TCC 3-1 Cindy’s Links from collaborators at WikiSpaces

Wikis are wonderful tools! And lots of people use them. WikiSpaces is full of Wikis public for viewing with answers to your questions.

A few of my favorites:

• http://web20guru.wikispaces.com/Tools+By+Subject has links to interactive resources for specific core content areas by the hundreds,
• http://teachwithyouripad.wikispaces.com Has classroom management apps and comprehensive list of apps. Set up also to add content/grade level apps as a member.
• http://sgilley.wikispaces.com/2011+TICAL an extensive list of technology sites classified by type. Another page has PD How-to’s (6 hour PD sessions)
• http://ipadsforadministrators.wikispaces.com/ gives you apps for admins classified by task with some information about what to use it for.
• http://ipadsforadministrators.wikispaces.com/Google+Forms is from the previous wiki, but is the best information on forms I found.

The good thing about wiki’s is that you can join and contribute if you wish. I am just mining information from these instead of reinventing the wheel.

Enjoy!

TCC 3-1 Two New Sites for Teachers, Students, or Life Long Learners

These sites are brand new to me although they have been around awhile. Both offer lessons which can be used to supplement in class presentations of concepts. The sites are LearnZillian and Sophia.

LearnZillian has memberships for teachers and students. It has searches for video lessons of common core standards and strands. The lessons include along with the video, single slides to download and project for student viewing, and commentary from the teacher/writer of the lesson. There are only Math and ELA components since that is also the beginning of the Common Core, but there appear to be lessons from K to 12. You can mark favorites and assign things to students.
LearnZillion is also looking for a few good “men.” Teachers are offered the opportunity to apply for dream team membership.

The second site is Sophia. Sophia is a social educational platform with subjects to interest all. There is a learning styles survey on the home page, They are partnering with Capella University to offer college level course pathways. Pathways include a video lesson, a quiz which offers 3 questions on your understanding of a concept, then the next, then the next...and it retains the result so you will get a well done message if you go to the concept again. These are available as supplements to in class teaching. Sophia has a training pathway for “flipping” your classroom. Or having students research a concept and then using class time for hands on activities to cement learning. Whether you flip over Sophia or not you will still find many helpful things to supplement your teaching.

Sophia is also a place where parents can brush up on skills without  having to spend time in a classroom. Then they can not only help, but model what learning should be...a life long adventure.

Did I mention….they’re free?!

Enjoy!

TCC 3-1 More Than Power Point (My Symbaloo has more...)

If variety is the spice of life our presentations need some spicing up! Let’s break out of the PPT mode...here are some suggestions:PhotoStory 3 and Movie Maker are freebies on every machine in the district. ETV has shown us how to use them during summer PD. Both can make movies out of photos or video. And...did you know you can save PPT slides as .jpg photos and insert them also? Other sites which are photo friendly are: Google’s Picasa (download) which isn’t just for pictures anymore but will make a video-type presentation for you. Animoto (membership) makes a movie for you automatically using templates and music from their site,.
 Voki and Blabberize let someone talk for you. Voki allows you to type or record or upload a voice file that the avatar speaks. Blabberize lets you animate still figures so that they talk. (memberships)
Sketchup allows students to model a scene in 3-D It has a free version, and we have licenses for the Pro software for the next 3 years’ use.
VoiceThread uploads either video or photos and allows you to add either text or audio/video comments to each “slide.”
Or would publishing an online book be more matched to the assignment. Issuu (pronounced “issue”) makes a page turning book and gives a url to the book which can also be viewed in presentation or paper mode. While 2epub.com will take a .doc or .pdf or .pub file and make it into .epub which can be viewed with ipads, Nooks, and many other e-readers.
Prezi is more like a mind map than a PPT, but follows a path to each “page” of your presentation.
Webpages or wikis give another way to share information. Weebly, jottit, and Google’s Sites host easy to make pages.
Some other helpful tools are Audacity (a down load that edits audio), Jing ( a download that records your computer screen as a movie), and Vocaroo (a non-member site that records audio which you can embed or email)
These should help add some spice! Enjoy!

*My Symbaloo        

TCC 4-3 Teacher Blogs...Should You or Shouldn't You

Edublogs finalists for the Best Teacher Blog led to a...blog post on Edudemic. I am using these as best practice samples for what teacher blogging can be.

Tech Use:

Teaching Using Web Tools is high school classroom blog with connected student blogs linked from Norway. Teacher and Students also wrote a book.
Edutech for Teachers gives Diigo and Infographics updates as a regular feature of this blog by a technology specialist/teacher. Winner for 2013
Kleinspiration helps make new tech things less mysterious. Cool Cat Teacher seems to lean more toward uses of tech tools Like me she comments on what others are doing

Elementary Use:

mattBgomez writes from a kindergarten perspective with lots of tech-nology inclusion Modifying old hands-on to new with added features.
Seomra Ranga shares lots of resources in grade level tabs.

