On the 11th Day of Tech Tools my ITRT gave to me:

If you have ever forgotten anything this tool is for you!   Evernote’s motto is “remember everything.”  Evernote can be used to make checklists, to-do lists, grocery lists, reminders, recipes, and pretty much anything you need to keep track of.  It is a digital way to “take notes.” Anything that you would write on a post-it or on your hand you can type into Evernote and save it.  The nice thing is you can access Evernote from any device that has Internet access.  You can even have it e-mail you reminders on specific dates and at specific times. I put the app on my phone and iPad.  Now when I lay in bed at night and think about what I need to do when I get to school I just pick up my phone and put it in Evernote. 

Evernote can also help you organize your classroom. You can save websites, videos, and pictures in each note. Read this blog post about how one teacher uses Evernote in her classroom.  She has some great ideas.

I hope this helps you to get organized!

12 Days of Tech Tools

                                                                                       

Welcome to the first of the 12 Days of Tech Tools.  As we approach Christmas break, our goal is that you will take 1, 2, or even all 12 of these tools and begin using them to help you and your students in 2014. 

_______________________________________________

On the 12th Day of Tech Tools my ITRT gave to me.......Backing up to the Cloud so I won't worry about a broken flash drive again!

The first set of tools will give you the ability to access your files anywhere you have Internet access.  Gone are the days of leaving your flash drive at school or in your pocket before you wash clothes.  I know of at least two teachers that have had their flash drives “give up the ghost” in the last two weeks.  Don’t let that be you! “The cloud” has remedied our flash drive issues. 

"The cloud" is a term that is thrown around a lot these days.  In simple terms it just means you are not storing things on your local computer.  It is a great option for backing up your files. There are four options listed.  Make sure you look into the details before deciding what is best for you.  Each one has a different amount of storage.  Some of the sites have apps so you can access files on your phone or tablet.  There is not a one size fits all solution. Here are 4 free options.

1. DropBox – 2GB of storage

2. Box – 10GB storage

3. Google Drive – This is available with any Google account, even the county 'gtest' accounts.  

4. SkyDrive - That's right, right here in your school e-mail you have access to cloud backup.  Just click on SkyDrive in the blue bar at the top of the screen.  Then you click the blue addition sign where it says new document.  Choose a file to upload and you have backed up to the cloud!

HAPPY SAVING (backing up)!!!

Google Drive (part 2 of 3)

There is a lot of information below. I suggest you have Drive open so you can try each one as you read! Worth the time, I promise!

 Features you may not know about:

 ~ If you look in the tool section while typing a document, you will find the Spell Check, but you will also find "Research" and "Define" ~ if you have a word highlighted and click on either one, over on the right of your screen you will see a list of webpages for the former and the definition of the word in the latter.  But that is not all! In that same section on the right you can click on the little arrow to the left of the term you searched and filter your research query by pictures, text, tables, etc.  (look for the brown stars in the above picture).

~ Also in the tool section is the option to translate your document. I am not fluent in another language to really test this but for those that teach ESL students or foreign languages, this may be something you want to check out!

~ In a document you can "insert" an "equation" with the choices including typing fractions, exponents, etc. There is a slight learning curve with getting the equations to look the way you want (for me anyway) but, just like riding a bicycle, once you find the right pattern of keystrokes, you won't forget!  The tab key and arrow keys on your keyboard are very important here. (blue star)

~ Second only to the "undo" button, the document's "Revision History" is a favorite feature when working with students. I've marked how you access it with the red star. When you select this a window will pop up on the right side of the screen. This will show you all the times the paper has been edited and if there is more than one person working on that document because it has been shared, you can also see who was in it when and what they did. No more "one person did all the work" and others getting a free ride! I have really used this feature the most when a student (or adult, or myself) cries out that something has gone missing... I look back in the history, find what has disappeared, copy it, and then paste it into the latest version. 

~ One of Drive's fantastic features is the ability to share documents. For example, students can share documents with teachers for feedback, teachers can share templates with students, students can work together on a project, even without being in the same room, etc. Marked by the purple stars above, you can see where I left a comment (right) on a specific phrase in the paper (left)... what a great way to give feedback!

~ During a recent in-service, Mrs. Duke (8th grade English, using Google daily), also shared that she was tired of typing the same comments over and over again and she found a great solution. She went up to "Tools" and then "Preferences" and put a short-cut for phrases she was repeating... for example she put wc in the "replace" column and {word choice} in the "with" column. Now when she edits a student's paper, she goes right into the text, types wc where the student needs to choose a better word, and the phrase {word choice} goes right where the student needs to look.  The brackets are important so the comment stands out from the student's text. This preference change only works for the person who added the preference so if the student types wc, the same thing will not happen. And bonus, once the preference is set by a user, it works in every document from there on out. A little work up front but a huge payout later! (there are will already be standard preferences in the preferences table... the ones you add will be on the bottom once created).

