Staying Current

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that technology is moving at the speed of light? I am asked constantly by teachers that I serve, how in the world do you know all this stuff? First of all, I will be the first to say that I do not know it all, but I surround myself with people who do and I harvest the wealth of info available because of our connected world.

Just like many of our students, when I am faced with questions or am curious about something, the first thing I do is Google it. What ever did we do before Google? (I know we searched the card catalog at the library and/or referred to tomes of encyclopedias.) If I want a visual tutorial, I turn to YouTube. Hey, from YouTube, I learned that I had been peeling a banana incorrectly all these years. Who knew?

But seriously, I curate content from the web all the time. So today, I want to share a couple of my favorite ways to learn new things and then keep them in a place to refer to later.

First, if you have a tablet you need to take a serious look at the Flipboard app. I love Flipboard and it literally changed by feelings about Twitter. But wait, I am getting ahead of myself here. First, Twitter is an amazing tool for keeping up with the latest in education including educational technology. I use Twitter professionally and follow the "movers and shakers" in education. I also follow hashtags. Hashtags (noted by the # symbol) are used to categorize tweets by keywords or topics. You can also search Twitter feeds by the hashtags. Cybrary Man has created a large list of educational hashtags to get you started. So how does this all tie into Flipboard?

Flipboard allows you to link your Twitter account as well as pull in news and information in a variety of ways, including by the use of hashtags. Below in the screen shot of my Flipboard, you can see some of the hashtags I follow as well as my Twitter section as well. I simply use my tablet to navigate Flipboard which looks and acts like a virtual magazine. When I see a tweet or article that I want to know more about, I click on it and read. Pretty cool. Now, Flipboard allows me to create my own "magazine" of saved items by clicking the + symbol allowing me to save and read later.

I cannot write an blog post on curating content and not include my other favorite...Pinterest. I am sure that you have at least heard of Pinterest, but in case you haven't, it is a virtual pin board allowing you to pin images as links to material you have found on the web. It is a social network in the aspect that you can follow others and they can follow you allowing you to view each other pins. You can even work collaboratively and pin to each other boards. Since I am very visual, I love Pinterest. Educators world wide have flocked to Pinterest and are providing lots of educational content and ideas. I categorized my boards by topic such as iPads, BYOD, Web 2.0 tools, digital storytelling, and more. I blend professional pins and personal pins that are related to my hobbies all in one place.

Of course there are social bookmarking sites such as Diigo and Pearltrees that I used as well, but I will save those for another post on another day.

In today's changing fast paced world, it is important for educators to stay current. So how do you stay current and keep up with the content? Post your thoughts.

Paper Slide Videos - Oh My!

This year I have had the privilege of meeting with teachers during planning and offering ideas for technology integration. It has been fun and it has been a challenge. Each school is different (just like each classroom is different). When suggesting ideas you have to start with curriculum content (which is the same across all my schools). Then look at the instructional strategy that the teacher wants to use (differences begin here). Then you have to look at what technology the classroom or school has available (wide differences here!). You also have to take into consideration time constraints, teacher's comfort level and ability with using technology, as well as the students' age.

There have been some successes and some failures, but I want to share an option that several teachers have tried recently and for the most part had success. It is low tech but high engagement and can be used in all subject areas. The technique was developed by a North Carolinian by the name of Lodge McCammon. Yes I am  talking about paper slide videos.

The concept is so easy. Students create a story (commercial, math explanation, etc) and then plan it out using a storyboard. Taking the plan, students draw the images needed to convey the information. Students rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse some more. Students then video their story by narrating and then sliding the paper to continue the story. It is a one shot deal, the camera starts rolling and it doesn't stop until they are finished. There is no editing (I hear a collective sigh about not worrying about animations and transitions.) Simply publish the finished product. To learn more about Paper Slide Videos, please check out the wiki here. 

The third graders at this particular school created travel infomericals for various planets. Then worked together as a group to video the finished projects.

The kindergarten classes at the same school used Paper Slide Videos to publish one of their writers' workshop pieces. So every student has their own video.

Give Paper Slide Videos a try and tell me what you think.

Google Drive ...What's the Big Deal?

If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time you know that our district has Google Apps for Education for our employees and our students. When we first began to use Google Apps for Education, the office suite was known as Google Docs. During our transition, Google changed it to Google Drive. It has been my opinion that the impact of the possibilities haven't hit our teachers yet. So today I want to examine that impact.

First some history, Google Docs allowed us to create a new word document, spreadsheet, presentation, or drawing. Of course all online and easily shared for collaborative purposes. Then along comes Drive adding the possibility to add Drive to our computer so we could easily drag the file to the Drive app on our machine and it sync to our cloud account.

Recently, Drive changed yet again. When you click the red create button in drive, you will notice that you have an option to connect apps when using Google Chrome. Yes, you read that correctly...apps. To. Drive.

So the impact of this should be the realization that we can add software to our account in the cloud giving us the ability to edit many different file types anywhere, anytime we have Internet access. Google Chrome really begins to act as an operating system.

If you have a Google account, I hope you will explore the possibilities.To get you started, here are a few of my favorites.

1. Powtoon EDU

Powtoon allows you to create presentations, greeting cards, and more using an easy "drag and drop" interface. Each slide is treated as a scene and you just drag and drop characters and props onto the slide, add text, and assign animation. Powtoon is exported to YouTube which you can then embed.

2. Pixlr

Pixlr is a free full featured photo editor similar to programs such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. Tools include red eye reduction, spot heal tool, drawing tools, and others. Software also contains filters and various adjustments. Connect it to your Drive account and give it a whirl.




3. Lucid Chart

Lucid Chart is a collaborative mind mapping software that allows you to create visual representations flowcharts, diagrams, and charts. It is super easy to use by dragging and dropping the shapes onto the screen and then typing. You connect the shapes by clicking on one and dragging the mouse to the other. Lucid Chart is free for educators in K-12. Click here to find out how to sign up for the free account.

4. WeVideo

WeVideo is the free full featured video creator. You can use still images and or video. Upload your media, drag and drop on the timeline to arrange the story, select your style, add audio, and publish. It is really is that easy. Did I mention that you can collaborate on that video as well. WeVideo adds a folder to your Drive called "WeVideo_Folder_your_email_address. To share a project, click on the name of the video in the folder and select share. So share it with collaborators and edit away. You can publish your finished product to YouTube or to Google Drive.

5. HelloSign

HelloSign is paving the way to a paperless classroom (or office) by providing an easy way to sign documents or get documents signed. No more printing, signing, and scanning documents. Open the file, add your signature (or text, date, checkmark, or signature request). HelloSign emails the document and it is legally binding. HelloSign also allows you to create reusable documents by creating a template for those documents you use most often.

6.  Simplebooklet

Use the free account to create brochures, flipbooks, presentations, etc. It is very user friendly allowing you to create your work from scratch or by uploading a PDF file. You can add text, images, videos, and more. You share your work by embedding on your site or by sharing the unique URL for your book.