Language Use:

Leavingcertenglish.net seems to be a classroom with assignments in ELA. Lots of graphics and models of how he uses them.
Read, Write, Reflect explores literacy and reflection in a 5th grade classroom.
Hunting English’s well-written commentary on education decisions, buzzwords, and possibilities verges on arty. I think he might be British...enough said.

Math Use:

Mathy Cathy is a blog with best practices using technology tools in a real 21st century math class. Pittsburgh’s protractor mystery is included in a post…

Speech Use:

Speech Techie is, yes, a blog on tools for linguistic improvement. There is an exten-sive list of apps which can be used by speech professionals or parents/children for success in speaking more clearly.

I think this gives you enough ideas and samples of what is out there already. So should you follow, write & publish, share, or what?
Let’s look first at following some of these fellow professionals. What is the benefit? For years teachers were isolated in a classroom with students. Collaboration and teaming have improved this, but blogs offer a peek into classes and teacher’s heads that you would never have access to otherwise. Start with one of these and find teachers who have content, grade-level, or other connections to you...and follow them. (This means signing up for a feed of their blog which brings it to you.) It will enrich your outlook and your “toolbelt.”
Whether you choose to write a blog and publish your own shouldn’t hinge on your love of prose, but that does help...hmm, one math and five ELA. But you should strive to produce some-thing you are proud to share with the world. Tell how you use a tool in class...it will help another teacher, and that’s as it should be. Educational professionals have always “borrowed” from others. Blogs give you the oppor-tunity to give and take for the benefit of our students. Be the best, always be open to new ways of doing the things you need to do. Or new uses for the “old” ways.
Enjoy!

TCC 5-3 Augmented Reality 3

National History Day is looming on the horizon. While enjoying this year’s crop I am again reminded of some tools that might enrich the displays with more action. The most mundane would be the inclusion of QR codes with additional information  for those with smart phones or an iPad  provided.
But a  major step up from that is adding an Aura.  Picture triggers would allow for video to be added to a display. The tool I have used is Aurasma. It has been featured here before in editions 3-2 and 4-2.
There are two main sites (free) for this tool. And an App is necessary to read the Aura. But both IOS and Android  devices are usable although webpages can be accessed in IOS.
Aurasma.com is the site which features Auras already made including many triggered by places such as the Eiffel Tower, or the White House. Other uses are for businesses which may have their storefront as an Aura which gives business information. My interest is as an educational tool. My 3-2 article gave some examples so I won’t redo that aspect. Since NHD brought this on how about ways to add Auras in a project. Some of our projects are: Bethune-Cookman University, FDR, and Betty Friedan. A photo used on the display boards of these could lead viewers to videos done by the researcher or clips used for educational purposes to enhance material without using valuable display space. Or the Aura could lead to a website with additional information. Or to original videos of interviews with experts.
The site that makes this possible is Arasma Studio where you can add your extras to your trigger image.
About the time of my first article the logo of the company/site changed. It was a less customized letter A in a different color. I think this is its last iteration for awhile.
The other tool from 4-2’s article was LAYAR. I have not used this tool yet, but it seems similar.

TCC 5-3 Classroom Tech Infusion Class Dojo

Class Dojo uses real teachers to make their point...be positive and train kids. The tools are there: timer, randomizer, parent connections, sounds to remind, cute avatars to design…

January was Class Dojo month for Tech Cluster.
Our emphasis was on ideas for use in the real classroom so that we could reach non-users and pros alike using Dojo Channel videos from YouTube in their playlist Ideas From the Classroom: Emily talks about encouraging class participation with the randomizer., Maranda shows us how earning points for behavior helped students see what the behaviors look like, Kendra shows how she connects with busy parents,  Kaytlyn shrinks transition time, Marin affects the school environment. Paul wins for intervention needs, Taryn groups non-English students for lab work, and Evan encourages active listening. These range from elementary to high school aged students. Class Dojo also provides a video for introducing your students to Class Dojo which is found on the 

The best way to use this tool is with a hand held device, Apple or Android. You can begin with your smart phone if you have nothing else. This allows you to continue behavior observation while nowhere near your desk...or even the classroom. You can look at hall, playground or cafeteria issues. But the class participation and transition videos work nicely in a classroom where the teacher has no tablet. Both are during non-teacher led moments in class.
Some students need to see what behaviors we ask for look like. Perhaps they haven’t encountered respectfulness before. Seeing someone being rewarded for that behavior can build an understanding of it. In the video for ACE-type or special education students the teacher mentions that his students enjoy the immediate reward of the points for something they may not have been successful at before. 

View this 5th grade class’s short film of the way Class Dojo added color to their class. 

Sonya observed, “I can see my students improve not...for the teacher or parent, but for themselves.”

And of course there’s an APP for that available at iTunes or Google Play. Here is a link to a TeacherCast about new messenger tool….private messages can be 2-way while the whole class choice is only teacher to parent.. Messenger is a stand alone tool which can be  used without using Class Dojo.

This tool is so helpful in the real life classroom....