~ If you or your students find a picture on the Internet that you know you have rights to use, click the picture and hold the left mouse key down and don't let go until you have dragged your picture into your document (up to the tabs, hover over your document's tab until you see your document, and place picture). Don't forget to credit your source!

~ The Drawing choice under the Create options (or conveniently under "Insert" within a document) is also a great tool. I used it above to create an image for the first page of my presentation when I couldn't find one I liked better, but it can also be used to create flow charts and for insert word-art into documents.


Google Forms tomorrow!

Google Drive (Part 1 of 3)

There are few tools that I have found that have helped my personal and professional productivity more than Google Apps. For years I have been suggesting using Google's offerings (Drive, calendar, Blogger, etc) with mixed success. If you are one of those people who were hesitant to try Google before, or tried it and hated it, I urge you to give it a second chance, specifically Google Drive.

The benefits of using Google Drive for teachers and students are plenty... far more than I can list but here are what I consider the big players:

• It saves automatically to your own password protected account... every five seconds.
• Unlimited storage for items created in Drive and a lot of storage for other documents you just want to store there.
• Access everywhere you can get online ~ no more flash drive at home while you are at school.
• Users do not have to have the Microsoft Office suite on their computers. If a student does not have Office on his or her home computer, how can he or she finish a project at home? If the user has started a project in  Drive, he or she can access it as long as the Internet is available. Options are good!
• Collaborating is awesome! Multiple users can work on the same document, at the same time. Bye-bye to the workload falling on just the motivated in the group or bye-bye to the project get hung up based on one person's slacking effort! Also, students can share a document with a teacher, who can then comment on it. No paper passing required... less clutter is a good thing!

Of course there are negatives; there are always things we would like to see work differently or better. The big one is needing Internet access and that isn't always available. Another struggle is students forgetting their passwords,  however, the requests for passwords to be reset diminishes if users use a program on a regular basis!

Tips to improve your experience & updated tools:

~ Browser choice matters!  If you haven't ventured out of using the big e to get on the Internet, now is the time. Google Drive works best in Chrome. Why?  Because they both products of the same company and are updated with each other in mind. But Chrome isn't the only choice; I often use Firefox for my Internet browsing and have had little or no issues with Google Drive doing so. My experience with Internet Explorer hasn't been as positive; they may play nice for a short time but then there is an update to one and everything goes wonky. Stick with Firefox or Chrome. 

~ Printing. Back a few years ago we had students here completing a report in Drive. When we went to print, the margins, the spacing, and the formatting was a disaster! Students ended up downloading to Word and then spending time reformatting their lengthy appears. What a waste of time! Now downloading to Word is still an option but clearly there have been improvements because now what is on the screen is what prints! Yay! What I have noticed is if you are in Firefox (and IE though we have stopped using that one for Drive, remember?) you will have to open your document as a pdf and then print (you are gently walked through this, no worries). If you are in Chrome, you can print directly to your printer.

~ Google's presentation option is best described is a simplified version of PowerPoint. There are limited choices of themes and the animation options are basic, but while students often grumble at the lack of bells and whistles, less is more in my opinion... more time spent on content during the creation and more focus on the speaker during presentations. Let them complain!

~ When you create a spreadsheet in Google Drive you can also graph the data, just like you would in Excel. A few years ago I was hesitant to recommend using Google over Excel because I found the process quirky. With the changes to both programs in the past few years, I now find them both excellent, and for students, I think Google's is a bit more straightforward.

Don't forget to contact your ITRT for assistance before, during, or after you try any of these suggestions! 
We want to help!

Google Drive's document options tomorrow!

SimpleBooklet

Make web flip booklets...

...for student projects, reports, presentations, and newsletters.

simplebooklet.com

Hola Amigos!

In middle/high school I spent five years studying German and in college I spent two years studying Spanish. How much of it do I remember after a couple of decades? Well, I can ask where the bathroom is if I am in Mexico and I vaguely remember that in German all the verbs pile up at the end of the sentences. That is about it.

I found learning another language challenging and as an introvert, I was always too nervous to try to pronounce foreign words in front of others. Those things did not work in my favor. Since my earlier education I have purchased several cd sets in hopes to once again master another language but sitting and listening to a cd isn't a great learning method for the easily distracted like myself.

