old Adora Svitak - a leader in speaking up for educational technology and changing the education paradigm. Some may have seen her in her Ted talk.
The topic of her keynote via livestream was:
My Chalkboard Master is my mentor teacher from years ago.....and he was the chalkboard die hard. We all have had one or two of these in buildings we have taught in. My shock in all this is that this grant showcase was for teachers who particpated and now were sharing out about their experience and learning with their grant and as I stood to leave the room, there he was. A blast from the past! The last place I would ever see such a educator. He was like a fish out of water, but with a smile that was very big. After greeting and hugs I went to the school showcase to see what he had done. Walking away from the session feeling like with every teacher I work with....there is hope!
The keynote at the end of the day was 14 year old Adora Svitak - a leader in speaking up for educational technology and changing the education paradigm. Some may have seen her in her Ted talk.
The topic of her keynote via livestream was:
"The New Kid(s) on the Block”: Youth Digital Culture and Implications for Student Voice in Education
It reiterated that important reminder that students need to have a voice in how their education should look and be truly listened to. Considering we were all their for tech grant shareouts - it was more like preaching to the choir.... but she's out there, making waves, standing up and saying what she believes, and maybe.....just maybe.... someone from the "dark side" will hear what she is saying and listen.
A great day it was!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
#eduonair..... Education on Air Conference by Google
In between answering emails, working on resources, and answering the phone, I streamed in some of the live #eduonair sessions.
Great stuff!
I have ideas running through my head.....wishing I was back in the classroom!
How does it work? Google in Education set up a series of Google Hangouts on Google+ on a variety of topics.
Check out the list they offered today!
Another way to learn and get resources is to follow the hashtag #eduonair.
So today...since I'm multi-tasking...I did a little bit of both!
And I found some cool links, resources, and all the hangouts are now youtube videos to watch later! If you check out Google in Education on Google+ you will see all the past hangouts.
Not on google+? It's a great place to help support your PLN. :)
So some cool things I have found so far.....
Example of a Google Form with Logic:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFVFV0lPX2xLOGJqUm1mLXdybk01SUE6MQ
**Key suggestion is to write it out on paper - lay it out first -
figure out your branches - then you won't mess up the spreadsheet.
**Key suggestion is to write it out on paper - lay it out first -
figure out your branches - then you won't mess up the spreadsheet.
Resource for some on demand PD:
Checked out some fun youtube EDU channels.
/scishow
/cgpgrey
/theSpanglerEffect
/MinutePhysics
/TEDed
As I watch this I think of all the teachers teaching over here on the West Coast that will have to watch these later...... never a "best time" for everyone I guess.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
My First Screencast
So I have a friend in the teaching program at the local university that is learning to use Activinspire. Rather than trying to walk her through steps on the phone, I thought I would use screencast-o-matic that I have heard a few others talk about. I know there are other sites out there, but this one seems kind of simple and can hold up to 15 mins. Then there is an instant upload to Youtube... which I suggest, because I had troubles with my video being viewed straight through the site.
So my first attempt is here = yes I talk fast and say a lot of ummmsss....hopefully I'll grow out of that someday!
Pretty nifty tool.
My friend, Paul Nolan, is using it to pull up essays of a student and give them personal review of their papers for them to listen to. This saves class time, he records at home and gives them the link. Then the whole class can listen to his conferencing on their paper at the same time in class. If you try to pull each student one on one in class - there goes a whole week! Also, he knows what topic to recover as a whole class, or what specific student he really needs to pull for some extra work. Genius I say!
May have to do this more often!
So my first attempt is here = yes I talk fast and say a lot of ummmsss....hopefully I'll grow out of that someday!
Pretty nifty tool.
My friend, Paul Nolan, is using it to pull up essays of a student and give them personal review of their papers for them to listen to. This saves class time, he records at home and gives them the link. Then the whole class can listen to his conferencing on their paper at the same time in class. If you try to pull each student one on one in class - there goes a whole week! Also, he knows what topic to recover as a whole class, or what specific student he really needs to pull for some extra work. Genius I say!
May have to do this more often!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
ITSC 2012
What a whirlwind!
It's amazing how one conference re-ignites the passion for why I decided to change jobs and why I love the education field. ITSC has always been a favorite, as I have gone as part of grants I received when teaching, and one year out of desperation for inspiration, I paid for it myself! This year I was inspired by presenters both new to me and others that I have followed on blogs and twitter throughout my career. Of course, the time to network with other like minded teachers from around the Pacific Northwest sometimes can not compete with the presenters!
So now I am off to sift through my sites, notes, presentations, app lists, EVERYTHING that I jotted and recorded and bookmarked over the past 4 days. I also have lots of emails to send out to try to keep the momentum going from the conference with the other lucky teachers who were able to attend from our ESD region.