So today, on my Twitter feed, I read about a link to this site: http://www.duolingo.com/. English speakers can choose to learn Spanish, French, German, Italian or Portuguese or native speakers of those languages can learn English. The game style of the website is fun, the interface clean, registration and participation is free, and for those who want to learn on the go, a Duolingo app is available for the iPad, iPhone, and Android devices. The practice activities I have participated in so far have included identifying which Spanish phrase goes with which picture, translating a Spanish phrase into English and vice-versa, and even recording my own voice and receiving computer feedback... I like this because I don't fear a computer wincing at my non-native accent. :o)  There is also a way to compete with friends if they are users, a discussion board for sharing of ideas and an immersion section with articles that users can work on translating.

This site would be a great addition to a foreign language curriculum (including instruction geared towards English-as-a-second-language students). And if you are fortunate enough to already be fluent in two languages and like to help others (don't all teachers?), there is a section of the site where users can help create new courses.

Enjoy! 

Fake Conversations Made Real

So this is pretty cool.  Conversations in the 21^st century have changed dramatically.  No longer do children run outside and yell for their friends to come outside.  Nor do they pick up the phone to call them to see if they can play.  They text each other and tweet them.  Texting and tweeting, along with voice search programs like Siri, also allow students to find answers to questions.  In the classroom these ways of communicating with each other can be turned in to a powerful educational tool.    Now I know there are dangers with elementary age children having Twitter accounts. And I also know that we cannot buy iPhones with Siri and Texting for all students.  But there are web-based programs that allow students to do just that.  First I will share the programs then the applications for the classroom.

iFaketext.com – This program lets students type in a texting conversation between two people.  Then post it as a screen shot. (you can even pick the cell carrier).

iFakeSiri.com – This Program allows you to produce diaglog between a person and Siri, then post a screen shot of it.

Faketweetbuilder.com – (This is my personal favorite) This program will allow you to create a full twitter conversation, with pictures and handles and everything.

So what do all these have to do with education?  Students to have different platforms to express themselves in a way many students more accustomed to.  Instead of writing facts about a famous American they can have a Twitter interview, or ask a question of Siri and then write Siri’s answer.  Students can write text messages between two main characters of a book.

Here is my example:

SMART Stop #5: Working with Timers

Today we are working with timers for teachers with and WITHOUT a SMARTBoard. Starting off I wanted to showcase a website that has tons of classroom timers available online. Take your pick from the 11 posted on this page: Online-Stopwatch.com

And for SMARTBoard timers...Search the gallery for 'timers' and choose from the following:

SILVER BULLET

DYNAMITE

MEGA TIME

Shortened URLs + BONUS: Microsoft Office Templates

Today I needed a quick way to get a web-link to students so I used bitly.com to shorten this URL:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/results.aspx?qu=poster&ex=2&av=zwd150 

to this:

 http://bit.ly/17xetIO 

Now I can quickly tell my students to type in the above URL address and they will quickly get to the choices for their project today. Other contenders: goo.gl, tinyurl, and ow.ly.

BONUS:
 Just in case you are curious...the link goes to Microsoft Word poster templates that the students are going to use to showcase their 'Wonder of the World' project they will be creating. Microsoft offers a fantastic supply of templates on their website that is searchable by either the software package you would like to use OR the style of template you are needing. This has been a great resource to me for years and is always up-to-date with newer layouts and styles in publishing.

A Simple Booklet

I am sharing some tools with new teachers and mentors later today and I decided to pull together my ideas using simplebooklet.com. Here is the one I created using a free account (there is a $10 fee for an education account which includes 30 student accounts); two of my six pages are ads so I am not sure I would use this site again without upgrading as I expected more of a logo stamped somewhere and not for my newsletter to be made 33% longer. This site is not as flashy as glogster.edu but the cost to have some teacher control over student creations is far less.

Check out my product here or below, where I share some details about Google, searching for images, creating a custom search engine, and more:

simplebooklet.com

Live Binders

Tired of not being able to find the digital resources you need when you need them? It is time to take all those links you have scattered on word documents, in favorites, and on flash drives and organize them into one place. Live Binders is a tool that allows you to create a digital binder with tabs and subtabs for your content. 

The sky is the limit! Binders for each subject, each project, each SOL, each class, websites to use at home, information for parents, websites students can use to do research, teacher tools.......the list can go on. Watch a quick video on Live Binders

Live Binder Introduction

Comic - Technology Connection

Something I remember from growing up was reading the Sunday Comics. I would sit on the floor, even before I could read I would look at the pictures and make up stories of what the characters said.  As I learned to read, I became more excited to read and share the comics with my family.  I even attempted to create my own.  Now i am no artist, not even in the slightest, but I still tried.  I thought that I could be a comic strip writer, even without any real artistic talent.