It's not about the tools, it's about the skills....... @langwitches
It's amazing how one conference re-ignites the passion for why I decided to change jobs and why I love the education field. ITSC has always been a favorite, as I have gone as part of grants I received when teaching, and one year out of desperation for inspiration, I paid for it myself! This year I was inspired by presenters both new to me and others that I have followed on blogs and twitter throughout my career. Of course, the time to network with other like minded teachers from around the Pacific Northwest sometimes can not compete with the presenters!
So now I am off to sift through my sites, notes, presentations, app lists, EVERYTHING that I jotted and recorded and bookmarked over the past 4 days. I also have lots of emails to send out to try to keep the momentum going from the conference with the other lucky teachers who were able to attend from our ESD region.
It's not about the tools, it's about the skills....... @langwitches
Monday, February 6, 2012
Kidblog and the Classroom
Sometimes trying lots of new things in the classroom can be intimidating or feel like too much. One thing to remember is to take small steps. Once you have done that, push yourself to take a few more steps.
With blogging it's important to make sure to keep things meaningful for the students. There is a great blog post on "Blogging through the 4th Dimension" that discusses how to make blogging meaningful for students. You can see her post here: http://mrspripp.blogspot.com/2011/05/14-steps-to-meaningful-student-blogging.html
This blogger/teacher also uses Kidblog, here is her sample letter that she sends home with her students: Parent Letter for Kidblog .
She also has student sign an internet safety plan. (this is different than your district's acceptable use policy - especially because it's in kid friendly language!)
Here is a direct link to the Knowledgebase for Kidblog where you can find answers to all sorts of questions!
Here is a direct link to a wiki from Purdue University of Web 2.0 Resource for the Classroom - A whole page devoted to Kidblog!
Blog on!
With blogging it's important to make sure to keep things meaningful for the students. There is a great blog post on "Blogging through the 4th Dimension" that discusses how to make blogging meaningful for students. You can see her post here: http://mrspripp.blogspot.com/2011/05/14-steps-to-meaningful-student-blogging.html
This blogger/teacher also uses Kidblog, here is her sample letter that she sends home with her students: Parent Letter for Kidblog .
She also has student sign an internet safety plan. (this is different than your district's acceptable use policy - especially because it's in kid friendly language!)
Here is a direct link to the Knowledgebase for Kidblog where you can find answers to all sorts of questions!
Here is a direct link to a wiki from Purdue University of Web 2.0 Resource for the Classroom - A whole page devoted to Kidblog!
Blog on!
Friday, February 3, 2012
Get the Kids Writing!
There are two online tools that work well together for intermediate grades. Both these tools will incorporate writing and reading, with the reading focusing on non fiction and opinion writing.
Kidblog.org is easy, simple interface, that allows students to get a chance to write for an audience, all the time, anytime. It's teacher monitored, safe, and needs NO email!
I used this blog site to start my 4th graders out on blogging. I've seen it used from 1st to 8th grades in the schools with great success. Knowing that others will be reading it, ups the production and quality level. I would have students write blog posts on their own time, on their own topics, and the result is greatly improved writing skills.
My Sample Kidblog
Login for Sample Kidblog
A few key things:
*you can edit their password in case students forget. (That would NEVER happen!)
*placing a link to the direct log in for your class is the easiest way for students to log in.
*everything, posts and comments, come to the teacher before they can be published.
Once I established using kidblog, using it to respond to journal entries, talk about video and book responses, etc.... I found Tween Tribune.
Tween Tribune is an online newspaper that takes high interest articles and rewrites them in smaller, simpler terms for "tweens". Students can have teacher created accounts which allow them to submit comments, responses, and even their own rewritten articles to the site. Many teachers, though, use tween tribune as a place for students to go, choose an article that interests them, read it, and respond on their own kidblog or other writing format.
Definitely a resource to check out!
Kidblog.org is easy, simple interface, that allows students to get a chance to write for an audience, all the time, anytime. It's teacher monitored, safe, and needs NO email!
I used this blog site to start my 4th graders out on blogging. I've seen it used from 1st to 8th grades in the schools with great success. Knowing that others will be reading it, ups the production and quality level. I would have students write blog posts on their own time, on their own topics, and the result is greatly improved writing skills.
My Sample Kidblog
Login for Sample Kidblog
A few key things:
*you can edit their password in case students forget. (That would NEVER happen!)
*placing a link to the direct log in for your class is the easiest way for students to log in.
*everything, posts and comments, come to the teacher before they can be published.
Once I established using kidblog, using it to respond to journal entries, talk about video and book responses, etc.... I found Tween Tribune.
Definitely a resource to check out!
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