    

    Now I am sure you are wondering what this has to do with a Technology Blog.  There is a great website that allows you to create your own comic strips and comic collections.  The best part of it all it is free! There is also a choice to purchase some add-ons if you want, but as I worked through them I found I didn’t need them.  Toondoo.com allows you to create most type of comics.  They have single square panes (much like the classic “Far Side” comics) they also have multi-pane comics so people can work with sequence of events.

            Toondoo.com allows teachers to do many things.  Students learn about sequence of events of course.  Teachers can use it to teach grammar in a different way by typing in the speech blocks and having students find what is wrong.  If teachers decide to leave the speech bubbles blank students can create their own stories, which engages higher level thinking skills.  Teachers can also leave the last square of a comic strip blank to work on inference skills.  Having the students fill out what they think will happen and able to back up with reasons why also works on higher level skills.  Given time, teachers can use them to create study guides in a more engaging fashion.  And even though I say teachers, parents can do this as well.

Here is one I created on my own:

SMART-Stop #4: Dual Page, Pin a Page & Screen Shade

 (Dual Page) Displays two pages at a time. *Can be saved as part of a notebook file.

 (Pin a Page) Makes one page in notebook file stationary while you can flip through the other pages. *Can be saved as part of a notebook file.

 (Screen Shade) Gray shade tool that works as a 'reveal' page. Shade tool can be revealed from any of 4 sides. *Can be saved as part of a notebook file.

Remind 101: Free Texting for Teachers, Coaches and Club Sponsors

Do you ever get so busy you forget to attend a workshop that is hosted at your school?

Would you like a reminder of any tech workshops offered at your school?

Would you like to send students, parents, team players or club members reminder texts quickly and easily?

If you answered YES to any of the above questions then you will want to use Remind101. 

Sign up for LCHS Tech Reminders by texting the number and message pictured here!

SMART-Stop #3: Random Objects

There are quite a few 'Random' flash objects in the SMART Design Gallery. Type 'Random' in the Design Gallery search window and look in the Interactive & Multimedia tab for the exmple random objects below plus a whole lot more. Would a print-out be more helpful to you? Click over to the SMART website where they offer directions in a PDF.

Here are three 'Random' examples:

Random Image Tool - categorizing, matching, can be like an infinite cloner

Random Word Chooser Tool - class participation, vocab/topic review activity

SMART-Stop Week #2: Locking, Layering & Infinite Cloning

Week 2: Locking, Layering & Infinite Cloning

Set-up:
1. These tools can be used on both new Notebook files OR files downloaded from the SMART Exchange.
2. Either way, open the file you would like to change.

Nitty Gritty:
1. Locking - all objects can

SymbalooEDU

Learn to make a visual web-mix for students, parents or colleagues by adding colored tiles to a SymbalooEDU!

SMART-STOPS... A Weekly STOP for SMARTBoard Stuff

Q: Want a fast and fresh approach to a little PD during your planning?

A: Try stopping by our weekly SMART-STOP for a digital 'Make & Take' you can use the next day in your classroom.

Week 1: The Magic Pen

Set-up:

1. Find a Microsoft Word document or PDF file that you can use in class to annotate.

2. From within that file choose PRINT > Smart Notebook Capture. This will automatically put your document into a Smart Notebook file.

Nitty Gritty:

1. Choose the Magic Pen tool.

2. Draw any annotation on a page in your new Notebook file. Watch the markings self-destruct...I

The ULTIMATE Graphing Calculator

Desmos.com is a fast, FREE visual, graphing calculator! On the smart board it is invaluable. It has a projector mode which darkens the lines so students can see it more clearly. It is very very fast. If you you have a need for a graphing calculator you won't find a better one on the web.

SchoolCenter Tutorials to Update Those Web Pages!

If it has been a while since you updated your website or if you are a new teachers looking for guidance on how to use SchoolCenter, the following videos are for you! If you follow along you can create a basic website quickly and painlessly. Really, you can!

These were done based off what is standard for LCMS, however, the methods to edit your pages are the same regardless of what school you are at. Feel free to check in with your ITRT if you have any questions or if you want more direction on how to further enhance your site.

I used the free screen capture tool at www.screenr.com to make the videos... it is fantastic! If the videos below are taking a really long time to load, they can be accessed here:

http://www.screenr.com/user/Kate_itrt

1. Logging into SchoolCenter and Navigating the StartPage




2. Basic Page Edits... Part 1 (oops, I say it is Kate Straley's website but the the screenshot will show Kate Maisch... same person but it has been a long time since I did anything under my maiden name, lol)




3. Basic Page Edits... Part 2




4. Creating a "Contact Me" Page



5. Uploading Your Syllabus (see 5b below first)



5b. Adding a Syllabus the Easy Way



6. Organizing Your Navigation




7. Adding New Pages

Teachers, Meet Graphite

For years I have used the Common Sense Media website to read up on a movie before our family would see one in the theater or even at the local PTA Movie Night. Their reviews are informative and most important...dependable. When I learned recently that Common Sense Media was unveiling Graphite, a free service to help teachers and parents find the best apps, games, websites, and digital curricula rated for learning, I knew it would be a great resource to share with my colleagues. Finding resources for lessons can be overwhelming and cause me to waste lots of time looking for 'just the right resource'. Whether or not this happens to you too, I think you will find Graphite to be a super-helpful tool in your future. Go ahead and try it out. Curious how Graphite rates and reviews their resources? Look HERE for a concise explanation.

ITRT Chalk-Talk

What's New in 2013?

We welcome NEW ITRT, Steve Allen to our team at LCPS! Steve comes to us from Orange County Public Schools. 

PowerSchool is our county's NEW student information system as well as teacher grade book.

There are two NEW schools in the works for LCPS students. Both Thomas Jefferson Elementary and now Louisa County High School are both under new construction.

"Louisa Conquers" and the ITRTs are ready to conquer 2013-2014! 

Creating a Custom Search Engine

Last week, LCMS ITRT Kate Straley hosted an afternoon professional development session titled, Find it on the Web. Among the many things I learned my most favorite was how to create a custom search engine for students. I have seen these search engines on different web sites and often wondered how the blogger or webmaster created such a custom 'widget'. I didn't wonder long figuring it was some sort of top secret HTML code I would never have the time to learn. I was wrong!

Turning this custom search engine tool into a teaching tool had never crossed my mind until Kate pointed it out in her workshop. I have used LiveBinder and other similar bookmarking sites for students to use during projects but a custom search bar of JUST the sites I want the students to use is PERFECT! And to top it off, the custom search can be adjusted by reading level to help low-level readers.

Free Technology for Teachers blogger, Richard Byrne, created this step-by-step tutorial showing How to Create a Custom Search Engine and Install It In a Blogger Blog.

Try out the the custom search engine I just created for this blog. -----> (Look at the top of the right sidebar.)

Dropbox

I thought it was time to showcase Dropbox to our readers as not only a MEGA tool but also a Teaching/Learning Tool. I call Dropbox a MEGA tool for a number of reasons:

• 250MB storage with many ways to earn more FREE storage (see below for an extra 500MB).
• Platform Friendly ...no matter what device you use (PC/Mac/Android/Apple/iPhone/iPad/Droid/Blackberry).
• Syncs at all times on all devices!

Extra Handouts
Think about a place online for your class that is just for extra copies of handouts for students that lose their paper copy or are absent on the day you hand it out. By sharing the folder with your students they can access it anytime. And since most students all have cell phones now...they could also now access your study guide handouts on their phone to review for today's test!
Homework
Shared folders can also be used as homework drops too for students. Forget receiving 30+ emails for one class assignment. Have your students 'drop' it in the class project folder and be done! Dropbox will time stamp it so you will know exactly when each assignment was submitted.
Presentations
And finally, use Dropbox as a place for students or for yourself to load PowerPoint files or other large presentation files that won't fit as an attachment or on a flash-drive  If everyone loads their files into the same project folder then class presentations will breeze by without each student having to login/logout of their own accounts. 

Contact your ITRT if you'd like help getting started using Dropbox. We'd be happy to help you! Use this link to get an EXTRA 500MB of STORAGE when you install Dropbox on your desktop.

A Visual Guide To Twitter For Beginners

BAM! radio

Time to get this blog revived!

Just a quick share today. I came across a link to a short audio clip talking about the value of developing a Personal Learning Network. The clip was only a few minutes in length but it was packed with valuable ideas from other educators. Even better, I could listen to it while I completed other tasks - I love to multitask! I soon discovered that this particular clip was just one of many available on Bam! Radio. This site is billed as "The Voice of the Education Community" and it really is... there are podcasts specifically for everyone involved in the education of today's youth, not just teacher ~ there is a channel for parents, a channel for school nurses, a channel for principals, etc.

Go check it out!